Here now LOVE FP+ (seriously)

[mom2rtk]

Although, boy can I tell you bringing my 3 boys (especially DS3) was no day at the park. DS3 was the one throwing a fit near backlot express because we wouldn't let him get a toy. He was also the one demanding to walk - and throwing a fit when we wouldn't let him because he doesn't watch where he walks. Now a little baby yea, I could see that. Just no hot tempered, head strung, brand new 3year olds.

As you will see noted below, I have that covered in my business plan.

Hilarious! I think it was either Mad Hattered or Mesaboy that said they just follow directions and "take a child by the hand". That one still cracks me up!

LOL, I loved that line. Wished I had come up with that one myself!

I'm fairly certain mom2rtk knows what it's like to juggle multiple kids while at Disney.

Yep. Thanks Missy. Here's a hint. One's an R. One's a T. And one's a K.

That's the beauty of RENTING. When they start throwing a fit, you return them. lol

eta: I can empathize though, my son had a meltdown once at a Target and i had to leave the store. ugh. Not fun. But just keep telling yourself, it's just a season. My kids are 21,18 and 14 now and they are major fun to be around. Not that they were bad when they were younger but they are really enjoyable now.

You TOTALLY get my business plan!

It's a winner, don't you think?

 

[dizprincess27]

I have realized after reading post after post and thread after thread for the last several months that I am not a commando type personality as I thought I was. I was happy riding my fav ride 2 to 4 x during my weeklong trip! As a matter of fact, I thought if I rode something 4x during a week I was a success lol. That is still fine by me as I'm not the biggest thrill rider anyway and I'd literally be sick if I rode something more than 2x in a row. I love Philharmagic, POTC and HM along with the new Mermaid ride in the MK. I love dinosaur but can only stomach it 1 or 2x. We are not RD people but neither are we lounge around all day until 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon people either. I am 110% exhausted by the end of a day having been up since 7:30 ish and on the go from 9:00 a.m. to after midnight so I cannot for the life of me imagine what some of you others were doing using FP- or want to do but you have my admiration as you are the true park commandos I guess I too am old now but man even when I was younger I don't think I could do more than I did! Glad you had a good trip and I am so excited for our upcoming May trip!

 

[grossmansr]

Don't listen to the naysayers. We were there last week (me, DH, and DD 2) and really liked FP+ also. We didn't even use rider swap. We just enjoyed scheduling our FPs ahead of time and not running around trying to score the next FP like we did with the old system. I will admit that I will truly LOVE FP+ only when they up the allotted FPs to at least 5 for the MK, and no tiering for EPCOT and HS. As it is, I like it just fine.

 

[bella2117]

I started out saying I was renting a baby for my next trip. Now I have progressed and will be starting a concierge "rent a baby" service near Disney. I think there's a real market I could tap.

Make sure one of your clients isn't Jeff Rossen from NBC doing a story on baby renting for rider swapping hahahahhahaha

 

[Lyndarella]

I too liked scheduling my FP+s ahead of time.....but it would have been nice if my MBs had recalled them consistently. It's embarrassing to get to the front of a FP line and be told that you have no FP+s set. The CMs seemed to think I didn't know what I was doing, but I DID set them up before I left home, and sometimes the MB would start working again later the same day. It was so stressful that I didn't always try to FP. I was able to ride many rides because I did so at rope drop. The FP+ experience was a very negative one for me.

 

[Magpie]

I too liked scheduling my FP+s ahead of time.....but it would have been nice if my MBs had recalled them consistently. It's embarrassing to get to the front of a FP line and be told that you have no FP+s set. The CMs seemed to think I didn't know what I was doing, but I DID set them up before I left home, and sometimes the MB would start working again later the same day. It was so stressful that I didn't always try to FP. I was able to ride many rides because I did so at rope drop. The FP+ experience was a very negative one for me.

This happened to us on our first day, during our December trip. A Guest Services cast member fixed (some) of our FP+s, but recommended that, "Just to be safe," we take a picture of our laptop screen with the FP+ ressies listed before we leave our room in the rmorning. (We don't have phones that can access the MDE app.)

We did that, and every time we got to the front of the line and the Mickey turned blue, we just showed the CM the picture and were waved right past.

No embarrassment, no stress!

 

[EMode]

So compared to last year, I like FP+ much better. And yes, I do my research prior so I studied how to make my trip get the most bang...

But again, really the only FP ride that we would have needed rider swap for was TOT. Not understanding how rider swap made my day a success as last year I was all stressed about running for fast-passes. This trip, the stress was eliminated.

You said you arrived at Epcot 11AM the day before Easter last year. That is probably one of the busiest Saturday's of the year. FP+ would have helped but arriving at RD is still the best strategy for a stress free, or reduced stress day.

