FP+ - what a pain!

[wisblue]

My point was that it should have been worse than typical and it still worked well for us.

My point is that if anyone is going to use specific experiences to support an opinion about the pros and cons of a FP system, it is important to give enough information about that experience for others to decide how relevant it is to their plans.

For example, Touring Plans reports the Sunday of the Candlelight Processional last year (December 7) as a crowd level 5 day for the resort with a crowd level 7 at Disneyland and level 3 at DCA. So, an average to a little above average crowd day. The day I was describing was Monday, December 29, a crowd level 10 day across the board. So, for someone visiting on a lower level crowd day, maybe they can use your experience to conclude that they can walk up to a FP machine at IJ at 4 PM and get a FP for a time that they can use. But, if they are visiting over the holidays, based on our experience, they wouldn't be getting FPs for IJ at 4 PM unless someone handed them some, if they fell out of the sky into their hands, or they found some on the ground that someone had lost.

It's really not a lot different than the way things were with paper FP at WDW. At the busiest times, FPs for things like Soarin, TT, and TSMM were gone by early afternoon, if not before. At less busy times, they may have been available later in the day.

As for lines to get FPs, they may not have been typical at WDW all of the time, but they weren't exactly unheard of either. I saw some pretty significant FP lines for things like Soarin, TT, TSMM, and Space Mountain just after park opening. Just like we saw lines for Indy and RSR at Disneyland last December. I have no doubt that you'd be seeing lines like that now if they were still issuing paper FP's for 7DMT and A&E. Compared to those lines, the "pain" of taking 30 minutes at home to round up a week's worth of FPs seems more like a pleasure.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

My point is that if anyone is going to use specific experiences to support an opinion about the pros and cons of a FP system, it is important to give enough information about that experience for others to decide how relevant it is to their plans.

For example, Touring Plans reports the Sunday of the Candlelight Processional last year (December 7) as a crowd level 5 day for the resort with a crowd level 7 at Disneyland and level 3 at DCA. So, an average to a little above average crowd day. The day I was describing was Monday, December 29, a crowd level 10 day across the board. So, for someone visiting on a lower level crowd day, maybe they can use your experience to conclude that they can walk up to a FP machine at IJ at 4 PM and get a FP for a time that they can use. But, if they are visiting over the holidays, based on our experience, they wouldn't be getting FPs for IJ at 4 PM unless someone handed them some, if they fell out of the sky into their hands, or they found some on the ground that someone had lost.

It's really not a lot different than the way things were with paper FP at WDW. At the busiest times, FPs for things like Soarin, TT, and TSMM were gone by early afternoon, if not before. At less busy times, they may have been available later in the day.

As for lines to get FPs, they may not have been typical at WDW all of the time, but they weren't exactly unheard of either. I saw some pretty significant FP lines for things like Soarin, TT, TSMM, and Space Mountain just after park opening. Just like we saw lines for Indy and RSR at Disneyland last December. I have no doubt that you'd be seeing lines like that now if they were still issuing paper FP's for 7DMT and A&E. Compared to those lines, the "pain" of taking 30 minutes at home to round up a week's worth of FPs seems more like a pleasure.

How and how many crowd level 10 days are there a year, vs. how many average to above average days? So whose experience is more typical for an average visitor, do you think? Yeah, your experience is more typical for people who chose to go on the 10-15 days a year where crowds are insane...but what about the other 350 days a year?

 

[wisblue]

How and how many crowd level 10 days are there a year, vs. how many average to above average days? So whose experience is more typical for an average visitor, do you think? Yeah, your experience is more typical for people who chose to go on the 10-15 days a year where crowds are insane...but what about the other 350 days a year?

I completely agree, which is why I am totally open about when my experiences occur. Although there are not a lot of crowd level 10 days, there are a lot of people who visit those days, and they should not expect the same experiences as those who visit on less crowded days.

The same goes for people who visit on crowd level 1 and 2 days and report that FPs were as freely available as Trick or Treat candy.

