Has Anyone Thought of "It" This Way?

[andyman8]

Interesting reactions. While I will admit that the "hub bub" around the original FP was not as long-lasting or widespread as the FP+ discussion, but I vividly remember a large level of concern regarding what it would do to spontaneity, waits, and such.

Regardless, I'm not necessarily explicitly staying positive, but I am reserving judgement until we see the whole picture.

 

[mom2rtk]

Interesting reactions. While I will admit that the "hub bub" around the original FP was not as long-lasting or widespread as the FP+ discussion, but I vividly remember a large level of concern regarding what it would do to spontaneity, waits, and such.

Regardless, I'm not necessarily explicitly staying positive, but I am reserving judgement until we see the whole picture.

What was the time delay between the idea original FP being announced and the plan being implemented? I want Disney to take as long as it requires to get it as right as possible but I also think part of the issue is now long it's taking.

 

[LisaTC]

What was the time delay between the idea original FP being announced and the plan being implemented? I want Disney to take as long as it requires to get it as right as possible but I also think part of the issue is now long it's taking.

I think this is it in a nutshell. Hurry up and wait. There's so many unknowns and delays and when wills and what ifs that is drives people nuts. It's hard to get your head around it when its just kind of hanging out there.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think this is it in a nutshell. Hurry up and wait. There's so many unknowns and delays and when wills and what ifs that is drives people nuts. It's hard to get your head around it when its just kind of hanging out there.

.... especially when people are trying to plan their trips for later this year amid all that uncertainty.

 

[mom2rtk]

.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Disney is just trying to make things more stress free.

See, to me, forcing me to plan something 2 months before I ever would have thought about it is creating stress, not eliminating it. I love my planning, but I also love going with the flow at Disney. It's stressful enough dealing with ADRs.

Plus, and maybe I'm just cynical, but I highly doubt Disney is thinking about my stress level with this. There is a monetary ROI, or they wouldn't be doing it.

 

[DisneyFanSince71]

Disney said that there reasons were to get people out of line, so they could shop instead. Totally understandable.

I am in the minority thinking that Disney's plan is not get out of the original Fastpass business. It will kill their Florida business (those coming at the spur of the moment would be most disadvantaged). It would kill their hopper business. They would get a lot of terrible publicity and could cause a significant backlash and Disney has nothing new that will get many patrons to park.

So the way its been explained by DISers is that its a lose - lose. I wouldnt put it past Disney to create a "lose-win" saving money for them and take away something that the had been giving away for nothing (pre 2005 park hoppers built into tickets, daily Fantasmic). But FP+ INSTEAD of FP doesn't gain Disney a thing; it puts more people in lines and AGGREVATES their most passionate fans.

Companies who think they can do no wrong (think Apple) can see their fortunes change quickly when a lack of innovation catches up to them. So with Disney's lack of spending they had better tred carefully.

 

[Planogirl]

See, to me, forcing me to plan something 2 months before I ever would have thought about it is creating stress, not eliminating it. I love my planning, but I also love going with the flow at Disney. It's stressful enough dealing with ADRs.

Plus, and maybe I'm just cynical, but I highly doubt Disney is thinking about my stress level with this. There is a monetary ROI, or they wouldn't be doing it.

I agree. I can also see paying for fastpasses coming up later. The idea that is this is just one step of many is coming from the cynic in me.

 

[ryansstitch]

I wonder too! What will the limitations be? If there is no limitations it could seriously mess up the system but if there are too many limitations it will upset many pass holders. My parents are pass holders and while they have a vague idea that magic bands are coming they really don't keep up with the news on it. I wonder how they are going to roll out the system and educate the guests on how it works.

I'm pretty sure I heard there was a per quarter limit per park for pass holders, but this may not be the case anymore.

 

[LisaTC]

I agree. I can also see paying for fastpasses coming up later. The idea that is this is just one step of many is coming from the cynic in me.

I've said this ALL along! You will need to go to rope drop and ride standby while others are still getting around. Around noon, you will need to park hop and use your FP+ at the 2nd park or buy FP if you want to stay at the park you are in. Disney wins. You have to buy a FP or a PH...

 

[mesaboy2]

I'm pretty sure I heard there was a per quarter limit per park for pass holders, but this may not be the case anymore.

That was a widely-discussed rumor started by someone looking to stir pots.

 

[andyman8]

Two RUMORS that have recently come about:

• Segmented FP+ Availability - There are some indications that WDW might not release all FP+ reservations at the 60 day mark choosing to release a lot of them then but also saving some for the day before and day of.
• More FP+s at MK - With so many rides at MK, Disney seems to be considering moving up the allocation of FP+s from 3 to 5. Still hearing that there won't be any "groups" of rides to choose from like previous tests. This would explain (partially) that increase in price for MK.

Just wanted to share!

 

[BeerMe]

I heard that Disney has given up on FP+ and is going straight to FP++.

 

[Josh Hendy]

The old system was very simple and self-contained and also very fair and difficult to abuse as long as CMs rejected old FPs (from previous days or weeks).

