My take on FP+...now that the Post Disney Depression has lessened...

[klitteral2009]

We stayed 7 nights at POR in a Riverview room (Magnolia Terrace). We also had park hoppers and the regular DDP.

First of all, overall we LOVED the magic bands. I know everyone has different opinions but I really don't understand all the complaining (true IT glitches notwithstanding). They worked every time for room entry, park entry and dining credit use. The CM's at our meals never had to scan them more than once and never seemed bothered by them. Park entry and hopping was as smooth as it's ever been. Got in each time with no problems and even my four year old had NO trouble touching Mickey to Mickey and looked forward to the times she got to do it herself. The MDE app worked just fine, though it was a little laggy in the parks but that's to be expected with thousands of guests trying to use it constantly. A few times during our trip we had rides go down during our FP return time and we were offered the option to go to a list of other rides to use our FP or we could wait for the ride to come back up and use it later. Those worked fine as well. Shopping was probably TOO easy with MB lol. Again, never a problem with any purchase. I'm sorry to those who say 'I'm not going back' 'Our family is done with Disney' 'FP+ Blows' but I really dont think its worth cancelling or ruining a trip over. I think these posts are so melodramatic. It changed next to nothing for us, with the exception of making our mornings SO much less stressful. We were able to get up and make it to a park by 10 and still have fastpasses for headliners later that day and great short waits for rides until then.

We loved FP+ and cannot wait to go back next January! The only thing I could say would be I wish you could park hop and use the FP at more than one park per day. Maybe that will come since its still BRANDNEW and they're optimizing its use for EVERYONE.

 

[klitteral2009]

forgot to mention stay dates were 1/27 - 2/3

 

[heathsf]

Thanks for sharing!! Glad you had such a great trip

 

[RubyV]

We had essentially the same experience from 1/31 through 1/4 (checked out 1/5). We changed FP a number of times at it was never a problem.

We rode everything, rode a bunch of things multiple times, and the one time my kid's band glitched when we park hopped,it was taken care of in under a minute.

 

[EmmasGrammy]

Thank you for your positive post. I am happy to hear you had such a wonderful vacation.

I feel everyone is responsible to make their trip go as smoothly or as stressfully as they choose. People do not usually like CHANGE. The best way to deal with it is to go with the flow [and changes] or chose another destination.

Disney has always been a MAGICAL place for our family vacations. We will continue to enjoy the magic and make the very best of our trip in June.

 

[CanadianPaco]

I feel everyone is responsible to make their trip go as smoothly or as stressfully as they choose. People do not usually like CHANGE. The best way to deal with it is to go with the flow [and changes] or chose another destination.

Disney has always been a MAGICAL place for our family vacations. We will continue to enjoy the magic and make the very best of our trip in June.

Well said!! I couldn't agree more!

 

[klitteral2009]

I hope someone who reads it gets their fears calmed. With all the nasty, vile, hate filled threads on here over a change that Disney felt they had to make to possibly even the playing fields or whatever reason, I wanted to make sure there was a glimmer of positivity. I love Disney, and I'd turn around and go right back if my oldest DD wasn't in school! It's a place where my family has a great time and, believe it or not, we're less connected to social media and texts than we are at home! Even though we had our devices in the parks for MDE, I would have had them anyway with all our confirmation numbers kept on them. Now...how many more days till I can go back????

 

[jj1403]

You have settled my fears!! It is very overwhelming with all the negative posts. I mean obviously there are things I'm not "happy" about like, tiering and only 3 passes a day. But I really believe it will help cut down on my running around time. My husband and I are not efficient tourers at all. We run around like chickens with our heads cut off.

This upcoming trip we are going at the end of March and we have never gone in a busy season before. So I feel good knowing that I have my Soarin, Peter Pan, Splash Mountain rides already booked. I know we will be standing in lines but I think that will be avoidable as it is high season for us...

So, long story short, thanks!!

 

[pooch]

had no real issues with FP+ or MBs (except our bands wouldn't open the gate to the resort). Made changes while down there, used the bands for the DDP, no problems.

Just MHO, I would never again use a FP+ for Test Track. Wasted at least 30 minutes waiting for the car design section, a totally unnecessary exercise. From now on, IF I do TT, it will be in the Single rider line (which bypasses the car design) only.

 

[jfelcie]

I am looking forward to it in June. We are seniors who do not do rope drop. Last trip I never got to ride Soarin' because the fastpass- were all out by the time we got there. However, the teen age grand kids are not at all happy. Last trip they rode Toy Story Mania 14 times!!! You just can't please all of the people all of the time.

