I am now ANGRY!!!!

[Laketravis]

The popularity of the ride drives the necessity for a system to manage that, not the other way around. I love the Big Corporate Monster conspiracy theories but give it a rest.

A conspiracy? Hardly. It's more of a strategy, driven in part by the marketing department and those refrigerator magnets you get reminding you when you can start seeking your reservations.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I think it is highly.dependent on when.one is at Disney, whether sdmt is gone at 60 days. And I'm *not* referring to high crowd days. I'm referring to days with short hours and also days that have short hours + parties.

A&e was not available at all for my trip at midnight at 60 days. 7dmt was gone for my entire trip 5 mins after I signed in. I think this had a lot to do with traveling when parks are closing at 9pm/11pm, and have parties that close it at 7pm on a few of the days.

I think there is truth to that. Someone posted about how easier it seemed to get fast passes on long hour days (posted back in December as a hypothesis to successes). And that makes sense. Our limit of 3 remained the same, but 3-5 additional park hours yields extra capacity. We did not get our passes until November 30th, so I concede that results may vary. As we expect to hop over frequently, it is no trouble for me to see what is available at 30 days out when I wake up. So I can provide my own experiences over the next year as I encounter them.

My daughter's birthday-I might make an exception and try for a midnight Anna and Elsa score. But while we love our characters, they aren't the focus of our visits. So I am not sure it is worth it for me to bother and I can accept that because I know it is already extremely limited. She cares more about getting on the mind train.

Face characters are especially limited to the number of friends they have, how many guests they can process remains finite dependent upon that. Even more hours, it still is just a very small percentage of the capacity of other rides. They have been consistently difficult to get for that very reason. It seems tantamount to winning the lottery to have success. Anna and Elsa (for better or worse) are the current rock stars at WDW. It's like CRT on steroids in popularity. Being no additional cost, there is nothing to act as an incentive to decrease the demand for them.

 

[mom2rtk]

I know that when I booked a package, I was sent a little magnet in my welcome package that I could put on my fridge that told me exactly on what day I could book FP and ADRs. I think there is a lot of paranoia driven on these boards that unless you book at exactly midnight, you will not get FPs for any of the rides you want. The only argument that can be made that is valid, IMO, is that you may not get the exact time that you had hoped for but that is symptom of anything you are trying to reserve that is popular. When people used to stand in lines to get tickets for events, or go online at a certain time, it's the same thing. You want to make sure that you get the exact seat that you want and are willing to jump through hoops to get that. It's not the fault of the artist or the concert promoter that the event is popular. If you are willling to accept what is left over after the frenzy, then you don't have to jump through hoops. It's a choice.

But that's sort of the point. Some people ARE willing to accept what is left over. Some aren't. That's all well and good...... until some start telling others that they should not complain, and should just be happy with whatever they can get.

Lots of factors influence this, including how often you get to the parks and how soon you could try again to experience what you miss on this trip.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think it is highly.dependent on when.one is at Disney, whether sdmt is gone at 60 days. And I'm *not* referring to high crowd days. I'm referring to days with short hours and also days that have short hours + parties.

A&e was not available at all for my trip at midnight at 60 days. 7dmt was gone for my entire trip 5 mins after I signed in. I think this had a lot to do with traveling when parks are closing at 9pm/11pm, and have parties that close it at 7pm on a few of the days.

I'm still not convinced they didn't cut back on the number of rooms open with A/E during the traditionally slower months. If that was the case, then FPs would potentially be easier to get on a peak day with all rooms operating than on lower crowd days with shorter park hours AND fewer rooms open.

 

[BugsDaddy]

A conspiracy? Hardly. It's more of a strategy, driven in part by the marketing department and those refrigerator magnets you get reminding you when you can start seeking your reservations.

What would be your solution to advanced planning for rides whose popularity outpaces the available hours in a day? Let me guess..Go back to paper fast passes the day of. And if you don't run to get that fast pass early enough in the day, you may not be able to get the time you wanted, that was convenient for you, while you are at the park. Same outcome. If you have another plan or strategy that can account for the volume of guests wanting to ride the most popular attraction at the same time that doesn't involve some sort reservation system, please enlighten us.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

But that's sort of the point. Some people ARE willing to accept what is left over, some aren't. That's all well and good...... until some start telling others that they should not complain, and should just be happy with whatever they can get.

