Just Back!!! Problems With FOTL: Please Read!!!

[Paul Samanant]

Hello Everyone. Just returned from a great time at WDW/USO/IOA. We stayed at Hard Rock for 3 nights. I will prequalify this all by saying that the stay -was awesome. That is a great vacation, and we will do the same thing in the future. Now the problem:

We were there during a busy time - Dec 26-Dec 29. Now that Universal is selling the express pass to the general public, and furthermore, they are limiting repeat rides for resort guests during these periods, express is not express anymore - during busy periods. I'm talking half an hour waits. Yes the lines are shorter than the "masses" line, but the loading is also slower. This is still not bad, but definately not the FOTL that we have come to know. As a matter of fact, epress/fastpass is not close to Disney's fastpass where when you return - there really is little or no wait.

In my mind there is less of a reason to stay onsite for this reason. The execs and marketeers must have weighed in the balance of increased revenue over loss of possible hotel attendance - there is not less of a reason to split your stay from Disney over to USO.

I will complain about this whenever they solicit feedback, and I urge other resort guests who enjoyed the "old" FOTL to do the same. Again, we'll always stay there - probably at the Hard Rock - because that is such a great hotel/experience - and FOTL is still better than nothing - but if enough people complain, and they think that they will lose attendance from people who may now elect to stay at Disney, maybe they'll change their ways.

 

[jeana]

Hello, I agree with you, however, I was there Dec. 18-21, and we too stayed at the Hard Rock, with very little or no waits, so it must be the Christmas and New Year crowds, plus ALL the schools are out by that time!!!!!!!!! I agree though, I wouldn't switch my stay from Disney, it wouldn't be worth the extra money!!!!! Hard Rock just isn't cheap!!! We are Disney Vacation Club members, so I sure wouldn't switch if you didn't get the fol benefit!!! By the way we did switch from disney on this trip, and I am sooo glad I didn't have your problem, and I will be more than happy to complain---because when you stay on their property you are certainly paying for fol access, and they certainly use it as a selling point!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you have better luck next time!!!!!!!!!

 

[phamton]

I was there yesterday (the 29th) and the day before (the 28th) and they weren't limiting FOTL. They were scanning the cards but not putting restrictions on it. What rides were you finding restrictions?

Many of the express lines were long because several of the major rides were having technical problems on and off during the day. I know last night Jaws was down for 2 hours which put a big load on MIB. MIB also had problems off and on on the 28th and Hulk was down the morning of the 28th. Then Mummy also was down several times (which is "normal"). I was getting rather frustrated with all the ride problems until I started hearing that Disneyworld was having even more "down" rides. Also because MK was at capacity a few days and they closed the gates, so Universal got some overflow.

I understand how waiting 30 minutes was an inconvenience but the standby line on many rides was 2 1/2 hour long. Yesterday, my husband was timing express/FOTL at MIB and it never went over 20 minutes wait.

As far as comparing it with Disney fast pass, I have been on Mission:Space when the fastpass line was longer than the regular line. I've also waited as long as 30 minutes for fastpass on Test Track.

You went at peak time. Crowds were at their peak. You waited significantly less than the regular lines.

 

[robvia]

Wow, those are incredible wait times. And to think, next week it will be over.
Chrunch time at the parks is between 11am and 4pm. Even if you have FOLT, I wouldn't go on the major rides during those hours.

 

[CPM]

Exact reason we stopped going that week. It was much more enjoyable going before Christmas. Even 30 minutes seems like a dream when the regular rides are two hours long. They probably shouldn't sell the express passes when the resorts are full, I thought that was the deal. are you sure they were still selling them?

 

[Paul Samanant]

They were selling the express passes that week. Just a note. MIB's express is not bad even during the peak - but ripsaw was slow, hulk was slow, spiderman was very slow. And yes - this problem will only occur during the busy times. If you are there any time before the 21st, you won't have this problem - We were there last Jan - and did not have this problem - but back then, we did not need express so much either. Parks are empty.

This is one of the issues: If you go there at the busy times, like say between Xmas and new years, there are very few discounts to be had. Despite being an AP holder, we paid $269 per room (two rooms for our bunch makes it close to $600 when you include tax). This is definately a premium.

Universal's resort FOTL is an attempt to pry people away from Disney resorts. I like Universal. I would like to see them get a market share from Disney - I get a sense that they may be hurting at times, (last January, while Disney had reasonable crowds, Universal was deserted). I'm just spoiled, and yes 30 minutes is better than 1.5 hours, but at times, 30 minutes is not better than 40 minutes or an hour, and it is discouraging as a resort guest to see the "masses" in your same line.

We'll still go there, but I'd like to see other resort dwellers raise this issue.....

 

[phamton]

I totally agree. I know they are trying to address the problem of FOTL/express. They are building another auditorium for Shrek that will be used strictly for FOTL/express which should cut the wait time there. I know this holiday season has been frustrating for both guests and employees as they are supposed to get FOTL in within 15 minutes and it was impossible. Mummy keeps to track running. One track is dedicated to only express/FOTL. MIB uses one side for FOTL/express. The other rides are supposed to be loading at least every other car for FOTL and if the line gets longer than 15 minutes, they are supposed to be loading 2 FOTL cars to every 1 car. There were times that MIB went to 3 cars for every one car of regular line. But then when that happens the standby crowd yells and screams at the ride attendant. Guests were saying things about how they paid just as much money to get in the park and all the "rich" people just walk on the rides. It was a nightmare.

