Spontaneity at WDW Gone

[WhispyPixie]

So excited to be headed to WDW in a few days for a week of Christmas fun. This will be over 20 trips we have planned for our family at WDW. ''

With all the deadline dates, FP plus scheduling, etc..it seems like the spontaneity of doing something at WDW is gone. Yes, we have planned and scheduled and reservered out the wazoo and yes, I KNOW it will be a wonderful trip cause we are with family and we are AT DISNEY...but I guess I miss the good old days when you could do what you wanted and not feel like you missed out on an opportunity because you didn't book it 60 days in advance.....

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We were spontaneous last week. It helped if was not a peak time. But we didn't make our first reservations until 2 days prior to departure and made changes in the fly constantly. Some things were locked because no switch was available. But that wasn't such a big deal.

I realize that may not be as possible during your Christmas vacation--just remember that stopping to smell the roses does not require FP+ or an ADR.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[minnie mum]

I share your feelings that for some (myself included), fp+ has kind of sucked most possibilities for spontaneity and flying by the seat of your pants out of a WDW trip. Others will disagree. OTOH , I would consider it the height of folly NOT to plan the daylights out of a Christmas trip, given the horrendous crowds that will be encountered. But since you will be outta there before Christmas itself, hopefully you'll still have the opportunity to switch things up occasionally, as the need arises.

 

[mcd2745]

We're seeing this sentiment more and more. It doesn't really make sense to me. There's nothing stopping anyone from waking up, deciding that morning what park to go to, and then decide what attractions to enjoy "spur of the moment" while walking around. Standby lines do still exist. Of course, you'll be waiting in line a lot more. The idea that everyone should just be able to "spontaneously" walk on to any attraction with little to wait is totally unreasonable. And the inferences that it always used to be that way before FP+ is just as nonsensical.

 

[Spoiledraf]

The spontaneous trip may be affected but now that Disney knows your every move, they can prepare better, I hope!
On the other had, if you are going at peak Christmas time, I would be thrilled to know I have 3 ride times reserved each day for my must dos. There would have been multiple attractions with the old FP sold out early and that kills any chance of being spontaneous as well. There is certainly no additional fun in having to be at rope drop over an hour early, especially since at MK its scheduled for 7am.
It is what it is and it works better for Disney. I would expect more changes in the future but the one change we will never see is going back to the old system.

Have fun and good luck! I wouldn't go at Christmas if it were free!

 

[WhispyPixie]

I certainly don't/didn't expect to short lines. I am perfectly happy just having a Mickey Bar and watching people. Guess all the scheduling and planning seems excessive. It is all good... We will have fun regardless.

 

[JimmyV]

We're seeing this sentiment more and more. It doesn't really make sense to me.

Sometimes when a whole bunch of experienced people all say the same thing, there might be a ring of truth to it, no? If you are in Park "A" and were able to get FPs for three rides at 11:00, 2:00 and 3:30, but then decide at noon that the park was too crowded for you and that you want to hop over to Park "B" for the afternoon, by doing so now, you lose your FPs. Yes, you could drop them and try to get two more in Park "B", but there may not be any left. In the past, you could get a FP for virtually any ride in any park at 12:30 p.m. except for TSMM. Those days are gone. You either stay in Park A and use your FPs, or you hop to Park B and take your chances. Of course there is always the SB lines. But before, that wasn't your only option, (except for TSMM and perhaps Soarin' after 4:00). That is the type of spontaneity that is being lost. Not always. Not all days. And not all people. But to suggest that this loss of freedom isn't being felt by some people is equally nonsensical.

To the OP, have you been to WDW at Christmas before? I am just wondering exactly how much freedom of movement and spontaneity you had in the past during that week. Sounds like a week that always required uber-planning, no?

 

[robinb]

We're seeing this sentiment more and more. It doesn't really make sense to me. There's nothing stopping anyone from waking up, deciding that morning what park to go to, and then decide what attractions to enjoy "spur of the moment" while walking around. Standby lines do still exist. Of course, you'll be waiting in line a lot more.

Sure, there is nothing stopping people from picking a park in the AM and stand in line for hours. Gee ... does that sound like fun to you? It sure doesn't sound like fun to me. It sounds like a complete nightmare and terrible "vacation".

The idea that everyone should just be able to "spontaneously" walk on to any attraction with little to wait is totally unreasonable. And the inferences that it always used to be that way before FP+ is just as nonsensical.

