I just don't like the amount of structuring the new FP+ requires

[momof2disprincesses]

I agree that fp+ has it's flaws, but I for one LOVE not having to race to the parks at rope drop and have half my family run to the most popular attraction only to get a fp for many hours later. We are a family of Mom, Dad and 2 young adults and we love now sleeping in and relaxing more and knowing our fp's are waiting for us.

 

[wdrl]

it was my choice! I never said the system only allowed me to pick 2! That day there wasn't anything else we wanted to do. I didn't miss any windows. A week later we decided to see if we could add one more on the day we only selected 2. That's it. Thank you for the input, but I think we'll leave things as they are.

Your situation sounds very unusual. Many people have complained that the FP+ forces them to make three FP+ selections on a day even though they actually only want just one or two. I'm wondering whether the system kept waiting for you to make a third FP+ and when you didn't go back until a week later, the original FP+ selections were wiped out.

I just went into the FP+ selection program on My Disney Experience and tried to select only one attraction. The system automatically made two more FP+ selections even though I hadn't asked for the other two. I don't believe I could make only one or two selections even if my life depended on it.

For whatever reason, I suspect you encountered an isolated glitch.

 

[DenLo]

Perhaps when you enter the park you can add a third FP+ at one of the kiosks. I too was really surprised that the system even allowed you to make on two selections. It's never let me do that. I always feel guilty that I am selecting an FP+ (or it assigns me one) that someone else might want and we have no plans to use it.

Since this is a non-DVC issue, you could contact wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com and see it they can get an IT CM to confirm that you only have two FP+ and should be able to have three. And maybe they can even get you the third FP+.

 

[EPCOTatNight]

Also, FP+ forces you to pre-purchase park tickets ~60 days in advance (or thereabouts). This isn't the end of the world, but it has presented a problem for me with my upcoming October trip. I want to purchase AP's using my DVC discount for myself and fiancé (she will be my wife at the time of our trip). Since we are not married or living together at the moment, I won't be able to take advantage of the DVC discount for her ticket if I pre-purchase.

The ONLY thing that you need FP+ for is Anna and Elsa and 7DMT. That's it! If those 2 things are not important, you can make FP+ closer to the date of departure.i made mine one week before leaving.

 

[Disney-Kim]

I don't like it either. your not the only one.

mainly for us why.....because we were never FP people in the first place in all our trips. but....we would grab one or two on occasion if we were at a ride and in that moment wanted to get a FP for later...something like that. like getting one for Midway Mania at HS....just did it as we walked by if we were there.

now....if you haven't pre-planned anally in advance your not getting a FP for a popular ride....just seems unfair. example...in the old way...if I am at rope drop and walk to the Snow white coaster to get a FP ...its first come first serve. so if I happen to choose to do that I can. then I get to ride. now...
if I didn't book 60 days out at the minute...I am left out. no FP for me

I don't like it. but that is my perogative

I also don't like the fact you have to buy tix 60 days out to get this...for those who buy tix at the time of arrival...Disney is getting your money a lot earlier than you would have planned and you have to budget for the cost a lot sooner

 

[Ms. WDW]

I'm wondering whether the system kept waiting for you to make a third FP+ and when you didn't go back until a week later, the original FP+ selections were wiped out.

I truly appreciate you're trying to help me figure out my unique situation. But you're reading things into this that I didn't say. I never said my original 2 FP+ picks were wiped out! They're still there!! All I want to do is add 1 more and I can't.

I'm going to do what another person suggested and that's after I've used the two I have selected I'll see about getting one for the attraction I missed. I have 9 days; I should be able to get on the ride with our without a FP! Actually, in the 40 years or so of my going to WDW I think I've used a Fast Pass 2 times!!

Thanks all for the suggestions and ideas!

 

[DougEMG]

What I rally hate is the MDE app. It is extremely slow and originally I thought it might just be because of a slow internet connection or something, but even at the Kiosks it is painfully slow. The cast member even had to apologize for how slow it was.

 

[Murron]

42 years here and 60 plus trips. Can I do the planning? Absolutely yes. I'm intimately familiar with FP+ system, MDE, all the apps, etc etc etc. It's just so darn tedious that I'm giving it a very long break....and this is coming from a die hard WDW addict. Had a great trip in May, so please don't take this wrong. But it required more planning than I ever had to do. Tedious is my favorite word.

Just making an attempt to explain all this recently to a new person going to WDW made me realize it was somewhat insane. I have to give kudos to those people who arrive at WDW for the very first (and maybe only!) time and navigate their way through all this.

