I love the MyMagic+ and Magic Bands.

[AJPPGH]

DRDISNEY-obviously you haven't been paying attention to the entire thing if you are not sure why I said that we might not be able to ride anything more than once. FYI:You have to choose between TSM and ToT and RnR at DHS for example...you don't get a FP for all 3. So therefore if you are not there at the RD you won't be getting on without waiting in line for at least one of them. Something I am not willing to do. And once you DO ride a favorite attraction such as TSM that's it...again, unless you are willing to wait in line.

 

[JanaDee]

Fair enough. I don't mind people not liking it after trying it. I'm seeing most the people bashing it have never tried it. What makes this make your park experience less pleasurable? The great news is I think Disney is one of those companies who will tweak it if it means people will have a good visit.................................. and spend more money.

As was pointed out, you don't have to use it to know you won't like it.

I used it, didn't like it and will continue to criticize FP+ with all its shortcomings.

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

DRDISNEY-obviously you haven't been paying attention to the entire thing if you are not sure why I said that we might not be able to ride anything more than once. FYI:You have to choose between TSM and ToT and RnR at DHS for example...you don't get a FP for all 3. So therefore if you are not there at the RD you won't be getting on without waiting in line for at least one of them. Something I am not willing to do. And once you DO ride a favorite attraction such as TSM that's it...again, unless you are willing to wait in line.

For me, telling 2 boys ( 9 & 12 )that they cannot ride the only halfway thrilling rides more than once (if at all) will not be fun.

~I only responded to what you initially wrote. ^^^ But, thanks for clarifying that you just don't want to wait in line. Now, I understand your perspective and I respect your decision. You acknowledge what you like and what your expectations are and I respect that. Good luck with finding a new place to make memories.

 

[DisneyKentucky]

As was pointed out, you don't have to use it to know you won't like it.

I used it, didn't like it and will continue to criticize FP+ with all its shortcomings.

Again, it's in testing. Also, it's cool if people want to complain over a thread I created praising it. Just also be cool with me pointing out how crazy it is to complain about a massive overhaul of the system in a testing phase.

This isn't like changing the dollar menu to $1.35. This is a MASSIVE project in it's infant stages.

 

[Magpie]

DRDISNEY-obviously you haven't been paying attention to the entire thing if you are not sure why I said that we might not be able to ride anything more than once. FYI:You have to choose between TSM and ToT and RnR at DHS for example...you don't get a FP for all 3. So therefore if you are not there at the RD you won't be getting on without waiting in line for at least one of them. Something I am not willing to do. And once you DO ride a favorite attraction such as TSM that's it...again, unless you are willing to wait in line.

Hang on, Tower of Terror is a Tier 2 ride!

You can absolutely have Tower of Terror and Toy Story Mania the same day.

Plus, if you want multiple rides on TSM, there are several ways to do it.

1. Get there early. They start letting people in 15 minutes or so before official park open. Head straight to TSM. Depending on the crowd levels, you should be able to ride two or three times before the wait times build, as there won't be any FP+ riders returning before 9am.

2. Get there late. They won't cut off the line until the exact moment of park close, but they'll leave the return times high to discourage people from getting in. So hop in 5 or 10 minutes before park close, and you'll get one more ride.

So whether you like to sleep in, or stay late, there's always a way to get at least one more ride on the most popular ride in the park, without waiting more than 20 minutes in line.

 

[mom2rtk]

Hang on, Tower of Terror is a Tier 2 ride!

You can absolutely have Tower of Terror and Toy Story Mania the same day.

Plus, if you want multiple rides on TSM, there are several ways to do it.

1. Get there early. They start letting people in 15 minutes or so before official park open. Head straight to TSM. Depending on the crowd levels, you should be able to ride two or three times before the wait times build, as there won't be any FP+ riders returning before 9am.

2. Get there late. They won't cut off the line until the exact moment of park close, but they'll leave the return times high to discourage people from getting in. So hop in 5 or 10 minutes before park close, and you'll get one more ride.

So whether you like to sleep in, or stay late, there's always a way to get at least one more ride on the most popular ride in the park, without waiting more than 20 minutes in line.

