How I Hate FastPass+

[disneytraceyl]

We always come during this time of you. We spent 7 days on property. Last year we were. Able to change our fast passes and this year we were not. We also noticed less people in the parks at night. Cast members are not knowledgeable and nice. They are few and far between. Where is our value in all of that.

 

[kaetra]

I'm testing it for our family for the very first time in a few days. Im hoping we can have commando level fun with the help of rope drop and the crowd calendar.

I'm reserving my judgement until after the trip, but I'm a bit nervous that Disney won't be all it has been for us in the past.

 

[nilla]

I wonder whether valuing frequent guests (above single-visit or infrequent guests) is even a priority at all for Disney.

I would say it's not, and will add that this type of attitude is fairly common among businesses. Every year, I gripe about how new DirecTV subscribers get NFL Sunday Ticket for free or at a reduced rate, while I have been a loyal customer for over a decade and get next to nothing. The fact of the matter is they already "have me", so they don't need to do anything special to draw me in. You can even make a similar argument when it comes to political parties and candidates. Why will a presidential candidate show up in a swing state close to the election, seemingly ignoring the states that have generally shown unwavering loyalty? It's often much easier to retain existing "customers" than entice new ones.

Ten years ago, I was not a Disney "junkie". Then, once my foot got in the door, I went crazy. Tens of thousands of dollars later, the importance of getting me there that very first time is pretty obvious.

I keep hearing how Disney is losing customers as a result of FP+, yet so many people on here have tickers, and we keep hearing about how insane the crowds were the past several weeks. I think the people abandoning Disney over the recent changes make up a very small minority.

 

[nilla]

I'm testing it for our family for the very first time in a few days. Im hoping we can have commando level fun with the help of rope drop and the crowd calendar.

I'm reserving my judgement until after the trip, but I'm a bit nervous that Disney won't be all it has been for us in the past.

We had this same attitude going into last year. In addition to considering ourselves love experts, we also considered ourselves to be paper FP experts. We had it down to a science. FP+ seemed like it would derail that, and our FP+ booking experience last year was loaded with glitch-induced anxiety and frustration.

Then, we got to WDW. After the first two days, we were in agreement that we absolutely loved FP+, and moreover, the whole Magic Band thing. It was so much easier than the old methods. I think you'll be pleased by it.

 

[klo1335]

People like the OP (veterans/planners) are getting a lesser experience because they knew how to maximize their number of rides. The average visitor is getting a "better" experience because they are (theoretically) getting on more rides.

I was never at Disney during the old FP system so I don't know the plus and minuses of it. Was just curious how people used the old FP system that made it so much better then the new system? Since FP+ is the only system I know, and I am a planner, I honestly don't seem to mind it.

 

[mom2rtk]

I was never at Disney during the old FP system so I don't know the plus and minuses of it. Was just curious how people used the old FP system that made it so much better then the new system? Since FP+ is the only system I know, and I am a planner, I honestly don't seem to mind it.

No tiers.
No need to fully commit to park days or rides 30-60 days out.
Flexibility to change plans day of with full choice of FPs left.
Ability to repeat headliners with FP.

 

[Chitownpeeps91]

Dito to disney Tracey. CM's were for the most part not knowledgeable at all and many times out and out rude.

One day we had to get from Frontier land to our BOG lunch during the parade. I was in panic mode. The CM said nothing I could do The parade was 30 minutes and no way around it. She said you will miss your time. Of course we found our way around it

On Thursday of our trip all of us noticed the CM's acting very differently. Every day we saw the same ones we were at rope drop at the front & then at rope drop at Frontier an hour later. On Thursday they were friendly giving hints saying things they never said the other days.

Later someone official looking told my husband the app was down and would be up soon. He did not ask anyone these officials were just going up to people. I am guessing people were acting different since some mgt types must have been on site that day.

By the way how do we contact guest relations with our feedback? If everyone reading this posted at least they can't say there was no feedback.

