Disney's Hollywood Studios testing restrictions on FastPass+ selections

[ford91exploder]

I honestly don't think this tiered system will last all that long. It's Disney trying to find a way to not clog up the system (and have more day off FP chances) but in the end, it's just causing headaches.

Like Honey Badger - Disney does not care about guest experience only about getting their money.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Remember the legacy system where it was a self governing system and the demand for a particular attraction delayed your acquiring an additional Fastpass? Those were the days.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I have an annual, yes. And my friend has a separate pass too. That's how I know.

I'm not planning on using FP+ a terrible amount. Probably just for TSM and Splash Mountain. It's open the first weekend we're there. And I meant that I will use TSM and then Rock 'n Roller Coaster. I'm not up early enough to go take them all from you.

Once the resorts go paperless, they will be doing away with the old machines so then no one, not even those with APs will be able to get paper FPs.They might even do away with them sooner from what I hear.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

At this point I was told that I'm a tester for Pop Century. My parents are going a few weeks later and FP+ is evidently not available for them yet.

There is no more testing going on as far as magic bands and FP+. The magic bands are available for all resorts on property and starting soon, guests wont be issued KTTW cards at Pop. Maybe they meant testing not using KTTW cards? Though by the time you go, KTTW cards will have been gone from Pop for awhile. Are your parents staying on property? If so, FP+ should be available 60 days out (I believe - 60 days from today would be Jan 14) If they're not staying on property, they won't get magic bands or be able to use FP+. It's not rolled out to APers yet.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I find myself getting increasingly exciting about my April trip to Disneyland Resort (DLR) where they don't have FP+!

It's ironic that purely from a ride capacity perspective, I suspect FP+ would work better at DLR than at WDW.

WDW simply has 3 parks that are not ready for FP+ yet they rammed this boondoggle through anyway.

Is there anyone running the show who knows what they're doing or are they simply so afraid of Iger's wrath that no one wanted to stand up and declare "the emperor has no clothes"?

It's a rhetorical question. I know what the answer is.

Same here!! WE're making our first trip out west at the end of April and I am soooo excited not to have to make ADRs at 180 days out and FP+ choices. We can go at our own pace and pick the FPs we want, that day. FP+ is definitely a deal breaker for us. If they continue with these shenanigans, we will simply not go anymore. We have 5 nights booked in February but are wishing and hoping and praying that some cruise discounts come out for the Dream. If they do, we will change over to a cruise in a heartbeat. If they don't, we may do something we have never done before and cancel completely.

Personally I don't think adding FP+ to every attraction is doing anything except making the lines longer. If you're limited to FP for only 3 attractions, that means stand by for the rest of them. When we tried FP+ last week, the line just to scan your band was like 5 minutes long at Space Moutain because no one knew what they were doing! People were showing up an hour and a half late for their attraction with no valid excuse and the CMs were letting them through anyway, people were trying to scan their band for Space but they actually had a FP for Splash Mountain at that time. Honestly, it's really not that hard to understand. It's the same thing as regular FP, just on a band now yet people just seemed so perplexed by it. And the standby line was 50 minutes. So from my point of view and experience, FP is not making any of the lines shorter.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Same here!! WE're making our first trip out west at the end of April and I am soooo excited not to have to make ADRs at 180 days out and FP+ choices. We can go at our own pace and pick the FPs we want, that day. FP+ is definitely a deal breaker for us. If they continue with these shenanigans, we will simply not go anymore. We have 5 nights booked in February but are wishing and hoping and praying that some cruise discounts come out for the Dream. If they do, we will change over to a cruise in a heartbeat. If they don't, we may do something we have never done before and cancel completely.

