Here now, I hate MM+

[buzz5985]

We just returned from our a quick trip over NYE (to a blizzard I may add). I didn't have any of the issues with my MDE - I should mention I have an android phone with Sprint. (The funniest thing I saw was every available electrical outlet had a cluster of iPhone users with their phones plugged in.) I have always found the stand by times to be inflated as posted in the parks - but I found the times on MDE to be pretty accurate. We were keeping a close eye on them. We spent NYE in MK. We had FP for the mountains. We just watched the wait times for the other rides and waited until the times were 30 minutes or less and that's when we rode. Especially after 8:30 pm - when Main St was mobbed with people waiting for midnight. We were asked to carry the red badge that time the lines for Space Mountain and Kilimanjaro Safaris. The CM seemed very thankful that we would do it - seems like some have a problem carrying the card??

I should also add that I have been visiting the parks for a really long time and remember the days before FP. When during Easter you would spend 2 hours in line - but you really got to know your line neighbors and it was part of the experience. Now most of the parents are ignoring their kids while they stare at their phones. The kids are staring at their iPads watching a movie or playing a game.

I see it all as a way for Disney to keep everyone honest with the FP+ and MB. It was getting difficult to get dining reservations - now having to reserve with a credit card - it's amazing how easy it is to get reservations now. So that just shows you how many were working the system.

Janis

 

[Laketravis]

I WAS there last week and, as I reported in a thread earlier this morning, our experience with the FP lines was just fine.

It's easy to make general statements, but I'd like to hear some specific examples of how long people actually waited in FP lines. Saying that "FP lines were out the door" is meaningless because the FP return lines always start "outside the door" because that is where the first FP checkpoint is.

The relevant issue isn't how many people are in each line, it is how many minutes it takes to get through the line.

I was there as well - Thanksgiving week and the week after. You want specifics? I spent over 50 minutes in the FP line for TT. I suppose you are going to tell me I didn't, that it was just my imagination, or it was simply a fluke, or I should have gone at RD. But what the OP is describing are conditions that I also saw. All the time? No. During your visit? Apparently not. But just because YOU didn't see it first hand does not mean it didn't happen.

And read this very, very carefully: I thought it was GREAT that I could make FP+ reservations for later in the afternoon. Does that sound like a hater?

But that was also before tiering, and before more people have access to FP+, and others still had access to FP-. So I'm pretty comfortable in speculating that any favorable conditions I experienced, or you experienced, are probably the best it will be.

Time will certainly tell, and it appears we are on schedule to get a full report over the next two months.

 

[wen8jr]

Here is a perfect example of why I have concluded that you are an opponent of FP+. You can object all you want about how I have classified you, but the tone and content of your posts speak for themselves.

I WAS there last week and, as I reported in a thread earlier this morning, our experience with the FP lines was just fine.

It's easy to make general statements, but I'd like to hear some specific examples of how long people actually waited in FP lines.

If I recall correctly, I read a very candid and detailed trip report from LakeTravis about his experience and thoughts from a trip using MB/FP not long ago.

As much as you are insisting he is an opponent of FP+, I view you as a complete supporter of FP+ and of Disney overall based on all the previous posts I've read.

And as I'm following the FP+ rollout posts on here to continue to help determine when I'm going back, I usually skip yours as I personally don't feel that any opinion you provide is helpful enough to me since you are such an advocate of it and I'm not sure that is realistic enough for me. This is just my opinion of course.

I also wonder if you have a connection to Disney other than being just a typical visitor.

 

[Laketravis]

Here is a perfect example of why I have concluded that you are an opponent of FP+. You can object all you want about how I have classified you, but the tone and content of your posts speak for themselves.

And you sang it's praises before you went, then came back and proclaimed your experience to be wonderful. Got it. You are a proponent of FP+ and can't understand why anyone could be critical of any aspect of it. Understood.

 

[Laketravis]

If I recall correctly, I read a very candid and detailed trip report from LakeTravis about his experience and thoughts from a trip using MB/FP not long ago.

As much as you are insisting he is an opponent of FP+, I view you as a complete supporter of FP+ and of Disney overall based on all the previous posts I've read.

