Fastpass+ Stressing Me Out, I thought this was a vacation

[Gabe1]

THIS! Infinity times this! What did we all do before ADR and FP+ ?

Meh, that is like saying walk if you find TSA at the Airport, walk because what did we do before cars, college tuition don't go cause most people were uneducated before. A nice sentiment that practically doesn't pan out.

I've been going to WDW since it opened and the problem with this analogy is before FP, FP+ and ADRs guests were not yeilding to a healthy amount of other guests hopping on an attraction before those who are already waiting the longest. We were all stand by in the past so we all waited equally that is not the case if you opt out of FPs. If you bypass FPs & ADRs you'll either wait longer or not ride at all or as said in another post no ADR, you'll eat, just maybe not eating what you want to eat.

 

[MaryJaneP]

Meh, that is like saying walk if you find TSA at the Airport...

To each his/her own. Just went last month. Couldn't ADR where we wanted to eat, so rather than starve, we ate when and where we could find openings and meals we wanted. Was it everything we would have reserved in an ideal world? No. But we had a great time nonetheless. Did we wait over two hours to ride Soaring without any fastpass. Sure did! We actually got to ride every single ride we wanted to and then some, all from the standby lines. Some people may have been aggravated that others in the fastpass line got to go on the ride before we did, but we chose not to ruin our vacation by giving in to this negative attitude. We actually enjoyed each others company and spoke with each other as a family. If planning ahead is stressing you out, there is at least one surefire way to end that negative feedback loop. Stop stressing out, stop planning ahead, stop worrying about other people with fastpasses, just go and enjoy what you do, and choose to avoid the "win at all costs" mentality. Hope you have a great, relaxing, non-stressful, off-the-cuff trip.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

It's 2014, everyone should have one! LOL and that is why they have the kiosks available to use...

My mom still uses a basic flip phone. She started texting this year. I'm impressed.

 

[stevehousse]

My mom still uses a basic flip phone. She started texting this year. I'm impressed.

My wife's mom just got an iPhone for Xmas! My 5 year old has to show her how to use it sometimes! LOL

 

[GrumpyFan]

Meh, that is like saying walk if you find TSA at the Airport, walk because what did we do before cars, college tuition don't go cause most people were uneducated before. A nice sentiment that practically doesn't pan out.

I'm sorry to inform you of this, but the world has changed. Security has become a big thing thanks to some idiots who decided to use planes as weapons, college tuition is expensive but worth it for most jobs, however, not necessarily required to get a good job making a decent living (I'm doing it).
These things are unfortunate, yes, and make life more difficult to navigate at times, and even frustrating, but none of them are impossible and certainly not going to ruin a vacation.

I've been going to WDW since it opened and the problem with this analogy is before FP, FP+ and ADRs guests were not yeilding to a healthy amount of other guests hopping on an attraction before those who are already waiting the longest. We were all stand by in the past so we all waited equally that is not the case if you opt out of FPs. If you bypass FPs & ADRs you'll either wait longer or not ride at all or as said in another post no ADR, you'll eat, just maybe not eating what you want to eat.

If you've been going since WDW opened, then you no doubt understand that things have changed. The property has grown from one park with two hotels to 4 parks, plus two waterparks and more than 2 dozen hotels! Attendance has swelled to the point that even in the "off-season", crowds can be large at times. All this to say that going to WDW and having a nice leisurely day and being able to see and do everything is difficult, but not impossible. Disney, in their questionable wisdom, added the ability to reserve attraction and restaurant times in an effort to help guests enjoy the parks. The features they added to do this are FP and ADR, which is available to ALL guests in some form or another. Choosing to use these reservation features is completely optional to the guest. Not using them doesn't equate directly to having a bad time in the parks as you suggest, but it may make certain attractions and/or restaurants less accessible to those guests. However, because of the size of WDW, there are still MANY other attractions and restaurants that can be enjoyed and offer experiences for guests that while not necessarily the same, can elicit the same feelings of fun and pleasure.

For the record, I'm not a big planner myself, but my wife is. We find a happy balance somewhere in the middle. She makes the plans for us, but keeps them somewhat flexible and loose to allow for down time or "free roaming" if you will, where we go searching for something to do, or nothing at all. We have the luxury of having been to WDW many times ourselves and thus have our favorites and use FP and ADRs on for those. Outside of using our FPs, we tend to wander the parks, looking for short (tolerable) lines and go on what we feel like we want to wait for. If we don't get to ride something or eat somewhere specific, we find something else, and say, "maybe next time", but still we have fun and enjoy to the fullest what we get to experience, we don't sulk, whine and pout about those that we didn't.

