I have a confession.... I LOVE FP+

[Metz172]

We don't go until June and this will be our first time with FP+ but I am looking forward to not running to TSMM at rope drop etc. I am looking forward to a more relaxing trip. Thanks for your positive post.

 

[Goddesstree]

We love FP+ too! We tend to go in August, and we were able to have FP+s for our favorite attractions on our first day. We drive down, so we get on property around 2-3 PM, and had our FP+ for Soarin', SE, and something else (which we didn't use). We booked the trip 20 days out, and got everything we wanted except SDMT. So we rode that during an evening EMH. We even added a day to our tickets, and were able to get Test Track FP for the next day.

 

[Elevationist]

This makes my heart happy! I see so much complaining on these boards about FP+, I was beginning to think that I'm the only person who absolutely LOVES it. I'm glad to know I'm in good company!

 

[BugsDaddy]

This makes my heart happy! I see so much complaining on these boards about FP+, I was beginning to think that I'm the only person who absolutely LOVES it. I'm glad to know I'm in good company!

Although there are certainly some vocal members of the Dis boards that dislike it, I think the majority of people feel like you and the OP. These threads are good to see because they help any new members who may only see the negative about FP+ see that their vacation is probably not going to be "ruined" as others would like them to think.

I think having a positive attitude going into any situation has a way of making things better even if they don't make them perfect. Going in with a negative attitude probably pre-determines that outcome as well. It's a choice.

 

[rangermom]

It was a little slower this past weekend, but our last trip was over New Years weekend and we had the same positive experience. We did not stay on property that time so we could not utilize EMH. We also like that our ride pictures show up in our acct without having to stop and scan the bands. We don't get the memory maker, but it allows us to see our photos later at home.

This past August we were at AK with FP to EE and tight when it was time to use them (around 11:15 ) the right went down and the FP line was very long. I was able to go on the app and change our times for 12:30 and we went to flame tree bbq and by the time our FP was ready it was up and running. I have also changed it a lot in the park using the app if the wait time is low and I don't want to waste a FP.

We have used the kiosks before and I try to go to the ones that are in the most popular area. When I have used it has not been to long or any issues. We have had friends meet us there and the kiosks have helped us get FP's around the same time so we could ride together. We have not temped to link out MDE with any of our friends.

Our kids have also gotten the frozen bands. Our oldest has the limited edition Olaf band that he got at the trading post in DHS this summer. Every time he uses his FP in DHS it lights up rainbow and plays the tune "Do you want to build a Snowman."

One thing I don't like is that every time we have a new stay on property we get new bands. We have over 30 bands. We asked about that at SSR this weekend and they said we could bring them bank and they will recycle them. Since we did book in enough time to personalize and have our shipped we had them recycle the ones they had for us at check in. Hopefully they will stop automatically making them and allows guest to request them only if they need them. We have been using the same ones since October 2013.

 

[KimK2006]

We went in June and November, 2014 and were quite surprised that we liked it!

 

[ethanwa]

We love it too! Welcome to the club!!

 

[soniam]

We liked it and had previously used old FP on a summer trip. First trip was late July, which isn't exactly a low crowd time. I think I got 4 or 5 additional FP+ for our 3 day trip. There weren't kiosks at the time. You had to talk with a CM holding a tablet. A couple of times, MK I think, I just walked right up. We waited 10 minutes or less at AK. The longest wait was about 15 minutes, and I got an FP+ for Buzz for an immediate time. Waits for Buzz were 20-30 minutes then. I don't know if the kiosks are faster than the CMs. Plus, there are fewer kiosk spots than there were spots with CMs in the summer.

We rode 5 rides at Epcot before noon, including Soarin' twice (1 FP+, 1 SB), and child swap on Test Track. It was an AM EMH day, and we were there at RD. We got to AK between 2-3pm and rode 3 rides, including Safari with no FP, and watched Flights of Wonder. We had to wait out some really bad rain too. We left the park before 6pm. At MK, we rode at least 10 individual rides (SM twice, Buzz twice, Tiki Room 3 times, POTC broke down twice with long waits even in FP line) did Tom Sawyer Island, ate lunch at BOG, and watched the parade and fireworks. We got there a little after RD with AM EMH and stayed until closing. We had 3 prebooked FP+ and 2-3 additional ones at MK. So, we definitely rode more than 3-4 rides per day, even during the summer.

 

[Oswin]

e pulling 4+ Fastpasses, I would also like to know how much time you spent in line at a kiosk(s).

I really hope people start including this in their reports.

We never waited over 7-10 minutes for a kiosk plus our own selection time, and we always timed the FP+ kiosk while we were waiting for someone else in our party to go run and grab waters or drinks and the rest of our family was sitting nearby and taking a break.

 

[boomgoesthemickey]

just got back yesterday and i have to admit I really liked the new system, I was able to get on all the headliners multiple times across all 6 park days and thats including getting sdmt 3 times as well. I even managed to snag a same day sdmt fp when I was randomly checking my fast passes for that morning at first I thought it was a mistake but I was able to book it and it showed in my plans right away. The longest kiosk line I stood in was maybe 5 minutes max.

 

[rajak73]

We never waited over 7-10 minutes for a kiosk plus our own selection time, and we always timed the FP+ kiosk while we were waiting for someone else in our party to go run and grab waters or drinks and the rest of our family was sitting nearby and taking a break.

