Hey Disney call me when you find yourself.

[michelleiada]

We have been to WDW twice now since the introduction of MB and FP+. For the most part everything went well. A couple of small bumps in the road that Disney made good on. Any new system will have bugs that need to be worked out over time. The bottom line is you will never make everyone happy all the time. Like anything else, Disney has to grow and change and evolve with the times. It can't just stay the same. In my opinion, the system will be a good one. Like most, I do wish that the parks were less crowded. Disney continues to build more on property accommodations (DVC) which brings in more people to the resort. crowds certainly make it much less enjoyable! Now if only they would add a fifth park to disperse the crowds a bit....but I KNOW I KNOW...IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! I still love this happy place and hope that it will continue to bring our family many more fun filled, memory making vacations.

 

[ArwenMarie]

But, if you look at other theme parks, their versions of Fastpass always require something extra to be paid on top of your admission. Disney hasn't done that, although it is interesting that so many folks on this board (me included) thought that early reservations would only be available to onsite guests and that extra Fastpasses would be available for a price. So, kudos to the Mouse for not going that route and opening Fastpass+ to every guest.

I still think they decided not to sell them because there weren't enough left after prebooking to have a reliable inventory to even bother setting up a sales interface. That's why we got the 4th FP...it's just like, "Hey feel feel to pick through what's left!" In return, they successfully quieted down all of the clamor about being limited to 3. So either way, good move on their part. I think the summer season will be the real test of what is left during busy seasons for the 4th FP.

I think the 60-day booking window is still a major onsite perk for the rides that are hard to get and to get the best choice of time windows. Will probably be more of a perk during the very busy seasons again. But I'm glad they opened up prebooking to offsite even at 30 days.

As far as not charging for it, I dunno, it's in the price of the ticket IMO. Same way Magical Express isn't free. I agree though, better to have it rolled in there.

 

[surferdave]

I was there. The machines failed plenty and people complained plenty.

It happens.

Did the machines fail or was that just people not liking change?

 

[MightyGitis]

Did the machines fail or was that just people not liking change?

In the beginning the machines failed. Spit out denial tickets. Wouldn't read passes. Would read old passes allowing people to get way more then they were supposed to. Would claim the thing you scanned wasn't a ticket. They jammed up. I could go on and on but no one wants to hear that every system when first implemented has problems.

Instead people want to call them stupid for changing the system in the first place.

 

[mesaboy2]

The worst I ever experienced with legacy FP was a kiosk not printing FPs. So the attending CM would hand you what you needed or grabbed some from the next kiosk. Very fast and easy guest recovery.

Don't know if it was ever worse than that, perhaps around its first implementation there were bigger problems?

 

[MightyGitis]

The worst I ever experienced with legacy FP was a kiosk not printing FPs. So the attending CM would hand you what you needed or grabbed some from the next kiosk. Very fast and easy guest recovery. Don't know if it was ever worse than that, perhaps around its first implementation there were bigger problems?

See above post. I'm just tired of people who weren't there acting like they know. You also could only get one FP and when it expired had to wait two hours to get another.

And CMs weren't just handing you vouchers. There was in the beginning no button for them to press to spit out a ticket for you if your card didn't work. There were no dummy tickets they could give you to use at the fastpass kiosks if your ticket wasn't working.

Regardless the old system didn't go anywhere because people were complaining. And this one won't either. Personally I'm just glad the new system is PAPERLESS.

 

[Laketravis]

But the long lines move quickly. And 60 minutes in the SB line now seems like 30.

That's the Disney Magic others speak of.

 

[luvthemouse71]

Another whining thread...thanks!

Entertaining though, to a point.

 

[mesaboy2]

See above post. I'm just tired of people who weren't there acting like they know. You also could only get one FP and when it expired had to wait two hours to get another.

And CMs weren't just handing you vouchers. There was in the beginning no button for them to press to spit out a ticket for you if your card didn't work. There were no dummy tickets they could give you to use at the fastpass kiosks if your ticket wasn't working.