 

[2Tiggies]

I started out saying I was renting a baby for my next trip. Now I have progressed and will be starting a concierge "rent a baby" service near Disney. I think there's a real market I could tap.

Looking for a business partner? I'm thinking we could offer a baby sitting service in the parks with a minimum session of 2 hours. We can then 'rent out' the babies in our care to folk who could benefit from them and the would have a return time for said babies within a 1 hour window. Two payments per child

 

[klitteral2009]

I don't understand why when someone has a positive FP+ experience, its like a race to see who can post first and 'inform' an OP of why FP+ wasn't why they had a good time, rode a ride, etc. but give some other reason. Or come up with silly things like 'what will you do without rider swap?' Did I miss that post? In all honesty, can someone direct me to a link about them taking away that perk? I dont mean to come off as a smart a** but I just get so tired of seeing this happen. I was told a while back when I was reading a thread about the number of negative posts FP+ was generating that if I didn't like reading about it just to skip over those particular posts. Here is a poster who had positive things to say and it still turns into a contest to see who can beat down the OP into saying, 'Oh, you're right. My opinion was invalid and wrong. You win. Oh mighty Disney commandos'. I think its incredibly frustrating to those of us who, in spite of FP+ (as so many like to say) still love our Disney time and actually see the benefit of it. Everyone tours differently. Everyone has different priorities on a Disney vacation. Not everyone has taken a dozen trips with and without FP+. Can't we all just be nice to each other?

OP, I'm glad you had a great trip! Sounds like FP+ AND RS made for a fabulous time Looking forward to our October trip!

 

[wuzzy6]

I started out saying I was renting a baby for my next trip. Now I have progressed and will be starting a concierge "rent a baby" service near Disney. I think there's a real market I could tap.

I'm telling ya... Disney encourages it in their transportation announcements! "Please take small children by the hand..." and they never specify WHOSE small children! You could totally do this!!!

(Edited to add: That'll teach me to read the ENTIRE thread before commenting... I see that's been covered! LOL)

 

[Marionnette]

I don't understand why when someone has a positive FP+ experience, its like a race to see who can post first and 'inform' an OP of why FP+ wasn't why they had a good time, rode a ride, etc. but give some other reason. Or come up with silly things like 'what will you do without rider swap?' Did I miss that post? In all honesty, can someone direct me to a link about them taking away that perk? I dont mean to come off as a smart a** but I just get so tired of seeing this happen. I was told a while back when I was reading a thread about the number of negative posts FP+ was generating that if I didn't like reading about it just to skip over those particular posts. Here is a poster who had positive things to say and it still turns into a contest to see who can beat down the OP into saying, 'Oh, you're right. My opinion was invalid and wrong. You win. Oh mighty Disney commandos'. I think its incredibly frustrating to those of us who, in spite of FP+ (as so many like to say) still love our Disney time and actually see the benefit of it. Everyone tours differently. Everyone has different priorities on a Disney vacation. Not everyone has taken a dozen trips with and without FP+. Can't we all just be nice to each other?

OP, I'm glad you had a great trip! Sounds like FP+ AND RS made for a fabulous time Looking forward to our October trip!

I don't think that it's a silly observation. Kids grow enough to not need the child swap courtesy or they become more bold about their attraction choices. Eventually, everyone with kids reaches a point where they no longer need to take advantage of it.

The OP is having a very positive FP+ experience and for her, that's awesome. I'm sure that Disney would like to see more guests just like her. But is she in the majority, the minority or somewhere in between? It really appears that much of her success was from getting good FP+ times, being at the park at RD and employing the rider swap to her best advantage. Was FP+ the sole factor influencing her success? IMO, no.

I don't see anyone being mean to the OP. I see posts discussing FP+ in a relatively calm manner. This is a discussion board, not a blog. People are entitled to voice an opinion, even if it's not something that you want to read.

BTW, we're going in Oct., also. I'm looking forward to it, just like all of my Disney trips. And I'm very hopeful that the dust from FP+ will settle by then, or else I have a better "game plan" than I had this past trip.

 

[mom2rtk]

I don't understand why when someone has a positive FP+ experience, its like a race to see who can post first and 'inform' an OP of why FP+ wasn't why they had a good time, rode a ride, etc. but give some other reason. Or come up with silly things like 'what will you do without rider swap?' Did I miss that post? In all honesty, can someone direct me to a link about them taking away that perk? I dont mean to come off as a smart a** but I just get so tired of seeing this happen. I was told a while back when I was reading a thread about the number of negative posts FP+ was generating that if I didn't like reading about it just to skip over those particular posts. Here is a poster who had positive things to say and it still turns into a contest to see who can beat down the OP into saying, 'Oh, you're right. My opinion was invalid and wrong. You win. Oh mighty Disney commandos'. I think its incredibly frustrating to those of us who, in spite of FP+ (as so many like to say) still love our Disney time and actually see the benefit of it. Everyone tours differently. Everyone has different priorities on a Disney vacation. Not everyone has taken a dozen trips with and without FP+. Can't we all just be nice to each other?

