The Future of Fast Pass Plus

[Suvadoo]

" Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy."

However, now if you want to use FP+ you can't leave today. You carry your I phone with you and access the MDE app multiple times throughout the day. I go to WDW to play and escape reality, but now I must bring my baggage from "today" with me if I choose to use FP+.

Some people argue that Disney is saving trees by not issuing paper FP's, but what about the energy used by our I Phones? I would guess that our I phones are leaving a much larger carbon footprint than paper FP's ever did.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Yes! For me it's not about how many major attractions we can conquer before noon, it is about enjoying our time together. But different strokes for different folks. For some, planning = magic, for others the magic will happen anyway!

So if you care about about the number of attractions you get on, you must not care about enjoying time together with your family.

?

 

[dkrauss]

" Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy."

However, now if you want to use FP+ you can't leave today. You carry your I phone with you and access the MDE app multiple times throughout the day. I go to WDW to play and escape reality, but now I must bring my baggage from "today" with me if I choose to use FP+.

Some people argue that Disney is saving trees by not issuing paper FP's, but what about the energy used by our I Phones? I would guess that our I phones are leaving a much larger carbon footprint than paper FP's ever did.

Given your attitude about WDW I can't for the life of me understand why you even go? If you're so unhappy............do something else........why torture the rest with your unhappiness.

Doug

 

[mjr0483]

" Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy." However, now if you want to use FP+ you can't leave today. You carry your I phone with you and access the MDE app multiple times throughout the day. I go to WDW to play and escape reality, but now I must bring my baggage from "today" with me if I choose to use FP+. Some people argue that Disney is saving trees by not issuing paper FP's, but what about the energy used by our I Phones? I would guess that our I phones are leaving a much larger carbon footprint than paper FP's ever did.

Don't forget about all that radiation from the wifi.

 

[Jennasis]

Given your attitude about WDW I can't for the life of me understand why you even go? If you're so unhappy............do something else........why torture the rest with your unhappiness.

Doug

You don't have to understand why anbody does anything. It is what it is.

The "if you don't like it, don't go" refrain is an old, tired and weak retort that's been bandied about since they got ride of the A-E ticket books.

 

[over50visits]

FP+ is, of course, a customer management system designed for Disney's benefit, and they are packaging it, as they should, as a benefit for us.

I think most of the problems are not with the concept, but the implementation.

- You feel encouraged to decide two months ahead of time what rides you want to ride at what time; many feel the spontaneity and enjoyment of a vacation is really hurt

- The app is at time unreliable, slow, or inoperable

- BIGGIE: The system has myriad reports of losing people's reservations (FPa, ADRa, other party members, and admission tickets!!)

- People talk about "printing the screen" because of a realistic worry their FP+ will be lost and they will be denied admission to the line. Sheesh

- Stories about people being treated as liars by CMs when they want to use/restore their lost FPs

- Stories about hours (yes hours) on the phone with GS or IT to fix problems with MDE

- Disney telling people they "can't" restore their lost FP reservations. Of course they can, they just won't

And, of course, a real concern that this is a foundation for future charging for FP. No future about that any more, they already do that with the $299 package for about 10 FPs plus lunch. $299!! After the cost of lunch, that is about $25 for a single FP.

MDE seems to work well for most people. That's not good enough.

Again, the design is a nice one. The implementation needs fixing, and has for 6 months now. It is time to hire new people in the IT department, starting at the top.

 

[jco_direwolf]

Let's face it IF FP+ and generally MyMagic+ is so buggy and FP are being lost by they 100s and no one can get ADRs and ... Then why isn't GS at MK line out the door and around corner? Making the wait for A&E look like a walk on.

Seems to me and I've said things like this before we are the Pros we want to be able to micro manage and fine tune everything. For most of the 50k plus guests each day to MK it works well enough. Disney, Disney world specifically, has NEVER catered to us. Look how long it took to get MB to AP holders.

