easyrowrdw
Well-Known Member
It’s also a service issue. Sometimes you just want to tell the employee what you want and not go through multiple steps on your phone. Providing good service shouldn’t require the customer to do part of the work.
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What are smart phones required for at Disney Parks?
- Thread starter TrainsOfDisney
- Start date
JMcMahonEsq
Well-Known Member
So you think its better service to play virtual telephone, telling someone what you want, then they type it into a computer, and that message is sent in the back to a third person to make the food, rather than the person who knows what they want just typing it into a "computer" on their own, cutting out the middle man? Allowing me to order what I want, when I want, from wherever in the park I am, seems like providing pretty good service to me.
Now I am not saying get rid of registers completely yet, but if you have to prioritize people making food vs people taking orders, i lean towards the making of the food.
easyrowrdw
Well-Known Member
Sometimes. But what you’re describing wasn’t IMO what the previous poster’s comment was discussing or what my comment said.
Minnesota disney fan
Well-Known Member
My son and daughter travel with me and they are definitely my tech support - at the airport and at the Parks. I'd be lost without them.As one who hates having to use techie devices and abhors having to rely on and use one when at WDW, I call on either DW or DS to use their devices when it's needed. My usage is pretty much on bringing up "find friends" when either of them separate from me and I have to see where they are. DS handles mobile orders for us. He arranges LL's, keeps up on wait times and anything else I might need.I joke with DS that he's along as my tech support guy.
So if you don't want to use your phone or limit its use you got to get a park buddy that wants to take on that role.
JIMINYCR
Well-Known Member
Just one of the benefits of having a good relationships with ones children. When you need them they are able to be counted on coming through for you !!!
Minnesota disney fan
Well-Known Member
Yep, so true. Sometimes my daughter worries a little too much about me while in the parks, lol. But my son isn't like that. I can tell him I'm going off by myself for a while and he says ok see you later. My daughter would cut her pool time short and call me to see where I am and come to the park looking for me! Oh well, Love those "kids".
JIMINYCR
Well-Known Member
How the differences between the sensitivities of boys and girls towards their mothers can be so variable. My DS would walk through fire for me but if I'm brutally honest he would save my DW over me if he had to choose between us.
Correct @nickys . You must use your phone to show you’re an AP holder. Disney hasn’t issued physical cards for several years. I recently found an old AP card that had my picture on it.
nickys
Premium Member
Yeah, I’ve kept my blue DVC card, even though it expired a few years ago now. Nice keepsake.
I have a physical AP card - they are still in use.
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
I love my iPhone even though I pretty much only use it for actual calls, texts, photo's, Waze and an occasional Solitaire game while waiting for an appointment. I have had to use it the last time I was at WDW just to keep track of meal reservations and Fast Passes. That was in 2019 and from everything I have read about the current requirements it sound 100 times worse now.
Like someone else said, I used to love going to WDW and just enjoying the atmosphere and the attractions. I started going there long before cell phone were a thing. Unless we were in a hotel room or near one of the many pay phones that were in MK and Epcot at the time, there was no outside connection nor in park need. Also a time of very little credit card use and mostly cash and travelers checks. When you got home almost everything you did was already paid and you could start saving up for the next trip.
It amazes me how angry Walt used to be about the outside being visible from inside the park and now the outside is forced in due to new technology that takes up what seems like at least 50% of the time. And since I have always been an advocate of taking all the Fastpass/Lightening lane garbage and burying it where the subs are located, those passes are what not only created a frustrating experience for those unable to afford or obtain and also even some that could. It has taken what was once a fun time with family and created a situation that is more like having a job that you have to pay for instead of being paid to do it. Just as Video killed the Radio Star, technology killed the happy spirit that was once WDW.
Like someone else said, I used to love going to WDW and just enjoying the atmosphere and the attractions. I started going there long before cell phone were a thing. Unless we were in a hotel room or near one of the many pay phones that were in MK and Epcot at the time, there was no outside connection nor in park need. Also a time of very little credit card use and mostly cash and travelers checks. When you got home almost everything you did was already paid and you could start saving up for the next trip.
It amazes me how angry Walt used to be about the outside being visible from inside the park and now the outside is forced in due to new technology that takes up what seems like at least 50% of the time. And since I have always been an advocate of taking all the Fastpass/Lightening lane garbage and burying it where the subs are located, those passes are what not only created a frustrating experience for those unable to afford or obtain and also even some that could. It has taken what was once a fun time with family and created a situation that is more like having a job that you have to pay for instead of being paid to do it. Just as Video killed the Radio Star, technology killed the happy spirit that was once WDW.
