Not so magical bands

[Kate and Family]

Just watch closely - the parties towards the end of october tend to go from available to unavailable VERY quickly/unpredictably ... And usually too early to negotiate things like the weather...not saying you have to buy them in May, but maybe August...

Thank you. On second thought, chance wise, my choice is between:
Wait and try to pick my date and take chance on not getting tickets at all.
vs
Order on-line late summer and take a chance on weather (which on average is about 20% chance of precip)

Since I chose that time of year to go, so that we can catch the party - I think I will take my chances on the weather and not on availability of MNSSP tickets.

Buying tickets early wins out! I love the Disboards.

 

[cel_disney]

Thank you. On second thought, chance wise, my choice is between:
Wait and try to pick my date and take chance on not getting tickets at all.
vs
Order on-line late summer and take a chance on weather (which on average is about 20% chance of precip)

Since I chose that time of year to go, so that we can catch the party - I think I will take my chances on the weather and not on availability of MNSSP tickets.

Buying tickets early wins out! I love the Disboards.

We have had some occasional showers during a MNSSHP and it really wasn't a crisis - they were relatively short. The biggest challenge was knowing where they relocated character meets to and the unpredictability of the headless horseman...overall - it did not impact our party experience. We may have spent more time at an indoor dance party as a result but in some cases I think it helped with crowds because some people left...

We travel in sept/October often an the showers are mostly short lived - so if you are willing to occupy yourself for 20 minutes in a dry place it can pay off to stick around!

I would say that it's also not unheard of for Disney to be willing to adjust your ticket dates if they have availability - but just know the party held on a non-rainy night if the others have some rain will be VERY busy!

 

[TrudyNH]

You've hit the nail on the head as to what concerns me the most. I dislike planning in advance too so I sympathize.

I hope that you enjoyed Universal. We spend a lot of time there (because we like it not due to FP+).

My boys thought it was awesome that I could pay $30 each and there were no lines. We managed to do an entire park in less than two hours.....and that was every ride twice!! They are teenagers so they don't care about the scenery or "magic". Just bring on the rides!

 

[TrudyNH]

OF course Disney doesn't care. They already have your park pass money, your resort hotel money, and if you are on the dining plan, they have that money, too. Why should they care if you spend ADDITIONAL money anywhere else? Especially if you have the dining plan, what are they going to miss getting from you… a couple of snacks? You'll probably still buy the same Disney souvenirs as you'd originally planned on, also. ALL they care about right now is their bottom line… PROFIT.

I am not looking forward to traveling to WDW under the restrictions of FP+. I am already not enjoying planning… and usually I like it so much, I have volunteered to plan trips for OTHER people. I don't think Disney will see the financial effects that FP+ has for at LEAST a year or two, not until the time that the repeat customer has the opportunity to try traveling under FP+, decide whether Disney is still a value for them, and then NOT make that next vacation plan. Money talks, and if the new guests and the veterans keep going to WDW, the message will be that FP+ is just dandy! Right now, attendance seems to be high, if revenues are to be believed. Look at these numbers in Jan 2015 and 2016 to see if FP+ is a success or not.

Actually they didn't profit from us at all as we stayed elsewhere. No dining plan, park tickets or souvenirs from us. My boys aren't into the whole magic thing.....they just want rides! My friends are going in the fall and are already panicking over FP+ as they can't agree on rides. I can't make them understand that the regular lines won't be that bad!! I see this as a dark spot on their otherwise happy vacation.

 

[TrudyNH]

FP+ "encouraged" us to switch our trip from WDW to onsite Universal in February and we had the best time. Which I guess is a positive of FP+

Me too!!! We are planning a trip for spring 2016 and plan to stay at Hard Rock Hotel as long as I can get the rest of the party to agree. They are newbies and have no idea what I'm talking about with FP+ issues and dining reservations.

 

[mesaboy2]

Zombie Thread Alert.

 

[TrudyNH]

That is interesting that you experienced FP+ being out DAYS ahead of time. I just checked MDE and was able to get a FP+ TODAY for BTMRR, Space, Splash; the only FP+'s that were grayed out were the Parade and Wishes. I can check the other parks, but I suspect that I will find the same. WDW leaves a certain amount of FP's available for day of for FREE. I just do not believe that you were unable to obtain FP+'s for headliners DAYS AHEAD of TIME.

I'm glad you enjoyed your FOTL passes but they are not CHEAP. What did that run you for a family of five?

FOTL? I'm not sure what that is. But I have a question as to why you would think I would lie about not being able to get FP+. Why would I do that? If you're asking about the fast passes at Universal, I paid $30 per person. We managed to do each ride twice and finished the park in 2 hours.

 

[TrudyNH]

OK. So glad you know more about what the OP experienced than they did. Sheesh.

Thank you!!!! I'm not a liar and have no idea why someone would accuse me of that. Do I have a bad rep on here for lying? No.

 

[mesaboy2]

FOTL? I'm not sure what that is. But I have a question as to why you would think I would lie about not being able to get FP+. Why would I do that? If you're asking about the fast passes at Universal, I paid $30 per person. We managed to do each ride twice and finished the park in 2 hours.

