My disney exeoerience with FP+ is not going well.

[Dano1182]

Today marks the thrird time I attempted to link and plan using magic bands. Once again after waiting 15 minutes I got server busy message and was told to try again later.

What gives? I do not like the idea of having to decide now when I may want to ride RRC or TOT terror but decided to go with the flow.
So after many frustrations with the sytem we have decided to pass on WDW and go to Universal .

One of the reasons we bought DVC was to have the ability to be flexiable in our planning this new sytem seems to eliminate that.

DO people realy enjoy planning ,months in advance what day and time you want to go on a 2 minute ride?

In any event we will no longer be buying annual passes or park hoppers because of FP+

 

[ammo]

DO people realy enjoy planning ,months in advance what day and time you want to go on a 2 minute ride?

Some people do. Planners will always have an advantage under any system. The old FP system rewarded planners to some extent (people who mapped out where to be at what time to maximize their days), but it didn't really punish non-planners -- we could still let the day unfold as it may and know that we had a good shot at most major FPs as long as we arrived at a park by mid-morning (with very rare exceptions). But the new system puts non-planners at a much bigger disadvantage than the original FP system.

 

[Dano1182]

We do plan to some extent. I make dinner ressies for each night but we wind up changing most of them based as the days unfold.
As it now we plan our park days as we go.
How about 2 Fast passes a day for DVC members?. I know it will not happen but would be nice.

 

[hakepb]

I look forward to pre-booking TSMM, Soarin and TT (especially the later 2 on evenings when I already had an ADR booked at EPCOT)
And think it would be nice to be guaranteed a hot afternoon time for Kali or Splash.

The other rides...not as much.

But why bother with ToT? It seems most (recommended?) days you can run across low standby times.

 

[oldfastpassxpert]

I don't think you can pre book the two for one night.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

DO people realy enjoy planning ,months in advance what day and time you want to go on a 2 minute ride?

Nope - that's not what we consider fun.

 

[davedmaine]

DO people realy enjoy planning ,months in advance what day and time you want to go on a 2 minute ride?
QUOTE]

That is our major complaint. Just when you think Disney can't take any more spontaneity out of a vacation, they spring FP+ on you. The dining plan ruined the dining experience at Disney and now FP+ will do the same to the attractions/rides.
I felt sorry for the off-siters standing for an hour in the FP+ kiosk to get a FP to Figment (or some other previously non-popular ride) so they can go stand in a longer line than the stand-by line.

 

[AmyB2006]

DO people realy enjoy planning ,months in advance what day and time you want to go on a 2 minute ride?

In any event we will no longer be buying annual passes or park hoppers because of FP+

Yes. Different strokes for different folks. I hope when FP+ is all sorted out, you might find your way back

 

[Meggysmum]

I am not a great fan on FP+ but I believe that the system will get better eventually.

Linking our tickets and MBs was straightforward for us but when we started to actually book our FP+ slots we got the Donald Duck "sorry there is a problem" page every single time. It took me a couple of attempts before I realised that the slots I had tried to book had actually been booked and the message was rubbish and I could just ignore it!

We did find some advantages to the system. Our last day was only a Saturday morning at DHS so it was nice to know that we would be able to do ToT, SW and TSM without a wait before we had to leave the world. I also liked being able to book my TT slot for just after dark as that is my favourite time to ride.

The rest of the time I found the system a bit of a pain but not bad enough to ruin my trip or stop me going back.

 

[gdrj]

DO people realy enjoy planning ,months in advance what day and time you want to go on a 2 minute ride? ...In any event we will no longer be buying annual passes or park hoppers because of FP+

I actually do enjoy planning, but I don't always follow my plan. However I do like being able to know that I don't have to show up at HS by noon so I can get on Toy Story at 8PM (It took me 4 trips to secure a FP, in the old system). I like the idea of being at the pool all day and being able to head over to HS at 6 PM and being able to jump on Toy Story and Tower of Terror. I say the following in jest, DO people really enjoy getting up and sprinting across a park, strollers making turns on 2 wheels, dragging their kids, as they fall and scrape their knees (but not slowing down) so they can get a treasured FP for 6 hours later?

