Not a fan of FP+..positive update #193 (sort of...)

[Claudia1]

Been here for 5 days and we are doing fewer rides/attractions and spending less time enjoying the pixie dust due to the the limited FPs and limited flexibility.

Our family was never an abuser of the system but be usually had 4-6 FPs per day. We did "stand-by", too, but we always had time to stop and soak up the Disney atmosphere along the way. If we saw that we were going to miss a FastPass, we would give it away and get another for later in the day. We enjoyed making up our days as we go.

This trip, each FastPass takes longer to do (with the longer lines) and we are spending more time in Stand-by lines...... which is less time free to shop, spend, and soak up all things Disney.

Also, the "change your FPs on the fly" is not working out for me very well. Twice, I have tried to change times and/or attractions the day before and created a big mess. In one instance, I wanted to change TT for Soarin... two days in advance (not the same day), so I dropped TT but the times for Soarin' were 6:30 or later in the evening. We had plans for that evening, so I tried to get back TT but the same thing happened. So, I lost a good time spot for TT and got stuck with a time that will not work for us.

It would have helped my immensely to know what times are available before going thru the change/replace process.

For the major attractions, I am not finding availability throughout the day. That makes me nervous to change or drop or replace an existing FP.

All of these changes were made from a laptop in our resort room. I haven't tried to make changes from my cell phone in the parks.

Just another observation from a well-heeled DisneyWorld AP DVC fan.

 

[stacielee]

Been here for 5 days and we are doing fewer rides/attractions and spending less time enjoying the pixie dust due to the the limited FPs and limited flexibility.

Our family was never an abuser of the system but be usually had 4-6 FPs per day. We did "stand-by", too, but we always had time to stop and soak up the Disney atmosphere along the way. If we saw that we were going to miss a FastPass, we would give it away and get another for later in the day. We enjoyed making up our days as we go.

This trip, each FastPass takes longer to do (with the longer lines) and we are spending more time in Stand-by lines...... which is less time free to shop, spend, and soak up all things Disney.

Also, the "change your FPs on the fly" is not working out for me very well. Twice, I have tried to change times and/or attractions the day before and created a big mess. In one instance, I wanted to change TT for Soarin... two days in advance (not the same day), so I dropped TT but the times for Soarin' were 6:30 or later in the evening. We had plans for that evening, so I tried to get back TT but the same thing happened. So, I lost a good time spot for TT and got stuck with a time that will not work for us.

It would have helped my immensely to know what times are available before going thru the change/replace process.

For the major attractions, I am not finding availability throughout the day. That makes me nervous to change or drop or replace an existing FP.

All of these changes were made from a laptop in our resort room. I haven't tried to make changes from my cell phone in the parks.

Just another observation from a well-heeled DisneyWorld AP DVC fan.

We have a trip starting this Saturday for 6 days. I've really been playing around with the FP+ times and have not had that problem. Whenever I've wanted to modify a FP+, I have always been able to see the times and/or experiences available before making a change. If I didn't like what was there, I canceled out of the change.

I have noticed that FP+ availability for the more popular attractions, such as Toy Story, are later in the day than they were when our trip was 60 days out.

I was part of the testing last fall so we're going in knowing what we're doing... I think

 

[2Tiggies]

Sorry to hear about this. I agree, with you, changing on the fly is not an easy option yet the minute anyone mentions lack of flexibility they get shot down with "But you can change it on the fly" (as in may have to ride IASW instead of the Space Mountain you booked 2 months ago but stop complaining because you get to ride something ....)

I am not raising unrealistic expectations of being able to simply shift times for the FP's I've chosen once in the park.

Stacielee, I don't think it's as difficult to modify FP's prior to your trip but on the day is going to have less availability as by that stage, those who can't book in advance have been picking from the pool at the kiosks.

As for knowing what times are available before going through the process, ITA this would be helpful. With the old system you could look at the return time and decide in seconds. Quite frankly I'm not convinced that it is always less hassle or even quicker to have to play games with a clunky app than it was to walk over to the FP machines yourself.

 

[DisneyWisher]

I was just there for 2 nights and trying to change times was horrible. It kept saying not available or "something is wrong with out system try again later". If Disney doesn't do away with this system we will probably stop going. It's a great idea if it was a bonus or benefit but it's not. I saw 2 FP+ queue where those without smart phones or those not staying onsite had to schedule their FPs for the day. Both were on tomorrowland. Both were at least 75 people deep. So they were standing in line to avoid staying in line. Unbelievable. My daughter went to BTMR, she said more people were in the FP line than the standby line. We've been AP holders since 1995, passes are up not month and I'm not renewing.

 

[2Tiggies]

So they were standing in line to avoid staying in line. Unbelievable.

Yes. This. And yes, quite incredible when you think about it.

Oh and don't forget the people having to buy extras for the park if they want to make their lives easier (like a smart phone for those who don't have one and a back up battery or power bank for those who do ......)

