My husband didn't believe me about FP+

[4EverFigment]

I think most people's challenge is they keep thinking they have more control over Disney, than Disney does. And that just isn't ever going to be true. Hundreds of thousands of people wanting to be in essentially the same place at the same time necessitates crowd control specialists. The FP system is more about people flow. Every park has limited space and this is how Disney is working on moving guests through it. Basically, learn to work inside the system (rope drop, rides during peak mealtimes etc) and you will actually find a whole lot of fun & magic.

 

[susanrose73]

I loved fp+! My only issue is the multiple lines for the kiosks. Why can't there be only one line that feeds into the kiosks? Each had its own line and if you chose poorly, you'd be stuck waiting for awhile, as the other lines would move.

I think I saw only one kiosk station in Epcot that had one line and it worked great.

 

[JoshuaShaw]

Hey, at least you didn't just get cancer due to malnutrition in a third world country and still have to go to work to shovel snow.

 

[rajak73]

Yep - this is why we still haven't booked a single FP+ for our vacation, which starts in 10 days.

WHAT???? Don't you know that now you will not be able ride a thing at any of the parks!! You will wander aimlessly around the parks with nothing to do and have to stand in insane 30 minute standby lines!

 

[Angel Ariel]

We are booking FPs for October. The last time we went was 5 years ago, before FP+. It's very aggravating to have to plan our days 2 months in advance! We thought it was bad enough having to arrange ADRs so far ahead.

How can this possibly be a relaxing vacation?! What are our chances of getting same-day FPs? We generally hate stand-by lines. Are those as bad as they always were?

I completely understand. We aren't fans if all the preplanning either. I will say, though, that our actual trip was still fantastic. We did feel like we were on more of a schedule than in the past, but we were still able to slow down and relax and just enjoy the park. So don't lose hope! The preplanning can be annoying, but I'm sure you will still have a great trip!

Re: same day fp+ - personally, I eouldnt rely on same day availablility any longer. it is worth it, to us anyway, to prebook the fps and not worry about what will be left when we get there.

hope you have a great trip!!!

 

[pampam]

I don't consider being able to book three whole rides as having my whole park day planned.

I think Robo nailed it again. One still has to wait in long lines, and decide where and what to eat. Just because 3 FPs are scheduled the day is really not planned. Usually when people go to WDW they do a lot more than 3 rides in a day.

 

[susanrose73]

Hey, at least you didn't just get cancer due to malnutrition in a third world country and still have to go to work to shovel snow.

I mean, I guess.

 

[rpb718]

There are unintended consequences with having to make ADRs or FP+ reservations so far in advance, and not being able to get everything you wanted. It's the feeling of already being disappointed in your vacation long before you even get to take it. Those folks who take infrequent trips to WDW and want to be able to meet A&E, ride 7DMT and eat at BOG all on the same day are a lucky few, while the rest who want to do the same but find out months ahead that they won't be allowed to have to change their expectations and end up feeling that their trip has somehow been lessened.

 

[itchin2go]

There are unintended consequences with having to make ADRs or FP+ reservations so far in advance, and not being able to get everything you wanted. It's the feeling of already being disappointed in your vacation long before you even get to take it.

Thank you for putting words to something I've long felt, but had difficulty putting into words.

 

[robinb]

We are booking FPs for October. The last time we went was 5 years ago, before FP+. It's very aggravating to have to plan our days 2 months in advance! We thought it was bad enough having to arrange ADRs so far ahead.

How can this possibly be a relaxing vacation?! What are our chances of getting same-day FPs? We generally hate stand-by lines. Are those as bad as they always were?

As much as I dislike FP+, it does make the vacation itself somewhat relaxing because you can't change a darn thing once you're there! There is no stressing about what you're going to do on a specific day since it's been meticulously planned for months.

BTW, I meant that in the most sarcastic way LOL.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I definitely DO NOT consider Disney a relaxing vacation. A relaxing vacation is one that you have a hotel booked and a rough plan of stuff to do and can sleep when you want, etc. Disney is months in advance picking which parks on which days, planning where you'll eat and predicting what rides you'll feel like doing when, and making sure you're up early to get to parks for RD. If you don't do these things, you can't eat where you want, won't get fp for the times you want them and /or will wait in ridiculously long sB lines. Universal is SOOOOO easy in comparison. I just went to WDW in June with my son and we DID have a great time, but it could never be in the category of "relaxing vacation".

The op says she Is a DLR vet. DLR is very different than wdw. The preplanning is not nearly as necessary (we are almost 60 days out from our trip and have nothing planned but flights and hotel). If dlr the op's norm, I can understand the culture shock (for lack of a better word atm), of planning for wdw.

