Well... MagicBands and FP+, Our Experience

[xie]

What other kinds of vacations have you found that are making you happier than WDW? We have tried a few and while finding them educational and nice lack the mind-blowing, over-the-top vacation that WDW provides...I would love some ideas. Thanks!

We live in the South and love snow and snow sports, which we hardly ever see, and we love national parks, so next year we're going to spend a few days in Jackson Hole and a few days at the Yellowstone Old Faithful Snow Lodge in the winter. Snowmobiling and more, we're pretty stoked about it.

Cost wise that particular trip might be close to the cost of Disney for us, simply because we do want to pay for days of snowmobiling and other stuff, and we'll have to buy airfare, while we just drive when we go to Florida. But taking the family to see Grand Teton and Yellowstone is pretty exciting!

We have a laundry list of other parks in the Western half of the US we want to get to before the kids leave home, and also Hawaii, and several countries in Western Europe. I'm sure we won't get to them all but we'll see how many we make it to.

Disney properties aren't completely off the list, as we do want to go to Disneyland sometime (I'm the only one in the family who has been, and that was 25 years ago). There's also talk of Disneyland Paris for a day if we get to Europe. It's also likely we'll give WDW another go in 2016 or 17, if they get Avatarland open and fix some of the problems they have going on right now. We have loved Disney a lot over the years and while it's not a place we want to go back to in the near future, we're totally into giving them a chance again in a few years.

 

[3happydancers]

Thank you all for the replies, I'm glad our post was helpful.

When my husband discovered this morning that Diagon Alley is opening at Universal Studios in summer, he decided he wants to go - so we are going to be at a Universal hotel for a week in September.

We're discussing whether we want to buy MNSSHP tickets one night that week solely for the purpose of riding rides in MK. Because most people hang out in the Castle forecourt for the shows, or stand in line for characters, or trick or treat, the ride lines have always been super short at the party for us. Plus we could try the Dwarf Train, should they finally get it open by then. So we *might* do that one night - otherwise we won't be on Disney property on this Orlando trip, which would be a first for us, ever.

In 2015 we're going to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone, so I would imagine the very soonest we might be back at WDW will be 2016. Hopefully Disney will have their stuff back together by then...

Tomorrow I have to call and cancel the 2 reservations we had at Disney for this year and NY 2015. That should be an interesting call.

I hope you don't mind my asking but do you know if it pays to purchase an annual pass for Universal in hopes to book a room on property at a discounted rate? My family is also thinking of putting some time in there this summer but we already have reservations at the world on DVC points. It's my dd's 16th birthday celebration and she is bringing a friend. With the fast pass changes I fear that the trip will not be as wonderful as we'd hope. Hence, the reason for some changes. We may stay at Disney for a portion of the time and then spend the rest of our time at Universal; maybe a day at Sea World.

 

[bcrook]

What other kinds of vacations have you found that are making you happier than WDW? We have tried a few and while finding them educational and nice lack the mind-blowing, over-the-top vacation that WDW provides...I would love some ideas. Thanks!

Last year I took a 6500 mile road trip! Best experiences in no particular order:

Glacier national park, Montana - amazing
Cannon Beach, Oregon - hiking and marveling at the pacific
Mackinac Island - biking around the island
Teton national park - Jackson Hole area
Sand Dunes of northern Michigan
Eating at the food carts in Portland Oregon
Passagrille beach, Tampa (especially ybor city), and Busch gardens.

And everything from Avignon to Nice in France is wonderful!
My five days at food and wine in October were great, but pale in comparison to the other locations. And it was a lot more expensive.

This year I will be tackling New England, chasing waterfalls in Vermont, exploring lakes looking for moose in the Adirondacks, finding the best lobster rolls in Maine, enjoying the beach at cape cod, and relaxing in Newport RI. I will also be going to see the DDay beaches of Normandy France.

