First Person: FastPass+ as an Annual Passholder

NearTheEars

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I've been withholding my judgement of FastPass+ until the day I was able to experience it myself. Well, that long-awaited day came Sunday (March 16, 2014) when I set off for a quick trip down the Florida Turnpike to Walt Disney World, equipped with my iPhone, My Disney Experience App and 3 FastPass+ selections that were made on Monday March 10.

This would be my first solo trip. My DF had to work and I decided to test it out on my own and report back to her and here with my findings.

Our AP Magic Bands have likely shipped by now (maybe), so for now I traversed the park with my AP RFID card slipped into a hard plastic case and hooked on to pin lanyard — yes I collect pins from time to time, so sue me. ;)



My three FP+ selections were as follows:
POTC: 9:50-10:50 a.m.
BTMRR: 11:05 a.m.-12:05 p.m.
SM: 12:10-1:10 p.m.

I arrived at the TTC at about 8:50 a.m. and promptly parked in Simba 17. I boarded the tram, headed for the ferry boat and enjoyed the view of the lagoon from the upper deck.



Once at the MK gate I strolled through the guest's without bags entrance, tapped my AP RFID at the touchpoint and set off for Adventureland and the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House to kill some time before my POTC reservation.



I descended the tree house at 9:50 a.m. and headed to POTC to officially experience FP+ for the first time. I was a little anxious. Will my card work? Will it take forever for Mickey to illuminate? Will that pirate still will want the redhead?'

Well, it was pretty anticlimactic. I was the only guest walking through the FP+ queue. I tapped the touchpoint, Mickey quickly lit up and I was ushered through. And yes, he still wanted the redhead.

A side note about POTC: The fog effect was working. The mermaids did not. The boats were a little wet but not flooded. And they still backed up right at the treasure scene.

I exited POTC and scored a cool, older Test Track pin from a CM in the shop. With my BTMRR FP+ not for another 40 minutes, i made my way to the Jungle Cruise. Standby was listed at 40 minutes, and the line there usually moves pretty quickly, but I was a little tired so I decided to opt for a relaxing grand circle tour of the MK and headed to Frontierland Station to ride the steam train instead. I enjoyed the ride (as always, I love trains) then exited and went over to BTMRR. I was a little early, so I decided to browse the MDE app on my phone. The park was starting to fill up and the attraction wait times began to reflect that.

It was 11:05 a.m. on the dot and walked up to the FP+ queue. This time, I kept my phone out to record the touchpoint process since some folks here have claimed that it takes 5-6 seconds for the green Mickey to give you the OK. I thought that seemed like a little exaggerated so I wanted to capture it for myself. And it's no where near 5 seconds. What does take some time, though, is getting people to use both of the touchpoints. That's what's causing the initial backups. But after that, its smooth sailing into the attraction.

I also had never noticed before that it actually chimes when it lights up. I heard it for the first time when reviewing the video. Sorry, I forgot to flip my phone on the side (ugh! how embarrassing).



Well, it was about 11:30 a.m. and I had survived all the dangers on BTM so I decided to celebrate with a burger with all the fixins at Pecos Bills before it was bombarded with hungry vacationers.

I rather quickly enjoyed my burger and cheese fries (a healthy snack, you know) and attempted to walk some of it off on my way to Tomorrowland. I made a detour to the Carousel since the line was super short, and in my numerous trips to the MK I had actually never experienced it. And hey, there's no time like the present. It was fun. And now I can check it off my list.

It was about 12:15 p.m. and I could have headed straight for my FP+ at SM, but decided to let my meal continue to settle some more and tooka smooth ride around the COP.

After my trip through the decades, I walked toward the FP+ queue for SM. By this time, the park was obviously packed and the line had extended out under the TTA track. The SM standby line was reading 70 minutes, so i happily hopped into the FP+ queue. I kept track of the time, and in the end, it took four minutes and some change to get to the touchpoint. From there, again, I walked all the way through the indoor queue and up to the second touchpoint. And from there, it was about a five minute wait to board my rocket ship.

Here's the view from the initial FP+ queue:



I arrived back in Tomorrowland from my trip through space and made my way back to the Hub to grab a ice cream sandwich and enjoy it while people watching near the Partners statue.

I finally set off for home at around 1:30 p.m.

No, I didn't stay too long, but I did get to experience 6 attractions in the short amount of time. I didn't experience any hiccups in the system, but I did see a couple of families having some trouble. One had arrived too early to BTMRR and the other walked up to SM, Mickey denied them and the CM said their next FP+ was for BTMRR. They claimed they had just used that reservation. The CM worked on his screen for a bit, asked them to tap the touchpoint again, it illuminated green for them and he then waived them through. Not sure what changes he made. Maybe he was able to override the system?

So as a solo (this time), local AP guest, using FP+ for the first time was a success.

I predicted early on that being able to book the rides in advance will really fit MY touring style. I like having a plan, especially if it means I'll be able to experience my favorite attractions with ease. And I still had time between my reservation times to enjoy other attractions on a whim. Even with them back to back.

I hope that those of you that stuck it out enjoyed this long-winded post, and i'll be sure to add an update once I transition to a magic band.
 
