How I Hate FastPass+

[MaryKatesMom]

If I hadn't subscribed to this thread I wouldn't have realized where all the negative posts went.

I inadvertently talked my parents out of going in February. They were so surprised at how much more planning went into the trip now. I used to make all their ADR's but when I explained they needed to purchase their tickets to get FP+ or they were going to stand in line for every single ride they lost interest.

Of course it isn't just about FP+. The crowds are historically the highest they have ever been and they did not invest in ride capacity to follow suit. In fact in Epcot and HS there are less things for people to do. So the result is it cost more to do less.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Early in this post was a statement that the average visitor is having a better experience....

I have a friend who returned not too long ago from her first and last trip to WDW. FP+ was the reason. They found it complicated, confusing and hated it. They loved Universal where you just "stand in line, but you know what's going on" Actually cancelled days at Disney and spent them at other parks in the area. Hmmm....

 

[Jing]

Since this came up on my alert, I'll give input on my first FP+ experience, with the disclaimer it was also our first toddler experience.

It was a hit.

One day out of 8 we actually used all 3 FPs we planned for ahead of time, and most days we only used 2 of the 3 because we felt like doing something else. We also did a lot of changing FPs on the fly. I can't say it was more spontaneous than before even legacy FP with SB only, but it was also not less when physically there. I plan in order to ditch the plan though, which is not the norm. We did make use of rope drop and EMH, but we also slept in half the trip, which is really what made FP+ work for our family.

 

[mom2rtk]

Since this came up on my alert, I'll give input on my first FP+ experience, with the disclaimer it was also our first toddler experience.

It was a hit.

One day out of 8 we actually used all 3 FPs we planned for ahead of time, and most days we only used 2 of the 3 because we felt like doing something else. We also did a lot of changing FPs on the fly. I can't say it was more spontaneous than before even legacy FP with SB only, but it was also not less when physically there. I plan in order to ditch the plan though, which is not the norm. We did make use of rope drop and EMH, but we also slept in half the trip, which is really what made FP+ work for our family.

I'm curious, since you have a toddler did you use rider swap?

Glad you had a great trip!

 

[Jing]

I'm curious, since you have a toddler did you use rider swap?

Nope. We did a couple of EMH date nights and did the rides he couldn't go on then. Mine Train was the only new height requirement ride for us though.

 

[Jennytoon]

Since this came up on my alert, I'll give input on my first FP+ experience, with the disclaimer it was also our first toddler experience.

It was a hit.

One day out of 8 we actually used all 3 FPs we planned for ahead of time, and most days we only used 2 of the 3 because we felt like doing something else. We also did a lot of changing FPs on the fly. I can't say it was more spontaneous than before even legacy FP with SB only, but it was also not less when physically there. I plan in order to ditch the plan though, which is not the norm. We did make use of rope drop and EMH, but we also slept in half the trip, which is really what made FP+ work for our family.

I'm another one who plans to ditch the plan (at least assuming I interpret correctly what you mean). I have a plan, and a couple of "we can variation here" plans, and I'm willing to go with spur of the moment plans too. I just find that now that the kids are older, not having a plan is a recipe for not doing anything while we argue about what to do, and not having a plan also makes it harder for the older kids to split off because we waste a lot of time figuring out where they'll meet back up with us. Having a plan saves a lot of time in the park, even if we do almost nothing that was on the plan.

ETA: I also have found that FP+ actually makes it easier for us to get more done because it changes our weighting. That is, we tend to go for longer trips and we are not commandos. In the past, a "great" time for a desirable ride was obvious, and an "awful" time was also obvious, but there's a lot of ground in between. There was a lot of trying to optimize whether the so-so time we saw for ride X was the best we were going to do and we should do it now, or if we were likely to do better by coming back later. Since we are usually in each park on multiple days / trip, knowing we have a FP for a different day -- or later in the same day -- allows us to be really opportunistic by seizing the unplanned ride with a great wait time and ignoring the rest that [historically] seem like they might be better than the original plan but usually resulted in ending up doing less.

 

[Jing]

I'm another one who plans to ditch the plan (at least assuming I interpret correctly what you mean). I have a plan, and a couple of "we can variation here" plans, and I'm willing to go with spur of the moment plans too. I just find that now that the kids are older, not having a plan is a recipe for not doing anything while we argue about what to do, and not having a plan also makes it harder for the older kids to split off because we waste a lot of time figuring out where they'll meet back up with us. Having a plan saves a lot of time in the park, even if we do almost nothing that was on the plan.

Yep - exactly what I meant!