 

[tlwfun89]

I can see a lot of problems with this system. We have been 6+ times and it never takes a whole hour using fast pass to ride a ride. So 3 rides in 3 hours is absurd you only get three rides in before its lunch time. That is crazy How do you get shows and looking around and enjoying the sites stores snacks in? It seems wrong to pay the money for 3 rides in 3 hours maybe we only need a three hour ticket??? HMMM??? After this spring break trip I am done for about 2-3 years. Using all my DVC points with this in mind. Till they get better leadership in place

 

[bcrook]

I can see a lot of problems with this system. We have been 6+ times and it never takes a whole hour using fast pass to ride a ride. So 3 rides in 3 hours is absurd you only get three rides in before its lunch time. That is crazy How do you get shows and looking around and enjoying the sites stores snacks in? It seems wrong to pay the money for 3 rides in 3 hours maybe we only need a three hour ticket??? HMMM??? After this spring break trip I am done for about 2-3 years. Using all my DVC points with this in mind. Till they get better leadership in place

One day at DHS I finished my three rides in 90 minutes. I was done for the day at 12:30 pm. I didn't do that again. . You have to space things out more. I like the idea of a three hour ticket.

 

[tlwfun89]

One day at DHS I finished my three rides in 90 minutes. I was done for the day at 12:30 pm. I didn't do that again. . You have to space things out more. I like the idea of a three hour ticket.

That is typically what we like to do WE are ususally done with the major headlines 3 of them and one basic ride by 11:A.M at hollywood studios Now it will take 9-10 for one ride and 10-11 for ride 2 than lunch and hopping seems counterproductive for definite.

 

[xie]

I hope you don't mind my asking but do you know if it pays to purchase an annual pass for Universal in hopes to book a room on property at a discounted rate? My family is also thinking of putting some time in there this summer but we already have reservations at the world on DVC points. It's my dd's 16th birthday celebration and she is bringing a friend. With the fast pass changes I fear that the trip will not be as wonderful as we'd hope. Hence, the reason for some changes. We may stay at Disney for a portion of the time and then spend the rest of our time at Universal; maybe a day at Sea World.

Hi - Honestly I am not sure. We elected to stay at Cabana Bay, since when we looked they were offering a good deal. Our final room cost for a standard room is about $90 per night. It's Universal's newest hotel (opens this spring/summer in phases) and is their first "moderate" hotel. It doesn't offer the Express Pass but we intend to just buy the Pass one day so we can sort of "see everything" and then we'll just use the morning "extra hour" to go do Harry Potter stuff on multiple other days, and swim in the afternoons. (It is September, so we figured we could go without needing Express Pass for the whole trip.) The hotel itself has two large pool complexes with a slide and a lazy river. The ticket that came with our vacation package includes SeaWorld and Aquatica in addition to the two Universal parks, so we're going to do those parks this time as well. This trip, including food, will end up costing us about 65% of our planned spend at WDW for a comparable timeframe.

Since we know we won't go back to Universal for a long time (many years, most likely) due to our desire to travel West and overseas, we didn't look very closely at their AP system. I didn't see any offers for AP holders of a cheaper room rate, but that doesn't mean it isn't out there. I do plan to shop a bit more and rebook if I find any better promotion that fits us at the onsite Loews' hotels. Universal is different than WDW in that their hotels are run by Loews and their restaurants are all owned by 3rd parties, so the deals don't seem to be as "tightly coupled" and they don't offer things like "free dining" or even much of a "dining plan". They have a DP, but not many places take it outside of counter service within the parks. And it is like Disney's DDP in that it doesn't make financial sense for us based on how, what and when we eat. It's also like DDP in that if you don't buy the most expensive thing on the counter service menu, you probably aren't saving any money and in fact are likely losing some.

I'll tell you what freaked me out tho. I keep a spreadsheet for trip planning our WDW trips. Everything gets plugged into it, such as which parks have EMH which days, all our ADRs, FP+ times, etc. etc. It's a very detailed schedule. I opened a fresh copy to make one for this Universal trip with the intention of scheduling it out. Then I discovered that because you mostly don't need reservations for table restaurants at Universal outside of peak season, I don't have any; they don't force you to pre-schedule ride times, so I don't have any; the Wizarding World opens early for Universal hotel guests every single day, so nothing special to track park-wise there; the whole darn spreadsheet is empty. I showed it to my husband and he laughed at me and said I should stop planning because it is like a real vacation and I won't have to wear a watch.

