This just in from Disney Parks blog!

[DebbieB]

I know that human nature is to dislike change and that FP+ has been very traumatic for many. That's ok and everyone has a right to their opinion. However, regardless of which side of the fence you are on, I think that this shows that the powers to be are listening to what people are saying and intent on making changes. Will they make all the changes that every person wants? No, and that because not everyone agrees on every change that should be made.

For example, people wanted more than three FP+. It looks like that wish may be granted. However, now that doesn't seem to be good enough. Now in addtion to more FP+, some people now want to add it on their phone and don't want to go to a kiosk. Some people are fine going to a kiosk because they used to have to go to a FP- minus machine and are just happy getting more FP+. No matter what WDW does, they cannot please everyone but I really do think they are listening.

WDW is a special place that my family enjoys and will continue to enjoy regardless of FP+ and the features that it brings. I'm just happy that they are listening and are adjusting as needed and that's good enough for me.

I think this was part of the plan all along, not because people complained and now they are "listening". They needed to get everyone onboard with advance fastpass selections first before they could make adjustments. That's why it's still a "test", they will continue to make changes. This may not even be the final state.

 

[CWdreamer]

Or they are losing money and need people to stay in the park longer.

Possibly, but I would be surprised if that was the case. People are still going to WDW and their resorts are still booking up. Besides, I prefer to look at the glass half full. I find it makes me a happier person!

 

[Shaden]

I was thinking just along these lines. It doesn't makes sense to use them all up in the morning when crowds are so low, but using them earlier in the day will make a lot more sense this way.

I posted on the Disney Blog my conern more about that 4th FP+. let's say it's 1 PM and I am now eligible for another FP+. Well, if I want something like Soarin' or Space Mountain the return times might already be out at 8-9 PM. If I pick that FP+, it would mean I'll never get a shot at a 5th FP.

Either way, I like that they are starting this. It means that they don't consider that the system is yet in its final form, and however they implement it, they will probably continue to tweak it to try and provide overall the best guest experience possible.

I can see that as your issue, but that's no different than FP- if you went to pull a Soarin FP at 1pm on some days.

I can see this being the best change possible to FP+.

Really, this would make the system very similar, if not the same, to FP-, with a pre-booking element to it in an attempt to "lock people in".

This is something I mentioned some time ago, that I imagine if the feedback was negative enough, and it clearly is since they are proactively telling us they are going to make changes, all the while telling us the system is awesome, which is pretty hilarious. Anyway if that feedback was negative enough, we would start to see FP+ become more and more like legacy FP, just with pre-booking online.

So even though they haven't made these changes, they are trying to quell the negativity, which pretty much demonstrates that us "haters" are correct, enough people do not like this system that Disney is concerned and are adjusting to meet our concerns/demands.

So much for "Just deal with it" and "Disney doesn't care about you, there are 10 people waiting to take your spot" ...

 

[CinderElsa]

Great minds think alike. Greater minds type faster.

It doesn't really make much sense to force usage of the kiosks. People who are standing in long lines for kiosks are people who aren't eating or shopping while waiting for their next FP+ return time.

 

[OtherScott]

What is described in the blog post was implemented as a test in the parks in early March - exactly as stated, including requiring a kiosk rather than an online method. Very few knew about it because there was no public announcement, but it was there to be tested. So the ability to activate it, apart from whatever fine-tuning resulted from observations of the March test, could happen very quickly.

And it was also active during an unannounced test in January, when I actually did it myself. Again, via a kiosk and in my case, at a separate park from the original three.

So this is all part of the huge and detailed test period. There has been a purpose behind much of what has been going on beyond things that have been part of formal publicity announcements.

This is logical to anyone who wants to objectively look at it. Trouble is, there are more than a few who have invested too much time and effort maligning it to ever consider that there was a plan from the start.

All the good stuff from here on out is just the result of speaking truth to power, and by that I mean, complaining on message boards. It is the complaining that caused Disney execs to see the error of their ways, and not planning.

I posted yesterday that I believed, but couldn't prove, that this testing was already going on. It doesn't surprise me that it was going on in January.

 

[MrInfinity]

Do you guys (who didn't like FP+) really think this is good? All this is doing is creating an urgency to burn your 3 FPs right away on the hopes of getting a 4th.

Before you'd take them at 12, 1, and 2, and rope drop from 9-11. Great.

Now, you have every reason to take your FPs at 9, 10, 11, to get a 4th which will be for around 7pm and certainly not for anything really desirable like TSMM.

How is that better? You used 2 FPs during Rope Drop times, and you got one FP for later at night, and you spent the middle of your day with none (and nothing but long lines).

This is the first change to FP+ that I have not been excited about.

 

[clsteve]

I really hope it's not "kiosk only" for the fourth FP+... that would be a disaster. I'm sure it's just been miscommunicated.

Could be, but there's a chance it's a tech issue: like, if it's on the app (MDE) it's available to be seen outside the Park. Total speculation, but they put a lot of money into the kiosks- maybe they'll put inside park only FP's on them and continue to use them........

 

[BJSforVols]

I guess I don't understand why this is good news...if you have to wait until you use your 3 fast passes, then most of the fast passes will already be gone.

Or otherwise then you have to schedule all your fast passes first thing in the morning, which will kind of ruin the idea of getting there early for rope drop to get on rides w/out waiting.

If they are going to do something, then let it be more scheduled fast passes, or being able to schedule 3 (each) in two parks on same day!

Beggars can't be choosers. This change would make it similar to the old system with a step of improvement. The old system did not allow you to schedule the time of a fast pass. You also had to wait until you previous fast pass window closed before you could get an additional one. So, you had to use fast passes early with the old system in order to use several.

