Fastpass Plus Mess

[flynnibus]

In my opinion ADRs are far more restrictive than FP+ reservations. Once I'm locked into a park with my ADRs most of the spontaneity is gone. Making 3 ride reservations doesn't really impact my ability to be spontaneous.

I agree... ADRs are bigger blocks of time.. and often make you go leave and return.. taking up even more time. We would normally only do one ADR a day typically for that reason (among others..). Plus, ADR is much more "if I don't get it.. I can't go". FP.. if I don't get it.. I just decide if I want to wait or not. Not as fatal.

 

[Gabe1]

....there has been a distinct and noticeable decline in Customer Service ...at WDW ....from the way that it had been ...over the past 3 years. Now ...is it coincidence ...or was it a different mode of training ...to wean guests off the "we expect the world ...and you will provide it" attitude? It's as if a new corporate 'line' has been drawn for employees to toe ...because the bottom-line is all that matters now.

....5 yrs ago ..at POP ...my wife was holding onto the hinge side of the bathroom door frame ...when youngest daughter started to close the door. Wife's fingertips ...ring, middle, index fingers ...got crushed. Middle finger nail broke off just above cuticle line ...other 2 fingers ...smashed pretty bad. I called front desk ....and a paramedic team ...and the resort manager and assistant were at our room in 4 minutes!! They took care of my wife in stellar fashion. (I cringe when I tell this because she could have lost 3 fingertips!). Wife stayed at resort after she was calmed down and 'stable' ...I took youngest daughter to AK. Wife calls me ...there was then a big beetle type bug in the room ...she tells front desk ...they send an exterminator + assistant ...they move ALL the furniture ....check all drawers ...literally do the fine-tooth-comb treatment. No bug found (likely crawled in when paramedic had door propped open) ...but wife was worried it came thru air vent ...because renovation was going on in rooms above us. Manager then called her after the room was reassembled ...and asked her ..if she wanted to be relocated to another room ...no charge ...he'd even send a team of CM's to pack our stuff and move everything. Wife declined (with my urging ...because we had great location). When I got back ...she told me that every hour ...on the hour ...someone from concierge desk checked in on her to make sure all was okay (one time a female front desk CM they sent over ..popped open a can of soda for my wife ...because of difficulty holding it). Wife finally mustered enough composure to go to Concierge desk and thank the manager and staff ....and to buy some Advil at POP store. Manager told her that he was comping us a 1-1/2 days ...because her experience was "clearly not Magical" ...(between the accident and then the bug.)

....I wrote a glowing thank you letter to Disney after that ...because even though they comped us the room ...it was the extra effort displayed by the CM's to respond so quickly, and then actually check in on my wife repeatedly that I really focused on.

...skip ahead to 2012 ...and when the 'standard' in room fridges don't keep the soda (and beer cold) ...I'm told, "Well they really aren't fridges ...they're really 'coolers'. No apology ...no effort to see if it's really malfunctioning.

...then this year ...a completely y-attitude CM at check-in set the mood for the whole trip ...when she gave grief about room location request ...and getting credited for non-working fridge.

...it's as if they have been told, "Don't 'give away' service ....we're in this for the bottom-line". It's very noticeable when the CM's that you expect to go above and beyond ...start to do the minimum just to get by. We experience that at the rides, the shows, and the eating venues .....and it seems to be the "in" trend lately at WDW.

I'm a bit taken away by the story. Ouch. We did move years back from POFC when a roach was crawling on my 2 month old DDs baby bottle i the morning. My DH & DS went to MK and I packed and then unpacked. They gave me a CM and she entertained my DD. Sweet young lady.

I'm pulling back on my own harness a tad, 'cause I have encountered a few awful CMs each trip and some snarky ones. But as a Mom of a 20 something CM that has been promoted through the ranks rather quickly after returning to WDW upon finishing college, I think maybe it is focusing on the bad CMs and looking past the good and above average CMs.

First, this MME has not been easy on any CM that has the unfortunate luck of the draw to meet up with a guest unhappy with their MME, many of which use CMs as the whipping post for things that are so out of their control or ability to fix. Most know there is not a go to guru to solve all the issues. It is a no win situtation for the guest and the front line CM. Of course they are not instructed to withhold service and bottom line.

