Recent experiences at the MK Kiosks?

[Seeker615]

We were in the MK on Friday and it was very crowded with spring break travelers. I got a 4th FP around 5:30pm for Little Mermaid at a kiosk near Mickey's Philharmagic and there wasn't much wait. However I needed to go back to the same kiosk around 7pm to get a 5th FP and the lines there were insane. I waited in line about 30 minutes. One family ahead of me was picking all 3 FP's for a party of 12 people...lol! By the time I got my FP's the lines were twice as long.


They seriously need to double the kiosks or rethink this. Everyone had some problem that needed help from the CM and there was a CM by each machine. I didn't have much problem getting FP's for the things I wanted (Little Mermaid, Pirates) but the lines were insane at that kiosk after 7. Of course most people are not using the kiosks until they go for the 4th one later in the day and that's when the problems start. I don't mind waiting in a line but waiting in a line to get a FP to wait in another line...well...I could just go wait in the standby line if I have to wait 30 mins in the kiosk line...lol!

Here is where I have a problem. You have to wait in a line to avoid waiting in a line!

 

[WillAustin]

However I needed to go back to the same kiosk around 7pm to get a 5th FP and the lines there were insane. I waited in line about 30 minutes.

That's ridiculous no matter the crowd level. If I encountered that, I'd complain to guest services.

 

[Selket]

Thanks for sharing your experience with this. Any idea how many machines are at each kiosk station?

I would guess about 5 or 6 kiosks at the Philharmagic station. It's also hard to get a sense of how many people are in front of you in line because some are entire families of course (they either all want to see what's available or people have little kids they can't just park somewhere...lol!) and some are single but getting FP's for 4 people.

 

[Alfalfa]

I would guess about 5 or 6 kiosks at the Philharmagic station. It's also hard to get a sense of how many people are in front of you in line because some are entire families of course (they either all want to see what's available or people have little kids they can't just park somewhere...lol!) and some are single but getting FP's for 4 people.

And then not all of the kiosks are always available as they regularly cover some of them up:

 

[Selket]

That's ridiculous no matter the crowd level. If I encountered that, I'd complain to guest services.

Perhaps I'll send an email to them with my experience. I'm an experienced park goer but I've only been twice since FP+ came along. I had a reservation at BOG for dinner at 7:40 and I got in the kiosk line at 7:00 and was done at 7:28 I'd say. I figured I didn't even need a FP for Pirates as late as we wanted to ride it (and I was right...we could have walked right on) but it was the only ride left we really wanted to do and hadn't done so... haha!

We were there last July and ALL THREE of our FP+ experiences were cancelled because of a huge rain/thunder storm that lasted throughout much of the day so the rides I'd picked were closed down. The rain was torrential (I'm not kidding....probably one of the worst I've seen) for hours and rescheduling all 3 of those was a nightmare. In fact I don't think I ever did. What I truly dislike is that you cannot pull another FP until you use the ones you have - as used to there was a 2 hour wait then you could get another (if the one you picked was for example 5 hours later). It seems (if I remember right) last summer I was just out of luck with the 3 FP+ I had picked that got cancelled due to weather. I also had no idea where those kiosks were.

I like the idea of FP+ and reserving in advance but the practice of it leaves a lot to be desired....

 

[kaetra]

The fact that there are so few kiosks is absolutely inexcusable. This system has been live for over a YEAR now, and was in an extended "testing" period for many months before that. Removal of kiosks (like the one at Storybook Circus) is especially insane if the infrastructure is already in place for it.

The Disney website currently lists only FOUR kiosk locations in Magic Kingdom. FOUR stations for tens of thousands of people each day. Compare that to the number of restroom areas, there are 23 listed restroom areas.

Why weren't all the old FP- stations re-purposed as FP+ kiosk areas? The space was already there, they had to have some sort of electrical conduit there.

 

[Alfalfa]

The fact that there are so few kiosks is absolutely inexcusable. This system has been live for over a YEAR now, and was in an extended "testing" period for many months before that. Removal of kiosks (like the one at Storybook Circus) is especially insane if the infrastructure is already in place for it.

The Disney website currently lists only FOUR kiosk locations in Magic Kingdom. FOUR stations for tens of thousands of people each day. Compare that to the number of restroom areas, there are 23 listed restroom areas.

Why weren't all the old FP- stations re-purposed as FP+ kiosk areas? The space was already there, they had to have some sort of electrical conduit there.

I'm pretty sure the easier they make it to get additional FP's, the faster they would run out and all the kiosks would be covered up by mid-afternoon.

 

[famy27]

The fact that there are so few kiosks is absolutely inexcusable. This system has been live for over a YEAR now, and was in an extended "testing" period for many months before that. Removal of kiosks (like the one at Storybook Circus) is especially insane if the infrastructure is already in place for it.

The Disney website currently lists only FOUR kiosk locations in Magic Kingdom. FOUR stations for tens of thousands of people each day. Compare that to the number of restroom areas, there are 23 listed restroom areas.

Why weren't all the old FP- stations re-purposed as FP+ kiosk areas? The space was already there, they had to have some sort of electrical conduit there.

On our last trip, we were chatting with a CM regarding the kiosk removal situation. He said, "This is a test to see whether they need all of these kiosks." My reply was, "If it's a test, Disney just failed."

I was hopeful that they were removing kiosks in anticipation of 4th FP being available on MDE. But, since that was at least six months ago, it appears my hope was completely unfounded.

We had good luck with 4th (and more) FPs, but those trips were June, August, and September. I don't have any recent experience to report.

