POLL: Disney My Magic Experience

[CaptainAmerica]

I couldn't agree more. For anyone who likes to enjoy their vacation spontaneously, the FP+ is a nightmare. I can see how people who plan every day of their vacation months in advance would enjoy it, but for everyone else the old paper fastpass was MUCH better.

Why? Honestly, why?

I get the argument of the people who dislike Fastpass in principle and now hate Fastpass+ even more. But I still haven't seen a remotely cogent argument of how the "old" system was good and the "new" system is bad beyond "I used to know how to exploit the old system and I haven't learned how with this one yet."

Old Fastpass was a nightmare for spontaneity. With FP+ you have to be at a certain attraction in a certain window, true. But you get to pick that window. With the old system you STILL had to be at a certain attraction in a certain window, but the window was forced upon you. If you're at the TSMM paper Fastpass kiosk at 9:30 AM and the return window is 6:00 to 7:00 when you have reservations at Boma, too bad so sad, looks like you won't get to ride TSMM this trip. With the new system, you KNOW you have dinner reservations for Boma that night, so you can pick a TSMM window that works for you.

Also, you weren't "enjoying your vacation spontaneously" under the old system, as much as you might think so. You planned to go to TSMM to retrieve a paper Fastpass (not spontaneous) and then you were told by the system when to return (DEFINITELY not spontaneous). You're saying a planned walk to an attraction and a forced return time is more spontaneous than just a planned walk to an attraction? Got it.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We both love it, but we wish that everything was added to it. I still have to carry my TiW, DVC Member card, and plastic AP to get any discounts. The system should have all of them tied to our MBs, and then if I purchase merchandise, or eat at a restaurant, the discount should be automatic.

I have no inside knowledge beyond casual conversations with Cast Members (not bus drivers or CPs... professionals who might know a thing or two but certainly don't know everything), but my guess is that the answer to many of these "wouldn't it be nice if MDX did XYZ" comments is "that's exactly the plan."

 

[KLinder7]

Like others have said, could be better (and will be one day) but it has been very useful for me. I try to embrace it as much as possible.

 

[NelsonRD]

Why? Honestly, why?

I get the argument of the people who dislike Fastpass in principle and now hate Fastpass+ even more. But I still haven't seen a remotely cogent argument of how the "old" system was good and the "new" system is bad beyond "I used to know how to exploit the old system and I haven't learned how with this one yet."

Old Fastpass was a nightmare for spontaneity. With FP+ you have to be at a certain attraction in a certain window, true. But you get to pick that window. With the old system you STILL had to be at a certain attraction in a certain window, but the window was forced upon you. If you're at the TSMM paper Fastpass kiosk at 9:30 AM and the return window is 6:00 to 7:00 when you have reservations at Boma, too bad so sad, looks like you won't get to ride TSMM this trip. With the new system, you KNOW you have dinner reservations for Boma that night, so you can pick a TSMM window that works for you.

Also, you weren't "enjoying your vacation spontaneously" under the old system, as much as you might think so. You planned to go to TSMM to retrieve a paper Fastpass (not spontaneous) and then you were told by the system when to return (DEFINITELY not spontaneous). You're saying a planned walk to an attraction and a forced return time is more spontaneous than just a planned walk to an attraction? Got it.

I agree with you, and I think most of the hate comes from before the enforcement of the time return window. I remember trips in the past collecting fastpasses all day, then using them one right after another before I left, well outside the return time window.

 

[J_Carioca]

Why? Honestly, why?

I get the argument of the people who dislike Fastpass in principle and now hate Fastpass+ even more. But I still haven't seen a remotely cogent argument of how the "old" system was good and the "new" system is bad beyond "I used to know how to exploit the old system and I haven't learned how with this one yet."

Old Fastpass was a nightmare for spontaneity. With FP+ you have to be at a certain attraction in a certain window, true. But you get to pick that window. With the old system you STILL had to be at a certain attraction in a certain window, but the window was forced upon you. If you're at the TSMM paper Fastpass kiosk at 9:30 AM and the return window is 6:00 to 7:00 when you have reservations at Boma, too bad so sad, looks like you won't get to ride TSMM this trip. With the new system, you KNOW you have dinner reservations for Boma that night, so you can pick a TSMM window that works for you.

