I like My Disney Experience but definitely want to vent about fast passes. Anyone with me?

[Tony the Tigger]

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I don’t know why it lets me do it, then. We have no reservations and no active AP’s. We have AP vouchers that have not been activated, so maybe that’s it.

If anybody else has a party of 4 in MDE and can compare availability of FP for 9/27 of this year, that could be helpful for this discussion.

If it’s done significantly later than I did mine, I can do mine over when inventory is more similar.

 

[flynnibus]

Paper FP did not work for me. I’m not a rope dropper, I don’t want to run to a ride to get a return time. The first time I brought children to Disney was 2006. A 3 and 6 year old. Wait times were miserable, and we barely got any FPs so we waited standby in several lines.
I’ll take a FP+ any day.

can I introduce you to MaxPass? The white witch of the FP world. Plus, it's a paid upgrade, so you'll love it

 

[21stamps]

can I introduce you to MaxPass? The white witch of the FP world. Plus, it's a paid upgrade, so you'll love it

I’d rather keep FP how it is and add some kind of paid MaxPass for the booths at any Epcot festival.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I’d rather keep FP how it is and add some kind of paid MaxPass for the booths at any Epcot festival.

(Go Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday during the day. You might occasionally wait behind 2 or 3 people.)

 

[JoeT63]

Here's a SUPER hawt taik...get rid of Fastpasses altogether. You wanna ride? Wait in line. I made an unexpected visit to Epcot a couple weeks ago (was in Orlando on business and finished early) and waited in the Frozen queue for about an hour. First time on that ride without FP. You know what? Not only did I survive but actually kinda enjoyed it! So many queues are imagineered gems, and I saw things I'd never seen before simply by waiting. And let's be real, in that park there's plenty of time to do everything even without FP's.

Does my experience speak to everyone? Of course not. I was alone (no kids to have to entertain for that hour) and I had nowhere else to be. And it may not translate as well to MK with so many more attractions to want to get to. But all this talk about the evils of FP makes we want to encourage everyone to relax, slow it down, and for crying out loud...be on vacation!

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

Here's a SUPER hawt taik...get rid of Fastpasses altogether. You wanna ride? Wait in line. I made an unexpected visit to Epcot a couple weeks ago (was in Orlando on business and finished early) and waited in the Frozen queue for about an hour. First time on that ride without FP. You know what? Not only did I survive but actually kinda enjoyed it! So many queues are imagineered gems, and I saw things I'd never seen before simply by waiting. And let's be real, in that park there's plenty of time to do everything even without FP's.

Does my experience speak to everyone? Of course not. I was alone (no kids to have to entertain for that hour) and I had nowhere else to be. And it may not translate as well to MK with so many more attractions to want to get to. But all this talk about the evils of FP makes we want to encourage everyone to relax, slow it down, and for crying out loud...be on vacation!

That's interesting take on the subject, Joe: I went to WDW when everyone waited in line. And yes, some lines were an hour long, but everyone else had to wait too if they wanted to ride the attraction. We only use the fp's that we really want to do, and wait in line the rest of the time. Like you, it wasn't bad at all. We actually met some great people and had some interesting talks.
I wonder what it would be like without fp's with WDW as crowded as it is now?

 

[JoeT63]

That's interesting take on the subject, Joe: I went to WDW when everyone waited in line. And yes, some lines were an hour long, but everyone else had to wait too if they wanted to ride the attraction. We only use the fp's that we really want to do, and wait in line the rest of the time. Like you, it wasn't bad at all. We actually met some great people and had some interesting talks.
I wonder what it would be like without fp's with WDW as crowded as it is now?

Thanks MDF, you obviously took it in the vein I intended. And surely it's impossible to get the FP genie back in the bottle! I dunno, there's just so much about a Disney vacation that's "go fast, do more, now...Now...NOW!!" that I yearn for the slow pace that Walt probably intended in the first place. Enjoy yourself, enjoy your family, and don't let the silly things become obstacles to that enjoyment.

(p.s. I'm in Edina. Yay Minnesota!)

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

Thanks MDF, you obviously took it in the vein I intended. And surely it's impossible to get the FP genie back in the bottle! I dunno, there's just so much about a Disney vacation that's "go fast, do more, now...Now...NOW!!" that I yearn for the slow pace that Walt probably intended in the first place. Enjoy yourself, enjoy your family, and don't let the silly things become obstacles to that enjoyment.

