Just Returned and despise Fastpass +

[Angel Ariel]

It matters a great deal to people who are spending big money for their vacation.

I'm pretty sure the person you quoted was being a little sarcastic...

 

[jtowntoflorida]

OP did you ever try it in anything other than Safari? I can't stand to do anything online with Safari because it's slow, frequently has issues and likes to crash. It just flat out does strange things sometimes. The current version is truly the worst browser I've ever used, and I've been online since 1995. Chrome doesn't have nearly as many issues on a Mac.

I'm not saying that's all your online issues, just that it could have been a major contributor to your online frustrations.

Ditto. I'm a Chrome user and I have to use IE when I want to do much of anything on MDE, unfortunately. It's clunky enough as it is, and unfortunately, it just doesn't seem to be able to handle any browers other than IE well. I only have intermittent problems in Chrome, but when I do, I switch to IE and have always been able to resolve the issue. It's not ideal but it's better than spending hours on the phone with Disney IT.

 

[Shelly S]

OP did you ever try it in anything other than Safari? I can't stand to do anything online with Safari because it's slow, frequently has issues and likes to crash. It just flat out does strange things sometimes. The current version is truly the worst browser I've ever used, and I've been online since 1995. Chrome doesn't have nearly as many issues on a Mac.

I'm not saying that's all your online issues, just that it could have been a major contributor to your online frustrations.

I have an IMac, Ipad, and Iphone and have not had any problems with Safari at all. We have made dining, fastpass plus, linked 4 different hotel ressies dvc and regular,linked AP's, and picked our magic band colors. Two trips are done, Dec and Jan and we were lucky enough to have everything work on the magic bands and the MDE website.

My only issue is the way fastpass plus's are chosen. It takes a while to go through all the steps changing times.

I am NOT a cheerleader for MDE, but I want Safari users to know it works just fine, in my experience.

 

[RogueKnits]

I use Firefox on my MacBook, and other than the occasional Donald screen (which seems to be when the servers are overloaded at peak usage times) it seems to work just fine. I always have multiple browsers on any computer (though not IE) because it is a common problem I run into where some sites just don't play well with every browser.

Now, the MDE iPhone app...that thing is glitchy and needs some serious work.

 

[3happydancers]

My family and I just returned from our annual trip to the World 2/2-2/7. First off I had a horrible experience with the MDE website. I spent HOURS and HOURS on the phone with Disney pre trip. I understand that this system in new and that there are going to be "kinks" but I would also expect that each department within Disney to all be on the same page. I spoke with IT, Website assistance, guest relations, and finally those who had the power to actually help me. Mind you that regardless of the FACT that I spent no less that 30 hours on hold and I have no idea how many different departments I spoke with. The problem I was having was that when I would go to confirm a dining reservation and instead of receiving a confirmation I would be greeted with the very annoying Stitch announcing that he had indeed eaten my page. The same thing would happen with Fastpass selections. I would try repeatedly, restart my computer, and give it another go. I was told by IT my problem was that I had a MacBook and the program was designed for Internet explorer and not Safari. He suggested that I install google chrome or Internet explorer on my Mac. NO WAY! Then I had a tech help me with my "selections". After two hours on the phone with IT all I had was one fast pass for Nemo and it was not even in my Parties name. Moving on...This time of year is considered to be one of the slowest times to go to disney. Touringplans.com predicted our trip with 1,2,&3. Not even close. The park and resorts were busy. Disney makes it sound so easy to change your plans with your MDE app but here is the thing...you may or may not be able to change it at all. Most times there were no longer any experiences available or your choices where grim. The lines for the FP kiosks had long lines, the rides had long lines, and I can only imagine what spring Break or Christmas will be like. Personally we do not like planning every moment of our trip and prefer to chill and relax and use the FP as it use to be. This new system made us feel rushed and times. A 100 minute wait at test track on a Wednesday four days into Feb is a big sign that something isn't working. A 35 minute wait for Figment...which is one of the few FP choices you can not get a fast pass for both TT and Soarin'. All in all it made us feel rushed, and like we were on Disney's schedule and not our own. I hate the no park hopping with FP+. This system is awful. I love the Magic Bands but I could do without all the unchaperoned cheerleaders and the chanting of the lovely Tour groups.

