TSM standby-less test Oct. 6-9

[Planogirl]

It was easy to get Legacy fastpasses for all but a few rides and you could get those few rides if you just showed up early. It is apparently easy to get FP+ for all but a few rides too but showing up early won't matter except that you can hopefully wait in a shorter line just like you could when Legacy existed. I see the only advantages of FP+ being that you don't have to show up early and you don't have to crisscross the park as much. That is a nice advantage to some but not so much to others. No one is wrong.

Of course all of that could change IF Disney decides to change some rides to FP+ only. That would be a whole new ballgame and not a pretty one for a large group of visitors.

 

[cakebaker]

Glad the whole hoarding issue was put to bed. I thought maybe I missed something for years there. I also think park hopping was way easier under legacy. Disney unfortunately isn't worried about their customers with this new fastpass system, oh they will advertise it as such. No mistake about it though it is meant to drive up profits. I personally hope it blows up in their face. It sickens me to see these tests and all the other repercussions since this has started. Instead we could all be rejoicing in many new attractions and shows!

It isn't put to bed except that I conceded that hoarding was not a good term to use.

I've read countless posts from those whose main objection to fp+ is that they can no longer ride the rides many times over as they did with fp. Surely you're not suggesting it's just as easy to ride the same ride 5-6 times( I've read it was easy up to as many as 9) with fp+ as it was with fp?

 

[Planogirl]

Glad the whole hoarding issue was put to bed. I thought maybe I missed something for years there. I also think park hopping was way easier under legacy. Disney unfortunately isn't worried about their customers with this new fastpass system, oh they will advertise it as such. No mistake about it though it is meant to drive up profits. I personally hope it blows up in their face. It sickens me to see these tests and all the other repercussions since this has started. Instead we could all be rejoicing in many new attractions and shows!

I agree plus I worry about what they plan to do in the future. These tests don't indicate anything good to me but maybe I'm missing something.

 

[cakebaker]

It was easy to get Legacy fastpasses for all but a few rides and you could get those few rides if you just showed up early. It is apparently easy to get FP+ for all but a few rides too but showing up early won't matter except that you can hopefully wait in a shorter line just like you could when Legacy existed. I see the only advantages of FP+ being that you don't have to show up early and you don't have to crisscross the park as much. That is a nice advantage to some but not so much to others. No one is wrong.

Of course all of that could change IF Disney decides to change some rides to FP+ only. That would be a whole new ballgame and not a pretty one for a large group of visitors.

I'd bet my last dollar we never see fp+ only- without some significant changes to availability same day. It's not happening.

 

[Planogirl]

It isn't put to bed except that I conceded that hoarding was not a good term to use.

I've read countless posts from those whose main objection to fp+ is that they can no longer ride the rides many times over as they did with fp. Surely you're not suggesting it's just as easy to ride the same ride 5-6 times( I've read it was easy up to as many as 9) with fp+ as it was with fp?

I suspect that very few people would spend so much time on a single ride but of course there are always exceptions. We did enjoy riding what some people consider mid tier rides a few times and that is still possible of course. I'm not thrilled to hear that lines for rides such as the Haunted Mansion and Spaceship Earth have gotten longer though. We can't visit during quieter periods so it's a little daunting.

 

[Planogirl]

I'd bet my last dollar we never see fp+ only- without some significant changes to availability same day. It's not happening.

Time will tell. I hope that you're right and that these tests are for other purposes that we don't know yet.

 

[magicbob]

Not everyone wants to join the masses at the machines at rode drop. A great many people like to come in later, a great many like to park hop. Now we don't lose the ability to get a fp+. By effectively limiting the number of times one can get a fp+, it gives more opportunities for others to ride.

But knowing the price of getting a FP was arriving early, you COULD HAVE done so if getting a FP was important enough to you. Even for an attraction as popular as A&E, 7DMT, TSMM, or Soarin'. The concern some have is that you may not be able to get hot ticket FP+s no matter how motivated you are because they are gone before you are even eligible to book.

