Just back, could definitely do without fast pass plus!

[Disneychick75]

I have to agree about Epcot being terrible with kiosks- at least those located in innoventions ( I believe that's the correct building). We were there today and OMG, not only was the line long but people were not even there for FP+. After hearing at least the 10 th person asking non related FP+ questions, I left. The CMs there either need to tell people to ask those questions at Guest Relations or there should be a GR CM located at the kiosk.
Questions like, "What time does Future World close? "Does the International Showcase close at the same time as Future World?"

 

[jknc]

All this negativity about the Fastpass system is making me reconsider our trip. Maybe I just need to stay off DISBOARDS.

 

[disneyAndi14]

I wouldn't reconsider your trip, we were there in April it was just fine, we go every year so we have experience with old fastpass and new, I really did not see a big change in Standby lines and the fastpass+ was easy to use for us. We are a party of two DD (14) and myself so we can easily get our fastpass + together! we also RD and park hop and this did not in any way cramp our style or change the way we do Disney, I say give it a try, keep an open mind, be flexible, and enjoy relaxing things as well as the parks. We went to Splitsville this year and had a blast bowling and eating appetizers. Hope you still take your trip! Enjoy!

 

[Disfan1968]

All this negativity about the Fastpass system is making me reconsider our trip. Maybe I just need to stay off DISBOARDS.

Seems par for the course. Negativity seems to provide the impetus for sooooo many threads.

That being said, we are not rope drop sort of people. We will be going in August for 12 days and will not even get to parks until about 4 PM each day, spending the early morning sleeping in, then doing water parks, or DTD, and even just resort lounging until mid-afternoons. Once we arrive at our evening park, we'll hit an ADR in the coolness of air conditioning and then do park attractions for about 5-6 hours in the relative coolness of the evening.

For us the FP+ option will be a godsend, as we will be able to do several main attractions each evening with an abbreviated wait. It'll save us quite a bit of time.

 

[DebbieB]

All this negativity about the Fastpass system is making me reconsider our trip. Maybe I just need to stay off DISBOARDS.

Give it a chance. I was there last week and loved it. On Monday, May 19, I ended up with 7 fastpasses - 5 at MK and 2 at AK later in the day, including the safari and dinosaur. I love being able to pick any time of the day in advance, not having to watch the return clock for available times to get fastpasses at the time you want.

 

[disnut8]

All this negativity about the Fastpass system is making me reconsider our trip. Maybe I just need to stay off DISBOARDS.

The thing is, only YOU can determine if the new FastPass system is a like or dislike. You can't really depend on other experiences because your family is different from every other family on these boards.

For me, I'm an annual passholder for many years and had a trip in early March when the Fastpasses were only available on the day we entered the parks. Still had a great time. This last trip, we were able to make our Fastpass reservations 30 days out but I didn't do it until the day before we left. Still was able to get Fastpasses for things I wanted.

And that's the key - what your family wants is going to be different from just my husband and me. Only you can determine that. Honestly, when I couldn't make FastPass reservations, I just didn't read much about other reactions to the system. Maybe that's something you could do until you experience it yourself.

 

[CarlaLovesDisney]

All this negativity about the Fastpass system is making me reconsider our trip. Maybe I just need to stay off DISBOARDS.

Don't reconsider it just yet. Have you done some research on different strategies that people have used?

 

[TJA]

OP sorry it didn't work great for your family, and thank you for posting your thoughts and opinions. We are also frequent visitors to WDW, having AP's for over 10 years. Last month, Easter week, was our first trip with the new FP system. We absolutely LOVED it -- let me tell you why. We are also not rope droppers -- can't imagine getting up early on vaca! Just wouldn't work for us. Anyway, in the past with the old system, we could never get paper FP's for the rides we wanted (such as Toy Story and Soarin') as the return times were either at park closing or FP's were sold out for the day. So it put a lot of stress on our family to get to the parks early and one of us would be the designated runner to haul over to a FP machine, and even then we'd end up getting in a time slot that was a bummer because it interfered with our dining ADR or it was just too late, etc.

Since your family sounds somewhat similar to ours, have you considered booking your FP's starting in the 11:00 a.m. time slot and going from there?

The new 4th FP will be new to us and we're going back again next month so I'm hoping to utilize it for the tiered rides at Epcot, meaning we'd like to ride TT and Soarin' the same day and not wait in the standby lines. So I booked a ride at 9:00ish a.m. knowing we'll miss that one, but I wanted to time it so when we get off our 3rd ride Soarin' at 11:30ish, we can go right to a kiosk and secure TT.

I hope you give it another shot and it works better for you next time.

 

[Just_Trish]

I feel that FP+ allows us to have way more spontaneity than we ever have before! Mainly it is due to knowing we have our top choices locked in. The last 3 trips we have had FP+ and these 3 trips have been the most relaxing ones ever because there was no worry of "OMG, are we going to be able to get on Peter Pan or TSMM or Soarin?!" Being scheduled in advance gave us a HUGE sense of relief so we could spend time doing other things.