 

[Digger In FLA]

exactly why avoid Orlando after about mid-december until after the 1st of the year. except for Xmas shopping at DD. UO TM's do an INCREDIBLE job staying in character but when you pull one you know off to the side, they give you the look that it's everything they can do to keep from choking someone. better days are just ahead, guys.

 

[GVBELL]

This is sad...while chatting with a family at RPR hot tub, they had spent the last 2 days getting express passes.....they had no idea their room keys allowed them FOTL !!!

 

[CPM]

This is sad...while chatting with a family at RPR hot tub, they had spent the last 2 days getting express passes.....they had no idea their room keys allowed them FOTL !!!

wow, I can't imagine not knowing. It's in every booklet and info at the resort and everywhere else. Guess they didn't do any homework!

 

[A Mickeyfan]

This is sad...while chatting with a family at RPR hot tub, they had spent the last 2 days getting express passes.....they had no idea their room keys allowed them FOTL !!!

Not only did they not do thier "homework" but they must not have listened to when they checked in either. I have noticed (has anyone else ????), that when they hand you your room keys they tell you they are to be shown for FOTL access. :space: :space:

 

[highlander447]

Just goes to show though these hotels are not just attracting guest's for FOTL access which will not help with discounts in the future, although i have noticed a few posters booking late getting good discounts prob due to cancellations

 

[CPM]

Just goes to show though these hotels are not just attracting guest's for FOTL access which will not help with discounts in the future, although i have noticed a few posters booking late getting good discounts prob due to cancellations

You think??? That is the ONLY reason I book those resorts. Why would I ever pay that much to stay there? I know many people that book those three resorts for the sole purpose of unlimited Express.
Case in point, I booked the Holiday Inn Conv. Ctr. the night before checking into Portofino because I knew I was checking in after the parks closed. I was thinking how nice that Holiday Inn was, King bed, fridge, microwave, coffee maker, sofa bed, free parking and a hop, skip & jump from Universal all for $54.50 a night!! A deal for sure.
This is why I hardly ever stay at a Disney resort any more. I really believe the only reason the Universal resorts stay full is because of the Express.

 

[highlander447]

Please read the posts before and u will see i was commenting on the fact that someone mentioned guest's who did not know about FOTL with their stay also i agree most people on vacation stay at these hotels for the access but these hotels also attract guests who are at a conference and if its anything like my company we get quite a big discount to hold our conference and stay at the hotels we attend, I do think these hotels offer value for money as in the UK I think there prices compare to our best hotels here as well

 

[Paul Samanant]

I will emphasize that FOTL is a nice perk, but the HRH by itself - location, room quality, pool, other factors make it worth paying the big bucks to stay there - at least for us, it is....

 

[themepark]

I agree that I cannot imagine anyone not knowing that your room key serves as your express pass. They really did not do their homework. BUT it is possible they were clueless and whoever checked them in did not tell them about their magical room keys. On 12/26, we were checked in by someone they must have just pulled off the street. He did not tell us about the room keys being used for express, or tell us anything about the hotel like the front desk ALWAYS does. Granted we know all this since it was our 5th stay at RPR. He also did not ask or set up our Loews First gift (which we were entitled to) nor did he ask us if we wanted charging privileges. I had to ask about both and we never did get our Loews gift and he screwed up our charging privileges which caused an embarassing situation for me later.

 

[Immelman]

I know those things happen but we've never seen it. after a few stays, the amount of info you get from the TM's at check-in seems like overkill, but you still appreciate it. our last stay at RP when they brought our bags up, the bellman was amazing at finding if we had other needs. UO resorts always spoil us, sorry to see the blatent goof-ups of late.

 

[ksdave]

I just do not believe the number of people who refuse to even think about going during the offseason.....and then complain about the lines during weeks like Christmas/New Years. I am not specifically talking about anyone on this thread. But I have seen so many people on the other areas of the DIS complaining about the crowds in the summer, and during Christmas and Easter. I went to WDW once during Christmas week, in 1985, and I'll never do any park again during that time. It is so much easier to pull the kids out of a few days of school and go in September or end of January. They get their school work done ahead of time, and then we all go and get a relaxing vacation with little or no hassle at the parks.

 

[dreamflight99]

I too...have stayed at the PBH since it opened, for the FOTLA perk. We stay in a bay view villa suite, as the cost is not much more than a bay view room (IMHO). Still...the cost IS more than many other area properties, including Disney. Yet, I have always believed the FOTLA is the BEST perk going, until I read you can PURCHASE an express card for about $25.00! So, this is how all these other people are getting into the Express lines?!? I knew there was some secret.

Well...for the first time in years, we are actually considering this ourselves. We have AP'S to US/IOA...but may stay on Disney Property, and purchase the express plus, etc. Even factoring in the cost of a rental car...and the express tickets, the cost is much LESS than staying at the PBH. In the end, we'll probably end up at the PBH...but when these passes expire at the end of 2005...we will not renew. And, we will opt for another plan next summer (unless they cease selling the express passes to off-property guests).

Thanks for all the great posts, and inside info regarding this matter.

 

[gschmerl]

until I read you can PURCHASE an express card for about $25.00! So, this is how all these other people are getting into the Express lines?!? I knew there was some secret.

The price of the express plus pass changes depending on the season. It is sometimes higher than the $25 you mentioned. Also, it is only good for ONE ride with FOTL on each of the attractions. It does not allow to ride with FOTL all day like staying on site does. The express plus that you buy will also NOT get you FOTL on Shrek. You need to stay on site for that.