Here now, and here is the problem

[Rosanne]

For the record, I wanted to punch someone too when I was there!

Good one!!!

Welcome, brand new poster with strong, first-hand opinions on FP+. I hope LuvFFPlus can warm you up to FP+. She has conviction that is contagious.

Welcome

 

[lugnut33]

Yep...troll!

Yeah, why did this thread pull in the trolls?

 

[g-dad66]

Yeah, why did this thread pull in the trolls?

Probably because it's the only thread there is about FP+?


Or maybe you're just lucky?

 

[staceymay00]

I don't think he was discrediting anyone, just following up on someone who is there now and their observations, in that both lines were longer.

I must have misunderstood his sarcasm and the fact that he ignored the PP's point that while more people seemed to be in the FP line, CM's were moving people through that line more quickly. We used FP+ 2-3 times a day this past week and generally did not wait longer than we used to wait with the old system. Painting a picture that both lines were longer and everyone waited longer is not accurate based on what I saw all week. Ride capacity has not changed, after all. It does of course make sense that if more people are being served in the FP line with similar waits as before FP+, fewer people can be moved through the standby line. Standby waits are always ridiculous during busy times. We've never waited in those long lines, and we didn't this past week, so I can't compare. I can only report that FP+ did not negatively affect us, either in terms of wait times or number of attractions experienced compared to our past trips. Disney can't make everyone happy, however I hope they will do their best to adjust the system so that most guests are happy with it.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[annacali]

The other thing I learned tonight is FP+ will definitely cut down on the amount of hours we will spend in the parks, especially hS and Epcot. Probably no more 10 to 14 hours in the parks once FP-is eliminated. I will spend way less money in the parks and probably more off site. Guess that will free up ride space for Disney.

This was our experience too. We went in at/near rope drop and were done by noon every day. With the exception of going to DHS one night for the Osborne Lights we didn't head back to the parks at all. We went to Downtown Disney on Thanksgiving afternoon but other than that we found other offsite things to do. We saw Wishes and a parade at MVMCP on our arrival night so kids were happy and we felt no need to go back after that.

 

[Pooksie]

Similar experience. Spent less time in the parks. Maybe that is the goal. It seems to be working.

It makes perfect sense if Disney has found out that having more people in the parks for less time generates more income than having less people in the parks for more time.

It certainly should work that way. One person staying 12 hours will only be buying one admission ticket for the day. Three people staying 4 hours will be buying three admission tickets that day. Plus the money spent by three people all eating lunch or dinner, and spending money at the gift shops for four hours will be more that one person will spend in 12 hours.

Disney probably believes that the person who now leaves after 4 hours instead of staying for 12 will spend the money they would have spent on food and gifts anyways. Now that person will just spend that money at their resort instead of the parks.

Did you ever notice how Disney is always releasing their annual attendance figures for the parks. They never speak about how long visitors stay in the parks in their reports. It's all about the attendance numbers and increasing them. FP+ allows people to get the rides that they want done, spend some money on food and gifts, and get it done more quickly. This allows them to spend less time in the parks and more time spending money at their resorts. Which in turn allows more people to get into the parks and do the rides that they want, spend their money, etc etc.

For those who want to stay for longer and enjoy more tier one rides, the choice will be to go standby or to purchase additional FP+ reservations by tier. Disney will imo monetize the FP+ system this way and must feel that people who want more FP+ reservations will be willing to pay for that convenience. They aren't doing this blind. Regardless of how people on this board feel, Disney has most likely done extensive research on the issue and feels that FP+ (and the monetizing thereof) will allow them to increase attendance while giving those folks who want the convenience of additional tier one FP+ rides that option for an additional fee.

Once again, the buffet that was FP- is being replaced by the a la carte system that is FP+. If you want more from an a la carte menu, you purchase more.

 

[lucyem]

I spent 45 minutes in line at guest services the other day. About 1/3 were mb issues. 1/3 gac which were all denied. 1/3 everything else. One thing I did learn was how convoluted their computer system is. And secondly even they get new things sprung on them by IT with no warning.

I don't care about paying for more fps. But until disney adds more rides the lack of flexibility/availability is a killer.

It has totally changed how we tour. Fine it's a change. We will live and change with it. But I do think someone is digging a big hole with this.