Also, you weren't "enjoying your vacation spontaneously" under the old system, as much as you might think so. You planned to go to TSMM to retrieve a paper Fastpass (not spontaneous) and then you were told by the system when to return (DEFINITELY not spontaneous). You're saying a planned walk to an attraction and a forced return time is more spontaneous than just a planned walk to an attraction? Got it.

I used the paper FP on many trips and never had a problem with it. It always worked really well. I used FP+ on my last trip and hated it, as did my husband.

I’ll give you an example of the way the old paper FP used to work for us. We go to MK. We’re not early arrivers, so let’s say we arrive at 11am. We head into Frontierland and see there’s a long queue for Splash, so we decide to get a FP. Let’s say the FP has a return of 2pm. So we do other stuff in the area: Haunted Mansion, TSI, Pirates, Tiki, etc… and then go walk onto Splash. We’re happy. Then we get a FP for BTMR, go have lunch, do some stuff in Fantasyland, then head back to BTMR. Still happy.

How FP+ worked for us: we get up on Tuesday, and decide to go to Animal Kingdom. We know we want to do KS and Kali, so we try to book FP+ over breakfast. The system gives us options, all of which involve three fastpasses, even though we only want two. Some of the options include Kali but not KS, or vice versa. Some include stuff we have no interest in doing, but we have to take it because it’s part of the “package” FP gives us. That means that we have to either do that attraction or wait till it expires before we can try for another FP (via the kiosks that were CONSTANTLY breaking down, btw). Most of the options include one FP in the morning, and another one many hours later. The window of time is still forced upon you, especially if you’re trying to get FPs for the day of. In the case of the most popular attractions (7DMT, Peter Pan) there simply are no FPs available, because they were booked three months ago. We couldn’t get a FP for 7DMT the entire week we were there.

Does that allow for spontaneity? No. And please don't tell me that I wasn't enjoying my vacations spontaneously. I'll be the judge of that, thanks. We would go to the park on any given day, see what struck our fancy and if a particular ride was very busy, we'd grab a FP and do less busy stuff in the meantime. As far as I'm concerned that's a lot more spontaneous than sitting at my computer in April, thinking about my July trip and having to decide not only which park I might want to go to on each day, but what attractions I want to do at what time, and also where I want to eat. Yeah, sounds really spontaneous!

 

[J_Carioca]

I agree with you, and I think most of the hate comes from before the enforcement of the time return window. I remember trips in the past collecting fastpasses all day, then using them one right after another before I left, well outside the return time window.

No, my hate comes from the fact that if you try to get a FP a few days in advance, or, God forbid, on the day of, you're basically screwed because the most popular rides (ie the rides for which you need a FP) are fully booked.

 

[NelsonRD]

No, my hate comes from the fact that if you try to get a FP a few days in advance, or, God forbid, on the day of, you're basically screwed because the most popular rides (ie the rides for which you need a FP) are fully booked.

I understand what you are saying, but the reality of it is; is that the parks have become beyond busy. You cannot compare touring the parks today to years prior, there is just more people visiting. If the old system was still in place, what you would be seeing now are fast passes selling out before your 11am arrival, or return times so late you may decide to skip the attraction altogether.

You have to understand the system for what it is, and for what the parks have become. If you know you want to do a few headliners you now have the option to basically guarantee those experiences, and that is the positive that is being focused on.

 

[J_Carioca]

I understand what you are saying, but the reality of it is; is that the parks have become beyond busy. You cannot compare touring the parks today to years prior, there is just more people visiting. If the old system was still in place, what you would be seeing now are fast passes selling out before your 11am arrival, or return times so late you may decide to skip the attraction altogether.

You have to understand the system for what it is, and for what the parks have become. If you know you want to do a few headliners you now have the option to basically guarantee those experiences, and that is the positive that is being focused on.

I understand that the parks are busier now, but I'm thinking of trips are recent as August 2013 and a couple of trips in 2012, and we had no problems with the old FP system. I don't think park attendance has gone up that dramatically over the past two years or so...

 

[NelsonRD]

I understand that the parks are busier now, but I'm thinking of trips are recent as August 2013 and a couple of trips in 2012, and we had no problems with the old FP system. I don't think park attendance has gone up that dramatically over the past two years or so...

