You can accomplish just as much...if not more with FastPass+!!!!!

[Mad Hattered]

One other helpful piece of information easywdw pulls is FP+ availability at every attraction, all day. So I can tell you exactly when Toy Story Mania ran out of FP+ on March 22nd or exactly what times were available at Soarin' on April 19th at 11:36am. Based on what I've seen, by 1pm FP+ availability for the headlining attractions is going to be slim and then quickly deplete as it gets later. There are cancellations and other oddities that cause FP+ to become available unexpectedly. Crowds today were much lower than expected to the point where there were 19 people in line at Soarin' at 8pm. It would not surprise me if FP+ availability is fairly healthy tomorrow at 1pm, but we are talking return times at Test Track for 6:15pm and Toy Story Mania from 7:45pm - 8:45pm. Available, probably. But not necessarily convenient and they will go quickly.

Sounds sound...(can you use the same word twice in a row....I may find out?). I just wish you would update us on the availability of chase lounges around the pool at 12:45pm. Apparently this is the new thing.

 

[sheetz]

I noticed that Josh recommends a 2 day plan but I wonder how easy it is to do a 1-day "highlights" tour with the current system. A few years back we went to MK during Xmas week and were still able to hit all the major attractions in one day with virtually no wait by utilizing a FP runner and Ridemax.

 

[magicbob]

This is why I'm frequently irritated with Josh. He was seeing increased Standby times and without actually experiencing things himself, assumed that this was a net-bad for guests. Yet when he actually experiences it for himself, turns out it works well. What really makes me laugh is that his site is all about skipping lines and doing things optimally! Waiting standby is for suckers.

He has a lot of knowledge, but he's just as prone to rejecting change out of hand as anyone. The minute they announced FastPass+, it was clear there were issues, but those issues could be worked around. With the change effective today, even those issues are minimal. Yes, standby times are higher for rides that didn't have Fastpass at all before. But that shouldn't matter to anyone that would frequently his site (or this one, for that matter), because we know better than to wait in those lines.

Except that if you want to ride those rides, you don't really have a choice. You have a limited number of FP+ and you have to ride SB for everything else. So increased SB wait times for rides like HM and PotC affect even the most saavy of us. If the alternative is not getting to ride, then waiting in long SB lines is your only choice. Otherwise you start to get into this kind of logic:

Person#1: We had a fantastic trip to WDW. We didn't have to wait in a single line!
Person#2: Wow, that sounds awesome! How many rides did you go on?
Person#1: None.

I think he views it negatively (as many others do) because those increased SB lines and "more people with priority" are being CAUSED BY FP+. You could still have avoided riding standby back in the "old days" (although I never/rarely did) but now it's almost as if you HAVE to avoid riding standby or be stuck in ever-increasing standby lines. I'm not sure what's positive about the fact that rides that used to have short waits (POTC, HM, IASM) now have waits twice as long, thus FORCING you to prioritize them and either ride them early or get a FP+ for them.

I think that is what bugs me the most about this system. I don't want to NEED a FP+ in order to tour my way when I never even used the old FP system before.

That's what has bothered a lot of people since the inception of FP+. The limit of three resulted in having to wait in more SB lines, and the addition of more rides to the FP+ "family" meant that those SB lines were longer to boot.

He is talking about the experience of walking up to one particular ride at a particular moment in time and comparing two situations. If you walk up to that ride with FP it is great but if you don't most likely will have a worse experience than before because many of the STBY times are longer.

And the issue is that more often than not, you DON'T have a FP+. I am hopeful, however, that the rolling 4th, 5th, etc. will cause FP+ to morph a little closer to the legacy system in terms of getting more FPs and waiting in SB less.

FP Roulette. Still better than shovelling snow .

Or being set on fire.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

If you want to know what "Josh" thinks about something, you can just ask.

FastPass+ is a complicated subject with positive and negative impacts on the overall theme park experience. Sometimes I discuss positive impacts, other times I discuss negative impacts. But talking about one thing that's negative doesn't mean FP+ is "bad" and discussing another aspect as positive doesn't make it "good." So if you want to know what I think, it's that FP+ makes some things easier and other things harder. That is not an inconsistent point of view.

I am not real sure how to address many of the other comments in this thread. It is true that I know what I'm doing and in these kinds of posts, I follow my own advice and use hundreds of pictures and thousands of words to explain why it works and what you can do differently if you need to make changes. Of my theme park visits, less than 1% are rope drops. I don't like to get up that early any more than anyone else does. But the purpose of the post linked is to go through the (usually new) ideal morning plans as written so that's what you see.

