FP+ Worked for us

[MaddlesMom]

My family Husband and 2 DD (4 and 7) just got back from a quick trip (Thursday through Sunday). We stayed at Pop Century and did have our own rental car. We had all of our FP+ reservations made before we went (and we booked this trip on new years eve... so it was a last minute trip). We do NOT do dining plan, DO rope drop and did EVERYTHING and more that we wanted! First off... we did rope drop and did park hop. We started off at a recommended park and did our FP+ at the second park, almost exclusively MK... here were a few mistakes we made...

1. Epcot we could not decide between TT and Soarin... and wanted to save our FP for MK... so we rushed to TT and did that, and then Soarin was an 80 minute wait (this was on Thursday). Needless to say there was a time when it was down to 30 minutes but we were waiting for turtle talk so we missed that window. Did it ruin our trip... NO. Would DD have liked to ride TT more than once yes, probably...

2. We had a character breakfast at HS... MB did NOT work to charge the cost and thus we got out after rope. This was the ONLY park that we used our FP+ in the morning (all because of TSMM)... Anyway, by the time we got to the ride (before 9) the stand by was 20 minutes... we waited so we could get 2 rides that day. We honestly felt for us this day was a waste of the other 2 FP+.

We ended up taking advantage of MK evening EMH. The park closed at 9 but was open to resort guests until midnight. This was AWESOME! We got to the park at right around 8 PM and did Barnstormer x2, Dumbo, Voyage of Little Mermaid, Teacups, Winnie the Pooh, Small World, carousel, and I cannot think of what else... and was out of the park by 10:15... That was on Sunday night... there had been a little rain so maybe that got the crowds to leave but even winnie the pooh was less than 10 minute wait! I think we got more done with that EMH (which really was only 9-10 then we would have with a rope drop). That same night my husband even drove to AK at 7:30 (for an 8:00 close) so he and oldest DD could ride Everest. we were able to basically drive right in, park in the AAA Diamond spots (no one was directing us where to park) and they ran in and rode the ride 3 times and headed back to the car and we then left for MK.

we have been to Disney 4 times in the past 6 years... We are by NO means experts, but have learned SO MUCH on these boards! Thanks! Do I see where there will be issues in the future... Yes! The princess meets were consistently 30-60 minutes, but we used our FP+ for those. Its too hard to wait with a 4 year old and we didn't wait longer than 20 minutes. It all worked for us with small issues. I am sure there were other things that went wrong, but that's about it... Oh, the Monorail NEVER seemed to be working... I think we rode it once... Its a COLD ferry ride at 8 AM when the temp is less than 40 degrees!~ YIKES.

I just thought I would share how things went for our little family... it worked... It was nice to look on my phone and KNOW the wait for space mountain for BTMRR... those are DD"s favorite rides and it was nice to know if we could make the trek to one or the other...

 

[tndisney5]

So glad to hear about a positive experience!

We are going soon for 4 nights, 3 days and are not park hopping. We hope to get the most out of FP+ and our magic bands.

Thanks for posting!

 

[kaybird]

We had a great experience as well!!! Glad you had a great trip, and were able to navigate the small hiccups without the drama of a "ruined trip"! Going back in February, and beyond excited!!!

 

[JimmyV]

Nice to hear that you had a great time. A few follow up points/questions:

1. Epcot we could not decide between TT and Soarin... and wanted to save our FP for MK... so we rushed to TT and did that, and then Soarin was an 80 minute wait (this was on Thursday). ...Would DD have liked to ride TT more than once yes, probably...

Here is an example of how the words "worked for us" and "we hated it" converge. The scenario you describe would be considered to be a complete "fail" by many people. Same experience, different opinion. Under FP-, you wouldn't have had to choose, and your DD would have ridden TT more than once. So under the old system, you would have gotten 2xTT and 1xSoarin'. It is awesome that this didn't ruin your vacation. Wish more folks shared that attitude. But you can see how others would be reading this and scratching their heads saying: "This is a "worked for us" report?"

2. We honestly felt for us this [DHS] day was a waste of the other 2 FP+.

Again, sounds like your family had a great day and you were pleased. But others reading this will wonder how a day that involved 2 wasted FP+s is a rousing success. It all boils down to two ways of looking at the same experience.

We ended up taking advantage of MK evening EMH. The park closed at 9 but was open to resort guests until midnight. This was AWESOME!

Are FP+ times available during EMHs? Do you need them during that time? I've seen Space Mountain still well over an hour during evening EMHs. Can one bypass that line with a FP+?

Yes! The princess meets were consistently 30-60 minutes, but we used our FP+ for those. Its too hard to wait with a 4 year old and we didn't wait longer than 20 minutes.

Completely agree. Thankfully, we are past the character meet-n-greet stage in our family. But I could see how this would be a key use of FPs. Nothing more boring to a 4 year old than a character meeting line.

All in all, it sounds like you had a great time, which is all that matters. Disney magic usually overcomes the "small stuff" that we shouldn't sweat in the first place!

 

[amg35]

Glad you had a great trip!

Even though it seems that others are going to decide for you that you indeed didn't have a great trip!

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Glad to hear that you had a great time!

 

[Magpie]

Glad to hear you had a great time! The Test Track/Soarin' with no FP+ is hard. What we tend to do (and this may not work for you) is head straight for Soarin', ride that first, and then do Test Track in the Single Rider line.