Yeah there are rooms with chillers and those with fridges, there is a big difference. I think there are a great deal of guests that do have a bad experience with a CM and then lump them all together. I get phone calls from my DS on breaks here and there on a particularily bad day when guests tend to be out of control when things are beyond his control. The day the power was out at the TTC and tickets could be sold and he was sent to do crowd control attempting to divert guests to Epcot to purchase tickets because Guest relations few windows couldn't handle the 50+ windows at TTC. The abuse he was taking from Guests, yet guests expected pleasantness back. The night in 2013 when the Halloween Party should have been called but wasn't. Again he was shoo'd over their to led assistance to GR for the livid, foul mouthed guests. In arm chair quarterback theory yes it should have been cancelled, no, none of those abused CMs made that call, most couldn't get updates because it was like vultures waiting to pounce on the CMs like they were meat. Then the day of the soft opening of Circus. It is really grand when social media knows what isn't communicated to the CMs especially during the first day of FL spring break. Such a bad day for a soft opening. All coming in from the parking lots. Transportation nor the staffing of the TTC was prepared for that soft opening leaked through Social Media, they didn't even know about the Soft Opening or where the heck all these guests were coming from and multiplying into the tram lanes. Yep, sent to do crowd control again. Disney doesn't staff for the what if this is leaked? Staffing is done way in advance of the night before. Again those CMs took a lot of grief. My DS sent me a photo of the sea of Guests waiting to purchase tickets and board the ferry with the caption, what the heck? My comment back to DS was Have you been able to get over to Storybook yet? Get any Pictures? Reply: Storybook Opened today? Me: Yes DS: OMG this is what this is about? Me: Yes, it was all over the Disney Websites since last night. DS: %$&^@ Gotta Go!

So yeah, there are many Disney failings. Yes there are grumpy CMs. And yeah they likely had enough encounters already that day that most of the grumps can only be used as punching bags so many times in a day before the Pixie Dust disappears. They are real life, made of flesh and blood.

 

[Gabe1]

In my opinion ADRs are far more restrictive than FP+ reservations. Once I'm locked into a park with my ADRs most of the spontaneity is gone. Making 3 ride reservations doesn't really impact my ability to be spontaneous.

I agree... ADRs are bigger blocks of time.. and often make you go leave and return.. taking up even more time. We would normally only do one ADR a day typically for that reason (among others..). Plus, ADR is much more "if I don't get it.. I can't go". FP.. if I don't get it.. I just decide if I want to wait or not. Not as fatal.

I've learned early in the day or late in the day frees up the majority of the day.

 

[quirkle]

Personally I stayed onsute planned everything and felt totally relaxed About our FP+ and ADR. No issues at all. I loved the MB and felt they were an asset.
IMHO if I pay to stay insite I should get 5 FP+ and I should have advantages over off site guests. I made my choice based on what I felt was important and being on property is my vote. On site should hVe an advantage. We pay for it.

 

[stevehousse]

Personally I stayed onsute planned everything and felt totally relaxed About our FP+ and ADR. No issues at all. I loved the MB and felt they were an asset.
IMHO if I pay to stay insite I should get 5 FP+ and I should have advantages over off site guests. I made my choice based on what I felt was important and being on property is my vote. On site should hVe an advantage. We pay for it.

So agree with everything u said! We ha a great time using our MB and FP+ picks and changing things around based on crowds and lines! I do agree that they should do 5 FP+ for onsite guests, and let offsite guests b limited to 3. Can't wait to go again in Nov!

 

[Weather_Lady]

I, too, would like to get more FP+, but is there any indication that WDW has the attraction capacity to do that? Right now, FP+ are "selling" out daily for some of the more popular attractions. At higher-crowd times of year, and once AP-holders are all on board with make-ahead FP+, the next-most-popular group of attractions will start "selling out" daily. Increasing the FP+ allotment would only compound the problem, wouldn't it? If not, what am I missing?

 

[BearsMom2011]

I've been reading these forums for a while and after returning from my 15th trip to Disney last week, I thought I'd finally share my thoughts on the disaster that is fastpass plus:

1) I stay offsite-it's more cost effective and convenient for my family. However, on this trip, it made me feel like a second class citizen with the new system of fastpass plus

2) The lines to do fastpass plus signups were VERY long. I was there at rope drop during a low-crowd week and still had to wait on line in all parks for 15-30 minutes on some occasions just to get my fastpass plus. And not being able to change a time on my phone just because I'm staying offsite was absurd. I would have to wait on line for 15-30 minutes all over again

3) There are not enough faspass plus kiosks at many locations-and to try and compensate they had people with ipads there trying to do selections as well. The ipads frequently malfunctioned causing much frustration.