No one has said that. Especially over Christmas which is the busiest time of the year. Heck, I've stood in line for the TTA and the Swiss Family Treehouse. But that was while I was waiting for my FP- time to start.

 

[DVCcurious]

There's tons of spontaneity.

Suppose you're at MK and you have no plans but you want to do something RIGHT NOW. But wait....it's a 8 level park day! Oh no! Fear not, my good friend. You are in luck. Spontaneity prevails at MK!

You can:

Hall of Presidents
Stitch
Carosel of Progress
Riverboat
Tom Sawyer's Island
Swiss Family Treehouse
Tiki Birds
Country Bears
Casey Jr Splash and Soak station
Magic Kingdom Railroad

There's tons you can do at the spur of the moment!

But you're not at MK? Your at Hollywood Studios? Well you can:

Dis Jr.
Muppets
Indiana Jones
Beauty and the Beast
Little Mermaid


If you settle for the lesser attractions you can be spontaneous throughout your trip!

 

[Laketravis]

Horse rubbish. Last week, on our Epcot/HS day in which CS credits 34,35,36 were to be used at Sunshine Seasons for lunch at 11:49am followed by our FP for TT at 12:25pm, then Mission Space at 1:35pm, then Figment at 2:35pm followed by use of TS credits 29,30,31 at Cape May for our scheduled dinner at 6:40pm after which we were to be at HS at 7:58pm to see Osborne Lights, I suddenly decided to deviate from the plan at 3:37pm and use our snack credits 30,31,32 for candied pecans instead of pretzels.

If that ain't spontaneity, I don't know what is.

 

[elaine amj]

One side effect of the new system that is harder for those of us who have been "in the know" is that it seems like FP usage has shot through the roof (at least that's what it has looked like to me judging from everyone's reports)! I that past, the vast majority of ppl didn't use FPs and stood in endless standby lines, allowing the rest of us to get FPs easily and breeze past them. This new system has "pushed" the regular guest into getting FPs, making it that much harder for the rest of us to get the FPs we used to.

And yes, Disney's un-sneaky plan is to pre-schedule all of us so we can't change our plans on the fly. They want to lock us in so we don't "spontaneously" switch to the Dark Side.

Maybe one day this strategy will backfire on them. In the meantime, the parks are more crowded than ever before so whatever it is that's working - it's working a tad bit too well for my liking lol!

 

[robinb]

To the OP, have you been to WDW at Christmas before? I am just wondering exactly how much freedom of movement and spontaneity you had in the past during that week. Sounds like a week that always required uber-planning, no?

No, it didn't for us. It *did* require getting to the park at rope drop, though. We would often change the park we would go to the night before or even that morning. We don't do a lot of ADRs so we had more freedom to change up parks.

 

[Shaden]

Horse rubbish. Last week, on our Epcot/HS day in which CS credits 34,35,36 were to be used at Sunshine Seasons for lunch at 11:49am followed by our FP for TT at 12:25pm, then Mission Space at 1:35pm, then Figment at 2:35pm followed by use of TS credits 29,30,31 at Cape May for our scheduled dinner at 6:40pm after which we were to be at HS at 7:58pm to see Osborne Lights, I suddenly decided to deviate from the plan at 3:37pm and use our snack credits 30,31,32 for candied pecans instead of pretzels.

If that ain't spontaneity, I don't know what is.

Good lord If I could applaud on this board I would !

 

[CampbellzSoup]

It's really not that bad at all...

 

[Suvadoo]

If FP+ weren't that bad, why are there so many negative posts about it? I realize there are a lot of people who are very happy with the new system, but that does not change the fact that there are a lot of Disney fans who are disappointed with the new system. Some people who love FP+ think the only uber legacy FP users are unhappy, and the people who are unhappy with FP+ are more vocal about their dislikes than the people who like it.
I don't think either of these assumptions are true. Prior to the implementation of FP+, I saw very few negative posts on these boards, so obviously this change is not viewed as a resounding success. I just think it's absurd to schedule appointment times for attractions. I don't want to be controlled by appointment times while I'm on vacation.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

If FP+ weren't that bad, why are there so many negative posts about it? I realize there are a lot of people who are very happy with the new system, but that does not change the fact that there are a lot of Disney fans who are disappointed with the new system. Some people who love FP+ think the only uber legacy FP users are unhappy, and the people who are unhappy with FP+ are more vocal about their dislikes than the people who like it.
I don't think either of these assumptions are true. Prior to the implementation of FP+, I saw very few negative posts on these boards, so obviously this change is not viewed as a resounding success. I just think it's absurd to schedule appointment times for attractions. I don't want to be controlled by appointment times while I'm on vacation.