(p.s. I'm in Edina. Yay Minnesota!)

We don't, we go with the flow, even a little "slower" than we used to (Bemidji)!

 

[RonAnnArbor]

Reading through this has been pretty cathartic...and I abhor FP+...but I use it. It was far better when I lived in MI and stayed on property during my visits. Im an annual passholder. I moved to Orlando a few months ago and now as a local, it's abysmal -- the same abysmal experience those staying off property have.
BUT -- there are also ways to get to ride your favorites without FP+ at all...and it involves waking up and getting to the parks an hour before rope drop.
FOP for example, is probably the greatest crowd cluster frag in planetary ride history: but get there at an hour before opening - hustle down to rope drop (they often open 45 minutes before rope drop) and yeah, you hang there reading Facebook for awhile, but it's a walk-on once the rope drops. Immediately after ride Navi River Cruise with less than a 10 minute wait.
Same with Slink Dog - go there immediately at rope drop. and while they will say it's 50 minutes, it is almost never more than 30 minutes right at rope drop - the Resort folks have already ridden and moved on.
TSMM has totally changed: you can get on up til about 9:30 each day even at peak with less than a 30 minute wait.

Keep clicking on your app while at the park and you might be surprised what suddenly pops up when people are nice enough to cancel their FP rather than just not showing up.

Also -- remember, after you use up your 3 FP you can select another one at a time all day if you want - works great for rides like SSE, etc that have lines but you want to bypass even those 15 minute lines...

And if you park hop, you can select FP in each park AS LONG AS you have used up your three FP in the first park. Sometimes I get only one FP I want in the first park, and two fillers immediately before and after - so that when I get to the second park I can pick something right away there on FP.

But for the most part, yeah, I hate the new FP+ system.

 

[Patcheslee]

Am I the only one who figures if the planning is that frustrating it's time to have a planner do it instead? Personally don't mind the logistics of multiple people but I like puzzles so just another one for me to try to solve.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Am I the only one who figures if the planning is that frustrating it's time to have a planner do it instead? Personally don't mind the logistics of multiple people but I like puzzles so just another one for me to try to solve.

I like the puzzle aspect, too, when I have the time. For others, I guess that's what Disney travel agents are for!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

FYI, we just decided between last night and this morning to go up tomorrow. We'll drive up tonight, sleep off site, and we booked Yacht Club for the next night at a FL resident deal price.

We booked Spice Road Table Epcot Food & Wine luncheon with wine pairings for lunch.

I looked at Fast Passes last night, didn't see much, booked Frozen as a place holder. Just now, I looked at HS, and the brand new Alien spin ride was available at 3:15PM. (It wasn't available yesterday.) I didn't book it because it doesn't look like my cup of tea (and does look a little teacup-ish) and somebody else should get it who really wants it. I wouldn't mind if the Slinky Dog pops up between now and tomorrow evening. But no big deal if it doesn't. This was a last minute trip, we'll be happy with whatever, and more focused on the Food & Wine festival.

 

[ThatMouse]

My only problem is I have to plan my trip 60 days in advance, and it seems to keep stand-by at a permanent 50 mins for the top tier attractions.

 

[21stamps]

I’d like to vent about these prices for the date I’m looking at Cedar Point.


I was hoping they would offer a Fright Lane/Fast Lane Plus Combo.. NOPE $238.00 per person.. admission not included. I think I’ll pass.

 

[Patcheslee]

I’d like to vent about these prices for the date I’m looking at Cedar Point.


I was hoping they would offer a Fright Lane/Fast Lane Plus Combo.. NOPE $238.00 per person.. admission not included. I think I’ll pass.

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Dang Kings Island is $53 fright lane, $85 fast lane plus. Only combo that might save you money at CP is a admission/fright lane combo for $130.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

I’d like to vent about these prices for the date I’m looking at Cedar Point.


I was hoping they would offer a Fright Lane/Fast Lane Plus Combo.. NOPE $238.00 per person.. admission not included. I think I’ll pass.

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Wow, has Cedar Point changed in the years since I lived in Ohio. We used to go when I was in my teens. Back then, it was a small water front amusement park with the one main attraction, the big wooden roller coaster. I recall a sky ride. I know that no one wanted to swim at the beach because they (as the rumor goes) pumped raw sewage out into the lake. There was a big pipe along side of the beach front water. Never knew if this was true or not. But never saw many people swimming there.
I wouldn't recognize it now with all it's mega coasters and other stuff. The prices you have shown seem really high. Is it like Universals haunted nights?

