kides say Magic Bands have ruined Disney

[dmband]

I completely understand the op
Fp+ totally sucks IMO and has ruined a lot of the fun/adventure.
Just one of the "issues" we don't like include being locked into a park/time.
From simply waiting for a bus vs jumping on what shows up to finding out the fp+ you selected has a shorter wait that a ride you didn't select.
Not being able to get times for large groups we travel in at the same time
In ways it has killed park hopping fun too.

I do have a few techniques I'm looking into for the next trip to see if it makes it better for my family/group though because clearly this is the way it works now and there is nothing to change that.

On a side note, I personally don't like ADR because of the same basic concept of being locked into a place and time.
There is no way 180 in advance I know what and where I want to eat.

 

[Dr Gevil]

Originally Posted by scubadiver
I tried to stack all the fast passes in the morning, but due to this week at WDW, there was no way to move the fast passes around, especially for the popular rides (7 dwarfs, test track, ect.) I even took some throw away fast passes (i.e. Nemo) at 8 am, to get things stacked in the morning. I tried for 6 months to move the times around, it was impossible. One of the draw backs with coming between Christmas and New Years.

You can only schedule Fp+ 60 days out if you're stsying onsite.

Busted.

 

[Dawnlight]

Sorry about the disappointment.

We were at the parks 12/22-12/29 and I was thrilled with the way FP worked. I got all the rides I wanted when my window opened, was able to adjust them all to suit our needs (we mainly rope-dropped the parks, so scheduled FP to start around 10-11am). Once we used those up, we were able to easily secure additional, though less desirable FP for later on.

 

[bumbershoot]

I tried to stack all the fast passes in the morning, but due to this week at WDW, there was no way to move the fast passes around, especially for the popular rides (7 dwarfs, test track, ect.)

But did you try on the day of?

Last year when this was all new, I couldn't change anything around on Superbowl Sunday in a very empty Epcot. But I had a VERY different experience over the last weekend of Food&Wine festival, when I was able to change things around easily, at each park I tried. Their system has changed a lot, and changing the day of is easier.

Of course I'm keeping in mind when your travel seems to have been, but you're not describing a situation where it's obvious that you did, in fact, try to do it on the day of, while IN the parks waiting for that 3rd FP.

You can only schedule Fp+ 60 days out if you're stsying onsite.

Nice catch.

OP I feel like maybe you were confused about using them?

I get what you are saying and yet... Nobody is holding a gun to your head to use the last FP. If you are waiting for hours, go standby or just go.

So true.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

If you are certain you will never return to Walt Disney World, you can sell the DVC through Disney or through the secondary market, rent the points yourself or via a broker, or use it for cruises or trades.

 

[staceyeileen]

How is this any different than having a paper FP in your hand with an afternoon time? If we wanted to leave the park before we could ride the next ride, we just handed the paper to another family as we left the park...

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Not sure how if you wanted to switch parks you could not have just moved it to something - anything - closer to your time, let it expire and then pulled more at the next park if they were available.

 

[tcherjen]

I know I might be the minority, but I like FP+. I like scheduling popular rides and going on them with little or no wait. We have gone for spring break for the past 3 years and it is so nice with FP+. My son brings his bf and they have their fp scheduled and they can go and do their own thing. I love it!!!

 

[awilliams4]

This all sounds very fishy. Your kids are 11 and 14 and they on their own, without anyone else in the party complaining about it, right out of the blue, said that MM+ ruined Disney?

Something tells me that someone(s) else in the group complained enough to where the negativity may have flowed downhill a bit to the younger group and then maybe to help themselves justify their own opinion, post on the thread about how their 11 and 14 year olds prove once and for all that MM+ sucks.

 

[Jennasis]

A problem i had with switching times etc, was that once my window opened for my FP time, it would vanish from MDE making me unable to change the time or attraction. I had no desire to hunt down or wait for a kiosk so i "lost" those FP. Was it a glitch in disneys shoddy MDE? Perhaps. But we soldiered on without the pass.

 

[Missytara]

This all sounds very fishy. Your kids are 11 and 14 and they on their own, without anyone else in the party complaining about it, right out of the blue, said that MM+ ruined Disney?

Something tells me that someone(s) else in the group complained enough to where the negativity may have flowed downhill a bit to the younger group and then maybe to help themselves justify their own opinion, post on the thread about how their 11 and 14 year olds prove once and for all that MM+ sucks.

I was going to post the same exact thing verbatim......kids tend to get opinions from the adults in their crowd; they don't tend to form them completely on their own in such "disdain."

There were several ways to get around the fast pass thing and continue on without a "hiccup." It is all about making your own experience.

 

[BrianL]

Here's the thing though, at a very busy time like this, even thee old FP system would run out by mid-day for the big rides. Factor in that many more people are using the system now, and you would now have the same problem with FP-. It's really a matter of Disney advertising it better so more people partake. The old system was only better because so many people didn't use it, meaning the real issue is bandwidth. There is no doubt they could use more headline attractions, especially in Epcot and HS.

 

[Angel Ariel]

This all sounds very fishy. Your kids are 11 and 14 and they on their own, without anyone else in the party complaining about it, right out of the blue, said that MM+ ruined Disney?

Something tells me that someone(s) else in the group complained enough to where the negativity may have flowed downhill a bit to the younger group and then maybe to help themselves justify their own opinion, post on the thread about how their 11 and 14 year olds prove once and for all that MM+ sucks.