What's the worst happening with this system? It deletes a fastpass? The Mickey head takes a second to read? Did it take people's birthday away? I've yet to see any complaint so extreme that it isn't something that will get fixed in time just like the old system.

Regardless the old system didn't go anywhere because people were complaining. And this one won't either. Personally I'm just glad the new system is PAPERLESS.

Meh, paperless. That just makes it harder to remember for a lot of people.

To me for all the capital and effort that was spent on this it doesn't strike me as having any huge advantages for the guest. After all that, we have a system that is more complex for the average guest, for the most part requires electronics doodads, and requires some tech-savviness. All to save "running around the park" (which is constantly hyperbolized here--and I mean constantly) and the ability to get TSM FPs without having to arrive at a park before 10:30a.

If I were to rebuild a relatively successful system like this from the ground up, I would have hoped for a significantly better system for both the guest and the corporate bottom line. I don't know that it will ever be either.

 

[Ninja Mom]

I thought your post was fantastic and right on the money!

Thank you for taking the time to share your opinion with us!

Here are a dancing Laurel and Hardy in gratitude for braving these boards, in spite of the fact of the people who will give you grief for sharing your opinion and experiences.



~NM

 

[MightyGitis]

Meh, paperless. That just makes it harder to remember for a lot of people. To me for all the capital and effort that was spent on this it doesn't strike me as having any huge advantages for the guest. After all that, we have a system that is more complex for the average guest, for the most part requires electronics doodads, and requires some tech-savviness. All to save "running around the park" (which is constantly hyperbolized here--and I mean constantly) and the ability to get TSM FPs without having to arrive at a park before 10:30a. (I am aware of how this is supposed to benefit Disney, but I'm not sure it will ever live up to those corporate expectations.) If I were to rebuild a relatively successful system like this from the ground up, I would have hoped for a significantly better system for both the guest and the corporate bottom line.

One could argue that gadgets were involved in the old system. Apps to tell you what the FP return times being given out were to save you, yes I will say it, running to the other side of the park to find out there are no slots left.

You can scoff at paperless if you want, and I don't know the figures but the amount of paper required to run legacy FP was ridiculously high. And I know they recycled them but still.

We won't debate the successfulness of Legacy fastpass. In 15 years they'll be changing this system and people will be crying and mourning the loss of this system.

For something so complicated more people are using it than the old system. And if we wanna talk about excuses way over used I could die happy if I don't hear people complain about the new system wiring them to their phone.

 

[mesaboy2]

1. One would argue that gadgets were involved in the old system. Apps to tell you what the FP return times being given out were to save you, yes I will say it, running to the other side of the park to find out there are no slots left.

2. And you can scoff at paperless and I don't know the figures but the amount of paper required to run legacy FP was ridiculously high. And I know they recycled them but still.

We won't debate the successfulness of Legacy fastpass. In 15 years they'll be changing this system and people will be crying and mourning the loss of this system.

For something so complicated more people are using it than the old system. And if we wanna talk about excuses way over used I could die happy if I don't hear people complain about the new system wiring them to their phone.

1. Extremely late in the life of legacy FP--I don't think that point is debatable.

2. I am not "scoffing" at paperless, it simply isn't an important issue for me.

I think I am being logical and respectful of your position, I would appreciate the same from you.

 

[MightyGitis]

1. Extremely late in the life of legacy FP--I don't think that point is debatable. 2. I am not "scoffing" at paperless, it simply isn't an important issue for me. I think I am being logical and respectful of your position, I would appreciate the same from you.

Oh I'm sorry I really wasn't trying to be disrespectful so if I was I'm sorry.

I am not sold on FP+ either. I think there are improvements to be made. However I recognize that complaining endlessly about it and claiming it ruined things isn't helping anyone. Maybe I ride splash mountain less times than I used to. Maybe I never get a rolling 4th for a decent ride.

I love the bands themselves. I love not pulling out a card for park entry, room entry, dining plan usage. They are heading in the right direction. The SYSTEM works. The hardware itself works.

The problem people have is not with that but with the FPs because they were used to the old way. One of two things will happen they will get used to the new system or Disney will modify how FP works in the new system based on feedback.

