It's not just fastpass+ that bothers me

[RMulieri]

What time of year do/did you go? We are going in August. Our first trip ever to US. We did take an onsite room but was wondering if it was needed.

You WILL need it this year.We went August last year and it was MUCH busier than it was supposed to be.Mid-day waits for Harry potter ,spiderman,Transformers and Despiable me were 90 mins.This year you have the HArry potter expansion opening at the studios.This will make staying onsite for early entry and express much more valuable.

 

[Seeker615]

I love staying at Universal. No waits for shuttles and front of the line passes are awesome!

It's so nice to be able to walk to both parks and Citywalk. We often took breaks mid-day and went back to our resort to relax.

Even if it is not crowded it is still a great perk to skip the lines. Some of the queues are a long walk and my hubby has some knee issues.

On a side not: I don't think Disney could do unlimited express passes at their resorts. They have a lot more hotels then Universal. I think if they did then the express line would be longer than the stand by line.

 

[Donut23]

So many folks have these sentiments.

I work at a fairly large healthcare corporation, and every so often some administrator feels the need to change something that isn't broken. I guess it's to justify their existence within the organization. I really think FP+ was such an occurrence.

The bands and MDE were a nifty idea but the whole move away from traditional fastpass rules (one at a time, collect new one when first one is available or two hours transpires) was a terrible proposal.

We all knew Disney wasn't going to abandon a billion dollar investment. But why they won't resume the old fastpass rules within the new digital system is beyond me. They're ignoring their customer feedback and alienating an awful lot of loyal guests. Whether it will impact their bottom line enough for them to listen remains to be seen. It's certainly disappointing, though.

Disney isn't going to toss their MBs or FP+. We have yet to see their ultimate goal.

They have pushed the price increases for tickets, food and hotels to a point people are beginning to push back by considering non-Disney holidays.

Disney will realize a completely new revenue source to squeeze more $$$$ from guests wallets. I hope I'm wrong. I feel the cold winds beginning to blow.

Disney will begin to charge for extra Fastpasses. They can set the number of passes to sell each day---inflating their value and sense of urgency to buy.

I said it before. It will be like the Disney Vera Bradley bags. Resellers will make a campground reservation then on the scheduled day, buy blocks of Fastpasses to resell on EBAY. Can you also bet that some people will pay for extra Fastpasses in Christmas Day?

Sadly, you and I may not be willing to open our wallets for this. I guarantee there will be plenty who will.

Disney did't spend $1.5 BILLION to not have a source of significant $$$$$ on that investment

.

 

[AJPPGH]

My friend got the Unofficial Guide To Disney with Kids 2014 and she said that it talks about the FPs being tiered by resorts- Deluxe get 3, Moderate 2, etc.
I haven't seen this discussed before so I apologize if this is old news.

I also thought the ability to cut all lines at Universal was awesome! We were there during off season and a cold snap last year and I still thought it was invaluable. There were most definitely long lines for some things.

 

[lugnut33]

I'm reading a lot of comments like the one above.

Hey Disney execs, still think it was a good idea to spend $1.5 billion on a new reservation system instead of new attractions??

The Disney exec will rebut your statement with attendance figures that are out of this universe.

 

[mom2rtk]

The Disney exec will rebut your statement with attendance figures that are out of this universe.

None of those attendance figures account for a single bit of impact from MM+/FP+ yet.

Check in a couple years. Trips and scheduled and far in advance. Lots of folks are giving it "one last try". Legacy FP was just pulled in January. All I want to see long about now is the rate of bouncebacks booked compared to this time a year ago.

 

[TommyTutone]

One of the big differences between Disney and Universal, that was touched on earlier, is that before and during your trip at Disney, you have to plan, plan, plan. If you want premium dining, you have to jump on the phone 180 days in advance and hope for the best, same with the fireworks cruise, and now with your ride planning. Regardless of anything else, even staying onsite (as I have at both Beach and Yacht Clubs), it was all about itineraries and making sure you kept your schedule.

