Here now, the magics gone because of FP+

[amg35]

I'm sorry your vacation is stressful. I completely understand your feelings. As you can already see, some people won't and will say it is somehow your fault you're feeling stressed. It can't possibly be the limitations Disney has set in place.

I hope you're able to make the best of your remaining days.

I know it's really annoying. Just like when people post they had a great time and others posters need to come to the thread and inform the op that they actually didn't have a great time and here's why...

Sorry OP, you sound disappointed and no matter what the reason, it's never good to be disappointed on vacation. I hope things look up for you soon!

 

[morethananyonex]

You know so many times when people describe their good days in detail and others respond that it sounds like a bad day to them, those people are lectured for having the nerve to question someone else's experience.

Same goes here. If what the OP experienced sounds like a good day to you, that's great news. Yay for you. That has no bearing on how the OP felt about it. We all have very different ideas on what a successful Disney day looks like. For some of us, FP+ truly does hinder that. For others it doesn't.

OP, I totally understand what you mean. FP+ made us feel a lot more stressed than any FP- trip has, even ones during busier seasons. We felt tied down to our schedule, and felt like we had to ensure we made good use of our FP because once they were gone they were gone and then we would be stuck in lines where there previously weren't any.

 

[Jennasis]

Satisfaction is subjective. What I consider "getting my money's worth" may not work for someone else. Doesn't make either of us right/wrong. If the scenario in the OP isn't satisfactory for the OP then they have every right to be dissatisfied and discontinue their future trips. Whether I would have been satisfied with that scenario is meaningless.

 

[MichiganDVC]

You know so many times when people describe their good days in detail and others respond that it sounds like a bad day to them, those people are lectured for having the nerve to question someone else's experience.

Same goes here. If what the OP experienced sounds like a good day to you, that's great news. Yay for you. That has no bearing on how the OP felt about it. We all have very different ideas on what a successful Disney day looks like. For some of us, FP+ truly does hinder that. For others it doesn't.

And then there are Negative-Nancy trolls....

When OP returns, we discover which one it was. Until then, we speculate.

 

[morethananyonex]

And then there are Negative-Nancy trolls.... When OP returns, we discover which one it was. Until then, we speculate.

Posting a negative experience does not make one a troll anymore than posting a positive experience. Neither does posting a Universal experience for that matter .

 

[wisblue]

I guess what I'd like to know is what the OP expected to do between 9 AM and using the 11:15 FP, and how FP+ prevented them from doing it.

 

[morethananyonex]

I guess what I'd like to know is what the OP expected to do between 9 AM and using the 11:15 FP, and how FP+ prevented them from doing it.

Sounds like OP tried doing many of the traditionally lower wait attractions through the stand by lines and ran into the longer waits FP+ has caused. Also tried changing a Splash FP+ but couldn't. Even though that couldn't have been done with FP- many have been raving about the flexibility of changing FP+.

I dunno, considering OP was there for a pre opening ADR and left at 1230 the amount of stuff accomplished does seem a little low to me considering many of those attractions had much lower waits in the past.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Sounds like you did quite a bit for the morning. Did you have any fastpasses left? Touring Plans is showing Splash Mt as a posted 35 min wait currently.

7 attractions, a table service meal and assorted wandering in 4.5 hours? Sounds pretty productive to me.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I'm sorry you've had a bad morning. I'm looking at MDE right now and there's a lot of rides with 10-30 minute waits, which doesn't sound too bad to me. And 7 rides in 3.5 hours actually sounds really good. Are you going back later this afternoon?

'

Ah.. the guest must be wrong chant is in full force. If you don't like something the problem is YOU not Disney!

OP didn't enjoy trying to chart their vacation minute by minute on a cell phone while at the park. Why is that so bad? It may not bother you but it did them.

This really isn't about how "I" feel it's about how OP feels. If they aren't enjoying the trip then they have the right to say so and the right to spend their money elsewhere. Trust me I know how they feel!

What I don't get is why others feel they have to "prove" the person who had a bad time is "wrong" or "unrealistic" etc.. Actually, you should be glad some of us are getting fed up with the Disney "Tragic" band experiences. Less people in line in front of you!

 

[kyomagi]

'

Ah.. the guest must be wrong chant is in full force. If you don't like something the problem is YOU not Disney!

OP didn't enjoy trying to chart their vacation minute by minute on a cell phone while at the park. Why is that so bad? It may not bother you but it did them.