Again, I get that FP+ allows late arrival and having the peace of mind that you have that popular ride FP already reserved. That's one of the best things about the new system (and one that I'll certainly take advantage of if we park hop, etc.). But that is only true IF you are able to get that FP+ reserved ahead of time and many people are experiencing the same kind of frustration that you used to when you showed up to EPCOT at 4pm. Except they are having this happen even though they are up at midnight 60-days before their trip.

So I think a balanced assessment would recognize that, although there are new benefits, there are also new challenges to overcome.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

It was just one in this case, there were no other tests that day. The younger the child, the easier it is to distract them. If they're past the easily distracted age- 7? 8?, in my book of parenting that's old enough to not stand and cry your eyes out. I'm sure they were disappointed, but I was addressing the notion of crying their eyes out- which is a totally different thing from being disappointed and moving on-

I must be a terrible parent then. My son is 10 and I'm pretty sure he would cry if he found out we could not even wait in line for TSMM. It is the only ride at DHS he really wants to ride. A few of the other rides are okay with him too, but we don't do most of the shows in DHS. He's on the spectrum and can't handle the explosions and loud noises.

 

[flicx]

It isn't put to bed except that I conceded that hoarding was not a good term to use.

I've read countless posts from those whose main objection to fp+ is that they can no longer ride the rides many times over as they did with fp. Surely you're not suggesting it's just as easy to ride the same ride 5-6 times( I've read it was easy up to as many as 9) with fp+ as it was with fp?

That term was a wrong term. Wrong definition for getting a fast pass every 2 hours!

 

[cakebaker]

That term was a wrong term. Wrong definition for getting a fast pass every 2 hours!

Ok, wrong term. But it was really easy to get at least the 2nd fp with a much shorter wait time than 2 hours. And it was much easier to ride the rides many times over again with fp. So by limiting that ability, there is more availability for those rides.

That's the point.

 

[cakebaker]

So I think a balanced assessment would recognize that, although there are new benefits, there are also new challenges to overcome.

Agreed. I don't know that it's possible to make any system work for everyone, in fact, I'm sure it's not. But there are things with fp+ that need improving. I've never said otherwise.

 

[robinb]

Glad the whole hoarding issue was put to bed. I thought maybe I missed something for years there. I also think park hopping was way easier under legacy. Disney unfortunately isn't worried about their customers with this new fastpass system, oh they will advertise it as such. No mistake about it though it is meant to drive up profits. I personally hope it blows up in their face. It sickens me to see these tests and all the other repercussions since this has started. Instead we could all be rejoicing in many new attractions and shows!

I have always maintained that FP+ was designed for the "Once in a Lifetime" visitor who is now guaranteed to get 3 FPs no matter how crowded the park is and no matter when they get to the parks. These are the people who spend the most money (YOLO) and Disney wants to make them the happiest.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

I agree completely. But the point is that the people it cut out had it within their power to make the choice to arrive early and get one of those FPs. Having a short trip doesn't mean that you automatically WON'T get any good FPs, but there is a pretty good chance of that happening and it's out of your control.

I suppose the argument is that it is within your control. My friends who could barely stomach the cost of one-day tickets but did it for their kids should really have bought tickets for the entire week. And paid $200+ a night for a WDW room that could hold them all, instead of staying with their parents. And gee, they could always make the 22-hour drive next month for the things they missed. Thank goodness they instead went during legacy fastpass and were able to selfishly spend 15 hours in the park and hoard/collect FP all day long to give their kids the time of their lives. And really thank goodness they didn't go during some kind of one-week "test" or the 3-FP+ limit, or anything else that has been thrown at guests/guinea pigs.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

So which is it? FP's were available late in the day, even at the high crowd level seasons or this:



Because it can't be both.

