***MyMagic+ & FastPass+ Official Information & FAQ Thread***

[bcrook]

I would really like a FastPass for my resort bus at the end of the night (that's so totally OT), but I was just thinking...hmm.. what if?

See, now that is innovative! Yes!!!

 

[d1gitman]

I would really like a FastPass for my resort bus at the end of the night (that's so totally OT), but I was just thinking...hmm.. what if?

they do...they are called taxi's seriously, that would definitely be a good idea...does anyone know exactly what the new busloop is designated for?

 

[d1gitman]

This is beautiful rhetoric why thank you, i'll take that as a compliment but not all that practical. People are spending thousands of dollars on upcoming trips and Disney could change the rules on people while not providing very good information. who says there isn't good info...has anyone had FP+ sprung on them to their complete and utter surprise? it seems to me they are systematically putting out info as they see fit. the info and testing may not be to our liking but we don't know the whole plan. if they do flip the switch and go live without further info and clarification, then I would say there is definitely poor communication. but until that time, I haven't heard of anyone having their trip ruined because they were forced into FP+
People who are chosen for the upcoming test have to choose blindly whether to give up regular FP and the familiar for something untested and more restrictive. It may be better, it may be terrible. It is a big risk. This could be the first test group that has to live with 3FP per day.

Other people are trying to decide if they should invest in a big trip sometime in the next year, and yet Disney won't answer basic questions. We are forced to patch together information and make decisions. true, but does anyone really expect a major corporation that is working on a new product to spill the beans a year or more in advance of roll out?
It is unfair to tell people to just trust Disney and be patient.

At the risk of sounding like my parents "life isn't always fair"

 

[doconeill]

they do...they are called taxi's seriously, that would definitely be a good idea...does anyone know exactly what the new busloop is designated for?

Actually, it's already spoken for, to handle the articulated buses that will service POP and AoA, which need longer berths.

 

[Shaden]

I agree 100%. in fact, the beauty of FP+ is that all the debate won't matter. no matter how much some of us are believers in what we think it to be or how bitter others are that their part of the Disney park universe is possibly being turned upside down, no one will really know until it is fully rolled out and there has been sufficient usage for Disney to tweak it, if they even feel the need to tweak it.

What I love is regardless of what viewpoint any of us have now, we are all gonna be in the same boat. Whether its koolaid drinking, baiting, attacks or pure negativity towards Disney, it just does'nt matter. Whether or not an attraction get's considered to be an e ticket level attraction won't matter cause in the end it's different strokes for different folks. No one needs to defend their love of e tickets or the supposed lesser attractions. All that matters to me is that my family and myself have a wonderful time at Disney every time we go. The value in the 'big bucks' that we spend is in our enjoyment, regardless of what others like or dislike or think we should experience. I have a friend who we have done three trips to Disney with and we find that we both get high levels of enjoyment for entirely different reasons and experiences. Thank goodness Disney makes all level and styles of attractions to cater to the likes of nearly all who visit the parks. Personally i'd be bored with all 4d attractions like another certain park or only having adrenaline pumping rides like many amusement parks have all across the country. In the end, the smile on my family's face and excitement in their voices is worth every penny we spend at WDW.

Except, the creation of Fast Pass Plus, and the entire system which surrounds it, threatens to jeopardize the very thing that WE enjoy about Disney. And we aren't even being told WHAT the system is going to be, just, hey smack down your thousands of dollars and um, HOPE we don't mess up your vacation plans.

I don't see how you can say "we will all be in the same boat" and the same time say "different strokes for different folks".

I CAN see how this system MAY work for some people, although that is still contingent on them being able to get the FPs they want later in the evening, or afternoon, and not having them all booked before you get a chance, but hey, good for them.

But as people have repeatedly pointed out, that "all working out" part, is dubious at best, since the afternoon evening is going to be the most in demand.

And of course, there day to day factors: weather, kids, sickness, "moods" etc, that I still haven't seen anyone in the "pro-FP+" camp address. But again, its cool to be optimistic, good for you. I try to see the good potential in this system too, but on balance, it really seems like a worse system then the one in place atm.

 

[rastuso]

At the risk of sounding like my parents "life isn't always fair"

And we should still mindlessly spend all our money at Disney regardless, because they will do the best for us, right?

It's abundantly clear you aren't even close to the normal Disney visitor. You travel there almost every month, right? Yeah, getting lots of rides isn't on your radar. You are an outlier.

The facts are, Disney is at least planning to come down hard on ride limits. They are taking a second look because of the outrage on here and other places. They will still roll out the disaster that is FP+, but I do think they changed things a bit, which is good. Although I think it will be too little for many people.

Jason

 

[bcrook]

At the risk of sounding like my parents "life isn't always fair"

I didn't have anything sarcastic in my post, it was a compliment about your post.