4) I hated how the whole fastpass plus made the disney experience feel-as someone who was coordinating what we were going to do each day, this felt like work for the first time. And there was also a lot of stress and running to make our hour windows for rides or else risk losing them. All sense of reason was gone. At major rides like space mountain if you showed up 5 minutes early or 5 minutes late and that stupid scanner didn't turn green you were denied entry. It's an amusement park, not the DMV. The sense of fun and spontaneity is being drained for an adult with kids going to Disney. If your kids have to pee, that's too bad. Make your window or lose it. Zero understanding that a large percentage of their customers are parties with young children, and there is nothing more unpredictable (except maybe the weather) than the behavior of a young child.

5) At MAgic Kingdom, I was one of the first on line to sign up for fastpass plus. Except the ipad kept malfunctioning. After 30 MINUTES, they finally got me signed in. By then ALL times for Enchanted Tales were gone. I complained-the person I was working with said: "what's the big deal-the wait is only 30 minutes?" (clearly someone that's never had to stand on line with a 1 year old and a 4 year old)-after getting it bumped to A 4th LEVEL SUPERVISOR and 20 more minutes, they finally said: "you're right, we'll get you in to Enchanted Tales"

6) The 3 ride limit at magic kingdom is absurd-with so many rides affected by lines, why are you forcing people to make choices? Again it takes the fun away for the person planning. They are literally asking you to plan your entire day before you even get there. And once you're there, you feel pressured to plan it right, or else stand on line for a ride you misjudged.

7) I hated separating from my family during my fastpass plus wait-I missed my kids' faces on entering the park becasue I have to run ahead to make sure we get the fastpassses and don't stand on line for the rides they want to go on. To be fair, I used to run ahead to fastpass one ride in the past as well (i.e. toy story in DHS-however, I could be there and back before my family even made it to the wizard's hat-now I ahve to wait on line and do this whole process of choosing the whole day-I lost the first 30 minutes with my family every disney day)

8) I agree with others who have posted that Disney will increase the number of fastpasses by offering them for a fee soon. Congratulations: you'll make more money. But you're also upsetting longtime customers and fans like myself who are not as excited to go back in the future as I used to be. This trip was work and while I enjoyed it, it was because I like spending time with my family. My enjoyment was in spite of Disney, not because.

9) We did Sea World and universal as well this trip and the contrast I felt on thise days compared to my Disney days highlighted everything above for me. Those days were Waaaaaay more relaxing.

10) I'm on the Winnie the Pooh regular standby line. There is NOBODY waiting in the fastpass line. Zero people. However, the lady running the line held us for nearly 15 minutes at that branch point. With my 1 year old screaming I asked her why she couldn't move us forward. Her answer: "just in case someone comes with a fastpass." Now as someone holding a fastpass I of course would want to get in fast. But there was NOBODY there, and she held the standby line for almost 15 minutes. She said this was part of the new policies. The standby line would be hled for stretches to minimize the waits for people with fastpasses.

Those are my thoughts. I'm not naive. I know this is about money. I get it. But I'm unhappy and thought I'd share it. Perhaps if they hear enough unhappiness, it will make a difference. Who knows? But I felt it neccesary to post. I don't know who has had good experiences with this system, but this was mine and I wanted to share it.

Your takeaway is Exactly what I am afraid of regarding our upcoming trip. I get it. I'm not hung up on your Winnie the Pooh experience either, but quite a few WDWafiles get into the organization and mechanics of the park. Hence their interest. But yes, I am planning out trip and it already feels like work, not fun. Parents want their family to have fun. So the relax and let it flow thing won't work when it's a Spring Break and the lines are 90 mins and no ADR's left

 

[durangojim]

Your takeaway is Exactly what I am afraid of regarding our upcoming trip. I get it. I'm not hung up on your Winnie the Pooh experience either, but quite a few WDWafiles get into the organization and mechanics of the park. Hence their interest. But yes, I am planning out trip and it already feels like work, not fun. Parents want their family to have fun. So the relax and let it flow thing won't work when it's a Spring Break and the lines are 90 mins and no ADR's left

One option you could do to make it less regimented is choose one main park to visit per day. And set up "dummy" fp reservations. Then when you get to that park that day, you could always change your FP experiences and times, on the fly if you can do it by phone, or at the kiosk if you can't. Might make things less regimented and stressful for you. That's kind of what we did for about half our trip.

