DisneyBum303
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2009
- Messages
- 155
We just returned from a week long visit. This is our experience only, not a slam/slight against anyone else's experience.
My 70 yr. old Mom and I made our 20th annual pilgrimage 4/5-4/12. We stayed at CBR in a Trinidad North room. We always go around the same time each year, in April.
With all the problems I have read about with FP+, I tried very hard to go into this vacation with an open mind and positive thoughts. I was a little worried when our magic bands never arrived in the mail, but after a call to WDW, we were told they would be waiting for us upon check in. And they were
.
Overall, it was a positive experience. We were able to change FP times with the help of the cast members and kiosks. And yes, I did get some questions on how we were able to get Soarin and TT on the same day
. We had no problems with the bands at all. Always got us into our rooms, parks, fast pass rides, everything. We did not use them for any purchases.
However, other than our arrival day, we did not love the 3 a day limit. Having been regular visitors and hardcore park hoppers since the inception of FP, we had perfected the art of using them to full advantage. Yes, we were guerilla FPers
. We used to be able to experience some of the typically low volume/short line attractions between our FP times, but that seemed far more difficult this year. Things that never seemed to have wait times before now do. Example is Spaceship Earth. I do not recall ever seeing wait times on that ride before. As far as I can recall, it has always been walk on, with the only slow downs being for guests who need assistance getting into the cars. Now that it is a FP+ attraction, the wait times were usually between 30-45 minutes, which surprises me since it is a continuously moving ride, unless that has changed in the last year?
We normally hit Epcot on our first day, arriving around 3-4, so being able to schedule our FP on that day was great. From Sunday through Wednesday, we usually hit two parks a day. Thursday and Friday, we can hit 3 or 4 parks, revisiting our favorite rides one last time. The change in FP made this far more difficult. A lot more waiting around. For the first time in my memory, there were times when we were actually bored.
Some other positive notes - I had noticed before and also seen mentioned on other posts about the decline in cleanliness at the parks in recent years. I felt that this year the parks seemed much cleaner. I did not notice trash lying around and the bathrooms were very clean. We also did not experience any less than happy cast members. Everyone was friendly and helpful and went a long way in making an overall happy vacation. There was some work being done on the waterways in MK (empty moats!), but it didn't affect us at all.
Will we go back again next year? We aren't sure yet. If they make adjustments to the current FP+ process, offer more for MK or make it easier to use them while park hopping, then yes we probably will. If it stays the same, then we may take a break. It's just too soon to tell yet.
Finally, a high five to my Mom. On 4/11, the night before our departure, we had a Soarin FP, but it wasn't until late that evening. We were tired and ended up skipping it to return to the hotel. But my Mom really wanted to ride it again. So on 4/12, we were at Epcot for rope drop. If anyone has ever done that, you know everyone runs to either TT or Soarin. My 70 yr old Mom ran like a sprinter to get to Soarin and we were in the second group to get on the ride!! We couldn't breathe but we made it!! When we got off the ride, the wait time was already at 50 minutes. Way to go Mom!!
My 70 yr. old Mom and I made our 20th annual pilgrimage 4/5-4/12. We stayed at CBR in a Trinidad North room. We always go around the same time each year, in April.
With all the problems I have read about with FP+, I tried very hard to go into this vacation with an open mind and positive thoughts. I was a little worried when our magic bands never arrived in the mail, but after a call to WDW, we were told they would be waiting for us upon check in. And they were
.Overall, it was a positive experience. We were able to change FP times with the help of the cast members and kiosks. And yes, I did get some questions on how we were able to get Soarin and TT on the same day
. We had no problems with the bands at all. Always got us into our rooms, parks, fast pass rides, everything. We did not use them for any purchases.However, other than our arrival day, we did not love the 3 a day limit. Having been regular visitors and hardcore park hoppers since the inception of FP, we had perfected the art of using them to full advantage. Yes, we were guerilla FPers
. We used to be able to experience some of the typically low volume/short line attractions between our FP times, but that seemed far more difficult this year. Things that never seemed to have wait times before now do. Example is Spaceship Earth. I do not recall ever seeing wait times on that ride before. As far as I can recall, it has always been walk on, with the only slow downs being for guests who need assistance getting into the cars. Now that it is a FP+ attraction, the wait times were usually between 30-45 minutes, which surprises me since it is a continuously moving ride, unless that has changed in the last year?We normally hit Epcot on our first day, arriving around 3-4, so being able to schedule our FP on that day was great. From Sunday through Wednesday, we usually hit two parks a day. Thursday and Friday, we can hit 3 or 4 parks, revisiting our favorite rides one last time. The change in FP made this far more difficult. A lot more waiting around. For the first time in my memory, there were times when we were actually bored.
Some other positive notes - I had noticed before and also seen mentioned on other posts about the decline in cleanliness at the parks in recent years. I felt that this year the parks seemed much cleaner. I did not notice trash lying around and the bathrooms were very clean. We also did not experience any less than happy cast members. Everyone was friendly and helpful and went a long way in making an overall happy vacation. There was some work being done on the waterways in MK (empty moats!), but it didn't affect us at all.
Will we go back again next year? We aren't sure yet. If they make adjustments to the current FP+ process, offer more for MK or make it easier to use them while park hopping, then yes we probably will. If it stays the same, then we may take a break. It's just too soon to tell yet.
Finally, a high five to my Mom. On 4/11, the night before our departure, we had a Soarin FP, but it wasn't until late that evening. We were tired and ended up skipping it to return to the hotel. But my Mom really wanted to ride it again. So on 4/12, we were at Epcot for rope drop. If anyone has ever done that, you know everyone runs to either TT or Soarin. My 70 yr old Mom ran like a sprinter to get to Soarin and we were in the second group to get on the ride!! We couldn't breathe but we made it!! When we got off the ride, the wait time was already at 50 minutes. Way to go Mom!!
)