In short, I take kind of a Baloo attitude:
So just try and... relax. Yeah. Cool it. Fall apart in my backyard. 'Cause let me tell you something, little britches: if you act like that bee at... Uh-uh. You're working too hard. And don't spend your time lookin' around for something you want that can't be found...

When you find out you can live without it / And go along not thinking about it / I'll tell you something true / The bare necessities of life will come to you.

 

[Gabe1]

To each his/her own. Just went last month. Couldn't ADR where we wanted to eat, so rather than starve, we ate when and where we could find openings and meals we wanted. Was it everything we would have reserved in an ideal world? No. But we had a great time nonetheless. Did we wait over two hours to ride Soaring without any fastpass. Sure did! We actually got to ride every single ride we wanted to and then some, all from the standby lines. Some people may have been aggravated that others in the fastpass line got to go on the ride before we did, but we chose not to ruin our vacation by giving in to this negative attitude. We actually enjoyed each others company and spoke with each other as a family. If planning ahead is stressing you out, there is at least one surefire way to end that negative feedback loop. Stop stressing out, stop planning ahead, stop worrying about other people with fastpasses, just go and enjoy what you do, and choose to avoid the "win at all costs" mentality. Hope you have a great, relaxing, non-stressful, off-the-cuff trip.

I can only imagine this theory turned into Disney commercial for guests Non-MME vacation.

Disney Fans, Come enjoy the less than ideal magic by standing in longer queues, we promise your unplanned vacation will exceed expectations of our MME guests.

Enjoy our less popular dining experiences where you won't experience the food you want but we promise you won't starve.

Guests will be awarded extra bonding time upwards of 2 or so hours per E attraction with their families in our standby queues.

Standby guests will also be treated to the bonus perk of people watching as MME guests quickly pass you bye in the FP+ queues while missing out on 2 hours of family bonding and unimaginable fun in our magical queues.

Guests will be able to experience extra bonus time in our hot humid queues giving them the flex time to indulge in more water. The added queue time will afford Non-MME guests far more opportunities to enjoy the pleasant, close contact for extended lengths of time with fellow Non MME guests from all cultures and aromas from around the world.

This Non-MME experience is offered to Non-MME guests at no additional charge.


I can only imagine if I pitched this approach to my teenage children. It would not be good. I'm certain my DH would not have been amused with a Thanksgiving Dinner at the Launching Pad over my ADR for the Liberty Tree Tavern. It isn't about Winning, I can't even factor Winning into a Disney Vacation, I paid $8000. If I wanted to bond with my family in a queue, we can do that at any Florida Walmart and if the desire is less than ideal dining we can go to any Florida Motel 8 along Interstate 75 and dine at a Taco Bell for substantially less that doing the same inside of a Disney Park.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

@Gabe1, haven't you been paying attention to the commercials? All that doesn't matter because the best part of a WDW vacation is the WDW hotel you stay in.

 

[Gabe1]

I'm sorry to inform you of this, but the world has changed. Security has become a big thing thanks to some idiots who decided to use planes as weapons, college tuition is expensive but worth it for most jobs, however, not necessarily required to get a good job making a decent living (I'm doing it).
These things are unfortunate, yes, and make life more difficult to navigate at times, and even frustrating, but none of them are impossible and certainly not going to ruin a vacation.



If you've been going since WDW opened, then you no doubt understand that things have changed. The property has grown from one park with two hotels to 4 parks, plus two waterparks and more than 2 dozen hotels! Attendance has swelled to the point that even in the "off-season", crowds can be large at times. All this to say that going to WDW and having a nice leisurely day and being able to see and do everything is difficult, but not impossible. Disney, in their questionable wisdom, added the ability to reserve attraction and restaurant times in an effort to help guests enjoy the parks. The features they added to do this are FP and ADR, which is available to ALL guests in some form or another. Choosing to use these reservation features is completely optional to the guest. Not using them doesn't equate directly to having a bad time in the parks as you suggest, but it may make certain attractions and/or restaurants less accessible to those guests. However, because of the size of WDW, there are still MANY other attractions and restaurants that can be enjoyed and offer experiences for guests that while not necessarily the same, can elicit the same feelings of fun and pleasure.