 

[mom2rtk]

Let's face it IF FP+ and generally MyMagic+ is so buggy and FP are being lost by they 100s and no one can get ADRs and ... Then why isn't GS at MK line out the door and around corner? Making the wait for A&E look like a walk on.

Seems to me and I've said things like this before we are the Pros we want to be able to micro manage and fine tune everything. For most of the 50k plus guests each day to MK it works well enough. Disney, Disney world specifically, has NEVER catered to us. Look how long it took to get MB to AP holders.

So how much Fp loss is ok? Hundreds instead of thousands? Dozens instead of hundreds?

I'm sorry, but once Disney asks us to reserve in advance, they need to be prepared to carry that out 100% of the time. If that doesn't pan out, they need to have a guest recovery program that doesn't include the phrase "Sorry, but there's nothing I can do".

And did you miss the story about the day the GS line was so long they set up water carts to sell bottled water to the affected customers waiting outside in the heat?

 

[dkrauss]

You don't have to understand why anbody does anything. It is what it is.

The "if you don't like it, don't go" refrain is an old, tired and weak retort that's been bandied about since they got ride of the A-E ticket books.

While I couldn't disagree with your statement more.....I find nothing constructive about being so miserable and so self absorbed in that it all has to be YOUR way......and the useless threat of never going back (that one really makes me giggle......like it will matter).........However, you are correct that "It is what it is". In fact my continuing to respond to this thread is just as bad as the those who wish to be so unhappy. Some have made excellent and constructive points here......but others have just complained........ But.........."it is what it is"

Doug

 

[clsteve]

FP+ is, of course, a customer management system designed for Disney's benefit, and they are packaging it, as they should, as a benefit for us.

I think most of the problems are not with the concept, but the implementation.

- You feel encouraged to decide two months ahead of time what rides you want to ride at what time; many feel the spontaneity and enjoyment of a vacation is really hurt

- The app is at time unreliable, slow, or inoperable

- BIGGIE: The system has myriad reports of losing people's reservations (FPa, ADRa, other party members, and admission tickets!!)

- People talk about "printing the screen" because of a realistic worry their FP+ will be lost and they will be denied admission to the line. Sheesh

- Stories about people being treated as liars by CMs when they want to use/restore their lost FPs

- Stories about hours (yes hours) on the phone with GS or IT to fix problems with MDE

- Disney telling people they "can't" restore their lost FP reservations. Of course they can, they just won't

And, of course, a real concern that this is a foundation for future charging for FP. No future about that any more, they already do that with the $299 package for about 10 FPs plus lunch. $299!! After the cost of lunch, that is about $25 for a single FP.

MDE seems to work well for most people. That's not good enough.

Again, the design is a nice one. The implementation needs fixing, and has for 6 months now. It is time to hire new people in the IT department, starting at the top.

Hard to argue with this - excellent points!

I only disagree with the design part. Poor design is causing most of what you list.

 

[surferdave]

Let's face it IF FP+ and generally MyMagic+ is so buggy and FP are being lost by they 100s and no one can get ADRs and ... Then why isn't GS at MK line out the door and around corner? Making the wait for A&E look like a walk on.

People have to decide how to spend their precious time in the parks. When I had MyMagic+ issues while I was there I generally ended up cutting my losses and doing without the fastpasses rather than going to guest services and standing in line, that sort of defeats the purpose. Like mom describes, there have been long lines at GS outside the parks when MM+ issues were preventing park admittance, you pretty much don't have a choice at that point.

 

[practicallyperfect77]

While I couldn't disagree with your statement more.....I find nothing constructive about being so miserable and so self absorbed in that it all has to be YOUR way......and the useless threat of never going back (that one really makes me giggle......like it will matter).........However, you are correct that "It is what it is". In fact my continuing to respond to this thread is just as bad as the those who wish to be so unhappy. Some have made excellent and constructive points here......but others have just complained........ But.........."it is what it is"

Doug

Thing is, it's supposed to be Magic Your Way. It has now become Magic Our Way.