Personally I don't think adding FP+ to every attraction is doing anything except making the lines longer. If you're limited to FP for only 3 attractions, that means stand by for the rest of them. When we tried FP+ last week, the line just to scan your band was like 5 minutes long at Space Moutain because no one knew what they were doing! People were showing up an hour and a half late for their attraction with no valid excuse and the CMs were letting them through anyway, people were trying to scan their band for Space but they actually had a FP for Splash Mountain at that time. Honestly, it's really not that hard to understand. It's the same thing as regular FP, just on a band now yet people just seemed so perplexed by it. And the standby line was 50 minutes. So from my point of view and experience, FP is not making any of the lines shorter.

People, by and large, are stupid. I'm sorry, but we are, and once we reach a certain age, we tend to get set enough in our ways that familiarizing ourselves with new and unintuitive technology just isn't high on our to-do-list, particularly on a vacation. Most folks do not want to spend their vacations taking a virtual IQ test which requires them to memorize and retain new information: they want to relax. My husband and I may have a relatively easy time figuring out how to scan a Magic Band, but I can guarantee that my 5-year-old and my 70-year-old father won't.

I think WDW vastly underestimated how convenient is was to have a printed Fastpass which one can hold in their hand and consult to find out the name of the associated attraction, the return window, and the "rules." Now, guests either have to write down all of their FP+ information (defeating the purpose of not having paper FPs, since they still have to dig around in their pocket for a piece of paper on a constant basis), spend more time with their nose buried in their Smartphone, dash off to a kiosk to pull up the information, or wander around clueless, waving their MagicBand at anything that will stand still. It would be better if the MagicBand had some sort of digital display that would list your FP+ and ADRs for you, for the day. That would actually be a helpful function, as opposed to an unnecessary and/or cumulative one, which all of the MagicBand's present functions are.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

People, by and large, are stupid. I'm sorry, but we are, and once we reach a certain age, we tend to get set enough in our ways that familiarizing ourselves with new and unintuitive technology just isn't high on our to-do-list, particularly on a vacation. Most folks do not want to spend their vacations taking a virtual IQ test which requires them to memorize and retain new information: they want to relax. My husband and I may have a relatively easy time figuring out how to scan a Magic Band, but I can guarantee that my 5-year-old and my 70-year-old father won't.

I think WDW vastly underestimated how convenient is was to have a printed Fastpass which one can hold in their hand and consult to find out the name of the associated attraction, the return window, and the "rules." Now, guests either have to write down all of their FP+ information (defeating the purpose of not having paper FPs, since they still have to dig around in their pocket for a piece of paper on a constant basis), spend more time with their nose buried in their Smartphone, dash off to a kiosk to pull up the information, or wander around clueless, waving their MagicBand at anything that will stand still. It would be better if the MagicBand had some sort of digital display that would list your FP+ and ADRs for you, for the day. That would actually be helpful.

I agree that it is a pain to keep digging out my smartphone to make sure I had the time of our FP's right. Not to mention the drain on my battery it was. My phone died on Sunday by 8pm and I didn't want to spend any of my park time having to recharge my phone. With my old phone I had a battery pack I could turn on, but not everyone has those. The whole FP+ thing just ticks me off. I can't stand it and I've used it twice so I've had first hand experience! So I am able to say that I've done it and it's just a pain.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I find myself getting increasingly excited about my April trip to Disneyland Resort (DLR) where they don't have FP+!

It's ironic that purely from a ride capacity perspective, I suspect FP+ would work better at DLR than at WDW.

WDW simply has 3 parks that are not ready for FP+ yet they rammed this boondoggle through anyway.

Is there anyone running the show who knows what they're doing or are they simply so afraid of Iger's wrath that no one wanted to stand up and declare "the emperor has no clothes"?

It's a rhetorical question. I know what the answer is.

It sucks for those who've never been and are planning to go within the next five years, though! UGH!!!!!!! This is frustrating. I'm over this. It never sounded like a good idea from the start, but it seems to be getting worse over time. I'd LOVE to know who came up with FP+. I'd just like to ask them what exactly they were thinking when they came up with it.

In saying that, I hope you have a great time at the DLR haha!

 

[Texas84]

Hopefully this is just short-term to help make the old paper available longer. Hopefully. Otherwise there could be riots.