For the record, I'm not a big planner myself, but my wife is. We find a happy balance somewhere in the middle. She makes the plans for us, but keeps them somewhat flexible and loose to allow for down time or "free roaming" if you will, where we go searching for something to do, or nothing at all. We have the luxury of having been to WDW many times ourselves and thus have our favorites and use FP and ADRs on for those. Outside of using our FPs, we tend to wander the parks, looking for short (tolerable) lines and go on what we feel like we want to wait for. If we don't get to ride something or eat somewhere specific, we find something else, and say, "maybe next time", but still we have fun and enjoy to the fullest what we get to experience, we don't sulk, whine and pout about those that we didn't.

In short, I take kind of a Baloo attitude:
So just try and... relax. Yeah. Cool it. Fall apart in my backyard. 'Cause let me tell you something, little britches: if you act like that bee at... Uh-uh. You're working too hard. And don't spend your time lookin' around for something you want that can't be found...

When you find out you can live without it / And go along not thinking about it / I'll tell you something true / The bare necessities of life will come to you.

I don't even know how to respond to this. It is the height of hubris to condescendingly explain the overtly obvious to any person. I pray that 9/11 and all the fall out is a topic that is considered by most American's as common knowledge to anyone with an elementary education. I'd find it disturbing if any high school student was not aware of 9/11 or post 9/11 ramifications.

I don't tip my hat to mantras. Get over it, Stay Calm, Cool it, Settle Down are useless, belittling phrases and are warned about in any college communication course. It unnecessarily places the speaker in the awkward position of being perceived as obnoxious. Likely any useful information the speaker has to say subsequently is lost because first impressions trump anything the speaker can utter in the aftermath of belittling their audience.

I have mentors and people that inspire me. They are flesh and blood, amazing people. While Baloo is darling and animation film at its best, it is a fictional life. I live in a real world and don't base my life on fictional characters. This is why I encourage every student I've known to go to college. The vast majority of college graduates come out on the other side a more amazing person if they use that education for their career or not. A college communication class or two can offer a lifetime of getting your point across without belittling the audience.

 

[Gabe1]

@Gabe1, haven't you been paying attention to the commercials? All that doesn't matter because the best part of a WDW vacation is the WDW hotel you stay in.

touché woman!

 

[GrumpyFan]

I can only imagine this theory turned into Disney commercial for guests Non-MME vacation.

Disney Fans, Come enjoy the less than ideal magic by standing in longer queues, we promise your unplanned vacation will exceed expectations of our MME guests.

Enjoy our less popular dining experiences where you won't experience the food you want but we promise you won't starve.

Guests will be awarded extra bonding time upwards of 2 or so hours per E attraction with their families in our standby queues.

Standby guests will also be treated to the bonus perk of people watching as MME guests quickly pass you bye in the FP+ queues while missing out on 2 hours of family bonding and unimaginable fun in our magical queues.

Guests will be able to experience extra bonus time in our hot humid queues giving them the flex time to indulge in more water. The added queue time will afford Non-MME guests far more opportunities to enjoy the pleasant, close contact for extended lengths of time with fellow Non MME guests from all cultures and aromas from around the world.

This Non-MME experience is offered to Non-MME guests at no additional charge.

As much as I disagree with your exaggerations, I have to admit, this is quite funny, ingenious even!

I still disagree with your assertions though. I have done quite a bit of reading and research on MME/MB/FP+ and while I'm not a fan of it entirely, I don't see where it's as bad as you're trying to make it out to be. I've even talked to several people who are regulars and live in the Orlando area and visit the parks on an almost weekly basis, and have stated that while the new system has created some chaos in planning and visiting the parks, it hasn't ruined them. They are still able to go and have a great time, ride many attractions without making reservations and without FP+.

You point out that you're spending $8000 for your vacation. If you're really spending that much, then doesn't it make sense to try and get the most out of it that you possibly can? If so, then that means you're going to have to take the time to plan it and make advanced reservations, otherwise, yes, you might not get Liberty Tree Tavern, but I bet if you looked around, you could probably find another table service restaurant of similar value that would give you and your family a comparable experience. We've done it many times, and we've spent far less than that, so it can be done, but you just have to change your expectations and focus more on yours and your family's time together over the specific venue.