I am just suggesting that the ride capacity has stayed the same as park attendance has increased. There are only so many fast passes available, whether dispensed from a machine in the form of a paper ticket, or as text on your phone. I know they constantly try adjusting the proportions, but the fact that you are seeing headliners sell out the day of would be happening today even if the old system was still in place.

I actually have an old toy story fast pass in a shadow box we use as a joke at our house on how hard it was to get, only for my girls to shut down and not want to ride it the 8 hours later.

We resisted at first too, but once we embraced it, it was something that has added to the positive experience for us.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

How FP+ worked for us: we get up on Tuesday, and decide to go to Animal Kingdom. We know we want to do KS and Kali, so we try to book FP+ over breakfast. The system gives us options, all of which involve three fastpasses, even though we only want two. Some of the options include Kali but not KS, or vice versa. Some include stuff we have no interest in doing, but we have to take it because it’s part of the “package” FP gives us.

Nope. That's not how FP+ works. It just isn't. You're under no obligation to take the "suggested package" of three Fastpasses. You can tweak and move individual ones all over the place. Heck you could schedule three fastpasses at the same time if you wanted to.

That means that we have to either do that attraction or wait till it expires before we can try for another FP (via the kiosks that were CONSTANTLY breaking down, btw). Most of the options include one FP in the morning, and another one many hours later. The window of time is still forced upon you, especially if you’re trying to get FPs for the day of.

Again. Not how it works. It seems like your struggles were failure to understand how the system works than with the system itself.

Does that allow for spontaneity? No. And please don't tell me that I wasn't enjoying my vacations spontaneously. I'll be the judge of that, thanks. We would go to the park on any given day, see what struck our fancy and if a particular ride was very busy, we'd grab a FP and do less busy stuff in the meantime. As far as I'm concerned that's a lot more spontaneous than sitting at my computer in April, thinking about my July trip and having to decide not only which park I might want to go to on each day, but what attractions I want to do at what time, and also where I want to eat. Yeah, sounds really spontaneous!

If you weren't thinking about where you wanted to eat ahead of time, you weren't going to eat anywhere.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

No, my hate comes from the fact that if you try to get a FP a few days in advance, or, God forbid, on the day of, you're basically screwed because the most popular rides (ie the rides for which you need a FP) are fully booked.

No kidding. If you don't preorder the new iPhone, you'll probably have to wait awhile to get one when it's first released. If you don't buy a ticket to Age of Ultron ahead of time, you're going to be screwed if you try and see it as a walk-up at 8:00 on the opening Friday. When demand exceeds supply, there are going to be waits. I'd rather "wait" in my pajamas at a computer a couple of months in advance of my trip than wait for three hours in 92 degree thunderstorms just to MAYBE get in to Be Our Guest or Mine Train.

 

[J_Carioca]

Nope. That's not how FP+ works. It just isn't. You're under no obligation to take the "suggested package" of three Fastpasses. You can tweak and move individual ones all over the place. Heck you could schedule three fastpasses at the same time if you wanted to.


Again. Not how it works. It seems like your struggles were failure to understand how the system works than with the system itself.


If you weren't thinking about where you wanted to eat ahead of time, you weren't going to eat anywhere.

Well it certainly was how it worked when we were there in 2014. We were not able to move individual passes. Several times our app showed that we had no FPs booked at all, while we knew we did, and they were somehow stored on our bands despite not showing up in the app. Talk about frustrating. We were plagued with all kinds of problems with the app and I can assure you that they were not our fault for not "understanding the system". We mentioned it to a couple of cast members at the kiosks and they confirmed that the system was full of bugs. I've also heard/read of many others complaining of their reservations disappearing from the app display but not from the larger system.

And as for eating, again, I totally disagree. On a trip in August 2013 I was able to get reservations at Ohana via the phone reservation system 1 day in advance. This was the case with other restaurants as well. Not Be Our Guest, but still at some popular places.

I'm not sure why you're insisting on telling me I'm wrong. You asked for an honest explanation of why I dislike FP+ but when I tell you why, you don't want to hear it. You are literally telling me that I'm wrong about the experiences that I know I had, whether it's good experiences with the old system or bad experiences with the new. You said that I only thought I was being spontaneous, but I wasn't really; that I didn't get to eat in restaurant without ADRs when I know I did, etc... etc...

