FastPass+ now fully deployed to all guests - let's reset the conversation and hear your views

[flynnibus]

I thought this was a very important detail that Disney has not publicized and most seem not to have caught on to.

Because it's not yet uniform it seems.

 

[BigThunderMatt]

I'm an android user and I'm irked that out MDE hasn't been upgraded yet and is constantly having "blips in the network" or "unable to load right now."

Android isn't their top priority, it's a courtesy to guests that use it. Everything MDX related runs on iOS for the most part. Therefore it's always going to take priority.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Overall I enjoy the new system. The app needs serious work though. I'm an android user and I'm irked that out MDE hasn't been upgraded yet and is constantly having "blips in the network" or "unable to load right now."

Agreed. But it isn't surprising because IOS is what they mainly use so of course that takes top priority. Windows phone users don't even have an app.
But I find using the mobile website to be far easier than the app.

I was able to use FP+ a few weeks back and enjoyed it. I was able to do the rides with longer lines faster, which meant i could do more during the day.
Somethings i would like to see changed is the tier system. Remove the tiers for the rides and do it based on what type of attraction. Having 2 FP+ for a meet and greet and 2FP+ for a ride, in my opinion, is better.

I think that would actually be worst. Personally we never do meets & greets so that would limit people like myself to basically 1 fast pass.

 

[awilliams4]

The system should restrict people to reservations based upon the day they're making them, not the start of their trip.

Interesting. This is how the dining works too though. I prefer the way they got it though. So you only have to get up at 6:00 a.m. just the one time instead of everyday for a week or more.

 

[ford91exploder]

Oh boy… That's ... That reinforces the disdain that upper management has towards the people at work here.

Interesting as there is a billboard across from Wawa at 535 & Poinciana Boulevard advertising Disney's fast pass plus.

Saddened Yes, Surprised no however this policy once again shows the current TDO has no business running a theme park Walt gave the CM's passes only partially as a perk the real purpose was to make sure the CM's were familiar with the park as a Guest so they could showcase it to it's best advantage while on duty. What fanboi's often forget is Walt did NOTHING without a business case behind it, The whole going overboard on detail everywhere was to give guests such a good experience that they would not even CONSIDER going anywhere else for recreation, This is why the fanboi's who whinge about 'It's a business and needs to make money', Well it made more money then than it does now.

Ideally MM+ should have been rolled out to the CM's FIRST so that the bugs could have been worked out, The Mickey to Mickey does not work for many people and that could have been founr by the CM's etc, etc

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

In late February they were already out of FP+ for Toy Story when we arrived first thing that day. We opted to wait in Standby. It was listed as 70 minutes. It turned out to be 40. I attribute this to two things:

They are still using the queue tracking system that existed before MM+. It wasn't accurate then, it's not accurate now. The second factor is the removal of the GAC and the spread of FP's per hour and the strict ratio usage of them. It allows the FastPass line to function the way it should, which allows Standby to move at a more consistent pace since now nearly every single person entering the FastPass line has already been accounted for before the day has even started.

I was reading a trip report on another forum and someone stated back in February that TSMM had a posted wait of 60 minutes but they only waited 20.
I used to see people getting in line for it with hour plus waits and think "Are they crazy, 70 minutes for a ride psshhh!" But now I understand... It seems that ride waits are often inflated at Disney.

I worked at Six flags great adventure years ago and they were really strict about wait times. If the ride manual said that X number of trains can be launched within 1 hour, then we were required to meet that number. They monitored us heavy too. If we were 10 ten minutes behind they would send supervisors out to find out what the problem was.

But back on topic! LOL

 

[FLmom]

So far we have enjoyed having the FP+ to make our selections before heading to the park. We wore our MB's for the first time yesterday and didn't find them bothersome at all.
I was even able to change our plans for our second FP+ selection over lunch and it worked out great for us because my daughter had a change of mind mid day.

The only thing that bothered me about the whole process of FP+ lines was yesterday getting on one ride the FP CM told us to move aside and let a lady riding a scooter with her family of 5 go in front of us, okay that wasn't such a big deal the problem was this family of 6 people didn't even have their cards out to scan and had no MB's. They took no less then 5 min's digging around for their cards in each others bags, I know it was this long because the guest behind me was about to blow a fuse over it. I was annoyed but not ready to blow a fuse and then between the first scanner and the second they put the cards AWAY! There are two scanners so I along with those behind me couldn't figure out why this CM wanted me to let the scooter family go in front of me and then didn't let us use the other scanner while they dug out their cards it backed the whole FP line up.

