kides say Magic Bands have ruined Disney

[kittyab]

When we planned our last trip, I tried to have our fast pass picks all done by the morning. I would try to have them for attractions that were near each other so there wasn't much walking back & forth.

I find the new fast pass system works well for those who like to plan a trip in advance. You can not just show up at Disney and expect to do everything.

I really find you need to do your homework before you go.

 

[buffy71]

I love the fastpasses - great improvement! No need for rope drop anymore!

 

[ellie05]

I haven't read all the thread but it sounds to me they are upset with the planning not the magic bands.

 

[momof2n2]

The approach WDW has taken, right or wrong, is allow park visitors to lock in and assure access to three rides/attractions before they arrive, without the worry of regardless what day, time or crowd level, then can be assured times to walk onto those three rides/attractions. Simply taking the approach to decide the day of, and at any time of the day, to walk into a park and expect to get on any attraction with little or no wait is not possible now most times of the year due to increasing crowds. WDW view was to assist visitors, especially new ones, to ensure them that even with high cost and increasing crowds they could lock in at least 3 attractions. And frankly also keep them in the park longer each day and spending more money. I am not saying I agree with this approach, but can see how from the view of WDW and many visitors how FP+ could be appealing so as not to worry about missing the 3 rides/attractions they really what to experience. The reality today with crowd levels most times of the year being able to simply show up any day and at any time and not have a long wait for TSM, Soaring, 7DMm (or expect under previous FP system to secure a FP) is not possible. Ultimately the long term solution is to add attractions and increase capacity but until then managing crowds and demand requires other means.

Except it isn't necessarily going to keep you from missing rides with tiering.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

The approach WDW has taken, right or wrong, is allow park visitors to lock in and assure access to three rides/attractions before they arrive, without the worry of regardless what day, time or crowd level, then can be assured times to walk onto those three rides/attractions. Simply taking the approach to decide the day of, and at any time of the day, to walk into a park and expect to get on any attraction with little or no wait is not possible now most times of the year due to increasing crowds. WDW view was to assist visitors, especially new ones, to ensure them that even with high cost and increasing crowds they could lock in at least 3 attractions. And frankly also keep them in the park longer each day and spending more money. I am not saying I agree with this approach, but can see how from the view of WDW and many visitors how FP+ could be appealing so as not to worry about missing the 3 rides/attractions they really what to experience. The reality today with crowd levels most times of the year being able to simply show up any day and at any time and not have a long wait for TSM, Soaring, 7DMm (or expect under previous FP system to secure a FP) is not possible. Ultimately the long term solution is to add attractions and increase capacity but until then managing crowds and demand requires other means.

But Disney also has a huge chunk of responsibility as to why crowds are what they are. I did my college program in the spring of 2005. That was the year of The Happiest Celebration on Earth and certain things were brought in to each of the parks. Hollywood Studios got Lights Motors Action, Epcot got Soarin, Animal Kingdom got Lucky the Dinosaur, and Magic Kingdom got an overlay on Pirates, Small World, and the castle as well as the play area Pooh's Thoughtful Spot. LMA is rumored to be closing, Lucky is gone, and Pooh's Thoughtful Spot is gone. So, from that celebration, one new attraction remains. That's it.

Since then, Magic Kingdom has added the new Fantasyland which has 2 new rides and an extra Dumbo. Epcot has added... nothing. Everything currently at Epcot (ride-wise) was there in 2005. Hollywood Studios added Toy Story Midway Mania, but didn't add anything else. It did change Who Wants to be a Millionaire to American Idol, but now that's closing. I suppose you can also say it added Jedi Training Academy. Animal Kingdom added Expedition Everest. So, since 2005, anywhere from 4 to 6 rides have been added, depending on how you look at it. BUT, they have added multiple resorts at Disney Vacation Club properties including Art of Animation, Bay Lake Tower, Animal Kingdom Villas, The Villas at Grand Floridian, and are about to open to DVC property at Polynesian Village. So Disney added thousands of hotel rooms without adding attractions. What did they think was going to happen? Of course crowds are going to increase in the parks. That's their own doing. But rather than come up with the correct solution for these crowds (giving the crowds somewhere to go along the lines of new rides and attractions), their solution is to limit how many attractions a single guest can experience.