Great for you that you like FP+ but based on the poll there is a significant group of people who prefer the old FP, and possibly for some valid reasons.

 

[Rutt]

No, my hate comes from the fact that if you try to get a FP a few days in advance, or, God forbid, on the day of, you're basically screwed because the most popular rides (ie the rides for which you need a FP) are fully booked.

What if you show up at the park at 11 am and tried to get a paper fast pass for the most popular rides or dinner at a restaurant?

I ask only because you mentioned you were a proponent of the paper system.

Regarding the restaurants, in most cases you still can get them the night before. CRT and BoG seem to be the exception

 

[Rutt]

Well it certainly was how it worked when we were there in 2014. We were not able to move individual passes. Several times our app showed that we had no FPs booked at all, while we knew we did, and they were somehow stored on our bands despite not showing up in the app. Talk about frustrating. We were plagued with all kinds of problems with the app and I can assure you that they were not our fault for not "understanding the system". We mentioned it to a couple of cast members at the kiosks and they confirmed that the system was full of bugs. I've also heard/read of many others complaining of their reservations disappearing from the app display but not from the larger system.

And as for eating, again, I totally disagree. On a trip in August 2013 I was able to get reservations at Ohana via the phone reservation system 1 day in advance. This was the case with other restaurants as well. Not Be Our Guest, but still at some popular places.

I'm not sure why you're insisting on telling me I'm wrong. You asked for an honest explanation of why I dislike FP+ but when I tell you why, you don't want to hear it. You are literally telling me that I'm wrong about the experiences that I know I had, whether it's good experiences with the old system or bad experiences with the new. You said that I only thought I was being spontaneous, but I wasn't really; that I didn't get to eat in restaurant without ADRs when I know I did, etc... etc...

Great for you that you like FP+ but based on the poll there is a significant group of people who prefer the old FP, and possibly for some valid reasons.

That sounds like a terrible experience. Thank goodness it does not appear to be the norm but the exception.

 

[J_Carioca]

What if you show up at the park at 11 am and tried to get a paper fast pass for the most popular rides or dinner at a restaurant?

I ask only because you mentioned you were a proponent of the paper system.

Regarding the restaurants, in most cases you still can get them the night before. CRT and BoG seem to be the exception

Ok, we sleep in really late on vacation and we always get to the parks mid-morning. I never had a problem getting paper FPs, with the exception of Soarin'. In years of park hopping that's the only paper FP I have ever seen get "sold out".

I agree with you that getting ADRs is not that different now. My beef with FP+ is about attractions, not dining reservations. However, I will point out that on my last trip I walked up to the front desk at the Plaza restaurant and asked for their availability. I was told that they couldn't make a reservation for me in person; I would have to do it via MyDisneyexperience. In my mind, there is something wrong when you are physically at a restaurant but you can't make a reservation in person, you can only make one through a smart phone...

 

[NelsonRD]

Well it certainly was how it worked when we were there in 2014. We were not able to move individual passes. Several times our app showed that we had no FPs booked at all, while we knew we did, and they were somehow stored on our bands despite not showing up in the app. Talk about frustrating. We were plagued with all kinds of problems with the app and I can assure you that they were not our fault for not "understanding the system". We mentioned it to a couple of cast members at the kiosks and they confirmed that the system was full of bugs. I've also heard/read of many others complaining of their reservations disappearing from the app display but not from the larger system.

And as for eating, again, I totally disagree. On a trip in August 2013 I was able to get reservations at Ohana via the phone reservation system 1 day in advance. This was the case with other restaurants as well. Not Be Our Guest, but still at some popular places.

I'm not sure why you're insisting on telling me I'm wrong. You asked for an honest explanation of why I dislike FP+ but when I tell you why, you don't want to hear it. You are literally telling me that I'm wrong about the experiences that I know I had, whether it's good experiences with the old system or bad experiences with the new. You said that I only thought I was being spontaneous, but I wasn't really; that I didn't get to eat in restaurant without ADRs when I know I did, etc... etc...

Great for you that you like FP+ but based on the poll there is a significant group of people who prefer the old FP, and possibly for some valid reasons.