Sorry you had such a difficult time. I would suggest shooting Disney an email describing your experience.

 

[doctornick]

Ditto. I'm a Chrome user and I have to use IE when I want to do much of anything on MDE, unfortunately. It's clunky enough as it is, and unfortunately, it just doesn't seem to be able to handle any browers other than IE well. I only have intermittent problems in Chrome, but when I do, I switch to IE and have always been able to resolve the issue. It's not ideal but it's better than spending hours on the phone with Disney IT.

I had problems with Chrome (my primary browser) as well. I use Firefox as my backup and found it works quite well with various Disney website (IE works too, but I foun Firefox was quicker and more responsive).

 

[PAGAS]

This is the main reason we are skipping WDW this year. We're gonna do a cruise instead, I gave the family the choice of that or DLR as they cost about the same for us. I was really hoping they'd choose DLR (but only 6 y.o. ds did as he is dying to go to Carsland) as we have been on 2 DCL and I love them but am hoping to visit DLR before they institute FP+ there, as we have never visited before and we are 6+ FP used per day type of family.
So DLR is on the list for next year! Has anyone heard rumor of if/when they may have FP+ there? I hope not next year!

I hope DLR doesn't ever go to FP+. We used to visit WDW more often then DLR, but that has been changing even before FP+.

 

[PirateDan]

Long time lurker - first time poster...

I was there from 2/2-2/7. Visiting my CP daughter. I didn't have any issues with crowds or wait times. This was my second experience with FP+ and first experience with AP and FP+. FP+ suits my style...sleep in and arrive late to the parks.

I didn't arrive at the MK until Sunday around 3:00 PM. (because of flight, not because of sleeping in - although that would be heaven ) I was able to score a FP+ for Space Mountain while walking from the bus stop to the park entrance.

BTGs were everywhere and chanting, but not overwhelming.

I had no problem using MDE, the mobile app or my Magic Bands. Yes, I said bands. I saved the one from my previous trip and used them interchangeably without problems. Everything that was on one, was on the other. So I used one band for park entrance one day and the other band the next day. I charged back to the room using both bands and used both bands for FP+.

On Monday, I hit DHS around noon. It was a little more crowded, but not bad. I was able to snag FP+ on Sunday night for TSMM on Monday. Bounced over to MK and stalked my DD some more .

She was off on Tuesday and Wednesday. We slept in both days. Hit the Outlet Mall and arrived at Epcot on Tuesday at around 2:30. We got a FP+ for TT after entering the park. We waited standby in FW and managed to hit every open ride by 7 PM including stopping for dinner and stopping for me to take a 45 minute work call. Crowds were very, very small today. We did not make it back to WS.

Wednesday, we went to the MK around 2:30. We were able to ride every open ride (with exception of Dumbo, Barnstormer and Astro) at the MK without FP+. The longest wait was for Peter Pan. We even snagged a 5:15 for Be Our Guest while waiting in line for a ride.

Cheerleaders did start invading the parks on Wednesday though. IMHO, they seemed more disruptive than the BTG.

So, FP+ works for us and how we "tour the world." I also had absolutely no problems with the website, the magic bands or the mobile app. The in-park wifi leaves a little to be desired.

I did get a MK survey emailed to me the day I checked out. It was full of questions about FP+. I did indicate that 3 FPs per day was too restrictive and the inability to park hop was also prohibitive.

 

[CassieF]

I was there 2/2-2/6 and had a few problems prior to leaving but could not get the app to work once I was there. I would get errors trying to make changes, I had limited options for changes I tried to make on the fly, and my second to last day I had a FP disappear and was unable to alter the other 2 in any way. It was frustrating and I probably only used 2/3 of my FP, sticking to SR when available or just skipping the rides. I am just glad I didn't have to deal with TSMM or Soarin as I live by disneyland...