 

[21stamps]

Wow, has Cedar Point changed in the years since I lived in Ohio. We used to go when I was in my teens. Back then, it was a small water front amusement park with the one main attraction, the big wooden roller coaster. I recall a sky ride. I know that no one wanted to swim at the beach because they (as the rumor goes) pumped raw sewage out into the lake. There was a big pipe along side of the beach front water. Never knew if this was true or not. But never saw many people swimming there.
I wouldn't recognize it now with all it's mega coasters and other stuff. The prices you have shown seem really high. Is it like Universals haunted nights?

I haven’t been to Cedar Points Haunt, but I have been to Kings Island’s Haunt. It’s good, can’t say I love it as much as Universal’s, but we have a lot of fun! Problem is, the wait times can get 1-3 hours for a haunted house. I’m assuming CP is worse crowds.

The price of the Fast Lane Plus at $155 is higher than I’ve ever seen it. Most summer dates I checked were around $120.

We have Platinum Passes to Cedar Fair for the past 2 years now. So far it has been a waste of money, complete waste as we haven’t been to any other park in that time frame. I keep trying to plan Cedar Point trips, once I booked one, but my kid’s sports keep getting in the way! We have one Saturday in September without a soccer game, I am determined to go to Sandusky on that Fri/Sat.

Dang Kings Island is $53 fright lane, $85 fast lane plus. Only combo that might save you money at CP is a admission/fright lane combo for $130.

We love KI!! CP isn’t offering any Fast Lane bundles at all during Saturday Haunts...so frustrating. I don’t need admission with our platinum passes.

 

[Anders Limpar]

I don't know where else to put this and didn't want to start a new thread.

September 10th is 30 days out from our five day trip (October 10th-14th). Yesterday, I made MK fastpasses for Oct 10th, no problem. Our park tickets were purchased at AAA.

Today, I can't make FP reservations for Oct 11th. It's telling me to link our park tickets, which was already done weeks ago. I wouldn't have been able to make FP reservations yesterday if the park tickets weren't linked. In the notifications section it says park tickets have been successfully linked. I even went in and tried to re-enter the park ticket serial numbers and it says those tickets have already been entered.

Has anybody else encountered something like this? Any thoughts on a solution? Is the only answer to call customer service? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Call customer service.

 

[HoustonHorn]

I don't know where else to put this and didn't want to start a new thread.

September 10th is 30 days out from our five day trip (October 10th-14th). Yesterday, I made MK fastpasses for Oct 10th, no problem. Our park tickets were purchased at AAA.

Today, I can't make FP reservations for Oct 11th. It's telling me to link our park tickets, which was already done weeks ago. I wouldn't have been able to make FP reservations yesterday if the park tickets weren't linked. In the notifications section it says park tickets have been successfully linked. I even went in and tried to re-enter the park ticket serial numbers and it says those tickets have already been entered.

Has anybody else encountered something like this? Any thoughts on a solution? Is the only answer to call customer service? Thanks in advance for your help.

Today was my FP day. Hopped online and logged in 10 minutes until FP opened. Refreshed at 1-minute and it opened up the ability to make FP. Well, MDE in my browser (Chrome) decided that my family was no longer linked to me. Opened it up in MS Edge - same thing. Opened the app, and it let me make an FP.

I spent the next 45 minutes fighting the app and two browsers. Sometimes it would say that all Fastpasses were gone for all parks on a given day (including freaking November 16 - which is 66 days away). Sometimes my family would disappear (while there are times this seems like it might be nice, FP day is NOT one of them). Sometimes it would say that the FPs I made for a party of 5 were only made for 1. I think I made a grand total of 2 FP through browsers - one each on Chrome and Edge. Every other time there would be an error at some point.

At the end of the day, I got nearly everything I wanted in generally the timeframe I wanted them, but the frustrations of the software were incredible. Hey Disney - instead of pushing an update that lets me shop through MDE, why don't you focus on making it work correctly for ADRs and FP?

So the reason I responded to your post is that I had similar issues with my family not showing as linked through 2 browsers and the app, but then they would come back. For the app, when it happened, I would close out completely then re-open. For the browsers, I would just refresh until they came back. Happy hunting!

ETA: I just went back to the site, and there is this at the top: