Has Anyone Thought of "It" This Way?

[DreamSweetsLove]

So the question becomes, will they find a way to stop AP holders from booking a few headliners every weekend "just in case". I am genuinely curious how Disney plans to handle this. It will be an even bigger issue if/when they decide to roll out some version of FP+ for DLR where the AP base is a much greater portion of their daily attendance.

I'm a bit embarrassed to say this was my first thought regarding FP+ and APs since our home resort TDR is also a local's resort. There is no way there won't be a limit because it's a really easy way to abuse the system. What would there be to stop someone from reserving headline FP everyday? would there be a penalty for not using it? If there is a penalty would there be an ok cancellation period. For local's *unlimited* FP+ would be pretty great! The 10 extra days for people staying on property will help but I can't help thinking it would still throw off the system for normal guests though...

 

[PeterPanic]

WARNING: Another FP+ thread, but this question is short and simple.

With all the negativity directing toward FP+, I'm left to wonder if anyone remembers the initial anticipation and reaction to the original FASTPASS (you know, the one that everyone wishes would stay). Does anyone else remember the original "death of spontaneity at WDW"? Well, fourteen years later, we've learned how to use the system to our advantage and we're begging for it to stay. Could history repeat itself with FP+? Personally, I feel that sometimes it's appropriate to have some "blind confidence". Not necessarily saying that I'm excited, but I'm reserving judgement until things get rolling. Thoughts?

Not all of us! I loathe the day that they came out with FP and nothing has happened to change my mind. Disney no longer has to design queues that told the pre-story because everyone was running to get through the area via Fastpass. Doing that made it quicker, maybe, but they lost a valuable and memorable part of the experience. Now they can just put up normal switchback lines with nothing but pipes separating the rows. Toy Story has a tremendously creative queue that no one sees and those that do, see the same thing for incredible amounts of time because their line is not moving.

From everything I have seen or can guess will happen, this is going to hurt both the casual FP user and even the avid FP user. My guess is that FP+ will make it more complicated, limit the number of FP's available and on top of the rest of the stuff that people like myself felt were bad involving FP will now be cranked up and made worse. Not looking forward to it at all. Now that doesn't mean that I have judged it before it happened, but they have given no reason for me to think that it will be an improvement.

 

[rschaen]

At the risk of flames I kind of cant wait.

The death of spontaneity happened for us a long time ago. Having to arrive at rope drop and zig zagging and back tracking all over the park in June heat with three kids ain't exactly spontaneous. If we get 3 rides done its a big deal. However 3 seems a bit low for a lot of people and I understand the opposition.

Problem with that, as I see it, is that we all have the same plan, lol! Everyone is over the sb waits and absence of fp for TSMM, let alone the crazy dash in the am after arriving extra early. That is the one and only scenario where I think fpp sounds awesome. Tsmm is a real pain! Just curious, what are some other strategies that you all are plotting of you have to make due with 3 passes/1 park?

 

[mom2rtk]

Problem with that, as I see it, is that we all have the same plan, lol! Everyone is over the sb waits and absence of fp for TSMM, let alone the crazy dash in the am after arriving extra early. That is the one and only scenario where I think fpp sounds awesome. Tsmm is a real pain! Just curious, what are some other strategies that you all are plotting of you have to make due with 3 passes/1 park?

Ditch the hoppers. Travel during party season and schedule one party to just ride the headliners.

 

[Rowanonfire]

The people worrying about getting headliners are being crazy. It will be EASY to get FPs probably for weeks into the 60 day window. Just like you can get FPs for many rides all day at the moment. There's still gonna be tons of people who don't get FP like there is now too. The ride capacity will be the same.

On the day FPs are another issue but nobody knows how that will work yet, but I would imagine there's gonna be plenty of people who book a FP and never turn up, thus creating availability.

 

[B.B. Sots]

And whatever you do try not to hyperventilate!

Too Late...

I was there the year that FP was rolled out... I just remember my initial confusion, followed by the "This is COOL" response after I figured it out. Then Human nature kicked in and whenever I saw the same confused look I had when I first used it, I would help the other people figure it out.

I am on the fence with the change.. only thing I will REALLY miss is giving our unused FP tickets to a family coming into the park as we are leaving.. the smile that act gives is part of the magic of the parks.

*The only constant is change*

 

[rschaen]

Ditch the hoppers. Travel during party season and schedule one party to just ride the headliners.

Ahhh...so your suggestion is to use the hopper $$ for a party ticket. Hmmm. Good idea in theory, but personally, i would be frustrated to not feel like we could come and go to all/any parks at will. Love my hoppers and the flexibility they give us. But you are right about parties being great time to ride! How do you drag your kid out of the candy lines, though, lol?