Exactly the same alternatives available to those who didn't like legacy FP. FP+ didn't fix anything. All it did was shuffle around who the winners and losers were.

 

[morethananyonex]

Exactly the same alternatives available to those who didn't like legacy FP. FP+ didn't fix anything. All it did was shuffle around who the winners and losers were.

Exactly.

FP+ works better for some people just like FP- did. We can debate which system we personally liked better, but fact of the matter is there will always be losers when WDW does not have enough ride capacity to decrease wait times for everyone.

FP+ still has some serious downfalls for certain kinds of touring, which is why I'm not getting all the people yelling that they're so glad it's fair now. From recent reports of DHS going FP+ only, it's looking like latecomers are still losing out, just now it's people who book late not people who walk into the parks late. It's the same concept as FP-, except it suits everyone in the know who can reserve early instead of everyone who arrived in the parks early. There are still groups getting shut out. It's the same number of riders as before.

 

[pens4821]

I liked the magic bands also. It was great to get off the plane and need no paperwork. Used the bands to get on Magical Express, and when we got to the resort a guy with an ipad had us ready to go in less than 5 minutes (we did online check in).

It was great to have those bands. No worries of losing tickets, room keys, etc. We didn't have any major issues. Twice our bands wouldn't turn green entering the park, but we were in the parks quickly as a CM came over and asked us the last park we were in.

The FP+ was nice also. No need to worry about FP running out, you were all set. We could plan our park strategy around the FP+s. I wish that there weren't tiers, but other than that we didn't have much of an issue with it.

I, for one, am all for the FP+/bands. We aren't regulars like most here (once every 8-10 years we go), but I enjoyed these conveniences.

 

[shalom]

I'll take 4 for space mt. and 2 for splash please. I can't?

It's my belief that it's precisely this kind of rider Disney is "targeting" with FP+. I think Disney has decided that Universal is welcome to the people who raced from ride to ride, pulling multiple FPs for repeat rides, while Disney hangs onto the ones who drift around catching a ride once in a while or watching a performance, buying a souvenir here and eating a TS there, and generally paying for a lot more than just their park ticket.

Without going quite so far as Magpie, I do think the average YouTube commenter is the kind of commando tourer that Disney wants to rein in. My dad, OTOH, would be the kind of commando tourist they're fine with, because although he probably wouldn't spend any more money, he also either wouldn't ride anything repeatedly, or he's willing to stand in line to do so.

Generally those with tweens and teens are not fans of FP+ precisely for that reason. I have found that many of the supporters have only young children or no children, and typically do not do rope drop. Nor do they tend to have many kids, as this plan makes it very hard to make everyone in a larger group happy.

I have five kids, all but one teenagers, and we always do rope drop, and I like the sound of FP+. Kids in larger families are used to the idea that they don't get to do what they want all the time, and that they often have to wait for their favorites, so being limited to three FPs a day is not a big deal.

All it did was shuffle around who the winners and losers were.

Agreed. The more I read the FP+ threads, the more I'm convinced that Disney's goal is to shift FPs away from people who really knew how to "work the system" and used it to ride the same ride multiple times, to people who may be first timers or who for whatever reason were essentially shut out of the rides that would run out of FPs early/kick the ride times way out, and so never got to them.

Disney will prioritize the customers who they believe pay off the best. That doesn't mean they want to get rid of people who choose the same ride over and over; but it apparently does mean they'll try to limit the people who chose the same ride over and over at less time cost than it costs the average customer. And they definitely don't want someone who rides the same ride over and over to make the waits longer for the bigger spenders. If the customers who like to drift around and spend money can't get on the ride they want because customers who spend less have pulled all the FPs, Disney is going to try to fix that, because they want to keep those lackadaisical customers who spend more happy so they'll come back and keep spending.

 

[Laketravis]

Originally Posted by Laketravis View Post
I'll take 4 for space mt. and 2 for splash please. I can't?

I think Disney has decided that Universal is welcome to the people who raced from ride to ride, pulling multiple FPs for repeat rides, while Disney hangs onto the ones who drift around catching a ride once in a while or watching a performance, buying a souvenir here and eating a TS there, and generally paying for a lot more than just their park ticket.

