Rockin Rollercoaster ALREADY out of FP?!?!

[kdigs]

According to MDE, as of 3:45 the wait times for the major DHS attractions are: Star Tours- 20 min (FP return 4:15) RNRC- 40 min TOT 40 min TSMM- 85 min These seem like wait times that are in the normal and expected range. Another thread reported exceptionally long lines to get into the park this morning, so it sounds like the crowd at the park is higher than people may have expected. I seriously doubt that FP+ had anything to do with that.

It's been my experience over the last few days that MDE is WAY OFF on wait times. I was literally standing in front of Splash Mountain as the board said 40 minutes and MDE showed 15. Several other rides have been way off as well. I uninstalled the app as it has proven useless this trip.

 

[dawnhaze]

Well, I chose to stay in HS today because of FP+ and ADRs and have actually had a darn good day, even with the crowds.

It is really crowded, but the standby lines seem to have gotten a little more normal since this morning.

I gave away the paper FPs I obtained early in the day to a very upset mother and son who didn't get here until noon, so at least they can go on ToT this hour...

 

[GrnMtnMan]

it sounds like the crowd at the park is higher than people may have expected.

And higher than what Disney expected, given that they announced extended closing and added second Fantastic over the course of the day.

 

[momof2n2]

Well, I chose to stay in HS today because of FP+ and ADRs and have actually had a darn good day, even with the crowds.

It is really crowded, but the standby lines seem to have gotten a little more normal since this morning.

I gave away the paper FPs I obtained early in the day to a very upset mother and son who didn't get here until noon, so at least they can go on ToT this hour...

That was nice of you.

 

[Autumnslight]

I have to say, as someone who used Magic Bands and FP+ recently, and had no problems at all, I think they're AWESOME. Clearly the system functioned as Disney intended it to for us, and it made our trip far more enjoyable than it might have been otherwise!

I know we were "lucky", in that we didn't have any of the problems that some others have had. But once the system is fully rolled out and out of testing phase, I truly believe it will be a big improvement over the old FP system.

That being said, someone was told today by a cast member that just today, Disney officially extended the testing for MyMagic+ to December, and that FP+ selections will be able to be made starting at 28 days before arrival, not 60 days. In my opinion, 28 days out is far more reasonable than 60 days. And who knows, maybe they'll change it again to something like 14 days, which really reduces the whole worry about having to pre-plan too much.

From what I've heard, Disney is also holding some amount of FP+ selections for same-day use, so people who don't make selections ahead of time can still get FP+. That sounds like a good idea to me.

Honestly, I kind of wish they'd do something similar for ADRs!

 

[wisblue]

You don't think that FP+ had anything to do with paper FPs for TSM, RnR and ToT running out by 9:30?? Weather by design by Disney or a glitch in the system, it is hard to believe that FP+ played no part in that happening!!

I DID NOT say that. I said that FP+ wouldn't have anything to do with the number of people in the park being higher than expected.

We've already gone over the fact that there was obviously something going on with the FP system this morning, and that part of that is almost certainly a reduction in the number of paper FPs.

Pure arithmetic should tell you that the existence of FP+ by itself cannot produce longer waits at every attraction in the park. Even if people were able to get paper FPs for the headliner attractions, they would still be doing something else while they waited for their return times.

I guess if people want to decide that FP+ represents the end of WDW as we know it, and that the system can never be improved, that is up to them.

But it seems like there were a lot of people thinking that the sky was falling a couple of years ago when they decided to strictly enforce FP return times because it destroyed their plan of collecting a lot of FPs during the day to use one right after the other in the evening. The World seems to have survived that.

 

[JeRmS]

I find it funny that some here are saying they HATE planning what rides they will ride a month in advance BUT yet they will cry if they can't get the restaurant they want to eat at 180 days in advance???

I for one ... LOVE FP+ ... even more so now that Disney has decided to punish my DD who is on the spectrum by taking away the GAC card! This will allow us to plan what park we go to on what day and know exactly when we are riding the rides we HAVE to ride.

 

[ArwenMarie]

28 days is when they customize and send your MagicBands. I think the prebooking is still earlier than that, at least it was for us for this upcoming November trip.

I don't think "testing" matters anymore...this is a phase of the rollout, no matter what they are calling it. A gradual, painful, dragged-out, low-information rollout, but a rollout nevertheless. Of course, they can still change whatever they want at whatever point. In my opinion, it's a disaster, not from a technical point of view which I really can't comment on, but definitely from a public relations point of view. People have vacations booked over the next six months and they are going to walk into who-knows-what in the parks. It's time for Disney to start telling everyone what the real rules are going to be, including the differences for onsite and all offsite visitors, including APs.

I think this is also a good example of how experiences are going to vary based on how busy the week. That was always the case at Disney, and it's still going to be the case, but for different reasons. And the coping mechanisms that people used (early RD) aren't going to cut it anymore.

 

[JanaDee]

I find it funny that some here are saying they HATE planning what rides they will ride a month in advance BUT yet they will cry if they can't get the restaurant they want to eat at 180 days in advance???

