UPDATE p. 37. I finally canceled. Too much uncertainty for us.

[nkereina]

Did I miss something?

I was just about to quote and post the same thing! OP, what do you mean "as of today what appears to be the end of double dipping"... I know that paper FPs have been running out much earlier now but I can't find anything to confirm that people are no longer able to pull paper FPs who are staying on site.

We leave on Thursday and will be there for 9 days. I've been preoccupied with work lately so I haven't spent much time on the board... hoping THAT much hasn't changed in the last few days

 

[wisblue]

Based on what we saw on Tuesday-Thursday this week, and on the crowd predictions for the next two weeks, people who can visit in the middle of the week for the next two weeks are going to be pleasantly surprised at how easy it will be for them to enjoy a lot of attractions.

Paying a little bit of attention to recommended parks may help, but may not even be necessary. Getting to a park early always helps too, but we saw exceptionally short waits for everything at the MK on Wednesday evening. The longest posted wait times (15-30 minutes were for popular character greetings like the princesses and the fairies. All rides, including the mountains were somewhere between walk on and 15 minutes.

At the MK on Thursday morning, we went to AM EMH where the number of people was even less than for the 7 AM EMH during holiday times. At 9:30, Splash, Thunder, and Pirates were still all walk ons.

 

[jahber]

I get what you're saying, OP. Spend your money on a vacation you'll enjoy! We are locals with APs (second year), but we won't be renewing. We will have a new baby, which makes FP more important than ever--I don't want to be sitting at the side of an attraction for an hour while my family rides rides. But as locals, we have NO idea how FP+ will work for us. We don't have hotel ressies, so we can't book FP+ 60 days out. We don't even have magic bands. We MAY have them at some point next year and we MAY (?) be able to book SOME FP+s in advance at some point, maybe? How many? Will we be left with day-of FP+s only? No one knows the answer, so I'm not looking for answers (or even sympathy). Just trying to help the people who don't see how all the uncertainty can negatively affect some people. I'm not dropping thousands of dollars on APs that may or may not work for our family. To do so would be foolish and an irresponsible use of our money. On the other hand, if I had the money to spare or had already purchase the APs, I'd go for it and make the best of it. Fortunately (unfortunately?), we aren't in that position.

ETA: I attended a sold-out MVMCP last night (an adult-only night) and it was awesome! Every ride had a 10 minute or less wait and some were literally walk-on to the waiting boat or car. It was sold out, but not nearly as crowded as a medium-crowd day feels. We've never taken the family because of the cost; but I think next year will skip the APs and do the parties instead. We are 100% ride people, so I think that will work for us.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I was just about to quote and post the same thing! OP, what do you mean "as of today what appears to be the end of double dipping"... I know that paper FPs have been running out much earlier now but I can't find anything to confirm that people are no longer able to pull paper FPs who are staying on site.

We leave on Thursday and will be there for 9 days. I've been preoccupied with work lately so I haven't spent much time on the board... hoping THAT much hasn't changed in the last few days

I think people are referring to this thread, and the change in the FAQs that now specifically state that if you are FP+ eligible and have a paperless ticket attached to your MB OR KTTW card that you will not be able to use the regular FP service.

If you have a physical park ticket (not linked to a room reservation/FP+), then you are still eligible to use legacy FP.

 

[luvthemouse71]

I love FP as much as the next guy, but could never imagine canceling my trip over it.....too many other things to see, hear, explore, taste, experience at Disney...

Just my .02

I agree. I like rides as much as the next person but they don't make up my whole trip.

However, I think it's better for people to cancel if they aren't excited about their trip, rather than go, and hate it.

 

[beer dave]

You know, I am not bitter or angry at all. I am somewhat disappointed, as this was likely the last year we would be able to pull DD out of school for a trip. We were only going to pull her out for three days, so as to get a jump on Thanksgiving, but it was our last chance. The first half of the trip would probably have had low crowds, but the second half as we approached Thanksgiving was another matter.

I'd say "relieved" best describes how I feel. No more anxiety about whether we'll blow a small fortune on a trip that goes south. I think people fall into one of four categories, so long as they even begin to understand what is going on with FP+.

1. FP+ will probably work with our touring style, so we are going to WDW and figure we'll have a good time.

2. FP+ could be bad or good for us. We're just not sure. So we'll go and take our chances, since it's better to be at WDW than at work.

3. FP+ looks like it will not be a good fit for our family, but we're going and crossing our fingers it's not a disaster.

4. FP+ looks like it will not be a good fit for our family, and we are not willing to risk our vacation time and dollars on a vacation that is stacking up to be unfulfilling, so we will cancel.

