How many of you are dreading your WDW trip?

[Matt_Black]

I had little trouble changing in the parks, and I often didn't set my selections until the night before.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I totally get it and don't worry. One of the great things about the forums is you get a little more of an insiders edge, without these I would not have known to avoid going to parks that have the extra magic hours, which rides to grab a fast pass for first, tips on meeting certain characters, and where you get bang for your buck when eating.
A big problem, though is if you read too much into these forums, you start to build a whole narrative for how your vacation should go vs how others have. You wonder if you will be as happy if you don't get an upgrade at hotel, if you don't get a ressie at a restaurant, you don't see a parade from a specific spot. You go on the trip with this check off list already in place. So I have been trying to be a little more free wheeling in my trips partially because I have to be since I have young kids and what they want does not always fit so neatly into a schedule. As for FP+ it was very helpful but they are putting limits on which rides you can book, and I'll be honest I thought there was less a line for the old system, which I think you will be on since your staying off site. And while staying onsite does have some great advantages, you can have a blast off site too, and probably a bit more cash to spend on food and goodies at the parks. Have a great time!

 

[fireman17]

Thank you all. I do think she read way too much on the negative aspects of FP+. We'll have a great time I told her when we go we do what we can and just enjoy our time together. It's been a couple of years since I've been back to WDW and can't wait to go back again..

 

[Disney Shib]

I was just there the last week of January and we also stayed off site. I was stressing the FP+ system too because it was my first time but it really was very simple. There are kiosks throughout the park so don't feel obligated to stop at the first one you seen when you get there because there is usually a line. The cool thing is that there are more than one time frame available to choose from so you have some flexibility. Some of us would get there early and FP+ later times so when our family members arrived later they could get the later times as well. Don't stress it. HAVE FUN!

 

[Britt]

I hate to say it, but all the complaining on this forum really put a damper on my usual excitement leading up to vacation. Some folks here had me convinced that the park was in shambles, totally neglected, and that FP+ was the worst thing that's ever happened in the history of the world. I was almost dreading it, thinking maybe it would be the last trip, at least for a while.

I'm very happy to report that what I witnessed and experienced was nothing at all like what I'd read about and feared. The parks were pristine. Everything was functional. Was it perfect? No, but what's perfect?? They're constantly cleaning, improving, updating, adding... it's extremely impressive, especially considering the volume of people they see every day, and the public's need for instant gratification and 3 second attention span. It must be really hard to keep up, in this day and age, but I think they're doing a fantastic job.

FP+ was amazingly convenient and saved us a TON of time and stress, not having to run around and get the paper FP. If we needed to change something, we could do it right on our phones. I didn't like how slow the app was running, but that could be my phone's fault, and I wasn't crazy about the fact that we could only have FP in 1 park per day, but that will all work itself out. MY BIGGEST PIECE OF ADVICE - BOOK EVERYTHING IN ADVANCE. Do not do it in the park, or you'll be waiting in long lines. In that case, what's the point?? You might as well wait in line for the ride instead.

I fell in love with Disney World all over again on this trip. No longer will I let other peoples' opinions influence the way I feel about the parks. In fact, I have to really try to stay away from certain threads, although the crying seems to work its way into just about any discussion.

AGREED. For my next trip to WDW, I fully plan to avoid these boards a few months leading up to it.

 

[JillC LI]

Life is too short to spend precious vacation time and money on something I dread. If I'm not over-the-moon excited about an imminent vacation, I booked the wrong vacation. I might be nervous about how the new technology will work or nervous to try a new ride on a trip, but I can't imagine dreading a WDW trip.

 

[love disney]

I am definitely not dreading my trip in a few weeks, but I am definitely not looking forward to FP+. My wife and I are AP holders, the friends we are going with are not, we are staying off property, and they aren't purchasing tickets until they arrive. Thus, no way to go ahead and preplan our fastpasses (which to me is a ridiculous idea in the first place, plus the idea of having to use my smart phone while on vacation is off-putting), so FP+ seems like it will end up being more of a hassle than the old system (which in my experience worked perfectly fine and WDW shouldn't have waste a ton of money coming up with a new system)...but even with my dread of FP+ I am in no way dreading my trip to WDW.

 

[Since1976]

The new FP system basically does what the old one did -- reduce the amount of time you spend in lines overall. The biggest difference is that -- if you didn't book in advance -- you wait in one line for your FPs instead of crisscrossing the park for several.

We did a test in January and found that even the long FP+ kiosk lines were only deceptively so. Our only major gripe was having to write down the times or snap a photo of the kiosk screen.

 

[toasty]

Not dreading it at all. Despite the "sky is falling" mentality that you see on the internet of late, the truth is that FP+ can actually really be a great thing. It's different, but if you were someone able to figure out a way to work the old system to your advantage, you're going to be able to figure out how to work this to your advantage as well.