When in 2014 are you referring to? I ask because If I recall correctly, our trip late 2013 the system was under 'testing'. Sometimes available to certain resort guest only. We participated in this 'test' while staying at the Contemporary in 2013. I think this continued into 2014 (not sure the exact schedule), and didn't become a live operational system until recently, and even then, it is still being monitored for improvements.

If you give it an open mind, you might find that it works much better the next time around.

 

[J_Carioca]

That sounds like a terrible experience. Thank goodness it does not appear to be the norm but the exception.

I really hope that it was an exception. I'd love to go back and find that all the problems have been ironed out of FP+. I was very frustrated during the most recent trip, but that was nothing compared to my husband. He was REALLY unhappy with FP+ and it definitely had an impact on our vacation!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Well it certainly was how it worked when we were there in 2014. We were not able to move individual passes. Several times our app showed that we had no FPs booked at all, while we knew we did, and they were somehow stored on our bands despite not showing up in the app. Talk about frustrating. We were plagued with all kinds of problems with the app and I can assure you that they were not our fault for not "understanding the system". We mentioned it to a couple of cast members at the kiosks and they confirmed that the system was full of bugs. I've also heard/read of many others complaining of their reservations disappearing from the app display but not from the larger system.

There are two separate criticisms that I think we should separate. Your original argument seemed to be you not liking how the system is supposed to work, but now you're leveling criticisms about how the system has had hiccups and glitched in practice. On the latter, I absolutely agree. A system built on an app and a website needs to have an app and a website that function in harmony with one another.

And as for eating, again, I totally disagree. On a trip in August 2013 I was able to get reservations at Ohana via the phone reservation system 1 day in advance. This was the case with other restaurants as well. Not Be Our Guest, but still at some popular places.

What does that have to do with MDX? Same-day reservations are still broadly available at resort locations. Park locations and other exceptionally popular restaurants were about impossible to get into both before and after MDX.

I'm not sure why you're insisting on telling me I'm wrong. You asked for an honest explanation of why I dislike FP+ but when I tell you why, you don't want to hear it. You are literally telling me that I'm wrong about the experiences that I know I had, whether it's good experiences with the old system or bad experiences with the new. You said that I only thought I was being spontaneous, but I wasn't really; that I didn't get to eat in restaurant without ADRs when I know I did, etc... etc...

I don't question your experience, I question your definition of the word "spontaneous." I can't wrap my head around how crisscrossing from Frontierland to Tomorrowland all day long to acquire paper Fastpasses and then returning to the exact same locations to actually use those Fastpasses at a time dictated to you by a computer is in any way "spontaneous" just because you didn't have to decide that your crisscrossing and backtracking would be at the Magic Kingdom until the night before. I'd muchmuchmuch rather pick "which park, which day" in advance and then have time to be spontaneous within that day that I would spontaneously picking a park just to be a slave to the almighty return window and "your next Fastpass is available at..." time.

 

[Rutt]

Ok, we sleep in really late on vacation and we always get to the parks mid-morning. I never had a problem getting paper FPs, with the exception of Soarin'. In years of park hopping that's the only paper FP I have ever seen get "sold out".

I agree with you that getting ADRs is not that different now. My beef with FP+ is about attractions, not dining reservations. However, I will point out that on my last trip I walked up to the front desk at the Plaza restaurant and asked for their availability. I was told that they couldn't make a reservation for me in person; I would have to do it via MyDisneyexperience. In my mind, there is something wrong when you are physically at a restaurant but you can't make a reservation in person, you can only make one through a smart phone...

Well, technically you can do it on a laptop or desktop too or at your concierge. I would assume customer service could help too. I tend to agree with you that it's hard to believe that they can't do it there. That's something that Disney could and should rectify.

Regarding the paper system, when I went in 2013, by 930 am all the good rides were gone.

 

[J_Carioca]

When in 2014 are you referring to? I ask because If I recall correctly, our trip late 2013 the system was under 'testing'. Sometimes available to certain resort guest only. We participated in this 'test' while staying at the Contemporary in 2013. I think this continued into 2014 (not sure the exact schedule), and didn't become a live operational system until recently, and even then, it is still being monitored for improvements.

If you give it an open mind, you might find that it works much better the next time around.

It was early October 2014. The system seemed to be fully operational, but with a lot of problems. I do know that each time we went to a FP+ kiosk there were other people who were having issues.