Heard some FP kiosks were uncovered in MK today

[SweetJulia23]

Should that happen, count yourself lucky that your trip isn't just days away and you lost all the lead time to look for whatever you can't find. Look at all those who would've had 60 days and only get what could be a few days- or those who are in the parks when it's released. I only wish it would've opened when I had 60 days.

At any rate, I'm going to be grateful for whatever time I get, if any.

oh I’m fully expecting them to be released while I’m on the plane

 

[asgaga]

really think its going to be the 30 day window for FP+ and just give +days for Disney hotel guest. No way they will have 60 days for both FP+ and Dining reservations at the same time. would be bonkers doing both

 

[khmorgan]

really think its going to be the 30 day window for FP+ and just give +days for Disney hotel guest. No way they will have 60 days for both FP+ and Dining reservations at the same time. would be bonkers doing both

This thought has crossed my mind many times. I can't imagine the mental gymnastics trying to decide which dining/FP reservations to book in what order.

 

[moesy4]

I get that you could utilize FP+ for low wait times by stalking your phone and grabbing things as they popped up, but I gave that up pretty quickly on our previous trip. I go on vacation to spend time with my family, not bury my face in a phone the second I get in line to try to snag another ride! We made out just fine, but I wouldn't be mad if it didn't come back either.

 

[Palaura]

I often used the FP+ machines in fantasyland with my kids. It let them feel like they were in charge (for once). I can't remember what it was, but for a minute there was a loophole using the machines and your phone at the same time. That must have been 2016/2017?

 

[dmband]

oh I’m fully expecting them to be released while I’m on the plane

On the plane home lol

 

[sssteele]

As long as they made it available to book by phone, I'll live with it. They can't possibly limit it to booking at the kiosks. The lines would be a nightmare.

Did it before. Lines were not a nightmare. It was a very manageable system except for those who didn't want to walk from attraction to another. When your window opened for the fastpass you had, you went to another attraction and secured your next fastpass. Then you returned to your original attraction. This was before Fastpass +

 

[SweetJulia23]

On the plane home lol

Even better! I’ll be wasting my actual vacation time obsessively checking instead of my at home doing nothing time.

 

[cakebaker]

Did it before. Lines were not a nightmare. It was a very manageable system except for those who didn't want to walk from attraction to another. When your window opened for the fastpass you had, you went to another attraction and secured your next fastpass. Then you returned to your original attraction. This was before Fastpass +

Using the kiosks for legacy fp is not the same as FP+ and I definitely remember standing in some very long lines at the kiosks for legacy, especially in the mornings. I was thrilled when we could finally give up that designated runner. There's just no reason not to make it available on the app and reduce the lines at the kiosks.

 

[yaya74]

You should know you have given hope to a lot of us today! Your report is the first really hard evidence that they are actually going to bring FP back any time soon. Thank you! Oh.....and keep watching those FP lines!

Second that... Thank you @unbeknownst for the report!!

 

[maltdizzy]

Did it before. Lines were not a nightmare. It was a very manageable system except for those who didn't want to walk from attraction to another. When your window opened for the fastpass you had, you went to another attraction and secured your next fastpass. Then you returned to your original attraction. This was before Fastpass +

Legacy FP had machines at each attraction and just gave out the next time available time. For FP+, there are only so many kiosk clusters in the parks and you will have to wait for the user to select through menus to select attractions/time, and potentially booking multiples. Ever get stuck behind people who take forever going through all the options at Coke Freestyle machine? It's like that.

 

[MomOTwins]

Legacy FP had machines at each attraction and just gave out the next time available time. For FP+, there are only so many kiosk clusters in the parks and you will have to wait for the user to select through menus to select attractions/time, and potentially booking multiples. Ever get stuck behind people who take forever going through all the options at Coke Freestyle machine? It's like that.

*shudder* those Coke machines are the worst. And then there were the people who treated it like ice cream samples, tasting and dumping until they found a flavor they liked.

I don't think the waits for kiosks will be too bad though if they keep the option to do the same thing for free on smartphones. Most people use their smartphones at Disney these days. However, if they switch to kiosks being the only free option with smartphones at an upcharge, the wait for kiosk could get very crazy.

If it is an upcharge to use a smartphone, we'll definitely be paying it. Kiosks don't make sense to me for FP+ because what made FP+ so great was it was a dynamic system and it was on-the-go where you could make your selections from anywhere. If a ride was running more efficiently than expected, or standby waits were low, or if people missed their FP window, FP+ inventory for that ride would show up in the app throughout the day. Walking to a kiosk just to take a single "snapshot" of what is available and pick something from that list was never a smart use of FP+--refreshing your phone for 5 minutes while you stood in line after tapping in to your last FP, or while in a theater waiting for a show to start, was so much more convenient and effective.

I get that you could utilize FP+ for low wait times by stalking your phone and grabbing things as they popped up, but I gave that up pretty quickly on our previous trip. I go on vacation to spend time with my family, not bury my face in a phone the second I get in line to try to snag another ride! We made out just fine, but I wouldn't be mad if it didn't come back either.

I don't buy it--moving through a FP queue after you tap in is not exactly quality family time. Those lines move to quick for any real conversation. If you were putting together a list of special family memories, I doubt "that time we waited 5 minutes in the line for Small World" is going to make the cut.

 

[burnurcomputer]

I am wondering if FP+ does make a return soon, will the tier system be the same?

