How I Hate FastPass+

[itchin2go]

I believe everyone is correct, well most. I think some people are saying they do not like FP+, that is all, not that Disney is horrible. I think most of them would agree with me that FP+ is a good thing for the right kind of guest.

Lots of people have different touring plans, some may be that they would like to ride at least 3 main attractions per day and do all the other really cool stuff at Disney. Those type of guests would tend to LOVE FP+. Those of us who like to get 10 or more FPs per day probably WON'T like FP+.

We didn't go last year because of the change, I saw them testing it in 2013 and figured it would be like this. I have faith in Disney and was hoping they would have tweaked/fixed it by now. It sounds like they are trying new things. I have reservations for June and looking at spending around $6K. Maybe should cancel, do something else this year, and give it another year.

Is the problem that you used to collect fastpasses during the day to use at night? I can see that being a rude awakening with the new system.

We rode most everything standby pre FP+. We used a handful of FP-, but we showed up early, waited in minimal lines and rode the stuff we wanted to. If we returned at night, it was for a dinner reservation and nighttime entertainment/activities - not to ride rides. Maybe that's why the new system didn't upset our apple cart.

 

[Luckybee]

You don't buy these arguments? LOL! Are you insinuating that it's all made up? Let's see, 7DMT-gone, A&E-gone, ETWB-only late evening left, Toy Story-only late eve, and gone. ADR breakfasts for, Tuskers, CP, Akershus- gone, ADR dinners- MM Fantasmic, BOG, Akershus- gone, ADR lunch- BOG, Akershus, etc. - gone.

And I'm going end of April, Beginning of May. After the Easter and Spring break crowds, and before the summer crowds. You can buy what you want, but I know what it is. I've been going for 27 years and it's much different now than it ever was.

I just tried to change our MK day for the beginning of May (wanted May 9). Wanted any of the following fp's. Jungle Cruise, 7dmt, Wishes, POTC. Two were available but only wishes worked time wise. Needless to say I didn't change. For fun I poked around to see what times were available for other things and other than 3rd tier attractions there was availability but times were limited on most.

 

[ryanhuey]

Itchin - I think that is it. Do you like the new FP+ system BETTER or about the same?

We are pretty hardcore. We knew the system and crowds. We did rope drop, walked on rides while collecting FP's. Then went on mid-morning FP rides while collecting mid-afternoon FPs, then lunch, then collected evening FPs while riding mid-afternoon FP rides. Then to hotel for a break, back for dinner. Then did rides/FWs/Shows depending on evening FP times. Sometimes we'd hangout for the crowds to dwindle and walk on a few more rides.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

The Newbies and Onesies won't notice a thing.

The veterans and frequent guests will.

 

[itchin2go]

Itchin - I think that is it. Do you like the new FP+ system BETTER or about the same?

We are pretty hardcore. We knew the system and crowds. We did rope drop, walked on rides while collecting FP's. Then went on mid-morning FP rides while collecting mid-afternoon FPs, then lunch, then collected evening FPs while riding mid-afternoon FP rides. Then to hotel for a break, back for dinner. Then did rides/FWs/Shows depending on evening FP times. Sometimes we'd hangout for the crowds to dwindle and walk on a few more rides.

It's a wash for me, but then again, we didn't really try to "tour" in the evening.

In a way, I liked the old system better because (1) I knew it better, and (2) I actually felt more in control. We could ride Soarin AND pull a FP for it and ride twice in pretty quick succession. Now, we just pre-book a FP for it and do it once. We're standing in line for Test Track when we USED to be riding Soarin at rope drop, but you can't be in 2 places at once, and you can't book a FP for both of them. The new system is less adaptable too - to weather for instance. If you booked FP for MK on a given day and it pours rain, and you'd rather move that to a different day, well, that may not be ideal because you didn't book FPs for that day 60 days out or even 30. We had a FP for SDMT that didn't get used because it was pouring rain, and we didn't want to traipse over there in the pouring rain ... and it didn't stop raining all day.

In a way, I like the new system better because I'm not running from one end of the park to the other collecting fastpasses. More planning on the front end, less running on the back end. We also did one evening in DHS. With the old system, it wouldn't have been possible to waltz into the park at 5:00 (for the first time that day) and ride TSMM ... with little to no wait. THAT felt really nice.

Maybe I was pleasantly surprised that the new system didn't ruin my trip, because I worried SO much about it. So maybe it was a case of low expectations!

 

[ryanhuey]

Maybe I was pleasantly surprised that the new system didn't ruin my trip, because I worried SO much about it. So maybe it was a case of low expectations!

Exactly, its just a matter of what you want out of it. I have a few days where we can go early and RP and FP then come straight back for the rest of the day. Other days we will go early afternoon to FP and then dinner and fireworks. For those days FP+ will work great. We are staying at AK for the first time because I figured we'd get frustrated and want to spend more time at the resort this trip. We always go offsite the last few days and hit the parks hard. I think those days will be the ones we will dislike FP+.

