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

[MolonLabe]

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.

I do think there are done koolaid drinkers out there but most are simply Disney apologists. I.e. Disney can do no wrong and just be happy you are in a park.

People canceling is a real thing. I just cancelled my May trip (need to update my ticker), 8 days WDW lost out on because of FP+ . I got to double dip during our September trip and even in September on busier days (5/6 crowds) the downsides of the new system were glaring.

I've got a 8 day bounce back still booked for September at Poly and if things don't change I'll cancel that too.

Looking at it from an unbiased view, for many people FP+ is really bad. Some do like it.

the disconnect comes from the apologists who simply can't comprehend anyone else would tour differently than they do.

 

[Magpie]

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.

I agree completely! Over 900 people dead, including many, many infants, toddlers, young children... People who would have been our age today, if they'd survived. There's actual audio tapes of the whole wretched event, that leave nothing to the imagination. Only eight people survived the massacre, including a five year old boy who ran into the jungle and hid.

Definitely not something I want to associate with Disney, in any way, shape or form!

 

[DebbieB]

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.

Are the rides going out with empty seats? If not, then the same number of people are riding per hour. FP+ does not slow down the ride time. It's the fact that so many more people are in the park creating the lines. It's Spring Break.

I don't want them to drop it although I would like to see them come through with the more "day of" selections. I like FP+, it makes my trip strategy easier. I can plan the time of day that I want to do something. I used it in November and loved it. In May, I arrive on Sunday around 2:30. I have Soarin, Spaceship Earth & The Land planned for that night. Now Spaceship Earth & The Land would not have been a problem under FP- but I would have never got a Soarin fastpass arriving at Epcot around 5:00.

I agree that your title is in poor taste and condesending.

 

[jcbubba]

Agree with the Jonestown reminder. The koolaid expression should be retired permanently!

However, FP+ supporters need to realize that what OP means is that those of you who say "FP+ is great" are also glossing over the fact that FP+ really hurts a lot of people.

Let's say Disney in the name of safety made the height restriction for ALL rides 42 inches. A lot of small kids would not be able to ride. Families with older kids would say "The new height restriction is great!" Lines are smaller, we're not waiting for small kids to get in and out of rides, and new rides are a little more adventuresome.

But a lot of people would hate the restriction and think it's a terrible move. And they'd complain on these boards. And the people with older families would say "Speak for yourselves! We like Height+! Don't call us apologists!"

Obviously there are things Disney can do that improve the situations of a certain subset of guests. Some of those things are neutral to others (in my opinion, legacy FP fits this bill), and some of those things are very negative to others, who may be in a "power user" minority (in my opinion, FP+). FP+ "likers" need to realize the difference between those two, because no matter how much a majority likes a new program, if a large enough minority actively dislikes a program, maybe Disney should reconsider it!

 

[GATORinaZ28]

I'm jealous of all you people that have good experience with FP+ and get Kool-Aid. I had a good experience with FP+ in November, but only got Grape Drink.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

However, FP+ supporters need to realize that what OP means is that those of you who say "FP+ is great" are also glossing over the fact that FP+ really hurts a lot of people.

Don't those who extol the virtues of the FP- system make the same mistake? Because it is better for them, it is a better system, even though it could not be utilized at all by people who had different touring styles?

We are all a little selfish when it comes to things like our vacations. It is to be expected that we are going to want things to work to our advantage, and to gloss over the reality that these things cannot work to everyone's advantage. There is always going to be someone placed at a disadvantage when systems like this are implemented. When it is us, we get upset. When it is someone else, we rarely even notice.

 

[Eldon_Brasche]

Koolaid no, Liberty Swirl Slush from Sleepy Hollow - you betcha.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

However, FP+ supporters need to realize that what OP means is that those of you who say "FP+ is great" are also glossing over the fact that FP+ really hurts a lot of people.

It's still not Jonestown. It's theme park touring. Should I decry it and say it's a horrible thing if it works for me, just because I've read here that it doesn't work for someone else? How does it "hurt" people? They get mad because they have to wait in more lines and can't get a fastpass every hour for Space Mountain anymore. Sorry about that, but you need to deal with it, not me.

For the record, I say it works pretty well for what I use it for and could use a few improvements. No way I'm going to say it's the worst thing out there and it's going to ruin everybody's trips. I will say it was a huge change to spring on people all at once and with buggy technology, but I don't think the idea was a horrible thing, just the execution.