 

[ford91exploder]

When was this? In the summer of 12 we were staying at the poly. When we checked in and went to our room there was yellow liquid in the toilet. I immediately called the front desk and without asking they offered to comp me 1/2 a nights room or switch the room. I took the discount and the room was cleaned within 30 mins.

Last spring I had an issue at a deluxe. Disney called me at home after my stay and paid for my wife and I to stay at another deluxe in a concierge water view room for 4 nights and put us on a VIP list so whenever we stay at that resort we get upgraded to concierge. Not all if their service is bad, I'd say my experience has been exemplary.

Your experiences are really troubling though. Does Disney still offer customer service classes, because if so, it sounds like some of their CMs need to take them.

SSR weekend before Christmas and it was a 1BR

 

[ford91exploder]

....there has been a distinct and noticeable decline in Customer Service ...at WDW ....from the way that it had been ...over the past 3 years. Now ...is it coincidence ...or was it a different mode of training ...to wean guests off the "we expect the world ...and you will provide it" attitude? It's as if a new corporate 'line' has been drawn for employees to toe ...because the bottom-line is all that matters now.

....5 yrs ago ..at POP ...my wife was holding onto the hinge side of the bathroom door frame ...when youngest daughter started to close the door. Wife's fingertips ...ring, middle, index fingers ...got crushed. Middle finger nail broke off just above cuticle line ...other 2 fingers ...smashed pretty bad. I called front desk ....and a paramedic team ...and the resort manager and assistant were at our room in 4 minutes!! They took care of my wife in stellar fashion. (I cringe when I tell this because she could have lost 3 fingertips!). Wife stayed at resort after she was calmed down and 'stable' ...I took youngest daughter to AK. Wife calls me ...there was then a big beetle type bug in the room ...she tells front desk ...they send an exterminator + assistant ...they move ALL the furniture ....check all drawers ...literally do the fine-tooth-comb treatment. No bug found (likely crawled in when paramedic had door propped open) ...but wife was worried it came thru air vent ...because renovation was going on in rooms above us. Manager then called her after the room was reassembled ...and asked her ..if she wanted to be relocated to another room ...no charge ...he'd even send a team of CM's to pack our stuff and move everything. Wife declined (with my urging ...because we had great location). When I got back ...she told me that every hour ...on the hour ...someone from concierge desk checked in on her to make sure all was okay (one time a female front desk CM they sent over ..popped open a can of soda for my wife ...because of difficulty holding it). Wife finally mustered enough composure to go to Concierge desk and thank the manager and staff ....and to buy some Advil at POP store. Manager told her that he was comping us a 1-1/2 days ...because her experience was "clearly not Magical" ...(between the accident and then the bug.)

....I wrote a glowing thank you letter to Disney after that ...because even though they comped us the room ...it was the extra effort displayed by the CM's to respond so quickly, and then actually check in on my wife repeatedly that I really focused on.

...skip ahead to 2012 ...and when the 'standard' in room fridges don't keep the soda (and beer cold) ...I'm told, "Well they really aren't fridges ...they're really 'coolers'. No apology ...no effort to see if it's really malfunctioning.

...then this year ...a completely y-attitude CM at check-in set the mood for the whole trip ...when she gave grief about room location request ...and getting credited for non-working fridge.

...it's as if they have been told, "Don't 'give away' service ....we're in this for the bottom-line". It's very noticeable when the CM's that you expect to go above and beyond ...start to do the minimum just to get by. We experience that at the rides, the shows, and the eating venues .....and it seems to be the "in" trend lately at WDW.

THIS - This exactly jibes with my experiences in 2013 and it's like they threw a switch this year far far below anything I've seen in the past and I was at WDW 4 times in 2013.

 

[ford91exploder]

I'm a bit taken away by the story. Ouch. We did move years back from POFC when a roach was crawling on my 2 month old DDs baby bottle i the morning. My DH & DS went to MK and I packed and then unpacked. They gave me a CM and she entertained my DD. Sweet young lady.

