WIRED article: Disney's $1 Billion Bet on a Magical Wristband

[MikeandReneePlus5]

But it's beyond ridiculous to try to sell this as something that increases spontaneity. That's just nuts.

I guess it depends what one means by spontaneity. I think Staggs means that for the average guest he or she will know they are riding Space Mountain at say 10 am and they don't have to run right there at rope drop.

I understand that. At times with my family I vividly recall my wife scowling at me a bit because I wanted to fly past Pinnochio or Marie the white cat and race to get FPs and she was like "oh look it's Pinnochio let's go see him!". She wanted to spontaneously deviate from my plan. Which of course we did. Because I am not a drill sergeant about these things lol.

 

[Angel Ariel]

My point was that pre-FP+, we followed a strict touring plan. First this ride, then this ride, keep to the schedule! "No, you're not riding Test Track today, that's on our Wednesday, Epcot Part 2, plan!" Now that we have FP+, we've adopted a more free-and-easy touring plan and we don't worry that we're missing things.

And we are exactly the opposite. We previously toured as you describe you do now. We never used to plan to the extent of what rides on what days. Fp+ now has us including that in our planning. So our days feel more structured and scheduled than ever before.

It's interesting to see how polar opposite DISers are in their touring styles.

 

[jade1]

Look, I totally get that some people are loving getting to plan more details in advance. That's a matter of personal preference. We an argue til the cows come home about whether the majority of guests will prefer that, but we won't know for some time.

But it's beyond ridiculous to try to sell this as something that increases spontaneity. That's just nuts.

But I think (correct me if I'm wrong) your are talking attractions only (and even that can be argued a couple ways). Why is that the only "spontaneity" involved in a WDW vacation?

Is it possible (and times of year do impact to a degree) that FP+ does improve spontaneity for hopping to a 2nd park "after" relaxing at SAB for the afternoon break, fishing AM's, golfing AM's, late nights effecting mornings (such as NYE fireworks and NYE preview fireworks or DTD/BW bars), a Florida beach day, a Citrus Bowl day, a Universal day?

Not only that FP+ scheduled later can indeed improve AM spontaneity IMO-like many on here, we used to arrive early enough to obtain headliner FP's and they were often for later that evening-that constrains park hopping. We could not decide to open one park-than hope to make it to another in time to obtain even one good FP-especially with a pool break which we enjoy, and we certainly could not be spontaneous about hitting SAB for the afternoon first.

 

[Violet Parr]

Oh, I completely feel it has increased our spontaneity, although I would say that the fact that we have been as frequently as we have now has also increased our spontaneity. For me, FP+ is a "relax pill." It gets me to prioritize and not make every. single. thing. a. must. do. I got my top three things, and from there I just relax. I let us sleep in sometimes now, because I totally have peace of mind that we will be able to ride Test Track (barring any breakdowns.) I actually went bag-free on my last trip. No camera, no credit cards, just my band and a few FP+ made the day before. It was the most relaxing thing! It felt WAY more vacation-y than previous years. And it was a last-minute trip, so no months and months of advanced planning. We ate everywhere we wanted, including Citricos, and rode everything we wanted, including SDMT, which, at the time we went (Dec. 2014 with 1 week of planning) was an impossible FP to get.

We still rope drop in general, but my family is so happy that we get the occasional sleep-in day while we are there. We're more rested over all, and I'm less of a hard-charger, so there is more room for spontaneity. How much of that comes from FP+ and how much comes from the admitted luxury our family has of being able to go there over and over again, I'm not really sure. We know not everyone has that luxury, and I wonder if we were planning our upcoming trip with the knowledge that it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, I might be far more inclined to be stressed and try to get additional FP, etc.

VP

I guess it depends what one means by spontaneity. I think Staggs means that for the average guest he or she will know they are riding Space Mountain at say 10 am and they don't have to run right there at rope drop.

I understand that. At times with my family I vividly recall my wife scowling at me a bit because I wanted to fly past Pinnochio or Marie the white cat and race to get FPs and she was like "oh look it's Pinnochio let's go see him!". She wanted to spontaneously deviate from my plan. Which of course we did. Because I am not a drill sergeant about these things lol.

Mmn, yeah, no. It's Florida. There are plenty of days of persistent, all-day rain.

 

[jade1]

Mmn, yeah, no. It's Florida. There are plenty of days of persistent, all-day rain.

If even we have been lucky enough to miss those (not sure how many you are talking about) that doesn't dismiss there is an argument of FP+ in park availabilty-a park you "suddenly" want to visit, and even more availabilty on rainy days and shorter SB as well.

 

[JimmyV]

2.5 inches is .08 inches if it rained every day.

Thank you for making my point. While it would be true that 2.5 inches of rain would be .08 inches if it rained every day, we know that it does not rain every day. Hence, the amount of rain that does fall on the days when it does rain is substantially more.

 

[Violet Parr]

(Please pardon my total ineptitude at using the multi-quote feature!)

 

[JimmyV]

I've already decided that I'll be riding Test Track in the single rider line

The majority of people do not do this. If they did, then the single rider line would, of course, be the longer line. Since it isn't, then we know that this is not the approach favored by most people. We ride as a family and design our cars--things you cannot do from the Single Rider line.

 

[jade1]

Thank you for making my point. While it would be true that 2.5 inches of rain would be .08 inches if it rained every day, we know that it does not rain every day. Hence, the amount of rain that does fall on the days when it does rain is substantially more.

