Possible good news for offsiters and FP+

[michaelsr]

Just adding in my personal experience, for what it is worth.

We are staying at the Dolphin from 4/12-4/18. We have ADRs each evening for 4/13-4/17. All of this information is entered on MDE.

This weekend the new locked icon about booking FP+ up to 60 days in advance appeared on our MDE page. If you clicked on the icon, it asked if you were staying in a WDW resort, etc.

So, I bought park tickets and, as soon as I linked the tickets in MDE, and clicked on the icon again, I got the screen saying "You may begin making FP+ selections for your vacation on February 12, 2014."

While I do not know for sure (who does?), it appears that if you have ADRs and linked tickets, you can start making FP+ reservations, in advance, in my case 60 days before my first ADR.

My motivation is that I do not want to lose valuable rope-drop time waiting at a kiosk to select FP+. If I can select FP+ at any point before I enter the park, I am a happy camper!

 

[kidd_freeper]

Disney would only enact FP+ if it thought that it could recover the costs and make a profit somehow. After all, Disney is not a charity, but a business. From Disney's point of view:

1) IF Disney was offering advanced FP+ reservations as another perk that is exclusive to its resort guests, how do you think Disney plans to recover its considerable costs? We all know Disney does NOT invest a pile of money just to be nice.

Answer: by raising the price of its rooms. Either the resorts are already full, or Disney projects that FP+ reservations will fill those rooms. In either case, Disney can charge more money for those rooms following the higher demand.

or

2) IF Disney intended to open advanced FP+ reservations to ALL its guests, how would Disney recover its considerable costs?

Answer 1: By improving the efficiency of its operations. If Disney knows when its offsite AND onsite guests are coming in advance, Disney will be able to adjust staffing levels, food preparation quantity and maintenance schedules.

Answer 2: By charging for the right to make advanced FP+ reservations. If Disney can make a buck by charging the right to make FP+ reservations in advance from resort guests, there is no reason why they wouldn't do likewise for offsite guests.

so

Those who are regular onsite guests may NOT want to be so eager about getting another exclusive perk. If resort guests get the exclusive perk, then resort guests will bear the perk costs exclusively.

 

[Tuffcookie]

Just adding in my personal experience, for what it is worth.

We are staying at the Dolphin from 4/12-4/18. We have ADRs each evening for 4/13-4/17. All of this information is entered on MDE.

This weekend the new locked icon about booking FP+ up to 60 days in advance appeared on our MDE page. If you clicked on the icon, it asked if you were staying in a WDW resort, etc.

So, I bought park tickets and, as soon as I linked the tickets in MDE, and clicked on the icon again, I got the screen saying "You may begin making FP+ selections for your vacation on February 12, 2014."

While I do not know for sure (who does?), it appears that if you have ADRs and linked tickets, you can start making FP+ reservations, in advance, in my case the day before my first ADR.

Parenthetically, this is fine with me. I do not want to lose valuable rope-drop time waiting at a kiosk to select FP+. If I can do it the night before I enter the park, I am a happy camper!

Did you mean APril 12th, 2014?


I'm with you. If all these predictions about when off-site quests can start reserving their FP+ selections are correct, I may have 1 to 1 1/2 weeks to preselect my FP+ attractions before we arrive at WDW. That sure beats getting to the park at RP and standing in line to pick them out then.

TC

 

[michaelsr]

Did you mean APril 12th, 2014?


I'm with you. If all these predictions about when off-site quests can start reserving their FP+ selections are correct, I may have 1 to 1 1/2 weeks to preselect my FP+ attractions before we arrive at WDW. That sure beats getting to the park at RP and standing in line to pick them out then.

TC

Actually, it says February 12, 2014, which I did not think about when I first read it. If that date holds (fingers and toes crossed), that would be 60 days before our first ADR.

 

[ckelly14]

Actually, it says February 12, 2014, which I did not think about when I first read it. If that date holds (fingers and toes crossed), that would be 60 days before our first ADR.