This really isn't about how "I" feel it's about how OP feels. If they aren't enjoying the trip then they have the right to say so and the right to spend their money elsewhere. Trust me I know how they feel!

What I don't get is why others feel they have to "prove" the person who had a bad time is "wrong" or "unrealistic" etc.. Actually, you should be glad some of us are getting fed up with the Disney "Tragic" band experiences. Less people in line in front of you!

sorry but i feel op is treating this vacation as a chore. every time i go to MK, i use 1 maybe 2 fast passes and we always have a good time regardless.

Since when does going to MK feel like going to work? Im no power user but i have been 3 times in 5 years with my 4th trip in 10 days

 

[MichiganDVC]

Posting a negative experience does not make one a troll anymore than posting a positive experience. Neither does posting a Universal experience for that matter .

Posting, apparently, two negative experiences in two days and not coming back to give more details does point toward troll.

Like I said, until OP comes back, it's all speculation.

Plenty of people complain on these boards and aren't trolls. If you try to justify/defend your negative experience, then fine. If not, then troll.

 

[morethananyonex]

sorry but i feel op is treating this vacation as a chore. every time i go to MK, i use 1 maybe 2 fast passes and we always have a good time regardless. Since when does going to MK feel like going to work? Im no power user but i have been 3 times in 5 years with my 4th trip in 10 days

In the nicest way possible, why should what you do to have a good time have any impact on what the OP feels is a good time?

I feel using 1 FP in MK in a day would lead to a not so great day with too much time in line. That would feel like a chore to me. Does that change how you view it? Didn't think so.

 

[AndreaA]

Sounds like OP tried doing many of the traditionally lower wait attractions through the stand by lines and ran into the longer waits FP+ has caused. Also tried changing a Splash FP+ but couldn't. Even though that couldn't have been done with FP- many have been raving about the flexibility of changing FP+.

I dunno, considering OP was there for a pre opening ADR and left at 1230 the amount of stuff accomplished does seem a little low to me considering many of those attractions had much lower waits in the past.

Yes, at least half of those attractions should have been walk-ons at that time, therefore she should have been able to do three in an hour, easily, leaving two+ hours for three rides and a FP+ M&G? Yeah, that doesn't sound very productive.

And to those who seem to think I'm running through parks in order to average 3-4 rides per hour (admittedly, 4 is probably high), trust me, with two five year olds, we're not running anywhere! I am, however, planning wisely, walking to rides, waiting 5-10min (between the hours of 9-11) riding and then walking right to the next ride and doing the same thing, with stops for shopping and snacking. When the standby lines got to be longer than 20min, we'd leave the park, and that was never before 1:30-2:30pm.

Now I do that in September and October, so perhaps lower the average to 3 rides per hour in busier times, but look at some of Josh's (easywdw.com) old trip reports and he was EASILY accomplishing that pre-FP+. I'll be interested to see his latest reports. I think there should be one coming out shortly.

 

[ShannonMB]

I have yet to experience FP+, and I can definitely see how it can put a major crimp in someone's touring plan. I see some big adjustments I am going to have to make and I'm "optimistic but concerned".

I'm not wrapping my brain around the theory that FP+ is going to make standby lines longer that first hour or 2 after rope drop. Why would that be? No sarcasm, just trying to think it out. I have always thought rope drop was such a great score because most people on vacation and with kids to get up, etc, that people just can't make it to the park that early. Now are people FP+ ing in droves for the first timeslots of the morning and showing up to them?

I am a rope-dropper more than I ever was a fastpasser, so I need to know!

 

[magicbob]

look at some of Josh's (easywdw.com) old trip reports and he was EASILY accomplishing that pre-FP+. I'll be interested to see his latest reports. I think there should be one coming out shortly.

It will be even more interesting to see the responses when acknowledged experts document the effect of FP+ on wait times. I wonder how long it will take before these respected individuals will be vilified as "haters" with pre-conceived negative attitudes?

 

[morethananyonex]

I have yet to experience FP+, and I can definitely see how it can put a major crimp in someone's touring plan. I see some big adjustments I am going to have to make and I'm "optimistic but concerned". I'm not wrapping my brain around the theory that FP+ is going to make standby lines longer that first hour or 2 after rope drop. Why would that be? No sarcasm, just trying to think it out. I have always thought rope drop was such a great score because most people on vacation and with kids to get up, etc, that people just can't make it to the park that early. Now are people FP+ ing in droves for the first timeslots of the morning and showing up to them? I am a rope-dropper more than I ever was a fastpasser, so I need to know!

