Just returned from WDW and FP+ stinks

[BuckeyeBama]

Unfortunately, this isn't a doom and gloom thread. Instead of being an "I think I'm going to hate FP+" thread, it is an "I just returned and I hated FP+" thread. These are the ones that Disney needs to be wary of. Note the total absence of cheerleaders here promising that things won't be all that bad, and might even be better than before. When a person comes back and reports on their actual experience, we don't need exaggeration or hyperbole to carry the day. (And no offense to anyone, but we don't really need a debate about ADRs either.)

I tend to agree. Folks who have just had a really good or bad experience can and should let us know about them. What bothers me is the group of people who try to invalidate a good or bad post by offering their opposite experience.

 

[JimmyV]

While I agree with you on most points, I also think that the OP could have replied to one of several FP+ threads already made. These posts are taking over this site to the point that it is making it difficult to help people when they have planning questions. I would love it if the mods made a separate forum for FP+ so the TP&S can get back to what it was.

As time rolls on, we are going to see fewer and fewer "I'm guessing I'm going to hate/love it" threads and more "I just came back and can report that I hated/loved it" threads. As that day approaches, the "prediction" threads will melt away, and the real discussion can be had about how FP+ is affecting and changing people's touring strategies. We just have to endure the painful birth right now. And this really is the proper Board to discuss strategies. I don't suppose that a sub-forum would hurt, but FP+ is the single biggest factor in planning and strategizing right now, so it makes sense that it occupies a good bit of the field. Without it, you would be left with a whole bunch of threads like: "What color glitter should my DD get at BBB?"

 

[BuckeyeBama]

As time rolls on, we are going to see fewer and fewer "I'm guessing I'm going to hate/love it" threads and more "I just came back and can report that I hated/loved it" threads. As that day approaches, the "prediction" threads will melt away, and the real discussion can be had about how FP+ is affecting and changing people's touring strategies. We just have to endure the painful birth right now. And this really is the proper Board to discuss strategies. I don't suppose that a sub-forum would hurt, but FP+ is the single biggest factor in planning and strategizing right now, so it makes sense that it occupies a good bit of the field. Without it, you would be left with a whole bunch of threads like: "What color glitter should my DD get at BBB?"

I am not so sure that this is true, at least, for many. The problem, in my opinion, is that too many people are putting too much thought into it. You only have 3 FP+ rides/day. That is going to account for a tiny percentage of your trip. My wife and I planned our entire trip earlier this month assuming that we would get ZERO FP+ reservations because of the speculation on the Dis. We were pleasantly surprised that we could book them each morning before we went into the parks. No planning, and FP+ was a huge hit for us as a result.

We really worked ourselves up before that trip. The Dis was wrong. It happens.

 

[sonofanarchy]

I am confused. Do you go in the Winter or July or both?

Both, but only July this year.

 

[jess1662]

You mean they serve something other than the lovely bacon angus cheeseburger that has taken over the parks? Thank you dining plan..

Embarrassed to admit I actually like the bacon angus cheeseburger...

 

[JimmyV]

I am not so sure that this is true, at least, for many.

I should have said: The single newest factor in planning and strategizing. Most everything else has been beated to death here. But this new iteration of FP touring is logically causing the greatest traffic here.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I should have said: The single newest factor in planning and strategizing. Most everything else has been beated to death here. But this new iteration of FP touring is logically causing the greatest traffic here.

Agreed - it certainly adds a twist to account for in planning.

 

[freediverdude]

We have to find a way to tie magic bands and fp+ in with resort mugs and pool hopping, and then we'll have the ultimate epic thread.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Agreed. We were there Jan 19-24th lines were nuts from rope drop and repeats were hard to do, which we love. I just completed a survey about our stay from Disney and was shocked there was nowhere to fill in comments about this system. All they wanted to know about FP+ is if the bands/website worked or not as checkboxes. Not even a "no, we don't think we will be back in the next 5 years" could prompt a comment box.

That's strange, I was also there Jan. 19-24 and felt like the lines were pretty low. On Jan. 23, I was at Epcot. TT had a 25 min posted wait around 5 PM (which I rode), and Soarin' had dropped to 40 minutes by 7:30 and 15 minutes shortly after 8 PM. I rode Soarin' 3 times that day (once with FP+ and then twice at the times I mentioned).

On Jan. 20 (MLK day), I was at MK and rode: Little Mermaid, Winnie the Pooh, small world, Big Thunder, People Mover, Carousel of Progress, and Space Mountain all before 11:30.

I found myself stopping to see things I hadn't before (like the fountain choreographed to music at park opening at Epcot) due to not having to run to get a Fast Pass or criss-cross a park.

While I don't love everything about FP+ (I'm not a fan of the tiers or the 3 per day limitation), I didn't find my experience to be worse than before.

I'm sorry that your experience wasn't good.

