Trial Club Level Fastpass+ Purchase Program Planning & Discussion

[EEva]

We went to the section in Robo's map below labeled fastpass entrance S which was incorrect. We were then taken to an entrance that was closer to the aisle in-between section I and H. A cast member there checked us in and brought us down to the E section. We arrived 15 minutes early. Knowing that they filled the section in closer to start I would probably would allow a bit more time though.

This is wonderful and very helpful. Thank you!

 

[OhioWDWDuo]

Was able to book night time viewing for special fireworks on 7/3 and Illumination on 7/4. Prior to this I was told they did not know if the viewing areas would be available.

Did you book MK special fireworks on 7/3? When I booked this morning, I was told special viewing was not available for CL guests. TIA!

 

[baler31]

Did you book MK special fireworks on 7/3? When I booked this morning, I was told special viewing was not available for CL guests. TIA!

Yes, I booked the special fireworks for 7/3 yesterday. I even asked if that was an option due to the holiday. Guess what ! Tonight I receive an evasive email suggesting the area may not be available. I am not only underwhelmed, I am frankly displeased with the whole process. Over the last few weeks (there seems to be no stewardship of the program) I have received more conflicting information regarding this program than anything I have ever done at Disney. This was clearly "not ready for primetime" with little thought put into the consequences, unintended and otherwise. I was also unable to book at first due to my AP expiring during our trip. Great, I am renewing ! Not great, I cannot renew until 30 days prior to expiration. Wait all the FP's will be gone then(admittedly this problem is not exclusive to this program) so I had to purchase tickets that I guess I will apply to the renewal.

This was my second trip booking these and the first time I was able to book all days for regular FP as well as paid. I was told that it never was supposed to be that way and someone must have been misinformed. Consistency is vital and even a test program should be well thought out, especially within a company of this size. You should not be paying for a product that is effectively in a test phase. While I am saving time during my vacation I am wasting a large sum of time dealing with the constant back and forth and evolving nature of this.

 

[prgal0715]

You probably know this but just making sure... they only do the special fireworks at MK on 7/3 and 7/4. Epcot is just 7/4. Sorry if you already knew that!

Huh - the CM I spoke with specifically referenced Epcot on the 3rd! Not a big deal, though, I just need to decide if I want to see RoL or Illuminations that night. What are your thoughts on RoL? I haven't seen it before!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Huh - the CM I spoke with specifically referenced Epcot on the 3rd! Not a big deal, though, I just need to decide if I want to see RoL or Illuminations that night. What are your thoughts on RoL? I haven't seen it before!

Traditionally, Epcot only does the special show 7/4. That’s why a lot of people opt for MK on 7/3 and Epcot on 7/4 - two nights of 4th of July fun. Of course anything could happen this year, but that’s been the history.

Unfortunately, I’ve never seen RoL. AK hasn’t been all that convenient a park for us to be in that late, so we just never manage to fit it in.

Although - in general - it doesn’t get great reviews around the DIS. But then again, we did see the Jungle Book thing several years ago and really liked that, and it was universally boo’d around here. So go figure!

 

[prgal0715]

Traditionally, Epcot only does the special show 7/4. That’s why a lot of people opt for MK on 7/3 and Epcot on 7/4 - two nights of 4th of July fun. Of course anything could happen this year, but that’s been the history.

Unfortunately, I’ve never seen RoL. AK hasn’t been all that convenient a park for us to be in that late, so we just never manage to fit it in.

Although - in general - it doesn’t get great reviews around the DIS. But then again, we did see the Jungle Book thing several years ago and really liked that, and it was universally boo’d around here. So go figure!

Thanks!! I might make the switch to Illuminations for the 3rd - I know I love that show! And I get the 4th of July fireworks from the Poly beach, thanks in large part to your recommendations!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Do you have thoughts about how crowded this area would be on a night when most of the people on the list show up? I'm trying to get a sense of how this area compares with the garden view dessert party. In theory it's the mirror image, but that's highly dependent on crowds.

If that's too hard to estimate, no worries! And thanks for all your reporting on your experience.

When I booked the FP package, the first thing the CM said was that the availability for the HEA reserved area was limited. (as in, that was how they were limiting the number of folks who could book the package for MK each day.)

I can't tell you what the total cap is, but there was maybe 40 people total on her list on both of our HEA days.

