Great, Another FP+ Post

[Csaks]

First time I have done this in .... 4... 5 years (depending how you count them) ... I just put in a request for a quote from a TA for the last 4 or 5 days of our upcoming planned WDW vacation in May ...

We haven't been to Universal in 5 years ... but ... with how stuff has been going at WDW ... its looking like it might be a solid option.

Three was enough for us

I won't lie, our family prefers the experience at Universal now. We don't go for more than 3 nights and it isn't the same as Disney, but they don't try to be. What Universal has held strong to is that too much is not a good thing. Yes they built a new "value" resort, but they did not give that resort FOTL. They have kept that contained to the 3 onsite hotels or the number they sell. Add to that the resorts are far nicer than anything on Disney property and much more reasonably priced.

I think that makes a difference in the attitude of the guests as well. Everyone there knows exactly what they were willing to pay for a particular experience so there is no sense of competition to see who can get the most above everyone else.

The Universal employees reflect that - way less stressed out than Disney, but the guests always seem way less stressed out. Obviously this is our personal experience, but it comes from a family who has been on these boards since 2000, DVC since 2002 and multiple trips per year since 1998. Not to say anything except - we've been going to Disney for a long enough time to see all the ups and downs and changes.

Three days of a 14 day trip, sad to say Universal was the highlight. There was no stress compared to WDW.
The one thing that pissed me off was one night we were looking to eat (TS) at MK. Standing outside the front door of Liberty tree and a opening came up for 2 on the app. Had problems with the app to grab it, need the CC and we didn't have it on us. So I figured I'd walk into the restaurant with the opening on the screen. Do you think the Castmembers at the desk could help us? LOL Not a chance, kept insisting we had to go through the app even though we were standing right there. Go figure that one out.

 

[Suvadoo]

Three was enough for us



Three days of a 14 day trip, sad to say Universal was the highlight. There was no stress compared to WDW.
The one thing that pissed me off was one night we were looking to eat (TS) at MK. Standing outside the front door of Liberty tree and a opening came up for 2 on the app. Had problems with the app to grab it, need the CC and we didn't have it on us. So I figured I'd walk into the restaurant with the opening on the screen. Do you think the Castmembers at the desk could help us? LOL Not a chance, kept insisting we had to go through the app even though we were standing right there. Go figure that one out.

This is the type of stuff that I find flabbergasting or should I say gobsmacking? I'm wondering why they even have CM's at the host stand. They could put large numbers on all of the tables and guests could check in through the app and obtain their seat assignments.
Why didn't the people at the hostess desk find a way to help you out, rather than sending you to a Kiosk? Wasn't there anything else they could've done, like call a manager? This is a perfect example of poor guest service. Even if someone had called a manager and the answer was the same, at least you would've felt someone was at least trying to help you.
Despite MDE being glitchy, the Disney employees treat it like it is always accurate and available. They force guests to comply with the MDE dogma.

 

[anna08]

OP, you summed up our sentiments exactly. We've tried the new FP+ twice now, except the second time added one day at Universal in the midst. Universal was like a breath of fresh air, or should I say, like a breath of the old pixie dust. Reminded us of the WDW we knew and loved in the past. Friendly, experienced, eager to help CMs, laughing when we got off rides instead of all reaching to get our iPhones and burying our noses in an often faulty stress-inducing app, and just a sense of freedom. All four adults in the group were really impressed and so happy to have that old feeling back, therefore it spread to our kids. Wow, what a day we had!

Much of our WDW had been about that sense of exploration and spontaneity - "whichever bus comes first is the park today" is now gone. Even just the 10 minutes of excitement about waiting to see what would arrive was fun! We had confidence that no matter which one it was, we were going to have fun because we could trust Disney to provide that everywhere. Not so now. Crowds are depressing. Food is disappointing. ADRs come with fines if you can't get there. There is just an overlying stress of whether the plans for the day (which someone had to spend a significant amount of time making) will actually all happen as anticipated. Riding a favorite ride more than once is pretty much out of question.

So our next Florida trip is Universal only, staying there onsite. We'll spend money for sure, but it won't be at WDW. Based on the recent stats, WDW won't miss us, and based on their priorities, they really don't seem to care. I have to believe there are more out there like us - the seasoned, longterm WDW veteran who has proven to be a great customer, but is now no longer happy with their experience and ready to take their quest for relaxing fun and adventure elsewhere. I no longer view WDW as the place where I would just want to sit on a bench and just take in the environment when I'm older and unable to ride the rides, just because I loved the parks. Makes me sad.