Because bad experiences are spoken about more. BUT it isn't representative. I won't say I tried to hate the system last week--but it was challenging to come across all the key objections in real life.

But we have an OP who hasn't yet tried the new system believing all the spontaneity is gone. But that is only the case if one allows their itinerary to rule them.

And Lake Travis' post was funny--but it was also hyperbole.

You are only controlled if you allow yourself to be.

Many of the complaint posts--are folks assuming the system won't work. I have seen a mix of those who liked and those who disliked the system.

Have you utilized the new system in practice at the parks?

 

[DisneyFive]

We're seeing this sentiment more and more. It doesn't really make sense to me. There's nothing stopping anyone from waking up, deciding that morning what park to go to, and then decide what attractions to enjoy "spur of the moment" while walking around. Standby lines do still exist. Of course, you'll be waiting in line a lot more. The idea that everyone should just be able to "spontaneously" walk on to any attraction with little to wait is totally unreasonable. And the inferences that it always used to be that way before FP+ is just as nonsensical.

That's painting a pretty rosy picture. Well, if you want to wait in crazy long standby lines, then yeah, spontaneity still exists... but I expect the OP means having spontaneity while still riding the popular attractions without using half your day waiting in lines.

Before FP+, everyone entering the park that day, onsite guests, offsite guests, and AP holders were all on the same playing field. The only exception to this were EMH mornings for onsite guests, which gave a slight advantage in the morning.

In the past, you could change your park schedule on the fly during your stay with no worries about missing your favorite rides. Just get there with enough time to pull a paper FP. Now with the ability to prebook FP+, if you switch parks during your stay, you can have slim chances of getting a headliner to ride since the FP's are already reserved many days before... unless you get there right at rope drop and get there asap.

It just feels so scheduled now... and it is...

FP+ isn't all bad. We do love the idea of having our favorite ride or two reserved on our arrival day, and also being able to sleep in some mornings knowing that our rides are reserved.

Dan

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

That's painting a pretty rosy picture. Well, if you want to wait in crazy long standby lines, then yeah, spontaneity still exists... but I expect the OP means having spontaneity while still riding the popular attractions without using half your day waiting in lines.

Before FP+, everyone entering the park that day, onsite guests, offsite guests, and AP holders were all on the same playing field. The only exception to this were EMH mornings for onsite guests, which gave a slight advantage in the morning.

In the past, you could change your park schedule on the fly during your stay with no worries about missing your favorite rides. Just get there with enough time to pull a paper FP. Now with the ability to prebook FP+, if you switch parks during your stay, you can have slim chances of getting a headliner to ride since the FP's are already reserved many days before.

It just feels so scheduled now... and it is...

Dan

We changed our park schedule on the fly. And we hit all the rides we wanted.

So it is only as scheduled as you allow it to be.

In the past, the FP you got, you were stuck with. No moving it later or earlier. No switching it out for something else. And waiting a whole 2 hours or until after the window expired (of it expired before that 2 hours) before you could run and get another one.

So you could switch your plans--but you wasted that time getting that pass and blocked yourself our of getting a different one for a period of time.

Or I can say--I don't wish to ride this ride, let me switch the FP--or throw it away like before and move on with my day.

Not really any different.

Because in the past, if I decided to switch parks midday, headliner paper FP's would be out anyway. And the waits would be just as long.

I think what there is is a learning curve--but spontenaity can be rediscovered.

 

[JimmyV]

Because bad experiences are spoken about more. BUT it isn't representative.

This is stated often but there is no proof of that. In almost every circumstance, if you look at self-reported review sites, positive reviews always outpace negative ones.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

This is stated often but there is no proof of that. In almost every circumstance, if you look at self-reported review sites, positive reviews always outpace negative ones.

True. But I have read A LOT of these so called negative reviews. And many represent hyper users of the old system and folks who have not even used the new system, yet.

I get that folks have issues. I am surprised that my family was not able to experience most any of them. I feel the negative has been overhyped and it may not represent reality for the majority of guests.

As we have APs, so we will have plenty of opportunity to try and try again.