 

[chrispeto]

The last time we went to WDW was August 2013 we where staying at a resort that happened to have fast pass + at the time there was only a handful of resorts using the MB and fp +, so it was pretty easy to plan each day while we were there, I though it was cool. Even reading the comments I still think it is cool. We are going in August this year and the advance planning has sparked a lively discussion about what to reserve.
This is a new challenge and requires a new strategy and I'm not going to sweat it, my family and I are going to enjoy WDW.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

More than a year later and this topic is still an issue

 

[disneytraceyl]

I guess the one thing I did learn, book your fast passes for early in the morning. If you don't, you will not be able to get an extra one at night.

 

[jomass]

I think that no matter what Disney does in terms of crowd management, people will be upset or happy, depending on how their personal experience is. I live a few mile from Six Flags NE, formerly Riverside Park. I was never prepared to love Six Flags, but I wanted to at least like it. Oh my Goodness! Now remember, I am a Riverside fan, so I make my comparisons to my experiences there, and not matter what, RIverside always won.

The lines were horendous. Each time my family braved the park. Just getting in the park was a challenge...expensive and long. Lockers expensive! Customer service was non existant. and ti was expensive to boot! Way higher that Riverside ever was.

So what changed? Tehre are more attractions there, and bigger ones than Riverside ever had. A hiuge water park, and tons of games to take folks out of the lines, which were never ending. Well, more people for sure, and a lot more space to cover in one day, a lousy excuse for a parade that did nto pull anyone out of lines. But what really changed is that I am not following my old patterns that I followed ince I was a kid, and that my own family followed as tehy were growing up. It was just not the same, and I don't like change.

I am not sure how much of the FP debate is directly related to FP+, and how much is attributed to FP+ but that may not be the real cause, if that makes sense. I really think that there is a lot of changes happening in WDW and many of us are finding ourselves navigating them all, trying to adjust from tried and true touring styles. Pesonally, I did nto have a bad experience last October, but I am wondering how AUgust will be, with a larger group and a lot of different age groups all touring together. It wil be harder to simply change palns and split up, I am afraid.

Good ol Riverside Park! May the cyclone rest in peace. I grew up going there.

 

[Nancyg56]

Good ol Riverside Park! May the cyclone rest in peace. I grew up going there.

Me too! I miss it!

 

[Mad Hattered]

 

[Planogirl]

If you don't mind me asking what was their response?

I don't mind at all but I'll have to go by memory since I deleted all of it. It actually wasn't about FP+ but the rumors (at the time) over what was happening at the Norway pavilion. I should have been more clear about that.

The gist of the response was that Disney would do what it felt was best and that hopefully I would continue to enjoy whatever was built there but if not oh well. I'm not a particularly sensitive type but I remember thinking "whoa, what is this?" I can actually even respect that type of response but it's so out of character for Disney and I was beyond polite IMO.

Of course, now I won't bother sending any messages about FP+. Why bother?

 

[larryz]

Then, I had a couple hours until my 2:00 FP+ for Spaceship Earth.

That pretty much sums it up.

 

[Planogirl]

A good picture speaks volumes.

 

[jomass]

Me too! I miss it!

Honk if you remember the Wildcat! LOL

 

[smitch425]

Kiosks seem to be hit and miss with crowds. In the 30-35 times we used them in October (moderate to high crowds), they were all walk up with the exception of one time. We just had one person ahead of us that time.

 

[Planogirl]

Kiosks seem to be hit and miss with crowds. In the 30-35 times we used them in October (moderate to high crowds), they were all walk up with the exception of one time. We just had one person ahead of us that time.

We used a kiosk 4 times last month (twice at Epcot and twice at MK) and we usually had 6 or so people ahead of us. We went to the so-called less popular kiosks at Stitch in MK so I don't know if that made a difference.

 

[Mad Hattered]

Kiosks seem to be hit and miss with crowds. In the 30-35 times we used them in October (moderate to high crowds), they were all walk up with the exception of one time. We just had one person ahead of us that time.

I don't want to spend thousands of dollars to travel from out of town and hope I get the "hit". I'm pretty sure it would be the "miss" that ticked me off.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I just don't buy these arguments - unless of course you are going during one of the few busiest weeks of the year. I have been able to get all the ADRs we wanted (including Ohana dinner - Saturday at 6:30 at 6 weeks out), change all my FPs at will (except A&E - and we don't FP fireworks), etc. We booked an average crowd level April week. You likely didn't need to get up for 1:00am, but were only convinced of that from reading the boards.

I'm glad you had an easier experience than we did.

We went in November. It was Wine and Dine 1/2 weekend, so it was busy, but certainly not Christmas/Easter level crowds. We stayed til Wednesday that week, and W&D crowds thinned out pretty soon after Sunday.

We did not get the ADRs we wanted at 180. I finally managed to get BOG (which was about the only one we really wanted), through the cancellation thread on here. I wasn't able to get A&E, even at midnight at my 60 day mark, at all. I only managed to get it through a cancellation thread on here also. 7DMT was gone for our entire trip about 5 mins after the 60 day window opened. Other availability was fine, but those 2 things were important to us on this trip. As for flexibility, we were not able to change our FPs at will. The few times we tried, there was very little to switch to.

This is not to say we had a bad vacation. We definitely did not! We had a wonderful vacation! We did not find the availability/flexibility that you have found, though. If we had we may have felt differently about certain aspects of the trip. It just wasn't the case for our trip. Regardless, we still had a fantastic vacation.