 

[redsbe]

But Disney also has a huge chunk of responsibility as to why crowds are what they are. I did my college program in the spring of 2005. That was the year of The Happiest Celebration on Earth and certain things were brought in to each of the parks. Hollywood Studios got Lights Motors Action, Epcot got Soarin, Animal Kingdom got Lucky the Dinosaur, and Magic Kingdom got an overlay on Pirates, Small World, and the castle as well as the play area Pooh's Thoughtful Spot. LMA is rumored to be closing, Lucky is gone, and Pooh's Thoughtful Spot is gone. So, from that celebration, one new attraction remains. That's it.

Since then, Magic Kingdom has added the new Fantasyland which has 2 new rides and an extra Dumbo. Epcot has added... nothing. Everything currently at Epcot (ride-wise) was there in 2005. Hollywood Studios added Toy Story Midway Mania, but didn't add anything else. It did change Who Wants to be a Millionaire to American Idol, but now that's closing. I suppose you can also say it added Jedi Training Academy. Animal Kingdom added Expedition Everest. So, since 2005, anywhere from 4 to 6 rides have been added, depending on how you look at it. BUT, they have added multiple resorts at Disney Vacation Club properties including Art of Animation, Bay Lake Tower, Animal Kingdom Villas, The Villas at Grand Floridian, and are about to open to DVC property at Polynesian Village. So Disney added thousands of hotel rooms without adding attractions. What did they think was going to happen? Of course crowds are going to increase in the parks. That's their own doing. But rather than come up with the correct solution for these crowds (giving the crowds somewhere to go along the lines of new rides and attractions), their solution is to limit how many attractions a single guest can experience.

FP+ does not limit the number of attractions a guest can experience, it is an attempt to allow people to select 3 rides they most like to experience, and for anyone planning they will focus their selections on securing the most popular attractions and use RD and other planning strategies to add many more attractions and events to their day visit to a park. During our visit Dec 12-18 we still experienced a dozen or more rides, attractions and shows each park day, some more then once. The downturn in the general economy starting in 2008 also impacted investments in advance of the more recent jump in park visitors, over the next several years attractions in AK and DS will come on line to provide additional opportunities. And unlike Universal, WD has to focus on parks all over the work and have made millions of investments since 2005 as for WD it is not just about WDW but total park visitors and revenue.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

FP+ does not limit the number of attractions a guest can experience, it is an attempt to allow people to select 3 rides they most like to experience, and for anyone planning they will focus their selections on securing the most popular attractions and use RD and other planning strategies to add many more attractions and events to their day visit to a park. During our visit Dec 12-18 we still experienced a dozen or more rides, attractions and shows each park day, some more then once. The downturn in the general economy starting in 2008 also impacted investments in advance of the more recent jump in park visitors, over the next several years attractions in AK and DS will come on line to provide additional opportunities. And unlike Universal, WD has to focus on parks all over the work and have made millions of investments since 2005 as for WD it is not just about WDW but total park visitors and revenue.

I, and many others who have posted about how we no longer have the opportunity to do as many rides with FP+ than with FP, disagree.

 

[mom2rtk]

But Disney also has a huge chunk of responsibility as to why crowds are what they are. I did my college program in the spring of 2005. That was the year of The Happiest Celebration on Earth and certain things were brought in to each of the parks. Hollywood Studios got Lights Motors Action, Epcot got Soarin, Animal Kingdom got Lucky the Dinosaur, and Magic Kingdom got an overlay on Pirates, Small World, and the castle as well as the play area Pooh's Thoughtful Spot. LMA is rumored to be closing, Lucky is gone, and Pooh's Thoughtful Spot is gone. So, from that celebration, one new attraction remains. That's it.