 

[kimmar067]

Sorry you had such a difficult time. I would suggest shooting Disney an email describing your experience.

...I was going to suggest the same thing...

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I think, and could certainly be wrong, that if you are the type of guest who took full advantage of Fast Pass - arrived at rope drop, used upwards of 6 fast passes a day (and more at MK since they had the detached fast pass rides), used multiple fast passes for a ride, etc. - you aren't really going to be a fan of FP+.

Okay then, please don't include me in your camp. I'd put my family in the camp of folks who took full advantage of FP: arrive 9:30am, close the last park open at night, keep up with when we could obtain our next FP, pay attention to standby queue to know if FP was a benefit. I am a fan of FP+! I like it when WDW makes an effort to invest in the future.

I slightly question your estimate that using 6FP per day in AK, HS, or Epcot represents any kind of norm, or the most effective way to tour the parks. MK yes six FP per day. The other three, not so much. Epcot only has four FP attractions, and one of them is Maelstrom.

Yes, under new FP you will only get three. But if you have a room at WDW, and don't make changes, then you won't lose ANY park time running around obtaining FP. that's a big trade off. Old FP was not perfect.

You also won't get stuck behind that idiot guy in the QS line who waits until he's done ordering to START the process of pulling out his wallet to get his KTTW card!

We did experience a change this trip. Once our three FP were used up, we did use standby queues. Still, in one busy MLK Jr weekend Saturday plus just three FP+ we managed to ride: TT four times, Mexico, Norway twice, Sum of all Thrills, stroll through that side of Innoventions, spend a long time in the Japan gift shop, Spend time in the Mexico gift shop, eat at the Japan QS, TSM twice, Star Tours, RnRC three times, GMR, Muppets, One man's Dream, hear a few live songs (band that plays near the hat), snack in the Backlot Tours QS, Take a two hour afternoon break at our hotel, east TS dinner at our resort, get a snack in the Villians shop, and finish up before 10:30pm!

So I don't think the new FP+ crimped our overall ability to hit lots of attractions or ruined our overall experience. Using a standby queue is not the end of the world. it is a change in thinking, but it did not ruin our trip.

The preplanning the op describes must have been aggravating, and I do hope that WDW Makes a few changes and gets the kinks worked out. But I don't think FP+ is a wash.

They should up the fp limit in MK. (maybe two after 9pm FP's?) I also hope they reconsider the TS dining cancelation fee- or increase considerably the number of quality QS offerings. And I really hope they improve the phone software! But I think in a few years the whoel thing will improve WDW on the whole.

 

[Classickat]

I can sympathize with the OP with regard to online frustration of scheduling and/or changing selections! I was able to schedule our FPs for an upcoming April trip over the weekend. Over 3 1/2 hours later, it was done, but not sure that I am comfortable with my answers from disney IT. I wouldn't be surprised if I looked on My Disney Expereince today and they were gone all together!

I used Internet Explorer...no issues there. I navigated through the selection process ok. I was a little concerned, at first, how the system assigned my times, with 3 different scenarios to choose from. I wanted to choose times! Then I realized I had to choose one of those and THEN could modify my selections (either the experience itself or the times, and you could choose for which guest(s) you wanted to make changes). We did have some selections that 2 of our 5 guests wanted and the other 3 chose different attractions.

I went through the confirmation process on all selections and changes. Then when I went to my view our itinerary, there were some days where only one selection showed (when 3 had been selected), but there were other days where 5 selections showed! And you're only allowed 3 selections?!?! The "extra" selections were for attractions that we selected, but the times were the times that the system selected...then I had gone in and changed the times. Both of those selections were showing. And some where I had gone in to change the 2 guests who selected a different attraction, the original selection AND the change showed. I was concerned because once the system "fixed" that by removing the duplicates, I wanted to be sure that the times we chose were the valid FPs. And of course, I wanted to be sure that the "missing" selections were indeed somewhere. And I knew they were somewhere, because if I went in to make a change, all 3 selections would appear in that process.