We always made our FP+ selections for our second park of the day, that way when we arrived we just waltzed onto our rides - it was awesome! It felt so carefree and easy.

I LOVE not having to run all over to retrieve paper FP, only to find out once you get there they are gone or the time is much later than you wanted. At least at a Kiosk you can check what's available and at times, manipulate the arrival time to suit your needs. Our last trip was 6 days (May 22-27) and only once did I encounter lines for FP+ kiosk and that was at MK. Took about 10 minutes. The lines look overwhelming, but they really do move pretty quickly as there are several kiosks, plus CMs with handheld tablets.

Anyway, sorry that so many others don't like it. But for my family, it works great!

 

[Disneychick75]

All this negativity about the Fastpass system is making me reconsider our trip. Maybe I just need to stay off DISBOARDS.

I wasn't happy with the kiosk experience at Epcot however I have been able each day to change and get times that we want as the day goes along until about 12 or 1 when the only times available become 5 pm or later, which is to be expected.
Today, at AK, we had a 10:20 Tusker House breakfast and then went to KS with our FP+. After that, we walked right into ITTBAB with no FPs needed. Then it poured rain so we left. Overall, I'd say the FP+ experience has been a lot more favorable than I had expected.

 

[Angel Ariel]

We just got back on Monday and we loved FP+. DH, the runner, said he loved not having to move around and he also said we did more with FP+. Our trip was more relaxed and we had tons of spontaneity too.

I used the website and not the app most of the time. I also find that when the app is due for an update, it runs terrible. After, it runs great. We did have to do the app update while on vacation.

The kiosks were easy to use and the longest we waited was about 5 minutes. Most of the time, we walked right up to the kiosk.




I posted this on another thread:

"We just got back on Monday. We had the same great experience as the OP.

DH commented about how much more and how much we got done a d how much easier the new system was to use. He was the runner. .

When BTMRR went down, within minutes it was converted to a all day FP and we could then start to pull out extras.

At Epcot, I booked a throw away FP for opening, knowing we had a reason we could not make rope drop. Used our SSE and TT FPs and then we were able to book an additional FP for any ride. We could have picked TT again, Soatin' or Maelstrom after only using 2 FP+s.

When inclement weather shut down JC, it was converted to a all day FP and it could be used on HM, Pirates, JC, Carpets and a couple of others. We just kept is and pulled a 4th FP.

Pirates - they can send SB to the other side. Many here have been reporting they cannot. "


As you can see FP+ really helped when a problem arose.

When someone who has had a negative experience goes into a positive FP+ trip report thread and negates/discounts that OP's experience because theirs was bad, there's all kinds of people jumping all over that poster telling them they have no business bringing their opposite opinion into someone else's thread.

Yet, somehow, I'm not surprised to see that it's OK to come into a negative FP+ trip report and say how great and helpful FP+ is.

ETA: OP, I'm sorry that FP+ negatively affected your trip. I hope, as you indicated, that it is just a "getting used to it" phase, and that your next trip is much better for your family!

 

[Angel Ariel]

Everyone understands that. That's why you get to the first park at rope drop, do the priority rides, take a break, and then hop to the second. The notion that you have to use FP+ to do an attraction is just wrong. You can easily get by on 3 FP+ a day when park-hopping with some advance planning.

We used FP+ last year in October. Granted, it was not fully rolled out, and it was before Anna & Else and SDMT, but we easily did everything we wanted multiple times by using FP+ wisely and well-planned touring otherwise. We hopped almost every day and always used FP+ for the second park. It worked well.

To have just gotten back from a trip, it is likely that the OP booked her FP+ before the rolling 4th FP+ was announced, and had planned her FP+ under the old rules when it *would* have been more beneficial to book your FP+ at a second park, and hit rope drop for the first.

 

[JimmyV]

I feel that FP+ allows us to have way more spontaneity than we ever have before! Mainly it is due to knowing we have our top choices locked in. ... Being scheduled in advance gave us a HUGE sense of relief so we could spend time doing other things.

This illustrates the different ways that people look at the same issue. To many people, "spontaneity" is the antithesis of "pre-planning". It appears that those who enjoy FP+ the most are the people who enjoy a fair amount (or great deal) of pre-planning. Once they achieve what the want in the pre-planning stage, their actual park days become less stressful. And that is a great goal to have. But to be fair, there is a difference between less stress and spontaneity. It is undeniable that FP+ benefits those who pre-plan, have a fairly concrete touring strategy and walk around the parks tethered to their smartphones fairly constantly checking for available FPs and looking at wait times. But not everyone enjoys that style of vacation, and to them, it seems as if the entire My Disney Experience is leaving them in the dust.

 

[asamford23]

I did a ton of pre-planning with the FP+'s, but it was easy to adjust each night and morning as our plans evolved throughout the week.... did it on the laptop in the hotel rooms in the morning or evening or during an afternoon break... I don't own a smartphone so no app for me! LOL I didn't mess with the 7DMT or A&E FP's, but everything else was available to be moved around pretty easily at least one day prior.