 

[Portugal1000]

Do people think everything we be sorted out by next summer? We are lucky enough to spend 3 weeks every year. We now stay offsite at bonnet creek and usually one night at universal for express pass for 2 days. Our 21 day disney tickets will cost £1000 for the 3 of us but as no 100% guarantee at the moment that offsite guests will have access to FP+ I am reluctant to commit. I can't imagine going to Orlando and not going to Disney but we have a specific way of touring. There at rope drop, lots if FP and very organised. I just have awful feeling this will turn into a paying for FP+ system. I don't mind that at universal as you can get everything done in 2 days and the hotels are not too expensive. Anyway plan B is a week at longboat key then annual pass to the Disney water parks and also discovery cove, seaworld and Busch gardens. I wonder how many others will change their plans. I just don't understand why they couldn't just have a magic band but keep the FP system the same as before. I thought it was great. Yes it did benefit the early riser. Anyway will be reading these boards with interest over the next few months. I also help a lot if first timers plan their trips and I am at a loss right now what advice to give!

 

[mom2rtk]

It makes perfect sense if Disney has found out that having more people in the parks for less time generates more income than having less people in the parks for more time.

It certainly should work that way. One person staying 12 hours will only be buying one admission ticket for the day. Three people staying 4 hours will be buying three admission tickets that day. Plus the money spent by three people all eating lunch or dinner, and spending money at the gift shops for four hours will be more that one person will spend in 12 hours.

Disney probably believes that the person who now leaves after 4 hours instead of staying for 12 will spend the money they would have spent on food and gifts anyways. Now that person will just spend that money at their resort instead of the parks.

Did you ever notice how Disney is always releasing their annual attendance figures for the parks. They never speak about how long visitors stay in the parks in their reports. It's all about the attendance numbers and increasing them. FP+ allows people to get the rides that they want done, spend some money on food and gifts, and get it done more quickly. This allows them to spend less time in the parks and more time spending money at their resorts. Which in turn allows more people to get into the parks and do the rides that they want, spend their money, etc etc.

For those who want to stay for longer and enjoy more tier one rides, the choice will be to go standby or to purchase additional FP+ reservations by tier. Disney will imo monetize the FP+ system this way and must feel that people who want more FP+ reservations will be willing to pay for that convenience. They aren't doing this blind. Regardless of how people on this board feel, Disney has most likely done extensive research on the issue and feels that FP+ (and the monetizing thereof) will allow them to increase attendance while giving those folks who want the convenience of additional tier one FP+ rides that option for an additional fee.

Once again, the buffet that was FP- is being replaced by the a la carte system that is FP+. If you want more from an a la carte menu, you purchase more.

It's entirely possible that having greater guest turnover is Disney's goal with all of this.

I have to say that if it is, they have certainly missed the mark with me at least. I don't go to Disney to sit around the resort. If I don't have enough to do in the parks, I'm going to rent a car so I can do other things. And once I rent the car, I start undoing that magical Disney bubble that keeps me onsite spending every single dollar from arrival to departure there.

If I have a car, I'm not going to purchase the Disney dining plan. If I have a car, I'm going to spend some of my days at Universal. If I have a car, I'm spending at least one day at Sea World. I haven't ventured offisite since 2004. Disney has done a remarkable job making me happy and capturing all of my vacation dollars. Take one piece of that away...... and the entire thing comes up for evaluation . It's no longer a Disney vacation. It becomes an Orlando vacation, with Disney becoming a much smaller piece.

 

[LuvFFPlus]

It's entirely possible that having greater guest turnover is Disney's goal with all of this.

I have to say that if it is, they have certainly missed the mark with me at least. I don't go to Disney to sit around the resort. If I don't have enough to do in the parks, I'm going to rent a car so I can do other things. And once I rent the car, I start undoing that magical Disney bubble that keeps me onsite spending every single dollar from arrival to departure there.

If I have a car, I'm not going to purchase the Disney dining plan. If I have a car, I'm going to spend some of my days at Universal. If I have a car, I'm spending at least one day at Sea World. I haven't ventured offisite since 2004. Disney has done a remarkable job making me happy and capturing all of my vacation dollars. Take one piece of that away...... and the entire thing comes up for evaluation . It's no longer a Disney vacation. It becomes an Orlando vacation, with Disney becoming a much smaller piece.

Actions are louder than words. Only if you really do what you say otherwise it's just words. Leave Disney and never come back is the only way to let them know.

 

[Jennasis]

Actions are louder than words. Only if you really do what you say otherwise it's just words. Leave Disney and never come back is the only way to let them know.

She didn't say she would leave and never come back (which is NOT the only way to let Disney know one is dissatisfied). She said she'd spend some of her vacation in Orlando doing things other than Disney.

