Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
I don't always embrace technology, but I do accept the reality of the 21st Century. I went to WDW for years with no cell phone, primarily because they didn't exist. However, even then when we didn't know the difference staying in communication with everyone was a major hassle. With a family you always had to establish a meeting point if you wanted to get back together with your party should you get separated. I owned a business and needed to check in a few times a day in the event of a problem. That meant finding a pay phone and calling collect to locations. If you had an emergency on the road or anywhere you had to rely on strangers to get some help. There was no FP so that wasn't a problem nor 6 months in advance dining reservations. Disney always had a plethora of electronic devices in the parks where you could call, even as little as 30 minutes ahead to make a "sit down" lunch or dinner reservation.
On rare occasions I have used my iPhone to make a dining reservation while onsite, but since I don't ever sequester myself to Disney's luxury prison, I don't need to make massive numbers of dining reservations a full six months before I even have the slightest idea what I am going to be in the mood for. I find a nice hotel (offsite) and reserve sometimes as little as a week before I am actually going to be there. There are (or at least were, pre-pandemic) massive numbers of places to have a very nice meal for half what I would need to pay onsite with absolutely NO reservations required. However, all that said it is necessary now, with no real exceptions, to decide what park you want to be in, on what day just to buy a ticket. You don't have too, but you will be at a disadvantage if you don't. And all that connects in with what FP's you are able to get in each park in each different day you are going to be there. Gone are the days when you could go to a park one day and then the next decide over breakfast which one, if any you are going to visit that day. So the degree of planning and commitment that was supposed to be eased by the invention of instant vocal and internet connection totally outweighs the advantages in my mind. Again because of modern technology, there are some areas where you have no choice if you want to see anything worth seeing than to use a smart phone, but to me the desire is just growing smaller and smaller. So for me, after I have decided what day, a couple of months out that I want to attend on what day I can make some FP reservations. Surprisingly, I have always gotten to see the attractions I wanted to see by luck and sometimes in park crowd planning to get to things when others were watching parades or fireworks.
One time I had just used up my three Epcot FP's and used my phone to set up a FP for the Mine Train in MK. One was available, I accepted it and it registered on my phone as being set. I spent another hour or so in Epcot and headed over to MK on the Monorail. During the ride I checked again to remind me of the window time for it and it was gone. No explanation just gone. When if got off the monorail I immediately headed for guest services to find out what happened. Here's a little tip for those with short fuses, I did not go storming in screaming and cursing and making like the CM there at the desk was totally responsible for anything like that happening. I quietly asked if I had done something wrong to make that happen. I immediately made friends with the young lady at the desk because I didn't make an a$$ of myself and make her day more difficult. She looked up on her magic computer and said it showed that I had a confirmed FP and that it was currently gone, but she didn't know why. She then made a few more key strokes and I had two "anytime" "any attraction" FP's on my Magic Park Pass. I left happy, she avoided yet another ulcer and the need for the phone became massively evident to me.
). I think my main issue is travelling from the UK and and using a phone abroad and what that incurs, I’ve never taken a phone before
When I started my post, the whole system concerned me, I am now getting used to the idea technology is needed, it’s now the effort of working out international charges etc. I am thinking of getting a tablet instead, hopefully it’ll do the job?!? 
