Here now, and here is the problem

[RedHeadedFairy]

1. Not an assumption - they've stated they are

2.They aren't going to aggressively market it until they have the full compliment of Disney guest types on the system, in some way. Watch what happens once off-site is on-board

3. If visitors don't utilize FP+, Disney will have failed in their stated goal of getting as many guest as possible to commit to a Disney Vacation as early as possible. Many more suddenly will because the awareness is going to much higher than with FP- and they will have a host of TA's and CM's assisting them to do so.

4. All MB's are are a collection tool to aid other, stated, corporate objectives

Agreed - how can they NOT market it heavily?

"Planning your Disney Park vacation has never been easier! Now with the addition of FP+ you can reserve seating on your favorite WDW attractions across all 4 theme parks. Simply choose your park for the day, select the attraction & time you'd like to reserve & click! Your family is guaranteed to see their must-see rides & attractions leaving you free to enjoy all the other great dining & shopping WDW has to offer without worry."

It's the "bird in the hand" - people will feel so blessed to have that one or two golden FP+ reservations that they'll never consider the sacrifice until they are there, in real time, faced with huge SB lines or finding themselves spending freely in stores & restaurants to fill their time between FP+ ressies (if the system is sophisticated enough to force them to space out FP+ return times much like the required 2 hr window FP- used).

If you were a first time visitor and knew little to nothing about FP- this all sounds REALLY good, right? You know nothing of needing/wanting more than 3 FP in a day so you don't really have anything to compare it to. No other theme parks that I know of have any type of FP system, first timers have no point of reference. Plus, maybe MDE makes suggestions for them, "based on the ages of the children in your party, we recommend considering FP+ for Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan & Winnie the Pooh".

I still think that at some point in the distant future they will play with offering additional FP+ options to enhance packages - with the deluxe resort packages being allotted more total FP+ across the tiers.

 

[jade1]

they'll reduce the in-park experience compared to what we're all used to,

Please don't speak for "all" of us, especially as fact.

The new system is a vast improvement for my family.

 

[OtherScott]

1. Not an assumption - they've stated they are

2.They aren't going to aggressively market it until they have the full compliment of Disney guest types on the system, in some way. Watch what happens once off-site is on-board

3. If visitors don't utilize FP+, Disney will have failed in their stated goal of getting as many guest as possible to commit to a Disney Vacation as early as possible. Many more suddenly will because the awareness is going to much higher than with FP- and they will have a host of TA's and CM's assisting them to do so.

4. All MB's are are a collection tool to aid other, stated, corporate objectives

It is natural that Disney would want guests to lock in before arrival. Seems that would be a pretty important goal all along.

And yet, Disney has never aggressively marketed FP to anchor guests to the parks. In fact, it encourages guests to stay onsite and provides free transportation away from the park. It also allows guest to hop from one park to another for a fee that barely covers the cost of the trip itself and the lost revenue while the guest is in transit.

So while I will agree that they would love for guests to commit to staying at a park all day since that provides the best set of circumstances to extract the maximum amount of money from each guest, having systems in place that counteract that advantage makes little sense.

Wouldn't it be simpler to eliminate/price out of existence PH?

 

[practicallyperfect77]

I know that a lot of people are tied to their phones, but notices like that will be lost on me.

I have heard that people have gotten notices when one of the rides for which they have a FP+ reservation has gone down.

I'm here now and totally tied to my phone. Don't mind it at all. I received an email yesterday about my Big Thunder FP+ b/c the ride was down. I was allowed to use it on any other attraction from 7pm-11pm. I used on space and then did People mover waiting for my original space FP+ time to open up. It was nice riding a favorite twice using FP+.

 

[LuvFFPlus]

The advanced reservation strategy may be from the cruise side of the business. There are many people who cruise would always be up at the morning of their able to reserve day and make reservations. Still yet to be seen if this will work or not for the park visitors.

 

[Cyrano]

Closed for moderation .