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Anyone else afraid new FP+ will push you out of rides?
- Thread starter sbkline
- Start date
horizons82
Well-Known Member
I checked earlier today and TSMM had availability for FP and now tonight it is showing just stand-by again for only that attraction. It really seems like the FPs are going and only opening up when there is a change or cancellation in someone's FP plans.
I could be wrong, but considering the popularity of this ride and the fact it is only happening with this ride it seems likely.
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Susan Savia
Well-Known Member
In February we were able to do our favorites first thing with little wait. We did not do any FP plus, but used stand by and single rider lines. There seemed to be huge lines in all the parks for people waiting to get FPs.
DizPlutoFan
Member
i loved it worked great for us you just need to know your favorites and what you wanna ride and plan!!!!!!
Mature Fun Fan
New Member
Just returned from WDW and I think the Fast Plus + should be renamed Fast Pass - because Disney has taken a system that was working and turned it into a bottle neck at every attraction. As example we wanted to have the "Safari experience" at Animal Kingdom one day last week found that the Fast Pass line waiting to ride the attraction was a longer line with wait time than the Stand By rider line. Most of the time the rides that in the recent past were readily available with a reasonable wait time were now crowded and not worth the time you needed to invest for the few minutes to enjoy the attraction. The time invested waiting to get in an attraction was far longer than the amount of time at the attraction and this was not even considered one of the "busiest times" at the parks. We were at WDW all week and there were many major attractions that we never got to experience because there was never Fast Pass times available and Stand By lines were too long even starting out early in the morning. Attractions considered not to be major attractions now have bottle necks because of the new Fast Pass System. My friends and I have been Annual Pass holders for years and visit from 3 to 6 times a year including a trip earlier this year and have never had these problems. I know my way around the parks because I have visited WDW at least one time each year since it opened but my group is now thinking about not going back and exploring other options for our "traveling time and money". Also, we paid to have a reserved table at Sparking Illuminations and after entering the "reserved/restricted area" there were far less tables available (free for all on finding a table) than the number of families and groups who paid to attend this reserved viewing area. One member of our party left shortly after arriving thinking it was a total waste of time and money because she would rather read a book than try to catch part of the presentation while sight lines being obscured by larger persons standing (no seating available) in the front of the reserved space at their tables in the front. No longer a super fan of the Disney Experience!
And that's part of the problem. I know it is ironic to hear myself saying this, given my reputation among friends and family as being so in my trip planning. But I don't want to have to walk around the park with a computer just to be able to enjoy my day at WDW. How many average guests want to go on vacation just to have to walk around with a freaking i-pad or phone app just to navigate the park? It looks like I may just have to enjoy the less headliner attractions and forget about riding the big name attractions, like Soarin', Splash Mountain, etc.
Perhaps it's just as well for us anyway. My wife doesn't like many of the headliner attractions, and my son is squeemish about many of them as well. Some of the rides we enjoy the most as a family are rides such as Great Movie Ride, Spaceship Earth, Journey to Imagination, Ellen's Energy Adventure, and other slow moving rides that you can almost walk onto. We do all enjoy Toy Story Midway Mania, so we will probably just have to give that one up, but at least we can still enjoy most of the rides we like, even if Disney is making it almost impossible for people to enjoy all their rides without an Act of Congress.
I wonder what's next...getting on the computer 90 days out to plan your bathroom visits?
morningstar
Well-Known Member
I am guessing that they don't use a strictly first-come, first-served policy anymore. The good Fastpasses don't seem to be all gone when off-site guests use the kiosks, as you might expect if advance reservations grabbed them all. Perhaps they limit how many for each ride they will give out in advance, and reserve some availability for on the day.
WDWLover#1
Well-Known Member
Well as long as you keep your arms and legs inside the ride vehicle at all times I wouldn't worry 
disney4life2008
Well-Known Member
I have a windows phone and am unable to use the MM+ app - even on my android tablet I can not download it because my tablet does not have the right version of android running. In regards to how many people walking around on their ipads and iphones - you would be surprised. In the last 5 years there has been a surge of guests of all ages glued to their iphones and do not get me started on ipads. I am easily irritated and people walking around with ipads and minis taking photos and blocking the view of parades and fantasmic gets on my nerves. People are literally glued to their phones well before MM+ and if for everything - this is more incentive for people to stay glued to their phones. Remember, disney has added free wifi property wide and improved wifi signals as well as adding in charging stations in the park.