I was referring to people who are asked to participate in the upcoming test. Those testers are being given very few answers to their questions. They are taking a big risk right now deciding last minute for something that starts next week.

Asking someone to invest thousands of dollars in a vacation and ask them to try something new, without answering questions leaves room for anxiety.

 

[vatmark]

Now you're just being sarcastic and condescending to those who think they'll get more out of FP+ than they did out of FP. There's no need for that.



Sounds like you're expecting more - or more accurately, you're expecting them to do only what will benefit you. And that's fine. But don't imply that everyone thinks like you do, and don't imply that FP+ is only for people who want to throw their money away. Again, it's condescending, rude, and really adds nothing to a healthy debate about what FP+ is and what it will do.

If FP+ works like it seems it will, for me personally, it will actually be better. And I'm a person who loves taking advantage of FP as much as I can. However, when I go to the MK (for example), I rarely end up obtaining more than 3 or 4 FP. The kind of "commando" style FP obtaining needed to get 4-5+ FP in one day isn't fun. Between running to the FP machines to get my FP, then going to other attractions, then coming back to use the FP, then running to another machine to see if there are still FP left for the next thing I want to do, then running around doing other things, then coming back to use the FP 5 hours later... You see the pattern here. In order to get more than 3-4 FP, it takes a lot of motoring around the park. It's an exhausting affair.

I'd honestly rather plan in advance for 3 FP+ rides (Splash, Space, BTMRR for example), and know that I don't have to scurry around checking return time windows, waiting for my next FP time to expire so I can obtain a new FP, then go do stuff (away from that attraction) for a while, then have to trek back to use the FP hours later.

With FP+, I actually know - Splash at 5pm, Space at 7, etc. This frees up virtually the whole rest of the day to do things at a calmer pace, in a more organized way, without running around like a chicken sans-head doing the obtain-wait-use cycle 4-5 times just to feel like I'm fully taking advantage of FP.

And here's the other thing - FP users who want to get 5-6 or more FP in a day are the ones that are overburdening the system. It was never intended to be used like that. It was simply an exploit that Disney allowed because there weren't that many people doing that. The more FP has become common knowledge, the more the system is allowing people to exploit certain attractions and get multi-rides. Yes, that's great - riding splash 5 times in one day is fun. Before FP, I remember waiting in line 3 hours for Splash because I had no choice. I rode it once and was happy, despite losing THREE hours of my day waiting for it. How should I now be able to ride it 4-5 times in a day and have that NOT affect the rest of the crowd levels? Can you ride Harry Potter FJ 4-5 times in a day without waiting in line, using FREE passes obtained outside the attraction?

In that regard, FP was always a ridiculously awesome bonus. The fact that it was included for no upcharge is crazy. No other parks in the country do that besides Disney. And that was the problem. The system was never designed to be a way to let you ride splash 4 times, BTMRR 2 times, Space 3 times, etc. The system needed a change. There were too many FP exploiters going commando on the system in order to ride splash 5 times. Ironically enough, FP+ is going to be more conducive to an organic experience of MK, eliminating the need to scurry around the parks obtaining FP. I hate that scurrying aspect of FP, but I always do it because there was no alternative if you actually wanted to skip a line. FP+ eliminates all that scurrying and desperate careening across the park to get/use FP.

I'm not concerned that I'll miss my favorites. In fact, maybe knowing my FP+ in advance will help me stop and smell the roses a little more, especially at MK, knowing that there's no fastpass machine to scurry to and check the return time to see if I want to grab another that I end up missing or not using anyway because I'm tired or hungry.

It's a trade off. FP+ is not "win-win". Nothing is; fastpass wasn't. FP required a lot of diligence and a whole boatload of walking all over the park to take serious advantage of it. You can't expect to never wait in a line for any attraction ever. The math doesn't work out. There are thousands of people in this park that want to ride everything as much as you do. FP was an unbalanced system, favoring commando park-goers and pretty much killing people with families who want to get as much in as possible, because a family of 4-5 can't scurry around nailing the FP machines on opposite sides of the park like that.

Oh, and as for the off-topic discussion of Seven Dwarfs mine train: it was never supposed to be an "e-ticket" (if we're obsessed with labeling rides as "tickets"). In fact, it wasn't even going to exist - it was a last-minute decision to replace what was going to be basically a spinner ride. Yeah, it's a glorified dark ride, but it should be one of the best glorified dark rides in the entire MK. Not every ride needs to be an e-ticket. The bottom line is that the Fantasyland expansion eliminated a cute but unremarkable dark ride, in favor of a unique restaurant, the Little Mermaid ride, the mine train coaster, and some other family friendly experiences. It's an upgrade. No, they're not blowing you out of the water with a mega-E-ticket. I wish they would, too. But let's not act like the mine train coaster is a flop and pointless and they shouldn't have bothered. It's bringing some mild-thrill value to a land that had none, while still being a ride that virtually the whole family can enjoy. I can appreciate that, and I don't even have kids.

