FastPass+ Chaos at MK today

[MagicHappens1971]

Just a friendly reminder that this was a FULL system shut down, which meant NO automatic photopass linking and no tapping to save your picture. As well as no magicband payments, which never works anyway. But I wasn't staying on property this trip. Did this result in no room access or all room access. And I was in the park before the system went down so did that effect access to the park? For a close to 2 billion dollar project I would've preferred Peter Pans Flight, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Many Adventures of Whinnie the Pooh, It's A Small World and etc to get desperately needed upgrades.

 

[MarkTwain]

Just a friendly reminder that this was a FULL system shut down, which meant NO automatic photopass linking and no tapping to save your picture. As well as no magicband payments, which never works anyway. But I wasn't staying on property this trip. Did this result in no room access or all room access. And I was in the park before the system went down so did that effect access to the park? For a close to 2 billion dollar project I would've preferred Peter Pans Flight, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Many Adventures of Whinnie the Pooh, It's A Small World and etc to get desperately needed upgrades.

...Yikes. I hope the people who payed $200 for the Memory Maker package were able to get their photos somehow

 

[Jane Doe]

I wonder how people who championed the cause for the all-in-one wristband fared when the system went down? You know, those who were relieved that they could finally leave that cumbersome wallet in their rooms? The water fountains meant that they didn't perish through dehydration but did they have to pan handle for some cash for food?

 

[BrerJon]

I wonder for how many more years people will defend this by saying 'they're still in testing phase!'. How many years does testing take? Ten? Twenty? Will we all be in retirement homes before we're allowed to criticise the project?

I think the time has come when those of us who hate the new system and have criticised it from day one no longer have to give it the benefit of the doubt and can safely say it's been an utter waste of money that has in no way improved the overall guest experience or Disney's bottom line.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Here are things that need to change regardless:

• Allow use of kiosks and the mobile app to make all Fastpass+ selections
• Switch to long range RFID readers, or a larger scanning surface area at the Fastpass+ readers to eliminate bottlenecks. Adding more readers at troublesome attractions (Kilimanjaro Safaris, Everest, Thunder) is also an option.

Here's my ideal scenario for Fastpass+

• Revert to the old system (next available, not scheduled), remove Fastpass+ where it doesn't belong and only allow guests to get Fastpass+ reservations once they've checked into the park.

Here is my compromise scenario for Fastpass+

• Eliminate Tiers
  
• Allow guests 1 advanced Fastpass+ reservation
• Eliminate Fastpass+ at attractions that don't need it
• Allow guests 1 additional Fastpass+ selection upon entering the park.
• Allow guests to always hold 2 Fastpass+ reservations at all time

 

[COProgressFan]

I wonder how people who championed the cause for the all-in-one wristband fared when the system went down? You know, those who were relieved that they could finally leave that cumbersome wallet in their rooms? The water fountains meant that they didn't perish through dehydration but did they have to pan handle for some cash for food?

Never understood that argument which was frequently touted as one of the benefits of the Magic Band.

Do these people not carry a small wallet with them every day of their lives when they leave the house? A license, credit card, and a little bit of cash? Was this really a problem?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Never understood that argument which was frequently touted as one of the benefits of the Magic Band.

Do these people not carry a small wallet with them every day of their lives when they leave the house? A license, credit card, and a little bit of cash? Was this really a problem?

This was never touted as a MAIN benefit of the Magic Band, but it is a minor upgrade in convenience.

At WDW it wasn't a license, credit card, and a little bit of cash. It was a license, credit card, a whole lot of cash, your room key, your wife's room key, your son's room key, your daughter's room key, your other daughter's room key, four fastpasses for Test Track' (uh oh, one is missing!), five expired fastpasses for Soarin', $0.73 change from your coffee, a receipt from your coffee, and a receipt from your lunch.

 

[Bairstow]

I wonder how people who championed the cause for the all-in-one wristband fared when the system went down? You know, those who were relieved that they could finally leave that cumbersome wallet in their rooms? The water fountains meant that they didn't perish through dehydration but did they have to pan handle for some cash for food?

Just fine, as far as I can tell.
The park ticket, retail, and meal plan functionality of the system were unaffected by the fastpass issues, from what I've read.

 

[lazyboy97o]

This was never touted as a MAIN benefit of the Magic Band, but it is a minor upgrade in convenience.

At WDW it wasn't a license, credit card, and a little bit of cash. It was a license, credit card, a whole lot of cash, your room key, your wife's room key, your son's room key, your daughter's room key, your other daughter's room key, four fastpasses for Test Track' (uh oh, one is missing!), five expired fastpasses for Soarin', $0.73 change from your coffee, a receipt from your coffee, and a receipt from your lunch.

Then what is the main benefit of the MagicBand?

 

[GymLeaderPhil]

Then what is the main benefit of the MagicBand?

Obviously customization and add-ons!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Then what is the main benefit of the MagicBand?

The MagicBand is a tool that enables you to get the most out of My Magic Plus with its myriad of benefits (an argument I don't plan on re-litigating here... I'm sure you hate it). Your question is akin to buying a new Jeep and questioning what the main benefit of the key fob is.

