MK feels different.

[minmate]

I honestly don't remember ever NEEDING 10 FPs as far as wait times, including our trip last week.

 

[bwang123]

you do know why you were pulling 10+ FP? because not everyone utilized FP. Now that they are spreading FP to people that would not have normally used them, you can get less or they run out.

Disney beefed up their marketing of FP which is giving FP to people that did not use them before (aka FP+). You get less but they are spread out evenly now. It "sucks" because now you are evenly matched with everyone and you don't like it.

 

[reneeryan99]

you do know why you were pulling 10+ FP? because not everyone utilized FP. Now that they are spreading FP to people that would not have normally used them, you can get less or they run out.

Disney beefed up their marketing of FP which is giving FP to people that did not use them before (aka FP+). You get less but they are spread out evenly now. It "sucks" because now you are evenly matched with everyone and you don't like it.

"You don't like being evenly matched with everyone." The opportunity was ALWAYS there for everyone. The fact that people didn't take advantage of it was their choice.

Let's not ignore the main problem here - the "capacity" of Magic Kingdom is far too inflated. Knowing how bad it was when I was there, full capacity must be dangerous and god forbid that is ever proven.

Lengthy line-ups for even the least popular rides are a sign of poor customer service and quality control. Unfortunately, Disney has no reason to make any changes because people are obviously going to go no matter how crowded it is. I read reports of 5+hour line-ups last New Year's Eve. That is beyond ludicrous.

 

[Jennasis]

My heart goes out to those who can only travel during PEAK times like this.

 

[smitch425]

"You don't like being evenly matched with everyone." The opportunity was ALWAYS there for everyone. The fact that people didn't take advantage of it was their choice.

Let's not ignore the main problem here - the "capacity" of Magic Kingdom is far too inflated. Knowing how bad it was when I was there, full capacity must be dangerous and god forbid that is ever proven.

Lengthy line-ups for even the least popular rides are a sign of poor customer service and quality control. Unfortunately, Disney has no reason to make any changes because people are obviously going to go no matter how crowded it is. I read reports of 5+hour line-ups last New Year's Eve. That is beyond ludicrous.

I've been in the parks when they are closed for capacity, and yes, the lines are terrible, but never once did I ever think it was dangerous.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Ugh. I loathe the "now everything is equal" argument. Just because someone didn't take advantage of fastpass doesn't mean that those who did had an unfair advantage. Everyone had the same opportunity.


I agree with the OP. It wasn't hard to get 10 fastpasses under the old system. I would have at least 1 for Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Jungle Cruise all at night. We would usually do the others during the day, but often with a fastpass for at least two, if not all three of them. We would ride Space Mountain once, but would do at least 1 other fast pass for it, if not two. Usually we would grab a fast pass for it right before we went to lunch. We would also grab one for Barnstormer and Dumbo at that same time since they were detached. After lunch, we would often grab one for Little Mermaid. It was doable and didn't require someone to be running across the park with other people's tickets, as some people did. It didn't require us to be running across the park just for a fastpass, either, as some people complained. We pulled fastpasses if we were in the area and then did other things we enjoyed. Things are different now. We don't get as much done, which is a bummer. The fastpass return lines seem to take longer, probably due to having to scan the bracelets rather than just hand off a sheet of paper. The standby lines also seem to be longer. I had never stood in line for 15 minutes for Imagination like I did on our trip in January. It is what it is, though, I guess.

 

[iheartpeterpan]

However, you would NEVER be able to pull 10+ FP during Spring Break

Actually my daughter and I pulled 10 fastpasses at MK last year during Easter week, by arriving at rope drop and stacking up in the morning when the times to pull another pass were short. We sure did know how to work that old system.

We were there the week before you and like you we left the parks in mid-afternoon. It was crazy crowded. However we went back late at night after the crowds subsided a bit and rode standby at will.

Don't get me wrong I am not a fan of this new FP+ system, but I think if you are willing to arrive at rope drop and/or use EMH (esp the late night ones) then you can still get a lot done. It's just a different way of touring, which we will all need to figure out.

