not a fan of fast pass plus

[ryanpells]

So far we have been to Epcot and HS, and we all agree this might be our last trip to Disney (this is #5 for my 7 year old, been going since he was 3).

With the old system we could ride the things we really wanted to and had flexibility. With the new FP+ we ride less and don't get what we want. We arrived at Epcot late on Sat and had to pick between Test Track and Sorin. We only used 1 FP+ each because the other rides we FP+ we could walk onto.

Yesterday we did not get to do rockin roller coaster 70+ wait all day. The lines seemed so much longer than normal.

The other huge issues, we changed our plans a little yesterday and were stuck because we had already setup our times and some could not be moved. With the old system you would FP we could change on the fly a little.

My biggest issue. In the past we have been with people that do not or cannot ride many of the rides (my wife goes on maybe 5 rides max the entire week trip). So she would pull a FP and friends would. We would end up with extras for a ride or two and different people could use them. Now most of her FP+ go unused. Maybe when my son is old enough to ride them by himself it would be okay, but we will probably be at universal when he gets that old.

In general not a fan at all, and if the rest of the week continues like this, it will be our last Disney trip. There are just not enough rides, and I am not a fan of spending the entire day in standby lines for 20 minutes of ride time.

 

[nugov2]

Agreed. It's not that it sucks for offsite guests, it just sucks MORE for them. I'm staying onsite in June, and that FP return for BTMRR was not making me happy at all. This makes me wonder if tiering is going to find its way to MK as well. If so, I am going to throw a shoe at someone. MK with 3 FPs is bad enough. MK with 1 headliner is intolerable. My only hope with the tiering was that the elimination of the paper FPs and the double-dipping might free up capacity to allow them to get rid of tiers. I am not seeing that happening at all. Reading this thread and the other MK thread has really not done wonders for my mood.

C'mon Disney. Get your stuff together. You can do better. I know you can. Let's just go back to March 2012. The golden days of FP. It was a simpler, happier time.

If the off site guest books one night cheap for access, I actually think it sucks worse for on site. They are paying those crazy prices for less while off site is getting deluxe accommodations for less money and now off site can pretty much get all of the perks that on site, but emh by just spending the extra $100 for the 1 or 2 week vacation. I don' think free parking(b/c is is really free when you are paying that much for a motel or one of the deluxe hotels?) or transportation(everyone can use it and many don't want to) is a perk. I'll say pools are a perk if you are staying at deluxe, but otherwise off site wins out there too b/c the pools are just as nice and you get your own private pool if you stay house/townhouse. I know some will still say the bubble, but if you pick the right off site home you are immersed in WDW theming. I think Disney has crapped the bed on this one.

 

[magicbob]

So far we have been to Epcot and HS, and we all agree this might be our last trip to Disney (this is #5 for my 7 year old, been going since he was 3).

With the old system we could ride the things we really wanted to and had flexibility. With the new FP+ we ride less and don't get what we want.

I know I may sound like a stuck record to some, but this is where I think Disney has made a major miscalculation. They are counting on people to ride less. What we are seeing is that people who go to WDW actually expect to ride the rides. Shocking I know!

I still hold the somewhat conspiratorial belief that "wait less in lines" doesn't mean what we think it does. It's code for "go on less rides" as opposed to "ride more rides with shorter waits."

For those determined to ride the rides, this is actually resulting in MORE time spent in line (I have informed you thusly). Disney was counting on people to see long lines and pass on the rides. They assumed this would translate into time spending money in gift shops, restaurants, etc. What they didn't count on was the perseverance of guests to go ahead and wait in the lines for the rides and then those people turning into dissatisfied guests deciding WDW isn't worth the cost if you can't go on as many rides.

And before someone chimes in with "you can still ride standby," I am talking about both FP and standby lines. You won't be able to ride as many rides if you have to wait longer in standby for each one. So we have people going home frustrated and unhappy because they only had time to ride a handful of rides. There have always been some people who experienced this. At the risk of sounding callous, those people were almost always to blame for their own misery because they didn't do a lick of research (I'm not talking about uber-planning... merely knowing that Harry Potter is not at WDW, etc.).

Now the playing field has been leveled. Even those "in the know" are experiencing the misery equally.

FP+ feels like an ultimatum... lower your expectations and ride less or don't go. I think they're too over-confident that their "base" will take whatever they dish out and say "thank you, may I have another."