My wife and I like to compare Disney to other vacation destinations, just to try and determine the value and whether or not Disney is worth it. Several years back, we planned a trip to Washington DC. We went into with very little planning except where we be staying and what was close to our hotel that we could see. That was a big mistake! Once we arrived we quickly discovered the fallacy in our plan (or lack thereof), and that to get into many of the government sites, we needed to have made reservations weeks prior. On top of that, unless we wanted to pay cab fare and/or parking, our best option was public transportation or walking, which we did a LOT of! The point here is, that like Disney, DC is big, and it does require some advanced planning to FULLY enjoy. However, both places can still be enjoyed without much, you just might be limited to what you get to see. I still think Disney wins though, if comparing these two destinations for non-planners, there's a LOT more you can see and do without plans at WDW than many other places.

 

[GrumpyFan]

I don't tip my hat to mantras. Get over it, Stay Calm, Cool it, Settle Down are useless, belittling phrases and are warned about in any college communication course. It unnecessarily places the speaker in the awkward position of being perceived as obnoxious. Likely any useful information the speaker has to say subsequently is lost because first impressions trump anything the speaker can utter in the aftermath of belittling their audience.

I have mentors and people that inspire me. They are flesh and blood, amazing people. While Baloo is darling and animation film at its best, it is a fictional life. I live in a real world and don't base my life on fictional characters. This is why I encourage every student I've known to go to college. The vast majority of college graduates come out on the other side a more amazing person if they use that education for their career or not. A college communication class or two can offer a lifetime of getting your point across without belittling the audience.

I used to live like this myself, and it nearly cost me everything when I started experiencing health issues related to my heart. I was overly serious about everything, all the time, and it earned me a stay in the hospital for a week after my 35th birthday, which just so happened to be the day I returned from from a trip to WDW. That week-long stay in the hospital while the Doctors ran tests and prescribed medication to correct a stress induced heart issue caused me to take a long hard look at my self and how I lived, which led me ultimately to a younger time in my life when I actually had fun, enjoyed myself and others enjoyed being around me. It led me to examine and take on a more sedated, easy paced life at which sometimes looks like that of Baloo the bear, so much so that my kids took to calling me Papa Bear instead of Grumpy. I like this way much better. Sure, it's somewhat cliche' at times and maybe even a bit juvenile or as you say "belittling", but hardly "useless". For me, it's healthy and has made me a better person to live with (so I'm told) and it's allowed me to enjoy WDW and many other places even when they're not the most ideal, like when the temps reach 100 degrees and traffic is elbow to elbow or bumper to bumper.

Inspiration can come from many places, a book, a poem, a song, a blue (or cloudy) sky, a person or even a fictional story, if you're so inclined. I have many inspirations in my life; in fact one of them is the man responsible for overseeing the animation of Baloo and creating the Disney parks. He was a man with a child-like imagination and a dream in his heart that never seemed to die and was motivated to make those dreams reality, that's inspirational to me.

My apologies to others for the rant, and if I was in any way insensitive regarding 9/11. I wasn't trying to make light of a terrible tragedy that occurred and hurt so many. I'll step down from the soapbox now so that hopefully the topic can return to the OP.

 

[Gabe1]

As much as I disagree with your exaggerations, I have to admit, this is quite funny, ingenious even!

I still disagree with your assertions though. I have done quite a bit of reading and research on MME/MB/FP+ and while I'm not a fan of it entirely, I don't see where it's as bad as you're trying to make it out to be. I've even talked to several people who are regulars and live in the Orlando area and visit the parks on an almost weekly basis, and have stated that while the new system has created some chaos in planning and visiting the parks, it hasn't ruined them. They are still able to go and have a great time, ride many attractions without making reservations and without FP+.

You point out that you're spending $8000 for your vacation. If you're really spending that much, then doesn't it make sense to try and get the most out of it that you possibly can? If so, then that means you're going to have to take the time to plan it and make advanced reservations, otherwise, yes, you might not get Liberty Tree Tavern, but I bet if you looked around, you could probably find another table service restaurant of similar value that would give you and your family a comparable experience. We've done it many times, and we've spent far less than that, so it can be done, but you just have to change your expectations and focus more on yours and your family's time together over the specific venue.