 

[pmf1234]

Great Post. We just got back and loved the MB no problems at all. Also liked FP+ because it let us ride the main attraction rides at least once. We experienced Disney not just rides. I explained to my oldest that Disney is about the experience not just the rides. If we want to ride big roller coasters and rides we go to Six Flags in STL. My kids who are 8 and 5 their favorite thing at MK was the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. We did that more then just waiting in line to ride the rides. At AK they did the wilderness explorers and loved it. I would check the app and if wait times were slow then we would ride the rides. At Epcot they did Agent P around world showcase and loved that. We FP+ TT twice in a week and that was good. They were a little upset that TSM was so long, but yet did not want to get up for RD to ride it. If you remember to just relax and go with the flow, I think Disney is great. We do not go every year, the last time I went was 11 years ago and this was the first time for the kids. So I can see if you go every year and have done the shows, and seen all the rides then FP+ might not be for you. But we loved it and did everything we wanted to do.

 

[Angel Ariel]

First, I want to say I'm truly happy that you had a great trip and a great experience with the new tech.

I'm sorry to those who say 'I'm not going back' 'Our family is done with Disney' 'FP+ Blows' but I really dont think its worth cancelling or ruining a trip over. I think these posts are so melodramatic. It changed next to nothing for us, with the exception of making our mornings SO much less stressful. We were able to get up and make it to a park by 10 and still have fastpasses for headliners later that day and great short waits for rides until then.

As for this...while everything worked seamlessly for you, that has not been the case for everyone. Many people have reported spending multiple hours at guest relations due to technical glitches, long FP+ lines during slow times (45 mins is crazy for a FP line), and the app not functioning for them in the parks. I don't think those reporting negative experiences are being melodramatic - they're just reporting, as you are, what their experience was and how it affected them.

ETA: I truly do appreciate the positive post... I just don't understand why it's necessary to make negative comments about those who did not have the same experience/feel the same way.

 

[stinkpickle]

NICE! We were there 1/26-2/2 and had a similar experience. The app had a couple problems, and turnstiles didn't read the MB's one morning at HS, but it worked OK, overall. I think the combination of...

1. low crowd period
2. cold, rainy weather
3. EMH's
4. Park hoppers
5. Our low FP+ expectations

...actually helped us have a great time. In fact, it was probably my favorite Disney trip yet.

 

[abner1776]

Yes, we generally found the MB's to be a no issue except for the bartender at the Crab house at DTD who did not fully understand how to ring in a purchase charged on the MB that was not a dining plan.

I on the other hand wanted to do TSM twice so we did RD and saved our FP+ for MK later in the evening. I am still not a fan of FP+ due to the limitations but I am sure Disney will tweak it as they go along just as long as they do not use FP+ as a way of introducing some sort of "pay as you go" premium system.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

We stayed 7 nights at POR in a Riverview room (Magnolia Terrace). We also had park hoppers and the regular DDP.

First of all, overall we LOVED the magic bands. I know everyone has different opinions but I really don't understand all the complaining (true IT glitches notwithstanding). They worked every time for room entry, park entry and dining credit use. The CM's at our meals never had to scan them more than once and never seemed bothered by them. Park entry and hopping was as smooth as it's ever been. Got in each time with no problems and even my four year old had NO trouble touching Mickey to Mickey and looked forward to the times she got to do it herself. The MDE app worked just fine, though it was a little laggy in the parks but that's to be expected with thousands of guests trying to use it constantly. A few times during our trip we had rides go down during our FP return time and we were offered the option to go to a list of other rides to use our FP or we could wait for the ride to come back up and use it later. Those worked fine as well. Shopping was probably TOO easy with MB lol. Again, never a problem with any purchase. I'm sorry to those who say 'I'm not going back' 'Our family is done with Disney' 'FP+ Blows' but I really dont think its worth cancelling or ruining a trip over. I think these posts are so melodramatic. It changed next to nothing for us, with the exception of making our mornings SO much less stressful. We were able to get up and make it to a park by 10 and still have fastpasses for headliners later that day and great short waits for rides until then.

We loved FP+ and cannot wait to go back next January! The only thing I could say would be I wish you could park hop and use the FP at more than one park per day. Maybe that will come since its still BRANDNEW and they're optimizing its use for EVERYONE.

I truly think it depends on how you tour. We prefer a relaxed touring style and have never hit rope drop with the go go go mentality. So, I fully expect that our experience will be like yours. We always stressed about getting FPs for headliners like Soarin' and TSMM and now we have those in the bag weeks in advance. We never got multiple fastpasses on the same day for the same ride.

 

[ajwolfe]

So glad to hear your trip went well!! Plus, it's so super nice to see something positive on these boards for a change!!

 

[klitteral2009]

As for this...while everything worked seamlessly for you, that has not been the case for everyone. Many people have reported spending multiple hours at guest relations due to technical glitches, long FP+ lines during slow times (45 mins is crazy for a FP line), and the app not functioning for them in the parks. I don't think those reporting negative experiences are being melodramatic - they're just reporting, as you are, what their experience was and how it affected them.