We try to use the phones only when needed and we are not constantly on them like some seem to think you have to be. You don't. I do not miss having to carry my AP Card, DVC Card, Credit Cards, FP Tickets, etc. - we use one thing that we carry all the time anyways to cover all of that.
We use the mobile order wherever we can and have always found it to be reliable and we get hot food if that's what we ordered. We do, of course, avoid the busiest meal times, so that might have something to do with it as well.
So we still look forward to our trips (next month!) and immerse ourselves in the fantasy and whimsy without being on our phones all the time!
MickeyLuv'r
Well-Known Member
I don't know that's the case. I'd say it is different. In total, I use my phone less than I did in 2019.
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
If by that you mean that you didn't spend a lot of time just looking at your phone instead of what was going on around you, I'll say I was wrong. I cannot see how, if you used LL or had to make dinner reservations lined up to allow you to see more things or more attractions. However, since you have actually done the parks, whereas I haven't I will take your word for it. I suspect it will amount to crowd sizes and which parks were visited.
MickeyLuv'r
Well-Known Member
What I'm trying to say is that yes, I used both FP+ in 2019 and LLMP (some days) in 2025/2026.
Mostly, I agree with much of what you have said about the downward trend of WDW.
Don't get me wrong, I think LLMP is a suckier product. But because it is suckier, there is less reason to be on one's phone. I wrote a long post earlier, but then trimmed it back. I'll explain more now:
Compared to FP+, with LLMP, mostly you get what you get as your 3 prebooks. With FP+, I was on my phone trying to modify them. It was a pain, but I was often able to get better times. With LLMP, new times don't come up as much. If you try to modify your 3 pre-booked passes, the system just offers worse times. I do use my phone to book pass #4. Beyond pass #4, if you are not park hopping, there is often not much value in booking more passes, except MK. (In 2019, I did spend more time booking passes.)
I went multiple times last year, some days were slower than others. With FP+ and G+, if it was a slow day, you got better passes. With LLMP, even on days when Epcot was empty, and most the park had 5-10min standbys, the LLMP availability was STILL terrible. Some days we just skipped LLMP, and maybe skipped a 'headliner.' Rise doesn't wow us, so we usually skip it. Tron is also not worth the $20+ upcharge or a long wait. I've been on it multiple times. It is about 90 seconds long, so only worthwhile if the wait is short.
Where LLMP works more functionally, is for park hopping. By 11:30am or so, the tier 1 rides are all long gone in Epcot (FEA, Rat, Test Track). You can often pick up Soarin'. (even w a pass though, Soarin' is a wait.) But there isn't much value in booking rides like Nemo, so I usually start booking rides in MK. If I start booking around noon, I can usually get some decent MK evening passes. I've also been able to get a decent pair in HS: RNRC, and MMRR. We often take an afternoon break, then head to our evening park to use our 3 passes.
Right now, with so many rides down/waiting to open, and LL costing so much for so little return, IMO periodic visitors will do well to wait until more stuff opens. Three of the parks are in sad shape with: BTMRR, Walt RR, Buzz, Dinoland, RoA, (soon) RnRC, and Muppets all down/gone.
For the time being, there are less people in the parks now, in general, but the headliners get terrible standby waits. Even though LLMP is garbage, it is still worth buying some days. The only ILL I every buy is FoP, but that ride is now in pretty sad shape. It is NOT worth $20+.
As for dining, I used to make dining reservations. I do sometimes use mobile order, but other times we don't bother. We just walk up to the podium. The best foods are Epcot's festival foods, and those are not mobile order. We used to eat a TS every day, but now they are not worth the money. We get far better food eating offsite, so we tend to eat some dinners as carry out from offsite places or just do WDW's crappy QS. At least once per visit, we often get carry out from Miller's Ale House. It is just basic pub food, but they have vegetables, and the food is decent. I feel like I've been ripped off by WDW food too many times, with food that was lousy for the price.
Arrival day and departure day, we usually eat at least one meal offsite. Flamingo Crossing has some good fast casual options. There are also some good places up towards Epic/Universal. Admittedly, I have used my phone to find some of them/check menus.
On the other hand, we split our visits with Universal, and Universal still has decent food. not everywhere, but enough. Another plus of Universal is that with Express Pass, We're not on our phone much at all. You CAN use it to check ride waits, show times, etc, but it is not necessary. Dining at Universal is pretty stress-free too. You CAN make dining reservations, but mostly we just do walk-up dining, and it is fine. (Universal doesn't quite have what WDW has, but it has Velocicoaster, and it is a really good coaster.) I will also say, generally speaking, I find I like the Universal staff better these days. They seem more genuine.