 

[quest4dl]

Xie - that's exactly why I decided to switch my last two nights to Universal. I just want to be able to relax and not plan anything for two days!

 

[magicbob]

Last year I took a 6500 mile road trip! Best experiences in no particular order:

Glacier national park, Montana - amazing
Cannon Beach, Oregon - hiking and marveling at the pacific
Mackinac Island - biking around the island
Teton national park - Jackson Hole area
Sand Dunes of northern Michigan
Eating at the food carts in Portland Oregon
Passagrille beach, Tampa (especially ybor city), and Busch gardens.

And everything from Avignon to Nice in France is wonderful!
My five days at food and wine in October were great, but pale in comparison to the other locations. And it was a lot more expensive.

This year I will be tackling New England, chasing waterfalls in Vermont, exploring lakes looking for moose in the Adirondacks, finding the best lobster rolls in Maine, enjoying the beach at cape cod, and relaxing in Newport RI. I will also be going to see the DDay beaches of Normandy France.

It's true that there are lots of places around the globe that are no more expensive than WDW to vacation. Many are less expensive. We don't go to Disney for every vacation we take. Not sure yet if all of this will tip the scales to the point we do less Disney and more of other things.

Since I'm currently living in Europe, I have the advantage of being able to see lots of places as day trips or three-day weekends. Our last several vacations (as well as some short trips here and there) have been to Crete, Ireland, and France (two trips to Normandy and five trips to Paris... yes, to include Disneyland). We're planning a trip to Scotland for spring break and might take advantage of an upcoming long weekend for a quick trip to Oslo, Norway to see the REAL Akershus Castle and Stave Church! At this time of year, we will probably be FROZEN though!

Once the weather gets warmer, we're hoping to make it out to see the "Eagle's Nest" and then visit Salzburg again (first time was over 10 years ago).

I don't see myself "forsaking" Disney, but they are competing for our vacation dollars. We plan to go back to Hawaii... although Disney may get some of those dollars (cough.... Aulani... cough). Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone are on my bucket list since the Dakotas and Wyoming are the only U.S. states I haven't visited, so I can easily see us doing a "national parks" trip out there.

I hope things have settled down by 2015 with respect to FP+, etc. If not, we will have to assess whether to wait another year before heading back to Orlando.

bcrook... June 6th is the 70th anniversary of D-Day. I'll be taking my third trip to Normandy then. If your visit is during that week, there are lots of ceremonies and events to attend. Be sure to stop by the quaint town of Saint Mere Eglise to see the paratrooper stuck on the church (also home of a smallish, but nice airborne museum). South of the D-Day beaches toward Caen, there's an interesting little museum in Bayeux with a super-long tapestry depicting the entire history of William the Conqueror. Although it's over an hour drive, the monastery at Mont-St-Michel on the west coast is worth the trip, if you like unique architecture and history. Just don't get the 50 euro omelet at the restaurant on the bottom of the hill (and you thought food prices at WDW were high)! I hear they're just awful and paying so much just adds insult to injury. There are much better options for lunch.

 

[3happydancers]

Hi - Honestly I am not sure. We elected to stay at Cabana Bay, since when we looked they were offering a good deal. Our final room cost for a standard room is about $90 per night. It's Universal's newest hotel (opens this spring/summer in phases) and is their first "moderate" hotel. It doesn't offer the Express Pass but we intend to just buy the Pass one day so we can sort of "see everything" and then we'll just use the morning "extra hour" to go do Harry Potter stuff on multiple other days, and swim in the afternoons. (It is September, so we figured we could go without needing Express Pass for the whole trip.) The hotel itself has two large pool complexes with a slide and a lazy river. The ticket that came with our vacation package includes SeaWorld and Aquatica in addition to the two Universal parks, so we're going to do those parks this time as well. This trip, including food, will end up costing us about 65% of our planned spend at WDW for a comparable timeframe.