OP, I'm glad you had a great trip! Sounds like FP+ AND RS made for a fabulous time Looking forward to our October trip!

Nobody said rider swap is going away. But every family ages out of it. And it's not like it's a strategy you can just throw out there as a means of mitigating the effects of FP+. Because many families don't qualify for it.

I'm also glad the OP had a great time. I'm glad FP+ worked for them. But a lot of what worked for them had nothing to do with FP+. You don't ride ToT 4 times and TSMM 3 times because of FP+. You ride headliners multiple times in spite of FP+. Rope drop and rider swap played a much bigger part in their success than FP+.

As I said, and will repeat again though...... I'm really happy they had a great time.

 

[surferdave]

I don't think that it's a silly observation. Kids grow enough to not need the child swap courtesy or they become more bold about their attraction choices. Eventually, everyone with kids reaches a point where they no longer need to take advantage of it.

The OP is having a very positive FP+ experience and for her, that's awesome. I'm sure that Disney would like to see more guests just like her. But is she in the majority, the minority or somewhere in between? It really appears that much of her success was from getting good FP+ times, being at the park at RD and employing the rider swap to her best advantage. Was FP+ the sole factor influencing her success? IMO, no.

I don't see anyone being mean to the OP. I see posts discussing FP+ in a relatively calm manner. This is a discussion board, not a blog. People are entitled to voice an opinion, even if it's not something that you want to read.

BTW, we're going in Oct., also. I'm looking forward to it, just like all of my Disney trips. And I'm very hopeful that the dust from FP+ will settle by then, or else I have a better "game plan" than I had this past trip.

When it suits them, many people here point out the influence that we may have on first timers and how we should strive not to mislead them. It was clear to me that FP+ was at best the third biggest factor in her very successful day. I think that's an important distinction for anyone who is using reports on this planning board as a model for their plans.

 

[EMode]

We are here now. We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside. It has been the most magical vacation ever. We have been sprinkled big with pixie dust!! Free room upgrade (standard to corner garden/pool) and so close to main building!

Arrived at rope drop. We rode toy story mania, TOT, and rock and roller coaster. We rider swapped so kids got to ride many times! Then our fast passes were huge successes! Hubby and older DS rode TOT with FP and I got a rider swap! My hubby lost it BUT we asked FP cm and they sprinkled me with pixie dust and gave me another!

Next my middle DS and I ride star tours. We did rider swap and then my older DS, hubby, and middle DS rode

Next, we all rode TSM on FP!

Last we rode The Great Movie Ride

We ate at starring rolls- yep I ate cupcake for lunch lol.

We rode TOT 4 times and TSM three! I would say a success! Boys didn't like rock and roller coaster so we only rode once.

Having a blast!

If the OP measures her success by how many times they can ride rides then their success is due to being able to use rider swap. I'm glad the OP had a successful day, I wish my family could still use rider swap, we'd probably re-think our plans to avoid WDW now if we could

 

[LisaTC]

we're going in Oct., also. I'm looking forward to it, just like all of my Disney trips. And I'm very hopeful that the dust from FP+ will settle by then, or else I have a better "game plan" than I had this past trip.

Ditto...here, too!

Glad the OP is have a positive experience on their vacation. Nice to read. Seems that a myriad of things have contributed to their successful day at DHS. Hope a successful theme park experience happens to us. I think the lesson is that it will take a creative process to achieve success with the new FP+ system for those of us who were master FP- users. Reinventing ourselves, if you will, as DisneyWorld attendees. There isn't going to be ONE thing that works...there NEVER is! Kudos to the OP on their success. Glad they got dusted at POR. Our fav! Hope October brings some settling of this process. We are rope droppers, so I hope that continues to be a positive in touring the park(s) We like taking a break and coming back for the evening, hope that can be a plus as well. We like MNSSHP, too, hope that adds some ride time to our trip. We shall see...

Everyone is dying for a positive, legitimate, FP+ works - no hassles, evidence, but there seems to be such hot/cold data with so many variables, that has been difficult to glean. Issues with MDE/MB are still there. Taking a picture of your FP+ screen w/your phone is a good idea, but that it is necessary is kinda scary. However, I've had this issue with ADR's and thank heaven I had the printout or we should've been scurried away. I think the end product is so far away yet. I know on another thread I read an interesting take regarding further, future benefits for onsite that I found intriguing. Who knows...but it was nice to tread a positive report after so many negative.

