Just back - those who like FP+ are drinking the Kool Aid.

[Maddysdaddy]

So if I'm reading your post correctly, at least on your first day, you arrived at the park at 10 and had a 30 minute wait in the Will Call line to pick up your tickets.

Call me crazy, but I'm thinking that a Will Call line that long might have been the first sign that crowds were going to be insane in the park during your visit.

And I've gotta say, my family and I were at the park over spring break last year, and 60 minute waits seemed to be the rule and not the exception for most rides.

 

[Sparkly]

Wow. Just wow. Way to assume OP! We had a perfectly great time with FP+ and are really looking forward to going next year too.

And for the record: Never had Kool-aid. I am rather partial to flavoured water though.

 

[maryj11]

The title of the post is an insult: "those who like FP+ are drinking the Kool Aid".

People are probably reacting to that.

There is no reason to be offended or insulted by someones title in a post.

 

[EMode]

Well for pity sake if people are offended by a title and take it personally then I would hate to have to live with them.

Wow that is even more harsh than OP's title.
The term drinking the Kool Aid is typically used an insult, you should look up the history of that term
I know the OP said she meant it as a joke, but humor doesn't always come across on a message board so I can definitely see why people are offended.

OP, I think you came here to vent and I sympathize with you. Stories like yours make me so glad we have decided to hold off on our WDW trips for the time being.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I have been over 30+ times. I've been during spring break and July 4 and other busy times. We normally have a plan to get there at opening and hit as many rides as poss until it just gets too crowded. We went with another family that couldn't ever manage to get there at RD, but each day we were there by 10 am. The lines were INSANE. This is definitely due to FP+. I have seen crowds like this before. But to have 60 min waits for Safari, Buzz, Pirates, etc by 10 am makes the RD to lunch time commando way of doing this IMPOSSIBLE. I don't like FP+. We picked up our tickets at will call so I didn't have to pay to have them shipped to me. That was another 30 min line. Then to get FP+ inside the park there was yet another 30-45min line to then go stand in another line at God only know what time. WHY does this make sense to anyone? FP- wasn't broken. They had 5-7 kiosks at each ride for FP- and now they might have 7 total kiosks to do them ALL. AND now the wifi is awful. So many people on it that we couldn't even get the wait times app to work. Disney - PLEASE DROP THIS - it is awful. This will definitely reduce or eliminate our visits. They made a lot of $$ off my family as we like to stay in the nicer resorts. How anyone cannot connect the wait times and the FP+ I do not know. Trust me, I saw parts of the Safari line that I didn't even know existed. I've been on it like 15 times. ugh I want a do over.

Nobody is drinking the Kool Aid. Many people have had great experiences. I'm sorry that you didn't.

 

[maryj11]

Wow that is even more harsh than OP's title.
The term drinking the Kool Aid is typically used an insult, you should look up the history of that term
I know the OP said she meant it as a joke, but humor doesn't always come across on a message board so I can definitely see why people are offended.

OP, I think you came here to vent and I sympathize with you. Stories like yours make me so glad we have decided to hold off on our WDW trips for the time being.

Yes I agree I dont want to rude and harsh so I'm going to erase it.

 

[luvthemouse71]

I went in December and had zero issues. MB worked fine. I was able to change on the fly using my iPhone.

I'm sorry the OP had a crappy time but to say those who had no problems are "drinking the Koolaid" is silly. It bespeaks a negative outlook from the beginning.

 

[brockash]

I have been over 30+ times. I've been during spring break and July 4 and other busy times. We normally have a plan to get there at opening and hit as many rides as poss until it just gets too crowded. We went with another family that couldn't ever manage to get there at RD, but each day we were there by 10 am. The lines were INSANE. This is definitely due to FP+. I have seen crowds like this before. But to have 60 min waits for Safari, Buzz, Pirates, etc by 10 am makes the RD to lunch time commando way of doing this IMPOSSIBLE. I don't like FP+. We picked up our tickets at will call so I didn't have to pay to have them shipped to me. That was another 30 min line. Then to get FP+ inside the park there was yet another 30-45min line to then go stand in another line at God only know what time. WHY does this make sense to anyone? FP- wasn't broken. They had 5-7 kiosks at each ride for FP- and now they might have 7 total kiosks to do them ALL. AND now the wifi is awful. So many people on it that we couldn't even get the wait times app to work. Disney - PLEASE DROP THIS - it is awful. This will definitely reduce or eliminate our visits. They made a lot of $$ off my family as we like to stay in the nicer resorts. How anyone cannot connect the wait times and the FP+ I do not know. Trust me, I saw parts of the Safari line that I didn't even know existed. I've been on it like 15 times. ugh I want a do over.

I basically agree with you. We go every year during the slowest time of the year (Sept.) and this past Sept., even with only a handful of resorts testing the fastpass+, we encountered the longest fastpass return and standby lines (especially for rides that are not "headliners) than we had ever seen before. The system stinks for us.

 

[erionm]

I basically agree with you. We go every year during the slowest time of the year (Sept.) and this past Sept., even with only a handful of resorts testing the fastpass+, we encountered the longest fastpass return and standby lines (especially for rides that are not "headliners) than we had ever seen before. The system stinks for us.

We went Christmas Eve & Christmas Day and none of the FP+ return lines were long.

 

[Dis703]

No koolaid here thanks. Used it once and liked it. Worked well for us and the way we tour. Old FP was just never that great for our family. Of course we never go during times like Spring break so I have no idea if we'd feel the same then.

 

[mom2faith]

I would like to know what these I love vs I hate FP+ threads have to do with Strategy - let's start focusing on Strategy!! What worked, what did not, what you did or did not do, etc.

Like or not FP+ is here. Whether it stays or grows into something different, we do not know. But come on already - the name of this board is STRATEGIES. Complaining about why you hate it is not helping to resolve to a strategy to deal with it and manage it!

 

[trstno1]

I went in November and had a great experience with FP+.

But I know that FP+ today isn't the same as it was in November, December, and January. There have been a lot of changes since then, and there are more big changes coming in the next couple of weeks and months.

I won't be surprised if FP+ does make things worse once every park guest is using it, but I'll still be looking for ways to make it better for me and my family.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Meh.. Disney won't do anything if attendance keeps going up.

Yeah, I agree. It's pretty much a done deal at this point. In fact, I fully expect them to put in more bad things like tiering at MK and bonus FPs for certain customer groups versus others.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

You went during Spring Break, arrived at the parks an hour or more after park opening, experienced long lines - and came to the conclusion that the lines were long because of FP+.

 

[glvsav37]

W/O reading this whole thread yet (I plan too) my initial thoughts are:

Maybe the op was a little harsh with the "Kool-aide" comment, but it's amazing how personal people take things.

But what I do agree with is the fact that FP+ is really highlighting how different people tour and that dis has made a poor assumption that they can/should shoe horn everyone into a single style.

Time of travel pays a huge part of this and the posters who really chap my buns are those who say its great when no one is there--so change the times you travel. That is simply not an option for some people.

I can't remember a time when people where here screaming that FP- sucked and it ruined their vacation. They either used it or not. Now it seems Diz is forcing our hand into using it, but limiting how it's used.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

The origin of the phrase "drinking the kool-aid" is the Jonestown massacre in 1978, in which a cult leader named Jim Jones persuaded nearly 1000 of his followers to commit ritual suicide by drinking a poisoned beverage (which was actually Flavor-Aid, not Kool-Aid), and no they apparently didn't ALL drink it voluntarily - but it basically means to follow blindly into disaster.

It's kind of changed through the years to mean "go along" in some circumstances but I think the OP meant the former.

Of course there are different interpretations of "disaster" in this case, as FP+ isn't going to kill anybody.

 

[DisneyFive]

OP,

I prefer FP- to FP+ as well, after doing both. However, I agree with others...

Getting there at 10am is a far cry from rope drop. After all of your visits, I'm sure you know that by now. Lines for the headliners build FAST and the waits can easily be what you experienced by 10am or by the time you enter around 10am and finally get to each of these attractions.

Dan

 

[goofy4tink]

I was there in Sept, but didn't have MBs or such. Again in Nov (Food and Wine Marathon, last weekend for F/W), and had no issues with lines....no MB due to staying at S/D, but was able to make FP choices each day in the park. Then in early Dec...with MDX and MB and pre chosen FP+....no issues at all. Rode what we wanted, did the things we wanted to do. No huge lines anywhere. Again for two days in Jan....MDX and MBs. Really slow time, so really didn't need FP+. BUT......we aren't commando people. We like to enjoy all aspects of the various parks, not just the bigger, more popular attractions. So not being a lie to get more than 3 FPs s t a huge issue.

Now, I may very well have a different frame of mind in June. It will be busier then, it will be hot.. So, my opinion could very well change. I do know that I have received two different surveys from Disney...one that was more resort based but did touch on FP+ a bit, the other was all FP+ based. That one asked about a bunch of various FP+ permutations. Based on what I saw in that survey, I have to assume Disney isn't done tweaking FP+ yet. How do I want it to change? I would like to be able to use FP+ in multiple parks in one day. give me 5 FP+s and let me decide how to use them. If I want to use them all in one park, fine. But let me decide if I would rather use 2 at MK and 3 at DHS. Or, give me 3, but allow me to get another after that third is used, and keep getting one when the window for the precious one is closed. Sure, I won't be able to get, say, Soarin' when my third FP is gone at 3:00, but there would be other, lesser choices.

Drinking the Kool-Aid? Maybe. Especially if its a frozen grey goose Kool-aid slushie, as already mentioned. But for me, the system works fine as it is. I can make FP+ choices at a park for later in the day, and be at another park for rope drop...allowing me to do stand-by fairly easily. But, that's just me and the way intend to tour.

 

[Magpie]

The origin of the phrase "drinking the kool-aid" is the Jonestown massacre in 1978, in which a cult leader named Jim Jones persuaded nearly 1000 of his followers to commit ritual suicide by drinking a poisoned beverage (which was actually Flavor-Aid, not Kool-Aid), and no they apparently didn't ALL drink it voluntarily - but it basically means to follow blindly into disaster.

It's kind of changed through the years to mean "go along" in some circumstances but I think the OP meant the former.

Of course there are different interpretations of "disaster" in this case, as FP+ isn't going to kill anybody.

Knowing the history of Jonestown, I feel sad whenever I see "drinking the Kool Aid", especially when it's used lightly or thoughtlessly.

All those children, dying in excruciating agony...

For me, it's no different than, say, turning the Columbine murders into a joke, and then accusing people who aren't amused of having no sense of humour.

I know 1978 was a long time ago. But it wasn't THAT long.

 

[bumbershoot]

Knowing the history of Jonestown, I feel sad whenever I see "drinking the Kool Aid", especially when it's used lightly or thoughtlessly.

All those children, dying in excruciating agony...

For me, it's no different than, say, turning the Columbine murders into a joke, and then accusing people who aren't amused of having no sense of humour.

I know 1978 was a long time ago. But it wasn't THAT long.

I'm so glad that others are taking that phrase seriously. There is nothing funny about it.

I think that many people who use the phrase just don't know, so it's always a good idea to let them know exactly what they are referencing. To bring up such an awful thing accidentally...shudder.