 

[EOD K9]

The wife and I were there last week and used the system for the first time. As others have stated, the band is not uncomfortable, and it was easy to use the app. It is nice to have your times set as opposed to running around the parks trying to hope you get something that doesn't clash with your ADR. We had an ADR that clashed and the app let us know that. I don't like having to plan so far out....its nice to go spur of the moment, but this new system doesn't allow for that too much if people already have their passes. Also, the one park rule needs to be worked on. I did find though that if you touch, "Mickey head to Mickey head" the system works so much smoother. Just my two cents.

 

[CDavid]

There is still one segment of (generally offsite) guests who cannot use FP+ advance reservations, and that is those who (for whatever reason) do not purchase admission media until arrival at the park gates. From reports on the boards, there are more people who do this (and many one-day tickets) than many of us probably realize.

 

[JoeT63]

I was reading a trip report on another forum and someone stated back in February that TSMM had a posted wait of 60 minutes but they only waited 20.
I used to see people getting in line for it with hour plus waits and think "Are they crazy, 70 minutes for a ride psshhh!" But now I understand... It seems that ride waits are often inflated at Disney.

I worked at Six flags great adventure years ago and they were really strict about wait times. If the ride manual said that X number of trains can be launched within 1 hour, then we were required to meet that number. They monitored us heavy too. If we were 10 ten minutes behind they would send supervisors out to find out what the problem was.

But back on topic! LOL

For as long as they've published or posted wait times for attractions, they have inflated the wait times. This is nothing new, and nothing is 'broken' in this regard. It's simply part of under-promise and over-deliver...Disney customer service 101.

 

[flynnibus]

From reports on the boards, there are more people who do this (and many one-day tickets) than many of us probably realize.

There are tons that do this... and there are many cases where Disney previously used vouchers or other 'place holder' media vs true tickets. It will take time before all the ticket channels downstream of Disney itself are upgraded to be able to generate/distribute tickets that are MDE compatible. I'm sure it will come.. just not soon. Priorities..

 

[prberk]

It follows the same logic ADRs do.. you book from the START of your trip and allow you to make ressies for the length of your stay

I know, but members of my extended family have often rightly complained that, in making all those dining reservations ("ADRs"), I have sometimes turned fun and vacation into a meeting-planner's labor. Sometimes they don't want to be beholden to a schedule so much. A few key things (like dinner shows), yes; but normal dinners (just so that we could assure ourselve a table), no. Sometimes what we want changes within 60 days. And I am sure that this will feel even-more pre-planned and overly scheduled with rides now included in my itinerary.

But the saddest part of all of this, to me, is that it feels a little like arranging deck chairs on a boat you have visited so many times. It doesn't anticipate anything new (because it assumes you know everything about things before you decide how to reserve rides), and it certainly seems like it would take away from the wonder and surprise for new visitors. (They would have a choice of waiting in longer standby lines of things that they find, or studying up so much on their vacation elements that almost nothing is a delight or surprise any more.)

I like skipping the lines with Fast Pass. But I think at this point I would rather go back to the old system of just enjoying the resort, and letting it transport me to another place and time (without being tied to my smart phone).

I will know better when I visit again (when I can afford it), but I feel like I can say these things now based on pre-planning that it would require.

 

[ParentsOf4]

We are definitely gonna need someone who is currently onsite to give us some info on how things are going. Glad @wdwmagic hit the reset button to start anew. Also glad off site guests can use the system to its full potential. Even though onsite guests are spending considerably more on their rooms, I always thought it stunk for the kids whose parents chose to stay offsite and were loosing out on getting FP+ for the "hard to get" attractions.

I am at WDW right now, staying at AKL, and suspect FP+ awareness still hasn't sunk in to many offsite and onsite guests.

As I like to do on recent visits, I've been hanging around a bit at concierge, listening to guests.

Lots of questions about MyMagic+, requests for assistance to make FP+ selections, and (I kid you not) even questions about how to use FP+ at Universal!

I try to avoid judging by appearance but I've seen a few what look to me like well-educated (certainly well-dressed) adults at AKL's concierge desk asking for help with something related to Universal. Each time, the CM's response has been along the lines "Sorry sir (or madam), we are Walt Disney World and have no affiliation with Universal."

We on WDWMagic.com might like to stay up-to-date on the latest WDW developments.

However, IMHO, a large number of WDW vacationers remain overwhelmed by the entire WDW experience (i.e. so much to learn, plan & organize). They still don't have a good handle on a WDW vacation, never mind something as complex as FP+.

My point is, for the general public, it still might be months before FP+ is understood and its effects on advanced booking are fully felt.