My wife and I like to compare Disney to other vacation destinations, just to try and determine the value and whether or not Disney is worth it. Several years back, we planned a trip to Washington DC. We went into with very little planning except where we be staying and what was close to our hotel that we could see. That was a big mistake! Once we arrived we quickly discovered the fallacy in our plan (or lack thereof), and that to get into many of the government sites, we needed to have made reservations weeks prior. On top of that, unless we wanted to pay cab fare and/or parking, our best option was public transportation or walking, which we did a LOT of! The point here is, that like Disney, DC is big, and it does require some advanced planning to FULLY enjoy. However, both places can still be enjoyed without much, you just might be limited to what you get to see. I still think Disney wins though, if comparing these two destinations for non-planners, there's a LOT more you can see and do without plans at WDW than many other places.

I think not. Just because Disney made a change does not translate to the change being one that I will embrace with a spoon full of pixie dust. I dislike the entire MME package. Do I do it, yes. Why? Because I must or I will be stating in trip reports what a glorious vacation I spent in 2 hour queues.

Please quote where I said any of this ruined a vacation? I'll own up to what I said or clarify but I don't defend what I cannot identify as my personal statement.

As I stated I got Liberty Tree Tavern because I begrudgingly made ADRS so I didn't eat at the Launching Pad for Thanksgiving Dinner at the Magic Kingdom. Head scratcher, you are then explaining to me I need to make ADRs and plan or I might not be going to Liberty Tree Tavern??? Well duh, you reiterated what I already did. That is insightful how? I missing your thought process again. "but I bet if you looked around, you could probably find another table service restaurant of similar value that would give you and your family a comparable experience." I'll bite. What are these similar value, comparable experience TS restaurants on for Thanksgiving without an ADR? Nobody was being seated for Thanksgiving dinner without an ADR at Liberty when we were checking in, so I am curious what these other options are that you speak of with such authority that are available for Thanksgiving dinner without an ADR?

 

[GrumpyFan]

As I stated I got Liberty Tree Tavern because I begrudgingly made ADRS so I didn't eat at the Launching Pad for Thanksgiving Dinner at the Magic Kingdom. Head scratcher, you are then explaining to me I need to make ADRs and plan or I might not be going to Liberty Tree Tavern??? Well duh, you reiterated what I already did. That is insightful how? I missing your thought process again. "but I bet if you looked around, you could probably find another table service restaurant of similar value that would give you and your family a comparable experience." I'll bite. What are these similar value, comparable experience TS restaurants on for Thanksgiving without an ADR? Nobody was being seated for Thanksgiving dinner without an ADR at Liberty when we were checking in, so I am curious what these other options are that you speak of with such authority that are available for Thanksgiving dinner without an ADR?

I thought I was pretty clear in explaining that some restaurants DO require a reservation. This is true at many places, not just in WDW. I assumed that's something most people understand though. But, like most anywhere, if you can't get your preferred first choice, there are frequently other options available. However, as you pointed out, at Thanksgiving and other times when the parks are extremely busy, this is not the case. I didn't get the impression though, that the OP was talking about going during that time of year. If they were, then I retract what I said, and suggest they make ADRs. However, most other times of the year, including many of the busy times in summer, you can get other table service restaurant reservations day of entry or even walk-up.

In short though, I still stand by my original statement, "If planning stresses you out, then don't do it". However, I will add this, if you're going during a really busy time of year (4th of July week, Thanksgiving, late December), and you don't like planning, use a travel agent and have them do the planning for you. The other choice is, find a better time of year to visit when it's not so crowded, you'll be able to enjoy a lot more with less planning.

 

[alle]

Just back yesterday from a week trip with 4 kids, 2 parents, 2 grandparents. Magic Bands worked well as room keys, for park entrance and for getting meals. Fast Pass+ worked most of the time. We were able to change times but the FP+ kiosk lines were long (45 minutes) and the CMs often had trouble with their ipads. We were given paper passes instead when things didn't work right. Many totally clueless people at the parks who have no idea what those "funny little bracelets" are used for. And why should they?-it's a theme park not some top secret military installation!! Folks who didn't speak English clogged up the lines (not their fault-system is CRAZY) and not everyone everywhere has a "smart phone". Folks seemed glued to their phones to try to keep track of things instead of enjoying the park.

Many attractions just seemed "tired". Films like "Soarin" , Ellen's Energy Adventure, Mickey's Philharmagic, The Muppets' "new" 3D movie, It's Tough to be a Bug and others so need to be redone in HD. It's embarrassing for animators like Disney to display such old, outdated technology. We all have better pictures on our home flatscreen tv's!!

