WOW, FP+ is worse than I even imagined

[Suvadoo]

Personally, one of my biggest complaints is you have to plan your days 2 months in advance of your vacation. I personally enjoyed the older system because you could decide where you wanted to in the morning when you were there. However, one upside is you don't have to be at the park when it first opens, which can make it seem more relaxing, but the planning before you go is more stressful. I'm indifferent because it seems that you can find positive or negatives either way, I just prefer to enjoy my vacations by not planning and just going with the flow. Those are my two-cents.

I think a lot of people feel the same way you do. I don't even like making ADR's because they make me feel restricted. Therefore, I avoid free dining seasons and do walk ups at non peak times. Unfortunately, I can't use the same strategy with FP+ for popular rides. If I don't make reservations, I'm stuck waiting in a long stand by line.

 

[NavyDad01]

Planning my first trip back in 6 years and this whole FP ordeal is making me feel a little sad. We are bringing more family members with us this time so we have to rent a Vacation Home instead of on site. I feel like we wont be able to get FP for anything since the resorts are getting 60 days advance booking compared to us having to book that day.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Planning my first trip back in 6 years and this whole FP ordeal is making me feel a little sad. We are bringing more family members with us this time so we have to rent a Vacation Home instead of on site. I feel like we wont be able to get FP for anything since the resorts are getting 60 days advance booking compared to us having to book that day.

As an offsite guest you have access to book 30 days in advance. You don't have to wait until that day anymore

 

[mesaboy2]

As an offsite guest you have access to book 30 days in advance. You don't have to wait until that day anymore

Assuming they buy tickets that early.

 

[surferdave]

I'm glad I'm finally able to speak with someone on the boards who thinks that Disney may dump this project because of the astronomical expenses associated with MDE. In the past when I've made this suggestion, most people have used the argument you mention, " It's here to stay because Disney has invested too much money, to dump it."

Even if it drags the bottom line I don't know if the existing management team would dump it because they are so heavily and personally invested in it, so from that standpoint the detractors may be right. But if they keep getting challenged at board and stockholder meetings to show results the existing management team may become a part of the sunk cost.

Besides FP+, I think there is another failure associated with MDE. Namely the interactive queues that were supposed to entertain waiting guests. From what I've seen and read most of the people in the line are still standing around doing nothing while a few people play a game or engage in some other activity. While the few people are enjoying the game, they hold up the line for the people who are doing nothing. This was another next gen installation that wasn't so hot, but was very expensive.

With the line interactivity, the only time this would be great is when the crowds are low. But when the crowds are low, guests don't care about playing a game when they can ride an attraction. I have seen posts about great the queue theming on a particular ride, but the theming was there before next gen. Line interactivity, however, does not require ongoing additional CM support. If these elements stop working, I think they will just be shut down.

According to Jim Hill on the Disney Dish Podcast, there are interactive queue elements for additional rides at MK. Originally these installations were budgeted under MDE, but that's now changed. If the manager of MK wants an interactive element, it now comes out of the MK budget not the MDE budget. So, I don't think we'll see more queue upgrades.

Personally I like the idea of extending the attraction experience out into the queue, but not necessarily through an interactive system. If you can make it comfortable (as in air conditioned), provide seating, occupy the kids somehow, and theme the queue to be interesting like the Potter stuff at Uni then the waiting would be much more bearable.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Assuming they buy tickets that early.

Yes, sorry...should have been specific.

 

[Suvadoo]

Even if it drags the bottom line I don't know if the existing management team would dump it because they are so heavily and personally invested in it, so from that standpoint the detractors may be right. But if they keep getting challenged at board and stockholder meetings to show results the existing management team may become a part of the sunk cost.



Personally I like the idea of extending the attraction experience out into the queue, but not necessarily through an interactive system. If you can make it comfortable (as in air conditioned), provide seating, occupy the kids somehow, and theme the queue to be interesting like the Potter stuff at Uni then the waiting would be much more bearable.

