TSMM to start digital FP in November?

[mom2rtk]

This nailed it for me! Can you imagine the outrage from locals if they put in a 30-60 day window? Wait, nevermind. Disneyland can't even get an entertainment schedule up 30 days in advance. So this part will NEVER work out.

Lack of a firm schedule doesn't stop them from having advance FP at WDW. When they change stuff, they just go into the person's account and claw back the affected fastpasses. It's maddening.

 

[mom2rtk]

A delay in needing to scan each barcode separately also sounds like it will be a nightmare.

Exactly this. And does each individual ticket have to be scanned? That sounds crazy slow compared with just fanning out a group of fastpasses and glancing at them.

Then of course there are the inevitable glitches that come with anything related to Disney IT, where previously scheduled fastpasses just disappear or change.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Would I load all of my family's tickets into my account for the app or can I make a reservation for all of us using my ticket and then just have them scan all of our tickets when it's time? I have no idea how FP+ works.

 

[Kindermouse]

Oh lovely. I don't HAVE a smart phone, and I don't let my teen use his on vacation, but I guess I'll be forced to change. At least with his phone I will be better off than the poor international guests who didn't sign up for international data, unless the wifi magically gets better.

This is exactly what I posted on another thread.

Since DL does not offer free WIFI to utilize the app while in the park, and the app has issues and doesn't work that well in the park now for things as simple as photopass I seriously see this not working. Think about how frustrating it is to login to the pier network WIFI to play the fun wheel challenge while waiting for WOC. Neither I nor anyone around me was able to log in and play a few weeks ago. there attempt to have people at DL log in to a wireless program while in the park sucks. Everyone will complain-it will be essentially inaccessible to people without unlimited data plans, seniors/anyone on a fixed income or uncomfortable with higher tech who still use dumb phones, and international travelers making the FP system available to an elitist few.

While I do see them updating and going to a new system-they clearly want to get away from anything paper based just like the discontinuation of Disney dollars-what they are explaining in that article won't work at DL so I'll wait for the official announcement from Disney and hope that they have a much more solid plan with contingencies for all the issues.


Now all that being said it sure would be nice to get a FP from CA without having to walk all the way over there from DL. I walked over to ToT from DL several times because the app said that it had FP only to find that it didnt and hadnt had them all day-for days. It would have been nice not to have to shlep all the kids down there and exit one park and enter another. If I could have gotten that info or gotten my FP while watching my little one in Jedi training or while waiting for PP of HM or while waiting for my bill at BB it would have been very nice indeed ad feet would have been very grateful.

I was considering a solo trip in January- a trip I can only really barely afford so I'll be watching this roll out-if it does happen like it says in the article which we cant be sure of until Disney posts it themselves. If things sound messy i'll be canceling my extra trip for sure. nothing would be worse than stretching ones budget just to feel let down and frustrated by what you spent money on.

 

[wongck]

Oh no... I hope this don't throw a spanner into my DCA morning plan.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I, for one, am very happy that this is not occurring until after my trip. I hate the new system at WDW, it greatly reduced the number of fastpasses to use in a day and for many of the parks, makes fastpasses almost zero benefit.

I'm reserving judgment until we see tr details. If this is just a digital version of legacy fp, then I'm OK with that.. If this ends up like fp+ at disney world, I would be very unhappy about that.

I'm hopeful that the former will be true, though, as I keep seeing this referred to as digital fp, not fp+...fingers crossing here

 

[DLRExpert]

Oh no... I hope this don't throw a spanner into my DCA morning plan.

I would still recommend grabbing Soarin FP first then stand by TSMM first when the park opens.

RSR and Tower are more important Fastpasses.

ME

 

[GatorChris]

Well, the good news on all of this is that they're starting it the Sunday before Thanksgiving. If there's ever a good time to roll out something that we all know won't work very well, this is the week to do it. Happy Thanksgiving indeed.

 

[Darkbeer1]

OOPS, posted in the wrong thread... I fixed it.

 

[Kindermouse]

Well, the good news on all of this is that they're starting it the Sunday before Thanksgiving. If there's ever a good time to roll out something that we all know won't work very well, this is the week to do it. Happy Thanksgiving indeed.

