Not to reopen that can of worms but...

[disneyfantotheend]

Wow! That wasn't our experience at all. We were there Oct 18-26, and had our FPs set between 10am and 2pm. We had no trouble using 8 FP at MK and 6 or 7 at DHS. Hopefully OP has our luck. Lol

Love hearing that. Those are nearly our exact dates for this year. Hope we have the same luck.

 

[1234lucky]

I thought it was great. We got everything we wanted and were able to make touring plans to avoid waiting in any significant lines for the non-FP rides ahead of time.

It would be great to be able to add a fourth or more via your phone though.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

But if guests were allowed to swap bands, I have to wonder why Disney designed the system so your name shows up on a screen when you scan your FP+.

It was supposed to be so the cast member stationed there could greet each guest by name. But apparently nobody liked that (neither the cast nor the guests), so they stopped. Using the first name as a means for enforcement is fraught with errors, because not everybody has a traditional first name. What Disney would be saying is that if your name is Taylor, you can give your band to anybody of either sex to use that pass, but if your name is Mary you better not give it to a dude or we will send him away. That's kind of hard on the cast members because it's on them to decide which names they will question.

 

[Maddysdaddy]

Having been at WDW over Easter the past two years, FP+ has been fantastic. It gave us the ability to hit the parks at rope drop, power thru and get through headliners and a fair number of secondary attractions before 11, head back to the hotel to enjoy the sun and the pool (or the outlet malls) in the afternoon, and head back to the park around dinner time, knowing that we had three guaranteed rides with reasonably short waits, via FP+.

They also worked well on a day when we only had a half day to spend at a park. Our AK day (a few days before Easter) only allowed us to be there until noon, so by hitting the park at rope drop and by scheduling morning FP's, we were able to ride Everest 3x standby, Safari standby, see the Lion King show, ride Everest again (FP), head to Dinoland and ride Primeval Whirl standby and Dinosaur (FP), head back to Kali (FP) and be back at our car by 12:15.

Also made the decision late on Good Friday that we wanted to change our Saturday park from Epcot to MK. At 9 pm on that Friday, I was able to cancel our Epcot FP's and get Saturday evening FP's for Space, Splash and Big Thunder.

For us, FP+ is a hit. That being said, we were never the type of family who felt the need to sprint between locations to get large numbers of legacy FP's, or who felt that our day was a disappointment if we couldn't get more than two rides on any particular ride in the same day.

 

[Crystal824]

We loved FP+. It worked out really well for us.

 

[itchin2go]

It was supposed to be so the cast member stationed there could greet each guest by name. But apparently nobody liked that (neither the cast nor the guests), so they stopped. Using the first name as a means for enforcement is fraught with errors, because not everybody has a traditional first name. What Disney would be saying is that if your name is Taylor, you can give your band to anybody of either *** to use that pass, but if your name is Mary you better not give it to a dude or we will send him away. That's kind of hard on the cast members because it's on them to decide which names they will question.

Does anything else show up when you scan your band ... like age?

I agree that if all that shows up is a name, Disney probably wouldn't want CMs wading into the swamp of whether "Ashley" is a proper male name or whether "Bradley" is a proper female name. It could wind up being pretty offensive. And too, with all the international guests, I just don't see this as being wise. My daughter goes to school with two kids named Shimari and Ameerah. Guess which is male and which is female? I get it wrong every time.

Maybe we had no problems because 2 of our names are Chris and Michelle?

 

[Angel Ariel]

Wow! That wasn't our experience at all. We were there Oct 18-26, and had our FPs set between 10am and 2pm. We had no trouble using 8 FP at MK and 6 or 7 at DHS. Hopefully OP has our luck. Lol

Our trip was early November, and also the Wine and Dine 1/2 Marathon weekend (though we did not experienced issues getting FPs during the TOT 10 miler in 2013..FP+ was still in testing then, though). We did not find the parks to be excessively crowded. Touring Plans has our first MK day as an observed 3 (predicted 4), DHS was observed at a 6 (predicted 7), and our 2nd MK day as a 6 (predicted as 5).