 

[wdisney9000]

I am at WDW right now, staying at AKL, and suspect FP+ awareness still hasn't sunk in to many offsite and onsite guests.

As I like to do on recent visits, I've been hanging around a bit at concierge, listening to guests.

Lots of questions about MyMagic+, requests for assistance to make FP+ selections, and (I kid you not) even questions about how to use FP+ at Universal!

I try to avoid judging by appearance but I've seen a few what look to me like well-educated (certainly well-dressed) adults at AKL's concierge desk asking for help with something related to Universal. Each time, the CM's response has been along the lines "Sorry sir (or madam), we are Walt Disney World and have no affiliation with Universal."

We on WDWMagic.com might like to stay up-to-date on the latest WDW developments.

However, IMHO, a large number of WDW vacationers remain overwhelmed by the entire WDW experience (i.e. so much to learn, plan & organize). They still don't have a good handle on a WDW vacation, never mind something as complex as FP+.

My point is, for the general public, it still might be months before FP+ is understood and its effects on advanced booking are fully felt.

I was gonna tag you in my original post but didnt want to bother you on vacation. I should have known you were already on top of it. love that your doing what TWDC should be paying someone to do. Lol.

My last few trips I spent time hanging out around the front desk to listen to people. It was interesting to say the least.

Thanks for the updates. I think you are correct and it will be awhile, if ever, that the average guest is informed about and able to utilize FP+ to its max

 

[wdisney9000]

Another thing, @ParentsOf4 , The fact that people are asking about Universal really speaks volumes as to how much of a name they have built up and people are interested. Should Disney be concerned?

 

[NearTheEars]

So far so good using FP+ as an AP. It's been great knowing we can experience at least 3 attractions with ease even before we get in the car and head down the Florida turnpike.

I gave a very detailed report here from my first visit using the system a couple of weeks ago including a video of how long it takes for the mickey touch point to light up at attractions since there has been some speculation: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/first-person-fastpass-as-an-annual-passholder.881622/

 

[ParentsOf4]

Another thing, @ParentsOf4 , The fact that people are asking about Universal really speaks volumes as to how much of a name they have built up and people are interested. Should Disney be concerned?

This thread is about FP+ being fully deployed to all guests. With that acknowledged, what limited exposure I've had here at AKL (and at VGF & BWV during Thanksgiving) suggests to me that MM+ in general and FP+ specifically will not be the game changer it once was hoped to be. The few thousand who regularly post on WDWMagic.com and other WDW fansites aside, I just don't see casual guests getting particularly excited about or particularly disliking FP+.

Right now, it seems to me that FP+ is not influencing a lot of people's vacation plans, one way or the other. They want to vacation at WDW because it has theme parks, water parks, shopping, hotels, etc., not because of FP+.

Recently, Disney rushed ticket and parking price increases to try to boost numbers and, undoubtedly, will claim some sort of financial success associated with MM+. However, I cannot imagine how MM+ ever makes back its investment.

Want to see WDW vacationers get excited? Open Star Wars Land.

Want to see WDW vacationers get confused? Deploy FP+.

 

[jlsHouston]

The advanced window setup is a broken implementation. We hit our 60 day window today and were able to make selections for the entire trip (7 days). As of 6:30am, Anna and Elsa were already on standby only for our first day.... 60 days out. Luckily we were able to book a day later in our trip since were going to MK twice. The system should restrict people to reservations based upon the day they're making them, not the start of their trip.

So you are saying that the Frozen M&G was booked for FP+ on June 1st? Wow.

 

[Skyway]

I'm most interested in seeing what FP+ does to the Standby lines for the E-Tickets.

In theory, Disney now has the power to reduce the number of FP for rides like Space Mountain (reducing Standby wait) while allotting more FP for the smaller attractions (increasing their Standby wait).

Or will they still distribute the maximum number of FP for the headliners, so now visitors face long Standby lines at both those and smaller attractions?

 

[Virtual Toad]

Another thing, @ParentsOf4 , The fact that people are asking about Universal really speaks volumes as to how much of a name they have built up and people are interested. Should Disney be concerned?

Maybe not concerned but I think the Universal Effect (tm) is having an impact. We visited the MK on Monday and Wednesday. Monday was busy but tolerable, Wednesday was total madness. From our experience it used to be the opposite. Could it be a lot of folks are visiting Universal their first two days of vacation and not hitting the MK until Wednesday, where in years past MK was their top choice? Just a theory but the mismatch in crowd levels Monday vs. Wednesday was definitely notable this year. (Sorry off topic )