Just like the old system (this was the only point I was trying to make)

 

[surferdave]

See above post. I'm just tired of people who weren't there acting like they know.

Being in WDW in 1999 wasn't exactly like being on the grassy knoll; the parks weren't as jam packed as they are now but there were plenty of us there. I was there in 1978 when it was all paper attraction tickets as well.

Any glitches the system encountered back then didn't last THIS long, and if it had problems at least you were on equal footing with everyone else back to the way it worked without the new system anyway.

 

[OceanAnnie]

The problem I have with the new system is the Big Brother component. I don't like the tracking in real time. We have enough of that in our lives already. I don't like it. It's creepy.

 

[MightyGitis]

The problem I have with the new system is the Big Brother component. I don't like the tracking in real time. We have enough of that in our lives already. I don't like it. It's creepy.

It's more advanced tracking. The old system tracked you to a much smaller degree than this one does. It saw when you entered and it saw where you got a FP and that's about it. Though it might also have seen when you entered your room too.

This one can track more which is evidenced by the system in Be Our Guest where it sees where in the restaurant you are sitting with embedded electronics in the table.

 

[OceanAnnie]

It's more advanced tracking. The old system tracked you to a much smaller degree than this one does. It saw when you entered and it saw where you got a FP and that's about it. Though it might also have seen when you entered your room too.

This one can track more which is evidenced by the system in Be Our Guest where it sees where in the restaurant you are sitting with embedded electronics in the table.

I don't think that is necessary or a good thing.

 

[mesaboy2]

Oh I'm sorry I really wasn't trying to be disrespectful so if I was I'm sorry.

I am not sold on FP+ either. I think there are improvements to be made. However I recognize that complaining endlessly about it and claiming it ruined things isn't helping anyone. Maybe I ride splash mountain less times than I used to. Maybe I never get a rolling 4th for a decent ride.

I love the bands themselves. I love not pulling out a card for park entry, room entry, dining plan usage. They are heading in the right direction. The SYSTEM works. The hardware itself works.

The problem people have is not with that but with the FPs because they were used to the old way. One of two things will happen they will get used to the new system or Disney will modify how FP works in the new system based on feedback.

Just like the old system (this was the only point I was trying to make)

I am a well-known complainer of FP+ when it was first introduced. The original design was very limiting compared to what I was able to do before. The changes in recent months have made it more palatable, but I don't know that I will ever be able to overcome my first impression, which was terrible. I am, if I may say so, extremely tech-savvy and have more than my fair share of electronic doodads, so those concerns and the relative complexity are not on my behalf. I can certainly handle it. But I do have concerns for the rarely-visiting family from Wisconsin, UK, or Australia and their ability to use this system successfully. Old system was understood by reading a few sentences on any park map, this one--I daresay not so much.

I don't really have any issues with MBs, they seem to be the star of MM+ for me and most.

 

[KCSherri]

I love the bands themselves. I love not pulling out a card for park entry, room entry, dining plan usage. They are heading in the right direction. The SYSTEM works. The hardware itself works.

This is true…to a point. For those of us with AP's, we STILL must carry our AP's in the park in order to get our discounts at the stores. For those of us with TIW cards, we STILL must carry our TIW card in the park in order to get our dining discounts. And - I have to carry my ID with me, so that I can prove it really is ME with the AP and TIW. Gah. And of course, I carry a CC around, in case the system is down and I can't charge something on my MB.

So…although the MB's are cool, I think they have a ways to go to make them even better.

 

[MightyGitis]

This is true…to a point. For those of us with AP's, we STILL must carry our AP's in the park in order to get our discounts at the stores. For those of us with TIW cards, we STILL must carry our TIW card in the park in order to get our dining discounts. And - I have to carry my ID with me, so that I can prove it really is ME with the AP and TIW. Gah. And of course, I carry a CC around, in case the system is down and I can't charge something on my MB. So…although the MB's are cool, I think they have a ways to go to make them even better.

As an AP myself I agree I wish I didn't have to have the AP discount card and ID for the discount and hope that changes.