How many FP+ do you want?

[kmarie99]

This is where all the anxiety comes in, at least for me, for now. The busier, upcoming holiday season. I get that no one is having any problems now, when the parks aren't crowded and they don't need any type of FP anyways. My biggest concern is when the crowd level is 10 across the parks and whatever form FP+/FP- test is in.

To me this is when FP+ will be the best, you have 3 guarantied FPs when the crowd level is 10. For those who have been to the parks on a 10, how many would you normally get?

 

[Jennasis]

PLEASE Sir...I want some more...Fastpasses.

 

[rebbyparker]

PLEASE Sir...I want some more...Fastpasses.

 

[TDC Nala]

3 prebooked in 1 park and be able to choose more in any park according to availability on the day of.

 

[johde]

This is where all the anxiety comes in, at least for me, for now. The busier, upcoming holiday season. I get that no one is having any problems now, when the parks aren't crowded and they don't need any type of FP anyways. My biggest concern is when the crowd level is 10 across the parks and whatever form FP+/FP- test is in.

My last trip was during New Years/Post New Years 9-10 crowd level days. With FP- if you weren't there at rope drop (and most of the time I wasn't) you had trouble getting 3 FP's in a day, especially trying to get any headliners. I'll agree, with the current FP+/FP- testing going on, this holiday season could be trouble for people limited to one set of FP's. If a large group of people can double dip, those that can't could have problems with long lines and shortages of FP's.

 

[bcrook]

Playing devils advocate for a minute. With tiering it has the possibility of giving the casual visitor a chance. As it stands now, those 10,000 people now need to choose between TSMM and RNR for their Tier 1 FP+ (along with a couple others that don't really matter). On most days there enough capacity for a FP on either ride. With no FP- and tiering, I think it's totally possible that there will still be same day FP+ available for TSMM later in the day than the current FP- system.

I would think this is probably true. Or at least more RnRC would be available. The trade off is you can't have both.

 

[mom2rtk]

I would think this is probably true. Or at least more RnRC would be available. The trade off is you can't have both.

Yep. That's what happens when you ration rides.

 

[kaetra]

I would be happy with 5 but 6 would be better. Any less than 5 and if there is any tiering at ALL, I simply will not go to Disney World again.

Vacation packages with rationed rides are simply not a good value for our ride-loving family.

 

[kaetra]

I always thought part of the whole idea of the FP was that rather than doing nothing but standing in line, the FP is "holding" your place while you do something else, preferably something that involves spending your money. The whole tier mess will have the opposite effect on us. My kids won't choose between TSM or RNR, we'll have to do both. So one day while I'm waiting in a line 60 minutes or more, it's going to be 60 minutes or more I won't be eating....I won't be shopping.....I'll be standing in a line doing nothing to make them a profit at all. Then off to the next long line, where I'll also be spending nothing. Can't waste time in gift shops when we have a lot of things we like to do in each park and more time to wait in line for them.

EXACTLY. Until they start installing shops and quick service food right IN THE RIDE QUEUES, they are losing money.

 

[bcrook]

~To say, I have come a long way in my "understanding" of the implications of FP+ is absolutely absurd. I was here the day news broke on "xpass" and you were nowhere to be found around here. I've been following this closely and discussing FP+ from day one. My original predictions have been spot on from the beginning. I don't have to waste my entire day chastising posters and waiting for the sky to fall.

I found this from about 18 months ago. There might be some zinging going on soon.

It was so cute, you were trying to protect me then from all these bullies.

The truth of the matter is...

Disney did have the opportunity to make something cool and innovative for the guests (as you hoped). But from their first press release last January and every smug update from the CFO later this thing became more about Disney taking the cool aspects of FP and using it to control the masses. It lost its appeal quickly. The DISboard analysts aren't "doom and gloom" and the ones to blame. The Disney Execs just missed the boat - and that Billion Dollar + price tag is causing some problems.

One big surprise from June 2012 (then it was assumed it would be an onsite perk, but today - Disney promises that it will be free to all - on site and off). Ironically, the off site guests are being blindsided by the roll out right now as they don't have access.

The Magicbands do work surprisingly well though, and the next generation of interactive rides will be fun. But this fastpass+ is a lemon.

 

[morethananyonex]

I can't see this being similar to the final form of FP+, it just doesn't seem to make sense, even from Disney's perspective.

I can't wrap my head around why they could possibly want people standing in lines more. That's exactly what this current version of the program is doing. The planners are waiting in line more, and the casual guests who do minimal research are too. For the simplest example, for our family at Epcot we FP Soarin' and TT. Now that we have to choose one, we will be stuck waiting in line for TT, not to mention waiting for Soarin' if we want to ride again (and we will). This same principal applies to all the parks, but it's especially obvious at the parks with tiers. At DHS, we now will be waiting in line for either RRC or ToT. At MK although there is no tiering yet, we'll still be waiting in line more than in the past because we used far more than 3 FP a day there. So basically, with the old system there was the possiblity of us spending our "extra" time spending money, whereas now there's no possibility of us spending money in line (yet ).