Not having tried the new system yet, I have to say I'm uncomfortable with the idea that it's much more complicated and possibly more time-consuming to schedule and manage your experience.

Probably Disney is concerned about guests who book very expensive vacations at very busy times, who don't do any research about touring plans, learning about the existing FP system etc. and who leave The World somewhat dissatisfied with the number of rides and shows they saw compared to what they paid. From a business point of view these very-high-profit guests are the last people you want to be P-O'd (compared with the relatively low-profit AP guests, low-season visitors, etc.) All of this complicated FP+ baloney seems to me to be a way of trying to get FPs into the hands of these high-paying but relatively dumb and uninformed guests.

They could have simply given a stack of regular 'open' FPs to high-paying guests at busy times for each park, in an envelope at check-in time. But instead it looks like a committee of managers with too much time on their hands and a bunch of geeks in the IT department came up with this much more complicated system. Once it's complicated, you start to think of ways to game the system (e.g. AP holders block booking 'just in case') or else ways that system could be blocked and hampered (e.g. GAC abuse). Since it was designed by a committee and bunch of computer geeks, the answer to problems is always going to be 'make it more complicated to try to get around the unforeseen complications'.

That's the grumpy 'me' talking. Maybe it'll be fine in practice and for tourers like myself it won't be all that different from the old system. But it seems to me to be a very expensive and complicated 'solution' to the very simple problem of how to enhance the visiting experience of high-paying but uninformed guests at peak times and get them out of queues and into the shops.

 

[bcrook]

The old system was very simple and self-contained and also very fair and difficult to abuse as long as CMs rejected old FPs (from previous days or weeks).

Not having tried the new system yet, I have to say I'm uncomfortable with the idea that it's much more complicated and possibly more time-consuming to schedule and manage your experience.

Probably Disney is concerned about guests who book very expensive vacations at very busy times, who don't do any research about touring plans, learning about the existing FP system etc. and who leave The World somewhat dissatisfied with the number of rides and shows they saw compared to what they paid. From a business point of view these very-high-profit guests are the last people you want to be P-O'd (compared with the relatively low-profit AP guests, low-season visitors, etc.) All of this complicated FP+ baloney seems to me to be a way of trying to get FPs into the hands of these high-paying but relatively dumb and uninformed guests.

They could have simply given a stack of regular 'open' FPs to high-paying guests at busy times for each park, in an envelope at check-in time. But instead it looks like a committee of managers with too much time on their hands and a bunch of geeks in the IT department came up with this much more complicated system. Once it's complicated, you start to think of ways to game the system (e.g. AP holders block booking 'just in case') or else ways that system could be blocked and hampered (e.g. GAC abuse). Since it was designed by a committee and bunch of computer geeks, the answer to problems is always going to be 'make it more complicated to try to get around the unforeseen complications'.

That's the grumpy 'me' talking. Maybe it'll be fine in practice and for tourers like myself it won't be all that different from the old system. But it seems to me to be a very expensive and complicated 'solution' to the very simple problem of how to enhance the visiting experience of high-paying but uninformed guests at peak times and get them out of queues and into the shops.

If you connect your idea with the the concept of making FP a high demand commodity, when people go online to score a good FP, they will be less likely to give it up and venture off to a non Disney park. Also it will lock people in to parks in advance with little opportunity to switch on the fly.

 

[JLTraveling]

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.

Haven't read the entire thread yet, but I agree with every word in this post. I was raised locally, and we used to enjoy just getting to the parks early-ish, but not rope drop, turning left (guaranteed less crowded, because most right-handed people naturally turn right) and making our way around the park in a circle. The queues were true experiences, the lines were just long enough to give us time to enjoy the queue, and we talked to each other or other guests in line if the queue backed up at all. We could finish an entire park in a day with no need to backtrack or zig zag or criss-cross.

Fastpass ruined all of that. Now it's rope drop and spending the entire day running at warp speed back and forth across the park. Either no time or too much time in a queue, everything happening according to ridiculous schedules. A tourist day at Disney is no fun anymore. It's hard work. When we go now, we typically just go for a few hours in the morning or at night, before or after the thick of the crowds, and we just do standby for whatever headliner or two we choose that day. But I cringe a bit when friends or relatives come down, and we want to show them everything, because I know I'm in for a ridiculously complicated and stressful visit.

I'm willing to remain open minded, but I honestly believe FP+ will only exacerbate the existing problems.

 

[JLTraveling]

Here's another thought. Instead of park hopping, and standing in lines at one of the parks...why not stay onsite at Universal? Book your 3 FP+ for morning each day at Disney, then head back to Universal and use unlimited FOL for the rest of the day? Universal could turn out to be the biggest beneficiary of this whole mess...

 

[bcrook]

Here's another thought. Instead of park hopping, and standing in lines at one of the parks...why not stay onsite at Universal? Book your 3 FP+ for morning each day at Disney, then head back to Universal and use unlimited FOL for the rest of the day? Universal could turn out to be the biggest beneficiary of this whole mess...

Maybe this is why Disney wants everyone to buy DVC! It makes that option more difficult. And Disney is all about building more of those complexes. Polynesian next?