Since then, Magic Kingdom has added the new Fantasyland which has 2 new rides and an extra Dumbo. Epcot has added... nothing. Everything currently at Epcot (ride-wise) was there in 2005. Hollywood Studios added Toy Story Midway Mania, but didn't add anything else. It did change Who Wants to be a Millionaire to American Idol, but now that's closing. I suppose you can also say it added Jedi Training Academy. Animal Kingdom added Expedition Everest. So, since 2005, anywhere from 4 to 6 rides have been added, depending on how you look at it. BUT, they have added multiple resorts at Disney Vacation Club properties including Art of Animation, Bay Lake Tower, Animal Kingdom Villas, The Villas at Grand Floridian, and are about to open to DVC property at Polynesian Village. So Disney added thousands of hotel rooms without adding attractions. What did they think was going to happen? Of course crowds are going to increase in the parks. That's their own doing. But rather than come up with the correct solution for these crowds (giving the crowds somewhere to go along the lines of new rides and attractions), their solution is to limit how many attractions a single guest can experience.

A great rundown.

And don't forget that in the New Fantasyland expansion, there might be 2 new rides, but they closed one as well (Snow White).

And if I'm not mistaken, the last E ticket ride was EE? In 2005? That's a long time to wait for more headliner capacity.

I'm happy to hear about the plans for change coming at DHS. But I also won't take anything they say as given until it opens. NFL plans were changed substantially along the way. Not sure about Avatarland. But I do know they are not afraid to change course after announcements have been made.

 

[redsbe]

I, and many others who have posted about how we no longer have the opportunity to do as many rides with FP+ than with FP, disagree.

Yet many other posters, including me with a visit during 7+ crowd days from Dec12-18, were able to experience as many rides as when FP- was in place during our last visit in 2012. The impact has not been from FP+ alone, but larger crowds, including at RD and in morning and buidlign fast during the day, especially impacting the most popular rides such as TSM and Soarning. We still got done what we wanted but had to plan and use FP+ and RD to do so, and it was not possible to ride TSM and Soarning (or 7DMR) over and over again.

 

[BugsDaddy]

I never understand this point of view - which crops up here quite often - that Disney's only responsibility is to make more money for its stockholders. Corporations have responsibility to more than their stockholders. They have a responsibility to the people who purchase their product. Do you disagree? Well, that means you would be okay with a company selling moldy bread or clothes that fall apart after one washing, or that advertises being open from 8-5 and closes at 2. Otherwise you're a hypocrite. Disney has a responsibility to do more than wring every dollar they can out of their visitors. It's fair to argue about how far they have to go, or how much they have to provide, to fulfill the contract inherent in their advertising. But to simply absolve them of any responsibility to anyone who doesn't own their stock is absurd.

I never said that companies ONLY have a responsibility to their shareholders but for a publicly owned company, yes it is their primary responsibility. If they sale moldy bread or bad clothes, people will probably not purchase their product. That is what is great about free enterprise. You are not forced to purchase their product and can use your spending power to vote on the best product. Obviously, if a company breaks the law or causes damages, they are held accountable to those actions (theoretically).

Disney has no responsibility to provide you with anything. Period. If you don't like their product, quit buying it. If enough people do that, they will change their product. The hypocrites are people who complain every day on a message board about the product that they do not like but continue to purchase. Hypocrites or fools, either one.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Yet many other posters, including me with a visit during 7+ crowd days from Dec12-18, were able to experience as many rides as when FP- was in place during our last visit in 2012. The impact has not been from FP+ alone, but larger crowds, including at RD and in morning and buidlign fast during the day, especially impacting the most popular rides such as TSM and Soarning. We still got done what we wanted but had to plan and use FP+ and RD to do so, and it was not possible to ride TSM and Soarning (or 7DMR) over and over again.

And I addressed the fact that crowds are larger and how Disney created this problem and did nothing to offset those crowds earlier in this thread. Great that you got to experience as many rides with FP+ as with regular FP. Did you experience more, though? I experienced fewer rides. Others have, as well. If everyone is experiencing the same or fewer attractions with FP+ as with legacy, then yes, our number of attractions has been limited since the implementation of FP+.

 

[MKMomma]

There are also cricket protein bars! One day I will try cricket products and report back.

Sorry you don't like FP+. I think it's pretty apparent that there are some who are not going to be happy with the new system. No matter how I feel about it, it doesn't change the fact that it doesn't work as well for you, and jtown, jennasis, suvadoo, etc, etc. That's just the reality of it. Will it make you stop going, do you think?

It already has stopped me from going. I skipped planning 2 possible trips this Fall because of FP+.