I'm pulling back on my own harness a tad, 'cause I have encountered a few awful CMs each trip and some snarky ones. But as a Mom of a 20 something CM that has been promoted through the ranks rather quickly after returning to WDW upon finishing college, I think maybe it is focusing on the bad CMs and looking past the good and above average CMs.

First, this MME has not been easy on any CM that has the unfortunate luck of the draw to meet up with a guest unhappy with their MME, many of which use CMs as the whipping post for things that are so out of their control or ability to fix. Most know there is not a go to guru to solve all the issues. It is a no win situtation for the guest and the front line CM. Of course they are not instructed to withhold service and bottom line.

Yeah there are rooms with chillers and those with fridges, there is a big difference. I think there are a great deal of guests that do have a bad experience with a CM and then lump them all together. I get phone calls from my DS on breaks here and there on a particularily bad day when guests tend to be out of control when things are beyond his control. The day the power was out at the TTC and tickets could be sold and he was sent to do crowd control attempting to divert guests to Epcot to purchase tickets because Guest relations few windows couldn't handle the 50+ windows at TTC. The abuse he was taking from Guests, yet guests expected pleasantness back. The night in 2013 when the Halloween Party should have been called but wasn't. Again he was shoo'd over their to led assistance to GR for the livid, foul mouthed guests. In arm chair quarterback theory yes it should have been cancelled, no, none of those abused CMs made that call, most couldn't get updates because it was like vultures waiting to pounce on the CMs like they were meat. Then the day of the soft opening of Circus. It is really grand when social media knows what isn't communicated to the CMs especially during the first day of FL spring break. Such a bad day for a soft opening. All coming in from the parking lots. Transportation nor the staffing of the TTC was prepared for that soft opening leaked through Social Media, they didn't even know about the Soft Opening or where the heck all these guests were coming from and multiplying into the tram lanes. Yep, sent to do crowd control again. Disney doesn't staff for the what if this is leaked? Staffing is done way in advance of the night before. Again those CMs took a lot of grief. My DS sent me a photo of the sea of Guests waiting to purchase tickets and board the ferry with the caption, what the heck? My comment back to DS was Have you been able to get over to Storybook yet? Get any Pictures? Reply: Storybook Opened today? Me: Yes DS: OMG this is what this is about? Me: Yes, it was all over the Disney Websites since last night. DS: %$&^@ Gotta Go!

So yeah, there are many Disney failings. Yes there are grumpy CMs. And yeah they likely had enough encounters already that day that most of the grumps can only be used as punching bags so many times in a day before the Pixie Dust disappears. They are real life, made of flesh and blood.

The blame for this mess lies squarely on TWDC Burbank and Celebration Place, Through the entire disaster known as 2013 at WDW the vast majority of CM's have TRIED to help, there were a few grumpy CM's but hey everyone has a bad day.

TWDC has set up the CM's to fail with this system because they are the only representatives of TWDC the average customer will interact with. Long ago I was told by a good customer that "I" was the face of the company people's impressions of the company were a direct result of my actions AND all the faults of the company were MY problem when I was onsite.

That being said TWDC has achieved the impossible for the first time since I was a kid I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK, Why should I deal with the fallout from the incessant testing that results in me and family not getting to use features WE PAID FOR what has made me furious this year is I paid for a level of service, did not receive service and TWDC tells me it's my problem because they cannot fix it at the moment and TWDC is not providing me with a workaround for same.

If I feel the need to fix technical issues I'll just skip vacation and do my job which is making customers happy with our products and services and where I have the resources of the entire company to do the same.

 

[Gabe1]

The blame for this mess lies squarely on TWDC Burbank and Celebration Place, Through the entire disaster known as 2013 at WDW the vast majority of CM's have TRIED to help, there were a few grumpy CM's but hey everyone has a bad day.

TWDC has set up the CM's to fail with this system because they are the only representatives of TWDC the average customer will interact with. Long ago I was told by a good customer that "I" was the face of the company people's impressions of the company were a direct result of my actions AND all the faults of the company were MY problem when I was onsite.

That being said TWDC has achieved the impossible for the first time since I was a kid I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK, Why should I deal with the fallout from the incessant testing that results in me and family not getting to use features WE PAID FOR what has made me furious this year is I paid for a level of service, did not receive service and TWDC tells me it's my problem because they cannot fix it at the moment and TWDC is not providing me with a workaround for same.