 

[mom2rtk]

I was going to alert you to this thread but then I thought your motherly instincts would kick in. I blame Peyton Manning.

Yep. You had to know our household was a bit distracted yesterday by the Peyton Manning fan who lives here. Since he heads back to school today, I'm glad he at least is going with a big smile on his face.

Excellent, that way, if someone makes another "list" ... as it turns out it might have to be a list of people who were "absolutely correct" .... you will be sure to be on it ...

You don't want to get left off the "list" after all.

Yep. I seem to have been on a few "lists" lately. But I'm still waiting for my invitation to the "FP abusers" meeting. I'm sure it was just an oversight though.

I just sent a rant-y e-mail to a co-worker, so I feel like I should post this while I'm on a roll.

To understand what Disney is offering with FP+, onsite guests now get the following:

1) 1 useful FP at EP and HS (which, of course, cannot be used on the same day)
2) 3 FPs at MK, but with longer return lines, so not as useful as they used to be in FP- days. (Also, FP- is a misnomer. There was nothing minus about it. As such, I will now be referring to FP- as FP*Awesome. FP"+" will now be called FP*Mostly Worthless. Or I will continue to put the + in quotes to show I am using the + ironically)
3) An increased need to be at parks at RD, even though FP Mostly Worthless was designed so that you can "sleep in and enjoy your favorite ride with little or no wait." I will now modify that to say you can't sleep in. You can enjoy your favorite ride (singular) with a slightly shorter wait than the standby line.

In addition to the fun above, offsite guest may also enjoy the opportunity to:

1) Stand in line for 45 minutes to book the chance to stand in line for somewhat less time than the standby line for three rides.
2) Find out that the only rides you wanted have already been scooped up by onsiters, so you can ride whatever is left over.
3) When you complain about your negative experience, you might get a paper FP that you can use "anywhere," except at the actual attraction you selected, thus causing your toddler to cry. And me to become very, very angry at Disney for this whole giant mess.


I know that FP Mostly Worthless detractors have been criticized in the past for wanting FP Mostly Worthless to fail. That is not the case for me at all. I was so happy and relieved when the doom and gloom I predicted at AK didn't materialize. I was watching the MK push hoping for the best. I never wanted this to fail spectacularly and to ruin people's vacations. I just saw that for me, and for many others, there are many issues with the new system that make it much less workable. My only hope now is the Disney will start righting some of these wrongs. I don't think they'll bring back FP Awesome, but they need to make some significant changes to make sure what's been happening the past few days is only a temporary condition.

Rant over.

You know..... someone could have just sent me this post and I could have completely skipped reading the rest of this thread.

Well put. An awesome rant indeed.

When I was in school, if my "testing" went like this, I was in big trouble.

I always love when the morning crew shows up.

I still hold the somewhat conspiratorial belief that "wait less in lines" doesn't mean what we think it does. It's code for "go on less rides" as opposed to "ride more rides with shorter waits."

Eeeeee GADS! Why did that never occur to me?

FP+ feels like an ultimatum... lower your expectations and ride less or don't go. I think they're too over-confident that their "base" will take whatever they dish out and say "thank you, may I have another."

Wow. It makes me sad, but that might indeed just be the case.

 

[magicbob]

I always love when the morning crew shows up.

Well, I'm halfway around the world these days, so don't go by the timestamp on any of my posts. In fact, I had too much caffeine last night and my last post before I went to bed was at 3am local time!

Eeeeee GADS! Why did that never occur to me?

You got credit for the last profound epiphany. It's only "fair" that I get a turn.

 

[Portugal1000]