 

[Magpie]

Agree with the Jonestown reminder. The koolaid expression should be retired permanently!

However, FP+ supporters need to realize that what OP means is that those of you who say "FP+ is great" are also glossing over the fact that FP+ really hurts a lot of people.

Let's say Disney in the name of safety made the height restriction for ALL rides 42 inches. A lot of small kids would not be able to ride. Families with older kids would say "The new height restriction is great!" Lines are smaller, we're not waiting for small kids to get in and out of rides, and new rides are a little more adventuresome.

But a lot of people would hate the restriction and think it's a terrible move. And they'd complain on these boards. And the people with older families would say "Speak for yourselves! We like Height+! Don't call us apologists!"

Obviously there are things Disney can do that improve the situations of a certain subset of guests. Some of those things are neutral to others (in my opinion, legacy FP fits this bill), and some of those things are very negative to others, who may be in a "power user" minority (in my opinion, FP+). FP+ "likers" need to realize the difference between those two, because no matter how much a majority likes a new program, if a large enough minority actively dislikes a program, maybe Disney should reconsider it!

I have no intention of ever "glossing over" anyone else's bad experience. Their experience is theirs, just as mine is mine. People's touring styles and expectations vary, so what pleases one person won't necessarily please another.

But when someone tells me that I'm "drinking the Kool-Aid" or calls me a "Disney apologist" or says that I'm wearing "rose-coloured glasses", what I hear isn't, "You're failing to acknowledge the validity of my negative experience."

No, what I hear is, "You didn't actually have the good time you think you had. You're lying. Or you're deluding yourself. Or you're just ignorant of what a good time looks like. Whatever the case, I had a bad time, so therefore, no matter what you say, you also had a bad time."

 

[2Tiggies]

People canceling is a real thing. I just cancelled my May trip (need to update my ticker), 8 days WDW lost out on because of FP+ . I got to double dip during our September trip and even in September on busier days (5/6 crowds) the downsides of the new system were glaring.

It sure is real. I posted on another thread this week how sad I am that having planned this trip to meet up at Disney with several families we only get to see every few years, between them, all but one family have canceled within the last 2 weeks or so. We were left with one family who were meeting us for a full day at MK. They had already changed their plans and bought Universal tickets and decided to use their last one day on their 10 day tickets instead of buying more Disney tickets. Well guess what? Yep,got the text message this afternoon. Sorry we're not doing Disney.

Aside for one family, I am not going to use this as an excuse to bash FP+ by claiming it was directly because they hate FP+ However in every case but one (they actually used it and that influenced their decision as they decided it's not for them), it was the locked in, tight scheduling and detailed planning ahead that got to all the others. So yeah, maybe not directly to blame on the new system but certainly the effects it is having on the planning aspect is restrictive, and overwhelming at best for many.

 

[LoKiHB]

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.

Sorry you had such a bad time of it.

Like I had said earlier, for some people this new system will not work as is. However, to insult people who had good experiences with FP+, that's not right. Not everyone wants to be up before sunrise and marching around a park dragging our kids from place to place during our vacation. Believe it or not, for some of us this is NOT relaxing.

I personally feel that Commando style touring is insane, and I don't see the benefits or enjoyment in it, but am I insulting the people that choose to do it? No, I am not. To each his own. I also get a chuckle out of watching the people literally sprinting down Main St at RD when I'm at CP for an early ADR.

On another note- looks like the OP is joining the ever growing ranks of "never again!!!!". Can we get a running count of how many people are taking their business elsewhere? If we go by the doomsayers, by the time I go back next year, it should be a pretty empty park.

There are doomsayers. There are kool-aid drinkers. Then there are the rest of us that are somewhere in between and just want to have a great vacation. Anywhere you go in life there will be extremes, and then the rest of us.

 

[delyrium]

It really was meant as a joke not an insult. I am just perplexed how this system can work for anyone. Once you do your reserved 3 FP+ rides - what do you do? Leave? Cause you cannot ride anything else. Unless you want to stand in a 60 min line. And what about the first timers? They know very little about the ins and outs of how to do this. Us seasoned veterans are getting frustrated with this. I predict that the first timers will go, get frustrated that they can only do like 3 rides a day and not come back. For this kind of money, few will. Yes, admittedly, we didn't get there on time. However, as I stated before, we've been many times during many busy seasons and have never seen lines like this. I cannot imagine that this is solely due to the number of visitors. I truly think this is a very flawed system.

i love it when people assume that as a first-timer, I'm clueless and am not going to enjoy my trip. i have no interest in running around like a maniac, trying to get in a couple dozen rides in a day, when I might not be back for five or ten years. I'm going for more than just the rides.

