Will FP+ Tiering Ever Go Away?

[J and R's mom]

Any news or rumors on FP+ tiering going away or is it here to stay?

 

[tjkraz]

Doubt it will go away.

Soarin and Test Track just don't have the capacity to accommodate every guest who walks through the gate at Epcot. Same is true of Toy Story Mania, RnR and Fantasmic.

It's of paramount importance that FP+ maintain some semblance of flexibility. Disney can't afford to have all FPs for Soarin and Test Track gobbled-up 4-8 weeks in advance. Day guests who are paying $100 for admission cannot arrive to find that their only options are 90 minute standby waits and/or FP+ for Nemo, Figment and Captain Eo.

Forcing guests to choose just one of those headliners helps maintain that flexibility.

The only way they'll ever get rid of the tiering is if more popular options are introduced. If some sort of Star Wars land is added to Hollywood Studios, we COULD someday reach a point where the tiering is no longer needed. But it won't happen anytime soon.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Doubt it will go away.

Soarin and Test Track just don't have the capacity to accommodate every guest who walks through the gate at Epcot. Same is true of Toy Story Mania, RnR and Fantasmic.

It's of paramount importance that FP+ maintain some semblance of flexibility. Disney can't afford to have all FPs for Soarin and Test Track gobbled-up 4-8 weeks in advance. Day guests who are paying $100 for admission cannot arrive to find that their only options are 90 minute standby waits and/or FP+ for Nemo, Figment and Captain Eo.

Forcing guests to choose just one of those headliners helps maintain that flexibility.

The only way they'll ever get rid of the tiering is if more popular options are introduced. If some sort of Star Wars land is added to Hollywood Studios, we COULD someday reach a point where the tiering is no longer needed. But it won't happen anytime soon.

I agree 100%

I also find it somewhat embarassing...

The better idea - especially in the case of EPCOT - would have been to concentrate heavily on new or revamped attractions in the years leading up to their "smart system" that has been in the works for literally decades in some form...

You know?...like in a severe recession when construction was as cheap as its ever going to be again?

Just saying

 

[beer dave]

I agree 100%

I also find it somewhat embarassing...

The better idea - especially in the case of EPCOT - would have been to concentrate heavily on new or revamped attractions in the years leading up to their "smart system" that has been in the works for literally decades in some form...

You know?...like in a severe recession when construction was as cheap as its ever going to be again?

Just saying

wow that would have been smart.

 

[ThurlFan]

wow that would have been smart.

But in today's climate where investment analysts and shareholders are only interested in next quarter's profits, it's all but impossible to sell long-term capital improvements during a downturn in revenues. This kind of short sightedness is systemic in the business ecosystem, not just a Disney problem unfortunately.

 

[Figmentforever24]

That is why these Future World rumors are so important. if new things are really coming for the Imagination, Sea and World showcase then this could be a game changer for Epcot.

 

[ChipnDale79]

Tiering really shows how much Epcot and DHS are lacking.

We just returned from a 7 night 6 day trip to WDW, for the first time ever we only rode Soarin, Test Track, and Toy Story once each.

 

[Figmentforever24]

Tiering really shows how much Epcot and DHS are lacking.

We just returned from a 7 night 6 day trip to WDW, for the first time ever we only rode Soarin, Test Track, and Toy Story once each.

We only rode Test Track when we went to Epcot and it didn't bother us we didn't make it to Sorian. We didn't do Toy Story since we didn't get to Hollywood Studios that evening and the FP were gone. Rockin Roller Coaster was just a 15 minute wait so we were able to do it though.

 

[PJGP]

Tiering really shows how much Epcot and DHS are lacking.

We just returned from a 7 night 6 day trip to WDW, for the first time ever we only rode Soarin, Test Track, and Toy Story once each.

In our recent trip (May1 - 8), we rode TSMM (FP+), RnRC (15 min stand by), ToT(FP+) before noon. We didn't make it to RD so we couldn't ride TSMM twice. Then we park hopped to Epcot and got FP+ for Test Track at 6:45pm. We could have chosen Soarin too.

With FP+ one needs to find new and better ways to do the parks, but I didn't felt it to be restrictive. I felt that tiering was helpful in that TT was available when we park hopped. Otherwise that one could have been gone.

 

[J and R's mom]

They certainly don't have to release all available FP+s at the 60 day mark. Just like they don't open up all available dining reservations at 180 days out. Can they not eliminate tiering and ration out a percentage of FP+s at 60days out and open up the remaining the day of so that day-guests (and resort guests wanting to make changes) have availability.

They can ration out by return times so that all return times would have availability on the day of.

For those of us that have been going for decades now and know exactly which attractions we want to go on, tiering is not our friend. In EPCOT we like to go on TT and Soarin. I don't even need the three FP+s. Just those two. And that's no longer an option. We lucked out on our last trip because I made our FP+ reservations two days before tiering happened.

I'm holding out hope for tiering to go away but know that it probably won't. I'll just have to play the new system and schedule the two useless tier two FP+s early in the morning (before our arrival time) and my tier one choice at the time I need. Then I can hunt down a kiosk and hope to get my 4th FP+ for the other headliner at a decent time that day.