 

[mom2rtk]

Ahhh...so your suggestion is to use the hopper $$ for a party ticket. Hmmm. Good idea in theory, but personally, i would be frustrated to not feel like we could come and go to all/any parks at will. Love my hoppers and the flexibility they give us. But you are right about parties being great time to ride! How do you drag your kid out of the candy lines, though, lol?

We don't typically hop anyway, so for us it works. And we'd be doing the party at least one other night for the party elements. I would just add an extras for ride access only.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I'm a bit embarrassed to say this was my first thought regarding FP+ and APs since our home resort TDR is also a local's resort. There is no way there won't be a limit because it's a really easy way to abuse the system. What would there be to stop someone from reserving headline FP everyday? would there be a penalty for not using it? If there is a penalty would there be an ok cancellation period. For local's *unlimited* FP+ would be pretty great! The 10 extra days for people staying on property will help but I can't help thinking it would still throw off the system for normal guests though...

Big time rumor. In fact that one will probably go down in the annals of DIS history. No word right now that I am aware of that there are any limits on APs. Some have speculated that maybe they will penalize AP holders who abuse but that's just a hope/guess. And there would still be nothing against making FP+ reservations for every weekend and just canceling them in time every week (as many do with ADRs).

I knew it was a rumor and didn't come from Disney, I just didn't know if it was one of those "reliable" rumors from the people who allegedly work there or have inside connections or whatever

Anyway, well, if that's the case, and local AP holders can do that, that should throw a really nice kink into the system, especially for weekends I would think?

Assuming they keep the 60 day FP booking, and the 45 day cancellation, back to my previous comment, a lot of people (me lol) are just going to book their vacations, see what rides they can get at 60 days, and then cancel if they aren't satisfied. Good luck with that Disney.

 

[rschaen]

We don't typically hop anyway, so for us it works. And we'd be doing the party at least one other night for the party elements. I would just add an extras for ride access only.

It's nice to have the experience to know what works best for us, but our knowledge took a lot of trial and error to get right, right? I guess that's why i am anxious about the new system. It scares me that we might have to start from scratch in order to get the hang of it whereas we have completely conquered the right way to tour (for us) using the old way. This doesn't mean that i don't think the new system won't be awesome, it's just a huge bummer to be ahead of the curb one day then back to the drawing board the next. I imagine we all have experienced or at least heard about first trips that were miserable due to lack of experience. I highly resent those who suggest that i and other posters have no basis to our anxieties. WdW is too expensive to not do right and to be "locked" into a system trial without having any experience or the ability to opt out if it's not right for you is a legitimate concern. Every person on here has had an experience after which they've said, "We're never doing that again!" And then they've adapted. Just think, what if you had to ride Stitch every day of your trip, lol?!!! ;P

 

[mom2rtk]

It's nice to have the experience to know what works best for us, but our knowledge took a lot of trial and error to get right, right? I guess that's why i am anxious about the new system. It scares me that we might have to start from scratch in order to get the hang of it whereas we have completely conquered the right way to tour (for us) using the old way. This doesn't mean that i don't think the new system won't be awesome, it's just a huge bummer to be ahead of the curb one day then back to the drawing board the next. I imagine we all have experienced or at least heard about first trips that were miserable due to lack of experience. I highly resent those who suggest that i and other posters have no basis to our anxieties. WdW is too expensive to not do right and to be "locked" into a system trial without having any experience or the ability to opt out if it's not right for you is a legitimate concern. Every person on here has had an experience after which they've said, "We're never doing that again!" And then they've adapted. Just think, what if you had to ride Stitch every day of your trip, lol?!!! ;P

I love going with the tried and true. But if I thought I might benefit, I would be willing to try something different. I have looked this over up one side and down the other. And I see no way we will come out of it able to do even close to what we did previously in a typical park day. So for me it's a loss. I don't care if the new system saves me some footsteps in the park. I'm always willing to take those footsteps to do more in the very limited time we have. Basically they are rationing rides and asking me to be happy about it because I get a magicband and don't have to run across the park for fastpasses. I'd rather have more ride access. For me, it's as simple as that.

I included the suggestion of adding a party for ride access not because I think it will cure anything, but merely because it is sort of a last resort way to get access to the rides we would love to do over and over. Unfortunately, that still leaves us without the ability to do Rock N Rollercoaster over and over as they have no hard ticket parties at DHS. The "funny" part is that I would gladly trade our TSMM slot for an extra RnR spot, but alas Disney apparently knows better what we should spend our slots on.