Lots of factors influence this, including how often you get to the parks and how soon you could try again to experience what you miss on this trip.

I have a question.

When you buy tickets for a concert or a theater production, what do you do when you are stuck with what is left over because of demand and who lucks out and gets their order processed?

I just don't see someone becoming emotionally distraught that all that was left by the time the system processed them was nosebleed seats.

And most of The times--those are one shot deals.

 

[wisblue]

Only if people chose to engage. With a full day's complement of FPs in the system I would do what I used to do for TSMM and wait 30-45 minutes for the crush of people to clear.

And I imagine it wouldn't be any worse than they experience daily for this at DCA right now.

I think the best analogy at DCA is what happens at Radiator Springs Racers.

I know that you have the luxury of visiting at off times, so your FP experience is a lot different than ours usually is. But, when we visited DLR right after Christmas, we entered DCA at 8 AM. But, because resort guests were allowed in an hour early, the line for FP distribution was quite long when we walked past it. A lot of the early entry guests obviously had a runner staking their place in that line to be in position when they started issuing them at 8. The standby line was also very long when we got there (I think it was posted at something like 30-60 minutes) but we were planning on going single rider anyway.

If we had waited for the line to clear for FPs for RSR we would have gotten nothing, except for maybe late at night.

I would also bet that if they had paper FPs for 7DMT and A&E, it would be very difficult for very many people to get FPs for both of them. If you waited 45 minutes you definitely wouldn't be getting both at a busy time. So, it would be the functional equivalent of tiering, except that you would have to be there at rope drop just to get one of the two.

But, we obviously have different opinions about which of those alternatives is better, and that's OK.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Just out of curiosity, how big was your party?

Only 3 adults

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I'm still not convinced they didn't cut back on the number of rooms open with A/E during the traditionally slower months. If that was the case, then FPs would potentially be easier to get on a peak day with all rooms operating than on lower crowd days with shorter park hours AND fewer rooms open.

We have never been. How many rooms do they have? How many friends are currently employed?

Performance characters full time adhere to a strict schedule. I would have to check around, but going on memory-- they perform 4 hours of an 8 hour shift.

And as this is casting in its truest sense, they are hiring women who believably are doppelgängers for the real Anna and Elsa.

It seems easy to suggest that Disney is doing things deliberately in order to worsen the guest experience.

But I don't think we can ignore union rules and the casting parameters involved for performers, in particular face characters.

But I have not visited with Anna and Elsa at their current location, so I am wondering how many rooms exist and how many friends are needed to offer full capacity on any given day.

 

[mom2rtk]

I have a question.

When you buy tickets for a concert or a theater production, what do you do when you are stuck with what is left over because of demand and who lucks out and gets their order processed?

I just don't see someone becoming emotionally distraught that all that was left by the time the system processed them was nosebleed seats.

And most of The times--those are one shot deals.

This is hypothetical because I have never bought tickets to anything like that on opening day. But..... I would log in at the time they told me to log in and if I got nosebleed seats, then I probably groan about my bad luck, buy my seats and move on.

But if it was supposed to open at midnight, and I set my alarm to get up and be ready on my computer (in spite of the fact that I had to be up the next morning at 6). But if I then found out I had to wait another hour (providing I was even lucky enough to find a fan forum to TELL me it would be worth waiting another hour) then yes, I would be unhappy with that. If it was in the middle of the day, it would not be a big deal to me.

And I don't see someone being emotionally distraught. I see someone venting in a moment of frustration.

 

[mom2rtk]

We have never been. How many rooms do they have? How many friends are currently employed?

Performance characters full time adhere to a strict schedule. I would have to check around, but going on memory-- they perform 4 hours of an 8 hour shift.

And as this is casting in its truest sense, they are hiring women who believably are doppelgängers for the real Anna and Elsa.

It seems easy to suggest that Disney is doing things deliberately in order to worsen the guest experience.

But I don't think we can ignore union rules and the casting parameters involved for performers, in particular face characters.

But I have not visited with Anna and Elsa at their current location, so I am wondering how many rooms exist and how many friends are needed to offer full capacity on any given day.

I never said Disney was doing something to deliberately worsen guest experience.

I never said they should ignore union rules and casting parameters.

Fascinating read on my post.

 

[BugsDaddy]

But that's sort of the point. Some people ARE willing to accept what is left over. Some aren't. That's all well and good...... until some start telling others that they should not complain, and should just be happy with whatever they can get.

