FP+ Will we ever get more....

[crostorfer]

If they are going to start charging us for more FP+ I wish they would just get on with it already! At this point, I would gladly pay for more FP+ .....but I want this option BEFORE my April vacation! Also - I am booked at a mod ....if they are going to offer more FP+ to a deluxe stay, I have no problem booking at a deluxe. Let's just get on with it so we know how to plan!

x2

 

[Jennasis]

I will absolutely not pay a dime extra for FP. I don't buy Express Pass at USO either. We will use whatever is free and continue to go at quieter times, and if there comes a time when standby is unmanageable for us we will look to try other vacation spots.

 

[Octoberbaby]

If they do start charging extra for FP+ I wouldn't mind paying just so I can keep our vacation as relaxing as possible. Do I agree with it if this happens? No. WDW has become greedy. I feel we pay enough on our vacations each year that on-site guests should get more and everyone else should be limited. I love the Polynesian and that was my family's go-to resort from the 80s-late 90s. I haven't been able to let my children experience staying at a Deluxe simply because prices have increased so much! If we have to start paying extra just for FP...my word....It would be the great excuse to take my kids out of school, go during value season, try to get free dining, and stay at the Poly.

 

[gweninwb]

Wow. I'm totally bummed out about all of this. Let me share my story. The last three years my family and I have made an annual trip to Disney staying onsite each time. Our last trip was in October and we stayed at AKL and were able to use the magic bands. We did enjoy using them.

Fast forward. Unfortunately I am now going through a divorce. Before when we went to Disney I was part of a two income family and money wasn't as much as a concern as it is now. I somewhat thought my Disney days were over until my sister mentioned that she would like to go and asked if we would like to go and get a suite together. Great! We can save a bit of money by booking a suite. WRONG! Lodging at Disney for 6 people is insanely priced. Because of this we decided to look for offsite lodging. We found a reasonable option at Bonnet Creek. Reading about the fast passes going away for offsite has totally bummed me out. I understand that there will be kiosks and such but I know from my experience last year that the fastpasses that were left were for bad times or simply not available. I know because we tried to change the times on a few of our fastpasses. I am thinking of telling my sis that we just won't be able to join her. I love Disney resorts and would LOVE to stay onsite but I just don't know that I can swing it. Getting rid of the old fastpasses is really going to make a lot of people upset in my opinion.

 

[Willa]

i will absolutely not pay a dime extra for fp. I don't buy express pass at uso either. We will use whatever is free and continue to go at quieter times, and if there comes a time when standby is unmanageable for us we will look to try other vacation spots.

+1

We have been doing WDW on a budget for lots of years, we cannot afford extras like paying for fps, and if it ever becomes a situation where we cannot make it work without paying extra, we will no longer be making regular trips, as sad as that would be (and it would make me very, very sad indeed).

 

[Glencora]

I know this sounds weird, but I think Disney has to consider giving offsite guests better access to FP+ for purely economic reasons. On-site guests will spend the majority of their money somewhere on Disney property, whether it's at their hotel or in the parks; with offsite guests, however, once they leave the park, Disney loses any additional funds they might have spent.

Additionally, if offsite guests have to choose between waiting for two or three hours in the Florida sun for one ride, or spending three hours in the pool at their resort, the pool will look better and better as their vacation days go by. Imagine watching all of the people strolling by in the FP lane, while you were at the park for rope drop and were shut out of any decent times, or shut out all together. Makes for a MUCH shorter park stay.

 

[mcd2745]

I cannot get my head around the fact that they have increased FP capacity by adding Meet and greets, parades etc (and I view these as really positive additions) but then have reduced each persons allocation of FP's shouldn't it be able to cope with the increased "usage" of the system with these additions?

The piece you're missing is that they expect a much higher participation rate in FP+ compared to FP-. According to some numbers that have been out there, supposedly only approx 50% of all guests used FP- and each of those people that used FP- pulled an average of 2 per day (obviously, the numbers for DISers are be much different). So If they go from 50% using 2 per day to 80% or more using 3 per day...there goes your excess capacity.

 

[Bete]

I stayed off site in early December. We still had access to legacy fastpass. It really didn't help us much. First, on the popular rides you had to get there at rope drop, stand in a 45 minute legacy fastpass line, and then you were lucky to get a fastpass for late afternoon or early evening. By 10 am, even the bad times were gone. Now, I will admit there were some rides that were not as bad, such as, the Safari ride, but there were more bad ones than good ones with regard to fastpasses. Fastpass plus with only same day choices will not be any better.

We were lucky that we were able to enjoy shows and the Holiday Fair or it would have been a miserable vacation. Our best time was doing MVMCP, but of course, you have to pay extra for that deal. We paid extra for the Candlelight Processional Package and the Fantasmic Dinner package and we liked those events. Everything else was a chore. I think fastpass plus is being used more, especially with all the double and triple dipping that was going on, but it's also making the stand by lines longer than I ever remember them to be. I found the wait times unbearable; we ended up skipping our favorite ride, Toy Story Mania. We tried two days in a row for that one and no luck. On the second day we tried during the Fantasmic show figuring that would be our best chance and it was horrible.

Under the current scenario for off site guests of same day in the parks fastpass plus and no legacy fastpass I would not go especially if there is nothing extra being offered like Flower Fest, Food and Wine Fest, Halloween, or Christmas.

If you really want to go to Orlando I would consider Universal, SeaWorld, and even a ride down to Busch Gardens. There are plenty of water parks and such that are not Disney, too.

We have been slowly weening ourselves off of Disney World. We've been doing other vacations and we are quite satisfied with our new experiences going to other destinations. We have over 40 trips to Disney World and they are losing me as a guest. I have stayed onsite and offsite, but we stay offsite now mostly.

I will wait and see how this all pans out, but I'm not real hopeful that offsite guests will be treated too well with fastpass plus. Even if there is a pay plan, I will have limits on what I will pay especially if I don't get to do advanced fastpass plus reservations. I will not pay extra for same day; I just won't go. I feel fortunate that I've had many good times at Disney World, but it may be time for us to end our vacations there. We will see how this goes.

 

[Minnie222]

I like the idea of 4 FP+ per day.
In particular, I think it is much needed for MK since there are so many rides.

However, I think it will just make the FP line longer, and the "wait time" of the standby line longer. It is smart that Disney started with 3 FP+ and consider going up to 4. If it were the other way around, people would think it is taking things away from them and there will be another 10 DIS threads complaining about it.

 

[Texas Barbie]

If they are going to start charging us for more FP+ I wish they would just get on with it already! At this point, I would gladly pay for more FP+ .....but I want this option BEFORE my April vacation! Also - I am booked at a mod ....if they are going to offer more FP+ to a deluxe stay, I have no problem booking at a deluxe. Let's just get on with it so we know how to plan!

x3. Bring them on, and soon!

 

[xipotec]

I think it will move up after legacy FP is killed off. They need to for peak seasons.

 

[practicallyperfect77]

I like the idea of 4 FP+ per day.
In particular, I think it is much needed for MK since there are so many rides.

However, I think it will just make the FP line longer, and the "wait time" of the standby line longer. It is smart that Disney started with 3 FP+ and consider going up to 4. If it were the other way around, people would think it is taking things away from them and there will be another 10 DIS threads complaining about it.

For me with the tiers in HS and EP, only being able to use 1 per ride, and only being able to use FP+ in one park, I can get by with 2 in HS and EP. But I'd like about 6 in MK. 3 is right for me in AK....maybe 4 with some shows.