interesting opinion about the not so magical mouse

[Suvadoo]

I won’t go into too much detail about the HuffPo article because it’s too ridiculous to waste my time on. But a couple quick points from the article; if MagicBands or door locks or anything else is not working, talk to management and get it fixed; if you haven’t brought snacks or fed your family properly, shame on you, it’s your fault, not Disney’s; germs are everywhere, get over it and wash your hands, Disney didn't deliberately put germs on their queues just for an extra bit of “magic”.

I just don’t understand all the complaints about planning. If you go on any vacation, don’t you research? Plan what hotel to stay in, what transportation options are available, what sights you want to see, what restaurants are close by, if it’s a popular restaurant, perhaps even make a reservation? If you don’t like planning your vacations, just go to an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean and lie on the beach for a week.

I had a great trip to WDW in October. Yes, I did a lot of planning. Yes, I made ADRs every day. I made FP+ bookings every day. But you know what? Everything worked. MagicBands, FP+, memory maker, ADRs. I actually enjoyed a trip to Disney World! I might even go again if I am fortunate enough to have the time and money for another family vacation.
If you don’t like the planning, you don’t have to do it. I don’t buy all the arguments that Disney has “forced you to plan”. FP+ is voluntary. Just like FP- was voluntary. If you want to wake up in the morning and “wing it”, you still can. Disney has simply given you a tool that may help save some time. And for all those out there saying “oh, but they only give you three and by the time you can get a fourth, everything good is gone”, well how is that different than the paper FP system? Didn't the FP- for Toy Story, Test Track, Soarin’, etc. always run out in the afternoon?

Honestly, I joined Disboards a month ago because after doing a few trips to WDW, I thought "maybe I can help somebody". Or "maybe I can get help for my next trip". I thought that was the point of these forums? Sorry to say it, but most of what I've seen in the last month is a bunch of bitter people complaining about something they claim to enjoy. I’m not sure I’ll be continuing with this. Disney is supposed to be my happy place. Disboards is not :sad1:

I don't get it. So you're not bitter, but you feel compelled to call everyone who complains about Disney bitter.

 

[MrInfinity]

Honestly, I joined Disboards a month ago because after doing a few trips to WDW, I thought "maybe I can help somebody". Or "maybe I can get help for my next trip". I thought that was the point of these forums? Sorry to say it, but most of what I've seen in the last month is a bunch of bitter people complaining about something they claim to enjoy. I’m not sure I’ll be continuing with this. Disney is supposed to be my happy place. Disboards is not

Don't be discouraged. There are a lot of really positive, knowledgeable, and genuinely helpful people out here too.

 

[MickeyMinnie1971]

It actually became a running joke every day. Taking bets on how long it would take me to get through the gate. I swear I was on some sort of "list"

It's not just my band that doesn't work. My pass doesn't work either. It hasn't since the end of October. I tell them when I walk up they are going to need someone with an iPad. The blue mickey head is so humiliating. All I can do is laugh about it at this point.

 

[larryz]

This article succinctly explains ALL the reasons why I chose to cancel my February reservations last night.

...and the reasons why my last Disney vacation, at DLR this past October, was my last Disney vacation for a long while.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I don't do Disney for me - I do it for my kids and I watch her eyes and face which makes any effort I put in totally worth it. Live it through them...

There are adults out there who do"do Disney for [them]" *as well as* their kids (if they have them).

As much as I loved seeing DD's reactions on her 2 trips to WDW so far, I still love Disney just as much now as I did as a child. I feel like a kid again when I go to the parks...including the occasional skipping down main street w/o a care in the world

There's nothing wrong with living it through your kids, but there's also nothing wrong with continuing to wholly love Disney as an adult and want to live it for yourself as well.

But then, we also just came back from a trip where we left DD home with grandparents so DH could run the Wine & Dine 1/2, and we could have some couple time enjoying F&W...so clearly I'm a bit biased there

 

[txnana]

get educated and don't dismiss what you have no intelligence of. they have to have treatment, they have sleep disorders, easily sick in mornings due to regular received treatments, or side effects of condition.

someone can look healthy and be so much more than lets on to the eye. i know some people abuse the system but there are truly sick people, and before you bring out then why are they at disney they may not have much time eft and want to try to enjoy what they have left, and yea the fast pass+ system helps!

and like previous post said they were oblivious of the original, people are oblivious and expect things to be dropped in front of them with a bow. well guess what life isn't always revolving around 1 person its got so many others especially at disney and the ones who are to lazy to do some planning deserve what they get, while the ones who spent time and energy into trying to make things work early on

I always travel to WDW with a good friend who is on Kidney Dialysis, so three mornings a week while we are there she is attached to a refrigerator sized machine so she can continue LIVING! After her treatment, she naps and then meets me at whatever park we designated. Before FP+ by late afternoon when she arrived there were no fast passes to be had, only lines to stand in. For our upcoming trip, I was able to schedule FP+ for her in late afternoon, early evening so she can do her favorites without standing in too many lines and then we pick other things to do! So, yes, indeed, early mornings are out for some folks!!

 

[Suvadoo]

I agree. This system is no more fair than legacy fast pass. It's like we went from a capitalistic system to a socialist one. Neither one is necessarily more fair than the other - they are just different and will benefit different people in different ways. But no, to say one is more fair than the other is not accurate. And yes, those who had learned how to make legacy fast pass work for them did stand in significantly shorter lines because they knew what to ride when. Every ride wasn't a walk on, but my family and I had no problems doing everything we wanted to in a day at Magic Kingdom with no longer than a 20 minute wait for anything when we had legacy fast pass. This includes doing many of the rides multiple times. We are big fans of doing Jungle Cruise, Thunder Mountain, and Splash Mountain during the day and again at night. Anyway, that's not going to happen with FP+. But, people who choose to sleep in are now able to get fast passes for Soarin' and TSMM when in the past, they likely would have been out by the time these people arrived. Or, if they weren't out, these people would only be able to pull one fast pass for the ride and would not get to ride it more than once unless they stood in line for hours. So, with the new system, everyone has equal results where as the legacy system provided people with equal opportunity. It's really all about how you and your family tour as to which system will most benefit you. For us, it was easily legacy. For others, it's FP+.

I like this statement, it really is accurate.

 

[Tess]

We will be going on our furst fast pass + trip this Spring and we are not stressing over it at all ... fist of all we are two aduts so we won't have to worry about squirmy and/or impatient children and we can assume our usual go with the flow attitude. I was thinking that the fast pass + is just the next "thing" in the move towards "you cant wing it any longer" . We found it difficult to "wing it" back when ADR's began to become so popular and it bacame necessary to make those reservations six months in advance. An ADR; especialy a coveted one like O'Hana before midnight, does restrict your planning.

Hedk, I am old enough to remember going to the television screens under Spaceship Earth and talking to a reservation agent to make reservations for that day at an Epcot restaurant!

And it was a mad dash for those kiosks instead of a ride.