 

[Marijil]

KEEP CALM
AND
FP+ ON​

 

[OG Runner]

I went to WDW in January and found the new FP+ easy to use. I think the 3 ride limit, allows more people to get the fast passes. The only thing I found a little less convenient is remembering my FP times. When you had the paper FP you had it in your hand. We had to reference my sons phone. Remember you can even set up some FP times before you even start your vacation, go to your Disney Experience.

 

[Avenger117]

I'm only dreading paying for the trip haha. I'm actually bummed that anyone is dreading a trip especially over FP+. I have yet to experience it so I don't have an opinion, but I am optimistic. Either way I don't think it could put a damper on my trip.

 

[Sandy Carroll]

I am so excited for our trip. We are not a family that goes every year. Its been almost 5 years so we are pumped! I had to leave another websites message boards because of how negative everything got (even the posts that started positive got dragged down by those insisting on Disney bashing every chance they got.) I am so happy to be here reading all of these positive posts. I want the information without the negativity. And I am enjoying the people on this forum and the information and positive vines I get from reading them.
Sure fast pass is an adjustment to those who had been to Disney a million times and knew exactly how to work the system in their favor, but for my family, either system should work. We are just thrilled to be able to experience it again.

 

[George1995]

I don't think I'll ever really dread a trip to WDW, even if FP+ is a mess right now. Just getting out of the northeastern, below 0 degree weather is enough to get me excited for it in May

 

[loveofamouse]

We have a trip coming up in April. I'll admit, I have some reservations about it. Not only the FP+ but the new version of the GAC program. I don't know how this is going to work. I haven't been able to even reserve any FP+ as I just bought APs and only have an ecert.

 

[tlev]

Dreading is not the word I would use for my next trip because I'm super excited, but I can totally understand where your wife is coming from. I am a planner and I can't plan very much ahead of time for our upcoming trip. We used FP+ in Oct for testing and we had no issues. However, this trip is different. We are staying on property (DAK), but my daughter is taking part in the UCA Cheerleader Competition so we purchased our tickets for a much cheaper rate through their package. The problem is that we cannot pick up our tickets until we get there so I will have to make FP+ reservations when we arrive instead of in advance. I'm so worried all of the good ride times will be taken. Additionally, I have no idea how much time this cheer competition is going to take up with competition and practices and such. Again, as the big planner, I'm just kinda lost on this trip. It's going to be different from any we have ever taken before.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Dreading? Heck no! I have already spent 100+ hours planning it. I have booked our 3 ADRs a day (on the phone at 5:59am, 180 days out), 3 FP+s per day (no, I didn't waste any on fireworks or parades). Spa ressies. BBB appointment for my special Princess. I have even scheduled time for spontaneous frivolity.

I have spreadsheets with all the important times noted including ADRs, FP+, daily parades and nighttime spectaculars. I have printed out maps of the hotel and all the parks. I printed and bound our itinerary. So far it's only 23 pages.






Ok, sorry, I just made all of that up. I have no plans to go to WDW.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Oh itll be super awesome with added awesomeness and super magical bits. So Im not worried. Besides they havent added Magic FuP to the world showcase bars yet

 

[Goofyernmost]

I am definitely not dreading my trip in a few weeks, but I am definitely not looking forward to FP+. My wife and I are AP holders, the friends we are going with are not, we are staying off property, and they aren't purchasing tickets until they arrive. Thus, no way to go ahead and preplan our fastpasses (which to me is a ridiculous idea in the first place, plus the idea of having to use my smart phone while on vacation is off-putting), so FP+ seems like it will end up being more of a hassle than the old system (which in my experience worked perfectly fine and WDW shouldn't have waste a ton of money coming up with a new system)...but even with my dread of FP+ I am in no way dreading my trip to WDW.

Just for information, you do not have to use a smart phone. I don't even own one and had no problems. I is, I believe from what I have heard a convenience nothing more. You want to switch FP's, go back to the kiosk and see if the one you want is available. Can't remember what your times are, use your photo function on your phone and take a picture of the screen and you have all your FP's listed OR use the FP worksheet and simply write down the times next to the attraction name.

It's new and people are confused about how it works. That is a normal human reaction. However, it turns out to be simple. The massive BS about how much time it takes to scan your card over Mickeys face at FP queues, doesn't make sense unless there is a problem. I hardly even missed my stride. I walked up, placed the card against the reader and instantly it turned green and I walked to the next one, same thing again. Tell me how doing that takes longer then handing a paper ticket to a CM, having them read it and give it back, sending you on up the line only to show it again to a CM that has to read it while you wait. It just doesn't make any sense to think that this process holds you up.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

I'm super excited for our trip. However, my nephew (not even 5 yet) is not. Last week, he said he can't wait until we come back from Disney. Um, we we haven't gone yet. I get the sense that my sister, her husband and my nephew would rather not go. Fine with me.