On 1st MK day (crowd level 3), when we went to the kiosks all that was left was Dumbo, it's a small world and something else (can't remember..Philhamagic maybe?), only 1 time option available (first MVMCP of the year that night). At DHS I can't remember what was available, but I know that Star Tours, RNRC, TOT, TSMM, F! were not. We grabbed a FP for Indy just because. We were shocked that ST wasn't available at 3:15pm. We have never had issues getting ST FPs, at any time of day. We didn't bother with FP+ on our 2nd MK day, as the A&E FP+ I had didn't open til 4:40, and it was another MVMCP night. Based on our experience on MK day 1 looking for a 4th before that time, we weren't hopeful so we just headed to Epcot for the last night of F&W.

If we'd been able to use 8 FP+ at MK and 6 or 7 at DHS like you did, and as we have been able to do on previous trips, we'd likely have a different opinion of FP+. Just wasn't our experience. I'm not claiming it will be the OP's experience either...honestly hopefully it won't be Just offering some advice that during party season having your prebooked FP+ end earlier in the day may help you get more at the kiosk.

 

[Jennytoon]

Wow! That wasn't our experience at all. We were there Oct 18-26, and had our FPs set between 10am and 2pm. We had no trouble using 8 FP at MK and 6 or 7 at DHS. Hopefully OP has our luck. Lol

Our trip was early November, and also the Wine and Dine 1/2 Marathon weekend (though we did not experienced issues getting FPs during the TOT 10 miler in 2013..FP+ was still in testing then, though). We did not find the parks to be excessively crowded. Touring Plans has our first MK day as an observed 3 (predicted 4), DHS was observed at a 6 (predicted 7), and our 2nd MK day as a 6 (predicted as 5).

On 1st MK day (crowd level 3), when we went to the kiosks all that was left was Dumbo, it's a small world and something else (can't remember..Philhamagic maybe?), only 1 time option available (first MVMCP of the year that night). At DHS I can't remember what was available, but I know that Star Tours, RNRC, TOT, TSMM, F! were not. We grabbed a FP for Indy just because. We were shocked that ST wasn't available at 3:15pm. We have never had issues getting ST FPs, at any time of day. We didn't bother with FP+ on our 2nd MK day, as the A&E FP+ I had didn't open til 4:40, and it was another MVMCP night. Based on our experience on MK day 1 looking for a 4th before that time, we weren't hopeful so we just headed to Epcot for the last night of F&W.

If we'd been able to use 8 FP+ at MK and 6 or 7 at DHS like you did, and as we have been able to do on previous trips, we'd likely have a different opinion of FP+. Just wasn't our experience. I'm not claiming it will be the OP's experience either...honestly hopefully it won't be Just offering some advice that during party season having your prebooked FP+ end earlier in the day may help you get more at the kiosk.

I am wondering if part of the discrepancy here is workflow ... I think I saw smitch post on a separate thread that they take what pops on the kiosk quickly and change it on the app 75% of the time or so. Angel, I'm wondering if you checked on the app to see what you could move things to or if you only took what was on the kiosk and assumed that not showing meant unavailable? I have seen other reports of people who saw no times for particular rides on the kiosk, then found them easily on the app after they just got a FP as placeholder.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I am wondering if part of the discrepancy here is workflow ... I think I saw smitch post on a separate thread that they take what pops on the kiosk quickly and change it on the app 75% of the time or so. Angel, I'm wondering if you checked on the app to see what you could move things to or if you only took what was on the kiosk and assumed that not showing meant unavailable? I have seen other reports of people who saw no times for particular rides on the kiosk, then found them easily on the app after they just got a FP as placeholder.

At the time of the trip I was not aware that what the kiosk showed and what the app showed were different. I learned that not long after returning from my trip when I was helping a friend of mine who was in WDW that week and I was helping her get FPs from my laptop (which were different offerings even still from the app). So I can't speak as to whether app choices would have been different.

 

[Fizban]

how is FP+ working out for everyone?

FP+ has been implemented since January of 2014. So with little over a year under its belt, now seems like the time to get a good feel on how the system has performed. I remember all the negative comments and reviews in being stages. But now it seems like those reviews have gone away or simply are not being discussed.

Not to mention I'm headed there in October so....