In my opinion, this change would give us the benefit of the old system plus the new ability to schedule your first 3 60 or 30 days before arriving. I don't see how anyone can spin this as a bad thing when comparing to the current fast pass+ or the old legacy fast pass system.

 

[Love Tink]

It doesn't really make much sense to force usage of the kiosks. People who are standing in long lines for kiosks are people who aren't eating or shopping while waiting for their next FP+ return time.

Yes, but people who can use their smartphone can be people who leave the park and go back to their off-site hotel or out to eat off property.

Making it kiosk-reliant keeps people in the parks.

 

[JanaDee]

Possibly, but I would be surprised if that was the case. People are still going to WDW and their resorts are still booking up. Besides, I prefer to look at the glass half full. I find it makes me a happier person!

The only reason Disney implemented MM was to get more money from guests (as has been explicitly stated by Tom Staggs). It has nothing to do with guest satisfaction. It is all about $$$. If they are seeing a drop in revenue, boom, they add in an "extra" FP to keep you sticking around longer and spending more money.

 

[Shaden]

In my opinion, this change would give us the benefit of the old system plus the new ability to schedule your first 3 60 or 30 days before arriving. I don't see how anyone can spin this as a bad thing when comparing to the current fast pass+ or the old legacy fast pass system.

Yup, I think that's exactly what this would do. Make this extremely similar to the old system, but allow for prebooking and accomplish Disney's "Lock in" which is what they wanted all along.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

I can see that as your issue, but that's no different than FP- if you went to pull a Soarin FP at 1pm on some days.

Except with legacy FP you would then be able to pull another FP at 3pm.

 

[disneyfamilyfive]

I agree it is a step in the right direction...similar to the old fast pass in a way, but different too. I am trying to stay positive as my June trip (first time ever doing Disney in the summer) approaches...hoping they will have this new "system" into place with some of the kinks worked out...such has allowing you to obtain the 4th and so on fast pass via an app.

 

[Love Tink]

In my opinion, this change would give us the benefit of the old system plus the new ability to schedule your first 3 60 or 30 days before arriving. I don't see how anyone can spin this as a bad thing when comparing to the current fast pass+ or the old legacy fast pass system.

Well - the bad spin that I would see is that we're already seeing a negative effect on lines in the park from the current distribution of FP+ - longer FP lines AND longer SB lines on all kinds of attractions, especially noticeable early in the morning (when lines used to be short).

So this new plan 1) Makes it more likely that more FP+ will be reserved for 9:00 and 9:30, backing up lines even earlier. 2) Will throw even more FP+ into the mix in general, which could exacerbate an already messy line situation.

Which isn't to say I'm not for this change, or that it isn't worth it. But this is the potential negative I see immediately.

 

[slickpoetry]

I wonder if, when the bonus FP program kicks in, you will still be limited to one FP per hour. Evening and late night touring could be amazing if you can get off one ride and immediately (assuming they allow smartphone booking) get a FP for the next ride. Obviously this might not work for headliners, but I imagine second tier FP would be easy to get between 8 PM and close.

 

[FLchick415]

“You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time.”

 

[WillAustin]

So much for "Just deal with it" and "Disney doesn't care about you, there are 10 people waiting to take your spot" ...

Yep. It's nice to be right.

 

[Shaden]

It doesn't really make much sense to force usage of the kiosks. People who are standing in long lines for kiosks are people who aren't eating or shopping while waiting for their next FP+ return time.

This is going to sound crazy, and tin foil hattie (is that a word ?) ...

But this might make some sense, in 2 ways. Even if people spend 2 mins, or 5 mins, at the kiosk, assuming they add more to deal with the high crowd periods, that is still 2 or 5 mins per person they spend in the parks, not being able to use ride capacity. While that doesn't seem like much, the net effect of 120 million people in the parks each year, is 240 million or 600 million minutes of ride capacity that don't need to be built.

Its also potentially 600 Million minutes more people are in the parks and not in other parks/florida spending their money outside Disney ...

On top of that, people will still -feel- like they are accomplishing something because they will get an FP out of it.

Of course, allowing more FP+s will increase demand on rides, BUT, at least forcing people to use the kiosks would offset this a bit. You could almost imagine, from Disney's perspective that the Kiosk plays the role of an attraction.


***edit - or you could take off the tin foil hat and say its just a tech issue, or a short term thing, and eventually you will be able to book more via the app ??? hahaha, but not a bad theory if I do say so myself.

 

[fbb]

Do you guys (who didn't like FP+) really think this is good? All this is doing is creating an urgency to burn your 3 FPs right away on the hopes of getting a 4th.

Before you'd take them at 12, 1, and 2, and rope drop from 9-11. Great.

Now, you have every reason to take your FPs at 9, 10, 11, to get a 4th which will be for around 7pm and certainly not for anything really desirable like TSMM.

How is that better? You used 2 FPs during Rope Drop times, and you got one FP for later at night, and you spent the middle of your day with none (and nothing but long lines).

This is the first change to FP+ that I have not been excited about.

You're making assumptions that might not play out. What if it is possible to do Rope Drop, FP+ 12/1/2pm, extra FP+ at 4/7/10pm?

 

[jtowntoflorida]

I think the only way to predict whether this is really beneficial is to know what same-day availability looks like right now. We know the top tier attractions "sell out" of FP+ before the day they're used. So taking Soarin, Test Track, Anna & Elsa, ETWB, and TSM out of the mix...what is same-day availability looking like right now at various points during the day?