 

[mom2rtk]

Thing is, it's supposed to be Magic Your Way. It has now become Magic Our Way.

They're not really still calling them "Magic Your Way" tickets, are they? Because every day seems to make that more and more of a farce.

 

[ArwenMarie]

This is the conflict at the core of the issue (IMO)

Disney is asking their customers to plan out their every day of their vacations 180 days in advance for restaurants and 60-30 days for rides. I say "asking", because of course you can decline, but we all know that will probably mean a diminished experience at this point.

In any case, they are asking people to leave behind the benefit of day-to-day flexibility on vacation in exchange for being guaranteed ADRs/ride reservations.

On the other hand, Disney is also asking people to then be flexible, really flexible, when things go wrong on MDE (sorry there is nothing we can do, little compensation for lost vacation hours, etc).

I think the conflict is, the customer feels like they are being pushed from both sides by Disney, all to Disney's benefit. They're trying to have it both ways.

 

[mom2rtk]

This is the conflict at the core of the issue (IMO)

Disney is asking their customers to plan out their every day of their vacations 180 days in advance for restaurants and 60-30 days for rides. I say "asking", because of course you can decline, but we all know that will probably mean a diminished experience at this point.

In any case, they are asking people to leave behind the benefit of day-to-day flexibility on vacation in exchange for being guaranteed ADRs/ride reservations.

On the other hand, Disney is also asking people to then be flexible, really flexible, when things go wrong on MDE (sorry there is nothing we can do, little compensation for lost vacation hours, etc).

I think the conflict is, the customer feels like they are being pushed from both sides by Disney, all to Disney's benefit. They're trying to have it both ways.

Yep. That.

 

[btk2333]

I'm curious what you found the difference between your experience with the old "paper" FP and the new FP+ system..........in the park? I've done the paper FP (last May) and will be doing FP+ (in Sept) and I will surely be looking into this enjoyment factor you speak of. While I can't speak to it yet..............just curious as to what you found made FP+ so bad during park time.

Doug

There are pro's and cons to both systems

The nice thing about the old system was that you could get a ton of FPs if you knew how the system worked (most people didn't or at least didn't use it effectively). This allowed you to ride headliners multiple times with short waits, especially if you arrived at RD. The system was at its most manipulated when you could use your FP after the posted return times (there were days that we would spend the morning riding a ride and grabbing FPs for it and by 1:00 we had accumulated FPs for 6 or so rides, then we would use them from 1:00-4:00 when the crowds were heaviest- it made for fantastic touring).

The nice thing about the new system is we can plan our days even more (we like this). We know we have three rides reserved from 1-4 for example, we can RD at a different park and take advantage of RD lines, hop to the second park where we have a lunch ADR and FP+'s and use the FP+ then either take a break or go to dinner. With our family having as few choices on the day of is best, when things aren't planned there is a lot of passive aggressiveness that happens and it leads to grumpy family members. Additionally you don't have to criss cross the park, you have all your FPs when you get there, no running for FPs (much to the dismay of our best friend who loved the reputation of being able to get the first FP at TSMM regardless of where we were in line). I also love being able to adjust my FP+ from my phone- I've had good luck with the app and find it very workable (kinda clunky but I've always been able to get it to do what I want it to do)

I would say the system I enjoyed most was the version of legacy without return times; however, that's been gone for awhile- I'd say legacy and FP+ are pretty much a wash- my vacations with each have been equally magical and enjoyable. The new system is much less able to be manipulated for the advantage of people "in the know." That's a bad thing for those of us who knew how to work the old systems, but a good thing for the general guest (whose opinion is not generally represented on DISboards).

Disclaimer: I'm not judging or saying that anyone who maximized their use of the old system did anything wrong, I did it too.

 

[practicallyperfect77]

They're not really still calling them "Magic Your Way" tickets, are they? Because every day seems to make that more and more of a farce.