We are now using DVC points for Vero Beach and Hilton Head. September (before Food & Wine commences) and after Labor Day had always been our sacred time. Now that time frame is also becoming chaotic.

Viking River Cruises has become my new WDW. I'll come back eventually...can't keep away forever. Just really need a break and allow Disney to work out their touring bugs, apps, check in's, events, etc etc etc etc etc....tedious.

 

[SusieBea]

42 years here and 60 plus trips. Can I do the planning? Absolutely yes. I'm intimately familiar with FP+ system, MDE, all the apps, etc etc etc. It's just so darn tedious that I'm giving it a very long break....and this is coming from a die hard WDW addict. Had a great trip in May, so please don't take this wrong. But it required more planning than I ever had to do. Tedious is my favorite word.

Just making an attempt to explain all this recently to a new person going to WDW made me realize it was somewhat insane. I have to give kudos to those people who arrive at WDW for the very first (and maybe only!) time and navigate their way through all this.

OP here - This is exactly what my experience has been but you stated it much more eloquently than I. I agree completely.

 

[tgropp]

When we were at Disney last Christmas the Fast Pass Plus was a lifesaver. Our grandson was 2 at the time and since it is also crowded, we would book our three fastpasses before noon, enjoy another ride or two and then could either hang out at the pool or waterpark for the whole afternoon. Then back to the parks for dinner, another ride and then enjoyed fireworks, It worked perfectly

 

[Murron]

I personally do not question whether the new FP+ system, or on line check in, or event reservations or ADR's etc will or will not work. I think there are many positives hidden within the new programs. It all worked for me nicely last May. Literally thousands upon thousands more guests arrive at WDW than when I first arrived in '71 which makes these changes somewhat a necessary evil. Control the chaos? LOL I think what we are saying in this thread is that we love Disney, we'd love to continue our annual devoted trip(s), but it's just over the top planning. Very tiresome.

 

[SusieBea]

I personally do not question whether the new FP+ system, or on line check in, or event reservations or ADR's etc will or will not work. I think there are many positives hidden within the new programs. It all worked for me nicely last May. Literally thousands upon thousands more guests arrive at WDW than when I first arrived in '71 which makes these changes somewhat a necessary evil. Control the chaos? LOL I think what we are saying in this thread is that we love Disney, we'd love to continue our annual devoted trip(s), but it's just over the top planning. Very tiresome.

EXACTLY! Nail on the head! Dead up! Thank you.

 

[CocosMeme]

I agree totally with the above comments. I love my trips, but sometimes DH and I like to go by ourselves and roam around. I feel compelled to book the FP's at 60 days now just to get our favorites. Sometimes we don't even do 3 rides in a day. We are going Labor Day and originally planned to just go to the parks at night and hang out at the resort (GFV) during the day. I had a hard time booking FP"s for the evenings. I eventually got them but it was a chore. I think that the 1st week of Sept will be very uncrowded and many things will be walk on anyway!

 

[DebbieB]

I agree totally with the above comments. I love my trips, but sometimes DH and I like to go by ourselves and roam around. I feel compelled to book the FP's at 60 days now just to get our favorites. Sometimes we don't even do 3 rides in a day. We are going Labor Day and originally planned to just go to the parks at night and hang out at the resort (GFV) during the day. I had a hard time booking FP"s for the evenings. I eventually got them but it was a chore. I think that the 1st week of Sept will be very uncrowded and many things will be walk on anyway!

That's what I think is great about FP+. Before if you were going to the parks in the evenings, it was too late to get fastpasses for popular rides. With FP+, you can schedule them for the evening. For example, I have Soarin on my arrival afternoon, they would likely have been gone by the time I got there.

I don't see why it's a chore, just choose the rides you want and then change the times to later.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

That's what I think is great about FP+. Before if you were going to the parks in the evenings, it was too late to get fastpasses for popular rides. With FP+, you can schedule them for the evening. For example, I have Soarin on my arrival afternoon, they would likely have been gone by the time I got there.

I don't see why it's a chore, just choose the rides you want and then change the times to later.

For me what you list is the only plus to the FP+. Otherwise for the way we liked to do rides it's now very limiting - ie we liked to have the option to do repeats of the same attraction. And we would work within the availability and generally had less standing in line than we can achieve with the new system.

The other thing is purely a mental bit for me but I feel pressured with having this "schedule" that I must not miss. Something about this 3FP limited commodity and feeling like I can't waste them - especially if I've booked way in advance! It just is mental stress and not fun. When it was more just the "luck" of getting FP's it added to the fun and wasn't stress. May not make sense but it's a big difference in how it makes me feel.

