Just Back-My Observations...(Not A Trip Report)

[GPC0321]

I agree with her about this, it won't make sense. Did they take all of the Norway out of Norway? Is it now just a tiny section of the afterride gift shop with some laila perfume that reminds people it's Norway? Cause ill be pretty sad about that.

Norway was still there when I went over Easter. I ate school bread there. (YUM!) The old church was there, and Akershus, and Kringla bakery.

 

[sretav]

That's always the best. I had a day at MK last trip where we did the same thing! I guess what people deem "necessary FP availability" is relative (only the mountains maybe?)

If it isn't a true walk on and you save even 5 minutes, I think any 4th, 5th, 6th, etc FastPass is worth it no matter the attraction. Being a group of 7, I don't have high hopes of getting much past our first 3 but we will see next week.

 

[JimmyV]

Thanks for the report.

Couple quick FP+ questions/observations if you don't mind.

1) It seems you did get BTMRR at 4PM. Yes. But it popped up out of nowhere as the ride was unavailable all day long. And my brother who joined us was not linked to our system could not get a FP for a party of one despite the fact that we got one for three people. The system was weird that way. We actually had better luck as a three than he had as a one all week.

2) You did get 3 FP+ arriving after 1PM (after 11) one day by reserving them ahead of time, part of the point of FP+ for many of us.
I'm not sure 8 am following. We got our FPs 60 days in advance, not after 1:00. After 1:00 we pretty much got nothing.

3) Did you use FP+ on arrival night? No.

4) Did you use FP+ the night after visiting Universal? No. During EMHs there was no need.

5) Did you use FP+ on AK night at another park? We can do AK by noonish (certainly late afternoon) without FP+. No. On our AK days we typically leave the park around 4:00, go back to the resort to shower and change, and head out for a nice dinner. That is what we did this time and had a 7:00 ADR at Morimoto. (Highly recommended by the way.)

All 5 examples of what some of us enjoy about FP+, and all 5 examples of getting FP+ after 11:00 AM.

See above.

 

[JimmyV]

Ha! Thanks for the scoop that you don't need FP for Stitch.

This is a shot of my sister's FP for the 19th. It isn't complete - they were able to get three more after this, including Space Mountain, but I forgot to take another photo and it was all gone the next day. There are a lot of time breaks where they had meals, watched both parades, and did things like Hall of Presidents and Carousel of Progress that didn't require FP. I'm sure we could have easily gotten to 20 useful FP. Weird.

There is really no rhyme or reason to any of this. As I noted in my post above, my brother traveling as a single was unable to replicate most of the fast passes that we got as a party of three even though we were using our apps at the exact same time. And availability changed literally by the second. Which is why the phone app is so superior to the kiosk if you are willing to be persistent. But bring a lipstick charger as our phones were sucking wind by 2:00.

 

[Mikie]

See above.

I think on # 3 she meant that you got the FP for a time after 1:00, not that you collected/booked them after 1:00?

 

[JimmyV]

The old church was there...

Did you go in? It is a "Frozen" exhibit. Gone are the archaeological artifacts.

 

[JimmyV]

If it isn't a true walk on and you save even 5 minutes, I think any 4th, 5th, 6th, etc FastPass is worth it no matter the attraction.

Where I part company is the park criss-crossing issue. One of the "benefits" of FP+ is the elimination of the need for a runner and constant criss-crossing of the park. While this is true for your first 3 FPs, it becomes less true for additional FPs. For example, if I just used my third FP at Space Mountain and was looking for a fourth, I would not choose a 4th FP at PoTC that was available 20 minutes hence if the standby wait at an attraction I wanted to do in Tommowland had a 5 minute wait. Sometimes a 5 or 10 minute wait is the better option than crossing the park just to use a FP. But that is an individual choice.

