FP+ Works Against Families

[Angel Ariel]

While I can see where you are coming from, I don't agree that the system goes against families. I view the choosing of FP the same way I view the choosing of activities on any vacation. For instance, if it were just DH and I, we might choose to take a 5 mile hike in the Smoky Mountains. However, with a 5 year old along with us, I would never choose that because she would get tired and bored and it would end up frustrating us. The same with FP....sometimes as a parent you have to choose something the kids would like because it is their vacation too (if you are choosing to take them with you). Likewise, they are sharing your vacation, so sometimes you choose something you would enjoy instead. Unfortunately, sometimes the choices you have to make when you have kids along are not the preferable choices for you...sure I would rather ride RNR and TOT but when you have kids that don't ride those types of rides sometimes you have to sacrifice and take the FP for TSMM and Beauty and the Beast. I think the same could also be true with other aspects of a Disney vacations as well- I pick restaurants based on what I think my kids will be able to tolerate or based on the characters that may appear, not just on the food offerings as I would if it were just my husband and I.

I think most parents, myself included, understand that you have to make choices on vacations. We just got back from Niagara Falls where my nephews experienced a really cool reenactment at Ft Niagara. We didn't go, we took DD to the falls themselves instead because the canon balls and muskets firing would not have gone over well, and she's really just too little for the experience.

The great part about Disney has always been that we didn't have to make those same types of choices. We experienced what we wanted as adults, and we were still doing Dd activities as well. Can we still do that? Yeah, I'm not saying its impossible. It isn't as easy as it used to be at wdw, though. The pre-planning and the tiers, primarily (for us) have made it more complicated than it used to be. I think, if I'm reading the op correctly, that they feel similarly. It isn't that it is impossible, just more complicated. Some people enjoy the additional planning, some don't. Neither is wrong.

 

[PurpleKomodo]

I think most parents, myself included, understand that you have to make choices on vacations. We just got back from Niagara Falls where my nephews experienced a really cool reenactment at Ft Niagara. We didn't go, we took DD to the falls themselves instead because the canon balls and muskets firing would not have gone over well, and she's really just too little for the experience.

The great part about Disney has always been that we didn't have to make those same types of choices. We experienced what we wanted as adults, and we were still doing Dd activities as well. Can we still do that? Yeah, I'm not saying its impossible. It isn't as easy as it used to be at wdw, though. The pre-planning and the tiers, primarily (for us) have made it more complicated than it used to be. I think, if I'm reading the op correctly, that they feel similarly. It isn't that it is impossible, just more complicated. Some people enjoy the additional planning, some don't. Neither is wrong.

Yes. This is what I was getting at. One of the things that made WDW special was that there are things for everyone. We are still able to do a lot, but it seems like I am having to make those choices more than I used to and it kind of stinks.

 

[smiths02]

Okay friends. I try not to complain too much, but after experiencing FP+ for the first time, I feel that it is working against one of the main philosophies behind Disney World. Disney wanted families to be able to do things together and for Disney to be fun for everyone in the family. I feel like FP+ is working against that ideal. Here's why:

When planning my FP+ reservations, I frequently had to choose between things that DH and I wanted to do and things that were mainly for DS (2.5). I had to ask myself, is it okay to not get a FP+ to meet Cinderella and Rapunzel for DS even though he loves them so DH and I could ride BTMRR or Splash Mountain? We were lucky enough to get a 4th FP for those princesses, but only one so DH took DS and I waited outside. Same with Ariel. At HS, we had to choose TSMM for our tier 1 FP. We thought maybe we would ride RnR single rider, but it was unfortunately down for a large part of the day so when it came back up, even the single rider line was seriously long. I honestly felt that we constantly had to choose between stuff for us and stuff for him. And sometimes our group had to split up to make things happen. I am always willing to do whatever will make my kiddo's vacation magical, but it is my vacation too. We don't get to go more often than every 3-4 years, so we try to make the most of the time we are there. I can only imagine the agony of families with kids big enough to ride big rides and littler guys (which will likely be us by the next trip). Having to choose between FP+ for the taller people and the smaller is really difficult.

Anyone else have this sentiment? Any tips on balancing it out?

I honestly think you are blaming FP+ for what is the problem with vacationing at Disney with a little one.
As others stated, you could have planned it with riderswap.
DH could have FP+ for 7DMT, BTMRR and Space
You could have FP+ for Splash, Cinderella (and something else your 2 year old likes to do)

Yes, you would be split up for the mountains (but that would have happened anyhow without FP+).

So actually, with RiderSwap, the adults in a family potentially have an advantage...you could have done 7DMT, BTMRR, Space AND Splash with only 3 FP+

The tiering problem applies equally to families.

 

[JoshuaShaw]

Yes. This is what I was getting at. One of the things that made WDW special was that there are things for everyone. We are still able to do a lot, but it seems like I am having to make those choices more than I used to and it kind of stinks.

And to expand on that, making the choices so far in advance.