True. Just thought it was a little ironic the PP used those exact words when that's honestly what.Disney used to advertise. I should have given you credit to mom2rtk.....I know you have a bunch of those slogans. I truly enjoy them. "Disney...better than shoveling snow"....that was one of my.faves.

 

[practicallyperfect77]

This is the conflict at the core of the issue (IMO)

Disney is asking their customers to plan out their every day of their vacations 180 days in advance for restaurants and 60-30 days for rides. I say "asking", because of course you can decline, but we all know that will probably mean a diminished experience at this point.

In any case, they are asking people to leave behind the benefit of day-to-day flexibility on vacation in exchange for being guaranteed ADRs/ride reservations.

On the other hand, Disney is also asking people to then be flexible, really flexible, when things go wrong on MDE (sorry there is nothing we can do, little compensation for lost vacation hours, etc).

I think the conflict is, the customer feels like they are being pushed from both sides by Disney, all to Disney's benefit. They're trying to have it both ways.

Could not agree more! Excellent post!

 

[btk2333]

This is the conflict at the core of the issue (IMO)

Disney is asking their customers to plan out their every day of their vacations 180 days in advance for restaurants and 60-30 days for rides. I say "asking", because of course you can decline, but we all know that will probably mean a diminished experience at this point.

In any case, they are asking people to leave behind the benefit of day-to-day flexibility on vacation in exchange for being guaranteed ADRs/ride reservations.

On the other hand, Disney is also asking people to then be flexible, really flexible, when things go wrong on MDE (sorry there is nothing we can do, little compensation for lost vacation hours, etc).

I think the conflict is, the customer feels like they are being pushed from both sides by Disney, all to Disney's benefit. They're trying to have it both ways.

How much of a diminished experience is it really if you don't book at 180 60 30 days?

Last night I looked for FP+ for today, as I mentioned in a PP the only attractions not available were A&E, TSMM, Wishes, Illuminations and It's Tough to be a bug. That's still quite a bit of flexibility <12 hours before park opened (I looked at 9:00PM on 7/27 for 7/28 FP+)

ADR's as long as you're not looking for BOG, then you can pretty much get whatever you want if you're not traveling at Christmas

I've planned trips one week before arrival and been able to get FP+ and ADR's for pretty much anything I wanted. It's not like spontaneity is dead

The real problem with spontaneity is the popularity of the parks, the more guests, the fewer FP+ and ADR options. Those of you who hate FP+ should be rooting for attendance to go down, that would increase spontaneity options and give Disney a chance to see that they've made a mistake. As long as attendance keeps going up I doubt you'll see much remorse from them.

 

[jco_direwolf]

So how much Fp loss is ok? Hundreds instead of thousands? Dozens instead of hundreds?

I'm sorry, but once Disney asks us to reserve in advance, they need to be prepared to carry that out 100% of the time. If that doesn't pan out, they need to have a guest recovery program that doesn't include the phrase "Sorry, but there's nothing I can do".

Before I took a power hit (sorry big rain storm here in Boston) I was saying.

100% isn't going to happen, not realistic I work in operations I deal with things like this every day (like the power hit we just took.) My guess even a goal of six sigma isn't going to happen. My guess is they are at or below the error goals they signed off for.

Disney is riding a thin line. If word gets out all you need is a print out/screen shot of your FPs and you are good to go, people will start abusing it. Same reason they had to revamp the GAC program. Too many people where abusing it and the system was about to fall over (or if you ask some people had fallen over.)

IS MM+ perfect? no.
Would I like to see some changes? yea.
Do I think the system was built for me? No.
Do I think I'll see the changes? Maybe one day.
Do I think I can handle it as is? Yes, I've done 3 trips with it already, and had problems, but they were not outside of the realm of issues I've had with other trips to Disney and else where.

And as I said, long ago I figured out As a DVC member, and AP holder, and someone that visits the parks multiple times per year, they really don't care about me. Disney is about the First Time visitor, or the the once every 3-5 year visitor.