If I feel the need to fix technical issues I'll just skip vacation and do my job which is making customers happy with our products and services and where I have the resources of the entire company to do the same.

Exactly. It is ridiculous TWDC is now again calling MME a TEST. It is no longer a TEST if it is fully rolled out even if TWDC is opting to label it as still TESTING. I didn't care for reversing the blame on guests during the real testing phase with the canned rhetoric of you volunteered to be part of the test and wear MB's.

That is why I sort of took exception with the imaginary perception of the vast majority of CMs at WDW dispositions and attitudes. I know my DS personality he is fun and upbeat but I also know what he can be like when beat'n up continuously without a moment to regroup, regain composure or the ability to thoroughly think out a problem for a solution.

It is unfortunate that guests believe they have the right to loose all decorum and expect to be treated with full on pixie dust. My son has a talent for dealing with the imploding guest. He is matter of fact, never raises his voice or tone but is able to pause and stare directly into the guests eye and speak calmly but firmly in response. It isn't pixie dust but it isn't rude. He knows when guests are trying to goat him into an argument.

 

[Gabe1]

Disney is going to be trying to cope with the fallout of their greatest investment MME coupled with scaling back FP distribution.

With all the commercials Universal is airing right now, pumping their new attractions, the gold mine Harry Potter is, a committed CEO, it will be interesting to see how the tides turn when the HP expansion opens along with their value resort.

I'm seeing more and more posts from Disney Fans on how to commute to the Uni property so despite the MME the planning for adding Uni is happening.

Loosing a day or two admission from guests 4-7 day vacation at WDW is a reality Disney will have to cope with. Dwarf no matter how excellent it is, is not enough to thwart Harry's appeal to a larger demographic.

Disney fans will re-evaluate in 2017 when Avatar eventually opens depending on what is actually imagineered. My thoughts are Comcast is already imagineering themselves and planning to meet Avatar head on. Comcast just seems to be committed at this time to answer whatever Disney is going to do. What Uni has in its favor is they are constructing at the rate Disney did in the 90s. Disney is giving Uni an abundance of time between expansions to plan ahead while Disney's main focus is on MME and a Shopping Center.

 

[ford91exploder]

Exactly. It is ridiculous TWDC is now again calling MME a TEST. It is no longer a TEST if it is fully rolled out even if TWDC is opting to label it as still TESTING. I didn't care for reversing the blame on guests during the real testing phase with the canned rhetoric of you volunteered to be part of the test and wear MB's.

That is why I sort of took exception with the imaginary perception of the vast majority of CMs at WDW dispositions and attitudes. I know my DS personality he is fun and upbeat but I also know what he can be like when beat'n up continuously without a moment to regroup, regain composure or the ability to thoroughly think out a problem for a solution.

It is unfortunate that guests believe they have the right to loose all decorum and expect to be treated with full on pixie dust. My son has a talent for dealing with the imploding guest. He is matter of fact, never raises his voice or tone but is able to pause and stare directly into the guests eye and speak calmly but firmly in response. It isn't pixie dust but it isn't rude. He knows when guests are trying to goat him into an argument.

Disney's biggest problem right now is the rigid policy framework they are shacking the front line CM's with add to that CM's are not given current information on attractions - yet 'Mommy Bloggers' and Lifestylers have more information about attraction openings and special offerings than they do, Howintheh--l do you give good service under those constraints, Combine that with guests who in many cases have spent YEARS saving for a Disney vacation and they cannot access features of their vacation that they have paid for and they have other CM's FORCED to tell them that it's the Guest's fault for trying to use entitlements that they paid for. It makes for a poisonous atmosphere between Guest's and CM's,

There is no real justification for treating a CM badly. However I can understand it happening when a family has spent the price of a new car on a Disney vacation and NOTHING is working I am NOT saying it's justified by any means because it's TWDC's fault NOT the front-line CM.

This being said it's incumbent upon those of us who actually LOVE Disney but not how it's being run today to 'Call out' Disney on as many social media platforms. Because yelling at CM's will not fix problem a 'Rogue Wave' of bad publicity for TWDC will. The fans Neo vs TWDC's Agent Smith

It will be ugly and it will probably get ugiler before it gets better.

 

[Yobogoya]

So agree with everything u said! We ha a great time using our MB and FP+ picks and changing things around based on crowds and lines! I do agree that they should do 5 FP+ for onsite guests, and let offsite guests b limited to 3. Can't wait to go again in Nov!