Last edited:

Chezman1399

Active Member
They can override the system. Basically, if you can prove that you have a fastpass they'll let you through, there is a little button at the bottom of the iPad screen they hold, that says "Admit" or something like that. I had an issue where I changed a fastpass the night before for some reason the system did not get my update, I showed my app and they let me through. Last week, there was someone in front of us for TSMM and she swore she had a Fastpass, the machine said she had no fastpasses, she had her ticket reissued, the rest of her party did have fastpasses so they just admitted her.

I know people have complaints, but I really love the system. This was my second trip with it. One thing I think Disney does need to figure out is how to allow those who pay for park hopping privilege to use it at multiple parks, but overall I really enjoy it.
 
As a some what local AP (sarasota) we've enjoyed using Fastpass+ and now that we can book them before we leave home we are sure to like it even more.. The gripe my boyfriend has is that he cannot link a credit card to them so he doesn't have to worry about carrying his wallet or anything else around. Being able to park hop will be nice and I am sure is coming, and yes maybe having a few more FP+ available especially when hopping would be nice too.
 

NearTheEars

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
As a some what local AP (sarasota) we've enjoyed using Fastpass+ and now that we can book them before we leave home we are sure to like it even more.. The gripe my boyfriend has is that he cannot link a credit card to them so he doesn't have to worry about carrying his wallet or anything else around. Being able to park hop will be nice and I am sure is coming, and yes maybe having a few more FP+ available especially when hopping would be nice too.

From what I've read, they make it sound like having the extra discount cards and not being able to link a CC will only be temporary. But we shall see I guess.
 

horizons82

Well-Known Member
As I've said in other posts, the new FP system does have its pros and cons, and how it is received will really depend on the individual guest as far as what they are hoping to get out of it, where they are staying, how much they plan in advance, how much 'research' they do on FP and such and it will depend on what what kind of overall park experience a particular guest is hoping for.

That said, I'm sure they will likely continue to keep changes (hopefully for the better), and will keep adapting to usage to improve the system. There are a lot of minor adjustments they could make in my opinion, but at the same time people do have to keep the 'big picture' in mind and realize that even slight adjustments can have large impacts when you are talking about the amount of people that will likely utilize the system.
 

NearTheEars

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
As I've said in other posts, the new FP system does have its pros and cons, and how it is received will really depend on the individual guest as far as what they are hoping to get out of it, where they are staying, how much they plan in advance, how much 'research' they do on FP and such and it will depend on what what kind of overall park experience a particular guest is hoping for.

That said, I'm sure they will likely continue to keep changes (hopefully for the better), and will keep adapting to usage to improve the system. There are a lot of minor adjustments they could make in my opinion, but at the same time people do have to keep the 'big picture' in mind and realize that even slight adjustments can have large impacts when you are talking about the amount of people that will likely utilize the system.

Like most things, it won't be perfect for everyone. Disney is banking on the majority of guests being super planners and really, with all the ADR threads and trip reports here they just might be a pretty big group.

I just like knowing that I can head over to one of the parks and already know I will be riding some of the headliners with little wait. It's a relaxing feeling.
 

horizons82

Well-Known Member
I just like knowing that I can head over to one of the parks and already know I will be riding some of the headliners with little wait. It's a relaxing feeling.

As an AP and as a local within about an hour to the park, I am thrilled to have FP+ and be able to make FP plans for before I even get to the park. As you said, it's a huge advantage and does make a short 4-5 hour trip to the park very nice knowing I won't really have to wait in any major lines except for those I may want to do outside of FP.

But I realize that while that FP is a big plus for my unique situation, I'm sure there are plenty of others it is more of a negative for. So when I make comments I do try to keep in mind not only the impact it has on me (which is a good one) but for others as well (which may not be so positive).
 

The_CEO

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the review, I has wondered how this would work out for AP members. Glad it seemed like smooth sailing!
 

NearTheEars

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Thanks for the review, I has wondered how this would work out for AP members. Glad it seemed like smooth sailing!

Yeah like I said, those initial lines at the first touchpoint can be deceiving. After the initial scan it's FP business as usual, you just walk straight through and on some tap one more time before boarding.

SM actually had a longer line at the entrance compared to BTMRR and I actually think I waited less to get on SM.

But that observation is based on one day trip. It was during a very busy spring break day, though.
 

horizons82

Well-Known Member
Yeah like I said, those initial lines at the first touchpoint can be deceiving. After the initial scan it's FP business as usual, you just walk straight through and on some tap one more time before boarding.

SM actually had a longer line at the entrance compared to BTMRR and I actually think I waited less to get on SM.

But that observation is based on one day trip. It was during a very busy spring break day, though.

I can attest to something similar to this at AK. There was an extra roped queue line for Kilimanjaro Safari. It took about 5-7 mins to reach the actual MB/RFID touchpoint, but once in it was basically a walk-on at that point. It seems like the time to accurately read the MBs (as it does have to line up correctly) seemed to be an issue on this particular day, which caused kind of a choke-point at the FP reading station.
 

sjhym333

Well-Known Member
I was at the Studios yesterday and I was watching people using their MagicBands for attractions. I had to chuckle because the kids seemed to grab the concept quickly but their parents seemed to fumble to touch their MagicBand and then finger scan. I see the same thing at the turnstiles to get in.
 

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