FastPass+ experience group tiers changing for Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios

[Dwarful]

We used it for 8 days and I'm still not sold. Was it easier in the parks? Not exactly, not for us. We waited (timed it on the phone) 3 different times for 10 minutes while CM's helped people set up their Tickets or wristbands. IMO all guests needing to set up for the first time should be directed to a kiosk that does only that so they don't clog up the kiosks for those who need to just grab the next set of FPs. Then after that I'd say the shortest wait time we waited was 3 - 5 minutes. Nothing big and nothing worth letting it ruin your vacation. But for those of us who used FP to the fullest to maximize our vacation time the new system is not so great.

My biggest complaint of the new system is 1 FP ride per person per day. We always arrive at rope drop esp. for morning EMHs and yet during the busy summer months. Under the old way if we wanted to hit SM multiple times that was an option. now it is stand by line and one FP.

The other thing that has nothing to do with the FP but the magic bands themselves...mine gave me a horrible rash on my wrist and even wearing it loosely it still bothered me. They didn't bother anyone else in my group which makes me wonder if it was a reaction to my medications?

 

[cw1982]

We used it for 8 days and I'm still not sold. Was it easier in the parks? Not exactly, not for us. We waited (timed it on the phone) 3 different times for 10 minutes while CM's helped people set up their Tickets or wristbands. IMO all guests needing to set up for the first time should be directed to a kiosk that does only that so they don't clog up the kiosks for those who need to just grab the next set of FPs. Then after that I'd say the shortest wait time we waited was 3 - 5 minutes. Nothing big and nothing worth letting it ruin your vacation. But for those of us who used FP to the fullest to maximize our vacation time the new system is not so great.

My biggest complaint of the new system is 1 FP ride per person per day. We always arrive at rope drop esp. for morning EMHs and yet during the busy summer months. Under the old way if we wanted to hit SM multiple times that was an option. now it is stand by line and one FP.

The other thing that has nothing to do with the FP but the magic bands themselves...mine gave me a horrible rash on my wrist and even wearing it loosely it still bothered me. They didn't bother anyone else in my group which makes me wonder if it was a reaction to my medications?

I think some of what you're talking about will probably improve with time. As far as the band thing, I have very sensitive skin and had no problems with mine at all. I even wore it all the way home, over a 7-hour drive, by mistake lol.

 

[DVCPluto]

I was initially against FP+. I thought that it was ridiculous to limit them to 3, when we used to get so many more. And we had a system damn it!

Having used FP+ this past Jan, I have totally changed my tune. It was really nice, sitting in the morning with a cup of tea and going over our choices. Way better than running to a FP machine. And it was flexible... I was shocked!

How they can keep improving the system:
1. Have all functionality, including adding the 4th FP, available on the app.
2. Be able to see and book what is at another park, without being in that park. That way we can decide whether or not to hop.
3. Tiering has to go. I know it won't, but with tiering, we're choosing either to ride TT or Soarin' (for example). One of the perks of FP+ was to NOT have to hit RD.

I'm actually thrilled that the character spot and maelstrom have stepped down to 2. Would be nice if something bumped to 2 at HS, but I'll take what I can get.

 

[BigTxEars]

Same here. I was a huge skeptic before it was rolled out, but having used it 1.5 times (once in December when we could still double-dip and get paper FP and once again in May), we found it to be very workable. My only complaint is the tiering makes it tricky to enjoy both Soarin' and Test Track (and now Maelstrom) without working out a strategy in advance. Same for TSMM and RnRC. Newbies to the system who haven't done their homework prior to entering the park will have some difficulty.

I agree that going in without some research would be an issue. I can also see the TT/Soarin conflict. I am not a huge fan of Soarin so it did not effect our last trip. With the new movie on the way it will though.

 

[disney4life2008]

LwTL gets a lot of flack but I absolutely love the attraction. But to have it as a Tier 1 attractions shows that FP+ is not beneficial to a place like Epcot. Honestly, the only attraction that needs it is Soarin and even if you did standby with paper fp you could still not stand in line a long time if you arrived early enough.

 

[KingdomofDreams]

FP+ = Good
FP+ with "Tiering" = Royal Pain in the a**

 

[G00fyDad]

No one is actually going to select Living with the Land right?

I might if I go to EPCOT on more than one day. We absolutely love that ride. I know that there is a lot of griping about how Disney isn't what it used to be, but this is one of those rides that just sort of takes me back to the early Disney. I can't explain why, but it just does.

 

[NearTheEars]

I might if I go to EPCOT on more than one day. We absolutely love that ride. I know that there is a lot of griping about how Disney isn't what it used to be, but this is one of those rides that just sort of takes me back to the early Disney. I can't explain why, but it just does.

Oh, don't get me wrong, It's a great ride, but I've just never actually waited for it before. Was always right onto the boat.