So much depends on your touring style and family preferences. I know our family and I know what we are used to (and what we expect) from WDW. This trip won't provide us with that and with the year we've had, we cannot handle a minefield of a vacation.

So I am relieved to have it over and done with. Now I can start planning the next vacation, be it Disneyland, Universal or even Hawaii or Europe. Again, we'll look at WDW once this mess is settled and see whether it is a good fit for us or not. A girl can hope.

I appreciate you all being so understanding and supportive.

Sounds right except you missed a category---

FP+ sounds like a great plan and we are really excited to try it out-- its great to be able to get on some of the headliners without being up at rope drop.

 

[momof2n2]

Sounds right except you missed a category---

FP+ sounds like a great plan and we are really excited to try it out-- its great to be able to get on some of the headliners without being up at rope drop.

Isn't that number one??

 

[jahber]

Sounds right except you missed a category--- FP+ sounds like a great plan and we are really excited to try it out-- its great to be able to get on some of the headliners without being up at rope drop.

It's almost enough to make me book a hotel stay 60 days from now just so I can ride TSMM again! We rode it once in the 2 years we've had APs because we decided to wait in the 60-minute line. With an hour drive, rope drop JUST to ride TSMM is not going to happen. But a dummy hotel reservation...hmmmmm. That night work

 

[cjbcam]

I can't wait to go in January. I am a go with the flow person and will just make it work. However I do think Disney should offer huge discounts to people they are using as Guinea pigs. I don't know many other companies that would make or get away with people spending thousands of their own money to be guinea pigs. So I can understand why people would cancel but I am not the type to overly stress about things that are out of my control.

 

[ktlm]

I totally understand why you cancelled. The way things are now, I think you definitely made the right choice for you.

We have gone in December the last 5 years. This year, we had a December trip booked, but we moved it to October, partly to try food and wine, DD would miss less school as she had 3 days off for fall break, and because we had never been in the fall, but also in large part our decision was made because we really were hoping to get ahead of having to deal with FP+, MDE etc. We didn't quite make that as we wound up being testers. We found that other than the 1st FP of the day for the one you make a run to in the morning which we did like, it was very stressful- it involved watching the clock, being tied to your phone, and running across the park. Changing them was near impossible for anything popular, not only because of lack of availability, but also because MDE rarely worked in the parks. In fact, by the last half of the week, we were fed up with FP+ and largely relied on the paper system- just using our FP+ if they happened to be convenient. The first half of the trip was definitely the most stressful WDW trip we have ever had. I was very annoyed at the amount of stress this new system added with the amount of money we paid to be there. Not to mention the 3 hours at home I sat trying to figure out what time we would be in what areas of the parks and get our FP+ tweaked and placed right for those times (which by the way even with us being vets that know how we tour weren't accurate- can't imagine what it is like for a newbie). Not at all what we want on vacation --- and we were people who only had 2 minor Magic band glitches (we liked the bands themselves). I can't imagine what it was like for those who had constantly malfunctioning MBs- spent hours trying to get them sorted out etc. (our friends who went the week after we did wound up like that). Don't get me wrong, we still had fun, but it was annoying enough that my thought was if FP- goes away and they don't do something better with this FP+/MDE system, I don't think we are coming back for a while.

I was missing being able to see WDW in the Christmas season, until I saw all the recent changes. I'm so glad we are not going now. This tiered FP+ system and what looks to be the end of being allowed to use FP- basically means you get 1 FP for the entire day. If you look at the tiers- everything on tier 2, is stuff that you never need FPs for, and wouldn't get if you were in the park. It is a total waste. Maybe Christmas week when all the lines are long they might be useful, but on a regular day they are for things that the lines mostly aren't more than 10 minutes at least in the times we go. And for those that say skip all but one of the thrill rides-- if you have looked at the EPCOT tiers- you will see that the 1st tier includes not only Test Track and Soarin, but also includes the Character Connection and Illuminations. It isn't just thrill rides. You can't get a FP for one thrill ride and one Mickey visit either. One FP a day doesn't cut it for me. I'm old enough to remember WDW pre-FP--- it was long line after long line all day long. I'm not going back to that. I can remember how thrilled we were the first time we went when they had FP- it was like a magic miracle.