 

[wisblue]

The one thing that pissed me off was one night we were looking to eat (TS) at MK. Standing outside the front door of Liberty tree and a opening came up for 2 on the app. Had problems with the app to grab it, need the CC and we didn't have it on us. So I figured I'd walk into the restaurant with the opening on the screen. Do you think the Castmembers at the desk could help us? LOL Not a chance, kept insisting we had to go through the app even though we were standing right there. Go figure that one out.

My daughter worked at LTT for a while as a seating hostess, and she told me once that the reservation system that they can access at the restaurant is not the same as what guests see through the website or app. If I understood her right, it is possible that those CMs really were unable to help you, not unwilling to help you. I'll have to ask her about that.

 

[psherman42]

Three was enough for us
Three days of a 14 day trip, sad to say Universal was the highlight. There was no stress compared to WDW.
The one thing that pissed me off was one night we were looking to eat (TS) at MK. Standing outside the front door of Liberty tree and a opening came up for 2 on the app. Had problems with the app to grab it, need the CC and we didn't have it on us. So I figured I'd walk into the restaurant with the opening on the screen. Do you think the Castmembers at the desk could help us? LOL Not a chance, kept insisting we had to go through the app even though we were standing right there. Go figure that one out.

Can you elaborate on this more? What did the CM say? What time was the reservation for and when were you there? I'm seasonal at LTT and used to be full time and am trying to figure this one.

 

[jahber]

My daughter worked at LTT for a while as a seating hostess, and she told me once that the reservation system that they can access at the restaurant is not the same as what guests see through the website or app. If I understood her right, it is possible that those CMs really were unable to help you, not unwilling to help you. I'll have to ask her about that.

I think the PP wasn't really upset that the CMs *wouldn't* help her, but that, as you said, they *couldn't* help her even if they wanted to. The whole MDE/ADR system is ridiculous. I can never find tables at logical eating times. Once I booked a reservation at Kona for two hours later than I wanted because that was all that was available. I went in a full hour early because I was starving and thought I'd see if they could squeeze us in a little early. 3/4 of the tables were empty. And the hostess seated me and my friend right away because there were plenty of available tables! But there were no reservations available. And yet a walk up could be seated right away. It's absurd. And frustrating.

 

[lustergirl]

I love to plan
When I get there I know we can do the things we want and I can relax.
I hate to get to the last half of the week and realize we can’t get it all done because we slept in.
I can stay home and sleep for a lot less money.
Nothing irritates me more than to miss something because we didn't plan for it.
I plan no matter where we go on vacation. Heck, I did that when we went to Aulani and there are no park rides there!

The lines may be long but guess what…..they always have been.

I have several friends who went 5+- years ago and swear they will never go again because it was too crowded.
Maybe they picked the wrong time of year
Maybe Disney was running a ‘free-dining’ special
Maybe they didn't do any research to see what park to visit on what day
But it wasn't because of FP+ because it wasn't around!

Whatever Disney is doing, they are filling the parks. It is a business and that IS their goal.

I think of selecting FP+ as making any ADR. You have to plan what park you want to be in and go from there. I like the planning that goes along with it.

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

I think of selecting FP+ as making any ADR. You have to plan what park you want to be in and go from there. I like the planning that goes along with it.

I plan any vacation that lasts more than one day ! Not just Disney but Wisconsin, Michigan, California, Hawaii and Canada ! Boggles my mind those who say they need to plan every last second of a WDW vacation..........NO you don't ! I always leave some down time but I guess those people would just call that "planning" down time

 

[Csaks]

Can you elaborate on this more? What did the CM say? What time was the reservation for and when were you there? I'm seasonal at LTT and used to be full time and am trying to figure this one.