Not me. I don't like planning where I'll eat six months in advance, either and typically do one or two TS meals a trip for that very reason.

 

[JoshuaShaw]

I find it funny that some here are saying they HATE planning what rides they will ride a month in advance BUT yet they will cry if they can't get the restaurant they want to eat at 180 days in advance???

You've kind of answered your own question. Not everyone likes that they have to make a meal reservation 180 days out or risk not being able to get one at all. This thinking is perfectly in line with someone who also doesn't want to do the same with attractions.

 

[JERME81]

Not me. I don't like planning where I'll eat six months in advance, either and typically do one or two TS meals a trip for that very reason.

Me neither, plus I found that the restaurants at the Swan Dolphin (not owned by Disney) have much better food and you can almost always get a reservation for dinner even when calling the same day.

My most recent trip last month ate at Shulas and Il Mulino, both were outstanding. Nothing Disney serves even comes close.

 

[wisblue]

28 days is when they customize and send your MagicBands. I think the prebooking is still earlier than that, at least it was for us for this upcoming November trip.

I don't think "testing" matters anymore...this is the rollout, not matter what they are calling it. .

I agree about the 28 days. We had the same experience for our quick November trip. I was able to customize a MB and make FP+ reservations sometime in late September for a November 5 arrival, even though I had not received a formal invitation to participate in the test. That invitation came a couple of days after our customized MBs. So, if I had a December trip planned, I would be checking MDE regularly to see if the opportunity to customize a MB appears.

Although it may be semantics, I also suspect that the testing is moving to a new phase. Maybe it should be thought of as a "transition" in which different aspects of the ultimate system (like reducing the availability of paper FPs) are being phased in.

It will be interesting to see if things like today's early exhaustion of paper FPs at DHS and EPCOT will be repeated over the next few days.

 

[Autumnslight]

I agree about the 28 days. We had the same experience for our quick November trip. I was able to customize a MB and make FP+ reservations sometime in late September for a November 5 arrival, even though I had not received a formal invitation to participate in the test. That invitation came a couple of days after our customized MBs. So, if I had a December trip planned, I would be checking MDE regularly to see if the opportunity to customize a MB appears.

I have a December trip planned. There's a whole thread of December guests, who are all wondering whether we'll have Magic Bands and FP+ for our stays. Thus far, none of us have been offered the ability to customize Magic Bands or make FP+ selections (although those who have Magic Bands from a previous trip have been able to make FP+ selections). It was someone from that thread who was told today that the FP+ selection window would now be only 28 days, starting with December arrivals.

I agree that this seems to be a new phase or transition of sorts, getting closer to a full official rollout.

 

[tink20]

Just curious, Was the FPs (paper and plus) working fine at MK and AK today? Was the problem just at E and HS?

 

[Piglets Mommy]

We go Nov. 1. Originally, I wasn't going to reserve any FP+ times, because I HATE planning in advance. I only made 1 ADR, so that I wouldn't have to plan anything. I wound up making some FP+ picks, because I was afraid that since they sent us Magic Bands, we wouldn't be able to get any regular FP's. I am so glad I did after reading this thread. I think this may be the last trip for a while though. I am on a tight schedule the other 360 days of the year. I don't want to do it on vacation too.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I have a December trip planned. There's a whole thread of December guests, who are all wondering whether we'll have Magic Bands and FP+ for our stays. Thus far, none of us have been offered the ability to customize Magic Bands or make FP+ selections (although those who have Magic Bands from a previous trip have been able to make FP+ selections). It was someone from that thread who was told today that the FP+ selection window would now be only 28 days, starting with December arrivals.

I agree that this seems to be a new phase or transition of sorts, getting closer to a full official rollout.

Oh, that makes sense.

 

[wisblue]

I have a December trip planned. There's a whole thread of December guests, who are all wondering whether we'll have Magic Bands and FP+ for our stays. Thus far, none of us have been offered the ability to customize Magic Bands or make FP+ selections (although those who have Magic Bands from a previous trip have been able to make FP+ selections). It was someone from that thread who was told today that the FP+ selection window would now be only 28 days, starting with December arrivals.

I agree that this seems to be a new phase or transition of sorts, getting closer to a full official rollout.

As with all of these things, I hear them, take them with a grain of salt, and keep checking. One of my daughters has a trip scheduled for 12/4 arrival and she hasn't been able to do anything with a MB yet.

 

[2012DisneyWorldBride]

Just curious, Was the FPs (paper and plus) working fine at MK and AK today? Was the problem just at E and HS?

Yep! We went to HS first with the problem, then AK and MK were fine.

 

[Sydnerella]

I got an answer from 2 senior looking self-assured CMs walking down Pixar place that this was a glitch, nothing else. See the thread here:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3187100

Hopefully it is a one time of this type...

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[JanaDee]

Me neither, plus I found that the restaurants at the Swan Dolphin (not owned by Disney) have much better food and you can almost always get a reservation for dinner even when calling the same day.

My most recent trip last month ate at Shulas and Il Mulino, both were outstanding. Nothing Disney serves even comes close.

Thanks. Maybe we'll give Il Mulino a try this trip.