So, disney IT, here I come! They were extremely helpful and, as always, so courteous! After 25 minutes on hold, the tech was able to see exactly what I was seeing & explained that several systems "have to talk to each other" and that wasn't happening. He had several error messages that he was able to correct. He then entered my FP selections again, at the times I had originally requested and basically what I received was within 5 minutes of my original times (no big deal obviously!). As far as the "extra" selections; he wasn't able to remove those! He told me they were valid FPs so, I am taking that as pixie dust! He said the magic bands are a reflection of whatever is on the Disney website when I'm logged into our account. I am NOT holding my breath that they will remain ~ I'm sure Disney will have a fix for that and as long as my requested times are honored, I don't care.

So now to finish my story...I thought I should check out My Disney Experience App to be sure I know how to change selections on the fly if necessary. Well, the times are ALL off by an hour (every selection, every day). Called Disney again...much shorter wait of only 7 minutes...and I was told it was a glitch with the system having to do with Day Light Savings times and that hopefully it would be worked out in the next several days. Glad I'm not going until April! The tech also said that whatever I see on my computer within the Disney system itself is what is valid (not what I'm seeing on the app). I logged back into the computer and sure enough, my times are correct there; but incorrect on the app.

So, just responding to the OP issues with the technical difficulties! From the technical side, looks like a lot of work to be done. But I'll wait to judge how the FPs actually work for our style of touring once we are there. I will say that we are park hoppers and not terriblly happy that all FPs have to be used at one park. I'm not so much concerned with the limit of 3, just would be nice to schedule a total of 3 but spread them out to the various parks we'll visit in a day. I"m thinking it may turn out to be great in that we can do rope drop at one park and then the 2nd park of the day, use our FP and have them ready and waiting on us instead of taking what is left (if at all...especially at TSM). We always know what park we're headed to first, and almost always left the 2nd park to chance. Can't really leave it to chance now if scheduling those FP for later in the day. Oh well...a day at Disney is ALWAYS a better day than here in Ohio, where there are no FPs!

 

[mom-2greatkids]

OP, I'm very surprised about the crowd levels you experienced. We were in there from 2/2 to 2/8 and found the crowds very managable. The only exception was AK on 2/2, we left around 12:30 once the crowd started building in. EE had a 110 minute wait, which was the longest wait we saw posted all week.

Tons of dance teams, cheerleaders and tour groups. However, we quickly realized one of the biggest advantages of FP+ was the fact that the large Brazilian tour groups didn't use up all the fastpasses each day. With legacy FP we'd see the tour leaders sit at the FP machines all day feeding in tickets.

Sorry about your experience with MDE. We had no issues at all and spent a lot of time moving our FP+ around.

 

[kimmar067]

...someone previously mentioned that the FastPass kiosks were beiing removed...now, am I understanding this correctly - if you are not staying at a WDW resort, you would then not get a band? And, if that's the case, then you threfore cannot get any FastPasses since the kiosks are no longer there?

 

[kimmar067]

....seems to me all these ADR's, FastPasses, etc. are more of a JOB than a vacation!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I get quite frustrated when technology doesn't work as I expect. I get further frustrated of told by tech support that I need to use something different than I customarily use to be able to get a website to work.

That said--I am forced to do that with other companies. So I do get the frustration.

May I ask why you refused to use the alternate (don't know what you all then..so..) web servers to see if that would work once they confirmed it does not work on what you were trying to use?

We went on 2/7 without issue. I set my selections up the morning and even changed them on my iPhone later in the day.

I was trying to see what was so hated about the system and didn't encounter any issues. Perhaps I got lucky. But to say I am not technically savvy would be an understatement. So I am puzzled why the solution offered was refused. But that could be my tech ignorance talking. :-/

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

...someone previously mentioned that the FastPass kiosks were beiing removed...now, am I understanding this correctly - if you are not staying at a WDW resort, you would then not get a band? And, if that's the case, then you threfore cannot get any FastPasses since the kiosks are no longer there?

