One big improvement idea for FP+ and helping SB wait times

[Stubbzilla]

What if WDW began allowing FP+ times at 11 instead of at park open?

I think we'd go back to the typical RD experience.

Something has really messed up rope-drop since our last visits, and I suspect that it's FP+. When we visited last week, morning wait times all ended up being higher than what was "expected" based on our optimized plans from Touring Plans. After looking at the historical wait times, it really does look like they've gone up (I only really looked at morning times). The SB lines in the early morning have slowed way down because the early FP+ holders need to go through. The thing is, if you have planned, and you are someone who likes to get to the parks really early, you don't really need FP for the first 1-2 hours in the park.

My guess is that many people with FP+ set so early wouldn't have been there if they didn't have FP+ for that particular ride set up ahead of time. We know Disney recommendations affect guest park visits - for example, look at how many people visit a given park on a day that has morning EMH, even if they don't get there until well after open. I really suspect that extra guests are heading to parks early solely because of Disney-assigned FP+ times. Even when they're assigned something like Nemo or Mission Space at 9:05, when there is no need for FP+.

Overall, I actually really like FP+, a lot better than legacy FP. We did FP+ this visit, and last visit we had FP+ when it was still in testing. I like it, I really do. It has made things much easier for touring with children. I'd just like to see it dropped from the first 1-2 hours in the day.

 

[mom2rtk]

It's a nice thought.

But I think Disney is looking for ways to eek MORE inventory from their FP system, and this would mean substantially less.

I honestly don't think the quality of our rope drop ride access is a priority for Disney. They wanted to redistribute crowds where they wanted them, and FP+ is doing just that. So while I don't see the FP+ system as a whopping success (yes, I understand others do) I'm sure Disney sees it as a big success. Because they had different goals than I did.