Because 11 and 14 year olds aren't capable of identifying and expressing what they do or don't like entirely on their own?

If someone were here saying that their 11 and 14 year old *loved* Magic Bands and FP+, I highly doubt that poster would be accused of the same.


Now, I'm not saying there aren't some issues in the OP (the 6 month thing). I just think it's a bit ridiculous to say that an 11 and 14 year old couldn't possibly have their own coherent thoughts on Magic Bands/FP+.

ETA:Since when do teenagers not have tendencies towards expressing disdain for various things all on their own? Heck, my 8 year old nephew is pretty good at telling us all what he does or doesn't like, and he certainly has his own opinions separate from the adults around him.

 

[willowsnn3]

Call me crazy, but we loved FP+ & the Magic Bands!
Oh, and we go 4 to 5 times a year and no over saturation here, lol.
Always something new to experience that we missed on another stay.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

I was having the same problem the first part of my trip. Too restricted by ADRs and fps. So, about mid vacation, I parted ways with the ADRs and fps and had a much better time. First, most of the fps you don't need. Second, the majority of them can be gotten on the fly using your phone app. if you so choose. You will not get the hard to get fps, but it allows you so much more freedom not to be tied to the fp system. I, too, like to park hop, and found the reservation thing restricting.

I think one of the problems is that because the fp system is there, people feel they need to use it. If I ever go back again, I think I will only book around 6 or 7 fps, and not even use the rest. I was already blowing off fps from day 1 anyway. That, and try really hard to figure out a time when the crowds are low. Very low. Just trying to get around was way more aggravating than the fps.

When was your trip? When we were there in August, we had little problems moving things around the day of. This December (December 13-20) was a totally different story. There were NO alternative times to be had, and the 4th FP+ availability was crap. I ran my phone battery out multiple days trying to get any 4th FP+ worth getting. It was a very frustrating experience, and very, very different from what we experienced in August. It's led me to conclude that FP+ only works well when you really don't have that great of a need for it--in low crowd times. The crowds were low in August (probably because it was 8000 degrees outside) but moderate to high-moderate in December. Once you get to average crowds, your options with FP+ constrict considerably. We were at the parks for 8 days in December, and I was able to pull what appeared to be a useful 4th FP+ exactly once--and I only got that by splitting the group up. Now, I will say I was searching for a party of 4. If you're a single traveler, you're going to have a better experience with FP+.

 

[estherhead]

This is exactly how we all felt in March when we went on a week with 9's and 10's in terms of crowds. We felt trapped. Because you can't change the times. There is nothing available. Wait times are at 120 minutes and if you switch parks you really forfeit that last ride.

One day at MK I felt so suffocated I thought I was 100% done with Disney. Even late at night there were hoards of people wandering around and lines were still 2 hours at 11 pm and beyond.

However we just went in early December when crowds were 4's to 7's and I couldn't have loved fp+ anymore. I adored it!!

As for the old system I only went once at spring break with it and you could do better on the old system. If you got to a park 45 minutes before opening you could do better. You could just keep getting fp until 11:00. And when you could keep them all day it was even better as you could just hold on to those ones until evening.

But really how many weeks a year are Christmas, Easter, and July 4th? For my family fp+ is a major bummer 5-6 weeks out of the year and awesome the other 45 weeks. So we're just gonna pick one of those 45 weeks. That's our solution.

 

[AngiTN]

Unfortunately for your kids, they are in the minority. The majority of guests do like FP+. Disney is not going to drop it, sad to say

 

[ilovedisneymm]

(1) You are not a slave to FP+. Nor are your children. Here is a completely out of the box concept........dump the fast pass and go to the other park and wing it.

(2) I love Disney but I doubt I would love it as much if I went twice a year for six years in a row. We look forward to our annual trip and that is good enough.

(3) Your kids are growing up and they are ready for something new. Give Disney a break and revist after some new attractions have been completed.

(4) Your kids wouldn't subject others to the downer of Disney? Oh please! If that is true your kids need a serious attitude/gratefulness lesson. Maybe you do too! I don't even like to tell people that we take our kids to Disney every year cause around here (farm small town USA) to be able to afford one family trip there is a rare and fortunate opportunity. Just about every single kid I know would jump on an opportunity to come along.

(5) I' m not buying for one second that you were unable to change your FP+ selection, I'm calling BS on that one.

(6) You choose to play during the craziest time of year (xmas - new years) then you choose to wait and wait along side a million others. Me? No way would I attempt Disney during the peak season.....you couldn't pay me.

I usually don't jump on the hounding bandwagon but your post was asking for it. Maybe you are just bored and are welcoming the backlash???

Bottom line, find a new place to vacation for everyone's sake!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I agree with other PP's. I don't think the problem is FP+. I think the problem is you went at the absolute busiest time of the year and you didn't do your research on the new FP+ system and how to use it effectively which is odd as you state you go to WDW twice a year, which means you have multiple trips with FP+ under your belt. There is no way I believe, if you made your FP+ selections at 60 days prior (and not at 6 months which is impossible), that you could not have had the ability to stack your FP+ or find times that were suitable for your touring style on the day your made your selections.

 

[Disney Queenie]

Our family COMPLETELY AGREES with OP! I do not think you are in the minority.