Maybe two months before your vacation your child thinks he/she is up for Splash Mountain, so you book your FP+. Two months later you get to the park and now your child sees the ride and shrinks away in fear, but it's much more difficult to swap your FP+ because now so many of the FPs have been gobbled up months in advance.

Oh well, it's probably the guest's fault for not looking up ride videos on Youtube.

 

[smiths02]

DH skipped BTMRR and 7DMT and I skipped Space this time because we just didn't want to ride alone (our older son wasn't up for more than one ride on those) or take the time out when we could have been doing something altogether (with our twins). FP+ made no difference one way or the other in that.

 

[nduckles]

Yeah, it's just different for those of us that have been doing Disney for many, many years. I'm a planner and that has always resulted in great vacations for us. But the planning that is required these days is even too much for me. It's become quite the competition. On the plus side, I'm glad my days of waiting forever on the phone for reservations has yielded to my having more control on-line. But I'm not a fan of the FP+ system so far. On another plus side, now that my three kids are older (and this coming vacation in October will be just me, DH and DD who is 16) we have MUCH more flexibility in hours and schedule and eating options, etc. And no more tantrums due to no naps.

 

[smiths02]

And to expand on that, making the choices so far in advance.

Maybe two months before your vacation your child thinks he/she is up for Splash Mountain, so you book your FP+. Two months later you get to the park and now your child sees the ride and shrinks away in fear, but it's much more difficult to swap your FP+ because now so many of the FPs have been gobbled up months in advance.

Oh well, it's probably the guest's fault for not looking up ride videos on Youtube.

This happened to me with the old FP system. Got FP for Test Track...DS got scared after seeing it, had to give away our FPs (DH wasn't there at the time).

 

[nduckles]

Yeah, it's just different for those of us that have been doing Disney for many, many years. I'm a planner and that has always resulted in great vacations for us. But the planning that is required these days is even too much for me. It's become quite the competition. On the plus side, I'm glad my days of waiting forever on the phone for reservations has yielded to my having more control on-line. But I'm not a fan of the FP+ system so far. On another plus side, now that my three kids are older (and this coming vacation in October will be just me, DH and DD who is 16) we have MUCH more flexibility in hours and schedule and eating options, etc. And no more tantrums due to no naps.

 

[smiths02]

And to expand on that, making the choices so far in advance.

Maybe two months before your vacation your child thinks he/she is up for Splash Mountain, so you book your FP+. Two months later you get to the park and now your child sees the ride and shrinks away in fear, but it's much more difficult to swap your FP+ because now so many of the FPs have been gobbled up months in advance.

Oh well, it's probably the guest's fault for not looking up ride videos on Youtube.

We had that happen to us with FP+ as well. We just swapped to something else. It really wasn't a big deal.

Honestly, there isn't a lot of competition for the rides that really little kids (or less daring kids) want. A&E and TSMM are really the only problems for that group. The are expanding TSMM.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I honestly think you are blaming FP+ for what is the problem with vacationing at Disney with a little one.

We took Dd to wdw at 8 months and 15 months, both of those trips being before fp+ was fully rolled out. We stay at sog, so only had access to legacy on those trips.
We did not feel like these choices had to be made on those trips. We got fps for headliners and rode secondary attractions while we waited. Now many of those secondary attractions have fp+ as well, and the crowd flow overall is different.

It is an adjustment to touring that has to be made. It is what it is, it isn't going anywhere, but it is different. Some love it more, some feel its the same, some are eh, some hate it. All of those feelings are valid.

 

[smiths02]

We took Dd to wdw at 8 months and 15 months, both of those trips being before fp+ was fully rolled out. We stay at sog, so only had access to legacy on those trips.
We did not feel like these choices had to be made on those trips. We got fps for headliners and rode secondary attractions while we waited. Now many of those secondary attractions have fp+ as well, and the crowd flow overall is different.

It is an adjustment to touring that has to be made. It is what it is, it isn't going anywhere, but it is different. Some love it more, some feel its the same, some are eh, some hate it. All of those feelings are valid.

I'm just not understanding where FP+ is worse for families specifically?
Or is this just another I don't like FP+ thread?

 

[mom2rtk]

I may be in the minority here, but I haven't noticed FP+ significantly affecting the standby line adversely. A&E would've had a huge line without the FP capabilities, meaning most of us wouldn't have ever had the chance to meet them. The only reason we met Rapunzel when she was in the area where Merida now resides was because my wife literally sprinted back there at rope drop.

It doesn't matter if a given line has gotten longer or not. The big impact comes when you have to ride things by standby that you previously used to be able to ride by fastpass (Because of tiering, limit and 3 or no repeats). Your daily wait total jumps exponentially when you move rides from fastpass to standby.

 

[mom2rtk]

And to expand on that, making the choices so far in advance.

Maybe two months before your vacation your child thinks he/she is up for Splash Mountain, so you book your FP+. Two months later you get to the park and now your child sees the ride and shrinks away in fear, but it's much more difficult to swap your FP+ because now so many of the FPs have been gobbled up months in advance.

Oh well, it's probably the guest's fault for not looking up ride videos on Youtube.