Oh my goodness I didnt even look at a calendar. Thanksgiving week is a crowded mess at the best of times so why on earth wouldnt they roll this out mid January instead.

 

[wongck]

I would still recommend grabbing Soarin FP first then stand by TSMM first when the park opens.
RSR and Tower are more important Fastpasses.
ME

Yes, DLRExpert... saw your suggested plans in other threads and I am using them. Thanks.

 

[losfp]

I was actually at both DLR and WDW last year on our big family trip, so I was able to see both systems in action within a couple of weeks of each other.

Despite the laments about FP+ in Orlando, I actually didn't mind it. I was able to pre-book the most important attractions for us each day, and then just went with the flow on the actual day. It was tough to change it on the day of though, and the general lines felt pretty long if you joined the standby queue.

Paper FPs work just fine for me at DLR, though it was tricky to get to the kiosks quickly with 2 small kids in tow.

I think that rollout of digital FP would be just fine if the following are followed:

1. Day of ONLY. Perhaps a small exception might be able to be made for onsite guests, as a low-cost additional bonus they can provide to onsite people.

2. DLR provides reliable free onsite wifi

3. There is some alternative method of booking, not just the app. Either retain the old paper system to work in parallel or have kiosks available.

4. No tiering. Urgh.

5. Restrict the ability of people to book further FPs until their last FP is used. They could offer the ability to have 2 FPs active for onsite guests. This might help to stop all FPs being snapped up within 10 minutes of the park opening in the morning.

 

[pennym]

We bought a US sim with data last time we came, and still couldn't get the app to work. There's just such a weak signal in the parks anyway. Free WiFi is the only way a digital system can work fairly. If Universal, Knotts and Medieval Times can offer free WiFi, why can't Disney??

 

[DLRExpert]

Yes, DLRExpert... saw your suggested plans in other threads and I am using them. Thanks.

Tower FP is running out faster.
Because of the shorter open and close time.
But also due to them closing one of the 3 elevator shafts. So because of that they are giving out fewer FPs each day.

So grab Tower first then walk through Bugs Land to Toy Story Midway Mania.

 

[agamble]

I don`t see how this is going to work. Maybe this will be the Standby entrance and the FP will be to the left where the red and yellow stripes are .

I hope not. That would make the standby guests miss Mr. Potato Head. They can enter there and loop around to mix just before guests get glasses.

 

[closetmickey]

Speaking of Mr. Potato Head......will he ever work again in his finest form? Last few times I've been there, on the semi rare occasions he was working at all, he was just talking in generic terms. Haven't seen him interact with guests in years!

 

[Albort]

We bought a US sim with data last time we came, and still couldn't get the app to work. There's just such a weak signal in the parks anyway. Free WiFi is the only way a digital system can work fairly. If Universal, Knotts and Medieval Times can offer free WiFi, why can't Disney??

probably cuz Disney wants us to get off our cell phones and enjoy the park without one! Disney magic...
There is a wifi net over disney though, just not accessible to the guest.

 

[wildflower329]

Speaking of Mr. Potato Head......will he ever work again in his finest form? Last few times I've been there, on the semi rare occasions he was working at all, he was just talking in generic terms. Haven't seen him interact with guests in years!

Mr. Potato Head was not working at all on our trip (Oct 20-24) and was blocked off by a curtain and a wall (at least at the times I noticed).

 

[mom2rtk]

probably cuz Disney wants us to get off our cell phones and enjoy the park without one!

You must not have been to WDW lately.......

 

[gabbyrodman]

I just got back from wdw and it was horrible. Poc and hm are minimum 30-50 minutes when they used to be 12-20. It also really slows the sb line too. I was at dl in march and enjoyed legacy as we could get fast passes for most rides most of the day. If it's day of, in the park booking, I'm ok with that. I'm booked at dl next year because we decided this week we are done with wdw. We will go to universal. We've been enough. Tiers are ridiculous. Not fun. I am booked for sept 2017 at grand Californian. If this system starts to resemble fastpass+ at wdw we will go to Hawaii next year.