Overall I REALLY LIKE the idea of FP+ and enjoyed using it and changing times when I needed to while on-site and day-of during our December 2013 visit. I LOVE not having to race to the old machines and hope for a good return time (especially when they started enforcing the return window). We are NOT rope-drop people on our WDW vacations anymore so FP+ is awesome for us...except that tiering limits us. I, for one, won't be sad to see it go.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

But in today's climate where investment analysts and shareholders are only interested in next quarter's profits, it's all but impossible to sell long-term capital improvements during a downturn in revenues. This kind of short sightedness is systemic in the business ecosystem, not just a Disney problem unfortunately.

And THAT's why we ultimately waste our time here...
Because wdw has entered the "post expansion" pwriod

 

[luisov]

I don't see tiering going anywhere for at least 3-5 years. Both Epcot and DHS have to bring new attractive offers that can actually compete with e-ticket rides like TSMM, Soarin, TT or RnRC.

As annoying as tiering is for us, it actually has lots of sense right now. At least until Disney decides to bring new big attractions to both Epcot and DHS.

 

[tjkraz]

They certainly don't have to release all available FP+s at the 60 day mark. Just like they don't open up all available dining reservations at 180 days out. Can they not eliminate tiering and ration out a percentage of FP+s at 60days out and open up the remaining the day of so that day-guests (and resort guests wanting to make changes) have availability.

People don't cancel vacations because they cannot get a 5:30pm ADR for Chef Mickey's.

People WOULD cancel trips if they are unable to secure FastPasses for Test Track AND Soarin AND Toy Story Mania AND Rock N Rollercoaster AND Fantasmic...

Tweaking the rations doesn't address the inherent problem that each of those attractions can only accommodate a fraction of the guests who enter the parks on a typical day. The old FP system of first-come, first-served was very beneficial to guests who were in-the-know and understood how to best use the system to their advantage.

Problem is there were many less experienced guests who paid the same admission fees but were left out in the cold...all FPs gone and 90+ minute Standby lines being the only option. One of the unsung benefits of FP+ is that it levels the playing field to a great degree. You don't have to spend weeks studying the Unofficial Guide or be a 10-year veteran of Disney theme parks to have a favorable experience with TSM or Fantasmic.

Best approach for vets is to either plan multiple visits to a given park (e.g. Test Track one day, Soarin the next) or to arrive early and use the standby line for one of the experiences.

 

[J and R's mom]

...People WOULD cancel trips if they are unable to secure FastPasses for Test Track AND Soarin AND Toy Story Mania AND Rock N Rollercoaster AND Fantasmic...

I agree. Which is why tiering is a PAIN. I cannot schedule the attractions I prefer without having to....go two (or more) separate days....or go at rope drop....or play the system for the 4th FP+.

...Tweaking the rations doesn't address the inherent problem that each of those attractions can only accommodate a fraction of the guests who enter the parks on a typical day.

We can agree to disagree on this topic. They ALREADY ration them at the 60 day mark. Times that I could NOT get prior to our December trip became available the day-of on our trip. We had MANY more times to choose from most mornings and if we were diligent we could get Test Track, Soarin', RnR, and ToT FPs in the early afternoon for later in the evening. Some inventory was from cancelations and people moving things around, but not all.

Best approach for vets is to either plan multiple visits to a given park (e.g. Test Track one day, Soarin the next) or to arrive early and use the standby line for one of the experiences.

Which is exactly the approach prior to FP+ for the headliners. So tiering puts us right back where we were before the change.

Like I said before, I like the idea of FP+...the flexibility of scheduling my ride times or changing up a FP+ time to better meet my needs when the day arrives (we changed FP+ times regularly on our last trip...BUT that was prior to tiering so I had the headliners all scheduled for the SAME day WITHOUT rope-dropping and fighting that mad-house).

I think the FP+ is headed in the right direction...they just need to find a way to get rid of tiering.

 

[tjkraz]

:We can agree to disagree on this topic. They ALREADY ration them at the 60 day mark. Times that I could NOT get prior to our December trip became available the day-of on our trip. We had MANY more times to choose from most mornings and if we were diligent we could get Test Track, Soarin', RnR, and ToT FPs in the early afternoon for later in the evening. Some inventory was from cancelations and people moving things around, but not all.

They may ration FPs to some degree but again....there just isn't capacity for everyone.

Toy Story Mania is a very low capacity attraction, only accommodating 1200 guests per hour. That's 12,000 in a 10-hour operating day at a park which averages 28,000 guests per day.

The Fantasmic arena only holds about 9,000.

For every person allowed multiple FastPasses for the likes of TSM, RnR and Fantasmic there are others who would be left unable to experience any of those attractions.

 

[J and R's mom]

They may ration FPs to some degree but again....there just isn't capacity for everyone. Toy Story Mania is a very low capacity attraction, only accommodating 1200 guests per hour. That's 12,000 in a 10-hour operating day at a park which averages 28,000 guests per day. The Fantasmic arena only holds about 9,000. For every person allowed multiple FastPasses for the likes of TSM, RnR and Fantasmic there are others who would be left unable to experience any of those attractions.

I get all of that. I really do. Most of us do.

A set number of fast passes per day due to capacity is nothing new and NOT my frustration. They have always had a set limit of FPs per day due to capacity and will most likely ALWAYS have to.

BUT...tiering is not the optimal answer. It frustrates many (not all...nothing's absolute) and could be handled with a set percentage being released at the 60 day mark. As with most things WDW, early bird gets the advantage in booking, but then we would all be equal on day of.

Like I said before, it's best we agree to disagree.