Still avoiding its irrelevant and the just get them the night before or day of though.

 

[JimmyV]

I noticed you bypassed responding to just getting them when you get there.

??? No idea what you are talking about.

 

[mesaboy2]

I've also been assured here that it is not hot in Florida in July.

 

[Mickey&Mouse]

Sure. You could. But if you have a FP booked for Soarin', then perforce, you do not have one for Test Track. So while you are revelling in the glory of your spontaneity at Spaceship Earth, the Standby Line at Test Track is quickly building to 70 minutes. In reality, most people, (pre-planners or spur-of-the-moment folks) are going to make a beeline for TT when they walk into Epcot first thing in the morning, and the notion of spontaneity goes out the window. Having a single FP+ for a tiered attraction doesn't make most people spontaneous. To the contrary. It almost dictates what their first move of the day will be. This is not to say that some people won't jump in the Spaceship Earth line as they walk in the park. But if they wait 5 minutes there and 70 minutes for Test Track, they will spend more time in line than the person who heads straight to TT and waits 15 minutes there, and later waits 20 minutes for Spaceship Earth.

But there is a bigger picture to spontaneity that gets lost here. Most of the discussion centers on the "micro". But there is a "macro" to spontaneity. Do a quick search for threads asking for advice as to which park is the best one to visit when it rains. In reading those threads, you will note two constant themes. First, locals and people with experience will tell you that advance forecasts cannot be trusted. You have to wait until you are there to figure out what the weather will be. In other words, advanced planning won't help you here. The second thing you will see over and over again is that people have their own ideas as to which park is best. The whole reason people ask the question in the first place is to get good ideas where to go if their day is going to be a rainy one. But does any of that matter if you locked in your FPs for the day? Personally, I prefer Epcot as my rainy day park. By a wide margin. But if I arrive only to find that my one and only day of persistent rain is the day that I booked the MK (where BTMRR won't be much fun in a driving rain, nor would 7DMT, nor would Astro Orbiter, nor would watching the parade, etc., etc.), what do I do? Do I spontaneously decide at 7:00 a.m. to head to Epcot where the FPs for the headliners are all distributed? Before FP+, this was an easy "on the fly" change to make. "Honey! Ginger Zee says it's going to rain all day in Orlando. We should go to Epcot today instead of the Magic Kingdom." Boom. Done. It is a lot more cumbersome now, and there is really no argument to the contrary.

Couldn't agree more. There are so many variables that come into play, with weather being one of the hardest to work around (particularly now with locked-in FP's). We've definitely had our share of long rainy days while at WDW. One time it felt like a monsoon at DHS and it did not let up at all! Suffice to say, our ponchos & umbrellas have been used a lot on our trips!

To your larger point relating to spontaneity in the bigger picture, I would prefer to have the whole entire day be unencumbered and open (see Legacy FP) to allow for true spur-of-the-moment real time decisions..... all day long. Whether it's the weather, or another unpredictable event popping up- we should be able to make those last minute decisions without it negatively impacting our park days. Such as : locking in headliners, then potentially losing them because of any number of unpredictable events. IMO, the very act of locking-in FP's eliminates spontaneity altogether. Staggs really picked the wrong word!


“It lets people’s vacations unfold naturally,” Staggs says. “The ability to plan and personalize has given way to spontaneity.”

 

[JimmyV]

Still avoiding its irrelevant and the just get them the night before or day of though.

Is this supposed to be an English sentence? I still have no idea what you are talking about. Are you suggesting that one can get a FP for Soarin at 8:00 a.m. on the morning of arrival? Not likely. And if you could, would it be for a time between 9:00-12:00? Again, not likely.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I think those who were there for the wine and dine 1/2 marathon would argue the point that rain is short lived. It rained all night that night. I've never seen more people.just sitting inside buildings on the floor..no chairs, nothing, just floor, just to escape the rain. The rain was miserable.

 

[jade1]

Is this supposed to be an English sentence? I still have no idea what you are talking about. Are you suggesting that one can get a FP for Soarin at 8:00 a.m. on the morning of arrival? Not likely. And if you could, would it be for a time between 9:00-12:00? Again, not likely.

Did you even read post 131?

 

[jade1]

And 135?

I guess I could post it for a 3rd time.

 

[jade1]

How about post 140 for those that like DHS for rainy days.

 

[JimmyV]

Did you even read post 131?

Yes. And it ended with a grammatically deficient sentence that doesn't make any sense. It seems to suggest that rain alters the number of FPs that people have pre-booked. But since the weather cannot be predicted in advance, and FPs are booked in advance, this makes no sense whatsoever. So surely you don't mean to suggest that on a rainy day in July one can walk up to a kiosk and get a FP for Soarin' with a 10:00 a.m. return time. And since you cannot possibly intend to suggest that, I am at a loss to figure out what you are trying to convey.

 

[JimmyV]

How about post 140 for those that like DHS for rainy days.

An awesome day-not possible until FP+ during busier weeks anyway.

The highlighted verbless sentence is supposed to be comforting to people who go to DHS on a rainy day?

 

[mom2rtk]

So surely you don't mean to suggest that on a rainy day in July one can walk up to a kiosk and get a FP for Soarin' with a 10:00 a.m. return time. And since you cannot possibly intend to suggest that, I am at a loss to figure out what you are trying to convey.

You mean like it used to be with legacy FP?