The plans are written for a family with cushioning on the expected arrival/departure times to take into account strollers, slower walkers, etc. You'll note that I am 15 minutes behind the entire morning because I spent that long taking pictures of the Mine Train and Anna and Elsa and whatnot. Several times throughout the morning I also went back over there to check on things. I also experienced a 10+ minute delay on Splash Mountain and several minutes at Haunted Mansion, among other technical issues. The plan still worked perfectly with virtually no waits. If your experience following the plans is different (something that isn't noted in this thread or any other that I've seen - just hypothetical "but josh you dont have any kids and sprint to every attraction and you don't go to Winnie the Pooh seven times in one morning), I would be more than happy to address those concerns.

Thank you for your contribution both here and on your site. I do not agree with all of your conclusions, and my touring style doesn't allow me to follow your example everywhere, but you provide enough helpful information for me to be able to leverage it effectively. The level of detail is awesome, as is your daily park analysis.

 

[ArwenMarie]

FP Roulette. Still better than shovelling snow .

 

[mom2rtk]

FP Roulette. Still better than shovelling snow .

The slogan possibilities are just endless, aren't they?

I'm gonna get that tattooed on my left arm.

You're going to have to start making these smaller tattoos. We don't want you to run out of space before we're done!

Pretty soon you will look this when you are trying to book your 4th FP+.

 

[NavyDad]

If you want to know what "Josh" thinks about something, you can just ask.

FastPass+ is a complicated subject with positive and negative impacts on the overall theme park experience. Sometimes I discuss positive impacts, other times I discuss negative impacts. But talking about one thing that's negative doesn't mean FP+ is "bad" and discussing another aspect as positive doesn't make it "good." So if you want to know what I think, it's that FP+ makes some things easier and other things harder. That is not an inconsistent point of view.

I am not real sure how to address many of the other comments in this thread. It is true that I know what I'm doing and in these kinds of posts, I follow my own advice and use hundreds of pictures and thousands of words to explain why it works and what you can do differently if you need to make changes. Of my theme park visits, less than 1% are rope drops. I don't like to get up that early any more than anyone else does. But the purpose of the post linked is to go through the (usually new) ideal morning plans as written so that's what you see.

The plans are written for a family with cushioning on the expected arrival/departure times to take into account strollers, slower walkers, etc. You'll note that I am 15 minutes behind the entire morning because I spent that long taking pictures of the Mine Train and Anna and Elsa and whatnot. Several times throughout the morning I also went back over there to check on things. I also experienced a 10+ minute delay on Splash Mountain and several minutes at Haunted Mansion, among other technical issues. The plan still worked perfectly with virtually no waits. If your experience following the plans is different (something that isn't noted in this thread or any other that I've seen - just hypothetical "but josh you dont have any kids and sprint to every attraction and you don't go to Winnie the Pooh seven times in one morning), I would be more than happy to address those concerns.

Thanks Josh for everything you do. I appreciate your data driven perspective.

Your "review" of the Yachtsman and your explanation of why most reviews are irrelevant showed me that you really "get it" and don't take yourself too seriously.

I think if you were to preface each of your blog posts concerning FP+ with the above language that I bolded it would save the world a ton of grief

 

[TooExcitedCantSleep]

FP+ is turning out to be better and more convenient than legacy FP

Yup!!! It sure is.

I wouldn't Question Josh at all, but you aren't stating everything he said, or putting it in context.

"Overall" means--- taking everyone and everything into account; as a whole; in view of all the circumstances or conditions.....so I don't believe I "cherry picked" or left anything out. I provided a link so people can read for themselves..... there are so many pictures and a video that you don't even have to do that. It was only was only meant to be helpful.

 

[TooExcitedCantSleep]

This is just as I suspected------there are people that will bash the new FastPass+ system no matter what. Just the other day- everybody on here was He-Man and pulled at least 10 FastPasses a day and rode TSMMM at least five times. Now- nobody can walk, everybody is in a wheelchair being pushed around by Octomom with 10 kids in tow. Which one is it????? Oh that's right----whichever one fits their agenda. This is why readers need to be very careful. Like I said before, you can trust any info and tips that come from Josh. Just follow his advice and you can accomplish the same thing, if not more.... because he was moving so slow taking pictures and video.