OH- one time I DO now rely on my phone- more than in the past- is when driving around. The whole area has had massive road changes!
Hope that helps to clarify!
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Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
I understand what you are saying and everyone has a different process when dealing with the current WDW. As early as 2019 Disney was already starting to lose it's shine and Universal, which was just a one day, change of pace, park became my primary with the change of pace being Disney nostalgia. So I probably didn't really need to use it all that much at the time. In the past I went solo for a number of years after my children had grown and my wife was gone. So I was more able to pick and chose. It's not that I didn't use the previous version of Fastpasses, because it was at that time it was a long, frustrating wait in standby.
Since the very first fastpass, which was advertised as available for all at no charge, however they failed to promote that everyone could get one if you got to the park early enough before they ran out. It was at that point that I immediately noticed the change in the atmosphere when it came to the mood of the guests not lucky enough to manage to snag one. It went from jovial banter and joking remarks, pre-fastpass, about how long the lines were to outright anger and cursing. That never existed previous to Fastpass. Long lines that moved continuously changed to stop and go (mostly stop). For every action there is an instant reaction and that reaction was not a positive vibe at all. It sapped the whole atmosphere.
My first visit, the one that keep me going back year after year, was in 1983. I was not a child, I was 35 years old and was bringing my family there. I lived and breathed the place for years but to me it wasn't the attractions or even directly the price, it was that the real magic, the one that isn't remembered by todays guest, and the atmosphere kept declining over the years until we have reached now. Even in 2019 most heads were down completely concentrating on their phones because without them they were limited to a lot fewer attractions. And yet, there is so much more to experience but it is hard to see it with eyes directed at a phone, trying to make adjustments or keep it straight about where the next LL was open for them. I'm not saying that you do that, but it contributes to the overall feel of the show.
I still like the place, but not to the degree that I once did and frankly have no plans or thoughts of going back. I guess 45 trips, over the years, have become my memories with no desire to add anymore. To those that can afford it or are only traveling with one or two it is attainable, but the cost of LL blocks the ability for those that cannot afford it from experiencing the joy we once did. When do you suppose that Disney Parks will have enough Billions in yearly profit to give a little back to the people they relied on to get them to this point. If one needs to know if any business, regardless of size, can fail they need to go no further than SEARS. All it took was one bad decision about making more profit from being the #1 retailer in the world to one of the smallest. For all I know they might be completely gone by now.
Since the very first fastpass, which was advertised as available for all at no charge, however they failed to promote that everyone could get one if you got to the park early enough before they ran out. It was at that point that I immediately noticed the change in the atmosphere when it came to the mood of the guests not lucky enough to manage to snag one. It went from jovial banter and joking remarks, pre-fastpass, about how long the lines were to outright anger and cursing. That never existed previous to Fastpass. Long lines that moved continuously changed to stop and go (mostly stop). For every action there is an instant reaction and that reaction was not a positive vibe at all. It sapped the whole atmosphere.
My first visit, the one that keep me going back year after year, was in 1983. I was not a child, I was 35 years old and was bringing my family there. I lived and breathed the place for years but to me it wasn't the attractions or even directly the price, it was that the real magic, the one that isn't remembered by todays guest, and the atmosphere kept declining over the years until we have reached now. Even in 2019 most heads were down completely concentrating on their phones because without them they were limited to a lot fewer attractions. And yet, there is so much more to experience but it is hard to see it with eyes directed at a phone, trying to make adjustments or keep it straight about where the next LL was open for them. I'm not saying that you do that, but it contributes to the overall feel of the show.
I still like the place, but not to the degree that I once did and frankly have no plans or thoughts of going back. I guess 45 trips, over the years, have become my memories with no desire to add anymore. To those that can afford it or are only traveling with one or two it is attainable, but the cost of LL blocks the ability for those that cannot afford it from experiencing the joy we once did. When do you suppose that Disney Parks will have enough Billions in yearly profit to give a little back to the people they relied on to get them to this point. If one needs to know if any business, regardless of size, can fail they need to go no further than SEARS. All it took was one bad decision about making more profit from being the #1 retailer in the world to one of the smallest. For all I know they might be completely gone by now.
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
Double post... my bad (BTW, I'm so glad that phrase (my bad) has left the building.)
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It must be an older one. They haven’t given out a physical AP card for a couple of years. Same with the little AP slip on badge for your Magic Band. Although you can buy one on EBay.
I meant an active one…. So obviously it’s within the year. To be clear I’m talking WDW.