 

[klitteral2009]

I don't think that it's a silly observation. Kids grow enough to not need the child swap courtesy or they become more bold about their attraction choices. Eventually, everyone with kids reaches a point where they no longer need to take advantage of it.

The OP is having a very positive FP+ experience and for her, that's awesome. I'm sure that Disney would like to see more guests just like her. But is she in the majority, the minority or somewhere in between? It really appears that much of her success was from getting good FP+ times, being at the park at RD and employing the rider swap to her best advantage. Was FP+ the sole factor influencing her success? IMO, no.

I don't see anyone being mean to the OP. I see posts discussing FP+ in a relatively calm manner. This is a discussion board, not a blog. People are entitled to voice an opinion, even if it's not something that you want to read.

BTW, we're going in Oct., also. I'm looking forward to it, just like all of my Disney trips. And I'm very hopeful that the dust from FP+ will settle by then, or else I have a better "game plan" than I had this past trip.

I may have misunderstood that post about rider swap. To me it sounded like an illusion to them taking away rider swap altogether, not just OP's kids aging out of its use. I get that kids grow up and its not always going to be an option but how is that helpful? Her kids are still young and she'll be able to use it for a while longer anyway.

And no, FP+ wasn't the sole reason she was happy but it played a part and that should be ok. Just because other things COMBINED with FP+ made her visit a great one, it shouldn't dismiss the benefit OP saw from using it.

It's hard to gauge if OP is in the majority, minority or somewhere inbetween because there's not a reliable source of information to judge. Of course, here on the DIS its 'grab your torch and pitchforks' in regards to FP+ and MM+ in general. Here I think its safe to say that the majority strongly dislike the changes that have been made. But there are thousands of people who visit every year, who either dont know about the DIS, dont care to post on discussion boards, or are afraid to post positive experiences because of this reason exactly. I would be keenly interested in seeing Disneys survey information to see what people are really saying.

I agree that discussion boards are a wonderful thing and I'm well aware this isn't a blog. However, why not stop by and just say 'glad you had a good trip and it all worked well for you. hopefully we'll have a better experience as our last one was less than ideal'. It's just so hard to share anything positive here sometimes, or at least I feel that way, as there is always someone waiting to be snide, or condecending.

I'm very anxious to take our next trip in October and see how things have changed in a few months. We'll have larger crowds to contend with and so maybe my experience with FP+ will change my opinion but I guess time will tell

 

[EMode]

I may have misunderstood that post about rider swap. To me it sounded like an illusion to them taking away rider swap altogether, not just OP's kids aging out of its use. I get that kids grow up and its not always going to be an option but how is that helpful? Her kids are still young and she'll be able to use it for a while longer anyway.

And no, FP+ wasn't the sole reason she was happy but it played a part and that should be ok. Just because other things COMBINED with FP+ made her visit a great one, it shouldn't dismiss the benefit OP saw from using it.

By the title of the OP I expected to read a post about how great FP+ was, but it read as how great rider swap was. I don't think anyone is truly dismissing her FP+ experience but her OP is more about how rider swap helped her have a successful day riding rides multiple times and not so much FP+

 

[klitteral2009]

By the title of the OP I expected to read a post about how great FP+ was, but it read as how great rider swap was. I don't think anyone is truly dismissing her FP+ experience but her OP is more about how rider swap helped her have a successful day riding rides multiple times and not so much FP+

I personally still see where the FP part of it helped. She was able to ride several headliners without incident and without having to wait in a 70+ minute line for one ride.

 

[EMode]

I personally still see where the FP part of it helped. She was able to ride several headliners without incident and without having to wait in a 70+ minute line for one ride.

I agree but since her OP really didn't go into any detail or praise about FP+ it was easy to ignore it and focus on what she said about using rider swap.
If her trip didn't include the ability to rider swap would it have been as successful with FP+, I'm not sure because her OP didn't give us any clue.

 

[mom2rtk]

I personally still see where the FP part of it helped. She was able to ride several headliners without incident and without having to wait in a 70+ minute line for one ride.

....... which she would have also been able to do with legacy FP since she was at rope drop and FPs would have been available.

If she said "we slept in and were able to enter the park during peak crowds at dinner time and still ride 3 things with little wait", that's something I could buy being because of FP+. With legacy FP, there wouldn't be any left late in the day for the headliners during spring break. (That's would still not be a successful park day by my definition, but it is for some.)