How do my fellow "locals" feel about fp+?

[heyitsmejosh]

i was wondering how my fellow "locals" felt about the new system and wondering if anyone had any strategies for it.

i for one am a little conflicted. Right now i'm okay with the system because i'm an afternoon guy and this allows me to get a few fast passes before i go to the park that i wouldnt have been able to get before, i dont like the one park thing but what are you gonna do.

the thing that worries me is the 60+ days out thing.. like most locals i rarely plan a trip more than a few days in advance i'm concerned that fastpass plus is going to turn into another ADR type system where everything is gone long before id ever plan a trip to go to the parks. i dont want to have to plan a whole trip 2 months in advance just because i want to ride toy story. right now there doesnt seem to be a problem but in a few days when offsite guests can start booking it might get bad.

 

[Nayan]

As a local who just got back, I can say it was pretty bad. The FP kiosks were a mess, the stand-by times were insane and since I am one who really never plans now it seems like you really have to in order to ride anything. I'm sure the Spring Break and marching band crowds had a lot to do with it as it was packed, but I'm used to usually walking on rides like IASM but even that one had almost an hour wait at one point. While overall I had a good time, this experience doesn't make me feel like I want to head back anytime soon.

 

[Cais]

As someone who routinely picks up adrs day off (park fair, boma, California grill, crystal palace, brown derby, hoop de doo, liberty tree, trails end whispering canyon and yachtsman all currently available) it's been fine for me so far. Seek out the lesser known kiosks and I've gotten same day fastpasses for even tsm in the afternoon. And those are the only ones I can make.

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[yulilin3]

I go to the parks almost every weekend, and been able to get fast passes for everything I wanted a day or two in advance. I was looking for a FoF parade fast pass and got it the same morning before I left the house this past Thursday

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

I just got back today. Was there March 24 til 29. The parks were packed this week so it was hard to tell..but

I went to Epcot yesterday and it wasn't that crowded and just checked wait times and they were very reasonable for everything. Tsm only 80 minutes, SM 45 at 1:30 on sat.

MK was closed Wednesday due to reaching capacity.....2 hour wait on sm at 1:30.

The new FP system has more choices so I think that because people need to pick three it's making the lines longer on rides that weren't before. Take people who don't ride roller coaster.....what do they ride......HM, pirates...etc. so since now the standby line which moved quickly before is backed up now since you have the FP people going ahead of you where before the 10 minute line was 10 minutes but now it's 25 since 200 with FP's will move ahead of you.

But that being said, you would think the headliners lines would be considerably less.....I used to get 4 FP's a day for TT and Soarin or splash and thunder... Now I can on get 1 at Epcot? So why in the world would Soarin still be the same wait as before.

They must be more people, reduced ride capacity or incorrect wait times or they are giving out more FP's during that time period.

I got my FP's 1 week out as I stayed at my DVC but FP times for TT,Soarin,TSM RnRc started at 4 pm. All the FP's were gone for the morning and early afternoon. So I can imagine what locals and guest staying off premises found the day of.......and now that everyone can reserve 30 days out....there will be none the day of and good luck if you want to change it out.

But I found it was really easy to change out at MK and Ak(even Wednesday when the park closed to capacity). But Soarin, TT and TSM were all gone so you couldn't switch out the day of. If they did carsland that would help with the choices at DS. Also, Epcot needs more rides........Epcot used to be my favorite but I'm getting bored with it. Needs something need....bring back horizons, a new 3D movie and another Soarin screen that has Soarin over America and Soarin over Europe....then you'd have 3 choices instead of just one.

I meet some people who were at RP and couldn't get fps for TSM...they waiting 110 minutes.....

So I guess we all have to come up with a new strategy. Mine is to go to the parks during nonpeak times. I still have kids in school so I haven't been to a park when under a "7" in a long time. I will get to park at rope drop, ride the headliners as usual first, get FP in early evening for Soarin, the 3 MK mt's, TSM and TOT.....

But If the crowds are getting larger, Disney needs to build more rides.......the dwarf train coming on will help capacity in MK, but you would think that with TVOLM and the extra dumbo and bog rest that things would thin out more.....

Since I don't go all the time, it would great to hear from someone who has gone at peak and nonpeak times. Spring break is out for me!

 

[Luvchefmic]

i was wondering how my fellow "locals" felt about the new system and wondering if anyone had any strategies for it.

i for one am a little conflicted. Right now i'm okay with the system because i'm an afternoon guy and this allows me to get a few fast passes before i go to the park that i wouldnt have been able to get before, i dont like the one park thing but what are you gonna do.

Hi Josh: Afternoon people here too primarily so it's okay Have to deal with the one park day thing, maybe it will change


the thing that worries me is the 60+ days out thing.. like most locals i rarely plan a trip more than a few days in advance i'm concerned that fastpass plus is going to turn into another ADR type system where everything is gone long before id ever plan a trip to go to the parks. i dont want to have to plan a whole trip 2 months in advance just because i want to ride toy story. right now there doesnt seem to be a problem but in a few days when offsite guests can start booking it might get bad.