This is something we already have planned into our visit next year. A week at AKLV, and we've scheduled in a day to head over to USO. We weren't planning to originally, but frankly USO has added and continues to add SO much to the parks that they've lured us away (Springfield, Transformers, and the soon-to-be-open Diagon Alley).

We usually only vacation (always Disney) every other year, but we've decided to add a long weekend in 2015, which would have been our "no vacation" year, over at Universal.

 

[OurDogCisco]

It's entirely possible that having greater guest turnover is Disney's goal with all of this.

I have to say that if it is, they have certainly missed the mark with me at least. I don't go to Disney to sit around the resort. If I don't have enough to do in the parks, I'm going to rent a car so I can do other things. And once I rent the car, I start undoing that magical Disney bubble that keeps me onsite spending every single dollar from arrival to departure there.

If I have a car, I'm not going to purchase the Disney dining plan. If I have a car, I'm going to spend some of my days at Universal. If I have a car, I'm spending at least one day at Sea World. I haven't ventured offisite since 2004. Disney has done a remarkable job making me happy and capturing all of my vacation dollars. Take one piece of that away...... and the entire thing comes up for evaluation . It's no longer a Disney vacation. It becomes an Orlando vacation, with Disney becoming a much smaller piece.

We are leaving today, this is exactly what we did. We've been coming to WDW since 2002 and this is the first time we actually ventured off site. We even used the Disney transportation to and from the airport. First, we went to Universal for a day. We took a cab both ways. Second, we ate offsite twice for our signature meal. Once at Universal at Emeril's and the 2nd time at Benihana for dinner. My daughter really wanted to eat at Teppan Edo but as usual it was booked solid. So, I made reservations at Benihana instead. We took a cab as we weren't sure where it was in relation to Downtown Disney. But it is an easy walk to the Marketplace. A few years ago we even stayed offsite once and didn't like the experience. We promised ourselves never to stay offsite again. But maybe it will be more a reality in the future. I did noticed that on this trip our satisfaction level was down.

 

[jimCA]

We are leaving today, this is exactly what we did. We've been coming to WDW since 2002 and this is the first time we actually ventured off site. We even used the Disney transportation to and from the airport. First, we went to Universal for a day. We took a cab both ways. Second, we ate offsite twice for our signature meal. Once at Universal at Emeril's and the 2nd time at Benihana for dinner. My daughter really wanted to eat at Teppan Edo but as usual it was booked solid. So, I made reservations at Benihana instead. We took a cab as we weren't sure where it was in relation to Downtown Disney. But it is an easy walk to the Marketplace. A few years ago we even stayed offsite once and didn't like the experience. We promised ourselves never to stay offsite again. But maybe it will be more a reality in the future. I did noticed that on this trip our satisfaction level was down.

I wish I could do that! Magical express locked me in.

 

[pitterpint23]

For the record, I wanted to punch someone too when I was there!

Kellyny and jimca..

Anyone notice anything?

 

[pitterpint23]

I wish I could do that! Magical express locked me in.

You don't get 'locked in' by ME

 

[Mkrop]

Well, I spent Nov 22-29 at WDW, and my experience with FP+ was mixed. I am a rope-dropper, so FP+ was great for my family later in the day once lines started to build. Keep in mind that I also was able to schedule mine before the tiers, and I think I would have felt less positively with the towering in place.

My main quarrel with the system is how buggy MDE is and how difficult, or often impossible, it was to change a FP+ for any reason. The kiosks were not conveniently placed, and the app constantly crashed or wouldn't complete transactions... I felt like I spent a lot of time of my phone on busy days and sometimes NEVER managed to change what I needed to. And if I couldn't change a FP+ because of MDE problems, and then the time passed, then I lost that FP slot for the day. So there were some days I only got one or two FP+ opportunities total because the app crashing prevented me from changing something when I needed to. That was incredibly frustrating and disappointing.
We stayed at POP, so we didn't have access to FP- to make up for the FP+ losses. It was annoying watching other people able to pull FP from the machines when we couldn't, knowing that we'd lost 1 or 2 of our only FP+ opportunities because of app problems. I probably could have gotten compensation with anytime paper FP from guest services if I had cared to make a big deal about it, but I decided to shrug it off and move on because I was tired of dealing with it. We just rode standby instead, which was actually not as big a deal as I thought it would be. I would have felt differently had crowds been heavier on those days, which luckily they weren't.