Thanks

 

[Reddog1134]

I was never at Disney during the old FP system so I don't know the plus and minuses of it. Was just curious how people used the old FP system that made it so much better then the new system? Since FP+ is the only system I know, and I am a planner, I honestly don't seem to mind it.

No tiers.
No need to fully commit to park days or rides 30-60 days out.
Flexibility to change plans day of with full choice of FPs left.
Ability to repeat headliners with FP.

Also, there were a good amount of guests that didn't know how the old system worked. Some thought you had to pay for it. Some thought you had to be a hotel guest. So there were all these guests in the park that didn't use the system because they were uninformed. Meanwhile, the veteran guests could go from station to station collecting FPs as soon as the system would allow.

With FP+ Disney has made a strong effort to make sure everyone is aware of the system and using it.

 

[kbelle8995]

Also, there were a good amount of guests that didn't know how the old system worked. Some thought you had to pay for it. Some thought you had to be a hotel guest. So there were all these guests in the park that didn't use the system because they were uninformed. Meanwhile, the veteran guests could go from station to station collecting FPs as soon as the system would allow.

With FP+ Disney has made a strong effort to make sure everyone is aware of the system and using it.

I think that Disney still has this issue. I think that some guests have no idea about FP+ either

 

[HopperFan]

We have spent 7 days in the parks. I hate FastPass plus. I really do not know how they can fix it. We rode less rides, waited in longer lines and had no ability to change the park we were scheduled for that day. They have taken any spontaneity out of the equation. It is virtually impossible to reschedule a FastPass. Needless to say we will not be coming back to the parks until it is fixed.

I think the Disney perspective is that it is not broken and they don't need to fix it.

I think what we might see is some small adjustments like:
- Being able to book 4 in advance at MK like they did initially and have tried recently.
- The increase in "selling" of FP+ which is basically what happens with Fantasmic Dinner Package, the Fireworks Dessert Parties, the Soiree in Castle (characters), Feel the Force package (attraction, parade and fireworks).
- Adding additional FP+ after first 3 on your MDE.

Regarding your specific issues .... we haven't really had those with FP+. We try to travel non-peak but when we do it's more for specific events. We utilize EMH, we have had no issues switching FP+ on the go and if we change days we are prepared to loose the hard to get FP+. Using EMH allows us to virtually walk on any ride there. The parks are busy and more crowded which in turn requires more planning. I think the attendance is the bigger factor. And with the bigger crowds I am happy to have my top 3 picks guaranteed.

But Disney is not unhappy - their parks are full with some days the MK having parking in the grass. Their hotels have high occupancy, it's getting harder and harder to get the room I want with any kind of discount and it's just as difficult offsite for hotel deals. Table Service restaurants are full no matter when you go and that is with Disney charging inflated rates for those meals. Look at all the designer MagicBands they are selling. Look at all the offsite guests clammering to buy MagicBands when they don't need them. FP+ is not a negative to enough people. It seems like it on here but DIS is a tiny fraction of Disney guests.

I absolutely get that it's not everyone's idea of fun and we should all have fun on our vacations. I expect many to not renew their APs but I honestly don't think we are Disney's target market anymore. They needed us during the recession, they don't anymore.

 

[TheDisGuy]

Per ************** this week is the 9th worse week to go.

It isnt FP+ causing you to ride less, its more people. Way more people.

I am sure you will jump into the FP+ I love it threads when people travel at low crowds to remind them its the low crowds, not FP+ that made their trip awesome too ?

 

[WillAustin]

Per ************** this week is the 9th worse week to go.

It isnt FP+ causing you to ride less, its more people. Way more people.

For some of us, it is FP+ that does it. It really depends on how you used the system before. During very busy big crowd weeks we never waited in a line over 20 minutes, repeated headliners, and used far more than 3 FPs in a day.

 

[g8torphan]

I am sure you will jump into the FP+ I love it threads when people travel at low crowds to remind them its the low crowds, not FP+ that made their trip awesome too ?