Well since the "they ran out so quickly" was in reply you to saying that FPs would be out within and hour or 2, it was pointing out that WHEN and IF that happened it wasn't the same guest grabbing FPs over and over making this happen like you kind of implied. You brought up paper FPs running out within an hour or 2. Not me. WHEN and IF that happen, the system as it stood for the most part spread those paper FPs out to different guest.

And yes, there were a couple of rides that ran out of paper FPs early but from what we saw, more around 11 a.m. But like a PP said. If you didn't get a paper FP when they ran out early, the fault for not getting one was in your hands. And if you messed up one day, the next day is a new day and you can try again instead of being shut out of getting a FP+ for certain rides for the whole week. Guest that arrive at Disney without any plans and visit the park the first day to see how things work can't say the same anymore. I'm trying to put myself in that family's shoes and imagine how heartbreaking that trip would be for them. I would have been happier with Disney informing their guest how the paper FP system worked so that even this family could use it more like our family did. It would have meant less of those FPs for our family but at least it doesn't feel like control by Disney.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

I must be a terrible parent then. My son is 10 and I'm pretty sure he would cry if he found out we could not even wait in line for TSMM. It is the only ride at DHS he really wants to ride. A few of the other rides are okay with him too, but we don't do most of the shows in DHS. He's on the spectrum and can't handle the explosions and loud noises.

Ditto for my son, who can't handle extreme rides like ToT and RnRc or even Star Tours despite being a Star Wars fan. His primary reason for going to DHS is to ride TSMM at least twice.

 

[flicx]

I have always maintained that FP+ was designed for the "Once in a Lifetime" visitor who is now guaranteed to get 3 FPs no matter how crowded the park is and no matter when they get to the parks. These are the people who spend the most money (YOLO) and Disney wants to make them the happiest.

That's the caveat you aren't guaranteed squat with the new system. Right now there are sooo many threads stating just that on disboards alone. People shut out 60 days out and never get a FP for what they want! The legacy system was by far better if you wanted a guaranteed pass. I really feel sorry for the once in a lifetime people showed up on the days when these tests were going on.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

I would have been happier with Disney informing their guest how the paper FP system worked so that even this family could use it more like our family did. It would have meant less of those FPs for our family but at least it doesn't feel like control by Disney.

Yes, definitely. We tried to share the info about FP with as many people as possible. I admit we did fastpass Soarin twice (collecting at 9 a.m. and around 11 a.m.), win an ultimate FP, and then ride a third time in the early evening while people were playing cards in an endless line, and honestly I still feel guilty and a little sick about it. I would have been fine with sharing the FP wealth with everyone, as long as there was no pre-booking. And, absolutely no "FP+ only" rides ever, because those people CHOSE to wait rather than miss the ride.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

That's the caveat you aren't guaranteed squat with the new system. Right now there are sooo many threads stating just that on disboards alone. People shut out 60 days out and never get a FP for what they want! The legacy system was by far better if you wanted a guaranteed pass. I really feel sorry for the once in a lifetime people showed up on the days when these tests were going on.

I agree.

 

[jahber]

People forget that TSMM is the only ride at DHS little ones can ride. It is the only ride in the park my entire family can ride together--as a family, which is supposedly a big part of why people go to Disney. (Oh wait. There's everyone's favorite: the Great Movie Ride!) And now I can't even get FP+ for TSMM (I have an AP). I have looked at 28, 29, and 30 days out, plus some random other days in Nov when we could go. This is not ok. My only option is to wait in a 60-120 minute line holding a baby. How anybody can argue that this is a superior system is beyond me. Because for many people, the only positive for FP+ is that you don't have to RD TSMM and Soarin anymore. Except now I do have to if I want to ride. Sigh.

 

[Laketravis]

WDW couldn't care less who gets an FP and who doesn't. They are simply doing their best to avoid the persistent bad press of ridiculously long lines by spreading as many guests as possible among all available attractions.