And as I'm following the FP+ rollout posts on here to continue to help determine when I'm going back, I usually skip yours as I personally don't feel that any opinion you provide is helpful enough to me since you are such an advocate of it and I'm not sure that is realistic enough for me. This is just my opinion of course.

I also wonder if you have a connection to Disney other than being just a typical visitor.

Thank you. I did spend 17 days there recently, and a large portion of my time talking to guests, CM's, and management. I tried to put forth both the good and bad of my observations, discussions, and actual experience.

 

[wen8jr]

I was there as well - Thanksgiving week and the week after. You want specifics? I spent over 50 minutes in the FP line for TT. I suppose you are going to tell me I didn't, that it was just my imagination, or it was simply a fluke, or I should have gone at RD. But what the OP is describing are conditions that I also saw. All the time? No. During your visit? Apparently not. But just because YOU didn't see it first hand does not mean it didn't happen.

And read this very, very carefully: I thought it was GREAT that I could make FP+ reservations for later in the afternoon. Does that sound like a hater?

But that was also before tiering, and before more people have access to FP+, and others still had access to FP-. So I'm pretty comfortable in speculating that any favorable conditions I experienced, or you experienced, are probably the best it will be.

Time will certainly tell, and it appears we are on schedule to get a full report over the next two months.

I remember your feedback about your trip pretty well as I had an upcoming trip planned during peak Christmas period and was trying to plan as much as I could.

For the record, I thought it was a great report from a Disney fan about what was actually going on and I found you to be very open minded about FP+.

 

[bcrook]

I remember your feedback about your trip pretty well as I had an upcoming trip planned during peak Christmas period and was trying to plan as much as I could.

For the record, I thought it was a great report from a Disney fan about what was actually going on and I found you to be very open minded about FP+.

I find it enlightening too. For those that missed it, here is the link. It got buried on the trip report boards.

 

[wisblue]

I was there as well - Thanksgiving week and the week after. You want specifics? I spent over 50 minutes in the FP line for TT. I suppose you are going to tell me I didn't, that it was just my imagination, or it was simply a fluke, or I should have gone at RD. But what the OP is describing are conditions that I also saw. All the time? No. During your visit? Apparently not. But just because YOU didn't see it first hand does not mean it didn't happen.

And read this very, very carefully: I thought it was GREAT that I could make FP+ reservations for later in the afternoon. Does that sound like a hater?

But that was also before tiering, and before more people have access to FP+, and others still had access to FP-. So I'm pretty comfortable in speculating that any favorable conditions I experienced, or you experienced, are probably the best it will be.

Time will certainly tell, and it appears we are on schedule to get a full report over the next two months.

I remember the discussion about a long FP line wait at TT, including some of the reasons why that may have happened. I am not saying it didn't happen, but it definitely seems to be much more the exception than the rule.

Because you spent 17 days at WDW in November and December, and I think you have said you are a frequent visitor, why not give us a detailed summary of your overall experience with FP lines on your latest trip, including how FP wait times were at rides other than TT, and how they compared to FP wait times on your previous trips? That would be more helpful to people who have trips planned in the near future than general statements about FP lines going out to the door or citing just your worst experience. In 10 park days of using both FP+ and FP- you must have had more than 50 experiences with FP lines. What percentage of those would you say had longer waits than what you were used to for the same attraction in the past.

If you included that in the lengthy report that you posted after the trip, maybe you could repeat that portion of the report here. My strongest recollection from that report was your discussion about hanging around one of the FP kiosks and trying to get comments from cast members while they were working.

 

[Laketravis]

I remember the discussion about a long FP line wait at TT, including some of the reasons why that may have happened. I am not saying it didn't happen, but it definitely seems to be much more the exception than the rule.

Because you spent 17 days at WDW in November and December, and I think you have said you are a frequent visitor, why not give us a detailed summary of your overall experience with FP lines on your latest trip, including how FP wait times were at rides other than TT, and how they compared to FP wait times on your previous trips? That would be more helpful to people who have trips planned in the near future than general statements about FP lines going out to the door or citing just your worst experience. In 10 park days of using both FP+ and FP- you must have had more than 50 experiences with FP lines. What percentage of those would you say had longer waits than what you were used to for the same attraction in the past.