Day guests would get a card. Not sure if this is their park ticket or a secondary card. But they go to the FP+ kiosks and set up their selections the day they are at the park. Instead of going from ride to ride, they can do it at one station and several are set up in the park (MK at least).

 

[Toad_Passenger]

...someone previously mentioned that the FastPass kiosks were beiing removed...now, am I understanding this correctly - if you are not staying at a WDW resort, you would then not get a band? And, if that's the case, then you threfore cannot get any FastPasses since the kiosks are no longer there?

I saw people getting an RFID card if they were just there for the day. That card would be charged up with the FP+ selections at the FP+ kiosks. We noticed them getting scanned at the FP entrances, and they worked the same as our MB.

 

[kimmar067]

Day guests would get a card. Not sure if this is their park ticket or a secondary card. But they go to the FP+ kiosks and set up their selections the day they are at the park. Instead of going from ride to ride, they can do it at one station and several are set up in the park (MK at least).

I saw people getting an RFID card if they were just there for the day. That card would be charged up with the FP+ selections at the FP+ kiosks. We noticed them getting scanned at the FP entrances, and they worked the same as our MB.

well that makes more sense...

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Okay then, please don't include me in your camp. I'd put my family in the camp of folks who took full advantage of FP: arrive 9:30am, close the last park open at night, keep up with when we could obtain our next FP, pay attention to standby queue to know if FP was a benefit. I am a fan of FP+! I like it when WDW makes an effort to invest in the future.

I slightly question your estimate that using 6FP per day in AK, HS, or Epcot represents any kind of norm, or the most effective way to tour the parks. MK yes six FP per day. The other three, not so much. Epcot only has four FP attractions, and one of them is Maelstrom.

Yes, under new FP you will only get three. But if you have a room at WDW, and don't make changes, then you won't lose ANY park time running around obtaining FP. that's a big trade off. Old FP was not perfect.

You also won't get stuck behind that idiot guy in the QS line who waits until he's done ordering to START the process of pulling out his wallet to get his KTTW card!

We did experience a change this trip. Once our three FP were used up, we did use standby queues. Still, in one busy MLK Jr weekend Saturday plus just three FP+ we managed to ride: TT four times, Mexico, Norway twice, Sum of all Thrills, stroll through that side of Innoventions, spend a long time in the Japan gift shop, Spend time in the Mexico gift shop, eat at the Japan QS, TSM twice, Star Tours, RnRC three times, GMR, Muppets, One man's Dream, hear a few live songs (band that plays near the hat), snack in the Backlot Tours QS, Take a two hour afternoon break at our hotel, east TS dinner at our resort, get a snack in the Villians shop, and finish up before 10:30pm!

So I don't think the new FP+ crimped our overall ability to hit lots of attractions or ruined our overall experience. Using a standby queue is not the end of the world. it is a change in thinking, but it did not ruin our trip.

The preplanning the op describes must have been aggravating, and I do hope that WDW Makes a few changes and gets the kinks worked out. But I don't think FP+ is a wash.

They should up the fp limit in MK. (maybe two after 9pm FP's?) I also hope they reconsider the TS dining cancelation fee- or increase considerably the number of quality QS offerings. And I really hope they improve the phone software! But I think in a few years the whoel thing will improve WDW on the whole.

I never said it was the most effective or normal way to travel the park. I said that people who were taking full advantage of fast pass were able to pull multiple fast passes a day. I'm happy that FP+ works for you and your family. It's not the better of the two systems for my family. And we never wasted time running around the park collecting fast passes, either. If we were going to ride Thunder Mountain, we would pull one for Splash Mountain. We would collect a fast pass for Space Mountain later in the day and then ride People Mover and Carousel of Progress. Some people are going to prefer FP+ and others legacy FP. Clearly, you fall into the former category while my family and I are in the latter.