Also, if the final version of FP+ continues to discourage park hopping, our February trip will be the last trip we buy hoppers for. What's the point? We can coordinate our dining where we want to be, or just eat at resorts. So with our family, Disney is losing out on potential impulse spending as well as park hoppers. I don't think we're unique when it comes to touring styles. Is being able to track 3 attractions guests select for each day worth the money they will lose out on because of the restrictions they've placed? Only Disney can say, but as an outsider it makes little sense to me. That's ignoring the potential damage this system could do to guest satisfaction, however that's not as concrete.

It hurts the casual guest, they either miss out on desirable times by not being aware of the ability to book in advance or they figure out the booking window, but don't want to have a rigid schedule for a vacation. It hurts the planners, as we were the ones who made good use of the FP- system and received far more benefits than the FP+ system is offering. It theoretically hurts Disney $$ wise, unless it increases bookings. After typing this long, drawn out post I sit here wondering, who does this really benefit?

P.S. What are the chances some of this gets improved by February?

ETA: I guess I should answer the actual question OP asked. Ultimately, 3 would be doable if there were no restrictions placed. Still low for parks like MK, but it would go a long way to making FP+ more desirable. I would also like to see some sort of solution for park hopping, as well as getting same day FP subject to availability. I would love to see the ability to book for example, TSMM and ToT for the morning in DHS and Soarin' at night to use after dinner in Epcot. 3 is definitely manageable without restrictions, 4 or 5 is better but I would rather see restrictions eliminated first.

 

[mill4023]

I happen to agree with this, but it will never be like this again. I know on this and other sites, it becomes easy to convince yourself that everyone is like you. Everyone plans and gets there for rope drop and knows where to go first. However, the truth is that the overwhelming majority of Disney guests have no idea what they are doing. They show up, normally some time after park opening and open their map for the first time to decide what they want to do.

FP+ is a nod to them. Disney wants them to be able to come in and at least have a chance to ride a couple headliners without having to wait 90 minutes in line. Seeing as most folks dont plan, that means that the majority of folks will make their FP+ reservations when they hit the park. If they gave 6 FP+ to those who plan ahead, it will end up the same, with the planners and forward-thinkers owning 75% of the FP+ for TSM, Soarin', TT, Everest, etc.

I actually love the idea of 3 FP+ but can use up to 4 or 5 on the same day after you use one or two of the others. I would be surprised if it changes from 3 though.

I don't understand your logic. So people who don't plan in advance are going to show up and make FP+ reservations when they get to the park? How is that any different than them showing up and getting paper FP's?

 

[JRawkSteady]

I don't understand your logic. So people who don't plan in advance are going to show up and make FP+ reservations when they get to the park? How is that any different than them showing up and getting paper FP's?

There shouldn't be a difference. FP- was a very strong system that worked very well.

But to answer the original question: we would need 6 FP+ a day with the ability to go to an attraction more than once for me to be ok with it. The problem now is that you are forced to get three, even if you only want one. So the other two are just going to waste.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

The way it's always been. As many as are available. Anything less is just that.

They should have left well enough alone and just let you use the old machines with the MagicBands. No FastPass reservations online. You get them when you are in the park. Period.

 

[mill4023]

There shouldn't be a difference. FP- was a very strong system that worked very well.

But to answer the original question: we would need 6 FP+ a day with the ability to go to an attraction more than once for me to be ok with it. The problem now is that you are forced to get three, even if you only want one. So the other two are just going to waste.

I totally agree. I loved the old system, so I'm not happy about any changes to it.
But to answer the question, I would be fine with 3 non-tiered FP+ if it was in addition to FP- instead of replacing it. This would give everyone the opportunity to ride 3 headliners, while still allowing people the option of choosing to show up early and get regular FP's for additional attractions.
Without FP-, I agree that at least 6 FP+ per day would be needed. Anything else is a downgrade because we could easily use 6 FP's in a day before.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Honestly, I'd be just fine with 4 in the MK and 3 everywhere else, but WITHOUT tiers.

 

[Robo]

Honestly, I'd be just fine with 4 in the MK and 3 everywhere else, but WITHOUT tiers.

 

[2012wdw]

4 would be great

 

[ancestry]

To answer the original poster's question:

One side of me would like the opportunity to get an unlimited number of fast passes (just like we used to be able to do) if the crowd level permitted it. I don't like being limited to a set number and really don't like the tiered system.

The other side of me likes the fact that we can sleep in and schedule FP+ for late afternoon and evening hours.

That being said I personally can't come up with a solution that would work well (especially during peak season) and that would keep everyone happy.

But no matter what three fast passes just isn't enough for us. We always used way more than that on most days.

 

[Missyrose]

3 prebooked in 1 park and be able to choose more in any park according to availability on the day of.

This is exactly the kind of system I'm hoping for. I actually love the idea of prebooking, I'm a planner so it works for me. But I truly dislike the idea of once my three FP+ reservations are up, I'm relegated to standby the rest of the day.