FOTL means "front of the line", and is a misnomer. I am curious how you were able to ride twice with Universal Express passes, the standard/cheap version allows their use only once per attraction.

And, you do realize you're responding to posts that are a year old?

 

[TrudyNH]

Did you have problems with the Magic Bands or just issues with FP+?

I totally agree that FP+ has taken any spontaneity away from touring the parks unless you want to stand in long standby lines at even the less-popular attractions. But, I wonder why you didn't just make FP+ reservations ahead of time (even though your plans were not concrete) and then either alter or cancel them instead of relying on fate to determine if anything worthwhile was available? I mean, it costs you nothing but your time to set it up and the impact on your vacation, as you saw, can be pretty huge.

I'm not a fan of FP+ by any measure. But I have a hard time wrapping my brain around the idea that someone would go to Disney, knowing how FP+ impacts touring, and then return to complain that it didn't work for them because they didn't try to use it.

Sorry for the late reply but we did have a glitch with the magic band. The rest of my party were not able to appear on my iPhone so I couldn't make group reservations. It was fixed but it took an hour or so. In return we were given extra FP's

 

[TrudyNH]

Just found this at 8:00 AT THE STUDIOS

Arrive between
9:45 - 10:45am
Star Tours® - The Adventures Continue
1 Arrive between
11:35 - 12:35pm
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster® Starring Aerosmith
Replacement
2 Arrive between
12:45 - 1:45pm
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™

Arrive between
4:35 - 5:35pm
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™
1 Arrive between
6:30 - 7:30pm
Star Tours® - The Adventures Continue
2 Arrive between
8:05 - 9:05pm
Toy Story Midway Mania!

AND THIS AT ANIMAL KINGDOM

Arrive between
9:35 - 10:35am
DINOSAUR
1 Arrive between
12:40 - 1:40pm
Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain®
2 Arrive between
3:40 - 4:40pm
Kilimanjaro Safaris®

Sorry not buying that FP's were out days in advance. The only thing grayed out at 8:00 were Soarin' and Test Track. And Epcot has EMH tonight so it is likely the MOST CROWDED PARK today.

So Fastpasses ARE available the day of for people that want to make choices that day. Probably not if you wake up at noon and then decide to look on your phone/computer for availability. But otherwise, you can get FP's for headliners. I just find there is enough negativity without making stuff up.

We're you there during MY vacation? I don't think so. Please take your negative views and go away. Other people have backed me up on this so your making yourself look like a complete fool.

 

[TrudyNH]

The PP isn't there this week. They just got back from a 10 day trip. And it likely doesn't make them feel any better to know what you can find today.

And maybe it's just me, but calling someone a liar right out of the gate just doesn't seem helpful.

Thank you!!!! Thank you for backing me up as I'm rather ticked off. I didn't join this site to be called a liar by someone who wants to make themselves look good.

 

[TrudyNH]

FOTL means "front of the line", and is a misnomer. I am curious how you were able to ride twice with Universal Express passes, the standard/cheap version allows their use only once per attraction.

And, you do realize you're responding to posts that are a year old?

Hi! Thanks for explaining the FOTL pass thing. Yes, I realize this thread is a year old but someone messages me and asked me to answer the questions. So I did because the information might still be useful.

If you purchase the U-Bot at Universal, you can ride any ride as often as you like. It was $30 per person but you get one hand held system. It's not available on line, you have to get it once inside the gate. You just scroll through the rides, choose one and walk on. Simply brilliant! We did the same park the day before when it was a level 4 and it took us about 6 hours.

 

[mesaboy2]

Hi! Thanks for explaining the FOTL pass thing. Yes, I realize this thread is a year old but someone messages me and asked me to answer the questions. So I did because the information might still be useful.

If you purchase the U-Bot at Universal, you can ride any ride as often as you like. It was $30 per person but you get one hand held system. It's not available on line, you have to get it once inside the gate. You just scroll through the rides, choose one and walk on. Simply brilliant! We did the same park the day before when it was a level 4 and it took us about 6 hours.

Gotcha. I'm not familiar with the U-Bot system, I've only been exposed to the Express Pass system there.

 

[TrudyNH]

When we used it, it was new and a lot of the staff weren't familiar with it. I emailed Universal to see if they still have it and they do!

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

FP+ "encouraged" us to switch our trip from WDW to onsite Universal in February and we had the best time. Which I guess is a positive of FP+

I see this happening with me too. I love Disney but when making fast pass selections I realize I've done it all. It really makes me stop and think.

 

[Marionnette]

Sorry for the late reply but we did have a glitch with the magic band. The rest of my party were not able to appear on my iPhone so I couldn't make group reservations. It was fixed but it took an hour or so. In return we were given extra FP's

Okay. That's a lot different from what you had said in your OP where you stated that you didn't want to make FP+ reservations in advance because of not knowing what the weather would be like on the day of your visit. I can understand your frustration with not being able to make FP+ reservations for your whole group via the phone app. We ran into something similar a year ago when my nephew, who was not in my MDE group, joined us for an evening in the MK. I couldn't change his FP+s on my phone and he needed to visit a kiosk to make the changes. But we didn't get extra FP+s. We just got to deal with the line at the kiosks.