Actually, that wasn't my comment, I was quoting a comment on the FB page.

But yes, I believe it's true that Disney's intent is to capture, encourage, and not release the casual park goer.

I think it is a misconception on their part, though, that doing so results in an increase in spending. Quite the contrary, I found the scheduling of 3 FP+ attractions in advance to make my park visit so efficient that I only spent a few hours in the park rather than the entire day. Like your dad, I didn't roam around the park spending more money simply because I had more time to do so.

Maybe more people will be like me and your dad, we'll hit the parks with our 3 FP's spaced out over three hours, get 'er done in 90 minutes, and leave the park because we (a) don't spend money just because we have more free time and (b) don't want to wait in any of the SB lines.

And if more people do that, Disney may not benefit from increased per-guest spending in the parks but they would benefit from increased guest turnover each day.

 

[shalom]

Actually, that wasn't my comment, I was quoting a comment on the FB page.

Ooops, sorry, meant to fix that.

I think it is a misconception on their part, though, that doing so results in an increase in spending. Quite the contrary, I found the scheduling of 3 FP+ attractions in advance to make my park visit so efficient that I only spent a few hours in the park rather than the entire day.

Good to hear. This is actually where I thought it would most benefit my family, some of whom would prefer to hit the parks for only half a day.

And if more people do that, Disney may not benefit from increased per-guest spending in the parks but they would benefit from increased guest turnover each day.

Hadn't thought of that; good point. I think the pattern of "greatest crowds mid-day" will persist, but if FP+ enables more rope drop people to tour efficiently and get out of there either there'll be lower crowds mid-day or (in peak seasons) Disney will be able to squeeze more people into a day. But it'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

 

[dvldawg411]

I enjoyed my one experience so far with the Magic Bands and FP+ but I can certainly understand those who have not. I may just be lucky that FP+ is conducive to my approach to visiting the parks (typically, 2-4 adults, early entry, sometime park hopping), where FP+ allows us to hit some things early in the day in standby lines and have the benefit of FP+ already arranged for things later in the day with no need to run all over the park to get FPs. I can appreciate, though, that those in other circumstances have legitimate concerns about the process.

That said, I offer two notes from our experience over New Year’s that may provide helpful info to some. First, we had plans to go to Epcot for NYE, with plans to arrive after having dinner at the Yachtsman (so arriving at EP around 9:30p). On Dec. 30, we decided to try to get a FP+ for Soarin’ for the time we’d be at EP. We were able to get a 10:00p FP+ via the Android app without any problem. It offered me an unacceptable time at first, but allowed me to pick a different time in the next screen, so I could get the precise time I wanted. So, even during the busiest of nights at EP, we could get the FP+ we wanted the day before.

Two days later (Jan. 2), two of our party were running late, so first thing in the morning, we bumped our Space Mountain FP+s from 9:00ish to 10:00ish. No problem. When we arrived at SM, however, it was down. The system automatically updated our accounts for a “free” FP+, allowing us to use that FP on anything at any time that day, including for SM later in the day when it reopened. I was notified in the app, as well as by email of the new FP. We ended up using the FP for BTM instead, which worked out well for our plans.

 

[Laketravis]

Hadn't thought of that; good point. I think the pattern of "greatest crowds mid-day" will persist, but if FP+ enables more rope drop people to tour efficiently and get out of there either there'll be lower crowds mid-day or (in peak seasons) Disney will be able to squeeze more people into a day. But it'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

Robo just posted a thread about the Park to Park buses that are now coming online.

I think that's great, because last month we would regularly hit three parks a day, and the biggest hurdle was getting from park to park.

I think if we consider this from a much higher altitude, Disney is looking at four parks each day and decided maybe it isn't such a bad idea to balance that capacity by moving guests between the parks more efficiently.

Because how many times is AK sitting almost empty while MK is packed?

That's why we actually found enhanced value with Park Hoppers when FP+ came along. We would make our FP's for late afternoon in one park, go to a different park for RD, then go to a third park in the evening for parades and/or fireworks. And any walk-on opportunities that may have presented themselves.