Since we know we won't go back to Universal for a long time (many years, most likely) due to our desire to travel West and overseas, we didn't look very closely at their AP system. I didn't see any offers for AP holders of a cheaper room rate, but that doesn't mean it isn't out there. I do plan to shop a bit more and rebook if I find any better promotion that fits us at the onsite Loews' hotels. Universal is different than WDW in that their hotels are run by Loews and their restaurants are all owned by 3rd parties, so the deals don't seem to be as "tightly coupled" and they don't offer things like "free dining" or even much of a "dining plan". They have a DP, but not many places take it outside of counter service within the parks. And it is like Disney's DDP in that it doesn't make financial sense for us based on how, what and when we eat. It's also like DDP in that if you don't buy the most expensive thing on the counter service menu, you probably aren't saving any money and in fact are likely losing some.

I'll tell you what freaked me out tho. I keep a spreadsheet for trip planning our WDW trips. Everything gets plugged into it, such as which parks have EMH which days, all our ADRs, FP+ times, etc. etc. It's a very detailed schedule. I opened a fresh copy to make one for this Universal trip with the intention of scheduling it out. Then I discovered that because you mostly don't need reservations for table restaurants at Universal outside of peak season, I don't have any; they don't force you to pre-schedule ride times, so I don't have any; the Wizarding World opens early for Universal hotel guests every single day, so nothing special to track park-wise there; the whole darn spreadsheet is empty. I showed it to my husband and he laughed at me and said I should stop planning because it is like a real vacation and I won't have to wear a watch.

Wow, thanks for so much info. I just called AAA. They did not mention the moderate hotel nor did I know about it until you informed me. They quoted me a 4 night stay at Hard Rock which includes a 4 day, park to park pass for 4 people; $1720.00. Have no idea if this is a decent price. But, we also wanted to do Sea World. If you don't mind my asking, did you use a travel agent or did you book directly with Universal? We leave on Aug. 19th so I am thinking the crowds should not be too bad (I hope).

 

[LisaTC]

I agree. In the meantime, however, the tech glitches are the here and now of what I'm dealing with and to feel this frustrated nearly 6 months out from a vacation is just so wrong, in every respect.

I couldn't agree more

As I type this I still have a clone on my MDE account. Yep, two me's. I mean I love myself and all, but really, taking myself on vacation once at a time is enough for me!



I love planning too... I so badly want this to all work out ok and say I was wrong to worry. But they aren't making it easy and I'm having second thoughts about booking another trip for next year, as things stand right now.

I'm currently on the fence for this October...after reading the bored comments and general dislike for 3 FP+, I don't know. I have a DD10 who doesn't do bored. We really used about 6 FP/day

On one of the other threads, a CM reported that Disney now considers MK's capacity to be 95,000 since New Fantasyland was opened. If I recall, that's an almost-20,000 bump.

95K...seriously. That's insane on the face of it.

All I can say is... there is not enough to do in New Fantasyland to occupy 20,000 people. Even when they finally get the dwarf ride open, they won't be able to occupy 20,000 people with two rides, a storyteller, and a Tangled bathroom (even with a line to go potty... )

Thank you OP for a thoughtful and honest assessment of the new FP+ system and Magic Bands.

Mostly though, thank you for 'hosting' a thread that's filled with folks willing to share their thoughts on this in an adult and well mannered way.

This is the first thread that I've read on the topic that I feel is worth following.

I feel EXACTLY the same. Excellent post, excellent thread.

I too am apprehensive about the tiered system, limit of 3, and one park per day for FP. We have not been terribly aggressive FP users in the past, but (especially at MK) we certainly use more than 3 in a day. Being a parent, I have no way of knowing what ride will capture DD6's heart and that we'll need to ride several times in a park day. (Last trip it was Space Mountain. We probably got FP for Space 4x in one day). But what really frosts my cookies is that I'm paying a premium for the pleasure of park hopping with no opportunity to schedule my rides for such.

