My initial thought was that FP+ would would discourage park hopping since FP+ can only be used at one park per day. Now I wonder if it will have the opposite effect. More sinisterly, I wonder if
its net effect will be to lengthen wait times at the super headliner attractions for non-Deluxe Resort guests. See if the following makes sense.
Today's FP system
encourages people to stay at one park because it's easier to get a "good" FP return time at my current park than it is to stop what I'm going at that park, take the time to travel from one park to another, only to try to get another FP at that second park. For the sake of discussion, let's assume the travel time, from park A to park B is one hour. This travel time means that I'm an hour behind people who went to park B for opening and did not park hop. It's almost certain that FP will be gone for park B's super headliners. With FP+, I can go to park A for opening, ride its super headerliner attractions before it gets too crowded, and then hop to park B and ride its super headerliners because I have guaranteed FP+ for those rides. As a result, I suspect WDW's less "glamorous" rides will be ignored even more. I'll use an example that, hopefully, will make this clear.
Let's assume I want to visit DAK and DHS. Today, with FP, I am less likely to do both parks in one day. I might, for example, start the day at DHS, grab a FP for TSM and then immediately ride, TOT & RnRC. By then, depending on timing, my FP window might be good for TSM. So on my walk to there, I grab a FP for a less popular attraction such as Mermaid before riding TSM. My FP window hasn't arrived for Mermaid, so maybe I do the Backlot Tour and then return to Mermaid to use my FP. Now I grab a FP for Star Tours and, to kill time, I use the regular lines for Indiana Jones and Great Movie Ride. I then use my FP for Star Tours and ride something else, maybe LMA, because there's no way I'm going to get a "good" FP for DAK. The short of this long example is that I've spent a good part of the day at DHS riding both its super headliner attractions and its less in-demand attractions.
Fast forward to FP+.
Now I have guaranteed afternoon FP+ for TSM, TOT, and Star Tours. (See RedSoxNo1's earlier #205 post.) Am I going to rush to get to DHS? No way. Instead, I head to DAK first thing in the morning, ride EE, KS, and Dinosaur before the lines get too long, knowing my "good" FP+ are
guaranteed at DHS. I'm going to skip most of the less glamorous attractions at DAK because I need to be sure to get to DHS for my FP+ there. Once at DHS, I'll use my FP+ there and then spend the rest of the day at DHS on whatever is left.
What this means is:
- With FP+, I ride more super headliner attractions in one day than I could have with FP. But if I ride more, someone else (i.e. anyone in a Standby line or without "good" FP+) rides less. Those people spend more time in the Standby queue even if they got to the park ahead of me because FP+ allowed me to get FP+ for that park's super headliners without putting any effort into it.
- If I spend more time on super headliner attractions (and park hopping) it means I spend less time on WDW's less glamorous attractions. For anyone who isn't gaming the system like I am, they end up riding more attractions that are not at the top of their list because those are the only attractions without super-long Standby queues.
- Today, everyone has an equal shot at FP. With FP+, people who "score" FP+ for the super headliner attractions have the advantage. With FP+, what will TDO want to do: let guests staying at Deluxe Resorts pick their FP+ first, let guests staying offsite pick their FP+ first, or allow both to have equal access? Seriously, is there any question what makes the most financial sense for TDO.
With FP+, I suspect WDW's current egalitarian system for distributing FP will die. Those staying at WDW Deluxe Resorts will have the advantage.
P.S. One possibility is for TDO to "hide" this advantage by allocating FP+ per resort level. In other words, allocate more FP+ for the super headerliner attractions to those staying at Deluxe Resorts than to those staying offsite. To the outsider, it would look like WDW is offering FP+ equally at the 60-day mark but people staying offsite quickly would see their allocation of FP+ for super headerliners run out. Unless we gossip about this on forums such as this, no one would notice. As an offsite guest, how am I to know that WDW is still handing out FP+ for super headliner attractions to Deluxe Resort guests even though, as an offsite guest, no more are available to me.
I might be overthinking this but, in the end, people who pay more will end up with the "better" WDW experience at the theme parks. That's mostly true today for WDW's non-attraction experiences. However, with FP+, I suspect it also will become true for attractions. Today, everyone has an equal shot at the attractions. With FP+, I think it will no longer be the case.
P.P.S. One suggested idea behind FP+ was to get people to slow down. Why rush to the parks when you have FP+ for the "good" attractions. However, if it plays out as I outlined above, it could have the opposite effect. Uber planners don't slow down just because they have some FP+ before they arrive. Instead, uber plan differently. Now, instead of (in the above example) staying longer at DHS and enjoying more attractions, they might end up jumping from park-to-park, rushing to do as many super headliners as possible. Instead of giving DHS and DAK one day each, they might try to cram them both into one day.
Don't forget FP+ is from the same group that gave us FP. FP was going to make money for WDW because it was supposed to give people more time to shop. Instead, it has made lines longer because guests grab a FP for one attraction (effectively making its Standby line longer by increasing that attraction's wait time) and then immediately jump into the Standby line of a second attraction, making that attraction's Standby line longer.
Seriously, FP+ will only make the Standby lines at the super headliner attractions even worse.
