The big G+ rides at HS gone by 1:07!

[Meglen]

I disagree with some of the points you raised. I'm a relatively infrequent WDW visitor (1993, 2006, 2019, 2021) and our 2019 experience with FP+ was not good. We decided 3 days in advance to go to AK during an August trip. I read up on FP+ on disboards, but found it was too late to book any FP's except for Dinosaur. I came away from that with the perception that FP+ was for folks who booked their trips 30-60+ days in advance, and for headliners, you needed to stay on Disney property to have a chance.

One point that was raised in the Youtube video Disney's Fastpass: A Complicated History that I think is valid, is that when casual visitors came to WDW and learned about FP+ for the first time, it was too late for them. Conversely, with G+ they may still come unaware, but can take advantage same as anyone else the next day. Similar logic applies for last-minute visitors.

But if you go to the park and notice you will have to crash course learn how it all works while the first day being wasted... Also all of your dining plans might be in the way.. so even tho you can opt in day of it's a horrible idea and the 7am is kinda needed. Also unless you booked nothing in advance it will not meld well with current non genie + plans and prolly be a waste of time and energy and worst of all money.

 

[TikiRob]

I've found each park has their own unique challenges with G+, but I've used it on a couple trips and had great success. We've easily saved hours in lines each day with G+ and ILL$. Whether those hours are worth an extra $7-50/per day/per person is the decision each family has to make. The other consideration is whether or not you are willing to fiddle-faddle with your phone every couple hours. I hate paying extra, but I cherish every moment I get there, so I'll fork it over to get some of that time in lines "back".

 

[DisneyFive]

I disagree with some of the points you raised. I'm a relatively infrequent WDW visitor (1993, 2006, 2019, 2021) and our 2019 experience with FP+ was not good. We decided 3 days in advance to go to AK during an August trip. I read up on FP+ on disboards, but found it was too late to book any FP's except for Dinosaur. I came away from that with the perception that FP+ was for folks who booked their trips 30-60+ days in advance, and for headliners, you needed to stay on Disney property to have a chance.

One point that was raised in the Youtube video Disney's Fastpass: A Complicated History that I think is valid, is that when casual visitors came to WDW and learned about FP+ for the first time, it was too late for them. Conversely, with G+ they may still come unaware, but can take advantage same as anyone else the next day. Similar logic applies for last-minute visitors.

I understand your point when looking for FP's a few days ahead, but that doesn't mean things didn't open up day of. Did you try for anything else, day of? My point is that there was always availability day of. Guests were constantly changing plans the day of and it wasn't difficult to scoop up any number of FP's including the headliners. We did it all the time.

Dan

 

[jimmymc]

Before Genie+ these rides would've been gone at 59 days, and you were limited to 3 as well. The system isn't perfect, and in many cases isn't worth the money, but pretending these problems are new is just deliberately looking at the old Fastpass models with nostalgia. It's very entertaining to watch people yearn for FP+ when 8 years ago that system was also despised.

What happened with Genie+ isn't surprising. The cost is so low that way too many guests are willing to purchase it. But truthfully nothing is going to fix this system unless Disney increases ride and show capacity. FP+ would be just as bad, everything sold out weeks in advance. And paper fastpasses would be gone before noon with most guests being able to get one. Disney is more crowded than every and there literally isn't enough space on rides for every guest to reserve 3 experiences.

And to comment on your quote "I remember before Chapek, they cared about guest experience and studied how many “experiences” guests needed in order to want to come back.", that number of experiences was studied by imagineers and determined to be 4. In this case, you can easily get 3 Genie+ reservations and wait in 3 to 4 standby lines, plus eat two meals in a day.

My opinion on the who matter is to increase ticket prices and return to paper fastpasses. Some sort of Fastpass system does help people get on more smaller rides that typically have 20 minute or less waits, even on crowded days. The paper system allows Disney to account for unexpected breakdowns (major flaw with FP+), lets new visitors learn the system quickly (another smaller issue with FP+), provides some barrier to entry (having to go to the physical location instead of the phone lottery), allows guests to completely disconnect from their phones, and still provides the opportunity to see shows while not waiting 2 hours in line. The only change I might make is putting the FP pickup stations in better locations to reduce crowding.

 

[Disturbia]

And it was free. Imagine that!

Free at Disney! Blasphemy! Off with their heads!

Wake up at 7am book first. Than go back to bed or go have a nice breakfast book next at 11am than head to the pool for 2 hours and book next at 1pm. Shower, late lunch and head to the park for 4pm to use selections.. Looking at my phone 3 times in 5 hours is not horrible to me.