I'm sure that for a first time visitor, or one who never understood how FP worked in the first place, this seems great, but for those of us who have navigated the waters many times these changes seem as though they'll do nothing but make our trips less enjoyable. These changes certainly are not geared toward the seasoned WDW veteran, and that seems to go directly against the huge DVC push that we've seen in recent years. Repeat guests are the bread and butter of any business, and buy implementing changes that adversely affect the vacations of those exact guests simply doesn't seem that bright.

I've got to be missing something!

I don't think you are missing anything and it frosts my cookies, too! You and the OP and just about everyone participating in this thread has it...unfortunately.

A MagicBand will simply be a KTTW card you strap on your wrist.

YES, they started the tap and go with the KTTW when we were there and figured something was coming, so I agree that the MB will be a wrist version (albeit glitchy) of the KTTW...DD won't be happy, she hates anything on her wrist and I'm not a fan of that either. I don't like a watch much.

Personally, with respect to MagicBands, I think Disney spent an obscene amount of money on something that frankly doesn't add any value to the trip at all for a guest. I keep hearing the thing cost 800m to 1 billion - I shudder if that is true, because they built the whole original Animal Kingdom park for that sum. How many more attractions could they have added/enhanced in existing parks with that amount of money? It boggles the mind.

This is the thing that simply confounds me. As money hoarding as a corporation like Disney is, why in God's green earth would they get hoodwinked into spending like this, on something like this and not attractions. It smacks in the face of business logic.

This is the thing I have the hardest time swallowing. As I posted earlier in this thread, using the magicbands didn't cause me any major issues. I really would have been happy with FP+ had I been given 5 selections per day with no tiering and the ability to book multiple parks. However, do you know what would have made me far happier? Riding 8 new E-ticket attractions. They could have built 2 amazing $150 million attractions at each of the 4 WDW parks for less than the cost of this whole fiasco. Don't you think that might have increased guest satisfaction a heck of a lot more than this whole "next gen" system which seems to be a great dissatisfier for so many? Plus, what would be easier for Disney to market to potential guests? Opening 2 major attractions every year for half a decade, or some nebulous technology of dubious value?

ASTUTE and BRILLIANT and unfortunately not happening

All hail to the OP. This was a clear, concise, honest, genuine, well-explained post, which I hated to read... because it pretty much cemented what was lurking around in my brain anyway. Sigh...

This just seems like a lot of money for us to continue to spend, feel like we are waiting around for tiered FP+ etc. I'm a planner. I've planned our trips pretty tidily, yet even this is too much for me. I'm thinking Grand Canyon, Pacific Northwest, New England is in our horizon...

I love Disney, but...I thought they were going the route of Universal with a bypass pay extra deal. How wrong was I??? Disney is just acting dumb right now. They aren't supporting their IT end of it and if they are, they have a hot mess. They aren't providing enough knowledge and training and relief for their CM's. I wouldn't be a CM now for all the FP+ in the world. They are getting their britches caught on their own pitchfork...as they say. Who would even pay for Hoppers right now, not us, that's who wouldn't.

 

[xie]

Wow, thanks for so much info. I just called AAA. They did not mention the moderate hotel nor did I know about it until you informed me. They quoted me a 4 night stay at Hard Rock which includes a 4 day, park to park pass for 4 people; $1720.00. Have no idea if this is a decent price. But, we also wanted to do Sea World. If you don't mind my asking, did you use a travel agent or did you book directly with Universal? We leave on Aug. 19th so I am thinking the crowds should not be too bad (I hope).

Hi - I did this directly on Universal's website. I will confess that I've never in my life used a travel agent. But you can search for packages right there on their site and compare rates from all 4 of their official resorts. It also returned results from "affiliated" hotels, but we wanted to be on Universal property so we chose one of the 4 Loews properties. I am unsure what kind of benefits you'd get from those others.

I do think in value season you could save money above the price you quoted by staying at Cabana Bay instead of Hard Rock, if you are okay to try a brand new moderate. (We know we are gambling by staying at a brand new hotel, but we know many people who have stayed at the Loews deluxe hotels on Uni property and loved them, so we figure the new one will be okay!) The big difference between staying at their Deluxe (Hard Rock) and the new Moderate (Cabana) is that you don't get the unlimited Express Pass. We don't think we'll need it during the slow season though.