I have a feeling that when Feb 12th arrives, it will revert to a different date, just like my MDE did after midnight last night. Hope I'm wrong.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

This is what I am pretty sure is going on. If you are staying off site and book any ADR for April 7th or later you will be able to make fastpass plus selections starting February 6th ( this Thursday). For each day after April 7th an ADR is booked, the ability to reserve fastpass will be moved ahead a day (example: an April 8 ADR will allow reserving to start February 7th, an April 9 ADR will allow reserving to start February 8th.) Those dates are all 60 days apart. However, if you make an ADR for April 6th or earlier it will show you can start booking fastpass exactly 60 days from today's date (example is you make an ADR for April 1st then it will show you can't reserve FP til 60 days from Feb 5th which is April 6th, tomorrow on Feb 6th that same reservation would show allowed FP booking on April 7th. It will keep pushing your day you can do FP reservation back a day every day unless you have an ADR April 7th or later. There is no glitch. The date it allows you to make a fastpass reservation moves forward one day for each day that passes if your ADR is before April 7th. This basically means that you can't make fastpass selections in advance if you will be in the park on April 6th or before. April 7th ADR or later showing on MDE allows Feb 6th advanced FP booking. April 8th ADR allows Feb 7th booking and so on. So April 7th or later visits will allow advanced FP booking basically. All other before get same day booking. Of course it I don't know if it will show this without linked tickets or not but you do have to have them in order to actually make selections. April 7 is the magic day I guess as far as when you are going looks like! I know because I have tickets linked and am staying offsite at wyndham may 24-31 and MDE says I can make FP selections starting March 25th. However when I put in an ADR for April 7th it allows Feb 6th FP selecting. April 6th or any day or month before that of an ADR only lets me book 60 days from the current date. When I cancel my bogus ADR in April it goes back to allowing 60 days before my real visit. That help? I think offsite really will get the benefit as long as you go after April 6th.

We're going the week of the April 20th. Have an ADR for the 21st, and it says on MDE I can start FP+ on April 11. Not Feb. which is the 60 days out. Not sure what's going on. ????? Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[ckelly14]

We're going the week of the 20th. Have an ADR for the 21st, and it says on MDE I can start FP+ on April 11. Not Feb. which is the 60 days out. Not sure what's going on. ?????

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

I have a previous post with the same phenomenon. I think things are in flux. I wouldn't count on being able to pre-book fast pass someone actually confirms it!

 

[patty57]

There was some talk on another board today about guests with onsite stays and MBs, and their FP+ booking date was moving around as well.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I've seen quite a few comments along the lines of "but what benefit will onsite guests have if not prebooking"..

I found it interesting that I received an e-mail from Disney today - based on my resort searches for a November trip for a friend of mine - inviting me to come stay onsite. In the e-mail, it listed benefits of being a resort guest.

Now, I would think that if prebooking were intended to be an onsite only perk, that at this point they would be including that as a perk in this type of advertising. Yet, the onsite benefits they listed were:

Extra Magic Hours
Magical Express
Complimentary Motor Coach transportation throughout the Walt Disney World resort.

It seems to me that even WDW, and even right now, is not considering prebooking an onsite benefit.

 

[doconeill]

I've seen quite a few comments along the lines of "but what benefit will onsite guests have if not prebooking"..

Apparently all the benefits that onsite guests already had have already been forgotten Resort guests never had any Fastpass advantage before.

 

[Laketravis]

Let me see if I have this right - so far, nobody has been able to make FP reservations in advance unless they have already stayed onsite or have an upcoming onsite reservation.

Is that correct?

Or has anyone who only has tickets and never stayed onsite before been able to actually reserve FP's in advance?

 

[Angel Ariel]

Apparently all the benefits that onsite guests already had have already been forgotten Resort guests never had any Fastpass advantage before.

Oh I completely agree! My thought whenever I see the "well what will resort guests get now, if offsiters can prebook too" is that they never had a FP advantage before, why should they expect it now?

 

[mesaboy2]

Let me see if I have this right - so far, nobody has been able to make FP reservations in advance unless they have already stayed onsite or have an upcoming onsite reservation.

Is that correct?

Or has anyone who only has tickets and never stayed onsite before been able to actually reserve FP's in advance?

You are correct. I've yet to read a report where an offsite guest has been able to prebook.

 

[bdb23]

Just because FP+ pre-booking began with onsite guests doesn't mean that it was intended as an onsite perk only. Like previous posters have said, onsite didn't have this perk with FP-.

 

[ellie05]

I've seen quite a few comments along the lines of "but what benefit will onsite guests have if not prebooking"..

I found it interesting that I received an e-mail from Disney today - based on my resort searches for a November trip for a friend of mine - inviting me to come stay onsite. In the e-mail, it listed benefits of being a resort guest.

Now, I would think that if prebooking were intended to be an onsite only perk, that at this point they would be including that as a perk in this type of advertising. Yet, the onsite benefits they listed were:

Extra Magic Hours
Magical Express
Complimentary Motor Coach transportation throughout the Walt Disney World resort.

It seems to me that even WDW, and even right now, is not considering prebooking an onsite benefit.