 

[GeekDad]

There is no more testing going on as far as magic bands and FP+.

Technically they are still testing magic bands and FP+ although it may not seem that way with all onsite guests being included in the test. I recieved a packet in the mail for my Trip in December letting me know that we were "selected" to be part of the test. I already knew we were getting magic bands from seeing them on the MDE site and assumed it was out of testing but according to the packet it's still being tested.

Also I believe it will be in testing until they make it available to all guests. Until that time regular FP should be available to guests with paper passes.

Im still holding my offical opinion until I get to test it out myself but even though I've been outspoken in my support forFP+ I'm starting to question it myself with some if the recent changes.

 

[GeekDad]

I'd LOVE to know who came up with FP+. I'd just like to ask them what exactly they were thinking when they came up with it.

I'm sure that they were trying to come up with a better system then the regular FP. I know lots of people love that system but lots of people hate it as well. People complained that rides like TSMM ran out to quickly or they got stuck behind someone from a tour group running 50+ tickets through the machine or they couldn't get a time that didn't interfere with an ADR or some other plan.

I'm not saying the attempt has been successfull or not as I think that will depend on the end result and what additional changes are made over the next few months.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

Park hopping is possible, but you can only hold FP+ for one park per day which kind of defeats the purpose ... Now we have to decide what part of our day we actually want to have FP+, and it's still a challenge to schedule times that will work around our break.

Perhaps my biggest frustration is the lack of flexibility. We are now locked into three one hour windows each morning or evening that we can't afford to miss. Add to that the new dining reservation policy and it seems that the main result will be more frantic guests running from place to place. Doesn't sound like a vacation at all!

Agreed on the points about park hopping. Whereas before you could grab a FP or two at multiple parks, MM+ limits you to FP+ selections in only one park per day. Of course, this is by design as the goal is to try to "force" you spend one day in each park, thus ensuring you spend at least four days at WDW.

I think my biggest gripe about this Magic Band/MM+ stuff is that its led to a situation where you're cursed if you do, cursed if don't.

• Cursed if you do: If you stay onsite and/or take advantage of the system, its becoming increasingly clear you'll be mired in needless complexity, glued to your smartphone or frequently be consulting park kiosks, be making attraction reservations weeks and months before your vacation, be forced to choose from "tiers" which three attractions you value most, and finally be running around each park with a rigid schedule that limits spontaneity.
• Cursed if you don't: If you stay offsite and/or choose not to take advantage of the system, you will have limited (if any) access to FP+, be forced to contend with longer stand-by waits, have increased difficulty overall viewing the parks, and (possibly) be excluded from certain guest experiences that will only be available to Magic Band users.

Use the system and its a vacation of pre-determined appointments;don't use the system and you're relegated to a kind of second tier status. And in the end, ALL us will have lost the ability to use the old FP system that was included with park admission, was open to anyone, was available with virtually no restrictions, and was 100x less complicated.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Technically they are still testing magic bands and FP+ although it may not seem that way with all onsite guests being included in the test. I recieved a packet in the mail for my Trip in December letting me know that we were "selected" to be part of the test. I already knew we were getting magic bands from seeing them on the MDE site and assumed it was out of testing but according to the packet it's still being tested.

Also I believe it will be in testing until they make it available to all guests. Until that time regular FP should be available to guests with paper passes.

Im still holding my offical opinion until I get to test it out myself but even though I've been outspoken in my support forFP+ I'm starting to question it myself with some if the recent changes.

It's really not fair either way you slice it though. They keep the paper FP, then those with APs and off site guests with cards for tickets can continue to get paper FP, as many as they want a day, while those onsite with MBs can only get three. Then again if they take away the paper FP before offsite guests and APers can get MBs, then the people with MBs get 3 FP while everyone else get none. It will already be in effect that some people onsite can no longer get paper FP once Pop goes KTTW card-less. I can only imagine the backlash this will cause. "How come people staying at ALL the other resorts can continue to get paper FP and we can't?! That's not fair!!" I know if I was at Pop during that time and I didn't have a KTTW card to use for FPs while all other resorts did, I'd be pretty ticked.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Agreed on the points about park hopping. Whereas before you could grab a FP or two at multiple parks, MM+ limits you to FP+ selections in only one park per day. Of course, this is by design as the goal is to try to "force" you spend one day in each park, thus ensuring you spend at least four days at WDW.

