The only way I can possibly see FPplus helping us is for our evening parks.
PF+ is probably most useful to people who go to a recommended (less crowded) park early, hit the major attractions early before the line builds, then has FP+ ready for the evening - either for that same park or for another. Great for people like me who tend to go during the slower seasons, but...
Christmas time, I can't imagine it. Obviously there's some amount of things you can get done at rope drop, then use FP+ in the evening for that same park or another. But with the crowd levels, I don't even want to think about it.
I know you said you were able to get 5 FP, which is pretty good, but also consider that with FP+, 3 is not that far off. The fact is that you'll still get to ride the big attractions in the morning, and then you'll still have 3 more biggies in the afternoon/evening if you schedule a FP+. (Keep in mind that many people have been getting 4 FP+ if they schedule a parade or fireworks at the MK, and that it's also been rumored that the MK, with its large attraction count, will eventually allow 4 FP+ selections right off the bat).
I'm sure for some this in going to mean a decrease in the amount of E-tickets they'll be able to ride (or at least a decrease in the number of times they'll ride them).
I don't mean to tell anyone how they should tour the parks and/or what rides they should go on or how often. However, let me say that for me, I started to realize I wasn't having fun trying to cram in as many e-tickets as I could, playing the FP-maximization game by running back and forth between FP distribution machines every time our window opened up to obtain a new one. It turned out to be the worst thing I was doing at Disney parks. I began to understand that there was a lot more that I was missing, rushing past without realizing the little little things that went overlooked as I sped to another FP machine or to another FP return time. I think I had one of my favorite days at the MK on my last visit when I went in the early evening, by myself (my family stayed at the resort), and just took pictures in the evening and night. I didn't ride a single attraction. I got into the little nooks, I people-watched, I looked at the children as they watched SpectroMagic (a little girl, still too young to talk, was half watching the parade and half flirting with me the whole time and it was hilarious and adorable, and 5 years later, that night taking pictures is one of the most memorable parts of my trip).
Now again, I'm not trying to tell you how to attend the parks. I used to be someone who desperately focused on the E-tickets like Splash, BTMRR, Space Mt... And I loved riding them. In the end, though, I found that even if I only got to ride those big ones once or twice each per day, I was okay. I actually discovered that I did
more when I didn't have to constantly go back to the FP machines. I found time to do other hidden gems, spend more time exploring places like the Seas, riding the TTA, and looking at the details.
I understand the love for the big headliner attractions - and I, too, love riding Splash Mountain as much as I can. I don't know how the full implementation of FP+ will finally go, or if they'll make adjustments to the way you can ride the e-tickets by adding on some limited "original FP" style system using your Magicband/card, to allow an extra ride or two. But ultimately you have to adapt to whatever changes come.
I remember my first and only trip to WDW before FP - I was 15 - I rode Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, and Space Mountain once each on the only day I went to the MK. I waited 2.5 hours for Splash. The lines were bad (it was a crowded time of year). Somehow, at the end of the day, I was still completely satisfied that I had a great, full day. It all depends on how you look at the parks. If they are just 4 or 5 e-tickets and a bunch of other stuff, it's harder to maximize that under FP+. If, however, you sacrifice a bit of the focus on the e-tickets, FP+ affords you a lot more time by you not having to walk around to obtain the FP in the morning, and not be concerned what the return time might be when you get to the distribution area.
But to answer your fears, yes, I do think you're going to end up with a decreased total number of rides on the etickets, especially during Christmas week. It's just so crowded that it's hard to maximize your morning activities before the lines get long. This is an admitted downside to FP+ for those who toured the parks with original FP and want to maximize e-tickets. The silver lining is you might actually find that there's more time for you discover things you might not have, knowing that there's no FP machines to tend to.
But I can honestly say that for myself, it's going to open things up the way I've realized I want them to open up - with the e-ticket standby lines short in the morning, I can hit all of them at any park, sometimes 2-3 times each depending on the park, before the lines become long. Then the rest of the day is the less-crowded attractions and my FP+ selections. I'll readily do almost everything I used to with FP, but I will now have the luxury of not needing the extra step of going to FP machines. I recall more than one trip all the way across a park
just to get a FP for hours later, then have to trudge all the way back to redeem it. It was so laborious, and I think I'm going to feel better knowing that I won't have the
option to do that any more, because it was too tempting to resist. My legs and my mind will appreciate not having to play those FP scavenger hunts.
I would like a full review when this thing is bogged down with more than 3,000 people using it during a test.