 

[20yBWDW]

It's interesting to see how the same set of facts can be viewed so differently. We are coming up on our second trip to WDW, our last in 2012. We learned ahead of that trip that we needed to rope drop and get certain fast passes right away, or risk missing out on riding certain rides. Especially because we have one child with anxiety and impulse control issues, limiting our ability to wait in lines. We knew from talking to friends that people tended to fall into two camps: experienced WDW visitors who knew how to get the right number of FP, and who loved it because they could ride what they wanted to ride when they wanted to ride it; and inexperienced/ill-prepared visitors who missed riding big rides, waited too long in standby lines, and came home saying "never again." We had planned to be one-time visitors, but had done the research because of the child who does not wait in lines well, and being able to ride the popular rides without waiting for hours in long lines made all the difference in deciding to come back.

With FP+, I realize that those really experienced visitors will no longer be able to ride what they want as much as they want, but I see that as a perfectly acceptable tradeoff for all the other people who will have a chance to ride that may not otherwise have done so. It's not like Disney has said everyone gets to ride it once, and then we'll leave it empty rather than let you ride twice. People are riding it. If they weren't, the lines would not be long. I can't muster up any sympathy for people who complain that they can't ride something six times because more people get to ride it once or twice.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

I personally think fp+ is a great tool for those who like to plan; people who like to get 3 fps hit rope drop, do their 3 fps then hit the kiosks getting more fps all the while grabbing attractions with short wait times. Or, those who like to sleep in, no longer having to hit rope drop, then get their 3 fps and anything else that they can get. They're happy with that and it works for them.
Then there's the ones like me, who don't like to plan, who gets to the park early but not necessarily at rope drop. We don't like planning, being tied to reservations but like to just sort of go where we want when we want and experience the same quality of experience we have in the past. We're not , and that has left is disillusioned and unhappy. I'm not going to change my style, I tried and found I was stressed and unhappy and in short it just doesn't work nor will it ever work for me. I may give it one more try but not schedule anything in advance, not stay on property and see if I can recapture what, for me, is lost.
It's really that simple and no amount of arguing the point is going to change anyone's opinion or touring style. I like to do things a certain way and if it doesn't work any more then I'll go elsewhere. I have already cancelled my Florida plans for 2015 and am unsure of when I'll ever go back.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

We actually enjoyed using fast pass+. I felt a huge relief not having to rush to soarin or TSM. We could make rope drop or not and we still got to ride the headliners. You are also not locked into a park. We head FP+ for epcot. Well we got to epcot rode everything we had a pass for without using them. If you don't touch them you can change parks completely. So we headed to HS and rode rnrc tot and added gmr to get our 3. It sounds to me like op's kids may have been wanting to try something new for a ling time and used this as a way to express their desire for change.

 

[famy27]

I never said that companies ONLY have a responsibility to their shareholders but for a publicly owned company, yes it is their primary responsibility. If they sale moldy bread or bad clothes, people will probably not purchase their product. That is what is great about free enterprise. You are not forced to purchase their product and can use your spending power to vote on the best product. Obviously, if a company breaks the law or causes damages, they are held accountable to those actions (theoretically).

Disney has no responsibility to provide you with anything. Period. If you don't like their product, quit buying it. If enough people do that, they will change their product. The hypocrites are people who complain every day on a message board about the product that they do not like but continue to purchase. Hypocrites or fools, either one.

I didn't realize there was a requirement that you had to love 100% of a company's offerings in order to be a customer.

I don't care for FP+ (although I've mostly come to terms with it), but I do keep going to WDW. I might like most of a company's product line, but if I had an issue with one particular product, I wouldn't have to stop buying all the other products. I think it's the same here. I can love Disney and Disney World and dislike FP+. That doesn't make me a hypocrite or a fool.

 

[JanaDee]

Sorry you don't like FP+. I think it's pretty apparent that there are some who are not going to be happy with the new system. No matter how I feel about it, it doesn't change the fact that it doesn't work as well for you, and jtown, jennasis, suvadoo, etc, etc. That's just the reality of it. Will it make you stop going, do you think?

Yes, I decided against my annual October trip because of FP+.