 

[itchin2go]

I saw some pretty significant FP lines for things like Soarin, TT, TSMM, and Space Mountain just after park opening.

Really? I'm not doubting your experience but this is surprising to me. I was the FP runner and yes, the machines were slammed at opening, but there were so many machines at, say, Soarin that the "lines" weren't really more than 3 or 4 people deep. Yes, that area was crowded, but I don't consider those long lines at all.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Really? I'm not doubting your experience but this is surprising to me. I was the FP runner and yes, the machines were slammed at opening, but there were so many machines at, say, Soarin that the "lines" weren't really more than 3 or 4 people deep. Yes, that area was crowded, but I don't consider those long lines at all.

I don't have any specific dates or crowd levels for you--but it was common, in my experience, to see the FP machine area at Soarin' filled to the brim with people. I don't recall how long I would take to get to a machine and pull. Likely not 30 minutes. But it was definitely more than 4 people deep as a common occurrence. We usually procured in the morning. So perhaps it was an opening thing. I know I would have been happy to be only waiting behind 4 people. Not saying such short lines did not occur, but in my experience, this was not the norm as I observed. (My last visit to EPCOT in the old system was 1 day during our Oct 2012 vacation and prior to that 2009 when we has seasonal passes. So it has been a while for me. )

TSMM is the only time I saw a quite lengthy line that could take 15-30 minutes to get through depending on when you joined it.

 

[itchin2go]

I don't have any specific dates or crowd levels for you--but it was common, in my experience, to see the FP machine area at Soarin' filled to the brim with people. I don't recall how long I would take to get to a machine and pull. Likely not 30 minutes. But it was definitely more than 4 people deep as a common occurrence. We usually procured in the morning. So perhaps it was an opening thing. I know I would have been happy to be only waiting behind 4 people. Not saying such short lines did not occur, but in my experience, this was not the norm as I observed. (My last visit to EPCOT in the old system was 1 day during our Oct 2012 vacation and prior to that 2009 when we has seasonal passes. So it has been a while for me. )

TSMM is the only time I saw a quite lengthy line that could take 15-30 minutes to get through depending on when you joined it.

Sorry you had that experience. That would be frustrating.

I did see a mobbed FP area, but with many machines, I really don't think I ever waited longer than 5 minutes to pull a FP, and the truth is, mostly it was far less than that. We tended to go at fairly low crowd times FWIW, January and October, but I don't think they were 2 or 3 crowd level days, more like 4-7. And yes, at Epcot and TSMM, we would be there at rope drop, and I'd be getting the FPs while the rest of the family rode. I think TSMM was probably the worst, but like I said, I think 5 minutes would have been the most I waited.

Now, I never had a tour group person in front of me pulling 100 FPs, so I could see how that would affect things.

 

[wisblue]

Really? I'm not doubting your experience but this is surprising to me. I was the FP runner and yes, the machines were slammed at opening, but there were so many machines at, say, Soarin that the "lines" weren't really more than 3 or 4 people deep. Yes, that area was crowded, but I don't consider those long lines at all.

By far the longest and most frequent was at TSMM where I often saw lines that extended from the FP machines all the way out to One Man's Dream. That would usually be right as we exited the ride after going right there at opening and riding standby. I don't know how long those lines would have taken, but it was a lot more than 4 or 5 people deep. We also saw lines a lot longer than 4 or 5 people deep at the other attractions too.

 

[itchin2go]

By far the longest and most frequent was at TSMM where I often saw lines that extended from the FP machines all the way out to One Man's Dream. That would usually be right as we exited the ride after going right there at opening and riding standby. I don't know how long those lines would have taken, but it was a lot more than 4 or 5 people deep. We also saw lines a lot longer than 4 or 5 people deep at the other attractions too.

That *may* explain our different experiences. We would go at rope drop, my family would ride TSMM and I would pull FPs while they were riding. Never took me more than 5 minutes, and at other popular FP rides, it would be less than that.

