FWIW, it did fill out the "contact us" form at Disney's website to let them know about the two issues in the OP. I guess only time will tell if enough people are voicing similar concerns that they alter the system.
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- Thread starter Clancy Wiggum
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Well, with Disney's system nothing really opens up at 60 days out. Resort guests get the extra window of 60 + 10 days when they hit check-in. So you're always dealing with folks that checked in a few days before that 60 day mark. But that is sort of beside the basic point, which I think is a real concern to at least some degree. The faster an attraction is booked up, the greater the negative perception will be.
I tend to think it will not be an issue at MK, which would have a lot of different answers to "What are your 3 must do rides/attractions"? But Epcot, AK & HS would have a much more concentrated response to that same question.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
I still see this the same as ADRs. There are people who are upset that they can't get into BoG since it books up at exactly the 180 day mark and in most cases 180+10. At the end of the day it's not a PR nightmare, people just eat there for lunch or skip it. Same with rides. If you can't get a FP reservation for Splash when you want it you can just show up at rope drop and head right there and still ride with no wait or you can wait 50 mins in the standby line in the afternoon or you can skip it. It's not like if you don't get a FP reservation you can't ride the ride.
While the testing did not highlight the constraints of available reservations due to the limited participants I do think it made a lot of sense to stagger the testing and not have everyone start at once. It had a lot less impact on people's vacations. When glitches were found it was limited to the testers and they could be properly compensated for their inconvenience. If everyone started using it at one time it would have been chaos. IMHO that's one of the few smart things they did with this testing.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
When I said punitive I was talking about this particular part of your post.
Holding back preferred FP reservations from return visitors seems punitive to me. Is it possible they will do this? Sure, anything is possible, but it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. A first time visitor has no idea what they are missing if they don't get FP reservations to the mountains. A frequent visitor would be more likely to be mad. I'm sure if you "let Disney pick for you" they won't give you the 3 mountains. If a first time visitor picks they will do it with their heart. As an example, little Johnny loves Pirates so pick POTC #1. His sister loves Little Mermaid so pick that # 2 and we all really wanted to eat at BOG but when we called a week before the trip to book a reservation it was all booked up for the time we are there so we took BoG lunch as #3. If they return again they may rethink this strategy and try to book some of the rides they waited the longest for.
The Uber planner types will be on at 6am at the exact 60 day mark to book the exact rides and times they want. Other frequent visitors will fill in the mountains, TSMM, ToT, RNRC, Soarin and Test Track shortly there after. The spontaneous visitor and those not familiar with the system will be left out of the headliners.
stevehousse
Well-Known Member
FP+ for BOG does not take away from your rides! It's additional / optional if you wish to do it...
darthspielberg
Well-Known Member
Hey, you are the one who stormed in here with the desire to moan about things when the thread was a simple request for help.
No one is forcing you to like Disney or to go, or whatever. Don't act persecuted. It's not very appealing.
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
The several hundred DVC points we own argue somewhat differently, Disney has significantly devalued our vacation experience,
Now if Disney offered to buy those back at price paid minus a pro-rated factor for remaining contract length for those of us who had our prepaid vacation experience devalued I would just take the money and write off Disney.
But I can't so I am going to complain and complain loudly until H--l freezes over.
darthspielberg
Well-Known Member
Well, you sound like the people who think it's clever to call Obama things like "Obummer" when you whip out MyMagic- or My(Bad)DisneyExperience.
It's almost childish to barge into a thread and make it about you and your feelings when that's not the point or topic of the thread. I am sure you can find many threads here on wdwmagic that will welcome your opinion with open arms, but ones that are on topic.
It's almost childish to barge into a thread and make it about you and your feelings when that's not the point or topic of the thread. I am sure you can find many threads here on wdwmagic that will welcome your opinion with open arms, but ones that are on topic.
flynnibus
Premium Member
Since you know the future so well @ford91exploder can you get me next weeks lotto numbers??