It was 6pm, decided at the last minute to try to get something in MK, TS for two. Liberty Tree came up for an opening at 6:40pm on the app. Tried to get it but it needed my CC to book. Problem was my CC was back in the safe because I had it on my MB. We were now just outside the restaurant so we figured lets just go in and grab it from the host/hostess. Now let me say this, they were great during the whole interaction BUT the system at the time would not allow them to get it for us. Basically the impression I was getting was that they would love to help us but their hands were tied. I don't know why and were told thats how it is now. True or not that was what we were told then and they couldn't book it. As others have said it makes no sense if those in the lobby of the restaurant can't help customers, whats the point? The other option was to sit and wait and hope someone didn't show up.
This was the last day of the trip and by that point I was just frustrated with the system as a whole and we just said to heck with it and left MK and went back to CBR and had a great TS there.
All in all the system has potential. The bands replacing the KTTK card is a great idea, way easier to use and keep track of. It's too bad there isn't a way to incorporate the spontaneity for those of us that don't want to plan everything to the minute. I wish I had the answer.

 

[mom2rtk]

It was 6pm, decided at the last minute to try to get something in MK, TS for two. Liberty Tree came up for an opening at 6:40pm on the app. Tried to get it but it needed my CC to book. Problem was my CC was back in the safe because I had it on my MB. We were now just outside the restaurant so we figured lets just go in and grab it from the host/hostess. Now let me say this, they were great during the whole interaction BUT the system at the time would not allow them to get it for us. Basically the impression I was getting was that they would love to help us but their hands were tied. I don't know why and were told thats how it is now. True or not that was what we were told then and they couldn't book it. As others have said it makes no sense if those in the lobby of the restaurant can't help customers, whats the point? The other option was to sit and wait and hope someone didn't show up.
This was the last day of the trip and by that point I was just frustrated with the system as a whole and we just said to heck with it and left MK and went back to CBR and had a great TS there.
All in all the system has potential. The bands replacing the KTTK card is a great idea, way easier to use and keep track of. It's too bad there isn't a way to incorporate the spontaneity for those of us that don't want to plan everything to the minute. I wish I had the answer.

That is absolutely ridiculous.

 

[psherman42]

It was 6pm, decided at the last minute to try to get something in MK, TS for two. Liberty Tree came up for an opening at 6:40pm on the app. Tried to get it but it needed my CC to book. Problem was my CC was back in the safe because I had it on my MB. We were now just outside the restaurant so we figured lets just go in and grab it from the host/hostess. Now let me say this, they were great during the whole interaction BUT the system at the time would not allow them to get it for us. Basically the impression I was getting was that they would love to help us but their hands were tied. I don't know why and were told thats how it is now. True or not that was what we were told then and they couldn't book it. As others have said it makes no sense if those in the lobby of the restaurant can't help customers, whats the point? The other option was to sit and wait and hope someone didn't show up.
This was the last day of the trip and by that point I was just frustrated with the system as a whole and we just said to heck with it and left MK and went back to CBR and had a great TS there.
All in all the system has potential. The bands replacing the KTTK card is a great idea, way easier to use and keep track of. It's too bad there isn't a way to incorporate the spontaneity for those of us that don't want to plan everything to the minute. I wish I had the answer.

I hate to be that person who brings back a REALLY old thread and you may have gotten your answer by now, but I figured I'd reply anyway. While I was at LTT, we had plenty of people come in saying that they had seen a reservation on the app but for one reason or another (Didn't have a CC, the app just wasn't letting them, etc..) they were unable to book it so they wanted to see what we could do for them. The system we use to book reservations in the restaurants does not let us book within the hour, which seems to be the problem that you ran into. That may seem silly, and it probably is but unfortunately, that's how it is. So while I'm sure the Cast Member you talked to wanted to help you, there probably wasn't anything they could do. The only alternative would have been to check you in as a walk in, but like you said, that would have depended on how we were doing with our reservations and whether we had no shows. And 6:40 was usually right in the middle of the dinner rush so walk ins at that time were rare .

 

[bcrook]

My daughter worked at LTT for a while as a seating hostess, and she told me once that the reservation system that they can access at the restaurant is not the same as what guests see through the website or app. If I understood her right, it is possible that those CMs really were unable to help you, not unwilling to help you. I'll have to ask her about that.

Then Disney needs to fix it. They like fixing things. Make the system more accommodating.

 

[Sandy Fisher]

Can't add much to what's already been said. We started going to Disney in 1982 and went regularly as our boys were growing up and then on our own as adults. Lived nearby for 5 years. Had annual passes and loved it. Didn't like the sounds of fastpass plus when I first read about it online. We went last May (2014) and that was sadly probably our last trip to FL just for Disney. We moved back up north and I wouldn't go through the hassle now that we don't live close by and can pick and choose our times to go. I'm glad lots of people are taking advantage of all the "planning". We didn't plan unless someone was coming down for a visit and wanted to do particular things. You can have your ADRs and your fastpass windows, etc. We never did it that way. Did what we loved most and enjoyed it for many years. It makes me sad to think we're pretty much done with the Disney parks. There was much that we enjoyed even at our age.