I wasn't really thinking about total capacity, but I'm sure the space could easily have comfortably held 75+ people.

 

[baler31]

Update on 7/3 MK. After discussing the email with SS, I was told they don’t know what is happening on 7/3 and will get back to me later.

 

[ConnecticutNonna]

Huh - the CM I spoke with specifically referenced Epcot on the 3rd! Not a big deal, though, I just need to decide if I want to see RoL or Illuminations that night. What are your thoughts on RoL? I haven't seen it before!

ROL - underwhelming...
My choice would be MK for the 3rd, and Epcot for the 4th.

 

[prgal0715]

ROL - underwhelming...
My choice would be MK for the 3rd, and Epcot for the 4th.

That's normally how I would have arranged it, but I want to take advantage of watching the 4th fireworks from the reserved CL spot on the Poly beach. Will probably switch to Illuminations for the 3rd.

 

[OhioWDWDuo]

This will be a long post! Just wanted to post my experience booking the CL extra FP’s yesterday morning, along with somewhat of a warning. The DSS CM was great and extremely nice but put me on hold multiple times to ask her “team leader” if she couldn’t answer a question. Since this program is new and a trial, I was completely fine with being put on hold to have my questions answered.

The first disappointment came when I was told that they would not have the special CL viewing area for MK on July 3rd or 4th, due to “crowd control”. HUGE disappointment as this was a big reason why I booked CL for this trip. Anyway, my fault for making assumptions but I was hoping. I then asked about the MK dessert parties for the 3rd and 4th, which I’ve been stalking ever since I heard the rumor that the CL area would be unavailable. As some of you know, July 3rd and 4th still haven’t been released for booking. The CM had no clue when I asked when and if these dates would be released. She said they didn’t even have dessert parties for the 3rd/4th last year, which I’m not sure is true (?). So I continue to stalk reservations, when I was hoping it would be taken care of as a CL guest.

The second disappointment is the warning. When the CM went to book my regular FP’s for the days I purchased the extra CL FP’s, she was getting an error and couldn’t proceed. Turns out, there was a problem. Because we’re AP holders and have a trip at the end of this month (with FP’s already booked), the system said we reached our maximum number of FP’s allowed! I was really not happy about this. Yes, I knew about the AP limitation but it never affected us because we always stay onsite. I asked the CM, “Isn’t this supposed to tie to your resort reservation?” It’s not like we’re staying offsite and trying to make over 7 days of FP’s without having an onsite resort reservation. I was put on hold and she came back and said they couldn’t override the system. The resolution was for me to email/call after my first day of FP usage on my upcoming trip and to book the regular FP’s for July. Basically, we will still be before the 60 day window but I am extremely disappointed to take time away from my current vacation in order to deal with things on the next vacation. I’ve had multiple trips scheduled before and have never had this AP FP rule come into play.

Just some things I will keep in mind to determine whether I will participate in this program again or not. The DSS CM was able to book everything I wanted (only the extra FP’s, not the regular ones), including all 3 Toy Story Land Tier 1 rides. Overall, I’m happy with how the call and booking went, but it didn’t proceed without some disappointments. Thanks for reading!

 

[OhioWDWDuo]

Update on 7/3 MK. After discussing the email with SS, I was told they don’t know what is happening on 7/3 and will get back to me later.

Thanks for posting this. When you find out, if you wouldn’t mind posting the results, I would really appreciate it. The door was closed on this when I booked and asked, with no offer of getting back to me if things changed. So I made a note to continue to follow up with DSS, just in case things change or someone was misinformed. Thanks!

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Because we’re AP holders and have a trip at the end of this month (with FP’s already booked), the system said we reached our maximum number of FP’s allowed! I was really not happy about this. Yes, I knew about the AP limitation but it never affected us because we always stay onsite.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

Can you explain the above? I’m not aware of what the limit is that you’re referring to.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Thanks for sharing your experience!

Can you explain the above? I’m not aware of what the limit is that you’re referring to.

It’s because the 90-day window opens based on the purchase of the Extra program and not on the specific resort stay. Without it being open by an onsite stay, the FP system sees it as trying to add more regular FPs beyond the 7-day max of AP FPs.

Essentially, the FP system thinks @OhioWDWDuo is offsite so can’t book any other regular FPs because of being maxed out AP-wise. The “paid booking window” is separate from the “regular booking window.”

