Talk me off the ledge!

[ReelRedHead]

We are WDW vets. We go almost every year and have our way of doing things. We spend 10 days and rope drop all 10 days. After riding everything we want, sometimes multiple times, we eat lunch and then go back to our resort for a rest and a swim. We return to the parks in the evening.

We are planning a trip for summer 2015. This year was the first year we have not gone to WDW in quite a few years. We went in 2013 but were not part of the FP+ rollout. 2015 will be our first FP+ experience. I am fine with choosing our 3 FP+ per day. What has me concerned is all the talk of rope drop, long waits, and not having the ability to ride many rides. I am at the point of re-thinking the whole thing. Is it just not worth it anymore?
It seems even doing RD does not get you on many rides. Ugh.
Are all of the normal "walk-ons" in the morning (HM, Pirates, IASM) now going to be an hour wait at 9:30?? That's insane.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

We have a cruise booked next summer but frankly how many days we do WDW is still up in the air.

Like you, I did what I wanted in the AM, then back to the room for nap, reading, shower than on to dinner and a walk around WS.

This is my 4th long trip in 5 months with FP+ and it we did less at RD then we ever have in all our dozens of trips. At the most we did 2 FP- a day, since we had no plans come back in the afternoon.

There is a hurry up and wait because it is hard if not impossible in one hour to do 1FP+ and one SB. So it was 3 FP+ and then 1 maybe 2 SB's and out all before lunch. You couldn't chance missing your FP+ so any line less than 30 minutes was a risk.

 

[PSUGuy]

We consider ourselves 'Disney Vets' with yearly trips since 1999 averaging 8 days each. We were chosen to be guinea pigs on our Oct 2013 trip, we linked our UT tix via My Disney Experience to our MBs and chose our FP+ selections without a hitch.

First, FP+ works really well for us as almost every day we hit a park at ropedrop then hop to WS around noon or so. By that time FP- times would be gone or very late. Now we can have rides waiting for us at Epcot when we arrive. As for ropedrop itself, we've had no problem riding the E Ticket rides in the morning and we have not observed unusually long standby lines, either last Oct or this March. I'm not here to argue with those who claim horrible wait times, this just has not been our experience. Don't pre judge your trip, go with an open mind. If you go expecting a bad time, you'll tend to exaggerate any speed bumps you may encounter.

Bill From PA

 

[BrianL]

I think all this talk of Rope Drop being ruined is a bit of an overreaction. On my trip in May I found I was still able to do plenty before the crowds settled in. AK didn not start having significant waits until after 12. Epcot and DHS of course had the usual suspects fill up almost immediately, but that's always been the case (they also siphon peoiple from the less popular attractions).

MK was fine as well, although I'm not such a commando as I usually just go clockwise, but I was already at Haunted Mansion before noticing crowds getting big (HM was not a big wait either), but BTTMR was getting there. I har already done Jungle Cruise, POTC, BTMRR, Splash, and BTMRR again, then headed around to HM when wait times were getting larger.

It is still very good to do RD as a lot of people still don't like to wake up early on vacation.

 

[mistysue]

To me it appears there are actually more people saying it worked out well after they experience it than otherwise.
Most of the doom and gloom is all people whining about how bad it WILL be- people saying "mark my words." I feel stressed about it too but really expect that we are going to get there and wonder what the heck the problem was.

 

[ReelRedHead]

Thank you so much, Bill. You are exactly right. If I go expecting it to be a disaster, it will be. I'll be looking for it. I appreciate your reply.
I also have been thinking about getting FP+ for the evening as we *usually* get on everything we want in the am at RD.

We consider ourselves 'Disney Vets' with yearly trips since 1999 averaging 8 days each. We were chosen to be guinea pigs on our Oct 2013 trip, we linked our UT tix via My Disney Experience to our MBs and chose our FP+ selections without a hitch.

First, FP+ works really well for us as almost every day we hit a park at ropedrop then hop to WS around noon or so. By that time FP- times would be gone or very late. Now we can have rides waiting for us at Epcot when we arrive. As for ropedrop itself, we've had no problem riding the E Ticket rides in the morning and we have not observed unusually long standby lines, either last Oct or this March. I'm not here to argue with those who claim horrible wait times, this just has not been our experience. Don't pre judge your trip, go with an open mind. If you go expecting a bad time, you'll tend to exaggerate any speed bumps you may encounter.

Bill From PA

 

[Luvchefmic]

Come off the ledge. Your trip is a year from now. I'm not trying to dismiss your concerns BUT things change ALL the time. Don't worry about any of it until you are near the time to actually make any FP+s etc. or within your window to cancel if you decide it's no longer for you. Who knows what will be happening by then ? I don't think even Mickey knows.

 

[ReelRedHead]

Come off the ledge. Your trip is a year from now. Things change ALL the time. Don't worry about any of it until you are near the time to actually make any FP+s etc. Who knows what will be happening by then I don't think even Mickey knows.

Excellent point.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

I should have qualified my bad experiences, and I've had over a couple of dozen days in the park since FP+ started by saying I've only gone during peak season.

The majority of days were level 9.

I've been saying since before testing started months ago that the time of year makes all the difference.

I even read a few months ago from someone with inside knowledge that the % of capacity changes with the seasons. The larger the expected crowd the larger % of FP+.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Excellent point.

Feel better now...c'mon take my hand, that's right you can do this come back into the window now ..deep cleansing breath

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Come off the ledge. Your trip is a year from now. I'm not trying to dismiss your concerns BUT things change ALL the time. Don't worry about any of it until you are near the time to actually make any FP+s etc. or within your window to cancel if you decide it's no longer for you. Who knows what will be happening by then ? I don't think even Mickey knows.

