Non disney hotels getting FP+

[rteetz]

This month Disney is starting testing at the Swan and Dolphin hotels the first hotels not owned by Disney to get FP+. Guests staying at the hotels will not be able to get magic bands and will not be able to make fast pass selections ahead of time only in the park at a kiosk. Tests will start in November and run through January.
http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/mymag...-world-swan-and-dolphin-hotels-this-month.htm

What does this mean for off property guests? Will they ever get magic bands? When will Disney roll out the full system?

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Literally, nobody knows the answer to this.

 

[Reddog1134]

Literally, nobody knows the answer to this.

Well, somebody does. Just nobody here.

 

[rteetz]

Literally, nobody knows the answer to this.

I just find it interesting how they don't get magic bands and they have to book FP+ in the parks they can't use the app.

 

[Narnian_Princess]

It would be nice if they extended it to Shades of Green, too. Might make DH consider going back sooner (he knew nothing of MBs or FP+ when we went and was jealous when he saw people with them and asked me what they were). Just not until this latest fiasco (and the next, and the next) sorts itself out!

 

[lugnut33]

That sucks for them. Instead of heading to attractions first thing they have to do is find the kiosk to make ride reservations.

 

[Planogirl]

I'm wondering if all offsite guests won't have some type of access like this. If they do I hope that they have a lot of stations or I could see long lines to do this.

 

[doconeill]

This month Disney is starting testing at the Swan and Dolphin hotels the first hotels not owned by Disney to get FP+. Guests staying at the hotels will not be able to get magic bands and will not be able to make fast pass selections ahead of time only in the park at a kiosk. Tests will start in November and run through January.
http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/mymag...-world-swan-and-dolphin-hotels-this-month.htm

What does this mean for off property guests? Will they ever get magic bands? When will Disney roll out the full system?

I believe the plan is still that everyone will get Fastpass+. But I think they are going to the Swan/Dolphin first, as they can still control it a bit - but use them for testing the ability of the kiosks to handle the crowd.

Interesting that they won't get to do it in advance though, at least not yet.

I don't believe Swan/Dolphin guests will get MagicBands...those will be strictly for Disney resort guests.

 

[ckb_nc]

a great deal of the value of FP+ is the MDE process (able to make FP+ around say a reservation at a Chef Mickeys) - I would say this day off only is interesting but the value is much, much lower

 

[JMW123]

If Disney was smart and wanted to make money, which they are, then they would go to the hotel chains surrounding WDW and sell them the opportunity to be part of MB and FP+. I imagine that down the line, The top tier in park resort guests will get the most FP's and the least restrictions, with less FP's and more restrictions for each tier of on property hotel class on a descending scale. Then maybe similar to the lower tiers, Disney will let outside hotel chains buy into the program with a fee structure based on the perks extended to the off site hotel. That way, Disney creates a reason to spend more on on-property hotel rooms, but is still able to get off site guests in to the park and collect revenue for the perks extended to them. A hotel like the Ritz may be able to buy into a mid tier MB FP+ level by shelling out a lot of money, while the lesser offsite hotels by into a lowest tier part of the program with say 1 FP+ per day.

Here is my final prediction, at some point you will be able to buy extra FP+s regardless of where you stay.

 

[rteetz]

If Disney was smart and wanted to make money, which they are, then they would go to the hotel chains surrounding WDW and sell them the opportunity to be part of MB and FP+. I imagine that down the line, The top tier in park resort guests will get the most FP's and the least restrictions, with less FP's and more restrictions for each tier of on property hotel class on a descending scale. Then maybe similar to the lower tiers, Disney will let outside hotel chains buy into the program with a fee structure based on the perks extended to the off site hotel. That way, Disney creates a reason to spend more on on-property hotel rooms, but is still able to get off site guests in to the park and collect revenue for the perks extended to them. A hotel like the Ritz may be able to buy into a mid tier MB FP+ level by shelling out a lot of money, while the lesser offsite hotels by into a lowest tier part of the program with say 1 FP+ per day. Here is my final prediction, at some point you will be able to buy extra FP+s regardless of where you stay.

Disney is smart the perk of staying at a resort would be getting a MB free with they stay and the ability to book advanced FP that is your Disney resort perk. They are going to try and draw out of those other hotels not let them be part of it.

 

[doconeill]

Disney is smart the perk of staying at a resort would be getting a MB free with they stay and the ability to book advanced FP that is your Disney resort perk. They are going to try and draw out of those other hotels not let them be part of it.

Not to mention that they'd have to somehow integrate with other resorts' reservation systems...and they've proved they can't even do that with their own...

 

[got2lovedisney]

FYI We stayed onsite in October, got our Magic Bands and upgraded our 3 day ticket to Florida Resident Seasonal Passes. We are staying offsite in December and are able to make FastPass+ selections. We are staying at an official Downtown Disney resort but I booked thru Expedia so thinking maybe it's because of the Seasonal pass? Or just a carry over from our October trip?

 

[ArwenMarie]

My prediction...people with tickets staying offsite will be able to get access to FP+. But this is what it is going to look like.

 

[mom2rtk]

I wonder if there's some functional issue as to why they cannot book on the MDE app. Making them line up for a kiosk in the park would be a dealbreaker for me. That has the potential to eat up a lot of rope drop time.

 

[doconeill]

I wonder if there's some functional issue as to why they cannot book on the MDE app. Making them line up for a kiosk in the park would be a dealbreaker for me. That has the potential to eat up a lot of rope drop time.

If they have MYW or AP, they are supposed to be able to...but I wonder if they are just trying to test the kiosks with a larger group before they unleash it on the public. I'm betting that the Swan/Dolphin reservations system can't be integrated, so they'd be unable to distinguish between S/D guests and anyone else.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I wonder if there's some functional issue as to why they cannot book on the MDE app. Making them line up for a kiosk in the park would be a dealbreaker for me. That has the potential to eat up a lot of rope drop time.

Maybe they haven't programmed in how to distinguish between same-day booking capability and prebooking capability for any ticket. As of now, it's really all based on resort stay. Even APs who seem to only get prebooking ability once they have a resort stay.

 

[WildGinger]

My prediction...people with tickets staying offsite will be able to get access to FP+. But this is what it is going to look like.

Agreed....

 

[rteetz]

FYI We stayed onsite in October, got our Magic Bands and upgraded our 3 day ticket to Florida Resident Seasonal Passes. We are staying offsite in December and are able to make FastPass+ selections. We are staying at an official Downtown Disney resort but I booked thru Expedia so thinking maybe it's because of the Seasonal pass? Or just a carry over from our October trip?

It's a carry over once you have that one Disney resort booked you can use the magic bands for the rest of your life

 

[goofy4tink]

I'm heading to WDW on Dec 3, staying at SSR. I have an AP. I was able to make FP+ choices last week, and select my MB. Today I got the official invite in the mail.
Soooo, I head to WDW next week, staying at the Dolphin. So far, nothing about being able to use FP+ while there. We'll see what happens when I get there next week, as far as FP+ kiosks go.