Perhaps I would feel differently if I were an AP holder and got to the parks more often. Maybe then I'd want to slow down and would be happy to settle for a few good attractions per day. Because I don't ever see myself standing in line 2 or 3 hours for anything. One hour is probably a pretty big stretch too.

 

[wdwlver]

For us I cannot see this being a net positive. We park hop, everyday so right there the idea that I will be in a park and have no access to fp while I always did in past really irks me. Also we go in July every year and it's crazy hot so utilizing fp was in every park was important.

Just happy that we have our trip next week so we will be able to do as we have always done.

 

[bcrook]

WARNING: Another FP+ thread, but this question is short and simple.

With all the negativity directing toward FP+, I'm left to wonder if anyone remembers the initial anticipation and reaction to the original FASTPASS (you know, the one that everyone wishes would stay). Does anyone else remember the original "death of spontaneity at WDW"? Well, fourteen years later, we've learned how to use the system to our advantage and we're begging for it to stay. Could history repeat itself with FP+? Personally, I feel that sometimes it's appropriate to have some "blind confidence". Not necessarily saying that I'm excited, but I'm reserving judgement until things get rolling. Thoughts?

I am still not convinced this even supposed to be a benefit to like. I still see it as a limitation of a service. It is like raising ticket prices, diminishing dining plan, cutting back on Fantasmic! shows, slicing EMH, closing attractions without adding new ones.

I completely understand how it is being spun as a new perk, but really I don't see it. Overall the system makes it more convenient for a few rides, and places limitations on many, many others.

I am in awe of the concept of the magic band though. I am stunned at how badly everybody wants them. Disney is going to make hundreds of millions off just selling them and the accessories. I couldn't care less, but my travel group of 10 for F&W can't wait to get their hands on the magic bands.

 

[Robo]

I am in awe of the concept of the magic band though. I am stunned at how badly everybody wants them... I couldn't care less...

I'm right at the same place as you on these, too.

I could not possibly care about what kind of ticket medium I'm using.

As an AP holder in the past, I gladly accepted a Tyvek card for park entry/FP/discounts and a
plastic card as a room key.

My trips were just fine.

 

[bcrook]

I'm right at the same place as you on these, too.

I could not possibly care about what kind of ticket medium I'm using.

As an AP holder in the past, I gladly accepted a Tyvek card for park entry/FP/discounts and a
plastic card as a room key.

My trips were just fine.

I would be more excited if the magicband made my discounts automatic so I wouldn't have to ask (or forget), but alas - that has been confirmed that it won't be happening.

 

[Princess Katherine]

I'm actually kind of excited about it. I like the idea. Getting ride at the Poly and taking out my device and "booking" my fast passes before I get there. At least I know I won't have to scramble to get them know. Disney is just trying to make things more stress free. I like the idea because I like to plan every detail.

Katie

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm actually kind of excited about it. I like the idea. Getting ride at the Poly and taking out my device and "booking" my fast passes before I get there. At least I know I won't have to scramble to get them know. Disney is just trying to make things more stress free. I like the idea because I like to plan every detail.

Katie

But we don't know yet if you'll be able to book them same day from the resort or if you'll have to be in the park. Even if you can book them from the resort, do you plan to get up early every morning to do so? If we're planning a "sleep in" day, that's sort of what I want to do.

 

[bluwater]

Very good point. Staying positive...

 

[Angel Ariel]

WARNING: Another FP+ thread, but this question is short and simple.

With all the negativity directing toward FP+, I'm left to wonder if anyone remembers the initial anticipation and reaction to the original FASTPASS (you know, the one that everyone wishes would stay). Does anyone else remember the original "death of spontaneity at WDW"? Well, fourteen years later, we've learned how to use the system to our advantage and we're begging for it to stay. Could history repeat itself with FP+? Personally, I feel that sometimes it's appropriate to have some "blind confidence". Not necessarily saying that I'm excited, but I'm reserving judgement until things get rolling. Thoughts?

I don't think there was quite the word of mouth about upcoming rumors and such leading into 1999 as there is today. I'm sure forums and rumors and everything existed, but I'm willing to bet it was a lot less widespread than today.

For me it's not so much about having confidence in the system as it is knowing myself. I don't want to be tied to a smartphone during my trip. I don't want to have to plan, down to the time, when I'm riding a ride two months in advance. Picking up a FP in FL and going to do something else and coming back? Sure. Deciding in July that I'm going to ride Splash Mtn at 10am on a specific date in September is an entirely different ballgame. I'm fairly type A and love my planning - but that's a bit too much,even for me.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I see nothing wrong with staying positive but I also see nothing wrong with talking about these things.

Amen. Talking about it, having concerns about it...that doesn't equal fear, IMO.