Lots of factors influence this, including how often you get to the parks and how soon you could try again to experience what you miss on this trip.

No, that isn't even close to the point. In fact, that is about the polar opposite of "the point".

The direction that this thread is taking is that you should not have to try to get a reservation for a ride at midnight at 60 days out in order to get exactly what you want. I am saying that if you want something so specific that 10,000 other people want, yes you do. It's not just how Disney works, it is how ANYTHING works that is so popular that many people want a limited supply. If you are insistent that you must see that premier, blockbuster movie on opening night for the 8:00pm showing at the only theatre in town and decide you don't want to "jump through the hoops" of buying tickets ahead of time, then you might miss out. If you are good with waiting until the matinee the next day, you might be able to walk right in.

 

[staceyeileen]

I sure hope the OP was able to get their FPs by now.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

This is hypothetical because I have never bought tickets to anything like that on opening day. But..... I would log in at the time they told me to log in and if I got nosebleed seats, then I probably groan about my bad luck, buy my seats and move on.

But if it was supposed to open at midnight, and I set my alarm to get up and be ready on my computer (in spite of the fact that I had to be up the next morning at 6). But if I then found out I had to wait another hour (providing I was even lucky enough to find a fan forum to TELL me it would be worth waiting another hour) then yes, I would be unhappy with that. If it was in the middle of the day, it would not be a big deal to me.

And I don't see someone being emotionally distraught. I see someone venting in a moment of frustration.

Then that is where we differ. Concerts have functioned that way for decades.

Actually, once upon a time--you would line up early at Ticketmaster only for them to begin passing out random numbers. So you could have been there at midnight. But they let the person who showed up at 6am have first crack at the better seats.

 

[hiroMYhero]

We have never been. How many rooms do they have? How many friends are currently employed?

It's been widely reported that there are two rooms dedicated to A&E meet and greets at PFH. With non-stop meet and greets, there is more than one "pair" per room and A&E also have to rotate in the parade coverage. That's what directly caused the recent FP "glitch" because an additional FoF had to be worked into the scheduling.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I never said Disney was doing something to deliberately worsen guest experience.

I never said they should ignore union rules and casting parameters.

Fascinating read on my post.

I never said you did. In the grand context of the conversation is how those were presented.

 

[cakebaker]

"But if it was supposed to open at midnight"

But it's not "supposed to be" in the sense that Disney only tells you the day, not the time. They do not give the expectation that it will open at any specific hour of the day. The fact that you have the knowledge that it's works that way is to your benefit, but one cannot legitimately complain, because they are more informed than others, that it didn't work the way they are used to it working. If Disney promises at midnight and doesn't deliver, that's another story. But they don't.

 

[mom2rtk]

Then that is where we differ. Concerts have functioned that way for decades.

Actually, once upon a time--you would line up early at Ticketmaster only for them to begin passing out random numbers. So you could have been there at midnight. But they let the person who showed up at 6am have first crack at the better seats.

Not sure I follow. Are you saying that since someone else handles something poorly, then we should expect Disney to do the same?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

It's been widely reported that there are two rooms dedicated to A&E meet and greets at PFH. With non-stop meet and greets, there is more than one "pair" per room and A&E also have to rotate in the parade coverage. That's what directly caused the recent FP "glitch" because an additional FoF had to be worked into the scheduling.

Hmm, I was not notified. How ironic.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I just want to say, I do.t think most people are putting out the "if you really want something specific, be online at midnight to schedule fp+" to instill fear or dislike of the system. Speaking for myself, my experience was that there was no a&e at midnight, and 7dmt was gone within 5 mins. That was my reality. Wishes, FOF weren't available either ( we hadn't wanted ththem, but they weren't there).

If I see a post here where someone is really wanting one of those, that it is an important part of their trip, then I'm going to highly recommend that they be online at midnight to book it. Not to make them fear availability or dislike the system, but because I want them to have the best trip possible and I want them to have the best shot at getting what they really want.

I understand others have had other luck with being able to book those in the morning, bit even when my own window comes up again for Nov 2015, i will be online at midnight, because what I see here shows me there is a *wide* range of experience with availability, and if* those hard to get fp+ are what we really want, then I'm not going to gamble on waiting. No fear, no malice about the system...just wanting everyone to have the vacation they really want to have.