I have yet to see a thread claimimg FP+ was the sole reason for having a good trip.
But I do see people falsely place blame on FP+ when things dont meet their inflated expectations.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

I absolutely adore the new system. It has worked wonderfully for my family.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Then don't use it? The old fast pass system was outdated for the current traffic.

It's not going no where so if you don't like it call guest services or just don't use it - it's completely optional.

 

[Alfalfa]

...But I do see people falsely place blame on FP+ when things dont meet their inflated expectations.

That's quite an ambiguous claim. How high do expectations have to be before they are inflated? And how could it be false for someone to blame something that they in their own mind and experience attribute to the lower than anticipated results?

 

[KEVD]

Our first FP+ trip is coming up in a week. I'll know better after our trip but it seems that it will work out just fine and our experience should be similar to previous trips under the old system with a few differences. One "pro" is that we can plan to arrive mid-day and know that we'll get on to some of our favs (and when) as opposed to waiting until we get there and hope that FPs will be available at times that are convenient. What I think we'll miss the most though is being able to ride the headliners multiple times in one day without waiting in long lines (for ex: going directly to Soarin' at rope drop and grabbing an FP before hopping in line). And I'm not crazy about having to commit in advance to specific parks for each day of our trip but, at tht same time, I am enjoying some of the planning conveniences that FP+ allows. Anyway, I will save final judgement until after our trip.

 

[smitch425]

In high crowd times, you are guaranteed to get three rides with very little wait, and it takes very little effort to get them set up. We've never had trouble changing things on the fly, but we travel during October where crowd levels are 8s at most. Sorry you had a less than great experience.

 

[ryanhuey]

I believe it is a generation thing. Our kids no longer win or lose, there is no 1st place, they ALL get participation" trophies. I think Disney wants to make things more "fair" to all guests and they are always trying to be innovative. They disliked the few of us taking advantage of "their" system. The ironic thing is they want to be more "fair" to all the guests, right? Yet, they treat anyone staying offsite like second class citizens. We have always stayed on site so I don't mind, just think its funny.

I can also see where some would complain about long lines for the last 5 years while we all were being quiet about it (squeaky wheel gets the grease). Time for us to complain as suggested.

I think we should give some credit that Disney is trying to be innovative and its hard to get things right the first time. I think we expect more from Disney (for good reason since we pay more) and may not be as patient. I think the absolute right attitude is to take a break from WDW and use it as an opportunity to try out other stuff over the next few years while they fine tune FP+ and MDE. That is why we didn't visit in 2014 and are going to try it out this summer. Sounds like they still need more fine tuning.

I don't understand how FP+ can make stand-by lines longer. I think the disadvantage for us is more people will use 3 FPs when before they may have only used 1 or 2. I can't see many novices using more than 3 FPs. Heck, they have FPs to fireworks and Phantasmic, etc. putting their third FP (and basically last one for the day) @9PM for all those people. And I never got the Park Hopper perk. I can see if you are only there for a few days or want to try to eat in another park. Even if you wanted to take advantage of EMH you'd surely miss rope drop at the other park. For less money I can add several full days at any park. We take advantage and go offsite and then spend 8-10 hours at a park and after go eat at a "real-world" priced and nice restaurant that evening. We're just sleeping at the hotel anyway.

My thought is the 60 and 30 days is too much. What if they do it the night before/morning of? They could allow onsite guests to do it a day or two before as a perk. I think over time we will find all the new tricks. There are probably some people out there now that love FP+ because very few know the good tricks right now.

 

[KathyM2]

I had mixed feelings about FP+ during our recent trip. It was nice obviously to know for sure that we would get on certain rides. I'm a planner, but even then I didn't like having to pick so far in advance. I know you can change your FP's on the fly apparently...but I personally didn't want to spend my time in the parks on my phone filddling with changing times for rides and risk not getting the ones I had booked months ago or similar issues. Also, what if there is bad weather or you just feel like going to a different park on a day you've booked FP+ for one park? Sure you can try to change them...but the really popular rides will have none left...Our trip was short...so I'm not sure how I'd feel on a longer trip either...one day I hope to find out!