Did we have fun? Yes, but because the kids don't know any difference and the old attractions were new to them.Will we older ones return? No-the whole experience was overly regimented, attractions haven't been updated and there isn't much new to see that wasn't there years ago. It's sad to feel this way but "good-bye" Disney. We really feel you have lost your innovative vision to provide a quality experience for your guests. You have lost your way and have lost us too.

 

[GrumpyFan]

Just back yesterday from a week trip with 4 kids, 2 parents, 2 grandparents. Magic Bands worked well as room keys, for park entrance and for getting meals. Fast Pass+ worked most of the time. We were able to change times but the FP+ kiosk lines were long (45 minutes) and the CMs often had trouble with their ipads. We were given paper passes instead when things didn't work right. Many totally clueless people at the parks who have no idea what those "funny little bracelets" are used for. And why should they?-it's a theme park not some top secret military installation!! Folks who didn't speak English clogged up the lines (not their fault-system is CRAZY) and not everyone everywhere has a "smart phone". Folks seemed glued to their phones to try to keep track of things instead of enjoying the park.

Many attractions just seemed "tired". Films like "Soarin" , Ellen's Energy Adventure, Mickey's Philharmagic, The Muppets' "new" 3D movie, It's Tough to be a Bug and others so need to be redone in HD. It's embarrassing for animators like Disney to display such old, outdated technology. We all have better pictures on our home flatscreen tv's!!

Did we have fun? Yes, but because the kids don't know any difference and the old attractions were new to them.Will we older ones return? No-the whole experience was overly regimented, attractions haven't been updated and there isn't much new to see that wasn't there years ago. It's sad to feel this way but "good-bye" Disney. We really feel you have lost your innovative vision to provide a quality experience for your guests. You have lost your way and have lost us too.

Thanks for your comments. I find them very interesting and have to wonder how many others are going to start to feel this way over the next few years as they weigh the "value" of MB/MME/FP+ vs. the additions/changes that Universal is making right up the road. Disney has really taken a gamble on this thing, and I think the short of it is going to mean more people like yourself spreading out the visits or not coming back at all, until they actually build something new. On the flip side though, I see this as a potentially big money maker for them in spite of the fact that they will drop in return guests and maybe even overall visitors.

 

[Auntrosie]

I can only imagine this theory turned into Disney commercial for guests Non-MME vacation.

Disney Fans, Come enjoy the less than ideal magic by standing in longer queues, we promise your unplanned vacation will exceed expectations of our MME guests.

Enjoy our less popular dining experiences where you won't experience the food you want but we promise you won't starve.

Guests will be awarded extra bonding time upwards of 2 or so hours per E attraction with their families in our standby queues.

Standby guests will also be treated to the bonus perk of people watching as MME guests quickly pass you bye in the FP+ queues while missing out on 2 hours of family bonding and unimaginable fun in our magical queues.

Guests will be able to experience extra bonus time in our hot humid queues giving them the flex time to indulge in more water. The added queue time will afford Non-MME guests far more opportunities to enjoy the pleasant, close contact for extended lengths of time with fellow Non MME guests from all cultures and aromas from around the world.

This Non-MME experience is offered to Non-MME guests at no additional charge.


I can only imagine if I pitched this approach to my teenage children. It would not be good. I'm certain my DH would not have been amused with a Thanksgiving Dinner at the Launching Pad over my ADR for the Liberty Tree Tavern. It isn't about Winning, I can't even factor Winning into a Disney Vacation, I paid $8000. If I wanted to bond with my family in a queue, we can do that at any Florida Walmart and if the desire is less than ideal dining we can go to any Florida Motel 8 along Interstate 75 and dine at a Taco Bell for substantially less that doing the same inside of a Disney Park.