I need to go back and look at past options so I can make a tentative plan for my trip.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Disney may surprise everyone and activate them July 4th

 

[Marrila]

Disney may surprise everyone and activate them July 4th

If they do I hope they plan to give free mickey bars to the confused and angry guests in the parks that day.

 

[cakebaker]

If they do I hope they plan to give free mickey bars to the confused and angry guests in the parks that day.

Why would anyone be angry? Here- the line for Space is 1.5 hrs, but get this pass and it's a walk on. Sounds pretty good to me. If they just drop it with no advance notice, it's not going to be some new system no one is familiar with. It will be the old one and it's not difficult to understand. But hey, I'll take a free mickey bar!

 

[123SA]

I personally wouldn’t be angry about FP, but there is a trade off. The stand by lines for everything will increase. Yes you can try to get FP but there’s no certainty that you will. My last trip in 2019 we used lots of 4th 5th and more FP, but we didn’t always get them for the rides we wanted, despite lots of checking, trying to modify existing FP etc. Return of FP will most likely increase the standby lines to intolerable waits for more rides.
I’m not sure which is better and I think in large part it’s a personal answer. It depends on how you tour, the makeup of your party, what rides you want to do and which ones you skip, how often you go to WDW, what your expectations are etc

one thing I know for sure: not everyone will be happy. No matter what Disney does.

 

[MomOTwins]

I am wondering if FP+ does make a return soon, will the tier system be the same?

I need to go back and look at past options so I can make a tentative plan for my trip.

Since no new rides have opened, if they are just reinstating FP i would think the tiers would be the same. However, I put my money on this being a paid system—either a very expensive pass with no tiers/restrictions,
or some kind of pay per ride system (e.g. kali river rapids is free, but it’s $2.99 for Everest and $9.99 for FOP)

 

[nkereina]

No, I think it will be similar to the old system, day of only and unless you pay for the ability to book from your phone (Maxpass), you will have to go to the kiosks that are closest to the attraction you want a FP for. I say it will be something like this for a few reasons:
1. They are installing A LOT more kiosks in many of the locations, some as many as 20 extra kiosks.

2. We know Disney wants to monetize everything they can right now and this is an easy way to do so and provide what many will see as value since Maxpass also includes Photopass.

3. Outside of these boards A LOT of people complain about having to book FPs in advance with FP+, for the average guest it is problematic and according to several guest relations CMs that DH has spoken with prior to COVID was among the top 3 complaints they were getting. Again, we need to remember that those of us on the boards are the outliers, bit the average guest.

4. It would create a unified system on both coasts and make things easier for Disney to manage. This of us on these boards understand that both coasts are different, but Disney has been demonstrating lately that they just don't get this. I could even see this expanding to all parks world wide except Tokyo since Disney doesn't own or operate that park.

5. I suspect that whatever new membership program Disney comes up with to replace APs at Disneyland will replace APs at all of their parks, again, except Tokyo. I would imagine that some of the benefits will tie into a new FP (likely Maxpass) setup.

6. Chapek said that the shutdowns provided an opportunity to reimagine everything from AP programs to Entertainment to FP and FP+. I can't imagine him specifically mentioning FP if there aren't going to be some changes on the horizon.

I could certainly be wrong, but I would honestly be extremely surprised to see FP+ come back as it was, it created longer standby wait times, didn't get people spending money while waiting for return times and caused a lot of complaints from a lot of guests (only Disney really knows if it is most guests).

I wouldn't mind a MaxPass style at WDW. Your point in #4 about it being a unified system seems to make sense operationally - it has to be cheaper and ultimately easier to run identical systems in both places, leveraging the same IT people and platforms. BUT, I don't think WDW would go back to paper FPs at this point. If they do go a MaxPass route, I have to think it would be MaxPass or nothing.

But the flipside of this is that Disney spent a lot of money rolling out FP+ what seems like not that long ago. Unless they had plans on replacing it before the pandemic began, I can't imagine they used the time during the pandemic to pivot and make a big business decision like this that would eradicate the expensive FP+ and implement MaxPass. They would not have done that during a time when they were hemorrhaging money. Most businesses were and still are trying to stay afloat and recoup costs. Big projects and initiatives are being delayed or canceled. Even though a MaxPass model may make sense in the long run, it would still take time, money and resources to get that change implemented and rolled out.

I don’t doubt this, but Disneyland and Disney World are different beasts.

Not directed at you specifically but just a general observation …People don’t generally go to Disneyland for 7 to 10 nights, however that is very common at Disney World. Even with the somewhat reasonable price of max pass, it would add up to a significant cost increase for park guests if they were to implement something like maxpass at Disneyworld.

Take our family of five for example, our 10 night stay coming up later in July would incur $1000 in extra cost for maxpass. When we have had a system that worked “for free” before, FP+, sadly that extra cost would be a dealbreaker for us.

Dan

Respectfully, Disney doesn't care if it would cost your family that. They want your money, and there are people who would pay that. If they go with a MaxPass model, it also would likely be entirely optional. Just like Universal's Express Pass. Perhaps it would be included for deluxe resort guests and available for purchase for everyone else. At which point, you'd have to decide whether you stay less nights and add MaxPass, stay at a deluxe resort if its included, or just not purchase it.

 

[DisneyFive]

Respectfully, Disney doesn't care if it would cost your family that.

Oh, but they would if we stopped going due to the increased cost. Everyone has their breaking point. I suspect we wouldn’t be the only ones.

It’s always that balancing game.

Dan