Now at 7am if you have to refresh a bunch till you get one for after 4pm it will set you back on the checks but ends up being the same thing in the end.

Sounds good in theory but it’s more like 6:30 am wake up as all 3 alarms start beeping. Quickly turn on your phone and stumble to the bathroom. Kick your spouse up. Log in (takes forever). Remember to put in your credit card info. and purchase Genie+. Check on your spouse again who couldn’t care less and fell back asleep and is now snoring. Scream in a whisper what you want them to do (repeat at least 3 times). Open the world clock app. Countdown the time on the world clock. Purchase ROTR whole spouse purchases SDD and yells something you’re so focused you can’t hear. You’re logged out; copy and paste a code from an email. Purchase screen times change so touch base again to make sure ROTR doesn’t overlap (takes 1.5+ hr to ride with rider switch and hoping it doesn’t break down). We will skip the times you want to throw your phone and you whisper scream some choice words. Finally the purchase goes through. Try to purchase second LLIA$ and it takes 20 mins of logging in, pasting codes etc. If anyone can go back to sleep after all that, I admire you.

The system can be improved but we went 3 times post pandemic and our June 2021 trip we stood in 60+ min lines, did 2 attractions and watched a parade and half our party didn’t want to go back to the park. This was pirates and jungle cruise. Same thing at HS. Temps got into 95 degrees and it was the worst trip we had. So for us with Genie+ and LLIA$ we can at least get some rides.

 

[jimmymc]

https://www.disboards.com/threads/w...hich-is-helpful-while-at-wdw.2463742/page-108
Not true. First timers absolutely could just use FP+ and get on the bigger rides. I met up with friends in July 2019 who were staying off property and did not know about prebooking. We met up in Animal Kingdom at 10.30, linked their tickets to our MDE and then rode EE, KS, FoP, NRJ all booked on the day by refreshing the app. We were out of the park by 4.30 having also eaten lunch and been through Gorilla Falls and the Jungle Trek

Everyone likes to post experiences like this, but I think they are few and far between. In all my trips during FP+, the only good day of pass I were ever able to get were Pirates and Big Thunder. FoP, the Toy Story Rides, Frozen, etc. were never available the day of, and this was as a solo traveler who is constantly on his phone. I'm sure that was a fantastic day, but it also doesn't sound typical.

 

[DisneyFive]

Everyone likes to post experiences like this, but I think they are few and far between. In all my trips during FP+, the only good day of pass I were ever able to get were Pirates and Big Thunder. FoP, the Toy Story Rides, Frozen, etc. were never available the day of, and this was as a solo traveler who is constantly on his phone. I'm sure that was a fantastic day, but it also doesn't sound typical.

I really don't know what to say about this. I do agree about not getting day of FP's for FOP, SDD, SDMT and Frozen (forgot about that one). That were rare to get. For all others, we literally did it every day of our almost annual 8+ days trips from 2015 on, until Covid hit. Yes, it did require refreshing, but that wasn't rocket science by any means, and it wasn't some hack or secret. It was obvious. We're not looking at it from rosy glasses. We're simply remembering

You talk about those who remember FP+ fondly as maybe aggerating their experience due to nostalgia, but then you mention that when paper FP was around you could only get 1? "And paper fastpasses would be gone before noon with most guests being able to get one." Not true. Come on. The one super headliner in each park may have been gone before noon but not all the others. I will say, that I really liked the old paper FP system when FP+ came out, until they had the kinks worked out with FP+.

Dan

 

[Westerner]

But if you go to the park and notice you will have to crash course learn how it all works while the first day being wasted... Also all of your dining plans might be in the way.. so even tho you can opt in day of it's a horrible idea and the 7am is kinda needed. Also unless you booked nothing in advance it will not meld well with current non genie + plans and prolly be a waste of time and energy and worst of all money.

I think you raise some valid points. I agree it's critical to get a prime booking at 7AM in order to get value out of G+, and also that the unpredictability of return times make it difficult to coordinate with other plans (e.g. ADR's). Where I disagree is regarding the first day for visitors unaware of G+. I think the term "wasted" is a bit extreme, but yes it's true it will be suboptimal and involve more waiting in standby lines. But with FP+ the knowledge gap would last the duration of their trip.

