The Future of Fast Pass Plus

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

I don't think anyone is asking for perfection! I just think guests are expecting more from disney than, " I can't do anything to help you"

And I would venture the MAJORITY of people who have posted here that have had their FPs nuked have had Disney do something to accommodate them. It's not in their best interests to tell customers to go screw.

I'm a good example. I was stalking a CRT ADR, one day it popped up and I jumped at it. Suddenly my credit card that I used to book everything from rooms to airfare, tons of ADRs etc. was rejected by MDE. By the time I entered another, that reservation was gone. I called down and explained my situation. The CM was really apologetic but explained that there was no way to get it back once it was filled, however were there any other ADRs I was still seeking. After about 15 minutes on the phone I had an 8pm at Cali Grill for my folks on a night where previously only 5:30 had been available. So no I didn't get what I wanted, but at least I felt steps were taken to rectify it with me.

 

[Laketravis]

Curious what piece of technology on the planet available to consumers works to 100% perfection every single day? Cause that is the standard Disney is being asked to be held to.

Ask yourself that very same question the next time you get on a plane.

 

[btk2333]

Ask yourself that very same question the next time you get on a plane.

Planes don't work 100% of the time, not even close- think about all the times you need to hold on the tarmac for maintenance- a plane doesn't have to crash for something not to work as intended.

For a Disney vacation, the equivalent of a plane crash would be Disney losing your entire reservation, resort, tickets, everything. Losing a single FP+ is like your tray table not working.

 

[Jennasis]

Planes don't work 100% of the time, not even close- think about all the times you need to hold on the tarmac for maintenance- a plane doesn't have to crash for something not to work as intended.

For a Disney vacation, the equivalent of a plane crash would be Disney losing your entire reservation, resort, tickets, everything. Losing a single FP+ is like your tray table not working.

They did lose my everything. I got it back after a nice long call to IT.

 

[mom2rtk]

And I would venture the MAJORITY of people who have posted here that have had their FPs nuked have had Disney do something to accommodate them. It's not in their best interests to tell customers to go screw.

And yet I keep reading reports from posters whose FPs disappeared on MDE and they have been told there's nothing they can do to help.

Disney used to be the world's BEST at guest recovery. I just think the sheer quantity of what they are dealing with here has made that standard impossible to keep up.

 

[Laketravis]

Planes don't work 100% of the time, not even close- think about all the times you need to hold on the tarmac for maintenance- a plane doesn't have to crash for something not to work as intended.

For a Disney vacation, the equivalent of a plane crash would be Disney losing your entire reservation, resort, tickets, everything. Losing a single FP+ is like your tray table not working.

And this is where the disconnect is throughout the entire argument.

I didn't claim that planes were 100% reliable. I was proposing the thought to the comment "This is the standard Disney is being asked to be held to".

I pay a lot more for Disney vacation than I do for an airline ticket. And the process of reserving that airline ticket is somewhat akin to making an FP reservation.

In fact, FP has it's roots in some of the same yield management techniques that flight reservation systems have used for years.

So again, ask yourself that very same question the next time you get on a plane. You are getting on that plane because you "made a reservation" and you are holding the airline to a set of standards in regards to that reservation.

 

[Laketravis]

They did lose my everything. I got it back after a nice long call to IT.

Thank you, that was my point.

 

[practicallyperfect77]

They did lose my everything. I got it back after a nice long call to IT.

Great news Jennasis! Were you able to get all FPs too? I remember reading your thread....makes me nervous.

 

[Planogirl]

If someone is actually feeling "pain" because they lost their FPs, I have an idea. I will go do Disney in your place with NO fastpasses and will try to "suffer" through it.

In return, the "victim" can take a seat at my computer and spend another hundred hours creating and typing lesson plans and then uploading the assignments that go with them to their correct spot on the calendar. FYI- it takes about 20-30 minutes per calendar day to type out the specific directions for each lesson, find the assignments, and upload them properly.