First off, FP+ windows start right at regular park opening, FP- windows were about 40 minutes in. That means there's an extra 40 minutes of the FP line cutting off the regular line.

Second, FP+ is given priority in a way FP- was not. There are more FP+ given out, and the stand by line is held for a longer period of time.

Third, some attractions like POTC that were not built for FP use now have less efficient stand by lines, as with the POTC example one side is FP and one side is stand by where in the past both sides were stand by. Most attractions that didn't have FP previously, or had low FP use now see longer stand by lines.

Lastly, starting tomorrow you can get a 4th (and beyond) FP once you've used your 3. That encourages FP+ use in the earlier slots. We don't know how big of an impact that will have yet.

 

[DVCJones]

We left WDW yesterday. We spent 7 days there and thought FP+ was surprisingly great. I was expecting the worst and discovered it wasn't that bad. BTW my 9yo would have loved to se A&E and did not get the chance. Count me in as someone who is also confused. It sounds like you accomplished a lot before noon.... What did you do for the rest of the day?

 

[AndreaA]

I'm not wrapping my brain around the theory that FP+ is going to make standby lines longer that first hour or 2 after rope drop. Why would that be? No sarcasm, just trying to think it out. I have always thought rope drop was such a great score because most people on vacation and with kids to get up, etc, that people just can't make it to the park that early. Now are people FP+ ing in droves for the first timeslots of the morning and showing up to them?

I am a rope-dropper more than I ever was a fastpasser, so I need to know!

Yes, people are able to make FP+ slots right from park open, (where it used to be that even old FP didn't have return times until nearly 10am) and people are making them and keeping them. Now that the 4th, 5th, 6th FPs are being released ONLY after you've used your first three, it seems quite likely that people will be even more eager to get their first three FPs over and done with early so they have a better shot at good "same-day" FP+ slots for their 4th, etc..

Nine to ten is still probably MOSTLY safe, but after that? I've been hearing more and more stories of standby lines building VERY early for rides that were walk-ons until 11 or 12 previously. It doesn't help that the ratios for taking standby people vs FP+ people is seriously skewed to the FP+ people (upwards of 70%, so for every ten people on a ride, 7 are FP+!).

 

[DVCJones]

Agreed. Definitely expect to do more than 6-7 rides in a day. That's a ridiculous return on a multi-thouand dollar vacation.

But she left at noon time. I think she could have do e more if she stayed in the park or left and came back in the evening when a lot of rides are walk on. I just left WDW yesterday and walked on a lot if rides after 8pm to close....

 

[Shaden]

I guess what I'd like to know is what the OP expected to do between 9 AM and using the 11:15 FP, and how FP+ prevented them from doing it.

I actually agree Wis, and you know I am not a fan of FP+ for me and mine, BUT, it sounds like they got a reasonable amount done, I am not big for those rides, we are more into the mountains and the biggies than anything else, usually don't hit those smaller rides until later in the day if at all.

Without hearing what the wait times were, its hard to gauge if FP+ was really to blame. And I have called people with Pro FP+ comments out for this too, I am really not sure if FP+ is to blame here.

YES we have seen data that shows that FP+ is increasing SB lines, but that's average SB lines, we don't know what impact exactly this is having on SB lines from 9-10am, or 10-11am, etc. On top of that, if they only used 1 FP, they might have booked their FPs better, and booked them from 10-11. 11-12. and 12-1. And used all 3, thus mitigating some of that line standing.

Hard to blame FP+ here without more details, and I can't REALLY see FP+ having a massively negative impact on 3 or 4 hours in the park at RD. Because you would probably have only pull 4 FP- in that time in the old days, since you could still have used 3 ... its not that much different, unless you establish some seriously increased wait times.

 

[Zeebs]

we aren't even there yet or used the FP+ in the parks and I am feeling a loss of magic......

Having to plan each and every day, book FP's for every day "just in case" we will go to a park that day is not enjoyable to me.

I am sure when we get there we will have a fantastic time. But the planning of this trip for me has been less enjoyable than the my other two.

Everyone tours differently what makes it enjoyable for one doesn't always make for an enjoyable time for another.

OP I am sorry your trip was lacking for you and your family.

Kirsten