I just got notice for my Magic band for my AP, so I'm not sure why you wouldn't still get one? As for Park Hopper, not that this is a selling point, but I think hopper's might be more important in case the park you have your FP's for is packed. I would use my FP's at MK in the AM or afternoon etc, and escape to the EPCOT countries

That is our major complaint. Just when you think Disney can't take any more spontaneity out of a vacation, they spring FP+ on you. The dining plan ruined the dining experience at Disney and now FP+ will do the same to the attractions/rides.
I felt sorry for the off-siters standing for an hour in the FP+ kiosk to get a FP to Figment (or some other previously non-popular ride) so they can go stand in a longer line than the stand-by line.

In regards to dining, with the new rules on cancellations (which doesn't always work for me), I have had no problem making reservations for Easter week. Of course the "key" locations can be an issue if you don't plan it out. We were there XMAS week and were actually able to make dining resv's for the same day.

I understand the issue about spontaneity. After scheduling our FP's and tweaking them so they are back to back, for us it opens up the rest of the day so we can leave the park. We can go to the pool, rent a boat, do as we wish, without having to stay at the park because our Soaring FP is not until 4 PM. IMO, there are definite well documented bumps, but if you are (here comes irony...) flexible and willing to do things different than you do now, it just might work for you.

For those offsite I haven't seen reports that they are being closed out of top line rides. They will probably need to do what you use to and run for the FP ticket kiosks in the AM, so there ability to get FP will be similar to what they are use to but now they can get three right away. I understand we all vacation differently, and I am not happy with some of the limitations or the issues that people are having with bands etc. I just don't think it calls for the sky is falling

 

[wdrl]

One of the reasons we bought DVC was to have the ability to be flexiable in our planning this new sytem seems to eliminate that.

DO people realy enjoy planning ,months in advance what day and time you want to go on a 2 minute ride?

The need to plan weeks or months in advance because of FP+ is highly overrated. I just signed into My Disney Experience at 11:22 AM EST and checked to see what FP+ selections were available today for Hollywood Studios. I selected Tower of Terror, Star Tours, and Toy Story Mania, and the system offered me the following FP+: Tower of Terror at 2:35PM; Star Tours at 4:15 PM; and Toy Story Mania at 5:50 PM. I probably could have tweaked the times and sequence if I wanted, or selected different attractions if I preferred.

Our next trip to Walt Disney World is not until mid-May and our 60-day FP+ window will open up next week. My wife and I will make some FP+ selections as soon as the window opens. However, we know we aren't tied to the selections we make at that time; we can change attractions, times, Parks, anything and everything as we get closer to our trip.

Based on our last trip in November and from what I am seeing when I spot check availability, it appears that we'll be able to tweak our FP+ selections almost at the last minute. Personally, I think I have as much flexibility with FP+ as I had with the old system.

 

[zavandor]

I am a supporter of FP+.
Of course there are bugs that can cause stress and frustration and those need to be fixed.
But I was lucky enough to not have any and had a great time.

I will use less FPs with the new system (I knew all the tricks to maximize FPs) but the quality of my life will improve: no more backtracking to take FP, no more wait for the right time, FP for the electrical parade (I literally hate waiting for a parade), FP for the arrival evening...

 

[Sammie]

I enjoyed the planning greatly, its only 3 attractions, so did not consider it a big deal. It only took minutes to complete and had no problems at all with the booking.

I have never gotten a server busy message, I would have called and got assistance before completely giving up.