The problem is that what you and I find unimportant might not be the same as others. There are people around here that consider their trips to be more important than anything else and if anything goes wrong they react strongly. We've all seen it.

Besides I'm in the camp that feels like an expensive vacation shouldn't cause people problems. They do sometimes of course and it's unpleasant at the very least. Work is often unpleasant too but I expect it.

 

[Jennasis]

Great news Jennasis! Were you able to get all FPs too? I remember reading your thread....makes me nervous.

Yes...except for mine train time. I snatched up what was available but then the system crashed and by morning all times were gone, so we have one but not when I needed it for. Will work around it.

 

[DisneyDoc5]

I don't think anyone is asking for perfection! I just think guests are expecting more from disney than, " I can't do anything to help you"

 

[DisneyDoc5]

Ask yourself that very same question the next time you get on a plane.

 

[over50visits]

I don't think anyone is asking for perfection! I just think guests are expecting more from disney than, " I can't do anything to help you"

And that's Disneyspeak for "I won't do anything to help you." Of course they can fix your FP/ADR/ticket linking problems. To bad they often won't, cloaking it in "can't."

There's a reason we have visited WAY more that 50 times, have stayed in very resort, eaten almost everywhere....we love going there. But MDE, tracking wristbands, DDP, Disney's IT department, and what appears to be a significant decline in customer service have become things we have to ignore and continue having a blast there anyway. Ah, for the good old days.

Disney, please rewind the clock a couple of years and spend the $1.5 billion on Star Wars land.

 

[NYDisGuy]

And this is where the disconnect is throughout the entire argument.

I didn't claim that planes were 100% reliable. I was proposing the thought to the comment "This is the standard Disney is being asked to be held to".

I pay a lot more for Disney vacation than I do for an airline ticket. And the process of reserving that airline ticket is somewhat akin to making an FP reservation.

In fact, FP has it's roots in some of the same yield management techniques that flight reservation systems have used for years.

So again, ask yourself that very same question the next time you get on a plane. You are getting on that plane because you "made a reservation" and you are holding the airline to a set of standards in regards to that reservation.

You paid for that plane reservation. You do not pay for FP+, you pay for admission to the park. If you want to keep it as a plane reference, it would be akin to having your seat reset so instead of sitting at a window in the front you were moved to the back. You are still on the plane, getting to your destination with everyone else but it may take longer to get off and on.

 

[Suvadoo]

You paid for that plane reservation. You do not pay for FP+, you pay for admission to the park. If you want to keep it as a plane reference, it would be akin to having your seat reset so instead of sitting at a window in the front you were moved to the back. You are still on the plane, getting to your destination with everyone else but it may take longer to get off and on.

I don't look at FP+ as being free. I think every park goer is paying for it. Disney has it built into the price of admission. When Disney decides an additional price increase will cause too much of a backlash, FP+ will be offered at an additional surcharge. Similar to the way airlines are now charging for checked baggage.

 

[Laketravis]

Set the monetary aside for a second.

When WDW says "You can reserve your spot on no less than 3 attractions per day with minimal wait time" what exactly are your expectations in regards to that statement in terms of:

1. Availability
2. Reliability
3. Convenience
4. Cost

I ask because it seems the arguments in defense of FP+ failures seem to suggest that none of those things are relevant.

In other words, you throw the dice and accept the outcome.

 

[btk2333]

Set the monetary aside for a second.

When WDW says "You can reserve your spot on no less than 3 attractions per day with minimal wait time" what exactly are your expectations in regards to that statement in terms of:

1. Availability
2. Reliability
3. Convenience
4. Cost

I ask because it seems the arguments in defense of FP+ failures seem to suggest that none of those things are relevant.

In other words, you throw the dice and accept the outcome.