 

[draybook]

We used to obtain our FPs and fill our time waiting by going on rides that were virtually walk ons. Now we fill our time waiting for our FP+s to become active by waiting in queues at the same attractions which are now 30-45 minutes long.

This ends the whole thread. There is no need to reply any further. Good day to you all!

 

[ford91exploder]

Then what is the main benefit of the MagicBand?

Real time crowd tracking - what you thought TWDC would have designed in benefits for the guest ...

 

[AngryEyes]

Lots of hyperbole here, as always. My anecdote is as good as your anecdote. We were there for a week over Christmas, so you know it was busy.

Everything worked great, rode a ton, never waited more than 15 minutes for anything (except breakfast at Sleepy Hollow, man, that was a long line). All five magic bands worked great every single time we used them, no one dehydrated from waiting five minutes to get a drink refill (and we also didn't have scumbags with two-liter bottles holding us up, either), everyone got into the rooms quickly, everyone made multiple charges using their bands, etc, etc

While my example doesn't mean the system is God, this bad day (or yours) doesn't make it the devil, either.

I don't care one way or the other, btw, because we rocked the old system and we've figured out how to rock this one. I suggest everyone here do the same.

 

[ford91exploder]

The MagicBand is a tool that enables you to get the most out of My Magic Plus with its myriad of benefits (an argument I don't plan on re-litigating here... I'm sure you hate it). Your question is akin to buying a new Jeep and questioning what the main benefit of the key fob is.

With the small caveat if it works, I was part of the early testing of the MB (I have a premier passport) since that early test (the one with tiers at the MK) I have not been able to make a FP+ reservation and Disney has not been able to fix the issue. Unsurprisingly I am always able to charge using the MB.

So I'm a bit biased against the 'Mouse Arrest' bands and the My(Bad)DisneyExperience app.

 

[bhg469]

Lots of hyperbole here, as always. My anecdote is as good as your anecdote. We were there for a week over Christmas, so you know it was busy.

Everything worked great, rode a ton, never waited more than 15 minutes for anything (except breakfast at Sleepy Hollow, man, that was a long line). All five magic bands worked great every single time we used them, no one dehydrated from waiting five minutes to get a drink refill (and we also didn't have scumbags with two-liter bottles holding us up, either), everyone got into the rooms quickly, everyone made multiple charges using their bands, etc, etc

While my example doesn't mean the system is God, this bad day (or yours) doesn't make it the devil, either.

I don't care one way or the other, btw, because we rocked the old system and we've figured out how to rock this one. I suggest everyone here do the same.

well I guess we are too picky because we only had one day to enjoy the parks and the fp+ system only let us use it on Belle and little mermaid.. two attractions that we had no desire to go to..

The system is designed to punish you for not booking your trip months in advance. It also punishes those who don't like to plan for much at all.. showing up to the parks with little to no agenda was a perfectly adequate way to enjoy yourself 3 years ago. Not anymore.

 

[lightningtap347]

The system is designed to punish you for not booking your trip months in advance. It also punishes those who don't like to plan for much at all.. showing up to the parks with little to no agenda was a perfectly adequate way to enjoy yourself 3 years ago. Not anymore.

I agree with you on the point that it screws with the leisure of being able to meander without an agenda, but (and maybe I've been lucky with the times I've gone) I've never had a problem getting a fastpass for the attractions I want (Mountains, Pirates, SDMT) in a good timeslot the day before I go to MK. I haven't been to any other park besides Epcot in a couple years, but It's never been a problem for me. My visits have been from June - August, for reference.

 

[AngryEyes]

well I guess we are too picky because we only had one day to enjoy the parks and the fp+ system only let us use it on Belle and little mermaid.. two attractions that we had no desire to go to..

The system is designed to punish you for not booking your trip months in advance. It also punishes those who don't like to plan for much at all.. showing up to the parks with little to no agenda was a perfectly adequate way to enjoy yourself 3 years ago. Not anymore.

Not at all. I'm sorry you had a bad experience. That's terrible and I really mean that.

That doesn't mean the whole system doesn't work. You have to work within it. Fighting it isn't doing anyone any good.

 

[bhg469]

Not at all. I'm sorry you had a bad experience. That's terrible and I really mean that.

That doesn't mean the whole system doesn't work. You have to work within it. Fighting it isn't doing anyone any good.

I appreciate that, we all sound pretty bitter most of the time but the flaws are something that need to be addressed like the need for FP+ attractions. I have to agree with you, the system does indeed work. It works swimmingly where you are discouraged from going on attractions you want in order to thin crowds where they might be too large. Maybe I am just a pessimist but it was almost exactly a year ago we were using the system. It worked so well that next week when I am in FL for work I will be spending my day off a few miles up I4 where their express pass system doesn't cause inflated standby lines. They also believe that building attractions thins out crowds better than manipulating them through an application.

 

[draybook]

Not at all. I'm sorry you had a bad experience. That's terrible and I really mean that.

That doesn't mean the whole system doesn't work. You have to work within it. Fighting it isn't doing anyone any good.

The lines for the kiosks are ridiculous. People are fed up. CM's are fed up. The system crashes frequently and/or loses information. The FP system forces lines where they're not needed while the lines for the big stuff haven't really been lowered(not that I've seen).

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck.......