We Changed Our Minds About FP+

[WillAustin]

FP+ definitely works optimally during low crowd times.

I think everyone has a different definition of optimal. Some might think getting 3 rides without long lines is optimal while others may feel they need a higher number than that to have what they'd call a positive FP+ experience.

I fall into the latter group.

 

[SmithSmith]

Glad you had a great time!! Sounds like the decision to do MK yesterday when it was a "1" instead of Tuesday was a good one? Did the wait times look better than they did last week when you were looking at which day to go?

I thought this was relevant:

http://www.easywdw.com/uncategorize...-of-the-lowest-crowds-of-the-year/#more-15115

January 28 Walt Disney World Wait Times and the Reality of the Lowest Crowds of the Year
by JOSH on JANUARY 29, 2015

The last Wednesday in January is typically the least crowded day of the year outside of September. As the website has discussed ad nauseam over the last couple of years, international attendance has “helped” boost attendance and wait times in late January and into February, but crowds and wait times remain some of the lowest of the year.

Behold it. Cherish it. Magic Kingdom was the most recommended Park on what should be the 9th or 10th lowest attended day of the year. It really doesn’t get much better than what you’re looking at, including that 90-minute peak wait at Peter Pan’s Flight and Haunted Mansion hitting 35 minutes. This is the reality of the post-FP+ era.

 

[SmithSmith]

I think everyone has a different definition of optimal. Some might think getting 3 rides without long lines is optimal while others may feel they need a higher number than that to have what they'd call a positive FP+ experience.

I fall into the latter group.

I also fall into the latter group. FP+ worked great for us during our mostly crowd level 5 trip.

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

It's a good thing you visited in January then. The lack of crowds were the main factor in your positive experience.

I think you're right about this. One of my concerns with FP+ is the long standby wait times for non-headliners that traditionally would have very short wait times this time of year. FP+ is redistributing the crowds so that many rides are experiencing longer than usual wait times, even during the low crowd season.

I think everyone has a different definition of optimal. Some might think getting 3 rides without long lines is optimal while others may feel they need a higher number than that to have what they'd call a positive FP+ experience.

I fall into the latter group.

So do I! It has been typical for us in past trips to be able to do three (and sometimes four) rides on things like Soarin', TSMM, TT. I don't see that being possible anymore, really.

I thought this was relevant:

http://www.easywdw.com/uncategorize...-of-the-lowest-crowds-of-the-year/#more-15115

January 28 Walt Disney World Wait Times and the Reality of the Lowest Crowds of the Year
by JOSH on JANUARY 29, 2015

The last Wednesday in January is typically the least crowded day of the year outside of September. As the website has discussed ad nauseam over the last couple of years, international attendance has “helped” boost attendance and wait times in late January and into February, but crowds and wait times remain some of the lowest of the year.

Behold it. Cherish it. Magic Kingdom was the most recommended Park on what should be the 9th or 10th lowest attended day of the year. It really doesn’t get much better than what you’re looking at, including that 90-minute peak wait at Peter Pan’s Flight and Haunted Mansion hitting 35 minutes. This is the reality of the post-FP+ era.

Exactly.

 

[DisneyKidds]

I thought this was relevant:

Relevant.....but complete?

That's what I don't really like about how some people, be it Josh or people around here, present some of this stuff. Information without context, or full discussion, can be misleading. Some are only happy to use it as such, others maybe do it inadvertently.

Yeah, we were at the MK on a busy day right after New Years. Very busy. Sure, we went by HM when it had a 40 minute line. Guess what, we rode it a couple hours later walk on. Walk. On. Even Lake proved to us on his last trip, that when he was in Epcot, between 12:00 and 12:15, SSE had a 45 minute wait. Yes, it did, at that moment, but the wait for the other 11 hours and 45 minutes the ride was open the line was shorter. For most of those hours much shorter. The data at our fingertips proves that. But, it becomes so easy to generalize that FP+ causes the SSE SB to be 45 minutes, period. FP+ causes HM SB to be 35 minutes, period, even on the slowest day. But is that true in the absolute?