 

[wuzzy6]

We were there last weekend for 4 days, and we never waited more than 10 minutes in a FP queue line the entire trip. The longest standby queue line we waited in was less than 30 minutes. We rode everything we wanted to ride, and quite frankly, we spent more time relaxing and taking it all in on this trip than we ever have before. Not everyone has the same expectations, so I guess we are just lucky that it seems to work fine for us. I wish everyone could enjoy it as much.

I do, however, agree that it's frustrating to not be able to change your FP times on the fly. Well, you CAN, but it's not likely you're going to get what you want. We found that if you change them the night before or before the park opens in the morning, you're good - but if you wait until you're already in the park, it's too late. By then, everyone at the kiosks have already started snagging times from the remaining pool. So, you either end up with a super-late time, OR you get "standby only" options.

 

[sonofanarchy]

We were there last weekend for 4 days, and we never waited more than 10 minutes in a FP queue line the entire trip. The longest standby queue line we waited in was less than 30 minutes. We rode everything we wanted to ride, and quite frankly, we spent more time relaxing and taking it all in on this trip than we ever have before.

That's fine and good, but that obviously means you didn't ride every headliner, and certainly not more than once. Now that may work for you living just 2.5 hours by car, but for those of us that have to spend thousands of dollars to fly there, it's unacceptable.

 

[MichelleVW]

Been here for 5 days and we are doing fewer rides/attractions and spending less time enjoying the pixie dust due to the the limited FPs and limited flexibility.

Our family was never an abuser of the system but be usually had 4-6 FPs per day. We did "stand-by", too, but we always had time to stop and soak up the Disney atmosphere along the way. If we saw that we were going to miss a FastPass, we would give it away and get another for later in the day. We enjoyed making up our days as we go.

This trip, each FastPass takes longer to do (with the longer lines) and we are spending more time in Stand-by lines...... which is less time free to shop, spend, and soak up all things Disney.

Also, the "change your FPs on the fly" is not working out for me very well. Twice, I have tried to change times and/or attractions the day before and created a big mess. In one instance, I wanted to change TT for Soarin... two days in advance (not the same day), so I dropped TT but the times for Soarin' were 6:30 or later in the evening. We had plans for that evening, so I tried to get back TT but the same thing happened. So, I lost a good time spot for TT and got stuck with a time that will not work for us.

It would have helped my immensely to know what times are available before going thru the change/replace process.

For the major attractions, I am not finding availability throughout the day. That makes me nervous to change or drop or replace an existing FP.

All of these changes were made from a laptop in our resort room. I haven't tried to make changes from my cell phone in the parks.

Just another observation from a well-heeled DisneyWorld AP DVC fan.

You shouldn't drop your original Fast Pass to change it....you go in to modify it and you can see the times of the new one. That way if you decide not to change it you still have your original choice. I did that all last week with no problem.

We were there last weekend for 4 days, and we never waited more than 10 minutes in a FP queue line the entire trip. The longest standby queue line we waited in was less than 30 minutes. We rode everything we wanted to ride, and quite frankly, we spent more time relaxing and taking it all in on this trip than we ever have before. Not everyone has the same expectations, so I guess we are just lucky that it seems to work fine for us. I wish everyone could enjoy it as much.

I do, however, agree that it's frustrating to not be able to change your FP times on the fly. Well, you CAN, but it's not likely you're going to get what you want. We found that if you change them the night before or before the park opens in the morning, you're good - but if you wait until you're already in the park, it's too late. By then, everyone at the kiosks have already started snagging times from the remaining pool. So, you either end up with a super-late time, OR you get "standby only" options.

I was also there last week and didn't wait in long Fast Pass lines either. Occasionally we would get to one with a small wait...but they moved fast and didn't take any longer than the paper ones. We saw a long line at the Safari once but it was just bad timing and 5 minutes later the line was gone.

 

[MichelleVW]

That's fine and good, but that obviously means you didn't ride every headliner, and certainly not more than once. Now that may work for you living just 2.5 hours by car, but for those of us that have to spend thousands of dollars to fly there, it's unacceptable.

We did ride every headliner last week...most more than once (we didn't want to ride the others more than once). Longest standby line we waited in was probably 20 minutes. And not that it matters but we drove 20 hours to get there. Fast Pass Plus works for me.

 

[wuzzy6]

That's fine and good, but that obviously means you didn't ride every headliner, and certainly not more than once. Now that may work for you living just 2.5 hours by car, but for those of us that have to spend thousands of dollars to fly there, it's unacceptable.

You forgot to include the part where I said, "Not everyone has the same expectations, so I guess we are just lucky that it seems to work fine for us. I wish everyone could enjoy it as much." But, I guess if you had included it, you wouldn't have been able to take anything out of context and lambaste me for simply sharing my personal experience and acknowledgement that it may not be so good for everyone.