The Single Rider line can be unpredictable at times, but it's generally short for the first couple hours of the day.

It won't get you the perfect family photo with everyone in one car, but it will get you an extra ride or even two (depending how busy things are).

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

~Yay!!! Thanks so much for your review! I'm glad your issues didn't ruin your trip! We've certainly had issues long before MB/FP+. Our non RFID KTTW didn't work a few at a few restaurants and didn't open our room door. But, it was no huge deal for us! FP+/Magic Bands definitely worked out very well for us, if it didn't -- we would not be here and we would focus our attention on finding something else that we could get excited for.

 

[ginamarie716]

Thank you for sharing!

 

[MaddlesMom]

I can see how my 2 hiccups could be contradictory... I was just trying
To say how I thought it worked for us with 2 exceptions so possibly others could make Some modifications. If I could go it again I would reverse TT and soarin.
Trip was great, weather was COLD but FP worked great. We did not use FP Duing EMH... I think Peter Pan was longest wait at 25 mins... Space mountain had a low wait but we didn't want to split up ...

 

[Pooksie]

I can see how my 2 hiccups could be contradictory... I was just trying
To say how I thought it worked for us with 2 exceptions so possibly others could make Some modifications. If I could go it again I would reverse TT and soarin.
Trip was great, weather was COLD but FP worked great. We did not use FP Duing EMH... I think Peter Pan was longest wait at 25 mins... Space mountain had a low wait but we didn't want to split up ...

Thanks for the clarification.

I'm glad to hear that you had such a great trip with the new system in place. Cheers.

 

[Shaden]

Very glad you had a good time, and that you feel that FP+ worked for you.

But for the record, looking at your experience, it seems very little of what "worked" for you had anything to do with FP+, rather low crowds, Rope Drop, EMH.

In fact, looking at your report you probably would have been able to get more done with FP-

I am quite positive you had an awesome trip, I am sure we are going to enjoy our next trip as well, even with FP+, but I am also pretty sure we will get to enjoy fewer rides, which is quite important to us.

Ps. This doesn't mean I am saying the person didn't have an enjoyable vacation, but this is one of the examples that people who are critical of FP+ are completely correct to criticize. Its about causality and comparison. Can you still have a great time with FP+ ??? Absolutely. But is FP+ "working" as in, being the causal factor which increased the enjoyment of this trip ? No.

 

[MaddlesMom]

I think we rode just as many, if not more than we did last year at the same time. I think it was NICE to know exactly what time we were ridding Winne the Pooh, for example. With the old system it was always a "guess" This way we knew what time. We were able to change some of the times while we were at the park, but overall didn't need to.

I will say I thought the lines for the FP+ kisoks were long... some longer than others, so I was glad that I was staying on site and had the use of the app and ability to prebook the times. There will always be negative people, and I will admit I was afraid, as we had always used the old FP system and seemed to have a good understanding of how to use that one. Yes, we went when crowds were low, but that also required us to pull our daughter from school, and being a teacher myself use my personal days. (thanks to a snow storm and the arctic vortex the school days missed resulted in 1... we have not been back to school in a week so far

I will stick to my comment that I felt it worked for us and our family (with our touring style)

 

[wiigirl]

Glad you had a wonderful time.

 

[AlohaAnnie]

Thank you for your information.

Glad you had a good trip.


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[mom2rtk]

Glad you had a great time. I've said all along that it really is a good system for many with small children.

As they get older though and want to branch out intomore thrill rides, you might see why legacy FP will be sorely missed by many. You got a little dose of this with "DD would have liked to do TT again but....". It will be a while before your kids are old enough for single rider, so until then you'll have to just pass or wait out standby. That wasn't the case until just recently.

I don't think it's a coincidence that many of us who don't like FP+ have older kids.

Regardless, glad your trip was a success!

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I don't think it's a coincidence that many of us who don't like FP+ have older kids.

I agree, but primarily because folks from the Dis with older children have probably been going a lot longer and knew how to leverage FP- better, so are going to feel this bite more. Not so much because FP+ is worse for families with older children. For us, with children all in their teens, FP+ is not really a problem. We now split up a lot as a family. FP+ is not a problem if used that way as long as everyone knows how it worked. Older children are more tech savvy than their parents and will have little/no problem with this system.

 

[Robo]

I agree, but primarily because folks from the Dis with older children have probably been going a lot longer and knew how to leverage FP- better, so are going to feel this bite more. Not so much because FP+ is worse for families with older children. For us, with children all in their teens, FP+ is not really a problem. We now split up a lot as a family. FP+ is not a problem if used that way as long as everyone knows how it worked. Older children are more tech savvy than their parents and will have little/no problem with this system.

I don't have a "tech" problem with the system...
I have a MATH problem.

3 is less than 6.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Glad you had a great trip -- thanks for sharing!! I think we'd be more likely to view the "hiccups" you encountered as just that as well, and not have that ruin our day or trip. I'm cautiously optimistic about my upcoming FP+ only trips (i.e. without the legacy FP still around).

Thanks again!

(also still holding out for the possibility of some changes after feedback... ... )

 

[mom2rtk]

I don't have a "tech" problem with the system...
I have a MATH problem.

3 is less than 6.

Yep. That's our issue as well.