We are going for 25 nights from 6th August this year. will be our 11th trip and the first time we wont be going to Disney. I just cant face paying a £1000 for tickets and get less than I did last year. We absolutely love Disney but we go at a busy time so the FP is an important part for us. I refuse to stay on site anymore when you can stay at Bonnet Creek in a 2 bedroom for $140 a night and have 5 pools, 2 lazy rivers and lots of entertainment for the kids thrown in. Just a no brainer compared to a tiny room at Disney or a very expensive DVC room. (Although I do just love SSR, its 4 times more expensive than Bonnet Creek). So we are going to spend a week at St Petes Beach and then have 2 and a bit weeks in Orlando actually taking things alot slower than usual. Will go to DC, SW and AQ. Will spend 1 night at a Universal hotel to get front of line access. The big difference at Universal is that even in the summer you can get everything done in 2 days riding all the rides multiple times. It will cost us £160 for 3 of us to have 2 days of front of line which I think is a bargain when you think how much it would cost to buy the express pass. You cant compare this to staying onsite at Disney to get FP+ as it really isn't comparing like with like. My husband doesn't even stay in the Universal room and goes back to Bonnet Creek and meets my son and I again the next day.
So I will be sad not to visit Disney but really hope they sort this out. Even if off site get the ability to pre book, all the spontaneity will have gone. I plan everything but even I dont want to have to decide what ride I ride at what time in 2 months time and I dont want to be stuck to my mobile phone on holiday. Bad enough having to tell my son to "put down the electrical device"! I will be sad that we wont be riding Seven Dwarfs but cant justify £1000 for that. We have so many great memories of Disney and we are so lucky to have been so many times on long visits. I really would just love to sit down and chat to all the people responsible just to see what they were thinking.

 

[ArwenMarie]

If the off site guest books one night cheap for access, I actually think it sucks worse for on site. They are paying those crazy prices for less while off site is getting deluxe accommodations for less money and now off site can pretty much get all of the perks that on site, but emh by just spending the extra $100 for the 1 or 2 week vacation. I don' think free parking(b/c is is really free when you are paying that much for a motel or one of the deluxe hotels?) or transportation(everyone can use it and many don't want to) is a perk. I'll say pools are a perk if you are staying at deluxe, but otherwise off site wins out there too b/c the pools are just as nice and you get your own private pool if you stay house/townhouse. I know some will still say the bubble, but if you pick the right off site home you are immersed in WDW theming. I think Disney has crapped the bed on this one.

Good point. I think they are going to close that loophole where you can book for just one night and get FP+ prebooking for your whole week or whatever.

 

[Robo]

Good point. I think they are going to close that loophole where you can book for just one night and get FP+ prebooking for your whole week or whatever.

Maybe.

But, it is also likely that they will open ADVANCE FP+
to off-site guests, and render this technique unneccessary.
Time will tell.

 

[mom2rtk]

Well, I'm halfway around the world these days, so don't go by the timestamp on any of my posts. In fact, I had too much caffeine last night and my last post before I went to bed was at 3am local time!

I was actually talking about Robo. But I almost posted that it looked like you were becoming the morning crew, night crew, afternoon crew and evening crew all rolled into one!

You got credit for the last profound epiphany. It's only "fair" that I get a turn.

I'm really just waiting for someone at Disney to have a profound epiphany.

 

[Tuffcookie]

Maybe.

But, it is also likely that they will open ADVANCE FP+
to off-site guests, and render this technique unneccessary.
Time will tell.

That is what I am hoping for for my April trip.

TC

 

[magicbob]

I was actually talking about Robo. But I almost posted that it looked like you were becoming the morning crew, night crew, afternoon crew and evening crew all rolled into one!

We're not doing any travelling for the long holiday weekend (saving up for spring break trip to Scotland) so I've been at the computer even more than usual.

We did drive up to Cologne on Thursday night, though, to see the Vienna Philharmonic perform. Breathtaking!

 

[nugov2]

Maybe.

But, it is also likely that they will open ADVANCE FP+
to off-site guests, and render this technique unneccessary.
Time will tell.

I think so too. I can't imagine them having the chaos of the FP+ kiosks for summer. It will only be a matter of time before a guest claws the eyes out of some poor CM with waiting in that line to get up there and have scraps to choose from in 105 degree heat.

 

[bcrook]

With everyone abandoning Disney World to go to Universal, I wonder how long it will be until we see threads complaining about how crowded Universal is and how long the wait times and lines are..Lol.

Do they even have a fast pass system, or is it just standby with the exception of the people who stay onsite at the deluxe hotels or buy the "Unlimited Express" passes? I've never been there, but it seems the problem may just shift from Disney to Universal before long.

I would imagine that Universal has a handful of "must do" attractions, but when everyone who has "front of the line/unlimited express passes" shows up at the same times for the handful of must do's, then you'll end up with long "front of the line" lines...Lol. And if Universal gets that crowded and a large majority of guests purchase "Unlimited Express" passes, then combine that with people who stay at the Deluxe onsite hotels, and here we go again....Lol.