Maybe after 30 trips, you're just tired of WDW.

 

[OtherScott]

Thinking critically...

I don't see any reason to believe that FP+ is suddenly going to turn around and start abusing me. It's not my boyfriend. It's just a system that happens to mesh well with my style of touring, something that isn't likely to change.

Don't be surprised when it starts texting you at all hours of the night..."ru awake? have u booked ur fps? y duz ur dad h8 me?"

 

[richmo]

Moderator(s), can we please have a separate forum for FP+ pros and cons issues? FP+ both pro and con is so dominating this forum that it's original purpose of "information" has long been lost. I don't mind FP+ discussion, but its so prevalent and every thread turns into the same thing. I say either have a separate FP+ forum, or merge FP issues into one thread of a gazillion pages.

 

[OtherScott]

I'm not sure that evaluating a new system under conditions when headliners have 20 minute waits and secondary attractions are walk-ons is a better indicator of success or failure than testing the system under more stressful conditions.

How do you feel about evaluating it when 1/2 the users don't have access to a key feature?

oh, wait...

 

[2Tiggies]

i love it when people assume that as a first-timer, I'm clueless and am not going to enjoy my trip. i have no interest in running around like a maniac, trying to get in a couple dozen rides in a day, when I might not be back for five or ten years. I'm going for more than just the rides.

Maybe after 30 trips, you're just tired of WDW.

I read that as a general statement and generally speaking, it is true. Of course there are exceptions. I researched Disney nearly to death before we went the first time and clearly you have done more than your share of homework too; but honestly, we are the exception, not the rule.

5 days to go? Hope you have a magical time. All your research and careful planning will always reward you one way or another

 

[chrismb22]

moderator(s), can we please have a separate forum for fp+ pros and cons issues? Fp+ both pro and con is so dominating this forum that it's original purpose of "information" has long been lost. I don't mind fp+ discussion, but its so prevalent and every thread turns into the same thing. I say either have a separate fp+ forum, or merge fp issues into one thread of a gazillion pages.

best. Idea. Ever!

 

[delyrium]

Thank you! I am stupid excited. Really, at this point I just need to get off the boards, as everything is planned and in place, and it's starting to do more harm than good.

 

[JimmyV]

How do you feel about evaluating it when 1/2 the users don't have access to a key feature?

oh, wait...

But last September (which the PP suggested would have been a better test), FP- was running parallel with FP+ in its testing phase. So I still don't see how the PP's comment makes any sense. As for the "key feature" issue, the use and impact of FP+ is independent of when one actually obtains their reservation. If the OP's complaint had to do with her lengthy waits at kiosks and the unavailability at certain rides due to the inability to book early, then we would have to wait for a year until we could evaluate her experience. But her experience was her experience and it isn't going to change. So wanting to test her conclusions under September loads or full roll-out is really pointless in addressing her concerns. I remain at a loss to figure out what: "You're experiences under crowded conditions aren't valid" is supposed to mean.

 

[OtherScott]

But last September (which the PP suggested would have been a better test), FP- was running parallel with FP+ in its testing phase. So I still don't see how the PP's comment makes any sense. As for the "key feature" issue, the use and impact of FP+ is independent of when one actually obtains their reservation. If the OP's complaint had to do with her lengthy waits at kiosks and the unavailability at certain rides due to the inability to book early, then we would have to wait for a year until we could evaluate her experience. But her experience was her experience and it isn't going to change. So wanting to test her conclusions under September loads or full roll-out is really pointless in addressing her concerns. I remain at a loss to figure out what: "You're experiences under crowded conditions aren't valid" is supposed to mean.

I'm pointing out that attempting to evaluate this system at all is pretty much meaningless. You have an artificial influx early because half the people have prebooked FP and the half that hasn't knows a) the other half has and b) the only way to get theirs is to show up at the park, day-of and get on a first come, first served basis.

This is temporary.

Is everybody showing up early just because of what I just said? No.

Would it be logical that some are? Judging by experiences on here by commandos and by legacy FP participation rate, yes.

Will this smooth out after everyone has prebook? Probably.