 

[maxime29]

They made Maelstrom a Tier 2 so they can get more people to World Showcase (shop/dine/explore) without waiting for the three Fastpasses to expire until guests can select another one. I wouldn't doubt it if 95% of the Tier 1 picks were Soarin/Test Track anyway. I would have rather seen Living w/ Land still Tier 2 since I always like to ride Soarin/Land/eat lunch at Sunshine without needing to come back.

Movie Ride as a Tier 1? List was fine already. Oh well...

 

[DisneyCane]

I wish they would somehow let you book your 3 FP+ in advance at different parks for park hopping. Keep the Tier restrictions even. I would much rather book Soarin', Tower of Terror and Star Tours than Soarin', SSE and Nemo whenever I want to ride Soarin'.

Even with the increases standby, it still isn't bad on SSE so I hate "wasting" FP+ on it.

I understand the need for tiers. Under the old system, when Soarin' FP distribution was for 6:00 - 7:00 at 10 AM (slight exaggeration), people would opt to wait an hour in standby rather than wait all day essentially for FP. Now that same person will have the FP+ in advance so more people will take slots. If they didn't have tiers at Epcot I would guess that for busy times you wouldn't be able to book FP+ for Soarin' or TT unless you are a Disney resort guest with 60 day advance or MAYBE if you booked right at the 30 day mark.

 

[G00fyDad]

Oh, don't get me wrong, It's a great ride, but I've just never actually waited for it before. Was always right onto the boat.

Yeah, I have never waited for it either, but I've seen the standby for this get to over an hour long on really hot days.

 

[asialeigh]

We used it for 8 days and I'm still not sold. Was it easier in the parks? Not exactly, not for us. We waited (timed it on the phone) 3 different times for 10 minutes while CM's helped people set up their Tickets or wristbands. IMO all guests needing to set up for the first time should be directed to a kiosk that does only that so they don't clog up the kiosks for those who need to just grab the next set of FPs. Then after that I'd say the shortest wait time we waited was 3 - 5 minutes. Nothing big and nothing worth letting it ruin your vacation. But for those of us who used FP to the fullest to maximize our vacation time the new system is not so great.

My biggest complaint of the new system is 1 FP ride per person per day. We always arrive at rope drop esp. for morning EMHs and yet during the busy summer months. Under the old way if we wanted to hit SM multiple times that was an option. now it is stand by line and one FP.

The other thing that has nothing to do with the FP but the magic bands themselves...mine gave me a horrible rash on my wrist and even wearing it loosely it still bothered me. They didn't bother anyone else in my group which makes me wonder if it was a reaction to my medications?

You can have multiples fastpasses for the same attraction if that is what you're talking about here. After using your initial 3 if that attraction still has FP+ available you can choose it even if you've already used one on it before.

 

[omurice]

Why don't they just move everything at Studios into Tier 1? Then it will be a full-day-of-waiting park

 

[mweier]

Good luck getting this combo of FP+ a week ago...
TIER CHANGE LOOPHOLE SCORE!

(forgot i DID have LWTL FP+ and Soarin' pre-change. Changed LWTL to TT as they're both Tier 1 now; Changed JI to Maelstrom as they're both tier 2 now. Should barely need Maelstrom FP+ that soon after WS opens, but it's close enough to TT to justify hitting early...

 

[DVCPluto]

Good luck getting this combo of FP+ a week ago...
TIER CHANGE LOOPHOLE SCORE!

(forgot i DID have LWTL FP+ and Soarin' pre-change. Changed LWTL to TT as they're both Tier 1 now; Changed JI to Maelstrom as they're both tier 2 now. Should barely need Maelstrom FP+ that soon after WS opens, but it's close enough to TT to justify hitting early...

Now that's using your noodle! Nice score!

 

[AndyGator]

Still hate the system. Used it from Saturday until yesterday. Still had tons of "sorry the system cant do that right now, try again later" errors. I figured out what the new Fast Pass+ is all about. Making people return to the parks for multiple days. If you could reserve a Soarin & Test Track fastpass, you wouldn't have to return to Epcot. But since you can only pick one from the top tier, if you want to use FP+ on both attractions, you'd have to go back on a different day. Don't give me that, "you can make additional FP+ reservations after you use all 3" line. No you can't. Not at Epcot on most moderately busy days. They are all gone by about 10 a.m.

 

[wilkeliza]

I have a feeling this is because the Tier 1 attractions were filling up rather quickly. Now that they moved a few up from Tier 1 from Tier 2 that weren't filling up at all (looking at you LWTL) they will ensure that people get a Tier 1 attraction day of and can't complain any more even if LWTL isn't as great as TT or Soarin.

note I love Living with the Land but would never choose it over TT or Soarin.