I haven't studied USOs ride availability, but capacity is the key and they are adding more rides at a fast pace.

Disney would have alleviated these problems if they were creating rides at the Diagon Alley pace.

 

[magicbob]

Maybe.

But, it is also likely that they will open ADVANCE FP+
to off-site guests, and render this technique unneccessary.
Time will tell.

I think so too. I can't imagine them having the chaos of the FP+ kiosks for summer. It will only be a matter of time before a guest claws the eyes out of some poor CM with waiting in that line to get up there and have scraps to choose from in 105 degree heat.

If this does come about, I see FP+ as the new BOG ADR. People will quickly figure out that the only way to get FP+ for the rides you want will be to get online at 60 days out and pre-book. People who don't pre-book will get less than scraps. There will simply be NO FP+ availability on the day of. If they hold back a certain percentage as some people have suggested, that opens a whole 'nother can of worms.

 

[Robo]

I think so too. I can't imagine them having the chaos of the FP+ kiosks for summer. It will only be a matter of time before a guest claws the eyes out of some poor CM with waiting in that line to get up there and have scraps to choose from in 105 degree heat.

No worries.

Disney won't pay for CM's to stand at all the FP+
Kiosks after the "testing" is over.

The system is so fabulous, it runs itself!

 

[mom2rtk]

We're not doing any travelling for the long holiday weekend (saving up for spring break trip to Scotland) so I've been at the computer even more than usual.

We did drive up to Cologne on Thursday night, though, to see the Vienna Philharmonic perform. Breathtaking!

I'll try to restrain my jealousy. What an amazing time you must be having!

 

[mom2rtk]

No worries.

Disney won't pay for CM's to stand at all the FP+
Kiosks after the "testing" is over.

The system is so fabulous, it runs itself!

See, that is one of the things that surprises me about the reports from this weekend. If this was the "pull out all the stops and get off on the right foot" level of staffing....... what will happen when they pull back on resources?

 

[kandb]

We have been going yearly to Disney for the last 8 years. We stayed at the Grand Floridian in Nov, 2009 and got a great discount (think it was stay 4 nights, get 3 free), we were 2A, 2C and 1 infant. We also had the meal plan. We paid around the same amount we paid when we stayed at POR this past Sept. The way I see it, is that even though Disney is still fantastic, the price increases have gone up significantly and you get so much less for your money. Now with getting only 3 fp, even when you stay at a deluxe and pay almost $500/night, it's just not worth the money you pay anymore. This year we are skipping our annual Disney trip and going to Busch Gardens/Water Country in VA or Hershey Park/Lancaster. We live in NJ. I have to admit, I will miss our Disney trip but just feel that Disney prices are getting outrageous.

 

[belle1528]

This whole thread makes me sad I was very Leary of this whole magic band/fp+ thing when I first heard about it. It took 3 trips for my husband to start loving disney as much as I do, but I think we are skipping this year. Sounds like way too much of a headache. I thought the legacy fp worked just fine!

 

[TeresaNJ]

I feel sorry for people staying off property and local. The juosk lines are long. The fat pass line is long. We just had I over 15 minutes at potc. Probably would have been better for everyone just no fast pass.

Also I thought once you used your 3 FP per day you could use kiosk or ap to get another but you can not. Only 3 per day and cannot park hop.

We had one prob. We put our ap on it but you can't use for ap discount in stores. Have to have a ap card. Cms in store explained to me the bracelet was a room key not a ticket. They gave me a new ap card though. Said that ap holders will get new bands so on that should work better. Then even more faspasses willbe taken before park on wens. Predict a mess for spring break and summer guests.
The MBA who convinced them to spend money on this should be fired. Fixed a problem that didn't exist by spending a fortune and making a Mess. Universal will benefit nicely.

I so agree with you. We just sold one of our two DVC contracts, & the other is pending sale. For the first time in my life, I'm contemplating a trip to Universal, which up until now, ive resisted. Our October trip was a nightmare, from the Magic Bands not working, to the FP fiasco, the many many obnoxious drunks at Epcot during F&W, to the rude castmembers. I came home feeling like a fool who just wasted a boatload of money. Oh yea, forgot to mention the awesome mugs that time out for refills, & that you can't warm up your coffee in the microwave due to the chip. I could go on & on.