rt2dz
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2004
- Messages
- 5,596
OK, this is what WE experienced. Nothing more, nothing less. Take what you want from it. If you don’t care, skip this thread. It’s not a full trip report (although this trip had some very interesting things that would make for a fun read at times). I’ll try to be as short as possible (and it’s still long). I will include certain observations, hints or tips.
Magical Express: This trip did not include our whole family, just DS#2 and myself. We flew in and used Magical Express. I had all my paper documents with me, just in case, but we went to use the Magic Bands. No problems what-so-ever. They only had us scan one band for both of us. I found that interesting because I think it could be difficult to tell who all was in one party or if someone without a reservation joined us. No biggie. Another interesting observation, there was a guy in front of us without a Magic Band—paper only. He got through the line with less checks and faster at each check. Magic Bands certainly do not save time.
As a Room Key: Got to the CR, checked in for BLT. I had previously checked-in online, but we still had the credit card fully entered (not just checked), bands activated, etc. Not a big deal, the CMs were friendly and helpful. We took our carry-ons and went to our room, where our Magic Bands did not work. Neither of them. So we hauled our stuff back down to the front desk at BLT, where they reset the bands and then walked us up to the room to make sure the bands worked. We had to endure a lecture (and I use the word lecture because it was very condescending) about proper band use. We got into our room no problem this time. As a matter of fact, that was the only time our MB didn’t work for our room. I do want to say, I found it uncomfortable to contort my wrist to open the door. I felt the need to take off the band to use it, so definitely not more convenient than using a card. Didn’t bother DS at all though.
As a Ticket: We only had one time where my MB didn’t work at the park over 6 days. My son’s always worked. We did observe others not working frequently. The time mine didn’t work was at AK a few days into the trip. Where when we saw most CMs just instantly raising their arm when one didn’t work, my experience was a bit different. DS had gone in right before me no problem. Mine kept turning blue. I was told I was using the wrong finger (I always the same finger). Then I was told I wasn’t using my band. Then I was told I didn’t have a valid ticket. FINALLY, the CM raised her hand and it was reset quickly. Too bad I had to blow 8 minutes of garbage prior to that. I will admit, this was the one thing I truly did love about the bands (minus the one experience), much to my surprise. I usually have to hand out tickets and collect them back in crowds, and deal with using the littler kids’ tickets for them. With the band it was just there and much easier on me. That was a plus.
For Charging: Here it was a complete disaster. More often, it did not work than it did work. It took forever to try and use it. I had to provide back-up payment frequently. I needed my ID all the time. So, using a Magic Band wasn’t a quick tap. It was an extreme hassle. It did not allow me to carry less stuff into the parks. Here it was a major loss. Often at TS restaurants, they asked to take my band to the back and were often gone for long periods of time. It was much, much faster to just pay by alternative means than jumping through hoop after hoop and/or trying several times to get it to work, etc. When it did work, I didn’t find it any more convenient than paying by card. At best, it was novel.
Magic Band use for FP+: This part isn’t about FP+, but about how well the Magic Band worked as FP+. When we went to use our FP+, we pretty much didn’t have any problems. All but one time it turned green. The one time it turned blue, we had just changed it and the CM told us to wait a few minutes for it to get into the system. We did, but it still wouldn’t turn green. The CM could see that we had a valid FP+ for that attraction, on that day, in the proper time frame. He ended up forcing it through because it would not turn green. We noticed a few CMs doing that from time to time throughout our stay. There also was a time that a CM told me that their system was down and the color flash was random. During that time, they just didn’t worry about it. Interesting.
Using the App: Um, non-existent for the most part. There was no “changing on the fly” because the app was constantly down. I think it worked two or three times total for us during our trip. There was always “a blip” and we needed to “try again in a few minutes”. It pretty much always meant going to a kiosk, which generally had very long lines. Seriously, I asked a few times how long the wait was and was told 15-20 minutes all too often. Occasionally, there were shorter waits, but not often. Not every station had lots of slots. Some were just iPad and you had to have a band (no offsite guests). While the line was shorter, with only 1 iPad and 2 CMs, it still took a while. What I learned was make sure you have a photo or put your selections in Trip It. Wait time accuracy was also off. I checked for Peter Pan. The app said a 5 minute wait time, the sign above said 10 minutes, actual wait time, 18 minutes. When we got off, app still said 5 minutes and the sign above still said 10 minutes and the person behind us was holding a red card.