Hey, I suppose some would say I'm guilty of the same in reverse.......but I hate, hate, hate when someone, anyone, cherry picks a worst case moment and says 'ah, ha! this is what you get with FP+!!!' I just don't see the value in it.

 

[Laketravis]

They definitely looked better at times than Tuesday at times. However, in my experience, I definitely would not have considered the crowds yesterday a 1. It used to be, even until 11 or even 12 you could walk on most rides. By a little after 10am yesterday, even the smaller attractions had some longer waits of 30 minutes or so. At one point, Peter Pan was up to 140 minutes. I would think the crowd was more along the lines of a level 3, but I am definitely not an expert.

Yeah, those wait times sound pretty high for what turned out to be a "2" day, but glad you had a great time!

 

[Laketravis]

But, it becomes so easy to generalize that FP+ causes the SSE SB to be 45 minutes, period.

As far as I'm aware, you're the only one who has done that.

 

[SmithSmith]

Relevant.....but complete?

That's what I don't really like about how some people, be it Josh or people around here, present some of this stuff. Information without context, or full discussion, can be misleading. Some are only happy to use it as such, others maybe do it inadvertently.

Yeah, we were at the MK on a busy day right after New Years. Very busy. Sure, we went by HM when it had a 40 minute line. Guess what, we rode it a couple hours later walk on. Walk. On. Even Lake proved to us on his last trip, that when he was in Epcot, between 12:00 and 12:15, SSE had a 45 minute wait. Yes, it did, at that moment, but the wait for the other 11 hours and 45 minutes the ride was open the line was shorter. For most of those hours much shorter. The data at our fingertips proves that. But, it becomes so easy to generalize that FP+ causes the SSE SB to be 45 minutes, period. FP+ causes HM SB to be 35 minutes, period, even on the slowest day. But is that true in the absolute?

Hey, I suppose some would say I'm guilty of the same in reverse.......but I hate, hate, hate when someone, anyone, cherry picks a worst case moment and says 'ah, ha! this is what you get with FP+!!!' I just don't see the value in it.

I'm not sure I follow. Did you follow the link? He charted the wait times yesterday at Magic Kingdom, they were bigger than what you'd expect on a crowd level 1 day, as LT liked to point out. That is why Josh said: "As the website has discussed ad nauseam over the last couple of years, international attendance has “helped” boost attendance and wait times in late January and into February, but crowds and wait times remain some of the lowest of the year."

 

[Laketravis]

I'm not sure I follow. Did you follow the link? He charted the wait times yesterday at Magic Kingdom, they were bigger than what you'd expect on a crowd level 1 day, as LT liked to point out. That is why Josh said: "As the website has discussed ad nauseam over the last couple of years, international attendance has “helped” boost attendance and wait times in late January and into February, but crowds and wait times remain some of the lowest of the year."

He also said:

"Behold it. Cherish it. Magic Kingdom was the most recommended Park on what should be the 9th or 10th lowest attended day of the year. It really doesn’t get much better than what you’re looking at, including that 90-minute peak wait at Peter Pan’s Flight and Haunted Mansion hitting 35 minutes. This is the reality of the post-FP+ era."

That might have been what Kidd was referring to.

And I didn't "liked" to point out that wait times were bigger than what you'd expect on a "1" day, the OP did.

 

[SmithSmith]

He also said:

"Behold it. Cherish it. Magic Kingdom was the most recommended Park on what should be the 9th or 10th lowest attended day of the year. It really doesn’t get much better than what you’re looking at, including that 90-minute peak wait at Peter Pan’s Flight and Haunted Mansion hitting 35 minutes. This is the reality of the post-FP+ era."

That might have been what Kidd was referring to.

And I didn't "liked" to point out that wait times were bigger than what you'd expect on a "1" day, the OP did.

Ah, I see. I'm one who believes there are a lot of reason why waits are higher today, I don't think FP+ is the lone culprit.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Sitting at home, I just knew that I was going to hate the new FP+ system. It had worked okay for us earlier this week, but it really shined yesterday at the Magic Kingdom. Because I was not able to book 60 or even 30 days in advance, I couldn't get a FP for SDMT even after continually checking the system. No worries though, we got there at rope drop, got ran over by several strollers, refused to run and push, but were still near the front of the line. After that, we rode some other rides as a walk on before our first FP at Thunder Mountain.