 

[mom2rtk]

The op says she Is a DLR vet. DLR is very different than wdw. The preplanning is not nearly as necessary (we are almost 60 days out from our trip and have nothing planned but flights and hotel). If dlr the op's norm, I can understand the culture shock (for lack of a better word atm), of planning for wdw.

We're within 60 days of visiting DLR and some dining reservations aren't even open yet! Not a single FP has been issued (and won't be until the parks open).

So while some WDW guests vacationing the same dates we are visiting DLR are dealing with the disappointment of knowing that rides and ADRs are completely booked, our possibilities are still endless. I love that.

 

[grimley1968]

We are booking FPs for October. The last time we went was 5 years ago, before FP+. It's very aggravating to have to plan our days 2 months in advance! We thought it was bad enough having to arrange ADRs so far ahead.

How can this possibly be a relaxing vacation?! What are our chances of getting same-day FPs? We generally hate stand-by lines. Are those as bad as they always were?

The bolded is my biggest problem with 180-day ADR windows, some restaurants that seat only guests with ADR's, and now 60-day FP+ booking windows. It has all become too much for me. We have still been going the last few years, hoping to experience some of the relaxed fun of WDW that existed before the ADR windows started expanding. Once the ADR windows expanded first from 30 days to 90 days and then to 180 days, getting seated in the best restaurants meant booking them so far in advance I had to predict where we were going to be and what food we might feel like eating long before we could reasonably be expected to know such things. FP+ at 60 days now takes that level of pre-planning to another extreme, which has become too much for my family. We're still going in October because we've had our upcoming trip booked for over a year, and I hope the trend of our WDW vacations becoming less relaxing will reverse itself, but that doesn't seem likely.

 

[bdiddy]

I agree. It was so not as bad as I was expecting it to be. I was really nervous and thought it was going to be awful so I was pleasantly surprised. I was just there for 11 days too and it all worked out fine. If you have ADR's, you already know what parks you are going to be at anyway so it's really not that bad to work the rides in. You just have to plan your day in the park a little better as to not be running back and forth. Other than that it was fine.

 

[lumpydj]

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but it got me wondering. Say we have a FP+ for SpM. When we get there, there's no line. Can I cancel the FP and pick a new one on my phone? Or do I have to go to a kiosk to book a new one?

 

[mesaboy2]

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but it got me wondering. Say we have a FP+ for SpM. When we get there, there's no line. Can I cancel the FP and pick a new one on my phone? Or do I have to go to a kiosk to book a new one?

Sure, though I would modify it and not "cancel" it. Cancelling can cause MDX badness.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I think Robo nailed it again. One still has to wait in long lines, and decide where and what to eat. Just because 3 FPs are scheduled the day is really not planned. Usually when people go to WDW they do a lot more than 3 rides in a day.

For me it isn't so much the 3 rides themselves as it is the thought process behind timing them. We found that we needed to think about where we were going to start our day, what direction we were touring the parks in in order to plan the fps best. When we didn't do that, we ended up backtracking a lot to use the fps. Decisions like "oh we will start in adventureland and work our way around the lands to tomorrowland" didn't used to occur until we were in the park. That discussion was moved to 60 days out in order to schedule the fps in a wya that we would be coming upon the fp attraction as we toured and wouldbt have to back track.
(Eta: and when I say discussions in this context, it was as we were walking down MS, with the decision made by the time we reached the hub. No stopping to talk about it or wasting.time discussing it. Just looking at the crowds and picking a direction).

To us, this is more like a complete daily touring plan, which we have never used on previous trips and never particularly liked. But as we discovered on our DHS day when we *didn't* put that thought process in use, we hiked across the park more than we needed to, and more than we ever used to do.

I hope that makes sense. We understand this system is here to stay, so we are making the best of it for us. Minimizing backtracking is an important part of that, so we found that we did have to think about more than just the 3 individual fp times in order to save ourselves from backtracking.

 

[angierae]

I don't consider being able to book three whole rides as having my whole park day planned.

This. If I have a FP for BTMR at noon, I know that I need to work my way over there around that time. There's plenty of things to do on the way.

 

[Jon84]

I loved fp+! My only issue is the multiple lines for the kiosks. Why can't there be only one line that feeds into the kiosks? Each had its own line and if you chose poorly, you'd be stuck waiting for awhile, as the other lines would move.

I think I saw only one kiosk station in Epcot that had one line and it worked great.

The one on Sunset outside TOT in DHS works fine, just one queue there

 

[lumpydj]

Sure, though I would modify it and not "cancel" it. Cancelling can cause MDX badness.

Got it! Thanks! This will be our first FP+ trip. I'm trying to keep an open mind but so far I'm not liking it. However, when I get there and actually use it, I may like it. I have the touring plans app. I noticed that it gives times for available FP. I just hope I don't spend the whole day looking at my phone...