 

[monorailmom]

We are just back (yesterday) and have to say...while hate is a strong word, I really really really dislike FP+/MDE.

Here is why:

the app doesn't work. Not regularly, anyway. There were times that my husband, myself, and my daughter would be on the MDE app at the same time and get different wait times. Sometimes we'd get no wait times at all. The only fix was to delete the app and reinstall it. Can I tell you how much time we spent pulled over to the side of a walkway to do all of this?! It's bad enough that at home we're all attached to our phones, I really disliked this dependence at Disney World.

FP+ completely destroys any leisure time. For example, we had a fabulous lunch at Via Napoli on a very hot day, and wanted to take the boat back to Future World. My poor DH was flipping out because if we took the boat we may miss our FP for Spaceship Earth. WHAT?! You never used to even need a FP for Spaceship Earth, and now we can't even enjoy a boat ride because we may miss it?! Lines are SO much longer now for rides that never needed a FP before.

I could go on, but those are really the biggest issues in my book. I would love to think that Disney will rethink this whole FP+ stuff, but they've spent so much money on it, I doubt it.

We still had an amazing trip, but did far less attractions than we are used to.

 

[anna08]

Include me in the group of dedicated visitors that has been on two trips since FP+/MDE started who agrees with you. We are so driven by schedule in our regular life, and I'm dealing with the constant struggle of kids wanting to be on electronics. What I always loved about WDW is that the phones stayed out of our hands, we always ate and did the parks on the fly - we were "whichever bus comes first" people. It was all about fun and being allowed to live a life for a few days that we rarely experience.

The one scenario we did enjoy FP+ was when we were due to arrive in Orlando in the evening, and I could schedule rides for the evening, when we usually wouldn't have a chance to ride popular rides without long waits.

The multi-family trip was a complete headache, starting months before the trip, with me nagging everyone to get their tickets and even in the end had a glitch where FP for part of the group didn't work when we got to the ride. I will never organize another group trip again. That end of school year family reunion had always been a favorite of mine. No desire to do it again there.

We have now planned two vacations that would have once always been at WDW at other places. We will be banking points for the first time since 2008.

 

[Splashboat]

That's what I think is great about FP+. Before if you were going to the parks in the evenings, it was too late to get fastpasses for popular rides. With FP+, you can schedule them for the evening. For example, I have Soarin on my arrival afternoon, they would likely have been gone by the time I got there.

I don't see why it's a chore, just choose the rides you want and then change the times to later.

It is great if you KNOW you are going in the evenings but for those of us who don't know ahead it becomes a chore. We tried to change choices late in the afternoon for Soarin and couldn't get a time with FP+.

The only 2 rides we ever had a problem with running out of fast passes in the old system was TSM (HS) and PP (MK). Could be that we were there a little earlier in the afternoon. Back then I was not 'scheduling' our every move so I couldn't confirm times

I am also wondering how successful it is now that Disney is testing return times for rides like Soarin. http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201407/4143/

Seems like it is going to complicate things further. I would imagine the people right before cut off aren't going to be thrilled about standing in line for hours while the people behind them get a return time.

Agree with Murron. I think Disney just has too many visitors for the amount of attractions people want to access. I don't know if any system can help if that's the case.

 

[supersnoop]

It is great if you KNOW you are going in the evenings but for those of us who don't know ahead it becomes a chore.

Why is it a chore? If you don't know where you're going that evening, then you don't get to plan ahead. With the old system, you'd be just as bad, if not worse off. What makes fp+ a chore?

 

[Splashboat]

Why is it a chore? If you don't know where you're going that evening, then you don't get to plan ahead. With the old system, you'd be just as bad, if not worse off. What makes fp+ a chore?

If you had read the previous posters who agree with the OP you would have numerous answers as to why it is a chore to many. I am not going to regurgitate info that has been stated.

The additional comment that I mentioned was our experience with Soarin. I indicated that we found more availabilty/greater access with the old system later in the day.

As I stated previously, it could be that we had no problems with Soarin in the past because we were in Epcot earlier - that's the point, I didn't feel like I had to plan like I was at work or home before.

The bottom line is, there is no right or wrong answer to argue about. Everyone has a right to their opinion based on their experience. You either end your vacation thinking it went smooth or feel like it was a hassle. I am in the hassle column.

We didn't purchase annual passes this year and didn't purchase parkhoppers either. Plan to spend more time at the resort.