 

[Planogirl]

I appreciate everything that Josh shares too. He has helped me immensely.

However, if Disney is tinkering with holding back fastpasses then couldn't all of this change? It might even get better!

 

[Planogirl]

This is just as I suspected------there are people that will bash the new FastPass+ system no matter what. Just the other day- everybody on here was He-Man and pulled at least 10 FastPasses a day and rode TSMMM at least five times. Now- nobody can walk, everybody is in a wheelchair being pushed around by Octomom with 10 kids in tow. Which one is it????? Oh that right----whichever one fits their agenda. This is why readers need to be very careful. Like I said before, you can trust any info and tips that come from Josh. Just follow his advice and you can accomplish the same thing, if not more.... because he was moving so slow taking pictures and video.

People on both sides of the issue can have agendas.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I appreciate everything that Josh shares too. He has helped me immensely.

However, if Disney is tinkering with holding back fastpasses then couldn't all of this change? It might even get better!

I agree - it could get better or worse as it continues to evolve. I just keep my ear to the ground, and the Dis is a good place to do that - you just have to filter out all of the "noise".

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

This is just as I suspected------there are people that will bash the new FastPass+ system no matter what. Just the other day- everybody on here was He-Man and pulled at least 10 FastPasses a day and rode TSMMM at least five times. Now- nobody can walk, everybody is in a wheelchair being pushed around by Octomom with 10 kids in tow. Which one is it????? Oh that's right----whichever one fits their agenda. This is why readers need to be very careful.

So true !!

 

[Angel Ariel]

People on both sides of the issue can have agendas.

I'd love to see the posts where so many people talk about riding TSMM 5 times in a day all the time...

As for the 10 FPs...you didn't have to be he-man, or criss-cross/run all around the park to get 10 FPs in a 16 hr day at MK.

 

[mesaboy2]

There is, of course, no agenda exhibited at all by the OP cherry-picking a single blog post that results in an ever-so-slightly positive review of FP+.

 

[Laketravis]

Thank you for your contribution both here and on your site. I do not agree with all of your conclusions, and my touring style doesn't allow me to follow your example everywhere, but you provide enough helpful information for me to be able to leverage it effectively. The level of detail is awesome, as is your daily park analysis.

Josh's site is the go-to authority for me when it comes to the biggest bang for my WDW adult beverage bucks.

 

[Shaden]

There is, of course, no agenda exhibited at all by the OP cherry-picking a single blog post that results in an ever-so-slightly positive review of FP+.

When the same blog post also points to the negative impacts FP+ is having, he just choses to ignore them.

 

[wdwfan22]

What he is saying is that if you are the normal tourist, and riding each ride once, you can do what you could before. I don't think he has ever said otherwise. Where it affects people, are those who like to do the headliners multiple times a day. FP+ DOES affect those people. And he has said that before and Im sure still agrees with it.

People who don't read his site faithfully like I do, just read one post and think they know everything he has said. Jeezo.

 

[Shaden]

What he is saying is that if you are the normal tourist, and riding each ride once, you can do what you could before. I don't think he has ever said otherwise. Where it affects people, are those who like to do the headliners multiple times a day. FP+ DOES affect those people. And he has said that before and Im sure still agrees with it.

People who don't read his site faithfully like I do, just read one post and think they know everything he has said. Jeezo.

He does not say that at all.

He says that if you follow his specific touring strategy, with some leeway, though not much, you will be able to do as much as you did before.

He actually warns that there are increased standby lines at the attractions building throughout the day, which, if you are a "normal" tourist, not following his strategy, showing up a some point throughout the day, it sounds like you will actually get less done.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

He does not say that at all.

He says that if you follow his specific touring strategy, with some leeway, though not much, you will be able to do as much as you did before.

He actually warns that there are increased standby lines at the attractions building throughout the day, which, if you are a "normal" tourist, not following his strategy, showing up a some point throughout the day, it sounds like you will actually get less done.

Right, but he also provides enough detailed information throughout his site for anyone with a reasonable understanding of WDW parks to leverage to their advantage, whether they use his specific touring style or not. We do not tour as he does, even when it is just my wife and I traveling, but we have been able to use his advice countless times.

Again, he provides details. That is the key. You don't have to agree with his conclusions or touring style to be able to leverage the detailed information. Take the data applicable to you and ignore the rest.