LOL - Message I just got from someone at AK

[mom2rtk]

I really am starting to think that those critical of FP+ are looking more and more correct.... not that people aren't enjoying themselves, but its looking like you are getting much less for your increased price.

It will be fascinating to see how much of a price increase they try to pull off on top of this diminished experience.

I look at it this way. If the rumor pans out and it costs $15 to purchase an additional tier 1 FP, I would need to buy 3 of those to approximate what I had before FP+. (Never mind that I purportedly would still not be able to duplicate anything). That's an additional $45. So even if I go with the top price of $100 to walk in the gates of the MK, that's a 45% increase already. If you factor it on the lower per day price on a multi-day ticket, it really gets ugly.

So....... I wonder how much more they will increase tickets on top of that.

 

[jon18uk]

after a few minutes they just waved all of us through and stopped scanning.

This seems to be a problem a few posters have mentioned, that people either aren't having their bands scanned, or they get a blue Mickey and then are let into the FastPass line anyway. If a lot of people are in the FastPass line who aren't meant to be then of course the FastPass line will be long and slow!

 

[Mkrop]

maybe there is a glitch with the Safari scanner.

We were there beg of Dec and they have problems with scanning many bands when we were there. We rode 3 times bc we used FP+, room key and AAA tickets, so we went through the line 3 different times and each time the people with bands had issues(we did not thank goodness) but there were a lot of them, and those of us with paper were rushed through and the blue Mickeys were asked to step aside.

Standby was close to an hour or so if I recall.

 

[SueM in MN]

Keep in mind that the Safari sometimes has issues that make it back up, which result in long waits. We have been 'stuck' on the Safari multiple times because an animal wandered into the path and the trams had to stop until the animal decided it was ready to get out of the way.
The shortest was only a few minutes, but the longest was over 30 minutes. We really felt like we were on the never ending Safari.

 

[nfggirl5454]

I was at Disney Saturday, started the morning off at MK and then left for AK at 1, arriving at 1:30. The last safari for the day was at 5, but the park was open until 8. I had FP+ set up for 4-5, but I was interested in going on it earlier too if possible since the safari is my favorite AK ride. The wait times were consistently around 45 minutes every time I checked, with a long line at both standby and FP+ return. All 3 of our magic bands worked fine with the scanner though, and going on at 4:30 was great, the male lion was really active and roaring.

 

[Sunnywho]

The effect might not be because of FP+. We're also coming out of several years of bad economy. Everyone who put off going to Disney World creates a pent-up demand when they all started going again.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Unless we arrived right after the park opened, I don't think we ever had less than a thirty minute wait. Either I'm unlucky, or your lucky

We're definitely rope drop people. Our first time to AK was 1998 and I think it was mid week. DW and I rode it early in the morning, then a bit of a wait midday, then several times in a row late in the day. The midday one had the longest wait.

In June of 2012, we were there on a Saturday. We rode twice just after role drop. Standby indicated 30 minutes, but it actually ended up being more like 10 both times. We waited about 15 minutes later in the afternoon.

 

[yooperfan]

This seems to be a problem a few posters have mentioned, that people either aren't having their bands scanned, or they get a blue Mickey and then are let into the FastPass line anyway. If a lot of people are in the FastPass line who aren't meant to be then of course the FastPass line will be long and slow!

Wouldn't this also mean someone could ride twice in a row since their first time was never logged onto the band? If so, there would be way more people in line than the system was reading.

 

[JanaDee]

Wouldn't this also mean someone could ride twice in a row since their first time was never logged onto the band?

Yes, if it is within their hour time slot.

 

[yooperfan]

Yes, if it is within their hour time slot.

That could explain why FP return lines are so long....