Our Magic Band and FP+ Experience

[RubyV]

After reading all of the threads here, we were very worried about our trip. We arrived last Friday, at 10:30 pm, and got our first MB test when we checked in for DME. I was surprised to see them work perfectly.

They worked perfectly every time. The one time they glitched when we hopped from Epcot to MK, they reset my daughter's in less than a minute.
We also had no problem changing FP or riding things multiple times. We changed times if we were running behind, if we wanted to explore, if the ride had a short one and so switched it. There were plenty of cast members around who helped.

We also rode things multiple times. Our very first ride was POTC. we rode it twice in a row, went to Haunted Mansion, did that twice, and in the evening, got on them with our FP.

We rode a lot of things on Saturday, even with breakfast at the castle, a makeover at BBB. We met characters, played, and had a blast. Same at HS.

When we hated Epcot, and left after lunch since our FP were late in the day, I changed them to MK instead.

I'm sharing this because I was prepared to have a stressed first trip to Disney. Instead, it was far more relaxed. The bands and fp+ were, to us, a huge part of that. The three days at MK never ended with us feeling like we didn't do something we wanted.

(Hollywood and Vine was a nightmare, but I'll save that for another post)

I guess the point is, I was stressed over all of the posts here, as a Disney newbie. Maybe this will help someone else.

 

[PrincessJo]

I'm glad you had a great trip

We had the same experience last month. We love magic bands and FP+. It works for us.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[I Love Pluto]

FP+ is awesome! We got through 3 rides each day without problems - using our Magic Bands & FP+. We had fewer problems than ever before when we used the FP+.

We used to use the GAC. We could go through the same entrance with FP+ that we used the GAC for. I feel that the CMs were very polite & were willing to help with extra issues. I think it's the fact that ALL people are able to use FP+ - not just disabled people. It makes for a more acceptable playing fieldl
Everyone is treated equally.

Congrats, Disney! You did it!

 

[Silock]

Glad it worked for you, but you weren't exactly testing the limits of the most popular rides or low capacity rides.

 

[RubyV]

We got to ride all the headlines at least once, usually twice. I'm satisfied. I did Tot at HS twice on that day, the spouse and kid did the roller coaster, we did the muppets, did Toy Story (my FP while the other two FP the coaster) , essentially, we hit everything we wanted.

If we are getting on our favorites twice, then that's great. If a line is long, then I skip it. The lines at rope drop were doable.

I was convinced that this was not going to work at all. Instead, it was very easy. We changed fp a number of times with no problems. I was amazed at the ease, after reading all of the threads here.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Glad it worked for you, but you weren't exactly testing the limits of the most popular rides or low capacity rides.

Ever notice how people who say fp+ is horrible, certain people get right on and say sing it! If it works, it's 'you weren't using it right' ??

 

[redrosesix]

Ever notice how people who say fp+ is horrible, certain people get right on and say sing it! If it works, it's 'you weren't using it right' ??

I've seen it both ways, and it's starting to annoy me. People's experiences are their experiences -- we all know that sometimes something will glitch for one guest but not for others. Or will work seamlessly for one guest because of their touring style/time of year/ day of week but it's going to break down when crowd levels get high.

We go at really crowded times of the year, but when we arrive it's usually low crowd. It's like 2 different parks really. So I don't necessarily see everyone's experience as relevant to me -- we never had to use fp on the low crowd days either. but good to hear the door locks worked etc. We had issues with our door locks last year, after they had switched them to the ones that work with the MBs.

The other thing that isn't relevant for me is the ME experience. We're coming from Canada so we won't get our MBs til we check in. But seriously, we're now waiting for our 3rd package of stuff from them and hoping they finally get it right. We've only been planning this since November

 

[Silock]

Ever notice how people who say fp+ is horrible, certain people get right on and say sing it! If it works, it's 'you weren't using it right' ??

Using it right is subjective. However, two of the highest, if not THE highest capacity rides shouldn't be a problem to ride more than once a day. Do the same test with Soarin' and Test Track and then get back to me. Or Toy Story and Rock'n'Roller Coaster, even.

 

[Ted C]

It appears the software is beginning to run better which was a lot of the problem concerning complaints early on. It helps a lot if things work as planned, and if you're able to access to make changes with little hassle. I will guarantee you, from the top down, heads are rolling and rear ends are being ridden to get this stuff working correctly.

Glad you had a nice trip, looking forward to trying it ourselves coming up...

 

[RubyV]

Using it right is subjective. However, two of the highest, if not THE highest capacity rides shouldn't be a problem to ride more than once a day. Do the same test with Soarin' and Test Track and then get back to me. Or Toy Story and Rock'n'Roller Coaster, even.[/QUOTE

I actually did do toy story twice - once early in the morning, then used my FP for the second ride while the spouse and kid did R&R. It was fun! I though I would be the only adult riding alone - nice to see that I wasn't.

Goal for next trip - ToT on a loop until my kid gives up