I didn't end up getting more than 6 FP's in any one day, but didn't really need any more than that.

 

[si-am]

This illustrates the different ways that people look at the same issue. To many people, "spontaneity" is the antithesis of "pre-planning". It appears that those who enjoy FP+ the most are the people who enjoy a fair amount (or great deal) of pre-planning. Once they achieve what the want in the pre-planning stage, their actual park days become less stressful. And that is a great goal to have. But to be fair, there is a difference between less stress and spontaneity. It is undeniable that FP+ benefits those who pre-plan, have a fairly concrete touring strategy and walk around the parks tethered to their smartphones fairly constantly checking for available FPs and looking at wait times. But not everyone enjoys that style of vacation, and to them, it seems as if the entire My Disney Experience is leaving them in the dust.

I just got back today. I liked FP+. I'm a planner, granted, but I also managed to remember my FP times by looking at my phone once each morning. I really don't think it's accurate to say you have to be "tethered to your phone" at all. I hardly pulled mine out during the day at all because I didn't need to make changes. And even if I needed to, I'd still rather sit on a bench and pull up an app than trudge across the park to see what FP return times are like.

To each his/her own.

 

[asamford23]

I also managed to remember my FP times by looking at my phone once each morning.

I wrote mine down on a small piece of paper each morning and stuck it in my pocket. Does that qualify me as a Luddite?? LOL!

 

[JimmyV]

Many of the "I maximized our FP+ use" threads discuss the ability to use FP #1, then move up the time of FP #2, then using that, then moving up the time of FP #3, then using that, then heading out to get FPs #4-10, checking the app to see what was available and then using kiosks to book those FPs. That is a heck of a lot more smartphone usage than in the past. Not saying that this is a bad thing, but as dprincessmom says in her report:

Here's what I took away from our trip:
You have to plan, if not you aren't going to have fun.

Going back to the OPs report, this is not everyone's cup of tea.

 

[Just_Trish]

I wrote mine down on a small piece of paper each morning and stuck it in my pocket. Does that qualify me as a Luddite?? LOL!

ROFL! I just wrote mine down, too! I am anti-phone on vacation!

And just to clarify, when I said 'spontaneity' in an earlier post, I meant that I felt like we could do other things we wouldn't normally take time to do. Because we could slow down, we had time to enjoy things like Off Kilter at Epcot and the Frontierland Shooting Arcade and the Oasis at AK and other little things that we normally hurry by to get from one attraction to another.

 

[mickeysgirl17]

We had a huuuggeee family fight over having picked Rockin Coaster over TSMM.... (We had to wait 80 min on TSMM but RR was just as bad all day.) We have NEVER had a problem like that ever in our family because we would get one for both in FP-. I was not expecting FP to get us in to terrible fights and our photos are so good for the majority of the trip, I'm trying to pretend they didn't happen. Reality is that it did though and it was FP+ fault... While what we did have was convenient, that fight alone stole some of the Magic from our trip for sure. We were also there May3/4/10 (around Disney Magic cruise and a day at SeaWorld.) Crowds were insane...

Sorry to hear this. I believe there is a way for some people in your party to get fp for one attraction while others could get fp for another, however I personally wouldn't want to separate from my family. We like to enjoy rides together but I can see how fp+ could cause problems.

After 50+ trips to WDW this is the first time we didn't come home planning our next trip. FP+ cramped our style, we are rd people who tend to do everything we want by 1pm and then use the rest of the time wandering and doing rides that have a short line. This time that was not possible. Not much was a walk-on. I like to decide on a park last minute(sometimes day before) FP+ prohibits you from doing that and still wanting to ride some of the big name rides. We did like the bracelets because it was more convenient than constantly going into wallet for rm key. But we are wishing that Disney would reconsider FP+, maybe if they made it optional with reg fp at the parks available on the day of for use would be better. For instance, I work 12hr days and when Disney announced opening of 7dwarfs by the time I went to check on fp+ for either 28/29(only days we could go because left on 30th) they were all gone. under normal fp we would have gotten one the day of as we were at rd on thursday. Its almost as if Disney wants to control our vacations, I'm sorry but my vacation dollars and I determine where and how I spend them not Disney. Sorry for the rant but I truly understand you and your family's disappointment.

100% Agree with you and also the reason why I will not be going back to Disney for a while. Problem is I keep reading attendance is up. If people keep going, fp+ isn't going to change as Disney is considering it a success.

 

[ilovemk76]

When someone who has had a negative experience goes into a positive FP+ trip report thread and negates/discounts that OP's experience because theirs was bad, there's all kinds of people jumping all over that poster telling them they have no business bringing their opposite opinion into someone else's thread.

Yet, somehow, I'm not surprised to see that it's OK to come into a negative FP+ trip report and say how great and helpful FP+ is.

ETA: OP, I'm sorry that FP+ negatively affected your trip. I hope, as you indicated, that it is just a "getting used to it" phase, and that your next trip is much better for your family!

This is a trip report?