 

[Love Tink]

Where I part company is the park criss-crossing issue. One of the "benefits" of FP+ is the elimination of the need for a runner and constant criss-crossing of the park. While this is true for your first 3 FPs, it becomes less true for additional FPs. For example, if I just used my third FP at Space Mountain and was looking for a fourth, I would not choose a 4th FP at PoTC that was available 20 minutes hence if the standby wait at an attraction I wanted to do in Tommowland had a 5 minute wait. Sometimes a 5 or 10 minute wait is the better option than crossing the park just to use a FP. But that is an individual choice.

I totally agree. If you look at my sister's FP from last Tuesday, you see Buzz and Speedway back to back, Barnstormer and Dumbo back to back, Splash and Big Thunder back to back. Later they had Buzz and Space Mountain back to back. Being able to be geographically smart is one reason that being able to use a device rather than the in-park kiosks is such an improvement.

I don't understand why some people had such trouble getting FP and others didn't - especially, with your brother, in a party of one. My sister also was at first having trouble, telling me at 9:30am that there were no Big Thunder FP left for the whole day.

I always hesitate to suggest that it is a case of not knowing how to use the app well, because I know most people on here are pretty good at "Disney stuff," and I don't want to accidentally insult someone. But I will say that the new app format can be a bit misleading at times. When you click on an attraction, the app defaults to looking for FP for the attraction at the current time (it will say something like, "searching for a FP at 4:15 PM.") Then, if there is a FP available near the current time, it will come up. If there isn't one available, it gives you the "no FP available" message. BUT, that message is only referring to the immediate time period - say, the ensuing hour. If you click on a different bar at the top - the bar for "afternoon" or for "evening," say - all the sudden the options would start coming in.

Again, maybe everybody is doing all this and this is simpler for other people than it was for me - took me a while to really figure out how to unearth times. But there has to be some reason why some people can get time after time after time and others think there was almost nothing available.

 

[Sophie's Mom]

One more thing that I would like to add, regarding the "random" searches. After a fair amount of observation, (and having my brother who joined us on the trip picked 8 out of 9 times; me never; my daughter never; my wife once), I can tell you that there is absolutely nothing random about it. But that does not mean that they are racially or culturally profiling either. The security guards scan the crowd as they pass through the tapstiles and make a beeline directly toward the people they have chosen. It isn't at all like a "put a blindfold on and pick" random selection. The guards survey the crowd and go after the person they want. It got to the point where my daughter and I had an 80% success rate of picking people out of the crowd who we thought would get taken aside. (Broad-shouldered males under 60 were by far, far far and away the most selected). By combining timing, (as in, it is time for the next selection), with appearance, we were dead on with our picks. I liken it to the "randomness" of being selected as "That Guy" at the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. There is an element of randomness in that it is one person out of the entire crowd. But the people who make the selection are definitely scanning the crowd looking for just the right individual.

When we were at Disney in February - it was women. Must have been "women" week for Security. Every morning waiting 15+ minutes in line to go through Bag Check watching Security pull women. Like you - we got very good at picking who would get selected!

 

[jade1]

See above.

Thanks for the report.

Couple quick FP+ questions/observations if you don't mind.

1) It seems you did get BTMRR at 4PM. Yes. But it popped up out of nowhere as the ride was unavailable all day long. And my brother who joined us was not linked to our system could not get a FP for a party of one despite the fact that we got one for three people. The system was weird that way. We actually had better luck as a three than he had as a one all week.

2) You did get 3 FP+ arriving after 1PM (after 11) one day by reserving them ahead of time, part of the point of FP+ for many of us.
I'm not sure 8 am following. We got our FPs 60 days in advance, not after 1:00. After 1:00 we pretty much got nothing.
Point is, you did not have to arrive in the am at the park to get those FP's now with FP+. You were able to sleep in, and still get/have them.

3) Did you use FP+ on arrival night? No. Pointing out you certainly could have (many of us do)-and again not having to be in the park early on to get them-it was impossible before.