Agh. I research and plan all our trips. Attractions, tours, dinning, reviews, availability/scheduling, requirements, cost. I could go on but my point is planning our trips is not a process exclusive to a Disney Trip. Neither are heavier crowds at times and needing meal reservations.
MME and FP+ among other things allows the park managers to crowd control. I'm guessing here, so please feel free to correct me, but I think the majority of patrons in the park are resort guests. That's the crowd that needs to be managed. MME and FP+ will make possible all sorts of efficient deployment of manpower and park resources. The park knew how many people scanned a ticket to get in to each park each day but that's historical data. It's uses are limited. Well now managers know how many people will likely be in the park two months in advance. Now that is information a manager can use. Indications are that one of the four parks will be very crowded than throw up something shiny in this park to attract some of the crowd over to the park with lightest predicted attendance.
It's not a sinister plan to cheat annual pass holders out of paper fast passes and serve them bad expensive food.
It's a system for efficient management of a very large entertainment complex.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Agh. I research and plan all our trips. Attractions, tours, dinning, reviews, availability/scheduling, requirements, cost. I could go on but my point is planning our trips is not a process exclusive to a Disney Trip. Neither are heavier crowds at times and needing meal reservations.
MME and FP+ among other things allows the park managers to crowd control. I'm guessing here, so please feel free to correct me, but I think the majority of patrons in the park are resort guests. That's the crowd that needs to be managed. MME and FP+ will make possible all sorts of efficient deployment of manpower and park resources. The park knew how many people scanned a ticket to get in to each park each day but that's historical data. It's uses are limited. Well now managers know how many people will likely be in the park two months in advance. Now that is information a manager can use. Indications are that one of the four parks will be very crowded than throw up something shiny in this park to attract some of the crowd over to the park with lightest predicted attendance.
It's not a sinister plan to cheat annual pass holders out of paper fast passes and serve them bad expensive food.
It's a system for efficient management of a very large entertainment complex.

You make it sound like an assembly line. It's not supposed to be. It's supposed to be an experience. FP+ does nothing to enhance guest experiences and instead turns it into one big planning session. I don't mind some planning, but planning exactly what I want to ride on each day? No.

 

[Gabe1]

It's not a sinister plan to cheat annual pass holders out of paper fast passes and serve them bad expensive food.
It's a system for efficient management of a very large entertainment complex.

Maybe. I'm not sure where you are going with cheating annual pass holders. It was known for a long time they were ignored in this process for a very long time. We all know Disney has some excellent food venues and some very awful ones too that are not by any stretch economical. My son has indicated to me this is not the end of the master plan, take that for what it is worth. Disney has had many projects that are not carried out to fruition. So maybe this can be it and the balance of the rollout forgotten. Possible.

My hope for that backoff happening is Disneyland backing off from the mess they have created in WDW. Some ideas just appear grand on paper however not so much in reality. The holiday weekend that pasted a week ago demonstrated the fickle yet necessary WiFi short falls, long lines to use the back up kiosks. Guests tend to get cranky over attraction queues that are lengthy, long kiosk queues to make appointments for an attraction was not a Disney anticipated problem with MME. Too may glitches. This is no longer a test period. Nor can Disney say you volunteered as a ginnie pig. This is now live and completely rolled out.

I never bought into the Disney claim that the guests wanted this and the guest wanted to plan the heck out of their vacations, that all the advance planning would make the vacationing experience less stressful. Some fans subscribe to this and are believers. So be it. I'm just not one of them.

 

[GrumpyFan]

Maybe. I'm not sure where you are going with cheating annual pass holders. It was known for a long time they were ignored in this process for a very long time. We all know Disney has some excellent food venues and some very awful ones too that are not by any stretch economical. My son has indicated to me this is not the end of the master plan, take that for what it is worth. Disney has had many projects that are not carried out to fruition. So maybe this can be it and the balance of the rollout forgotten. Possible.

Annual Passholders were not ignored, in fact it was just announced that testing for them is beginning in the next few weeks. I'm not sure why Disney chose to implement them last, nor do I agree with it, but they will be added to the system very soon.
I think your son is correct, in that this is not the end of the master plan. They have invested a lot in this, and I think there's a lot more to planned. Whether they rollout everything will remain to be seen.

My hope for that backoff happening is Disneyland backing off from the mess they have created in WDW. Some ideas just appear grand on paper however not so much in reality. The holiday weekend that pasted a week ago demonstrated the fickle yet necessary WiFi short falls, long lines to use the back up kiosks. Guests tend to get cranky over attraction queues that are lengthy, long kiosk queues to make appointments for an attraction was not a Disney anticipated problem with MME. Too may glitches. This is no longer a test period. Nor can Disney say you volunteered as a ginnie pig. This is now live and completely rolled out.

I think you're right on Disneyland though, they're not likely going to jump on this and upset their customer base, which is a lot different than WDW's.
Even though this isn't still in an official test mode, it is still being tweaked and adjusted. Also, with the newness of the system, I would expect the long lines as people get acclimated to how it works. As time goes on, it will get better, and some of these issues will go away.

 

[stevehousse]

DL wouldn't dare take this monster on! Most of their guests are annual pass holders and locals, more so than actual vacationers I would say! No way this would work there!