 

[Mickey28]

To clarify about my OP. It was to solely be a mini-trip report of my experience with FP+. I did not come on here prior to my trip so to not form any opinions before I left for my trip. I have been to WDW many times and was very good at using FP- system for the attractions we liked and how we toured the parks, i.e. waiting for our FP-window to arrive and grabbing another FP for the same ride later or another attraction on our way to use the FP- we were currently holding. All of this is now gone. Of course you could stand in line at a FP+ line and wait 20-30 minutes for someone to help you adjust your FP+ choices and hope that there were some available when you got to the guest service person. Otherwise you just wasted a half hour or use your MDE app with possibly the same results. Here are some bullet points of my experience:

*I wasn't sure of the time window, I just thought it was the same as ADR's, my mistake
*Still, having to choose FP and attractions before you leave home is difficult when there is no way to know how the crowd flow or unforeseen circumstances may affect that day's touring plan
*The fact that you can't actually choose specific times for attraction FP+. It may be easier if you could choose a FP+ say for Aerial JOTLM if you plan to be in Fantasyland first thing in the morning then choose BTM later in the afternoon when you expect to be in Frontierland . However, the system makes you choose the attractions you want then spits out times that may not be conducive to your family's touring style along with dining times. We seemed to be zig-zagging more than usual.
*I am not going to get into the crowd argument here, but it was much more crowded than I have experienced in the past this time of year even beyond the Brazilians
*What really got under my skin though was the literature proclaiming more flexibility, time to see and do more when it is exactly the opposite
*Finally, less chances for spontaneity and opportunity when it presents itself

Sorry, if I offended anyone. I was trying to give my opinion from my personal experience while it was fresh in my mind.

 

[wdwlver]

To clarify about my OP. It was to solely be a mini-trip report of my experience with FP+. I did not come on here prior to my trip so to not form any opinions before I left for my trip. I have been to WDW many times and was very good at using FP- system for the attractions we liked and how we toured the parks, i.e. waiting for our FP-window to arrive and grabbing another FP for the same ride later or another attraction on our way to use the FP- we were currently holding. All of this is now gone. Of course you could stand in line at a FP+ line and wait 20-30 minutes for someone to help you adjust your FP+ choices and hope that there were some available when you got to the guest service person. Otherwise you just wasted a half hour or use your MDE app with possibly the same results. Here are some bullet points of my experience: *I wasn't sure of the time window, I just thought it was the same as ADR's, my mistake *Still, having to choose FP and attractions before you leave home is difficult when there is no way to know how the crowd flow or unforeseen circumstances may affect that day's touring plan *The fact that you can't actually choose specific times for attraction FP+. It may be easier if you could choose a FP+ say for Aerial JOTLM if you plan to be in Fantasyland first thing in the morning then choose BTM later in the afternoon when you expect to be in Frontierland . However, the system makes you choose the attractions you want then spits out times that may not be conducive to your family's touring style along with dining times. We seemed to be zig-zagging more than usual. *I am not going to get into the crowd argument here, but it was much more crowded than I have experienced in the past this time of year even beyond the Brazilians *What really got under my skin though was the literature proclaiming more flexibility, time to see and do more when it is exactly the opposite *Finally, less chances for spontaneity and opportunity when it presents itself Sorry, if I offended anyone. I was trying to give my opinion from my personal experience while it was fresh in my mind.

Thanks for your honest assessment. We found it to be quite constraining as well.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

Let me get this straight:

1. A visitor HAS to eat onsite
2. A visitor is forced to eat ALL meals onsite.
3. A visitor HAS to make all ADRs 6 months in advance
4. If no ADRs then it means people will only be able to eat hot dogs & cheeseburgers.

Good to know.

If you don't have a rental car and are relying solely on Disney transportation--as many if not most on-site visitors do--then #1 and #2 are true. During high season #3 is often true as well. And #4 is true a lot of the time given the lack of diversity of on-site counter-service food options, especially at MK and the Value food courts.

 

[smitch425]

And #4 is true a lot of the time given the lack of diversity of on-site counter-service food options, especially at MK and the Value food courts.

Okay, I'll admit that my sarcasm detector wasn't working well this morning, but is this statement meant to be serious? MK has a HUGE variety of CS options as do the value resorts. What type of food are you seeking that cannot be found?

 

[KrazeeK120]

Okay, I'll admit that my sarcasm detector wasn't working well this morning, but is this statement meant to be serious? MK has a HUGE variety of CS options as do the value resorts. What type of food are you seeking that cannot be found?

I tend to agree. For lunch, BOG is fantastic. Columbia Harbour house is great for lunch or dinner and has food that is not "typical" theme park food. And I've never had one, but heard good things about the waffle sandwiches at Sleepy Hollow. That's definitely a unique twist on an otherwise ordinary food!

Right there are 3 options within the park that aren't burgers and fries.