Availability: We often did not have availability to change. Either the times were no good (Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, Soarin) or there was no availability at all (TSMM). My advice, pick times that you know will work. If you decide to sign up for Jedi Training Academy in the last time slot available for the day, you may have to give up your TSMM FP+. Side note: we were there for opening at DHS for EMH and went straight to TSMM, we spent 45 minutes in line. So, if that is your plan, plan accordingly.
Limits/Tiers: We did rope drop, even though we are not normally rope drop people. It was miserable. We felt an internal pressure to rush to ride after ride instead of enjoying the parks as we went along it to make sure we got on everything we wanted before the lines got long. Before we were able to go through the park, pick up FPs as we went and ride everything, sometimes multiple times, without rush and not doing rope drop. Lines did get long. I have never seen lines that long for Pirates or Haunted Mansion during a slow period.
Lines: I guess I need to mention lines. Epcot and DHS still had paper FP while we were there. Test Track and Soarin FP was only an hour or so out while the standby line was longer. I found that interesting. DHS had times for paper FP for Star Tours for the exact time it was and a 45 minute standby wait, example FP was for 9:45-10:45 and it was 9:45. I found that a bit odd too. I timed our FP+ waits often. It took us 17 minutes to get to the first scanner at BTMRR and then 14 minutes to get through the actual FP line. It took 23 minutes to get to the first scanner at Buzz and 17 minutes to get through the FP line, but I will admit, there was a ride stoppage during the wait after we hit the first scanner. Getting into the park was about the same as always.
Things I found useful: Point the Mickey head out. Use the scanner on the side you’re wearing your band on for easier use. It seems awkward because you’re in a line, but use the empty scanner ahead of you if someone is delayed. Always walk up to the first empty scanner as a rule. Remember, any issues you are having are not the CMs fault (although I think some of them take out their frustrations on the guests as much as the guests take out their frustrations on the CMs).
In Conclusion: These things need a lot of work, especially the app. There needs to be a ton of adjustments. It’s definitely changing the trip and how to work it. The bands are just a band, nothing great or innovative and cool. I decided not to cancel our full family trip for Thanksgiving, but I truly think we will narrow down our Disney time—it simply isn’t as enjoyable. It’s just time for us to go try Universal (Harry Potter!), Busch Gardens, etc. I’ll probably do a split stay with our Disney days onsite (3 nights for 4 days) and spend the other nights of our 12 days offsite. It was supposed to be a fully onsite stay. We’ll then probably not be back for a few years. Disney simply needs to get their act together.
Magical Express: This trip did not include our whole family, just DS#2 and myself. We flew in and used Magical Express. I had all my paper documents with me, just in case, but we went to use the Magic Bands. No problems what-so-ever. They only had us scan one band for both of us. I found that interesting because I think it could be difficult to tell who all was in one party or if someone without a reservation joined us. No biggie. Another interesting observation, there was a guy in front of us without a Magic Band—paper only. He got through the line with less checks and faster at each check. Magic Bands certainly do not save time.
As a Room Key: Got to the CR, checked in for BLT. I had previously checked-in online, but we still had the credit card fully entered (not just checked), bands activated, etc. Not a big deal, the CMs were friendly and helpful. We took our carry-ons and went to our room, where our Magic Bands did not work. Neither of them. So we hauled our stuff back down to the front desk at BLT, where they reset the bands and then walked us up to the room to make sure the bands worked. We had to endure a lecture (and I use the word lecture because it was very condescending) about proper band use. We got into our room no problem this time. As a matter of fact, that was the only time our MB didn’t work for our room. I do want to say, I found it uncomfortable to contort my wrist to open the door. I felt the need to take off the band to use it, so definitely not more convenient than using a card. Didn’t bother DS at all though.
As a Ticket: We only had one time where my MB didn’t work at the park over 6 days. My son’s always worked. We did observe others not working frequently. The time mine didn’t work was at AK a few days into the trip. Where when we saw most CMs just instantly raising their arm when one didn’t work, my experience was a bit different. DS had gone in right before me no problem. Mine kept turning blue. I was told I was using the wrong finger (I always the same finger). Then I was told I wasn’t using my band. Then I was told I didn’t have a valid ticket. FINALLY, the CM raised her hand and it was reset quickly. Too bad I had to blow 8 minutes of garbage prior to that. I will admit, this was the one thing I truly did love about the bands (minus the one experience), much to my surprise. I usually have to hand out tickets and collect them back in crowds, and deal with using the littler kids’ tickets for them. With the band it was just there and much easier on me. That was a plus.
