Shortened FP+ return windows

[emonade8]

Ok, so every so often I go into MDE to play around with FP+, just to see what's available. I went in today and checked for MK FP+ on April 24 (just a randomly chosen date) and was very surprised that both A&E and 7DMT were available for a party of 4. Then I looked at the return windows and noticed that they were in half hour increments. A&E was between 11:00 and 11:30pm and 7DMT was between 11:30pm and 12:00am. Is this normal? Something new? I've never seen a return window less than an hour long.

 

[mom2rtk]

Yuck. I hope that's a mistake. The current system is already too limiting for my taste.

 

[hiroMYhero]

I think it's in anticipation of the changes that go into effect on Sunday.

Guests will choose specific FP time slots for up to 3 attractions. The shortened return windows add "more" availability.

 

[TJA]

I would like that change because right now we do a lot of waiting around -- I'd rather go right from FP to FP to FP without the waiting in between.

I also agree that this would add more availability -- welcome change for me!

 

[ArwenMarie]

Ugh why??? I dislike this idea. Takes even more spontaneity out of the day.

Will hour slots still be available, or will they all switch to half-hour?

 

[emonade8]

A half-hour window definitely won't leave much wiggle room if something runs late.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

Makes scheduling your ADRs 4 months before your FP+ all the more fun now. Better not try to cut it close now.

 

[hiroMYhero]

The MDE app is still showing hour time slots for the date I checked. That will more than likely change beginning Sunday.

 

[emonade8]

I checked a few different dates and got a range of windows... 30, 40, 50, or 60 minutes.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Maybe there are shorter windows for less busy times of the day. Late at night they can offer more slots with shorter windows based on lower crowd level.

It will be interesting to see what happens on Sunday with all the changes to the app.

 

[momof2n2]

Interesting.

I checked to see what our day at MK was (5/12) & no new opportunities for A/E. I gave one, but would like an earlier time.

 

[Angel Ariel]

30 min return windows? Wow. Have the execs at Disney toured with a toddler lately? While I understand the goal of adding FP+ availability into the system, this would be very stressful for our family.

 

[mom2rtk]

30 min return windows? Wow. Have the execs at Disney toured with a toddler lately? While I understand the goal of adding FP+ availability into the system, this would be very stressful for our family.

I agree that would add more stress than I would like. And I'm a commando visitor without a toddler.

 

[elaine amj]

Interesting. In a way, it is nice because of less waits between rides. But I have already had a few situations where the hour window saved me. Maybe they will offer a longer grace period than the current 15 minutes after?

 

[Angel Ariel]

Maybe they will offer a longer grace period than the current 15 minutes after?

I'm not holding my breath for that..

 

[VillainFavs]

It would double the number of FPs available. That part might be nice. And if you can now schedule 4th and later FPs on your phone it would be nice to be able to move things along instead of waiting for that next hour-long window. Not sure about this one.

 

[Robo]

Interesting. In a way, it is nice because of less waits between rides. But I have already had a few situations where the hour window saved me. Maybe they will offer a longer grace period than the current 15 minutes after?

With that 15 min. (AFTER) grace period, and the 5 min. (BEFORE) grace period, that makes the actual "30 minute" return window 50 minutes wide.

(Of course, that means that the traditional "60 minute" return window was actually 80 minutes wide.)

 

[NewbieMouse]

Maybe there are shorter windows for less busy times of the day. Late at night they can offer more slots with shorter windows based on lower crowd level.

It will be interesting to see what happens on Sunday with all the changes to the app.

It would double the number of FPs available. That part might be nice. And if you can now schedule 4th and later FPs on your phone it would be nice to be able to move things along instead of waiting for that next hour-long window. Not sure about this one.

Does it really double it, or does it just make the time frame shorter? E.g., If they used to give out 100 per hour, it could now be 50 per half hour. It may be increased a bit, but I don't think it could double. Unless they thought the shorter time frame would cause more people to miss the window, and they could increase it to compensate for a potentially higher "abandonment rate".

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

The problem I see is that sometimes we have to wait 15 minutes or more on the FP line. I probably wouldn't book FPs back to back if there is only a half hour limit. They should keep the hour limit and allow some overlapping.

 

[VillainFavs]

Yeah, I guess it wouldn't double, but I'm thinking they'd give out a lot more because they'd have more control when those people would be coming back.