 

[wuzzy6]

I was also there last week and didn't wait in long Fast Pass lines either. Occasionally we would get to one with a small wait...but they moved fast and didn't take any longer than the paper ones. We saw a long line at the Safari once but it was just bad timing and 5 minutes later the line was gone.

I'm really glad you had a very similar experience - I'm sure you were probably just as pleasantly surprised as I was. We also saw a big line in front of the FP queue for TSMM, RnRC, and the Safari... turned out to be just a group forming while they waited for their FP window to open up. We actually waited in a group like that for TSMM, because we got there 1 minute before our FP window. As soon as it was time, we went right in and it was a very short wait - <10 minutes.

Like you, we also rode every headliner (some multiple times) with three exceptions... Test Track (because we didn't want to), Space Mountain (again, because we didn't want to), and Splash Mountain (because it was closed for refurb). We hit rope drop for standby and used FP in the afternoon.

 

[sonofanarchy]

You forgot to include the part where I said, "Not everyone has the same expectations, so I guess we are just lucky that it seems to work fine for us. I wish everyone could enjoy it as much." But, I guess if you had included it, you wouldn't have been able to take anything out of context and lambaste me for simply sharing my personal experience and acknowledgement that it may not be so good for everyone.

I'm not lambasting you. Overdramatize much? I'm just over the "expectations" excuse by now. It's been far too long for that excuse to still hold water. Things change, yes, but nobody should have less of an experience than they were having in the past, and many are.

I don't want to accuse people of making stuff up to fit their story, but it amazes me how those that defend FP+ never seem to experience long waits, while everybody else does experience long waits. Either we have a small group of people not being 100% truthful, or a large group of people who don't know what they are doing.

 

[PaulaVonSchweetz]

I don't understand why so many people are upset at the lack of FP availability when trying to switch times/attractions.
We never had that option before MM+ so why can't everyone just accept the changes for the better and learn how to get the most out of the trip they have planned.
I personally like this new system, but I've learned how to acclimate it to our families needs.

 

[wuzzy6]

I'm not lambasting you. Overdramatize much? I'm just over the "expectations" excuse by now. It's been far too long for that excuse to still hold water. Things change, yes, but nobody should have less of an experience than they were having in the past, and many are.

I don't want to accuse people of making stuff up to fit their story, but it amazes me how those that defend FP+ never seem to experience long waits, while everybody else does experience long waits. Either we have a small group of people not being 100% truthful, or a large group of people who don't know what they are doing.

Oh there's plenty over-dramatization going on, but I assure you it's not coming from me.

 

[kc1casey]

I agree with the OP. We have been here 5 days and 3 FP are not enough. Stand by lines are really long and we have barely had time to do any shopping. At least not like we have in the past. We also had a mess of a time trying to change times while at the parks. A lot of the times it was some kind of technical problem or one day it totally screwed up our fp's for the day and the cm had to redo. It was giving us the same rides twice on the day but then not everyone in our party of eight could use theirs. The cm was baffled. But on a good note when the FP did work the lines were not very long at all. The bands work awesome for us too.

 

[JanaDee]

We were there last weekend for 4 days, and we never waited more than 10 minutes in a FP queue line the entire trip. The longest standby queue line we waited in was less than 30 minutes. We rode everything we wanted to ride, and quite frankly, we spent more time relaxing and taking it all in on this trip than we ever have before. Not everyone has the same expectations, so I guess we are just lucky that it seems to work fine for us. I wish everyone could enjoy it as much.

If I knew I was coming back in a couple weeks or even a couple months as a local, I'd spend more time relaxing and 'taking it all in', too. Expectations as a local are pretty different from guests that only get there once a year.

 

[wuzzy6]

If I knew I was coming back in a couple weeks or even a couple months as a local, I'd spend more time relaxing and 'taking it all in', too. Expectations as a local are pretty different from guests that only get there once a year.

I completely agree with you.

 

[sonofanarchy]

Oh there's plenty over-dramatization going on, but I assure you it's not coming from me.

Yeah.......that's a real knee-slapper.

 

[DavidNYC]

How did you "drop" a fast pass? Didn't think that was possible. If you go to change it and what you want isn't available, you keep the old one. You don't lose the old one until you actually confirm the new one.

There are FP issues but that isn't one if them ...

 

[flutterby3744]

Yes. This. And yes, quite incredible when you think about it. Oh and don't forget the people having to buy extras for the park if they want to make their lives easier (like a smart phone for those who don't have one and a back up battery or power bank for those who do ......)

I Don't mean to sound snarky, but I find it hard to believe people are upgrading to smartphones JUST so they can use FP easier at WDW. That would be a ridiculously dumb life choice since most smart phones come with hefty price tags, pricey monthly charges, and lengthy contracts. Js.

That said, I'm really hoping they have more of these issues worked out before we get there on July. I really feel for the people that have had such negative experiences with it. I'm holding out hope that Disney is listening and will respond accordingly.