 

[ArwenMarie]

The fact that there are so few kiosks is absolutely inexcusable. This system has been live for over a YEAR now, and was in an extended "testing" period for many months before that. Removal of kiosks (like the one at Storybook Circus) is especially insane if the infrastructure is already in place for it.

The Disney website currently lists only FOUR kiosk locations in Magic Kingdom. FOUR stations for tens of thousands of people each day. Compare that to the number of restroom areas, there are 23 listed restroom areas.

Why weren't all the old FP- stations re-purposed as FP+ kiosk areas? The space was already there, they had to have some sort of electrical conduit there.

It's almost like they are trying to limit the number of FPs each person gets

 

[bcinohio]

We just returned for WDW and the Kiosk lines were long in most places. It was better to wait in a few lines then to stand in line to look for a FP. We already had set up our 3 so it would have been for the 4th and so on. I have to say I am a fan of the FP+ program and being able to set them up ahead of time. I'm a big planner.

 

[kaetra]

It's almost like they are trying to limit the number of FPs each person gets

They don't need to limit the number of kiosks to do that. Limiting the kiosks only increases guest irritation level.

 

[ArwenMarie]

They don't need to limit the number of kiosks to do that. Limiting the kiosks only increases guest irritation level.

Limiting the number helps too though by discouraging people from even getting into the lines, whether because they give up or because they can't find them.

I've been convinced since this all started that a goal of FP+ is to get people out of the park more quickly and back to their resorts.

 

[mj23cj]

We were there march 21-28. The lines for the kiosks were terribly long. The one by philharmagic always had terribly long lines that looked to be 30 min long. The one in frontierland by the bathrooms was all the way out into the main walkway. I waited 5 mins & line didn't move so I gave up. The only one I had luck at was the one by stitch. Line always had 10+ people but they had like 10 stations (all with cms) open. We got fp+ for buzz &
small world.

For some reason I thought I read on here that you could get your 5th, 6th, etc fp+ on your phone through MDE after obtaining & using your 4th at the kiosk. I couldn't figure out how to do it & when I asked a cm they told me you could only get the 5th etc at a kiosk. Did u used to be able to do this on your phone or am I making it up in my head? We never went back & got a 5th but used our 4th at MK 2 days & Epcot once

 

[WillAustin]

Limiting the number helps too though by discouraging people from even getting into the lines, whether because they give up or because they can't find them.

I've been convinced since this all started that a goal of FP+ is to get people out of the park more quickly and back to their resorts.

They can confidently say you can get as many as you are able, but then limit it by the process involved. If they let you get the 4th and beyond through the app, they'd be gone even faster than they are now.

 

[sharona]

So what do the CMs at the kiosks do? I thought a kiosk was a self service thing. Is the kiosk like using the DME app or the website? Do you get options and you can decline and see what is offered next? I would imagine that taking forever! A laundry list of what's available and what time would be most efficient...

 

[mj23cj]

CMs are at kiosks to help speed up the process I assume. They kinda rush you through it but are helping guide you through it. Most people are new to the system & would prob take longer without cms help. It is similar to app. Only shows rides available for fp+ at that park that day and then lists available times.

 

[ArwenMarie]

They can confidently say you can get as many as you are able, but then limit it by the process involved. If they let you get the 4th and beyond through the app, they'd be gone even faster than they are now.

Yep, exactly. It's brilliant really.

 

[tlmadden73]

They can confidently say you can get as many as you are able, but then limit it by the process involved. If they let you get the 4th and beyond through the app, they'd be gone even faster than they are now.

Ya .. as convenient as it would be to book the 4th Fast pass via the app, I am glad they don't.
More kiosks (I mean cripes they could have them all over the place like ATM machines) is better than allowing that 4th fast pass via phones. Some people simply do not (or don't want) smart phones and that would limit people getting more throughout the day.

When I was standing in line at the kiosks in October they actually had cast members with a tablet that you could simply make your 4th reservation on as well.
So the technology is there to have as many kiosks as they want. It just feels like they are still "feeling out" the system.

In general the system is pretty bad, but it is better than having to go to the rider to get a paper ticket .. just to come back later ... AND it is better than charging a premium fee (like other theme parks) for that "skip the line" option.

 

[sharona]

Ya .. as convenient as it would be to book the 4th Fast pass via the app, I am glad they don't.
More kiosks (I mean cripes they could have them all over the place like ATM machines) is better than allowing that 4th fast pass via phones. Some people simply do not (or don't want) smart phones and that would limit people getting more throughout the day.

When I was standing in line at the kiosks in October they actually had cast members with a tablet that you could simply make your 4th reservation on as well.
So the technology is there to have as many kiosks as they want. It just feels like they are still "feeling out" the system.

In general the system is pretty bad, but it is better than having to go to the rider to get a paper ticket .. just to come back later ... AND it is better than charging a premium fee (like other theme parks) for that "skip the line" option.

I don't want to derail the FP kiosk discussion but I wanted to briefly respond - the cost of the Universal deluxe resorts that come with express pass is much less than the cost of the WDW deluxes and if you have a Universal AP and get the AP discount on the rooms, it's more in line with paying for a moderate in off season or a value during peak season. It's a much better onsite perk than being able to make 3 FP/day 30 days sooner than offsite guests.

 

[lauradis]

Limiting the number helps too though by discouraging people from even getting into the lines, whether because they give up or because they can't find them.

I've been convinced since this all started that a goal of FP+ is to get people out of the park more quickly and back to their resorts.

You have a very valid point. Less rides means more spare time for shopping, eating and boozing around the pool.

I like universals idea of only having three deluxe hotels that do express passes. Never work at Disney. But I'm still in the camp of paying extra for fp or daily express passes