It's also just a quick walk over to the Contemporary, where the choices at Contempo Cafe are also quite good, plus it's a nice little break from the park.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

Okay, I'll admit that my sarcasm detector wasn't working well this morning, but is this statement meant to be serious? MK has a HUGE variety of CS options as do the value resorts. What type of food are you seeking that cannot be found?

Yes. I'm a DLR vet and from my perspective Magic Kingdom has very little variety in counter-service options compared to the west coast parks, and especially compared to Disneyland. It's the DLR vet version of WDW vets going to DL and wondering where the castle went. We go to MK and wonder where all the food options went.

 

[jeneric997]

OP, thank you for your report. I find all of these reports very helpful in deciding if we want to go back to Disney in the next couple of months.

We tested in October and found it very inflexible, especially when we had to use the kiosks. We had 10 days at Disney and rode TT once. That has never happened in 30 trips. We found ourselves falling in the trap of not doing RD because we could do FP+. TT kept breaking down and the kiosk won't let you make a FP+ for a ride that is down (not sure if that is still true). Partly our fault, but with the old FP- we could have pulled the FP- when the ride was down.

We also found that not having the ability to make real time decisions was frustrating. We never pulled a lot of FP- , but we like being able to pull one when a ride was more crowded than we expected or it took us longer to get somewhere and lines had built.

We found we spent less time in the parks, and I agree with the OP 100% we zigzagged more and didn't feel like we had more time to see more at all.

OP did you notice how the lines at the kiosks were?

 

[ccbloom]

I tend to agree with the OP. We are in Disney now, and we weaved our way back and forth through the park much more than we normally have to. We are not a RD family and would just grab a FP- on our way by Soarin' or TT for later in the day. Add to the fact that TT was down all day today, so we were unable to use that one. We did get an email telling us we could trade it for Captain EO, Nemo or Figment. Thanks! And we couldn't switch our FP+ reservations and go to another park because we had already used a FP+ on Spaceship Earth.

So far, not a fan of lots about FP+. It was nice that they would honor a FP+ for a non-functioning ride and accommodate a return at any time during the same day, but the offered rides weren't really worthy of a FP to begin with.

 

[wisblue]

Yes. I'm a DLR vet and from my perspective Magic Kingdom has very little variety in counter-service options compared to the west coast parks, and especially compared to Disneyland. It's the DLR vet version of WDW vets going to DL and wondering where the castle went. We go to MK and wonder where all the food options went.

I'm not sure when you were last at WDW, but there is a wide variety of food choices at the QS locations in the MK, and the food courts at the value resorts have gone through some significant changes.

We very rarely make ADRs and we very rarely eat the same thing twice in a visit. But then, eating is not our highest priority at WDW anyway.

Throw in all of the dining choices at Downtown Disney (we never miss Earl of Sandwich) and the Boardwalk area, several of which don't require or even accept reservations, and there are plenty of places to eat without needing a car.

Someone asked before what you are looking for that WDW doesn't have. What did you have in mind?

 

[Planogirl]

I'm not sure when you were last at WDW, but there is a wide variety of food choices at the QS locations in the MK, and the food courts at the value resorts have gone through some significant changes.

We very rarely make ADRs and we very rarely eat the same thing twice in a visit. But then, eating is not our highest priority at WDW anyway.

Throw in all of the dining choices at Downtown Disney (we never miss Earl of Sandwich) and the Boardwalk area, several of which don't require or even accept reservations, and there are plenty of places to eat without needing a car.

Someone asked before what you are looking for that WDW doesn't have. What did you have in mind?

I'm a Columbia Harbour House fanatic but I tend to agree that all around Quick Service places in MK leave a lot to be desired. We only go to CHH and Pecos Bill's so my son can get a burger though. Can you recommend any others?

Of course, the food in MK is amazing compared to DHS but that's a whole other issue.

 

[peyjax]

I'm not sure when you were last at WDW, but there is a wide variety of food choices at the QS locations in the MK, and the food courts at the value resorts have gone through some significant changes.

We very rarely make ADRs and we very rarely eat the same thing twice in a visit. But then, eating is not our highest priority at WDW anyway.

Throw in all of the dining choices at Downtown Disney (we never miss Earl of Sandwich) and the Boardwalk area, several of which don't require or even accept reservations, and there are plenty of places to eat without needing a car.

Someone asked before what you are looking for that WDW doesn't have. What did you have in mind?

OK So you had me going there. It has been a few years for me, but I was scratching my head cause last time I went it was all hot dogs/burgers/chicken. So I wen to ALLEARS to check it out. I have not been since Fantasyland and that is where the new stuff was. Other than that YEP same old same old and if the new stuff is anything like Josh @easywdw had posted in his reviewI will pass.

As to Earl of Sanwhich Yes love it, but most do not want to take an hour bus ride for a counter service. The same goes for having to go back to your hotel. Epcot was the only one that ever had CS variety.

DL just knows how to do counter service. So yes coming back to WDW and looking for the good food you find at DL only to be left with WDW burgers and Casey Corners hot dogs is just disappointing.