 

[wisblue]

That *may* explain our different experiences. We would go at rope drop, my family would ride TSMM and I would pull FPs while they were riding. Never took me more than 5 minutes, and at other popular FP rides, it would be less than that.

That could be. The only time we would use a "runner" was at Soarin if my wife or one daughter who decline to ride Mission Space were along. They would go get the FPs while we went to ride MS and then we'd meet up to do TT. So, I don't know how long they waited then. But, if they weren't along and we went to Soarin first to ride, the crowd at the FP kiosks could be pretty imposing. But, again, we didn't wait because we already had our ride in and were off to something else.

 

[WillAustin]

My experience: I was a Legacy Fastpass Ninja and never once waited 5 minutes at a FP machine. TSMM, Soarin', Test Track, whatever. Never 5 minutes or more. June, July, August, December, crowd levels up to 10.

 

[cakebaker]

I rarely ran into a line at Soarin' for FP's. By the time we got there, they were all gone.

Our designated runner always took the heat at park opening- although I would hear
complaints from him now and then about how crowded it was. He is happily retired now and gets to experience walking through the parks at a much more leisurely pace.

 

[itchin2go]

I rarely ran into a line at Soarin' for FP's. By the time we got there, they were all gone.

Our designated runner always took the heat at park opening- although I would hear
complaints from him now and then about how crowded it was. He is happily retired now and gets to experience walking through the parks at a much more leisurely pace.

It was always crowded around certain FP machines, but regardless of how it looked, it never took very long to get the FPs.

 

[cakebaker]

It was always crowded around certain FP machines, but regardless of how it looked, it never took very long to get the FPs.

It seems as though it did for some people. I've never experienced long lines at the kiosks, a couple minutes at most, but there are people I'm sure who have.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Sorry you had that experience. That would be frustrating.

I did see a mobbed FP area, but with many machines, I really don't think I ever waited longer than 5 minutes to pull a FP, and the truth is, mostly it was far less than that. We tended to go at fairly low crowd times FWIW, January and October, but I don't think they were 2 or 3 crowd level days, more like 4-7. And yes, at Epcot and TSMM, we would be there at rope drop, and I'd be getting the FPs while the rest of the family rode. I think TSMM was probably the worst, but like I said, I think 5 minutes would have been the most I waited.

Now, I never had a tour group person in front of me pulling 100 FPs, so I could see how that would affect things.

I may have run to get there before the tour group.

Okay, not really--

My experience: I was a Legacy Fatpass Ninja and never once waited 5 minutes at a FP machine. TSMM, Soarin', Test Track, whatever. Never 5 minutes or more. June, July, August, December, crowd levels up to 10.

That could be a very cool
T-shirt.

 

[itchin2go]

I may have run to get there before the tour group.

Okay, not really--

Well, that would have been a good move! And I wouldn't blame you a bit!

 

[itchin2go]

It seems as though it did for some people. I've never experienced long lines at the kiosks, a couple minutes at most, but there are people I'm sure who have.

In coming to that conclusion, consider this: I actually pulled FPs for my family, routinely, and never encountered what I would consider a long line. Ordinarily, there may have been a handful of people in front of me, then boom, I put in the cards and off I went.

Contrast that with someone who merely saw a crowd, but did not actually pull a FP, as well as someone who heard from a travel mate that it was crowded.

Crowded vs. waiting a long time are 2 different things. Yes, the area around the FP machines, specifically at Soarin and TSMM often looked crowded and chaotic. The lines weren't well organized all the time and it may have looked intimidating. But I never waited in a long line.

I did not try to book a FP at a kiosk last trip so I can't speak to that.