 

[Ladyfish77]

Well it's definitely true you didn't have to plan this much before. Our old style of "planning" was, hey, lets go to WDW. Make a hotel reservation and that was all the planning I did. Didn't look at any websites for crowd levels or anything. We would get there and buy tickets, then go to whatever park we wanted and send one person off with all the cards to get a FP for a ride. Everyone else went on some other ride. Did we wait in some long lines? Yes. Did we expect to wait in long lines? Yes. When I see the lines listed now, it doesn't really seem like they were any longer than before (except for A&E and 7DMT). I've waited an hour in line for a ride at WDW. I've skipped others with what I decided was too long to wait for said attraction.

I have planned more for this upcoming vacation than ever before because I got FD and for the first time ever we are doing some TS restaurants. Before, we always did QS and yes, waited in lines for that too. I don't have enough repeated experiences (we don't go every year or more than once in a year) to determine if it's better or worse. Guess I'll find out in October!

 

[epcotty]

Agreed FP+ was better last year...but I think that's because it was not fully implemented yet so there was a lot more availability.

It was still a mix of both so not everyone had access to FP+ or even new about it.
Most were still using FP-

And yes..the parks seem just busier...Free dining..jersey week...Veterans Day...Disney also sent out a lot of pins and had a lot of discounts..they know how to fill the parks

As a solo traveler FP+ was not all that bad...it's much easier to get a FP+ for yourself then a group of three or four.

For example the wait for HM was 30 minutes..I was able to get an immediate FP+
Same with several rides.

In Epcot I was able to get Sorin almost immediately (well 30 minutes from then)..even though there were no FP+ available according to the staff.

The biggest issue I see is they ended the testing way too soon and rolled it out before it was ready.
The app is down for days at time.
There are far to few Kiosks and many are closed until later in the day.
The lines at the kiosks are not being manged for the most part..it is a free for all
You cant get rides at different parks in advance or at the kiosks.
The kiosks need an option to show what is available by time..right now it is just alphabetical..to you have to click on each ride and see the time...I want to see what is available now.
The tier system is a joke.

Regardless of what they say..not everyone is aware of it or using it..and they are not aware that you have to get up a midnight 60 days in advance to book a ride.

A friend of mine just went and could not use it at all because he was not getting his tickets until he showed up in Orlando..I'm sure quite a few folks are in that situation..they are getting discounted tickets that they have to pick up or when they check into a hotel etc..
So basically by the time he got his tickets he was not able to FP+ anything good


The days of having a vacation and just going with the flow and deciding what park to go to when the bus shows up are gone.

I feel I have to put a lot more work into planning than before which I feel tired of now. It's supposed to be a vacation. I think regular FP was a lot better, at least it was a lot easier to use and didn't have the problems of FP+ as mentioned earlier

 

[Murron]

I actually have pictures of the walk around the Epcot World Showcase with no people in the middle of the day. Sigh. We are very old timers, attending when MK first opened and then buying the first timeshare in 1992 (now Old Key West) and adding since. That being said, the creation of "events" in what use to be the slow and less crowded seasons (Sept/Oct) has really impacted our desire to continually go back. Now add the lack of spontaneity and the deal was sealed. This year we intend to use up the annual pass and move on. We'll keep our DVC for Hilton Head or Vero Beach. We may even actually use the Disney resorts, but go to Universal and/or Seaworld or shop at outlets during the day. I'm actually surprised we hung in there this long! I cannot tell you how many people come to me because of our Disney experience wanting to plan a last minute vacation and I just laugh and tell them, go to Universal or on a nice river cruise!

 

[mommycrawford]

OP, I absolutely agree that the "magic" has been murdered by the need to micromanage everything! (I started a similar thread and got a lot of growls) Luckily, my DD turned 16 this year, so lowered expectations are not as disappointing to her.

I think we will be going to Europe instead in future, and your encouraging words about Universal may make us do a quick conversion, as we have never been there!

I have spoken to some of the entertainment cast members, and their work schedules have also been made what I would deem torturous!...That is very alarming to me when the revenues seem to be increasing for the shareholders.