You mean you didn't spend hours waiting and changing your selections? And you could find the kiosk? I didn't think that was possible.

Watch what happens starting next weekend.




.

You mean it's going to be busier during a normal busy weekend? Who would have guessed?
I'm still waiting for the anti-FP+ people to find this thread and tell all of you how really bad a time you had.

 

[ajfd]

Ignore ... hit "Post Reply" by accident.

Am I missing the "Delete Post" button?

 

[roadtripper]

We will be there this weekend, and were there last President's week. We love FP+ too! On previous trips, we would never try to go to a park at 6PM expecting to ride anything, but we have 3 FP--including Soarin'--lined up for Epcot on arrival day. No more TSMM rope drop frenzy; we have a FP for 9 AM. Last year, it felt like people around us were more relaxed, too. DS has disabilities, and to be able to tell him exactly which rides we are doing in which order has helped him tremendously. Can't wait!

 

[Laketravis]

what? we will be there.

Per Easywdw, the crowd levels increase to "9" next Saturday and stay at "8" and "9" throughout the entire week.

February Crowd Levels

If you are going to be there during that time it sure would be interesting if you could provide some first hand info on SB wait times, Kiosk lines, and FP+ availability.



.

 

[Robo]

Ignore ... hit "Post Reply" by accident.

Am I missing the "Delete Post" button?

There has never been a "Delete Post" button on the DISboards.

Once you post... it's THERE, baby!

 

[PSUGuy]

We were among the guinea pigs who were invited to test the system the first Oct they rolled FP+ and Magic Bands and we returned the next March and last Oct. We liked all this from the start. Since 2005 our strategy has been to hit a park at RD then hop to WS every day. By the time we'd get to Epcot FP- would either all be gone or too late for us to use. Now, 2 days of our usual 8 we'd book FP+ for early afternoon in Epcot for either TT or Soarin'. As for the MBs, it's great to not have to tend to paper tickets. More than once we had one or more park passes de-magnetize and we'd have to get them replaced.

Bill From PA

 

[wdwcoltsfan]

Per Easywdw, the crowd levels increase to "9" next Saturday and stay at "8" and "9" throughout the entire week.

February Crowd Levels

If you are going to be there during that time it sure would be interesting if you could provide some first hand info on SB wait times, Kiosk lines, and FP+ availability.



.

I imagine the SB times and kiosk lines will be longer and there will be less FP+ availability--just like it would have been with FP-. An 8/9 is going to be busy, no matter what. We went about 4 yrs ago during President's weekend and I remember Small World was 55 min. and HM and POTC were just as long. FP was either gone for the day or the return time was late in the evening. The only thing we could get on quickly was the TTA. I'm guessing the suggested touring strategy would be go early to beat the crowds--just as it would with FP-.

 

[Radiorox]

I LOVE FP+. I've been very fortunate with it and got a chance to check it out three times in testing phase. As for how your trip goes and how much you can get done DOES depend on the time of year and crowds, and planning! I am not a late riser and like to be at the parks either at rope drop or about 30 mins after rope drop. What I love is that, I can do RD, get on whichever rides I want with minimal wait, when it gets too crowded, I can head back to the hotel, enjoy the pool and then go back in the early evening to use my FP+ selections.

There is some planning that goes with it and I do agree that WDW has lost the spontaneity of just going with the flow. But, barring some ride malfunction, I am assured to get a ride on something that I enjoy. On the downside, attractions that used to have minimal wait have astronomical wait times (POTC, JC, HM, etc) because of the extra queue being used for FP+.

 

[IndyRnRfan]

My wife just finished her 3 day trip today. She did not care for the new system and here is why. The choices they give you are not always the rides we ride. So, we have to select a time and not use it which takes up a time slot for another person. The kiosk line were long and there are not many, plus you have to answer questions before you can select your Fp which takes more time. You are only allowed to have 1 at a time as well. You also can't get FP's for different parks until all your FP's are used up. We always do 2 parks a day and many times 3 per day.

With that being said, she did enjoy having a Fp for the rides she wanted before she got to the park. She thinks when the parks are busy though, your FP's will be the ones you preselect and that's it. There will be hardly any FP's left. This is a wait and see for when we return during busy times. Under the old system during busy times we constantly got 5-7 FP's per day and at multiple parks for the rides we actually ride.

I see this just like the DDP. It works for some and it doesn't work out for some. They definitely need to fix the ability to get FP's for multiple parks and for you to get multiple FP's for tier 1 rides.

 

[Laketravis]

I imagine the SB times and kiosk lines will be longer and there will be less FP+ availability--just like it would have been with FP-. An 8/9 is going to be busy, no matter what. We went about 4 yrs ago during President's weekend and I remember Small World was 55 min. and HM and POTC were just as long. FP was either gone for the day or the return time was late in the evening. The only thing we could get on quickly was the TTA. I'm guessing the suggested touring strategy would be go early to beat the crowds--just as it would with FP-.

My comment "Watch what happens next week" is just that; how the "new" systems perform under load conditions. If people continue to suggest "just like it would have been with FP-" then where is the improvement? I believe it is in the ability to reserve 3 FP's in advance, but that is only an improvement if you do so early enough when they are still available. Beyond that, I don't see how anything is better and it takes a different strategy today to yield the same results achievable four years ago.