This is the first time we have ever been back from WDW and not had our next trip in the works. I'm not booking one either. We are definitely not going back until we see how this whole system plays out. I don't at all like the way it is going. MDE can't handle the park crowds and neither can their Wifi, both need to be greatly improved. Plus, I go on vacation to get away from my phone- WDW has now made me rely on it continually all day on my vacation. The bigget thing is that If they stick with tiered FP+, no FP- etc. like they are heading I think our annual or sometimes more trips are a thing of the past. We will probably still go at some point because we love WDW, but our trips will be few and far between. They are just taking a lot of the fun out of WDW, and are adding a lot more stress. I really don't think we are going back next year and I never thought I would hear myself say that.

For those thinking about DL, we really enjoy it there. We will probably continue regular trips there, until they implement a similar system. It is smaller, but it is wonderful on its own. The only thing we really miss when we are there is EPCPT WS.

So sorry about your trip.

 

[Disnerdette]

it involved watching the clock, being tied to your phone, and running across the park.

I've seen a lot of this complaint, that FP+ requires more "running across the park." In my experience with FP-, even after they started enforcing return times, wouldn't you have been going back and forth across the park? This isn't snark, I'm being completely honest. When we go - and in full disclosure, there is only two of us - we usually pull a FP for one ride, do whatever else, get another FP for another ride, go back to the first ride, etc. all day long. I couldn't imagine only doing MK land by land, especially with the uncertainty of return times. Even with FP-, you could never really gauge when your return times would be. I would think, at the very least, with FP+, if you know you have a 3pm FP for Space and a 5 pm FP for Peter Pan, you know which side of the park to be on when. I feel like FP- encourages more across the park movement.

 

[ktlm]

I've seen a lot of this complaint, that FP+ requires more "running across the park." In my experience with FP-, even after they started enforcing return times, wouldn't you have been going back and forth across the park? This isn't snark, I'm being completely honest.

I didn't take it as snark, just a question.

No, not the way we tour. We do areas. For example, we go to Tommorowland- the first thing we do is check the line for Space Mountain. If it is 20 minutes or less, we get in line. If not, we pull a FP- more often than not, that FP will kick in an hour or 2 hours later. So, we start doing Tommorowland things untill that time- Buzz, Laugh Floor, people mover, speedway etc. In Adventureland, we check Jungle Cruise- same thing. If line is too long, grab FP and do Aladdin, Tikki Room, see fairies, climb treehouse etc. until it kicks in. On the morning run FPs (Soarin, TSMM), there is more of a chance of having to run back over to the area- but at Epcot- there is Nemo, Crush, Land, Imagination, Character Connection which usually keeps us busy until Soarin, and at DHS, there is Little mermaid, Buzz and Woody (where the line is long), etc.

Really the only things we found ourselves sometimes crossing the park for were Peter Pan (because when DD was little that was the only thing at MK we fast passed, and we would get a new FP for it every time the old one was up and do it 4-5 times a day), and now occasionally for Splash as there isn't much in the area there to do, and that FP can take a few hours to kick in. Other than that, we really never did much park crossing at all...until our first experience with FP+ We found that we absolutely did not get as much done in a day dealing with FP+. We had an extra day this trip, and after we left DH and I both felt like we did not get as much done as on our usual trips and for the first time we really felt "unfinished". You never can do absolutely everything, but this really felt like less than a normal trip. I firmly believe this was because FP+ was making us cross the parks and lose a bunch of time the first half of the week.

 

[Planogirl]

We also never criss crossed the park much. In MK we always headed to the mountain pair in Frontierland and got a fastpass for the one with the longer lines and then rode the other. If our time to ride hadn't come we would walk over to Fantasyland (I never considered that much of a walk and it's real pleasant IMO) and we'd ride some things there and maybe get fastpasses for Peter Pan if eligible. If our time to ride the second mountain had come up, we'd just ride it and then head over to Fantasyland.

This was probably the most walking we might do. Like the PP, we tended to hang out in whatever land we were until the area was complete.

 

[bcrook]

I didn't take it as snark, just a question.

No, not the way we tour. We do areas. For example, we go to Tommorowland- the first thing we do is check the line for Space Mountain. If it is 20 minutes or less, we get in line. If not, we pull a FP- more often than not, that FP will kick in an hour or 2 hours later. So, we start doing Tommorowland things untill that time- Buzz, Laugh Floor, people mover, speedway etc. In Adventureland, we check Jungle Cruise- same thing. If line is too long, grab FP and do Aladdin, Tikki Room, see fairies, climb treehouse etc. until it kicks in. On the morning run FPs (Soarin, TSMM), there is more of a chance of having to run back over to the area- but at Epcot- there is Nemo, Crush, Land, Imagination, Character Connection which usually keeps us busy until Soarin, and at DHS, there is Little mermaid, Buzz and Woody (where the line is long), etc.