There was no MB mention at all. I think since they are still testing they wouldn't add it as a perk yet.

Just because FP+ pre-booking began with onsite guests doesn't mean that it was intended as an onsite perk only. Like previous posters have said, onsite didn't have this perk with FP-.

We really don't know if it is meant to be just and onsite or everyone. Disney hasn't clarify anything yet. I think since they are still testing who knows what their plan is. Maybe they took the tip from universal to help them fill out more rooms.

 

[rimomma66]

I had ADR's and tickets linked with no resort stay with the first ADR on April 20. My message was "You may begin making your FastPass + selections on February 19". I just added our resort stay which begins April 21 and our FP+ date did not change- still the 19th. So there is something about this that is linking the date to the ADR since my first ADR is before my resort stay begins.
And I did not have previous MB and we only have our 5 day tix linked.

 

[practicallyperfect77]

I had ADR's and tickets linked with no resort stay with the first ADR on April 20. My message was "You may begin making your FastPass + selections on February 19". I just added our resort stay which begins April 21 and our FP+ date did not change- still the 19th. So there is something about this that is linking the date to the ADR since my first ADR is before my resort stay begins.
And I did not have previous MB and we only have our 5 day tix linked.

This gives me hope! I can't afford to stay onsite with 6 of us but I really don't wanna stand in the kiosk line. Even if it was 30 days instead of 60 that will work. Heck I might even settle for 1. I will be stalking this thread lots in the next few weeks!

 

[ckelly14]

I had ADR's and tickets linked with no resort stay with the first ADR on April 20. My message was "You may begin making your FastPass + selections on February 19". I just added our resort stay which begins April 21 and our FP+ date did not change- still the 19th. So there is something about this that is linking the date to the ADR since my first ADR is before my resort stay begins.
And I did not have previous MB and we only have our 5 day tix linked.

Unfortunately, there hasn't been any success at actually making the FP+ reservations on the date triggered by the ADR. The booking date just switches to a later date when this arrives. If I was you, I would be concerned that the ADR may actually screw up your ability to make FP+ based on your resort stay.

For example, I have a resort stay on May 31, and according to MDE I could make FP+ reservations staring April 1st. For the heck of it, I made an ADR for April 7th, and it changed to say "FP+ reservations will be available Feb 6th". When midnight on Feb 6th came around, not only was I not able to make FP+ reservations, but the message changed to say "FP+ reservations will be available April 11th". I then deleted the ADR and it switched back to April 1st.

Obviously, using ADR's to trigger FP+ reservations is not ready for prime time. I would consider deleting your April 20th ADR if Feb 19th comes around and the message says you can't book until April!

 

[Angel Ariel]

There was no MB mention at all. I think since they are still testing they wouldn't add it as a perk yet.

Why would it list MBs as a perk? KTTW cards were never listed as a perk

We really don't know if it is meant to be just and onsite or everyone. Disney hasn't clarify anything yet. I think since they are still testing who knows what their plan is. Maybe they took the tip from universal to help them fill out more rooms.

The terms and conditions for MDE state that MYW ticket holders and passholders will be able to book FP+ beginning 60 days before their trip. There's actually no mention in the T&C of the prebooking being related to anything aside from the ticket.

I understand that that wording has been there throughout testing, and I've had my doubts along the way, but given what people have been seeing in their accounts (even if they haven't been able to actually book yet), it's making me lean more towards everyone will have prebooking ability - and soon. I still think onsite guests may get an extra advantage (like +10, which I've said for a while), but I don't think offsite guests are going to be completely relegated to same day FP+.

 

[rimomma66]

Unfortunately, there hasn't been any success at actually making the FP+ reservations on the date triggered by the ADR. The booking date just switches to a later date when this arrives. If I was you, I would be concerned that the ADR may actually screw up your ability to make FP+ based on your resort stay.

For example, I have a resort stay on May 31, and according to MDE I could make FP+ reservations staring April 1st. For the heck of it, I made an ADR for April 7th, and it changed to say "FP+ reservations will be available Feb 6th". When midnight on Feb 6th came around, not only was I not able to make FP+ reservations, but the message changed to say "FP+ reservations will be available April 11th". I then deleted the ADR and it switched back to April 1st.

Obviously, using ADR's to trigger FP+ reservations is not ready for prime time. I would consider deleting your April 20th ADR if Feb 19th comes around and the message says you can't book until April!

Considering t he April 20 ADR is the one my son really wants, there will be no deleting it...I'll sit on with Disney IT for 12 hours on the phone before that happens. lol