I am not part of this generation- when I am at disney I carry my windows phone but it is powered off. I am on vacation and do not want to be glued to my phone. I missed the whole iphone generation of 2006. FP+ is workable but it still takes away spontaneity - in the past all I planned was my dates and resort and when to the park(s) of my choice the day of. With paper FP I could plan my day and ride major attractions multiple times a day with little or no wait. Space Mountain, TSMM, RnRC are out - we can get one reservations but limited to the standby line afterwards which even during off peak - the wait time can exceed 50 minutes.
Big Bad Wolf
Active Member
Everything ran smoothly for my latest trip from the hotel to the park ....including my iPhone. I honestly don't understand the fuss about the bands. They make vacationing a pleasure.
Maybe that's what all the fuss is about. Many of us do not have an iPhone, and are not accustomed to have to use phone apps just to enjoy WDW. You shouldn't have to be a technological genius or a computer whiz just to take your family to WDW and have a good time.
I have a smart phone, and I have no idea how to go about getting these Disney apps on my phone. On our most recent trip, people at the hotel kept advising me that I could get on the "my Disney" app to check for ADRs, and I had no clue how to even go about getting the app. For those of us who don't know the ins and outs of all these modern cell phones, it seems to put us at an unfair disadvantage to feel like we have to upgrade our phones and take a computer course at our local community college just to be able to keep up at WDW. *bangs head on wall*
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cw1982
Well-Known Member
On some level I agree, but honestly in this day and age, everything is more technology based. Look at our schools if you want proof. In the 8 years I've been teaching, we have gone from "no phones in class" to "why are you not following school policy and allowing phones in class?" And that's in less than a decade, across several schools with vastly different demographic data.
As more and more people who are glued to their phones enter adulthood, this type of thing will be more and more normal.
sjhym333
Well-Known Member
I also don't know what all the fuss is about. If you don't want to be tied to your phone at Disney dont be. Make your FP+ reservations either before you leave (if you can) or stop by a kiosk and make them and then write them down just like if you were carrying a legacy FP. It really is that simple. I think people are making way too big a deal about FP+ It is basically FP without the paper tickets with the added convenience of choosing your times. I haven't seen the lines any longer in the parks because of the new system. I will say that I have noticed that the Single Rider lines have gotten very long over the past year. On Saturday the wait time for Test Track was 70 mins and Single Rider was at 45.
Horizons19
Member
The fuss for me is only that we can no longer get more than 3 FPs a day, that we can no longer get more than 1 FP per ride per day, that we can no longer get one or more FPs for TT and Soarin in a day. I plan and know where we will be every hour of every day of our trips. No fuss booking early and never needed to change our times once there. It's simply the new system equals less rides ridden. That was our experience with FP+ on our last annual trip. I'm sorry but for me that sucks big time.
durangojim
Well-Known Member
We were able to do more rides on one day at MK then we've ever done before and a good deal of that was due to FP+ and the MM app on the iphone.
lebeau
Well-Known Member
durangojim
Well-Known Member
hsisthebest
Well-Known Member
I've said this on a few other threads, Fastpass+ does level the playing field somewhat for everyone. My family has not been on TSMM (we had 2 trips since it opened) due to extreme wait times or fastpasses gone by mid-morning. We had 3 (now 4) small children and getting to a park at rope drop was not so feasible, and if we did arrive early, we were hampered by diapers, potty, eating, etc. Before we had kids, DW and I were like all other childless tourists, running for morning to late night and taking advantage of fastpass as much as possible. Now we look forward to knowing ahead of time that we will get on an attraction if we have the Fastpass+ on our trip in Sept.
Horizons19
Member
It was an even playing field before too. Everyone had the same opportunity to get whatever FPs they wanted with paper FP.