You are assuming that you will get to choose 3 headliners for your 3 picks. Do we know yet if they are going to allow people to use all 3 picks for headliners?

Ann

 

[delmar411]

Your assuming that you will get to choose 3 headliners for your 3 picks. Do we know yet if they are going to allow people to use all 3 picks for headliners?

Ann

In the testing you can use all picks for headliners. We have picked TSM, TOT and RNRC for our test run. I was able to pick all 3 mountains in the MK.

I will say beware of the fast picks selection. It gives junk picks IMO and seems to be geared towards someone who doesn't know better..

 

[bcrook]

In the testing you can use all picks for headliners. We have picked TSM, TOT and RNRC for our test run. I was able to pick all 3 mountains in the MK.

I will say beware of the fast picks selection. It gives junk picks IMO and seems to be geared towards someone who doesn't know better..

Was this the last test or the BLT TEST?

Not a surprise on the fast picks.

 

[jennyraye]

So i opened MDE today to find the Magic Bands and Fast Pass+ available on my account...but only for the last day of our stay, which we will be spending at Universal. What is up with that?

Was excited only because we arrive late morning our 1st day and was hoping to get fast passes for TSM. Oh well, hoping for some honeymoon pixie dust so fiance can ride it for the first time.

 

[Shaden]

You are assuming that you will get to choose 3 headliners for your 3 picks. Do we know yet if they are going to allow people to use all 3 picks for headliners?

Ann

INDEED,

That would be like looking at the current system and saying, "Hey, I can go into MK at 2pm and grab a FP for Space for an hour later, head over to Splash and wait and ride, grab a FP for Big Thunder Mountain, go ride Space Mountain on our FP, Maybe to Buzz Lightyear, grab a FP 7DMT, Go ride Big Thunder, head back and rid 7DMT.

Because thats POSSIBLE with the current system, at 2pm, or 4pm etc. So long as there are FPs available. I mean, we have done stuff similar to that, albeit on slow days ...

 

[vatmark]

In the testing you can use all picks for headliners. We have picked TSM, TOT and RNRC for our test run. I was able to pick all 3 mountains in the MK.

I will say beware of the fast picks selection. It gives junk picks IMO and seems to be geared towards someone who doesn't know better..

Thanks! I hope it remains this way with the final roll out.

Ann

 

[WillAustin]

You are assuming that you will get to choose 3 headliners for your 3 picks. Do we know yet if they are going to allow people to use all 3 picks for headliners?

If they do allow 3 or 4 headliner picks, then the headliners are even more likely to run out farther in advance.

 

[delmar411]

Was this the last test or the BLT TEST?

Not a surprise on the fast picks.

Current CM testing not the BLT testing.

 

[doggydoc]

At the risk of sounding like my parents "life isn't always fair"

Hmmm. Interesting that this very same statement has been repeatedly dismissed when used to answer the assertion that those that take the time to educate themselves and utilize regular FP to it's fullest potential wasn't fair to the "average" guest. It seems you are saying it is acceptable to favor one group over another, but only if it supports your argument.

 

[bcrook]

Current CM testing not the BLT testing.

. Thank you.

 

[mom2rtk]

Hmmm. Interesting that this very same statement has been repeatedly dismissed when used to answer the assertion that those that take the time to educate themselves and utilize regular FP to it's fullest potential wasn't fair to the "average" guest. It seems you are saying it is acceptable to favor one group over another, but only if it supports your argument.

I had the same thought when I read that statement.

 

[DreamSweetsLove]

I don't know, I started off with an optimistic outlook but more and more I'm becoming less excited about our trip in Jan. It's just so much trouble for very little benefit. I wonder if they are thinking of the psychological aspect of this. We started off really excited actually, the magic bands sounded interesting and fun. But every step there are problems and restrictions. I'm not sure what target group they are aiming at. Not super planners, look at the reaction on these boards. Not international guests, the app isn't even available to us. Not average guests, they will get the short end of the stick and an ugly grey magic band to add insult to injury if they don't choose the color option. Families meeting at the parks for a reunion? You better be staying at the same location and buy your tickets at the same time! Sorry to be so negative but I guess the feeling I've been getting is that of a group/customer that just isn't wanted at WDW. Still looking forward to staying at AKL and excited to see my family and we will have fun at the parks but it's just not so exciting anymore.

 

[vacationer1954]

I don't know, I started off with an optimistic outlook but more and more I'm becoming less excited about our trip in Jan.

How much of that is the result of reading terrible speculation about how FP+ will actually work out?