Now as far as ADRs sometimes I will check night before or even day of and had great success with many popular places Most times wing it with CS or bring our own We do stay on property for the BIG occasions BD, Anniversary etc and then will do ADRs

Managed to get BOG for last Christmas without much real effort I'm cautiously optimistic with availability of FP+ another wait & see I guess

Ruthie

 

[staceyrhood]

We are locals and went to MK Thursday, I got 3 FP+ on MDE Wednesday night. There were a few different times to choose from. We got Peter pan, pooh, and met talking Mickey. We only waited about 5 minutes for Mickey, otherwise we walked right on the other 2. It worked great for us, we loved it!

 

[Art 1]

I have never used FP+ and don't plan to. For me it's too much bother. I don't like to plan at all.

I don't think FP+ will last. The lines seem much worse all around since it started.

This, and looking at construction for the last few years is making me consider not renewing my pass.

 

[Wally world]

As someone who routinely picks up adrs day off (park fair, boma, California grill, crystal palace, brown derby, hoop de doo, liberty tree, trails end whispering canyon and yachtsman all currently available) it's been fine for me so far. Seek out the lesser known kiosks and I've gotten same day fastpasses for even tsm in the afternoon. And those are the only ones I can make.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Can you elaborate on the lesser known kiosks please?

 

[sretav]

I don't think FP+ will last.

I'm glad to see humour is still alive and well on the boards!

 

[nancipants]

I love it. Haven't had any problems getting Fast Passes for the rides we like, especially now that we can pre-book.

 

[nfggirl5454]

I was just there Wednesday and Thursday. We planned the trip about three weeks in advance, during Alachua County's spring break since my sister is a teacher. I'm trying to remain hopeful, especially with the recent survey regarding a 4th FP+ selection, but it's getting kinda hard. It was impossible to change FP+ selections the day of at the MK, and it's not like we had headliners - Speedway, Peter Pan, and Pirates.

On Thursday we did Epcot. I changed our Test Track when I woke up at 8, so before the park opened, and managed to move it just an hour. We got to the park much later than expected. I'd planned to FP Spaceship Earth when we arrived, but we missed it, and it was almost impossible to change it for 5 people. The first few times I tried, it kept telling me there was no later availability. I finally was able to change it, but I had to do each person one at a time, and for the 5th person, I wasn't able to change it until about 4 hours after I originally started. We got it around 7, and the standby line was long, like 20 or 25 mins, which IMO is ridiculous. My friends waited 40 mins for Maelstrom around 2pm-ish.

With offsiters being able to plan 30 days in advance, some selections are going to be hard to get, and I think it'll be difficult to move some things the day of. Hopefully when people change their plans, they'll make the appropriate changes to MDE, but I doubt it. Our passes expire next month, and it's uncertain if we'll renew, for the sole reason that we're not happy with FP+. d

 

[sunkissed4]

I've had good luck with FP+ at Epcot, DHS, and AK during our afternoon trips. We have small kids so we don't ride much at those parks, I'm guessing that's why we've had a good time.

MK has been awful for us every time. Rides that we usually hop on quickly like small world, pirates, HM, etc. have very long lines. I'm not talking about this past week during spring break, we've ran into long lines at these rides on slower days.

We probably won't renew our passes next year. I'm staying hopeful and trying to figure out the best way to utilize the new system at MK, but so far it's a bust for my family.

 

[wuzzy6]

We are local-ish - 2 1/2 hours away - and AP holders. We have found that FP+ works fine for us on day trips AND when staying on-site. We are usually there for RD, and we schedule our FP+ times for lunchtime or later. Works just fine for us.

 

[FLSarah]

We have found that FP+ works fine for us on day trips AND when staying on-site. We are usually there for RD, and we schedule our FP+ times for lunchtime or later. Works just fine for us.

That has worked very well for us our last 2 (weekend) trips. We usually start with RD in the morning at MK and then have FP for another park in the afternoon.

 

[lovethattink]

We always go for a part of a day, so the 3 FP+ work perfect for a few hours. However, we've run into only being able to get 2 FP+ in tiered parks a couple times.

The only thing I'd like to throw out the window is the MDE app. It seems to work great at home, but I keep getting a blip in the system when I try to change something at the park. The App is my biggest gripe.

 

[Alice Royal]

I've had a MagicBand since January from an onsite stay but my friends that I almost always take day trips with didn't get theirs till this month. We never used FP+ for that reason--as easy as I've found it to pick up day-of FPs, especially in the evenings/late nights, without all three of us being able to sync them up it just wasn't practical.

We avoid peak times and ride only what we feel like, so we don't get all worked up over missing out on a headliner or anything. That being said, now that we all have access to FP+, it'll be nice to finally take DBF on Soarin' and TSMM...xD