4) Did you use FP+ the night after visiting Universal? No. During EMHs there was no need. Everything was pretty much a walk on? Nothing could have used a FP+? If so, no need to be in the park early to get them-you were at US.

5) Did you use FP+ on AK night at another park? We can do AK by noonish (certainly late afternoon) without FP+. No. On our AK days we typically leave the park around 4:00, go back to the resort to shower and change, and head out for a nice dinner. Again-can you see where some of us would use them that evening at another park?

All 5 examples of what some of us enjoy about FP+, and all 5 examples of getting FP+ after 11:00 AM.

Morimoto. (Highly recommended by the way.) Good to know thanks.

 

[Love Tink]

Thanks for the report.

Couple quick FP+ questions/observations if you don't mind.

1) It seems you did get BTMRR at 4PM. Yes. But it popped up out of nowhere as the ride was unavailable all day long. And my brother who joined us was not linked to our system could not get a FP for a party of one despite the fact that we got one for three people. The system was weird that way. We actually had better luck as a three than he had as a one all week.

2) You did get 3 FP+ arriving after 1PM (after 11) one day by reserving them ahead of time, part of the point of FP+ for many of us.
I'm not sure 8 am following. We got our FPs 60 days in advance, not after 1:00. After 1:00 we pretty much got nothing.
Point is, you did not have to arrive in the am at the park to get those FP's now with FP+. You were able to sleep in, and still get/have them.

3) Did you use FP+ on arrival night? No. Pointing out you certainly could have (many of us do)-and again not having to be in the park early on to get them-it was impossible before.

4) Did you use FP+ the night after visiting Universal? No. During EMHs there was no need. Everything was pretty much a walk on? Nothing could have used a FP+? If so, no need to be in the park early to get them-you were at US.

5) Did you use FP+ on AK night at another park? We can do AK by noonish (certainly late afternoon) without FP+. No. On our AK days we typically leave the park around 4:00, go back to the resort to shower and change, and head out for a nice dinner. Again-can you see where some of us would use them that evening at another park?

All 5 examples of what some of us enjoy about FP+, and all 5 examples of getting FP+ after 11:00 AM.

Morimoto. (Highly recommended by the way.) Good to know thanks.

Are you just hijacking this thread to try to do some sort of "Go FP+!" post? The thing has been around for quite a while now. People have come to feel about it however they feel about it. And we are all (however we feel) figuring out the best ways to use it. Your comments feel very spring 2014.

 

[jade1]

Still, for those who insist that FP+ is better because “all the good FPs were gone by 11:00 under the old system", well, guess what? All the good FPs are gone by 11:00 under the new system. Let me know if you have any questions.

Are you just hijacking this thread to try to do some sort of "Go FP+!" post? The thing has been around for quite a while now. People have come to feel about it however they feel about it. And we are all (however we feel) figuring out the best ways to use it. Your comments feel very spring 2014.

Why would asking questions about FP+ observations be hijacking a thread, when invited to ask questions about FP+ observations in that thread by the OP?.

The conclusion that FP+ is not better because they are also all gone by 11AM misses one of the main points of FP+.

You do not need to be in the park "before" 11AM to obtain FP's.

You can arrive at 4PM and still have them for that evening, you can sleep in and still have them for that afternoon/eve, you can visit US and still have them for that evening, you can tour AK and still have them for that evening at another park.

Part of the reason there are few FP+ available later in the day, is exactly those scenarios.

Guests are arriving that day with FP+ scheduled that night, they are sleeping in with FP+ that night, they are coming back from US with FP+ that night, they are at AK with FP+ that night at another park, or at the beach or golfing or fishing or shopping or the Citrus Bowl or a brunch etc etc.

 

[teachmedis]

Thank you for the AK "first thing" in the morning comment. My kids and I are early risers and this 9 a.m. business is practically lunch time! The animals are with me on this

 

[MakiraMarlena]

heck, I just made a fastpass to ride Toy Story Mania a few hours after having brunch at California Grill. In the old days it would have been either brunch or Toy Story.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

heck, I just made a fastpass to ride Toy Story Mania a few hours after having brunch at California Grill. In the old days it would have been either brunch or Toy Story.