Universal onsite, is much more about taking it easy. Everything is accessible by foot, boat, or bike taxi. No need to plan for rides since nearly everything is front of the line, just get there early for Harry Potter and the rest will sort itself out. Plenty of great dining experiences easily reached not just at City Walk, but at the hotels as well. To me it is much more about spontaneity and doing what you feel like, the way a vacation should be (and Portofino, minus the sometimes confusing layout, has rooms that blow Disney's away).

 

[Mamiamjo]

We did stay onsite at Universal in 2011. The Express Pass for onsite guests was the reason we stayed at their hotel. That was much better than the Dis FP for getting on rides quickly. While I'm not necessarily advocating that WDW adopt this, it was very nice.

I like the ability to book FP+ in advance, but I dont like the FP+ limitations of 3 FP+s/day nor the Tiering system.

In the past, we usually would do RD, ride the headliners and pick up FPs to ride again. Often times we'd use more than 3 FPs /day. Also when we hopped parks, we'd grab a FP for an evening ride. Most of this plan is obsolete now. We'll have to reconsider our touring schedule, probably still do RD to ride headliners SB (so we can ride more than once), but will probably not purchase PH anymore.

I would like to see WDW eliminate the tiering and possibly allow more than 3 FP+s a day. Maybe allow additional FP+s to be gotten on the actual touring day or something?

 

[lugnut33]

None of those attendance figures account for a single bit of impact from MM+/FP+ yet.

Check in a couple years. Trips and scheduled and far in advance. Lots of folks are giving it "one last try". Legacy FP was just pulled in January. All I want to see long about now is the rate of bouncebacks booked compared to this time a year ago.

Umm, you may be right but you know the execs are using current numbers to justify and quantify the spending on MDE. They have talked about it in the last quarterly conference calls to stockholders and investors.

 

[bbak3030]

Disney showed its creativity by doubling the number of Dumbo rides. Regarding FP+, the MK day was by far the worst for us. 30 minutes at Pirates, 20 at Small World, 35 at Haunted Mansion and forget about the popular rides..

I like the new Dumbo.......

I'm at WDW now and I thought everyone was making a big deal out of nothing, but I have to agree. I enjoy being able to secure a FP for some of the headliners, but it really limits you with only 3 and no hopping. 2 of our days we have only used one of our 3 passes. Mostly cause other rides were walk-ons or we were there early am or late pm. We left MK and are heading back to the resort because there are sooo many people and long waits for just about everything. I'm still having a blast, just saying I'm not impressed with the new system. And I really wanted to be:-(

 

[mom2rtk]

Umm, you may be right but you know the execs are using current numbers to justify and quantify the spending on MDE. They have talked about it in the last quarterly conference calls to stockholders and investors.

Of course they are. That's what they do.

I'm sure they're hoping beyond hope that increased traffic from the Mine Coaster will help mask any falloff from the damage inflicted by MM+.

 

[erin1715]

We just returned from a trip where we spent our first night ever at a Universal hotel, and then the remaining 6 nights at the Wilderness Lodge.

I have a different opinion than most on this thread. We were really looking forward to the Universal stay because we've heard such great things (mostly from the DIS). And I have to say we were underwhelmed with it all. Yes the hotel was beautiful and the express pass was very nice. When we checked in, I didn't feel that the people went above and beyond. For example, the materials we received upon check-in had no information about the theme parks, hours, maps, nothing. I don't even recall them providing any information about the hotel, where things were located, etc. And I mentioned this on another thread, but after we got settled into our room, we went down to the pool. Upon returning to our room our cards wouldn't work. After 3 trips to the front desk and many printed keys, the person working the desk finally walked us to the room and was able to let us in. I know this can, and does, happen at Disney but I've personally never experienced it. In addition, the pool was cold and not very well heated for a chilly evening.

We went to the parks the next day and it just doesn't have enough to keep us interested. I think part of the reason we don't like it as much as Disney is because it's not as family oriented. Nearly all of the rides are thrill rides. We did enjoy the simulators like Transformers and Spiderman, but the coasters we could do without. And I know, different strokes for different folks. But for us, Universal is still missing that "something" that Disney hits on.