 

[mom-2greatkids]

FP- super user chiming in

We only have one FP+ trip under our belts so far, but we didn't have any issues with it. We were still able to ride the headliners over and over again, but it took more initial planning. We rope dropped whatever park we wanted to each morning and rode the headliners a couple times each before there were huge lines. Then we rode everything else and hopped to the park with our FP+ selections and spent the rest of the day at that park.

Part of the reason we are OK with FP+ is because we do hop every day. Under the old system we had to stop pulling FP at our first park once the return times got too late. When we got to the second park the availability of FP was very limited (sometimes non-existent). We really loved having the FP available at the second park.

I definitely would have preferred that Disney put that money into more rides, but for our family of commandos we made due with FP+ just fine.

 

[Jennasis]

There are also cricket protein bars! One day I will try cricket products and report back.

Sorry you don't like FP+. I think it's pretty apparent that there are some who are not going to be happy with the new system. No matter how I feel about it, it doesn't change the fact that it doesn't work as well for you, and jtown, jennasis, suvadoo, etc, etc. That's just the reality of it. Will it make you stop going, do you think?

Nooo. Not at all. As I have pointed out in many posts this year, newly minted DVC owner here (as of May 2014 y'all...BLT, holla!). I hate FP+ and I HATE MDE, I mean really hate it...but I love Disney World as a whole, more than I hate this small portion of what makes it tick. So I will work around it. I'll wait in a standby line. No kids here so I can do that. Others may not have that ability.

I refuse to have appointments on vacation more than I already have with ADR's and such. We like rope drop. We'll get the headliners that way.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

But Disney also has a huge chunk of responsibility as to why crowds are what they are. I did my college program in the spring of 2005. That was the year of The Happiest Celebration on Earth and certain things were brought in to each of the parks. Hollywood Studios got Lights Motors Action, Epcot got Soarin, Animal Kingdom got Lucky the Dinosaur, and Magic Kingdom got an overlay on Pirates, Small World, and the castle as well as the play area Pooh's Thoughtful Spot. LMA is rumored to be closing, Lucky is gone, and Pooh's Thoughtful Spot is gone. So, from that celebration, one new attraction remains. That's it. Since then, Magic Kingdom has added the new Fantasyland which has 2 new rides and an extra Dumbo. Epcot has added... nothing. Everything currently at Epcot (ride-wise) was there in 2005. Hollywood Studios added Toy Story Midway Mania, but didn't add anything else. It did change Who Wants to be a Millionaire to American Idol, but now that's closing. I suppose you can also say it added Jedi Training Academy. Animal Kingdom added Expedition Everest. So, since 2005, anywhere from 4 to 6 rides have been added, depending on how you look at it. BUT, they have added multiple resorts at Disney Vacation Club properties including Art of Animation, Bay Lake Tower, Animal Kingdom Villas, The Villas at Grand Floridian, and are about to open to DVC property at Polynesian Village. So Disney added thousands of hotel rooms without adding attractions. What did they think was going to happen? Of course crowds are going to increase in the parks. That's their own doing. But rather than come up with the correct solution for these crowds (giving the crowds somewhere to go along the lines of new rides and attractions), their solution is to limit how many attractions a single guest can experience.

We went to wdw for our 4th trip. Coming from montana it's never a budget trip. We usually pay 7-9k per vacation. But we save and keep coming back every 2 years. We walked into epcot on arrival day dh and I vowing to come right back for an adults only trip in 2015. This trip we decided to try a few new things and 1 was not using the dining plan. It was amazing how much time that freed up. Well this trip was 9 days. It was amazing how much you can notice. I noticed exactly what Jenna was saying. There's massive resorts and awesome transportation systems and pools and theming. But the parks are lacking in the attractions category. Especially ak and HS . But what about all that dead space in epcot? We did 1 full day 2 half days and we covered everything at least 3 times. Now I know everyone vacations different but if I wanted to go to a place only for a resort atmosphere I'd pick another place. I want rides and shows. Since we rode every ride there more than once we realized how little there was in the actual parks. Now if I had gone this week and only rode 3-4 rides a day I would be dying for another trip. I think if disney can keep you hanging on to that "you can't do everything in one trip" you will be back. How do they do that? Limit your rides. As for us we are waiting for at least 3 years. Hopefully there will be more to do by then.