It is convenient in some ways but frustrating in others. Having to decide what you want to ride months in advance and then find out something is down for the day is no fun. Secondly they cant compensate for multiple park visits with fast passes in more than one park. The app that you use has pretty much turned the masses at the parks into "handwatchers".

 

[River Country]

Just back from a seven night stay, FP+ was a complete failure for us. After the first day my wife's magic band quit working for park entry and fast passes. When we stopped by guest services at the MK they said they had to "reload" or "re-connect" her park ticket to our account. After they did this, she lost all of her fast passes for the remainder of our trip. Since we had made them months in advance, there was no way to get her back into our planned fast passes. She had to sit out when ever we had fast passes. We did try to let her use my band to use one of my fast passes, but the cast member caught her when my name appeared on the approval screen (my name is clearly not a common female name).

This was in addition to the inability to add additional fast passes from our phone app after the first three were used (which we found out at Disney is how the system was designed on purpose). My family also prefers to "wing it" when we go, often choosing which park we are going to the night before. The need to plan out months in advance which park we were going to or forgo the use of fast passes (at least for the popular attractions) was absolutely despised by our family. The whole experience really ticked us off and is a poor replacement for the previous version of the fast pass system.

Future trips will probably be planned without the use of FP+ for us.

The same thing happened to my wife when were part of the test in 2013 but we were able to copy all of my FP+ to hers with out any issues. You actually can do it yourself on MDE. Seems like the CM at guest relations didn't know about this or wasn't asked not sure I wasn't there.

Its a shame you had a bad experience but when I had limited availability for A&E last year I was able to only get one FP+ for my DD (7 at the time) they let me and my wife in with her no questions asked.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

So... I have a question. We are night owls (for the most part) and would love the option of scheduling all over our FP+ rides for after 5pm. Is that possible? I'm thinking it is since we would be able to schedule FP+ 60 days in advance.

Yes.

Keep in mind you may have to wiggle things around once you book since MDE kicks out only 4 possibilities. I personally do not find that this takes me very long. For any given visit, I am in an out of my app within 5-10 minutes PER day I am planning. So one day visor is 5-10 minutes. 2 days or longer would require a few extra minutes.

We planned an MK evening for a recent trip and our first FP+ was not until 7pm.

 

[Jfine]

We like fp+. We also liked fp- though. The biggest difference is flexibility. I'm a little more hesitant to park hop now - especially to Epcot. The other thing I don't like is the tiers. Once again, at Epcot it forces to wait for TT or Soarin. Same with HS. But we come out ahead at MK I feel. Lastly, some rides have much longer waits. Spaceship Earth, I'm looking at you. I'm don't think we've ridden that ride since FP+. But I do feel like it's made our trip more efficient, and it feels like we have more control over our time. We can sleep in if we want. We don't have to worry about what time our fp - return is. I really like being able to pick our fp+ times. Plus it's really nice to not be walking all over the park for fp tickets.
We've also had no issue with DH using my pink with girly designs printed on MB. One time a CM said, "Well hello, Jane" to DH. The both laughed and DH continued to the ride.

 

[Barnabe]

For us, FP+ is a hit. That being said, we were never the type of family who felt the need to sprint between locations to get large numbers of legacy FP's, or who felt that our day was a disappointment if we couldn't get more than two rides on any particular ride in the same day.

Our family was never like this either, but we still don't like FP+.

 

[jormom1030]

We are at Disney right now. I think FP+ works great at Magic Kingdom where you have a chance at getting 4+ FP and not so great at the rest of the parks. We went to MK on Sunday and had a great day using the FP+ system. Here is what we got to do:
At rope drop we made our way to Space Mountain and did the standby line twice (my husband got a kid swap pass and did Winnie the Pooh with my 3 year old while I was on SM with my other two children)
We then did pictures with Merida. We were done by 10:00. (Rope drop was at 8:50.)
Two photo sessions at the castle
Pirates
Pictures taken outside of Pirates
FP 1 Jungle Cruise 10:50
Little Mermaid ride
Lunch at Be Our Guest at 11:50
Train splash pad
FP2 Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 1:30
FP 3 Splash Mountain 1:55
Parade at 3:00
Hall of Presidents after the parade (three people took naps)
FP 4 Haunted Mansion 4:25
FP 5 It's a Small World 4:55
Carousel
6:00 Photos with Tiana
FP 6 Photos with Tinker Bell 6:30
Supper
FP 7 Tomorrowland Speedway 7:45
FP 8 The Barnstormer 8:20
Dumbo
Photo session with Ariel 9:15
Fireworks
FP 9 Buzz Lightyear
Then we went home.