I feel for parents of kids at the age where they may or may not be brave enough to ride a certain ride. Under legacy, if they chickened out on Space, you just grabbed FPs for Buzz next. But when FPs are more limited, it becomes a lot more complicated. Each FP takes on a new level of importance.

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm just not understanding where FP+ is worse for families specifically?
Or is this just another I don't like FP+ thread?

Pretty much. But for many change is hard. Especially when with it comes a lot of pre-planning.

 

[smiths02]

I feel for parents of kids at the age where they may or may not be brave enough to ride a certain ride. Under legacy, if they chickened out on Space, you just grabbed FPs for Buzz next. But when FPs are more limited, it becomes a lot more complicated. Each FP takes on a new level of importance.

We went in June, a crowded time, we did just grab another FP or we rode something that didn't have a huge line. IASW, Philharmagic, Tea Cups, Haunted Mansion, Monsters Inc, Dumbo, Aladdin Carpets were all pretty much walk-ons...we even waited for the Speedway once, it was 10-15 minutes.

 

[juliekzp]

Maybe we could create a separate forum for FP+ complaints and keep this one for advice and ideas.

And FWIW, I have three kids with diverging interests, and sometimes we split up, and with a little planning, it's totally doable with FP+. It's also easy to change plans on the fly, except for the most popular rides, which I'm happy to have scheduled in advance so I don't have to worry about line lengths or what FP return time I might get.

 

[dkrauss]

While I don't think it specifically affects families, we found that it does make it difficult for groups - even small groups - who opt not to link their accounts. We met up with different friends several times last year and when we tried to get FPs on the day, the system offered each account a different selection. Short story: it was always impossible to get FPs to do something together. We just found a lot of planning and co-ordination was needed well in advance if we wanted to do anything and missed the days when everyone present could go to a FP machine together and pull out FPs to ride something together.

We'll be facing this issue during our Jan 2016 trip, which will be our first with a group. It'll be an interesting test. Primarily because we've got at least two family trips coming after that......it'll help prep for those trips. My wife and I tend to go just the two of us (we're well beyond the children years ) so FP+ has never been an issue at any level. We've never had trouble removing and changing our choices.

Doug

 

[minnie mum]

Yes. This is what I was getting at. One of the things that made WDW special was that there are things for everyone. We are still able to do a lot, but it seems like I am having to make those choices more than I used to and it kind of stinks.

Perhaps I misunderstood your first post, but isn't this your first trip with your child? Touring the parks as 2 adults is a whole different ball game than touring as a family. Priorities have to shift. The good news is that once your child I'd tall enough to meet the various height requirements, these priorities will start shifting back to the ridesYOU most enjoy. In the meantime, welcome to the wonderful world of living with a young child.

Now I am NOT a fan of FP. To the point that we are greatly reducing the frequency and duration of visits in the future. But I think the primary issue you are facing is the shifting priorities caused by your child. This would be the same whether you were using FP+ or FP-. Now, not liking the hoops you need to jump thru to get the FPs you want, and having to deal with longer standby lines, THAT I can totally understand.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

I'm just not understanding where FP+ is worse for families specifically?
Or is this just another I don't like FP+ thread?

The fact that they could only get one FP for the princess meet which the really wanted to do for their daughter so only one parent gets to go experience this is just sad. I'm sure that the same thing happened to someone else so they just magically found an extra FP as they were walking to the line of when they got there the line was suddenly only ten minutes but I don't think that's reality for 99.9% of the visitors.

 

[tlmadden73]

Not to be harsh, but it just seems like you are upset at the FP+ system in general and that you can't "maximize" its use.

I think people look at FP+ all wrong. Instead of looking at being "entitled" to skip as many lines as you can .. look at it as a free bonus or perk (just like the old paper system). You don't LOSE anything if you can't make a fast pass as efficient as possible besides some time. It's not like you are paying extra for it.

I think it works GREAT for families .... especially for ones with young kids like a 2.5 year old who are usually not very patient when it comes to WAITING.
I went to Disney in October with my son (who was almost 2.5) .. I got Fast Passes for anything I thought HE wanted to ride. That's it. The trip was for him.
I knew we couldn't go on the mountains so I wasn't even concerned about those Fast Passes.

But you know what? BECAUSE of FP+ .. I got to skip the lines on SIX attractions on our MK day. Buzz, Mermaid, Jungle Cruise, Aladdin, Small World, Peter Pan. My son was happy as the longest lines he had to wait in was to see characters and Dumbo. Was it efficient? Probably not .. but I didn't care and we had a good time because I didn't have a cranky boy on my hand who was bored of standing in a line for 30+ minutes or bored waiting for one of us to come off a ride he couldn't get on.

My advice is pick your FP's on the "smaller" people so they don't have to wait .. and have the taller (more patient) people wait in the standby lines (or do Rider Swap) .. even IF they are long.

You can't skip ALL the lines.

Look at it this way .. the time saved standing in one line (together) is timed save that you can now spend on waiting in line at another attraction.
Disney isn't forcing you to break up your fast passes. You are trying to do that to "maximize" them.