I disagree - I believe the limitation to only 1 park per day is due to the Disney IT department lack of skill to program the system to handle this scenario. I believe you will see proper handling of park hopping and FP+ eventually, but not until this current incarnation is stable....

 

[lazyboy97o]

I disagree - I believe the limitation to only 1 park per day is due to the Disney IT department lack of skill to program the system to handle this scenario. I believe you will see proper handling of park hopping and FP+ eventually, but not until this current incarnation is stable....

Allowing Park Hopping undermines the crowd control aspects of FastPass+.

 

[GeekDad]

It's really not fair either way you slice it though. They keep the paper FP, then those with APs and off site guests with cards for tickets can continue to get paper FP, as many as they want a day, while those onsite with MBs can only get three. Then again if they take away the paper FP before offsite guests and APers can get MBs, then the people with MBs get 3 FP while everyone else get none. It will already be in effect that some people onsite can no longer get paper FP once Pop goes KTTW card-less. I can only imagine the backlash this will cause. "How come people staying at ALL the other resorts can continue to get paper FP and we can't?! That's not fair!!" I know if I was at Pop during that time and I didn't have a KTTW card to use for FPs while all other resorts did, I'd be pretty ticked.

This is very true. At some point along the way some one gets hosed as part of the growing pains of a new system. To me only being limited to 3 FP+'s a day is not a big deal because we usually don't use more then two a day and probably only 3 at the most anyways. However I know that a lot of people do use more then 3 so I understand the issue.

I've been curious about what issues there were when the regular FP system was being put into place. I'm guessing they weren't what we are seeing and hearing about now but I'm sure that's because the system was less complex then the FP+ system is.

 

[darthspielberg]

This whole system is in flux, and they won't stop trying these little experiments until they figure out exactly what works. I am very often pro MyMagic+ but in the case of this limiting FastPasses, I think it's a mistake. Not because I am desperate to get FastPasses, I don't use FP that much anyway, I am an oddball who enjoys standby lines, but I feel like Disney is only creating problems for themselves with this. Sure they only care about the money in their pocket, but this is a change that could take people's money elsewhere, so I am fairly sure they'll stop these tier things eventually.

 

[TheMouseFan]

It's really not fair either way you slice it though. They keep the paper FP, then those with APs and off site guests with cards for tickets can continue to get paper FP, as many as they want a day, while those onsite with MBs can only get three. Then again if they take away the paper FP before offsite guests and APers can get MBs, then the people with MBs get 3 FP while everyone else get none. It will already be in effect that some people onsite can no longer get paper FP once Pop goes KTTW card-less. I can only imagine the backlash this will cause. "How come people staying at ALL the other resorts can continue to get paper FP and we can't?! That's not fair!!" I know if I was at Pop during that time and I didn't have a KTTW card to use for FPs while all other resorts did, I'd be pretty ticked.

We arrive at Pop next week and I am a little perturbed about the no KTTW. I don't think we will really need the extra FP since it is a slower time of year, but it would be nice to have it to fall back on. I'm just glad I was able to schedule my Epcot and DHS FP+ before they started the new tiers, as I would be very upset if I could only schedule one headliner and not have the regular FP to fall back on! I'm a little apprehensive about this trip now, but we'll see how it goes.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Allowing Park Hopping undermines the crowd control aspects of FastPass+.

Not if they still limit the numbers of FP+ that you can get

 

[lazyboy97o]

Not if they still limit the numbers of FP+ that you can get

They want to push people into the other parks. At the very least they would have to exclude the Magic Kingdom.