 

[ucfknight]

As the designated "runner" for the family in the FP- years, I will say FP+ has definitely made my trips more relaxing.

 

[Carnator]

Went in Oct for 5 days, no problems with fp+. Our 60 days for Aug was this morning. Got everything we wanted.

 

[kj2mom]

Complete waste of time, but that's only because I visited during the lowest of the low seasons (mid September last year). I will not return except during that time, however, due to FP+ strongly favouring resort-goers (and I don't have an interest in that). I can completely see how without FP+ getting on any headliner rides when the park is busy is going to be impossible. Even though I went when the park was just about empty, and I chose my FP+ literally at 12:00 midnight the moment I could as an off-site visitor, all FP+ for headliners were completely gone across the board at all times.

If you're an off-site guest, FP+ will definitely affect your experience significantly and will lock you out of headliner attractions (or you'll need to deal with 2+ hour waits just about everywhere). I would recommend off-site guests only visit Disney during low-season, full-stop. As far as recommending staying in a Disney resort, that is up to the guest to choose if they prefer that experience (I don't like hotel rooms and I don't spend more than $100 a night for accommodations, that means the only resort stay I can make is in an RV otherwise it is off-site in a condo).

I was afraid of this scenario as an off site guest going the week of 4th of July but I was pleasantly surprised. I got all of the attractions I was looking for (I did not need A&E so did not try but I did need 7DMT and got it) and only had to do one switcheroo after the fact with Splash Mountain (changed from before the parade to after the parade). Nothing I wanted was completely gone and I was locked out of nothing.

 

[TheDisGuy]

For us FP+ is a negative, but it doesn't ruin the trip ... though the increasing prices along with FP+ might

We got a lot done with our last trip of FP+, but it took more work than legacy FP MORE running around the parks than legacy FP (since the only place you can get additional FPs is the kiosk). We never used to "sprint" or "Run" for FPs, we used to just snag FPs as we toured. Yes occasionally one of us would break off and swing by an attraction and meet the rest of the group at our next destination, but that was the exception, not the rule, and was done for convenience. Now, the whole group has to lug it over to a kiosk, wait while you stand in potential lines, then you get to shout to them about what you are finding available and decide what to pick, usually out of pretty slim pickings at that.

If you are planning on visiting the parks in the evening, I could see FP+ being a positive as you will be able to lock in 3 rides, and know for certain you have them with little wait. That being said, if you are also planning on being in the parks during the day, and then returning at night with FPs booked, I would see FP+ as a massive negative, as you will not have access to FPs during the day and will be standing in longer SB lines.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We enjoy FP+. We do have likes and dislikes about it:

Likes:
1. schedule flexibility and being able to choose return times rather than being limited to what is being distributed that moment.

2. Ability to book ahead of time. No need to go to the specific attraction for the pass.

3. We get 3. At one time. Without having to "collect" them and saving it for later. (Obviously they are scheduled at separate times.)
4. Spontaneity--yes, it still exists. Nice to decide that day to head over to a park. But the park already opened. And I have to drive there (or bus there). And walk to an attraction. Now, hop on MDE just before leaving or in transit and most often, I will have fast passes for attractions we enjoy. Yes, even a headliner.
5. Freedom! I can plan my day as I like and no longer playing return time roulette.
6. Opportunity for more fast passes as they are available. Current system Means more opportunity--for us!

Dislikes
1. Can only book 3.
2. Booking 4th and beyond requires trip to a kiosk. We just hit them if we are near one. We don't make a special trip to one.
3. No multi park booking.
4. My husband dislikes that you may only book a single experience for a ride and not two or more experiences on one ride. (This does not bother me as we didn't really do this in the past. But he does dislike it.)
5. Wish there was more ride capacity that translated to more availability. But we deal.