Now that Disney is providing direct routes between parks, I have to wonder if they haven't been thinking the same thing all along.

 

[Silock]

Hang on, Tower of Terror is a Tier 2 ride!

You can absolutely have Tower of Terror and Toy Story Mania the same day.

That's not what he said. He said you can't get a FP for all three at the same time, which is true. And that you'd have to wait in line for one, which is also true. The situation gets worse when you want to ride multiple times, especially in a non-MK park because there aren't many rides in the other parks.

 

[Silock]

So, Disney is able to make more profit all the while integrating photo pass (also memory maker), your hotel room entry, ability to pay without card, entry to park and fast passes as well make sure people who they say they are for dinner res (scan at gate) for security. Sounds like a win for all involved. Sure, there are changes that may change operating procedure for some but, cry me a river you have to change.

I'd rather not have everything integrated and pay less and have the old system. It's not complaining about change. It's that the old way was less buggy and better for me.

 

[Magpie]

Exactly the same alternatives available to those who didn't like legacy FP. FP+ didn't fix anything. All it did was shuffle around who the winners and losers were.

Quite true. Many of the old touring tips still work. So instead of sitting around crying that you've been doomed to just three rides a day or are now forced to sit in hour-long lines, why not use those old tips?

I didn't use any legacy FP in Hollywood Studios on our last trip, only FP+, and we rode TSM more times than we ever had on any previous trip. We also got in several rides on ToT, and our usual eight or nine on Star Tours. We were there in the first week of December, and while it wasn't a high crowd time, it certainly wasn't a low crowd time either. People on these boards were all, "OMG, crowds!" and "It's the end of the December low season, sob!" (We found it perfectly fine, to be honest.)

That's not what he said. He said you can't get a FP for all three at the same time, which is true. And that you'd have to wait in line for one, which is also true. The situation gets worse when you want to ride multiple times, especially in a non-MK park because there aren't many rides in the other parks.

He said: "FYI:You have to choose between TSM and ToT and RnR at DHS for example...you don't get a FP for all 3."

You can have a fastpass for TWO of the three. You DO NOT have to choose between TSM and ToT. You can enjoy FP for them both!

On the same day, of course. You were never able to get FPs for the exact same times for any ride in HS, ever. The only way that could have worked was back when they didn't enforce return times, so you could collect them throughout the day and then use them all at once.

I also offered several tips for riding multiple times.

 

[mom2rtk]

Quite true. Many of the old touring tips still work. So instead of sitting around crying that you've been doomed to just three rides a day or are now forced to sit in hour-long lines, why not use those old tips?

I didn't use any legacy FP in Hollywood Studios on our last trip, only FP+, and we rode TSM more times than we ever had on any previous trip. We also got in several rides on ToT, and our usual eight or nine on Star Tours. We were there in the first week of December, and while it wasn't a high crowd time, it certainly wasn't a low crowd time either. People on these boards were all, "OMG, crowds!" and "It's the end of the December low season, sob!" (We found it perfectly fine, to be honest.)

I'm not sitting around crying. I'm planning my second trip to DLR in 2 years while I wait and hope that they fix FP+. We had an awesome time, thank you very much. Rode California Screamin 6 times in a row.

 

[Silock]

You can have a fastpass for TWO of the three. You DO NOT have to choose between TSM and ToT. You can enjoy FP for them both!

On the same day, of course. You were never able to get FPs for the exact same times for any ride in HS, ever. The only way that could have worked was back when they didn't enforce return times, so you could collect them throughout the day and then use them all at once.

I also offered several tips for riding multiple times.

I think you missed his point.

 

[DisneyKentucky]

I'd rather not have everything integrated and pay less and have the old system. It's not complaining about change. It's that the old way was less buggy and better for me.

Fair enough. We could go real old school where there are zero fast passes. Get rid of all modern technology. If you want to return to the park they stamp your hand with that invisible ink.

 

[mom2rtk]

Fair enough. We could go real old school where there are zero fast passes. Get rid of all modern technology. If you want to return to the park they stamp your hand with that invisible ink.

They actually still do that at DLR.