Someone said that CMs claim the FP+ info shows up on their monitors the instant guests scan, and that the swirling green (or blue) on the orbs are all for show. If that's the case, vary the swirl time down to a quick blink and see if the queues on the rides stop backing up so much.
I know for a fact that the info shows up on screens. We were behind a family of four, three of whom got 3 Green Orbs and one of whom got the blue swirl of death. "Try again", the CM said. The did. Try a third time. They did. Finally, the CM looked at the screen, made a few taps, and said: "Yep. It says right here that you are all linked together and that you all have a valid FP. Go ahead in." So the monitors can override the orbs. But I don't think that means that the orbs can be replaced (for that reason, but read on). It would take longer, (and be far more tiresome for the CM with the risk of eye strain) to stare at their tablets all day instead of glancing at green and blue orbs.
I agree with morethananyonex that many of the changes that we would
like to see are simply not compatible with the new system, so there is no reason to dream or hope. The system isn't perfect, but it isn't a complete failure. However, certain negative aspects could be fixed without messing with the whole system. First, eliminate the first Mickey and get the FP+ lines into the queue area where they belong. The first Mickey is "catching" a very small percentage of people who make it turn blue. Some of those people are legitimately in line, and if so, a CM at the second Mickey could make a few taps and figure this out as witnessed in what I posted above. That "fix" can just as easily be done at the second Mickey. As for people who do not have a valid FP+ for the ride? Well, they just wasted 15 minutes in line and will be shown the side exit. How many times would they have to make that walk of shame before they stopped trying to use the FP line when they weren't supposed to. While I'll admit that ferreting these issues out is better done at the beginning of the line, the trade-off has become intolerable lines that flow out in to the parks causing unsightly mobs and clogging up traffic areas. A choice has to be made, and in my opinion, it is better to "clean up the parks" and have one Mickey at the boarding area than to have a "perfect" system that has two Mickeys as a failsafe. Here, the pursuit of perfection has become the enemy of the good. And this change would not alter the overall purpose of FP+, whatever Disney considers that to be.
The second change that I would make is to allow all guests who have purchased an admission medium to pre-book. This should be done ASAP so that kiosks are used primarily for making changes. People should not have to wait in a 60 minute kiosk line in order to get a FP+ that will allow them to circumvent a 70 minute Standby Line. Just typing that or saying it out loud shows how stupid this is. Again, this would not alter the reasoning behind FP+ one bit.
Third, I would keep the number of FP+ at 3, but based on crowd estimates and actual data (which they can get from the entrance tapstiles), they should dole out "surprise" extra Fast Passes as capacity allows. I don't pretend to know all the math, but I do know that FP+ usage and ride tolerance would be and should be different on days when the crowd level is a 2 as opposed to an 8. The system right now is set up as a "one size fits all" when indeed, the parks are very different experiences based on crowd levels. If, by 2:00 p.m., the system has not allocated nearly its maximum number of FP+s, then start sending out emails to the people who arrived earliest allowing them to have one or two "bonus FP+s". They could be for any time (that the system shows is not fully booked) and could be used for any ride (that the system shows is not fully booked). Again, I don't see how this would interfere with the overall goals of FP+.
Sadly I'm no longer child age so I have to hold mine up "just so" in order for it to be read.....