After using up our first three initial FP's, we just kept going back again and again for another FP. The boys thought it was great. We ended up using 10 FP's in all. I appreciated being able to get a FP for Frontierland while in Fantasyland without having to run across the park to that specific ride. Also, our last FP for the night was at 7pm for Thunder Mountain, with the previous paper fastpasses, the FP's would have been sold out by 6:40pm when we scored our 7pm FP for the ride.

I have completely changed my mind about the new FP system. It works well if you know how to work it. For instance, the boys wanted a FP for the Speedway, when we checked at 3pm, the next available time wasn't until after 6pm. Instead of getting it and waiting, we got one for Jungle Cruise, and then another for Haunted Mansion. After that, we checked again and there was one available that we could use right then and there. So, don't think you have to take the one that is hours away, new FP's pop up on the system all the time. We are just not a line family, the boys know I won't wait in a line that is longer than 15 minutes, with this system, we never had to, not once all day.

Thank you for reporting in! I have been dreading the new FP+ but have come to accept that it is here to stay - at least for now. When I think about the legacy FP system, it functioned much the same after your initial 3 are used. In the past, if you wanted a FP for BTMRR, they might be sold out up until 6pm or something, and if you took a FP, you could not get another one until 6pm. By that time, anything else might be gone. I'm glad to hear it works if you know how to use it!

 

[DisneyKidds]

He also said: "Behold it. Cherish it. Magic Kingdom was the most recommended Park on what should be the 9th or 10th lowest attended day of the year. It really doesn’t get much better than what you’re looking at, including that 90-minute peak wait at Peter Pan’s Flight and Haunted Mansion hitting 35 minutes. This is the reality of the post-FP+ era." That might have been what Kidd was referring to.

It is, thanks for clarifying that Lake. And no, I didn't read the whole thing, which is my bad. However, for better or worse a lot of people don't often read the whole thing. That statement above, without context or reading the whole thing......while not untrue, may not really be indicative of 'the reality of the post-FP+ era'. That's all I was trying to say.

 

[notfrostyjosh]

It is, thanks for clarifying that Lake. And no, I didn't read the whole thing, which is my bad. However, for better or worse a lot of people don't often read the whole thing. That statement above, without context or reading the whole thing......while not untrue, may not really be indicative of 'the reality of the post-FP+ era'. That's all I was trying to say.

I laughed out loud.

 

[Laketravis]

I laughed out loud.

 

[DougEMG]

FP+ definitely works optimally during low crowd times. We had a great experience (similar to yours) with it in last August when crowds were in the same range. So it was a rude awakening in mid-December, with moderate crowds, to only have IASW, Philharmagic, Aladdin, Haunted Mansion, Little Mermaid, and the Teacups to choose from for our 4th and subsequent FP+s (full disclosure: POTC was having a lot of problems the week we were there and was down for most of the day on most days we went to MK. The one day it was operational, we were able to pull FP+s for it as a 4th, but only for overlapping times for the 4 of us).

We had the same issue on our Dec trip. Had booked all mid day FP+ and by 4-5pm when we were trying for our 4th FP+ there wasn't much of anything left.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

what time did you use your first one?
Second one
Third one?
What time did you start looking for a 4th one?
did you use FP for any parades ?

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

That is exactly how my DD and I used it in August. We took the closest time at something we wanted to do and then went back after to set up a new FP.

Did you find that you did a lot of crisscrossing that way? Or did you try to choose the nearest attraction with the closest time? We only tried to get additional Fast Passes once on our last trip, so I feel like we didn't think use FP+ as much as we could have. Of course, we tend to go on party days when MK closes at 7, so I'm not sure we should count on any availability.

 

[WDmommyof4]

That's great! It sounds like you used it exactly how it's meant to be used, especially the bolded part.

We never went under the old FP system, but had started planning a trip at one point before we decided DD was just too young. Neither DH nor I were looking forward to the ridiculous running around involved in that system. I kind of hate all the pre-planning that goes into it now, but I much prefer it to the old system.