 

[Angel Ariel]

We used FP+ in the fall of 2013 when it was just for resort guests. The system of making the FP+ was a little complicated, but not as bad as it was this morning at 5 am. The times you can choose from are nothing close to what we want, so I had to go back and edit each FP+ we made. The order wasn't what I would choose either, so that complicated changing the times even more. 35 min to choose 5 days of FPs is crazy. I guess the system works for people who 1. want to arrive at the park later in the day or
2. spend the entire day at one park. In a way it's saving me money. We used to buy hoppers and now won't. The old system had us spending more time at the park and eating there, now we will go for rope drop, go back to FW for lunch/dinner, and use our FP+ when we return in the evening.

Either way, I hate having to plan 60 days out which rides at which parks we are going to want to do.

I'm so sorry you didn't have a good preplanning experience. I very much disliked the preplanning as well..it was more stressful than I want my vacation planning to be. That said, our trip itself was wonderful despite the preplanning headaches. I hope your trip will be wonderful as well!

 

[bcrook]

My extended family of 9 people are all converging on WDW this weekend. The past 60 days trying to deal with choosing rides in advance has been terrible. The people I am going with truly think I am insane for even asking the question: "Which experience do you want on the Wednesday at Animal Kingdom." I asked that in May!

On another note... Since 2013 I have had 3 My Disney Experience accounts - and DVC dumps my reservations into them randomly. AND I have them all linked together - so I can't easily tell which account is which. One account might have my room reservation, one account could have my ticket, and another could have my dining reservations!

DVC did this to me. They said they couldn't delete accounts.

UNTIL TODAY! I got someone to combine all of my reservations, magic bands, tickets, and rooms into one account. They deleted the other two. MDE and DVC are connected together.

I feel like a free man. I am so happy to not have to deal with this.

So bring on the silly long lines at Pirates of the Caribbean, I am ready. ETA Pirates is closed for renovations while I am there. I guess the lines won't be long at all.

 

[chrispeto]

I've always been rather neutral on FP+, don't love it but don't hate it either. It has it's faults, without a doubt.
But I can admit that I did miss the ability to select the time I wanted to ride a few things while in DL. For instance, I wanted to ride RSR at night but could not come up with a way to ensure I pulled a FP at night. Same for GRR. I wanted to ride in the afternoon, when it was warm and summer vs. morning when it was cloudy and cool. Again it was really not possible to plan to pull a FP for a time we wanted. Sure, you can stand in line but really, that's not feasible either. So instead we took what we got and still had a great time. But I did say in my mind "I sure wish I could FP+ those rides"
Same way I wish I could still walk to a machine and pull a FP at WDW.
In my perfect plan we'd plan 3 and pull the others while in a park from a machine.

I remember going during the testing phase of FP +, we got a room key card and we where able to use FP - and use our reserved FP +, so we had the best of both worlds for 1 vacation

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My extended family of 9 people are all converging on WDW this weekend. The past 60 days trying to deal with choosing rides in advance has been terrible. The people I am going with truly think I am insane for even asking the question: "Which experience do you want on the Wednesday at Animal Kingdom." I asked that in May!

On another note... Since 2013 I have had 3 My Disney Experience accounts - and DVC dumps my reservations into them randomly. AND I have them all linked together - so I can't easily tell which account is which. One account might have my room reservation, one account could have my ticket, and another could have my dining reservations!

DVC did this to me. They said they couldn't delete accounts.

UNTIL TODAY! I got someone to combine all of my reservations, magic bands, tickets, and rooms into one account. They deleted the other two. MDE and DVC are connected together.

I feel like a free man. I am so happy to not have to deal with this.

So bring on the silly long lines at Pirates of the Caribbean, I am ready.

Hold the phone!

I have separate log ins for DVC and MDE. (To be fair, my DVC account either pre-dates MDE I think.)

Did you get that all merged into one magical account?

I still have to link my DVC reservations but assumed that this was because DVC is in its own little Universe.

I remember the days where every single person I ever traveled with was hidden in my Disney file. Why no--that person I traveled with in the early 2000s does not share rooms with me any more. I had so many people. It was crazy.
I think now I can delete them.