Agreed about the ride queues, but the interactive queues entertain very few guests. Personally, I love the Expedition Everest and Jungle Cruise queue. Both are very entertaining, but AC would be even better!

 

[Goddesstree]

Booked a last minute trip last month for mid August. Got tickets from UT a week before our first day, and was able to book everything we wanted except 7DMT and TSMM. We did not want Elsa and Anna ones, BTW.

Rode TSMM at rope drop. Rode 7DMT twice at night. 6 days at the parks, added that sixth day on our first day there and still scored Test Track FP+ for that day.

Except for that one RD day at DHS, we got to sleep in, and stayed out late most nights. Took mid day breaks, park-hopped, even got a FP+ for BOG.

Crowds were supposed to be 6-8 range. They seemed more like 7-9. MDE worked best on our laptops back at the room, but we were able to see wait times on our phones quite easily. Kiosks were well manned and took 5 minutes, very rarely waited for a turn.

We know the parks by heart, so it was easy for us to find the kiosk areas, and knowing wait times made it so easy to plan where to go between/before our FP+.

 

[asc]

Yup. Booked FP for first time and hated the idea of planning way to do 60 days before. Really hated it.

 

[surferdave]

Agreed about the ride queues, but the interactive queues entertain very few guests. Personally, I love the Expedition Everest and Jungle Cruise queue. Both are very entertaining, but AC would be even better!

I would settle for shade and ventilation in most cases.

I put all my theories and philosophies on queues in this thread that I started shortly after returning from my last trip in October 2013; this was well before I knew anything about notions of having the queues respond to pings from people's Magic Bands (which frankly creeps me out a little, reminds me of Minority Report).

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3189779

I think MDE can be salvaged, but I think it would mean eliminating some of the "features" that they've been giving the hard sell all along. In March I tried to lay out a possible revision that would eliminate the biggest problems, but nobody wanted to play with me.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3250322

 

[Suvadoo]

Yup. Booked FP for first time and hated the idea of planning way to do 60 days before. Really hated it.

have you been on your trip?

 

[Suvadoo]

I think MDE can be salvaged, but I think it would mean eliminating some of the "features" that they've been giving the hard sell all along. In March I tried to lay out a possible revision that would eliminate the biggest problems, but nobody wanted to play with me.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3250322

I bow to your fabulous solution to FP+. You're the kind of person who I would love to work with. Rather than just complaining about a situation (like me) you think of a solution. I wish the people at Disney would read this.

 

[OtherScott]

According to the last shareholder report, only about half of their theme parks guests are using magic bands. How can Disney possibly increase this number? I really don't know since the majority of their guests are 1st timers. I'm also wondering what percentage of these first timers purchase their tickets on the day of their visit.

My earliest contributions to FP+ argument were that FP+ was simply a trade-off to get guests to wear the RFID tracking device. For me, the MBs were always the key - to unobtrusively track all your physical movements (times, routes, activities) with which to build behavioral models, to push in-park notifications, etc. They would learn not just how many guest did a particular thing, but which guests...and what these guests did right before and right after, what they did the day before and the day after, what they had planned to do but then chose not to, what they still had planned to in the future.

Just a huge data mining operation.

I don't know what % of guests have to play along (by wearing MBs) to make the venture worth doing (profitable), but it seems to me that 1/2 ain't good.

I've always felt this was a response to fear of what they saw over the horizon.

 

[mom2rtk]

My earliest contributions to FP+ argument were that FP+ was simply a trade-off to get guests to wear the RFID tracking device. For me, the MBs were always the key - to unobtrusively track all your physical movements (times, routes, activities) with which to build behavioral models, to push in-park notifications, etc. They would learn not just how many guest did a particular thing, but which guests...and what these guests did right before and right after, what they did the day before and the day after, what they had planned to do but then chose not to, what they still had planned to in the future.

Just a huge data mining operation.

I don't know what % of guests have to play along (by wearing MBs) to make the venture worth doing (profitable), but it seems to me that 1/2 ain't good.

I totally agree. I've said all along that they were using FP+ as the gateway drug to get people on the bands.