I also felt very crowded at MK, and I think all the construction walls that were up really contributed to this. I am hoping when they get the hub redesign/moat thing done it will help, because having all those walls up made me feel really constrained.

 

[sonofanarchy]

Ugh. I loathe the "now everything is equal" argument. Just because someone didn't take advantage of fastpass doesn't mean that those who did had an unfair advantage. Everyone had the same opportunity.

Agreed. It's ridiculous.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

Ugh. I loathe the "now everything is equal" argument. Just because someone didn't take advantage of fastpass doesn't mean that those who did had an unfair advantage. Everyone had the same opportunity.

Equal for everyone is another way of saying that you will no longer be rewarded for your effort.

 

[redrosesix]

I honestly don't remember ever NEEDING 10 FPs as far as wait times, including our trip last week.

We never needed 10 FPs, even for Pres Week -- SB times were shorter so we would pretty much do any ride that had a 20-25 minutes SB wait. We often pulled FPs and gave them away if we didn't need them and wanted to move on to another area of the park or another park.

The most we would use would be 3 per day, and usually no more than 1 -- but now I want as many as I can get since the SB lines take longer.

"You don't like being evenly matched with everyone." The opportunity was ALWAYS there for everyone. The fact that people didn't take advantage of it was their choice.

Let's not ignore the main problem here - the "capacity" of Magic Kingdom is far too inflated. Knowing how bad it was when I was there, full capacity must be dangerous and god forbid that is ever proven.

Lengthy line-ups for even the least popular rides are a sign of poor customer service and quality control. Unfortunately, Disney has no reason to make any changes because people are obviously going to go no matter how crowded it is. I read reports of 5+hour line-ups last New Year's Eve. That is beyond ludicrous.

Agreed! We always arrived early, and hopped so FP- didn't really work with our touring style. If other people wanted to stay in the park for another 8 hours, it was no skin off my back.

And yup, MK is just too crowded these days, especially with people wandering around with little to do between FP return times. When the parks are busy, SB for any ride is a minimum of 30 minutes, and many people will not do that for a ride they think is just ok.

 

[3Gsandme]

Well, as I've said before FP+ isn't advantageous to the "super tourers". While a larger percentage of the Dis might be "super tourers" I think it's a very small percentage of actual guests. I think a large portion of people go without extensive research and still have a great time. They expect long lines because that's pretty much the norm at other amusement parks. If you're pulling 10+ FP a day, you were a super tourer and, you're right. This new system doesn't benefit you at all.

I think disney park capacity will continue to be high. As the economy improves, the halcyon days of near empty parks will be over until the next economic downturn. Disney doesn't have to do anything to get people to come. People want to and can afford to. I'm Facebook friends with about 300 people. Five of them have gone already this year with two more planning trips. It's a small percentage, but if 3% of the entire population is going it's a lot of people.

 

[kbelle8995]

I went last week and it does feel that they are jamming people into MK. I left at
12:30 and there was a ferry boat full and putting more people on shore. I went knowing it was going to be crowded, I know what spring break is like. It was slightly better at Epcot.

I didn't care for FP+ either. I spent a lot of time looking at my phone for the time. Not my idea of a vacation. The system worked well and I only had problems getting into the parks that day but it was dealt with quickly. It's just not for me.

 

[flutterby3744]

FP+ arguments aside, OP chose to go to MK during a prime spring break week, and I believe they were filming The Middle there on that day...and thought it wouldn't be to capacity crowded????

If you are enough of a veteran to use 10+ FP in a day, then you are veteran enough to expect large crowds. Sounds to me like the magic was lost by your own poor pre-planning. JMO. We went during spring break/Easter one year, and vowed NEVER AGAIN. But we expected it. No one to blame but ourselves.

 

[reneeryan99]

FP+ arguments aside, OP chose to go to MK during a prime spring break week, and I believe they were filming The Middle there on that day...and thought it wouldn't be to capacity crowded????