For Charging: Here it was a complete disaster. More often, it did not work than it did work. It took forever to try and use it. I had to provide back-up payment frequently. I needed my ID all the time. So, using a Magic Band wasn’t a quick tap. It was an extreme hassle. It did not allow me to carry less stuff into the parks. Here it was a major loss. Often at TS restaurants, they asked to take my band to the back and were often gone for long periods of time. It was much, much faster to just pay by alternative means than jumping through hoop after hoop and/or trying several times to get it to work, etc. When it did work, I didn’t find it any more convenient than paying by card. At best, it was novel.
Magic Band use for FP+: This part isn’t about FP+, but about how well the Magic Band worked as FP+. When we went to use our FP+, we pretty much didn’t have any problems. All but one time it turned green. The one time it turned blue, we had just changed it and the CM told us to wait a few minutes for it to get into the system. We did, but it still wouldn’t turn green. The CM could see that we had a valid FP+ for that attraction, on that day, in the proper time frame. He ended up forcing it through because it would not turn green. We noticed a few CMs doing that from time to time throughout our stay. There also was a time that a CM told me that their system was down and the color flash was random. During that time, they just didn’t worry about it. Interesting.
Using the App: Um, non-existent for the most part. There was no “changing on the fly” because the app was constantly down. I think it worked two or three times total for us during our trip. There was always “a blip” and we needed to “try again in a few minutes”. It pretty much always meant going to a kiosk, which generally had very long lines. Seriously, I asked a few times how long the wait was and was told 15-20 minutes all too often. Occasionally, there were shorter waits, but not often. Not every station had lots of slots. Some were just iPad and you had to have a band (no offsite guests). While the line was shorter, with only 1 iPad and 2 CMs, it still took a while. What I learned was make sure you have a photo or put your selections in Trip It. Wait time accuracy was also off. I checked for Peter Pan. The app said a 5 minute wait time, the sign above said 10 minutes, actual wait time, 18 minutes. When we got off, app still said 5 minutes and the sign above still said 10 minutes and the person behind us was holding a red card.
Availability: We often did not have availability to change. Either the times were no good (Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, Soarin) or there was no availability at all (TSMM). My advice, pick times that you know will work. If you decide to sign up for Jedi Training Academy in the last time slot available for the day, you may have to give up your TSMM FP+. Side note: we were there for opening at DHS for EMH and went straight to TSMM, we spent 45 minutes in line. So, if that is your plan, plan accordingly.
Limits/Tiers: We did rope drop, even though we are not normally rope drop people. It was miserable. We felt an internal pressure to rush to ride after ride instead of enjoying the parks as we went along it to make sure we got on everything we wanted before the lines got long. Before we were able to go through the park, pick up FPs as we went and ride everything, sometimes multiple times, without rush and not doing rope drop. Lines did get long. I have never seen lines that long for Pirates or Haunted Mansion during a slow period.
Lines: I guess I need to mention lines. Epcot and DHS still had paper FP while we were there. Test Track and Soarin FP was only an hour or so out while the standby line was longer. I found that interesting. DHS had times for paper FP for Star Tours for the exact time it was and a 45 minute standby wait, example FP was for 9:45-10:45 and it was 9:45. I found that a bit odd too. I timed our FP+ waits often. It took us 17 minutes to get to the first scanner at BTMRR and then 14 minutes to get through the actual FP line. It took 23 minutes to get to the first scanner at Buzz and 17 minutes to get through the FP line, but I will admit, there was a ride stoppage during the wait after we hit the first scanner. Getting into the park was about the same as always.
Things I found useful: Point the Mickey head out. Use the scanner on the side you’re wearing your band on for easier use. It seems awkward because you’re in a line, but use the empty scanner ahead of you if someone is delayed. Always walk up to the first empty scanner as a rule. Remember, any issues you are having are not the CMs fault (although I think some of them take out their frustrations on the guests as much as the guests take out their frustrations on the CMs).
In Conclusion: These things need a lot of work, especially the app. There needs to be a ton of adjustments. It’s definitely changing the trip and how to work it. The bands are just a band, nothing great or innovative and cool. I decided not to cancel our full family trip for Thanksgiving, but I truly think we will narrow down our Disney time—it simply isn’t as enjoyable. It’s just time for us to go try Universal (Harry Potter!), Busch Gardens, etc. I’ll probably do a split stay with our Disney days onsite (3 nights for 4 days) and spend the other nights of our 12 days offsite. It was supposed to be a fully onsite stay. We’ll then probably not be back for a few years. Disney simply needs to get their act together.
And we weren't running... just attempting to use our room keys to, you know, enter our room and crazy stuff like that. It was interesting to guess which key would work to let us in to which of our two rooms (always changing!!!) Great times at Disney... 