 

[jimmymc]

I really don't know what to say about this. I do agree about not getting day of FP's for FOP, SDD, SDMT and Frozen (forgot about that one). That was rare. For all others, we literally did it every day of our almost annual 8+ days trips from 2015 on, until Covid hit. Yes, it did require refreshing, but that wasn't rocket science by any means, and it wasn't some hack or secret. It was obvious. We're not looking at it from rosy glasses. We're simply remembering

You talk about those who remember FP+ fondly as maybe aggerating their experience due to nostalgia, but then you mention that when paper FP was around you could only get 1? "And paper fastpasses would be gone before noon with most guests being able to get one." Not true. Come on. The one super headliner in each park may have been gone before noon but not all the others. I will say, that I really liked the old paper FP system when FP+ came out, until they had the kinks worked out.

Dan

Even with the kinks worked out, Disneyland Paris and in California kept the paper system until recently, and it was just a better experience. Reserving spots ahead of time was a fundamental design flaw that even a perfect app wouldn't be able to fix. Maybe it was because it felt like you were actually getting a spot in line rather than getting lucky on your phone, or maybe it was because you could walk to the best rides in the park rather than have to try and get lucky the morning of 60 days out, but it felt like you were in control of what Fastpasses you had, while FP+ relied on random chance. I was easily able to get smaller rides by refreshing during the day, but those honestly felt like a waste of a Fastpass when the lines were less than 30 minutes anyway.

With that comment about selling out before noon, I'm talking about a hypothetical situation where paper Fastpasses are still offered in Studios today, and you're trying to get them for the top rides mentioned in the original post. Maybe noon is an exaggeration, but they would definitely be sold out before you're able to get all of them unless it's a light day. It's hard to know for sure because the last time we used paper fastpasses in Studios park attendance was 20% lower.

 

[Jennasis]

Everyone likes to post experiences like this, but I think they are few and far between. In all my trips during FP+, the only good day of pass I were ever able to get were Pirates and Big Thunder. FoP, the Toy Story Rides, Frozen, etc. were never available the day of, and this was as a solo traveler who is constantly on his phone. I'm sure that was a fantastic day, but it also doesn't sound typical.

We got premium FP every trip day of by refreshing. 10+ FP in a day was routine.

 

[jimmymc]

We got premium FP every trip day of by refreshing. 10+ FP in a day was routine.

Again, I see this all the time on the boards, but people I know in real life never had this experience. I knew the tricks, constantly refreshed for different times at least once an hour, and nothing. Unless they were all for Small World and Barnstormer.

 

[Jennasis]

Again, I see this all the time on the boards, but people I know in real life never had this experience. I knew the tricks, constantly refreshed for different times at least once an hour, and nothing. Unless they were all for Small World and Barnstormer.

Party size may be a factor? It was just 2 of us so maybe easier to obtain than for a larger group?

Also I refreshed waaaaaay more often than once an hour LOL. WAY.

 

[jimmymc]

Party size may be a factor? It was just 2 of us so maybe easier to obtain than for a larger group?

Also I refreshed waaaaaay more often than once an hour LOL. WAY.

Party size was just one or two. I also normally only searched for the biggest rides, so that's going to bring my success rate down, but it was pretty disheartening after spending an entire 60 minute queue refreshing to get nothing.

 

[sheilafri]

I thought it was well worth it at MK, but I would never buy it for HS again. Total waste.

I absolutely agree! I think we probably saved 30 minutes in the ToT line. Otherwise the times offered meant we had to make zig zags across the park so more walking. Yay! Now, I’m at 17,000 steps. Then walk back to the car. We need features for OUR convenience not for Disney’s.

 

[emmabelle]

Ha! Test Track closed at 6:30PM while I was there. Disney is a mess in so many ways.

It must have been one of the nights we were there because that happened to us! We had dinner in Mexico and had like 10 minutes to run to TT before it closed at 6:30. I don't even know why I bought Genie + that day. We only used it for TT, Soarin, and MS.

 

[DisneyFive]

Even with the kinks worked out, Disneyland Paris and in California kept the paper system until recently, and it was just a better experience. Reserving spots ahead of time was a fundamental design flaw that even a perfect app wouldn't be able to fix. Maybe it was because it felt like you were actually getting a spot in line rather than getting lucky on your phone, or maybe it was because you could walk to the best rides in the park rather than have to try and get lucky the morning of 60 days out, but it felt like you were in control of what Fastpasses you had, while FP+ relied on random chance. I was easily able to get smaller rides by refreshing during the day, but those honestly felt like a waste of a Fastpass when the lines were less than 30 minutes anyway.