I find this comment baffling. Why should there be a division based on where you stay. I paid thousands for 9 people to go to disney last week. I can't afford to stay on a disney property as well when I have more affordable accommodations. Why should that mean I get less fastpasses and why does that make me a lesser guest in terms of my enjoyment of the park. I PREDICT they will do something like that but I certainly don't think its right and in fact find it downright offensive

 

[durangojim]

I find this comment baffling. Why should there be a division based on where you stay. I paid thousands for 9 people to go to disney last week. I can't afford to stay on a disney property as well when I have more affordable accommodations. Why should that mean I get less fastpasses and why does that make me a lesser guest in terms of my enjoyment of the park. I PREDICT they will do something like that but I certainly don't think its right and in fact find it downright offensive

I think the mentality is that you're paying less money TO Disney. I don't think Disney cares if you spent $10K outside of the park, only how much you're spending inside the park. One could argue that you already have less access to the parks because you can't take advantage of extra magic hours. This could easily be viewed as a "perk" just like magical express and anything else Disney offers the guests that decide to pay more money by staying on property. Disney's never been a place where all things are created equal.

 

[Yobogoya]

Your takeaway is Exactly what I am afraid of regarding our upcoming trip. I get it. I'm not hung up on your Winnie the Pooh experience either, but quite a few WDWafiles get into the organization and mechanics of the park. Hence their interest. But yes, I am planning out trip and it already feels like work, not fun. Parents want their family to have fun. So the relax and let it flow thing won't work when it's a Spring Break and the lines are 90 mins and no ADR's left

Thanks for the feedback. I always enjoyed the planning aspect of it all. I found it fun and then let things flow as they would at the park. Sure it wasn't a day at the beach but it was relaxing in a disney sort of way. It's why we kept coming back. Not this trip. Very different feel. And to be frank the fact that we are all discussing these issues in the first place is disney's main problem. They should be very worried about the negativity. I think short term the $$$ will continue to be there. But I think they are on that slippery slope of losing customer support and I am exhibit A. I am obsessed with taking my family to disney. Amongst friends I am THE disney guy. But something was off this trip and I see from these forums I'm not the only one

 

[Yobogoya]

I think the mentality is that you're paying less money TO Disney. I don't think Disney cares if you spent $10K outside of the park, only how much you're spending inside the park. One could argue that you already have less access to the parks because you can't take advantage of extra magic hours. This could easily be viewed as a "perk" just like magical express and anything else Disney offers the guests that decide to pay more money by staying on property. Disney's never been a place where all things are created equal.

Your point is fair but now you are actually changing the park experience over the course of the entire day. Staying at disney resort gets u in earlier-fine. But a division of people wothin the park at all times based on where u stay. Not okay by me. Not at these prices. I get it. It's about the $$$. Well there comes a point when a person says: Not worth it. Certainly not to feel second class.

 

[BigTxEars]

It seems to me that if a visitor does not want to mess with the FP+ system then don't. It's there to be used if desired but not mandatory. I can understand not wanting to plan your whole day, but the old FP system was a planning tool as well. We have enjoyed the parks with and without FP planning. Not sure how we plan to tour this June trip yet but if FP+ stresses us out we will dump it in a heartbeat and tour commando style

And as far as Disney treating on site guest better, so does Universal and in fact in a much more unbalanced way than Disney IMO. Again staying both on site and off at both parks I completely understand and in fact agree with it. Universal is building a boatload of new on site rooms, and those guest will be treated better at their parks than the offsite guest. Simple business at work, again partake if you want or don't.

 

[Cesar R M]

It seems to me that if a visitor does not want to mess with the FP+ system then don't. It's there to be used if desired but not mandatory. I can understand not wanting to plan your whole day, but the old FP system was a planning tool as well. We have enjoyed the parks with and without FP planning. Not sure how we plan to tour this June trip yet but if FP+ stresses us out we will dump it in a heartbeat and tour commando style

And as far as Disney treating on site guest better, so does Universal. Again staying both on site and off at both parks I completely understand and in fact agree with it. Universal is building a boatload of new on site rooms, and those guest will be treated better at their parks than the offsite guest. Simple business at work, again partake if you want or don't.

except FP let you get tickets on the spot? and not having to do a 40+ day reservation (and having them sold out before you get to the park!)