 

[hookedonears]

My earliest contributions to FP+ argument were that FP+ was simply a trade-off to get guests to wear the RFID tracking device. For me, the MBs were always the key - to unobtrusively track all your physical movements (times, routes, activities) with which to build behavioral models, to push in-park notifications, etc. They would learn not just how many guest did a particular thing, but which guests...and what these guests did right before and right after, what they did the day before and the day after, what they had planned to do but then chose not to, what they still had planned to in the future.

Just a huge data mining operation.

I don't know what % of guests have to play along (by wearing MBs) to make the venture worth doing (profitable), but it seems to me that 1/2 ain't good.

I've always felt this was a response to fear of what they saw over the horizon.

I agree completely as well. However, they could have forced people to use the MB's without destroying the FP system the way they did. The tier system totally ruins it.

 

[mom2rtk]

I agree completely as well. However, they could have forced people to use the MB's without destroying the FP system the way they did. The tier system totally ruins it.

But the current system can't exist without tiers. They tried it. It failed even before it was fully rolled out.

The irony is that they went this direction to try and mask capacity problems. And all they did was highlight their capacity problems.

 

[over50visits]

I totally agree. I've said all along that they were using FP+ as the gateway drug to get people on the bands.

Hahaha!!! I think this sums it up perfectly!

 

[hookedonears]

But the current system can't exist without tiers. They tried it. It failed even before it was fully rolled out.

The irony is that they went this direction to try and mask capacity problems. And all they did was highlight their capacity problems.

I believe that if they would have limited pre-scheduling FP to only one or two attractions with no tier restrictions, in the AFTERNOON ONLY, it may have worked. Example, in the morning, the FP system would work just like it always did. Only scanning MB's would have taken the place of paper. In the mornings, people could get as many FP's as they could use at one park. Pre-scheduling FP's would have strickly been a benefit for park hoppers. (thus a benefit for Disney by selling more park hopper tickets).

 

[rastuso]

But the current system can't exist without tiers. They tried it. It failed even before it was fully rolled out.

The irony is that they went this direction to try and mask capacity problems. And all they did was highlight their capacity problems.

Yeah, it's funny, even the pro FP+ now ONLY talk about the MK. Because, it is the ONLY park that was not completely screwed up. AK still flounders with low crowds, with really only 2 rides that ever have a line. Epcot and Studios have their tiers that only make visiting them attractive to folks with 7 day park hoppers. And MK is rationing rides on any busy day.

Could you imagine paying full price, or even $80 or so, for a day at Studios or Epcot now? Knowing you would get ONE of the big rides, and have to be there at RD to ride the other without a long wait. And then that is IT, the rest of the day will be SB.

The only park you can even argue that FP+ has improved is MK, and that is purely a matter of opinion.

And I've yet to hear a single person say they would visit MORE because of FP+, but many, including myself, are staying far away from WDW now. Orlando is a Universal town, and I'll visit WDW for one day max from now on. Either using party tickets, or my existing old park tickets.

Jason

 

[hookedonears]

Yeah, it's funny, even the pro FP+ now ONLY talk about the MK. Because, it is the ONLY park that was not completely screwed up. AK still flounders with low crowds, with really only 2 rides that ever have a line. Epcot and Studios have their tiers that only make visiting them attractive to folks with 7 day park hoppers. And MK is rationing rides on any busy day.

Could you imagine paying full price, or even $80 or so, for a day at Studios or Epcot now? Knowing you would get ONE of the big rides, and have to be there at RD to ride the other without a long wait. And then that is IT, the rest of the day will be SB.

The only park you can even argue that FP+ has improved is MK, and that is purely a matter of opinion.

And I've yet to hear a single person say they would visit MORE because of FP+, but many, including myself, are staying far away from WDW now. Orlando is a Universal town, and I'll visit WDW for one day max from now on. Either using party tickets, or my existing old park tickets.

Jason

My wife and daughter have said that it's not worth it anymore, and want to start travelling to other places. Very depressing.