We couldn't wait to get to Disney, and we found our new favorite resort in the Wilderness Lodge. I will say that Disney wasn't perfect, and MK was absolutely swarmed with people. But they've still got me hooked.

In addition, I don't know where people get the numbers saying that a deluxe at Universal is the same as a moderate at Disney unless Disney moderates have skyrocketed. We paid $300 for one night at Uni and that is only because I was able to find a discount.

 

[mom2rtk]

I like the new Dumbo.......

I'm at WDW now and I thought everyone was making a big deal out of nothing, but I have to agree. I enjoy being able to secure a FP for some of the headliners, but it really limits you with only 3 and no hopping. 2 of our days we have only used one of our 3 passes. Mostly cause other rides were walk-ons or we were there early am or late pm. We left MK and are heading back to the resort because there are sooo many people and long waits for just about everything. I'm still having a blast, just saying I'm not impressed with the new system. And I really wanted to be:-(

I loved what they did with Dumbo. Until they removed legacy FP and the FP for Dumbo was not only no longer disconnected, but now must be one of only 3 you get in that park for the day. That took it from huge success in my book to huge disappointment in record time.

They took one step forward in terms of accessibility then promptly took 2 steps back.

 

[Planogirl]

In addition, I don't know where people get the numbers saying that a deluxe at Universal is the same as a moderate at Disney unless Disney moderates have skyrocketed. We paid $300 for one night at Uni and that is only because I was able to find a discount.

The Universal resorts have good sales. I was fairly recently looking at a price of around $200 for one of the resorts.

 

[lugnut33]

Of course they are. That's what they do.

I'm sure they're hoping beyond hope that increased traffic from the Mine Coaster will help mask any falloff from the damage inflicted by MM+.

This may seem strange coming from me, but I really don't see the damage inflicted by MM+. I have a relative who works every day with FP+ and he/she says the feedback from guests for the most part is positive. The most disgruntled guests are the "derogatory name used for annual passholders" (didn't realize that word was banned on the Dis Boards) as CMs refer to them because they feel "privileged". I really have a feeling that guest feedback that Disney hears is way way different than what we see on the Dis Boards.

I just spent a whole week down there, so be sure to look for my thread in the coming days about the stay. You know I dislike FP+ (still do), but I still was able to have a really good trip.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

We are rd/fastpass people who have no interest in waiting over 15 minutes for porch or haunted mansion. That's just us

Sorry, but this sounds like sheer entitlement to me.

ETA, I don't really have that much to do at Universal/IoA. It's pretty boring for us so we would never stay there again. (We've stayed at Portofino Bay, and it was okay, nothing special.)

 

[cigar95]

. . . . . , but it really limits you with only 3 and no hopping.

Things like this are changing all the time, but for now you can hop to a second park and get additional FP once your original three are used up in the first park. (Unclear if you have to get the additional passes at a kiosk, or if you can use one of the online systems.)

That's the way things are working this week - no promises that it will be the same next week!

 

[WillAustin]

Sorry, but this sounds like sheer entitlement to me.

If your definition of entitlement is, "expecting to be able to do what we have done on every previous trip" then I guess you'd think so. To me, it's not an unreasonable expectation to have.

 

[lugnut33]

Things like this are changing all the time, but for now you can hop to a second park and get additional FP once your original three are used up in the first park. (Unclear if you have to get the additional passes at a kiosk, or if you can use one of the online systems.)

That's the way things are working this week - no promises that it will be the same next week!

That must have been implemented today, because it wasn't the case last week.

 

[disnut1149]

Things like this are changing all the time, but for now you can hop to a second park and get additional FP once your original three are used up in the first park. (Unclear if you have to get the additional passes at a kiosk, or if you can use one of the online systems.)

That's the way things are working this week - no promises that it will be the same next week!

When did they change this? I thought it was still 3 FPs only. That's why a lot of people don't want to parkhop.