If you included that in the lengthy report that you posted after the trip, maybe you could repeat that portion of the report here. My strongest recollection from that report was your discussion about hanging around one of the FP kiosks and trying to get comments from cast members while they were working.

I would, but at this point I feel I would only be patronizing your antagonism.

Let's just agree to disagree, and see what feedback the growing number of reports over the next couple of months provide.

 

[wisblue]

And you sang it's praises before you went, then came back and proclaimed your experience to be wonderful. Got it. You are a proponent of FP+ and can't understand why anyone could be critical of any aspect of it. Understood.

The highlighted portion of your post couldn't be more wrong

If you actually read my posts, you would know that I understand why a lot of people don't like FP+ based on their touring styles.

You would also know that my December trip was not my first experience with FP+.

 

[Laketravis]

The highlighted portion of your post couldn't be more wrong

If you actually read my posts, you would know that I understand why a lot of people don't like FP+ based on their touring styles.

You would also know that my December trip was not my first experience with FP+.

Okay.

Would you agree or disagree that Disney's prime objective with FP+ is yield management?

 

[wisblue]

I find it enlightening too. For those that missed it, here is the link. It got buried on the trip report boards.

Thank you for the link.

There is no discussion about longer FP lines.

 

[Silock]

YOU GUYS. It's finally happening.

wisblue vs. LakeTravis: The Cagematch

I feel like I waited longer for this to happen than I will for Mayweather vs. Pacquiao.

 

[Laketravis]

Thank you for the link.

There is no discussion about longer FP lines.

Here's one: TT FP line 50 minutes

You actually responded to that post:

TT does have a lot of breakdowns. I remember once being in the loading area about one cycle away from boarding for about 30 minutes because the ride shut down. It's very possible that something like that was going on

Except the ride wasn't broken down. It was just a long FP line.

 

[Laketravis]

YOU GUYS. It's finally happening.

wisblue vs. LakeTravis: The Cagematch

I feel like I waited longer for this to happen than I will for Mayweather vs. Pacquiao.

LOL! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[morethananyonex]

YOU GUYS. It's finally happening.

wisblue vs. LakeTravis: The Cagematch

I feel like I waited longer for this to happen than I will for Mayweather vs. Pacquiao.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to watch, my FP+ time for this isn't for another hour!! What do I do??

 

[Laketravis]

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to watch, my FP+ time for this isn't for another hour!! What do I do??

Quick! Quick! Open your MDE app and see if you can pick a new time!

OOOPS! Sorry.... "There seems to be a blip in the network".....

 

[morethananyonex]

Quick! Quick! Open your MDE app and see if you can pick a new time!

OOOPS! Sorry.... "There seems to be a blip in the network".....

And there goes my battery..

 

[Laketravis]

And there goes my battery..

Yeah, I did find it to be a huge battery drain. But the new version claims to address that as well as some other drawbacks, most notably the response time lag. I've downloaded it but since I don't currently have a pending visit I can't test the FP portion.

 

[bcrook]

The highlighted portion of your post couldn't be more wrong

If you actually read my posts, you would know that I understand why a lot of people don't like FP+ based on their touring styles.

You would also know that my December trip was not my first experience with FP+.

The reason I think this issue is so polarizing has to do with Disney's intent.

The first rumblings about Next Gen changes seemed exciting and innovative. Disney is changing the way theme parks will work. It will be more immersive and interactive. The entire park would be the experience.

But as Rasulo has said in interview after interview this was designed not from an imagineering interactive standpoint but from an accounting business standpoint.

Some people benefit, some lose, and most won't know any better. But overall, it failed to deliver the big score.

It is nothing but a ruse - a very fancy loyalty card.

I think they screwed up by not having more of the interactive stuff ready to go. And now it looks like we might get some glowing trees in 2018 when pandora goes live.

Overall it is a dud. I understand, the bands can be more convenient, but they aren't much different than the RFID cards. Especially if you have discount cards.

Any benefits that come from it are balanced by trade offs.

If this MM+ stuff would have been created as a customer experience - think innovative 21st century, it would warrant high praise.

But as is... It's ok. Way more work for me than I prefer. And it isn't going to wring any extra money out of me, so I lose and Disney loses in my case.