Really the only things we found ourselves sometimes crossing the park for were Peter Pan (because when DD was little that was the only thing at MK we fast passed, and we would get a new FP for it every time the old one was up and do it 4-5 times a day), and now occasionally for Splash as there isn't much in the area there to do, and that FP can take a few hours to kick in. Other than that, we really never did much park crossing at all...until our first experience with FP+ We found that we absolutely did not get as much done in a day dealing with FP+. We had an extra day this trip, and after we left DH and I both felt like we did not get as much done as on our usual trips and for the first time we really felt "unfinished". You never can do absolutely everything, but this really felt like less than a normal trip. I firmly believe this was because FP+ was making us cross the parks and lose a bunch of time the first half of the week.

This is the first time I have seen this particular touring plan and how FP+ would affect it. I can see in this case FP+ would be limiting. Great explanation. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I didn't take it as snark, just a question.

No, not the way we tour. We do areas. For example, we go to Tommorowland- the first thing we do is check the line for Space Mountain. If it is 20 minutes or less, we get in line. If not, we pull a FP- more often than not, that FP will kick in an hour or 2 hours later. So, we start doing Tommorowland things untill that time- Buzz, Laugh Floor, people mover, speedway etc. In Adventureland, we check Jungle Cruise- same thing. If line is too long, grab FP and do Aladdin, Tikki Room, see fairies, climb treehouse etc. until it kicks in. On the morning run FPs (Soarin, TSMM), there is more of a chance of having to run back over to the area- but at Epcot- there is Nemo, Crush, Land, Imagination, Character Connection which usually keeps us busy until Soarin, and at DHS, there is Little mermaid, Buzz and Woody (where the line is long), etc.

Really the only things we found ourselves sometimes crossing the park for were Peter Pan (because when DD was little that was the only thing at MK we fast passed, and we would get a new FP for it every time the old one was up and do it 4-5 times a day), and now occasionally for Splash as there isn't much in the area there to do, and that FP can take a few hours to kick in. Other than that, we really never did much park crossing at all...until our first experience with FP+ We found that we absolutely did not get as much done in a day dealing with FP+. We had an extra day this trip, and after we left DH and I both felt like we did not get as much done as on our usual trips and for the first time we really felt "unfinished". You never can do absolutely everything, but this really felt like less than a normal trip. I firmly believe this was because FP+ was making us cross the parks and lose a bunch of time the first half of the week.

This is also how we generally tour

 

[shellstar]

So sorry you had to cancel your trip, op. I know that we ended up putting ours off another year so that the dust could settle on the new system. I'm one of those people who like to know what I'm getting myself into, and it would be so stressful knowing that I might be "missing something" or not utilizing the fp+ the way I wanted.

We will be going to Disneyland soon, so we will be getting a good Disney fix there, but I think DW is going to have to wait awhile.

 

[mh1973]

So can old fp still be pulled or not?

 

[mesaboy2]

So can old fp still be pulled or not?

Yes.

 

[Colleen27]

What bothers me most about these FP+ posts is that everyone is trying to tell everyone else how to enjoy their vacation. Kathie859, like you, I don't feel that getting FP makes or breaks my vacation, but it clearly does for the OP. Disney has changed the rules... their perogative. But, that doesn't mean it does or will work for all people. Would people willingly go to an expensive all-inclusive resort that is testing their kitchen, not knowing what kind of food you would get? No, because that simply wouldn't fly outside WDW.

I DO expect Disney to get something this big right before they roll it out. They are not a charity. People keep stressing that they are a business, and here to make money. This is DISNEY we are talking about - the paragons of service that companies the world over try to emulate. And, not only are they delivery sub-standard product and services, they are changing things and being practically secretive about it. People are putting their trust in them, and investing a lot of money to get the vacation that suits them, only to have rugs repeatedly pulled out from underneath them.

I understand why OP is cancelling her vacation, and I think it sucks that she has to.

I really don't get this notion that we should be so grateful to be able to vacation that we shouldn't think about choosing the right vacation experience for our family, or that because someone else doesn't mind standby queues or not getting on many rides those who value the rides more highly are wrong.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I really don't get this notion that we should be so grateful to be able to vacation that we shouldn't think about choosing the right vacation experience for our family, or that because someone else doesn't mind standby queues or not getting on many rides those who value the rides more highly are wrong.

It's totally fine to choose the right vacation for your family. But coming on a Disney message board to complain about the new system, profess that you are NEVER GOING AGAIN, etc. without even trying the new system is annoying.