That's cool!! Last weekend we didn't have a lot of luck getting 4th FPs that seemed worth doing, but I think the actual crowds observed were 9/10 per TP. Will try again next trip...

 

[Love Tink]

The conclusion that FP+ is not better because they are also all gone by 11AM misses one of the main points of FP+.

You do not need to be in the park "before" 11AM to obtain FP's.

You can arrive at 4PM and still have them for that evening, you can sleep in and still have them for that afternoon/eve, you can visit US and still have them for that evening, you can tour AK and still have them for that evening at another park.

I know you think you are providing everyone with MIND BLOWING information...but we all know this. All of us. For like years now.

Mentioning that it was difficult to get FP after 11:00 is not "missing the point." The OP did not say, "I couldn't get FP after 11:00, which proves FP is crap!" He just let other planners know, anecdotally, that he had trouble getting extra in the afternoon.

Some people use FP by planning them for the evening. Some people use FP the way the OP does, by making them early and then trying to add more. The fact that he gave information only relevant to one of those groups of people does not mean he is missing the point.

 

[lucky978]

Crowds: Never underestimate what vacations in the Northeast can do to WDW. Touring Plans predictions were low every day by 2 or 3 points. Our first day in the MK was predicted to be a “5”, but they observed an “8”. Over four consecutive days, predictions at the parks we chose were: 5, 5, 5, 7 and the observed crowds were: 8, 7, 7, 9.

Thanks for posting the "observed" touring plan information...we were there last week and I kept thinking "this can't be a 5 crowd level" so I just went and looked at what Touring Plans actually observed for each park we visited each day and it was higher than predicted for every park we visited.

It makes me feel a little less crazy about thinking it was really crowded when I was anticipating low-average crowds each day.

I totally agree. We were in the parks 4/18-4/21 and I kept thinking..if this is a level 5 I would hate to see at level 10! Is there a website that gives the actual crowd levels?

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I totally agree. We were in the parks 4/18-4/21 and I kept thinking..if this is a level 5 I would hate to see at level 10! Is there a website that gives the actual crowd levels?

https://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/crowd-calendar

Check out "historical crowds" for any date.

 

[jade1]

heck, I just made a fastpass to ride Toy Story Mania a few hours after having brunch at California Grill. In the old days it would have been either brunch or Toy Story.

That's cool!!

I know you think you are providing everyone with MIND BLOWING information...but we all know this. All of us. For like years now.

Are you talking to me, or MakiraMarlena? Hmm.

Either way, many folks subscribe to the boards every day. A discussion board puts out information.

Mentioning that it was difficult to get FP after 11:00 is not "missing the point." The OP did not say, "I couldn't get FP after 11:00, which proves FP is crap!" He just let other planners know, anecdotally, that he had trouble getting extra in the afternoon.

Some people use FP by planning them for the evening. Some people use FP the way the OP does, by making them early and then trying to add more. The fact that he gave information only relevant to one of those groups of people does not mean he is missing the point.

No, the OP talked about getting a 4th etc, then also said those that think FP+ is better because in the old days-"all the good FP's were gone by 11" guess what "all of the good FP's are now gone by 11 as well". One scenario that even the OP capitalized on, arriving after 1 with FP+ scheduled.

But if somebody indeed complained of that in the old days-they would not complain now because they already have 3 well before 11-reserved.

And I just let other planners know some reasons why there is trouble getting FP+ later in the day, and those folks holding them are very happy to have theirs in hand. One that the OP capitalized on (sleeping late) and 3 they chose not to, arrival night, AK night and US night.

 

[lucky978]

Looks like I need to subscribe to get this information. I was just wondering what the actual levels were for April 18-21.