Good point. Every trip they've changed the rules. Now I'm looking for information for SB+ testing which was unannounced.

 

[ReelRedHead]

Feel better now...c'mon take my hand, that's right you can do this come back into the window now ..deep cleansing breath

Breathing...lol.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Do you all need an intervention relax hit youtube and find out how to make a Dole Whip at home

 

[GotLabradors]

We consider ourselves 'Disney Vets' with yearly trips since 1999 averaging 8 days each. We were chosen to be guinea pigs on our Oct 2013 trip, we linked our UT tix via My Disney Experience to our MBs and chose our FP+ selections without a hitch.

First, FP+ works really well for us as almost every day we hit a park at ropedrop then hop to WS around noon or so. By that time FP- times would be gone or very late. Now we can have rides waiting for us at Epcot when we arrive. As for ropedrop itself, we've had no problem riding the E Ticket rides in the morning and we have not observed unusually long standby lines, either last Oct or this March. I'm not here to argue with those who claim horrible wait times, this just has not been our experience. Don't pre judge your trip, go with an open mind. If you go expecting a bad time, you'll tend to exaggerate any speed bumps you may encounter.

Bill From PA

This sounds like good advice. It's always tough to change the way we do things, especially for those who have spent 10+ years perfecting how they tour making efficient use of legacy FP. Everyone has to start from square one again to figure out the system. Only this time, WDW keeps changing the rules mid-game. It doesn't help that it seems like Disney pushed this system out before it was really ready. (I can just imagine some poor programmer telling some bigwig marketing guys the system isn't ready for full implementation and the marketing guys saying too bad it has to be rolled out now.) We, too, are planning a 2015 trip. I am thankful I will be able to go in September when crowds will not be at the peak making any speed bumps we encounter a little more manageable.

 

[starsweeper]

It's understandable for people to get upset and be fearful their trip may be ruined with all the new changes, but you've got a year for things to settle down and be tweaked.

We were FP+ testers last October and loved it, but I believe we could schedule 3 additional FP+ rides after our first 3 were used with MDE app--that made a big difference over standing in line for a kiosk to schedule 1 more at a time, and SB waits weren't ridiculous. That and SB+ testing has me worried about our trip this October, but I'm prepared to learn as much as I can to use the new system and we'll see how it goes. If it goes badly, there's always next year for us, but I know we'll have plenty of great moments even if we experience fewer rides this trip. However, until all this settles down, we have postponed a trip originally planned this summer for 20+ family members indefinitely--we refuse to spend that amount of money with things so up in the air.

 

[Kellykins1218]

We are WDW vets. We go almost every year and have our way of doing things. We spend 10 days and rope drop all 10 days. After riding everything we want, sometimes multiple times, we eat lunch and then go back to our resort for a rest and a swim. We return to the parks in the evening.

We are planning a trip for summer 2015. This year was the first year we have not gone to WDW in quite a few years. We went in 2013 but were not part of the FP+ rollout. 2015 will be our first FP+ experience. I am fine with choosing our 3 FP+ per day. What has me concerned is all the talk of rope drop, long waits, and not having the ability to ride many rides. I am at the point of re-thinking the whole thing. Is it just not worth it anymore?
It seems even doing RD does not get you on many rides. Ugh.
Are all of the normal "walk-ons" in the morning (HM, Pirates, IASM) now going to be an hour wait at 9:30?? That's insane.

We were there in June. Both MK days were 9s. We did RD and practically walked onto everything. The longest we waited, until 11, was 15 minutes. We didn't use our FP+ until the afternoon & we left the park by 5:30 because we had gotten to do everything we wanted to do including several re-rides. I personally love FP+ and think it's made everything easier.

 

[redsbe]

I have never been to WDW during the summer months when crowds are at there peak, but if posters are complaining about long lines at RP from current or recent visits, it is worth remembering that they are in the parks on crowd level 8+ when waits and lines have been an issue for many years even with FP- and now with FP+. I just checked the WDW app this morning (Fri Aug 1st) soon after RD and with the exception of the always busy TT, Soarin, 7DMT and TSM, other rides and attractions did not have long lines, meaning the first few hours in a park at RD should still be very beneficial.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

We were there in June. Both MK days were 9s. We did RD and practically walked onto everything. The longest we waited, until 11, was 15 minutes. We didn't use our FP+ until the afternoon & we left the park by 5:30 because we had gotten to do everything we wanted to do including several re-rides. I personally love FP+ and think it's made everything easier.

It is too hot for us to be there in the Afternoon. If I am standing in the shade and sweating at 8:30, no way I'd be able to stay to use the FP+ in the afternoon. In fact, I thought Epcot was completely deserted after lunch until I walked into the shops. They were packed with people in the AC.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

I have never been to WDW during the summer months when crowds are at there peak, but if posters are complaining about long lines at RP from current or recent visits, it is worth remembering that they are in the parks on crowd level 8+ when waits and lines have been an issue for many years even with FP- and now with FP+. I just checked the WDW app this morning (Fri Aug 1st) soon after RD and with the exception of the always busy TT, Soarin, 7DMT and TSM, other rides and attractions did not have long lines, meaning the first few hours in a park at RD should still be very beneficial.

I have been for the last 3 years and now that FP+ starts at 9AM SB lines are getting longer faster.

While getting there at RD is still beneficial it is less so.

 

[DjdBrit]

Leaving in 5 days, I completely get your concerns, I am on that ledge right now!