If you are enough of a veteran to use 10+ FP in a day, then you are veteran enough to expect large crowds. Sounds to me like the magic was lost by your own poor pre-planning. JMO. We went during spring break/Easter one year, and vowed NEVER AGAIN. But we expected it. No one to blame but ourselves.

I always go this time of the year. It has NEVER been this bad. And this park was rated as the best park that day. You don't need to criticize my planning - I did tons of it.

 

[morethananyonex]

I don't get how FP+ is "equal and fair" but FP- wasn't.

If 2 people work for the same company, but employee A shows up as soon as the office opens and works all day while employee B shows up a few hours later is it equal and fair they get paid the same total amount?

If 2 students are in the same class but student A attends all classes and turns in homework while student B occasionally does is it equal and fair to give them the same grade?

If 2 people are planning to head to a store for Black Friday for a sale item but person A arrives early enough to be first in line while person B arrives in the afternoon is it fair and equal for an item to be held for person B?

Effort being rewarded is hardly unfair or unequal. I understand Disney can do whatever they want, but to call FP- unfair makes no sense to me. It was always very fair and equal, but that doesn't mean everyone gets the same thing.

 

[morethananyonex]

FP+ arguments aside, OP chose to go to MK during a prime spring break week, and I believe they were filming The Middle there on that day...and thought it wouldn't be to capacity crowded???? If you are enough of a veteran to use 10+ FP in a day, then you are veteran enough to expect large crowds. Sounds to me like the magic was lost by your own poor pre-planning. JMO. We went during spring break/Easter one year, and vowed NEVER AGAIN. But we expected it. No one to blame but ourselves.

Poor planning?

OP showed up an hour before opening and booked FP+ at the exact time they're most useful for some of the most popular attractions.

How much better planning do you want? Some people can't visit at slow times. If we all could they wouldn't be slower. And anyways it's funny that there were tons of reports at Christmas time that haters are wrong FP+ is awesome during busy times you just have to arrive at RD and use your FP when it gets busy. Funny how suddenly it's just poor planning to follow that and to go when it's busy now.

 

[TinkerElsasMom]

All right, I think there has been enough flaming people for expressing a concern about overcrowding at MK. I have no idea if she was able to post 10+ old Fastpass tickets a day, or not, but what I do know is that the essential argument she was making was about Disney letting in too many people. Now, was it an obvious peek time? Yes. Was it a time that a very popular TV show was filming? Yes. But Disney still has a ton of crowd control upgrades to make.

The new FP+ system now enables you to get me more FPs during the day once your initial three are used up. Additionally, everyone going to disney should be looking ahead to know which days are best to get to each of the parks. If you don't, than not doing everything you want to do sis entirely on you. You get as much out of Disney as you put into it. I've been planning my July trip for six months and know for a fact that even though I'm going to be in the park during one of the very last weeks before school starts in most areas, I'm going to do everything I wish to do.

The everyone being equal argument, I would have to agree is ridiculous. Las summer I remember running to opposite ends of The park to get fast passes and knowing that there was no other way to do it. The people that didn't do that, well they were out of luck. We both had equal opportunity, I'm just the one who actually took it.


All in all we should not be putting somebody down because they are expressing a feeling they had at Disney. We don't have to agree with her, but her experience obviously upset her enough that she wanted to talk about it. Disney has a bar to reach that is so high it falls short for people at times. There is no other brand in huge world where so much is expected. People go to Disney and expect perfection. When the hey don't get it their disappointment becomes obvious.

Take Disney for what it is. Maybe next time your experience will be more magical. I know I'm looking forward to July with all of my heart!!

 

[iheartpeterpan]

Some of us work in professions that only allow us to go during peak times. I sure would love to go in mid-September, but I can't.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

The new FP+ system now enables you to get me more FPs during the day once your initial three are used up.

Is this really happening yet? I know there have been hints to it but I haven't seen any reports of anyone that has been able to do it and I haven't seen anything stating a date that it was going to start. Not that expect Disney to notify it's guest of such a change.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

Some of us work in professions that only allow us to go during peak times. I sure would love to go in mid-September, but I can't.

Yes, we would too.