ETA: I truly do appreciate the positive post... I just don't understand why it's necessary to make negative comments about those who did not have the same experience/feel the same way.[/QUOTE]


It's not so much I feel negatively towards those who didn't have the same experience or have more complaints or troubles with MB. I understand those things can really be a downer on vacation. What I take a bit of an issue with, is those that post these apocolyptic, my life is over, disney sucks rants because they can no longer get 10 fastpasses for a headliner or those who come off in their postings as whining because Disney didn't ask them personally if they could change something. These are the same people who seem to be advocating cancelling trips and advising others they'll be miserable with the new system. Change is difficult and sometimes unpleasant in the beginning. I was very fortunate for it to work for me and I would venture to say it works for more people than it doesn't. As those on the boards have said before, its more likely you'll come to vent and post negative things than come and relate a great experience. That was one of the reasons I posted this to begin with. Not to 'bash' anyone that didn't have the same trip we did but to let others know that there are good outcomes even if most of what you see on the boards about MB and FP+ is negative.

However, I do hope that they can fix the bugs in their system and more people have great trips like ours. I find myself wondering what would have been said back when they first introduced FP-....I think there would have been the same level of discourse on boards like this about that too. Its new. It's different. Its hard.

 

[klitteral2009]

had no real issues with FP+ or MBs (except our bands wouldn't open the gate to the resort). Made changes while down there, used the bands for the DDP, no problems.

Just MHO, I would never again use a FP+ for Test Track. Wasted at least 30 minutes waiting for the car design section, a totally unnecessary exercise. From now on, IF I do TT, it will be in the Single rider line (which bypasses the car design) only.

I HATED the TT FP line I'm glad you reminded me. It was like "why did I even bother using a Fastpass for this? I could have stood in the standby line and saved it for something else as long as it takes!" I didn't miss designing a car. I liked just getting on the ride. Maybe eventually they'll re-route around it again.

 

[klitteral2009]

Great Post. We just got back and loved the MB no problems at all. Also liked FP+ because it let us ride the main attraction rides at least once. We experienced Disney not just rides. I explained to my oldest that Disney is about the experience not just the rides. If we want to ride big roller coasters and rides we go to Six Flags in STL. My kids who are 8 and 5 their favorite thing at MK was the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. We did that more then just waiting in line to ride the rides. At AK they did the wilderness explorers and loved it. I would check the app and if wait times were slow then we would ride the rides. At Epcot they did Agent P around world showcase and loved that. We FP+ TT twice in a week and that was good. They were a little upset that TSM was so long, but yet did not want to get up for RD to ride it. If you remember to just relax and go with the flow, I think Disney is great. We do not go every year, the last time I went was 11 years ago and this was the first time for the kids. So I can see if you go every year and have done the shows, and seen all the rides then FP+ might not be for you. But we loved it and did everything we wanted to do.

THIS!!!! I understand some people are all about the rides and if it were me, I'd spend my money at Universal if thats what I was looking for. For us, I'm with you, we enjoy the headliners but my kids love all the extras at Epcot and AK. The agent P missions are a blast and my kids love them. As well as doing all the Kidcot stations, discovering really neat stuff in the shops in the pavillions and all the hands on stuff in Future World. I honestly never comprehended people who said they rode headliners five and six times...how is that even possible and why spend so much of your day riding the same ride? Thats just not our personal style. Between snacks, shows, waiting on line for a few things, taking a break with a Dole Whip to people watch in the MK....who has time for rides? LOL. I agree with you, for some frequent visitors, FP+ may be less than ideal but if I were a frequent visitor, I don't think I'd be complaining!

 

[Angel Ariel]

It's not so much I feel negatively towards those who didn't have the same experience or have more complaints or troubles with MB. I understand those things can really be a downer on vacation. What I take a bit of an issue with, is those that post these apocolyptic, my life is over, disney sucks rants because they can no longer get 10 fastpasses for a headliner or those who come off in their postings as whining because Disney didn't ask them personally if they could change something. These are the same people who seem to be advocating cancelling trips and advising others they'll be miserable with the new system.

I understand your frustration with that type of post - what I disagree with, though, is that those posts are so prolific on these boards that they are overtaking it. I've seen one or two threads that have started with the OP saying that..and yes, one of them at least got a lot of traffic, but I'm not seeing 3,4,5+ posts/day that are "apocalyptic, i'm never going to disney again" posts.

Nor do I see many people at all actually telling others to cancel their trips, or telling someone else that they will be miserable (TBH, I haven't seen any personally). I've seen people say that about themselves, but I disagree that the majority of people who dislike FP+ are telling others not to go or that they'll be miserable.

As those on the boards have said before, its more likely you'll come to vent and post negative things than come and relate a great experience. That was one of the reasons I posted this to begin with. Not to 'bash' anyone that didn't have the same trip we did but to let others know that there are good outcomes even if most of what you see on the boards about MB and FP+ is negative.

And I appreciate this sentiment as well. IMO, it would have been more effective as a "postive post" if the negative commentary about others' reactions had been left out. To me, that made the overall feel of the OP less positive. I understand that wasn't the intent, I just wanted to relate how it felt (as someone who does have concerns about the system).

However, I do hope that they can fix the bugs in their system and more people have great trips like ours.

I think we can all agree on that