I was always an avid planner, so either way works for me. My issue is that due to my work I never can really book too far ahead of time. So, with this system, there are some things we just won't be able to get, but that is what rope drop is for, for us.

It's a good thing you visited in January then. The lack of crowds were the main factor in your positive experience.

That is exactly why we always choose to visit during lower crowd times. It is a choice we make to get the most for our time here. I realize not everyone can visit during these times, but when you think about it, aside from the initial 3 FP's that can be claimed ahead of time, the legacy system and FP+ systems were very similar in higher crowds. The legacy system would run out of tickets for headliners by noon or before, and the FP+ system does too. The difference might be that there could be an off chance of a FP popping up for a headliner later in the day with the new FP+ system, even on crowded days. We found that different rides would pop up throughout the day. I think it is definitely something that won't work for everyone though. I am not trying to force it on anyone or say they are wrong. Everyone will have their own experience.

what time did you use your first one?
Second one
Third one?
What time did you start looking for a 4th one?
did you use FP for any parades ?

Oh boy, let's see if I can remember. I wish they had a place where you could see your old plans.

I know that Thunder Mountain was our first one at 10:40-11:40 we then went over and ate lunch at Cosmic Rays at my boys' request, which put us in line for our 11:50-12:50 Peter Pan. Our last initial FP was for Buzz from 12:55-1:55 I believe. The thing that I like about FP+ is that you don't have to wait the full hour to get a new one. As soon as you use it, you can go to the kiosk and get another. We did carousel of progress then TTA and headed over to get the boys' hair cut at the barber shop. After that, we got a FP for Jungle Cruise, then Haunted Mansion, then It's a small world, then Speedway and lastly we got one for 6:40pm at Thunder. I know that when we got the one for Thunder it was the only time available and it was 6:19pm. So, it was just one of the random ones that pop up.

Did you find that you did a lot of crisscrossing that way? Or did you try to choose the nearest attraction with the closest time? We only tried to get additional Fast Passes once on our last trip, so I feel like we didn't think use FP+ as much as we could have. Of course, we tend to go on party days when MK closes at 7, so I'm not sure we should count on any availability.

I didn't find that we criss-crossed more than we would have with the legacy system. Because we avoid lines over 20 minutes at all costs, we generally zig zag all over the place anyway, just the way we have gotten used to touring. We would rather be walking around for 20 minutes taking in the park to go to a ride with no wait, than standing in a line. I know others tour differently though.

 

[SmithSmith]

.



Oh boy, let's see if I can remember. I wish they had a place where you could see your old plans.

I know that Thunder Mountain was our first one at 10:40-11:40 we then went over and ate lunch at Cosmic Rays at my boys' request, which put us in line for our 11:50-12:50 Peter Pan. Our last initial FP was for Buzz from 12:55-1:55 I believe. The thing that I like about FP+ is that you don't have to wait the full hour to get a new one. As soon as you use it, you can go to the kiosk and get another. We did carousel of progress then TTA and headed over to get the boys' hair cut at the barber shop. After that, we got a FP for Jungle Cruise, then Haunted Mansion, then It's a small world, then Speedway and lastly we got one for 6:40pm at Thunder. I know that when we got the one for Thunder it was the only time available and it was 6:19pm. So, it was just one of the random ones that pop up.



I didn't find that we criss-crossed more than we would have with the legacy system. Because we avoid lines over 20 minutes at all costs, we generally zig zag all over the place anyway, just the way we have gotten used to touring. We would rather be walking around for 20 minutes taking in the park to go to a ride with no wait, than standing in a line. I know others tour differently though.

There is! Log on to your MDE app, go to My Reservations, then select View Past Items at the bottom.

Eta: all your rolling FPs will be listed too!

 

[Planogirl]

The comments about lines in general being longer than they used to be are interesting. Whatever the cause wasn't FP+ supposed to get people out of lines and into shops and restaurants?

I wish that we could go during such a quiet time. I just can't find a way to do it though. OP, I'm glad that it worked out so well for you.