Meanwhile ill be waiting to see how Disney actually does it verse assuming the worst case
Meanwhile ill be waiting to see how Disney actually does it verse assuming the worst case
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
Enjoy your fantasies, I live in reality and it sucks.
I'm an engineer I always assume worst case scenario you can lose your license if you don't, And too often worst case happens.
TheMouseFan
Well-Known Member
I'm wondering if this isn't going to always be the case. I was able to find a place to schedule a FP+ on the actual MDE page under the make dining reservations, and when I clicked on the FP+ available, it directed me to the change your FP+ page. The other site is supposed to be by invitation only while they are testing. So, when it finally all rolls out, it may count as one of your 3 FP+. Guess we'll have to wait and see.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
Agreed. This is very likely to count as 1 of your reservations once it goes live. I imagine they will also add additional restaurants to the mix. Maybe 1 or 2 in each park. This could be a very valuable tool for Disney to attempt crowd control and redistribute crowds. If the Frontierland area is over crowded in the early afternoon they can pump out some "bonus" FP offers for BOG lunch.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
Lodging is only about a quarter of the cost of a trip to WDW assuming you are buying meals, park tickets and transportation to get there. If I no longer enjoyed my visits I wouldn't go and spend that other 75%. The resale market has gotten a little stronger lately you might be able to get out with a smaller loss.
You should look into renting out your points. You will typically get about double your maintenance fees when you rent the points. If you rent your points this year you can cover your dues for this year and next. Then take next years points and trade them in through RCI for a trip somewhere else. You essentially get a "free" room somewhere you actually want to go every other year. You are still out your initial upfront payment.
G00fyDad
Well-Known Member
Wow. Your reality sucks huh. You must be fun to be around.
I literally got the image of Carl in my head when I read your posts.
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
If you look at DIsney's press releases over the past couple of years FP- is supposed to allow you to schedule 'Experiences which include Rides, Dining and Parades' so based on that statement the BoG FP- is probably the first phase in migrating ADR's to FP-,
So if this comes to pass I think many of those who are so psyched up about not needing to have a FP runner are going to be a bit less pleased when you have to allocate your 3 FP-'es Rides vs Dining.
What most people miss is that Disney has decided against investing in additional CAPACITY and instead has come up with a system which strictly rations access to a limited resource based on the assumption no matter how much the Disney experience has been degraded people will come anyway.
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
I have literally millions of Airline, Hilton and Marriott points and collect more every month, I can ALREADY travel and stay for free anywhere I want to.
Disney has changed the terms under which many of us bought our timeshares and THAT is why I am P-----d off at Disney because our family bought DVC specifically to visit the parks like we always have because we in the past enjoyed them.
Disney has done a P--- poor job of taking care of it's most loyal customers, You may have heard of a Premier Passport it allows you to visit all the parks and it's EXPENSIVE. (And USED to be worth it)
Well it cannot be linked to MDE and there is NO ETA for a FIX , So a holder of Disney's MOST expensive ticket media is locked out of FP-. And you wonder why I call MDE My(Bad)DisneyExperience. So when we visit parks NO FP- for us. Can't help but feel ripped off.
Sorry utter #FAIL
GoofGoof
Premium Member
If I were in your spot and felt the way you do I would just sell my points. You may take a loss, but you will still get a big portion of your initial investment back. I know of some others who are either renting their points out or using them off property temporarily until Disney gets their act together at WDW. I would suggest that, but based on your posts you don't seem to think there is any hope of a recovery. If that's the case cut your losses now. If everything you are predicting really happens your points will drop significantly in value so get out now.
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
Already making plans to do so. I bought at a price where I will take either a small loss or get a small profit depending on transaction costs.
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
Wow. Your reality sucks huh. You must be fun to be around.
I literally got the image of Carl in my head when I read your posts.
View attachment 34612
I resemble this though Carl is better looking