1) Availability I expect to be just like ADR's, you can get most of the regardless of when you book but some of the best you need to be on the day they become available (I think tiering has maintained that at DHS and EPCOT, and MK has plenty of attractions to spread out FP+. A&E is an exception; however, I am just happy FP+ is even available at A&E, plenty of hot character meets like this in the past did not have legacy FP - like Rapunzel and Flynn)
2) Reliable- Disney's side should be nearly perfect- or at least Disney should help compensate you if something goes wrong (this does NOT mean handing out 7DMT FP+'s to anyone who says their fast pass was lost). User error should be minimized through the app; however, it cannot be completely negated- neither can network flaws, cellular and wifi.
3) It should be easy to pull the FP+ up on your app and adjust on the fly, just like it is with ADR's
4) I expect them to charge for additional FP+ at some point in the future, or grant more FP+ depending on what level resort you choose.

My experience with all of these criteria have been as expected, actually exceeded expectation because they haven't started charging for the fourth FP+ yet. I know that some people have problems with #2, but I have not- I feel bad for people who have had reliability problems- I think Disney should institute confirmation numbers for FP+ and that would resolve most of the concerns

 

[magicbob]

Oh jealous! DCL?

Nope, DCL won't start the northern European circuit until next year. We'll be on the Celebrity Constellation (from all I've read a very nice ship with a recent refurb).

If we're still here next summer, we're considering a cruise of Norway's Fjords.

Our time in Europe has "forced" us to vacation in lots of places other than WDW (Scotland, Ireland, Crete, Israel, France, Austria, and impending cruise). We DO plan to go back to WDW, but I'm kind of glad that the timing will be after they've had a bit longer to iron out the kinks in all of these new systems. In the meantime, we get our occasional Disney fix at Disneyland Paris (Annual passes cost a LOT less there than they do at WDW and it's only a four hour drive to Paris).

During the coming months, I'll continue to observe FP+ (and other) developments closely in order to be prepared when our next visit rolls around. As another thread states, all of these changes have made it necessary even for "experts" to re-learn much of what we know.

 

[momof2n2]

Nope, DCL won't start the northern European circuit until next year. We'll be on the Celebrity Constellation (from all I've read a very nice ship with a recent refurb). If we're still here next summer, we're considering a cruise of Norway's Fjords. Our time in Europe has "forced" us to vacation in lots of places other than WDW (Scotland, Ireland, Crete, Israel, France, Austria, and impending cruise). We DO plan to go back to WDW, but I'm kind of glad that the timing will be after they've had a bit longer to iron out the kinks in all of these new systems. In the meantime, we get our occasional Disney fix at Disneyland Paris (Annual passes cost a LOT less there than they do at WDW and it's only a four hour drive to Paris). During the coming months, I'll continue to observe FP+ (and other) developments closely in order to be prepared when our next visit rolls around. As another thread states, all of these changes have made it necessary even for "experts" to re-learn much of what we know.

Now that you rewrite this I remembered you shared your continent change a while back. And I SHOULD have remembered DCL not there til 2015.

How lovely to experience these places. I would LOVE to visit Israel, DLP & take your cruise! Have a wonderful trip. The Constellation sounds amazing!!!

 

[BigAlsGal]

So, what I'm hearing is that the "average" guest (the purported beneficiary of FP+ re-distribution) will continue to be blissfully ignorant of the system while those evil super-abusers still have their FP quota reduced. So where are all those extra FP slots (the ones "reclaimed" by limiting the uber-users) going?

Really not sure how to answer this. Do I think the newbies will remain blissfully unaware? Yes. Do the uber users have their quota reduced? Yes. Who does this benefit? The average guest who is blissfully unaware in the standby line. Why does this system benefit them? Because uber users aren't jumping in front over and over again. I believe for a lot of rides (A&E mine train being the exception) there are lots of unused FP+ slots. These are distributed through shorter standby.

I had a client who went recently to disney world. I had tried to give her advice before her trip about making ride reservations and things but she just didn't get it. She did NO research at all. When I asked her about her trip and what she rode I went through my favorites. Did you ride Peter Pan? No. Did you ride HM? No. Splash mountain? No. Pirates? No Of course being an uber fan I'm really irritated at this point.

They rode the magic carpets.....jungle cruise....and buzz lightyear. That's it! This is the average guest people I'm telling you!!