 

[princessvacg]

The need to plan weeks or months in advance because of FP+ is highly overrated. I just signed into My Disney Experience at 11:22 AM EST and checked to see what FP+ selections were available today for Hollywood Studios. I selected Tower of Terror, Star Tours, and Toy Story Mania, and the system offered me the following FP+: Tower of Terror at 2:35PM; Star Tours at 4:15 PM; and Toy Story Mania at 5:50 PM. I probably could have tweaked the times and sequence if I wanted, or selected different attractions if I preferred.

Our next trip to Walt Disney World is not until mid-May and our 60-day FP+ window will open up next week. My wife and I will make some FP+ selections as soon as the window opens. However, we know we aren't tied to the selections we make at that time; we can change attractions, times, Parks, anything and everything as we get closer to our trip.

Based on our last trip in November and from what I am seeing when I spot check availability, it appears that we'll be able to tweak our FP+ selections almost at the last minute. Personally, I think I have as much flexibility with FP+ as I had with the old system.

That may work if you go during times that are less busy, however, if you are going during busy times, changing on the fly is really not an option. I have been reading about not being able to even get a fast pass for a ride they want a week before they a trip. That concerns me as we are going during a busy time. And quite honestly, we love just going to the park in the late afternoon, getting our fast passes to the exact rides we want and then having dinner. Ride the rides that we have fast passes for and then go back to the hotel. It has always worked perfect for us because we tend to change our schedule as the mood fits.

 

[Sammie]

That may work if you go during times that are less busy, however, if you are going during busy times, changing on the fly is really not an option. I have been reading about not being able to even get a fast pass for a ride they want a week before they a trip. That concerns me as we are going during a busy time. And quite honestly, we love just going to the park in the late afternoon, getting our fast passes to the exact rides we want and then having dinner. Ride the rides that we have fast passes for and then go back to the hotel. It has always worked perfect for us because we tend to change our schedule as the mood fits.

I don't when those that said they could not get Fastpass+ a week ahead, but I have randomly checked often, at least once or twice a week since they begin testing and I have never not been able to book headliners, even the day of.

 

[Charleneluvsdisney]

Based on our last trip in November and from what I am seeing when I spot check availability, it appears that we'll be able to tweak our FP+ selections almost at the last minute. Personally, I think I have as much flexibility with FP+ as I had with the old system.

I was able to change a bunch of my fp+ on the fly, but I will tell you that I tried to change TSM time 3 days prior and received the "sorry, no alternative times are available" I tried the next day and the day of and received the same message each time, so unfortunately, I was unable to even use my fp+ that day for TSM as I didn't make it to the park on time.

Also wanted to add, that the day I was trying to change was Monday, March 3 at 11:00 a.m. I was looking for a later time during the day. The previous dates and times that I was able to change on the fly were during President's week and the week after, so I thought it was strange that I wasn't able to change the last one!

 

[likestravel]

Wow People complain about everything. I made my fastpass tickets at home before we even left for Disney. AS we were in rental car from airport, I was making changes. We were even at Epcot one day and decided to go to Magic Kingdom that night. I was picking my fastpass selections as we were leaving Epcot. I thought the process was great and so easy. Just used the app on my phone. It was great. Another awesome idea by Disney

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Wow People complain about everything. I made my fastpass tickets at home before we even left for Disney. AS we were in rental car from airport, I was making changes. We were even at Epcot one day and decided to go to Magic Kingdom that night. I was picking my fastpass selections as we were leaving Epcot. I thought the process was great and so easy. Just used the app on my phone. It was great. Another awesome idea by Disney

It sounds as if everything worked just the way you wanted it to so that's great. However the system has lots of bugs that have and are still negatively affecting other visitors vacations. Setting aside the issues I have with tiering, restrictions to one park and both being limited to and required to select 3 passes there is more to it. When we went in Dec there still was the old system and KTTW cards were still being given out so we worked around the bugs. If we had the same issues today as we had then (and people are still reporting the same ones) it would have resulted in time loss and multiple visits to guest services. Sorry but Disney is far too expensive to be requiring that I commit my vacation time to working out their bugs on this billion dollar system.