 

[OhioWDWDuo]

It’s because the 90-day window opens based on the purchase of the Extra program and not on the specific resort stay. Without it being open by an onsite stay, the FP system sees it as trying to add more regular FPs beyond the 7-day max of AP FPs.

Essentially, the FP system thinks @OhioWDWDuo is offsite so can’t book any other regular FPs because of being maxed out AP-wise. The “paid booking window” is separate from the “regular booking window.”

Thanks for the explanation! You explained it better than I could have. The DSS CM said this was the first instance of this issue happening (not sure if she meant in her own personal experience). I asked if this trial program became a permanent offering, would they be able to override the system for AP holders so this wouldn’t happen and she wasn’t sure. She did speak with the Team Leader and said they made a note of it to bring up to their supervisors. It’s always fun to be a guniea pig, LOL! Even with this unexpected “glitch”, it was still a pleasant phone call and we’re very excited about the extra FP’s for the trip.

@hiroMYhero : How does this work with other ticket media (non-APs)? As long as there is a valid ticket on the account, you’re good to go? I just don’t understand it for AP holders...it’s almost punishing those with multiple trips.

 

[hiroMYhero]

@hiroMYhero : How does this work with other ticket media (non-APs)? As long as there is a valid ticket on the account, you’re good to go? I just don’t understand it for AP holders...it’s almost punishing those with multiple trips.

If you added some multiday tickets to your account, you could book those “regular FPs” and then move the extra tickets away as soon as you’re in the regular 60-day window as you’ll be an “onsite” guest and your AP will then maintain the FPs.

Those multi-day tickets can be saved to use towards your AP renewal if you choose.

It seems that a better solution is to give out 3 Anytimes to sub for your regular FPs. You shouldn’t be penalized because the Extra and Regular 90-day booking period isn’t synced as an “onsite” window - it’s crazy because you have to be a CL onsite guest to access this program.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

It’s because the 90-day window opens based on the purchase of the Extra program and not on the specific resort stay. Without it being open by an onsite stay, the FP system sees it as trying to add more regular FPs beyond the 7-day max of AP FPs.

Essentially, the FP system thinks @OhioWDWDuo is offsite so can’t book any other regular FPs because of being maxed out AP-wise. The “paid booking window” is separate from the “regular booking window.”

I'm still confused. We've always stayed onsite, always using APs, often having multiple trips booked at once, and I've never bumped up against any FP limit issue. So I'm still unclear on this.

Figured it might help me if I have a specific example, if someone is willing to take the time to explain -- I'd be grateful.

These are our upcoming trips, both already booked using DVC points, and we will be using our APs as per usual.

Should I expect any issues (besides the fact that I'll be booking the CL Fps while in WDW -- don't love that timing)??

 

[hiroMYhero]

I'm still confused. We've always stayed onsite, always using APs, often having multiple trips booked at once, and I've never bumped up against any FP limit issue. So I'm still unclear on this.

Figured it might help me if I have a specific example, if someone is willing to take the time to explain -- I'd be grateful.

These are our upcoming trips, both already booked using DVC points, and we will be using our APs as per usual.

Should I expect any issues (besides the fact that I'll be booking the CL Fps while in WDW -- don't love that timing)??

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It isn’t your stays or even your APs that are the problem, it’s the 90-day window. It’s just an open window, not an “onsite-based” window so the FP system thinks you are offsite and maxes you out based on your already booked FPs for Stay#1.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

It isn’t your stays or even your APs that are the problem, it’s the 90-day window. It’s just an open window, not an “onsite-based” window so the FP system thinks you are offsite and maxes you out based on your already booked FPs for Stay#1.

But how does that make sense given that you MUST be staying onsite CL to even qualify for the 90-day window??

Is this just poor planning from a Disney IT perspective, in which case I’d be STUNNED, of course...

And does the following mean I'll be in the clear, since my 90-day window for Stay #2 is a day into Stay #1??

"The resolution was for me to email/call after my first day of FP usage on my upcoming trip and to book the regular FP’s for July."​

 

[hiroMYhero]

It definitely is poor planning. An upcharge booking window blindly opens without even syncing with your onsite reservation. It was probably easier to open it that way...that’s why it’s based on your checkout date rather than a “stay.” CM plugs in that date and everything before that date is open for booking.