With that comment about selling out before noon, I'm talking about a hypothetical situation where paper Fastpasses are still offered in Studios today, and you're trying to get them for the top rides mentioned in the original post. Maybe noon is an exaggeration, but they would definitely be sold out before you're able to get all of them unless it's a light day. It's hard to know for sure because the last time we used paper fastpasses in Studios park attendance was 20% lower.

Now there's something I'm nostalgic about, the low crowds, especially from 2010-2013. Our first trip was September 2010 and wow, if we could go back to those days. The recession really played in our favor for that. Lower cost and low crowds.

I remember the "running of the bulls" at HS to get TSMM paper FP's, that was nuts. They are doing a better job now at least with walking folks to the new headliner there, ROTR and MFSR. Last summer we were at the very front of that line and maybe half a dozen cast members walked us back with no cutting allowed (even though some still attempted it. )

I guess it's a matter of perspective, or success, or whatever, but reserving spots ahead of time was a real positive game changer. Being able to sleep in. Less stress going into your vacation. Ability to plan ADR's. etc... I'm not going to apologize for having a successful park experience because we planned and researched. Like I said before, do you expect the same ticket availability for your favorite concert the day before, versus when tickets are made available?

Dan

 

[jbish]

When the vacationers who had to postpone multiple vacations have fulfilled their needs for WDW, I predict that WDW is going to have to start offering <gasp!> real discounts. Maybe that won't be until 2024, but it is going to happen.

Well, I think this will be us. We went in June 2021 as a rescheduled April 2020 trip but I really wanted to go during the 50th. So now we're going in April of this year, throwing money at the problem and will get G+. I fully expect to get maybe 3 rides/day, if we're lucky as we are going during a peak week. As a DVC member, at least I'm not paying out-of-pocket for our hotel. But otherwise, this is not a cheap trip for our family of five. The nickel-and-diming is just out of control.

I started reading up on G+ once we made the decision to go during Spring Break. It takes a lot to prepare for this and we shall see how much value we get out of it for $75/day.

 

[Orsino]

I have very little sympathy for these people. ANY vacation requires prework, national parks, cruises, etc...

Bluntly, it doesn't matter whether you are sympathetic or not. The point is, Disney does care. The pre-booking craziness was bad show for Disney and for a company that wants new guests to come and spread the word, FP+ and the pre-booking craziness that went with it were not a good solution... for Disney.
Maybe have a little sympathy for the CMs at Guest Relations that had to explain to family after family how their 'trip of a lifetime' is utterly broken and would require a time machine to fix. Who would you rather be: a CM explaining FP+ to a family and telling them they needed to book SDD 60 days ago, or a CM explaining G+ and telling them they can try again tomorrow?

 

[Westerner]

I understand your point when looking for FP's a few days ahead, but that doesn't mean things didn't open up day of. Did you try for anything else, day of? My point is that there was always availability day of. Guests were constantly changing plans the day of and it wasn't difficult to scoop up any number of FP's including the headliners. We did it all the time.

I did try several times day of, in August 2019 to see if I could get FP's at AK but was only able to get Dinosaur. Things we were unable to get, and ended up riding standby, were NRJ, EE, and KS.

 

[jimmymc]

Now there's something I'm nostalgic about, the low crowds, especially from 2010-2013. Our first trip was September 2010 and wow, if we could go back to those days. The recession really played in our favor for that. Lower cost and low crowds.

I remember the "running of the bulls" at HS to get TSMM paper FP's, that was nuts. They are doing a better job now at least with walking folks to the new headliner there, ROTR and MFSR. Last summer we were at the very front of that line and maybe half a dozen cast members walked us back with no cutting allowed (even though some still attempted it. )

I guess it's a matter of perspective, or success, or whatever, but reserving spots ahead of time was a real positive game changer. Being able to sleep in. Less stress going into your vacation. Ability to plan ADR's. etc... I'm not going to apologize for having a successful park experience because we planned and researched. Like I said before, do you expect the same ticket availability for your favorite concert the day before, versus when tickets are made available?

Dan

It sounds bad but I would love to visit recession-era Disney again. I went in 2007 and again in 2012 and the difference was massive.

I do think most of it is my personal perspective. I haven't done the math to know if I averaged more Fastpasses with paper tickets or FP+, but with paper tickets it felt like I was in control. And having the paper tickets also just felt cool, especially as a kid/teenager.

I'm not sure that ticket analogy applies the way you think it does. I've been online right when they go onsale and they have sold out before the page will even load. I've also waited hours in person just to get a good spot with my GA ticket. If I can wait in a physical line to be guaranteed a spot, rather than just entering a buggy computer lottery, I will take the physical queue every time.