 

[dawgsgirl]

I got a small tin box with a Christmas gift this year. It is nicely decorated and says "Random Crap." It fits my magic band perfectly!!

 

[Laketravis]

We've also been looking at checking out Universal this year. My DS8 got a complete set of Harry Potter books for Christmas, he just started reading the first one this week and can't put it down. I didn't think HP stood a chance against Diary of a Wimpy Kid but it worked.

We've never been to US Orlando, but what we found incredible was there didn't seem to be a need to plan anything. I thought something was wrong until OP pointed out the very same thing just a few posts back.

I think it would be fun to mix up a split stay between WDW and US, depending on what the value climate at WDW is at the time.

US doesn't seem to be any cheaper than WDW, might even be more, don't know yet but cost analysis is the next step in our due diligence.

Sorry if I'm pulling this thread off-topic, let me correct that by saying:

I love MB and FP+. Sure, tiering sucks. And only 3 a day sucks. And being limited to one park a day sucks. And not being able to schedule the same attraction more than once sucks. But I love MB and FP+ !!!

 

[bcrook]

Sorry if I'm pulling this thread off-topic, let me correct that by saying:

I love MB and FP+. Sure, tiering sucks. And only 3 a day sucks. And not being limited to one park a day sucks. And not being able to schedule the same attraction more than once sucks. But I love MB and FP+ !!!

 

[rastuso]

Sorry if I'm pulling this thread off-topic, let me correct that by saying: I love MB and FP+. Sure, tiering sucks. And only 3 a day sucks. And not being able to park hop sucks. And not being able to schedule the same attraction more than once sucks. But I love MB and FP+ !!!

Hilarious!

 

[MMitchell29]

Sorry if I'm pulling this thread off-topic, let me correct that by saying:

I love MB and FP+. Sure, tiering sucks. And only 3 a day sucks. And being limited to one park a day sucks. And not being able to schedule the same attraction more than once sucks. But I love MB and FP+ !!![/QUOTE]

LakeTravis you are too funny but i got to ask you a question about your last statement. Did someone threatened you to say that? I mean really!!

 

[crostorfer]

I love MB and FP+. Sure, tiering sucks. And only 3 a day sucks. And being limited to one park a day sucks. And not being able to schedule the same attraction more than once sucks. But I love MB and FP+ !!!

 

[Don Disney]

We cancelled our Mardi Gras trip,partly because of all the hoo-ha about FP+ and Magic Bands etc..and partly because of the lack of new"exciting"attractions,and partly because of the seriously inflated cost altogether...we've been 6 times in the last 8 years,and the increase in price,and decrease in value(in our opinion) won't allow me to spend my hard earned $$$$ on a WDW vacation this year...maybe some other time. We are thinking about going to DC,and checking out The Smithsonian Museums,and the other sites in our nations Capitol;it aint Disney,but it will be a LOT less expensive,and educational to boot;Loved it in the mid to late 70's on a Boy Scout trip....I think my kids will enjoy it too.

 

[wisblue]

Sorry if I'm taking this thread off topic, but I have to say that I am really peeved that Disney is eliminating the PERFECT paper FP system.

Sure, it sucked that you had no control over your return time and were stuck with what was available when you got to the attraction. And it sucked that you weren't sure if you would be able to get a FP for your favorite ride at a time that you could use. And it sucked that after you got a FP you usually had to wait 2 hours to get another one. And it sucked that FPs for some popular attractions often ran out in the first couple of hours after the park opened. And it sucked that you had to watch the clock all day to know exactly when you could pull another FP and to get back to the attraction to use the ones you were holding. And it sucked that if something came up and you missed your return time you were out of luck and couldn't get a replacement. And it sucked that, if you wanted to hop to a second park in the late afternoon or evening, all of the FPs for major attractions were gone. And it sucked that, if you didn't have a "runner" who was willing to run all over the park rounding up the FPs, it was harder to get them for the attractions you wanted.

But, I loved the old paper FP system.