On the other hand, on the days on which I didn't need to change anything, and I stuck with my original plan, I had no complaints. FP+ lines were not long, and I never waited more than around 10 minutes or so. Sometimes the lines LOOKED long when you walked up because of the rate of MB scanning, but then once you were scanned you could just walk right through and practically get on the ride within a few minutes. So the lines might look long to passers-by, but really they weren't bad. I also found CM's to be very efficient and accommodating.

As for standby lines, until the parks became very crowded on Wed and Thurs, they were not bad at all. Rarely more than 30 minutes, usually more like 10 or less. I didn't find it prohibitive, and we did much of our riding without FP with the exceptions of a couple of headliners.

I realize that YMMV, and even with the MDE frustrations, my family still had a wonderful trip. I do think that the tiers are a terrible idea, but I am not opposed to FP+ in general. I just think Disney needs to first of all work out the MDE bugs, and then they need to forget the tiers, and finally be consistent with what they allow guests to have. I hated that our resort choice prevented us from enjoying the same privileges as all other guests, especially with the FP+ change/loss problems I experienced. I had to make a conscious choice to go with the flow and decided that I would set an example for my kids by having a good attitude regardless of my frustrations, and the result was more good than bad, no doubt. But that's because I chose to make it that way, not because Disney made it easy on me! Lol!

However, I do think I will be waiting to plan another Disney vacation until they work out some of the problems with the system and decide exactly where they want to go with FP+ in general. This is obviously a rough patch for WDW at many levels, and I hope they are able to work out a compromise between FP+ and FP- so that a backup exists for guests when the technology fails them.

This is a bummer, and I guess one of the glitches, I thought I read that other people were able to make changes to their FP+s after the time had elapsed and yet you werent...those type of glitches would drive me insane!

 

[jimCA]

I am locked in when I don't have a car!

 

[mom2rtk]

Actions are louder than words. Only if you really do what you say otherwise it's just words. Leave Disney and never come back is the only way to let them know.

LOL, it's not like I live close by and visit often enough to have even had an opportunity to act out on anything yet. But yes, I am already in the midst of planning around this disappointing mess and doing what is best for us.

I chose to bypass WDW entirely this year. When it became apparent that WDW was rolling forward with this tech-heavy system in the latter part of 2013, I had a hunch it would present problems for guests. I am quite familiar with Disney's poor history of IT management, and just felt like it would not go well. So I opted to head west for our Disney fix this year. We're trying DLR for the holidays and am I'm quite happy to say I'm excited about what I'm getting for my vacation dollar.

Anyone want to go try Radiator Springs Racers with me next week?

Next year we are toying with returning to Orlando, but with our new improved vacation dollar allocation plan in full effect. If you want to take some of your spare time to read back through that monster FP thread from last January or February, you'll see even back then that I said once they start rationing rides, that puts everything on the table for me. And once I get a car, I'm doing US and SW for the first time since 04. I will probably stay onsite at US and use their FOTL privileges all day, and have my paltry 3 FP+ spots scheduled at Disney for that evening. Disney will get my ticket money, but will lose my lodging and nearly all of our food budget since we'll eat offsite on our way over between parks. And since US and SW will be so new to us again, and our house is about at capacity for Disney items, we'll be spending most of our souvenir budget in those other parks as well.

Merry Grinchmas everyone!

Have you ever read the book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie....." you'll understand the concept. Only this one is called "If You Give a Guest a Car...." One thing leads to another, which leads to another, which leads to yet another. And that is how Disney ends up losing most of my vacation dollar. They did a SPECTACULAR job of capturing all of my vacation dollars up to this point. But it's like a big game of Jenga. And in their quest to wring just a few more dollars out of a few more people...... the entire thing could come tumbling down.

At least for us.

 

[mom2rtk]

I wish I could do that! Magical express locked me in.

Magical Express was always too enticing to bypass in the past. But honestly, once you have the car, you can save enough in food costs to pay for the car.

 

[wisblue]

This is a bummer, and I guess one of the glitches, I thought I read that other people were able to make changes to their FP+s after the time had elapsed and yet you werent...those type of glitches would drive me insane!

I wonder if KarmaKat tried to change a FP+ reservation after the time passed. On our trip a few weeks ago I did that more than once, both back in the room on my ipad and in the park at a kiosk.

At the kiosks, when you scan your band, your FP+ reservations for that day pop up and they are marked to show whether they have been used or not. I could change any that hadn't been used.