Lines at the FP+ entrances

[JillC LI]

Yes, but no. You can use a tablet to do the same thing as a smart phone. But the Disney MM+ app is not available for the Kindle. At least, not the last time I checked into it a few months ago.

However, I guess you could just use the Kindle to log onto the regular internet site for MM+

Thank you for all the responses. I hadn't even thought of an app for the kindle although it's worth looking into whether one exists when we eventually return. I was referring to using the internet.

 

[Lord_Vader]

Sadly, In September, the dead time of year, people said they waited 20 minutes at the kiosks. If anyone is planning their trip in March or April, Good luck.

The kiosks for off-site guests just started popping up in December with the rollout to day-of FP+ and the number of kiosks were expanded exponentially at the parks as they were rolled into FP+ exclusively.

 

[bhg469]

How many days do you go to the parks? If you are at the parks for 4 days, why would you NOT buy a four day ticket? Especially if you get hoppers because the hopper option is priced per ticket, regardless of how many days the ticket is for? At current gate prices, without tax, a 4-day hopper is $338, but four one-day hoppers are $616 which is 82% more money.

Or, perhaps there is something I did not understand about what you said.

I guess not.. We are staying on site because the room deal we were offered by a CM who is friends with my wife... We are not staying on site and visiting the parks all 4 days because they aren't exciting for the first time in my life.. Staying on site is not the same as being at the parks (that is more true now than ever before) even though Disney would love to keep me there if they could. Any way you break it down we only need 1 day to see what we want so paying for 4 days is silly. The parks are stale as they have ever been for us because I am not a little princess or a man child that gets excited for meet and greets.

 

[bhg469]

Thank you for all the responses. I hadn't even thought of an app for the kindle although it's worth looking into whether one exists when we eventually return. I was referring to using the internet.

To my recollection Disney's mobile website acts similar to the application, so don't let the lack of an amazon store app stop you. Navigate to the site on your tablet and I bet it will work. It does on my android tablet and there is no mobile magic application for it.

 

[Disneyfamily4]

I'm glad you can speak on my behalf without knowing anything about me.
Been there twice in the past 4 months, used the bands exclusively both times. Had FP+'s cancelled on me due to the attraction being down most of the day, got my email, no problems. Using both 4g and WiFi in parks heavily, with my DW using the WiFi exclusively. We both got the notifications.
Alternatively, I had a FP+ for Buzz as well, however mine was for late afternoon. Walked over to the ride, saw there was a 5 min standby, hoped in that line, and changed our FP+ to meet Cinderella before we walked onto Buzz. (Gotta keep the DW happy) Got to Cinderella, saw a 45 min standby wait, and walked right on through FP+.
However, if you had been to the parks and actually used the system (see what I did there? made assumptions about your vacation history) you would know that you can change FP+'s after the fact as long as they were not used. So even if you were in the depths of a ride without service, you could do it later when you re-emerged into the sunlight. Alternatively, there were numerous points set up throughout the park where you could have a CM assist you.

Not that I would know any of this since I haven't used the bands, nor was I there the day that MK went exclusively to FP+........ Nothing to see here folks

When people talk about the positives of this system, to me, it just sometimes seems that they have not even been to the park yet. So I do apologize for that assumption.

The reason is because when my family and I have gone to Disney, there has not been one thing good about these bands, that make me look forward to our next trip, especially after the total elimination of the legacy fast pass machines.

Some think it is nice to schedule the park, the ride and the time of the attraction is a good thing, but I just cannot see how it is. Obviously before the bands, we all went to Disney and had excellent times. Does scheduling everything a month in advance now make our upcoming trips better than our previous trips? Or does the system create more of a hassle?

My typical day during spring break was waking up early, going to the park, and with the fast passes, we would ride way more than 3 rides and wait in no lines. We would then park hop to Epcot. Through fast passes, we would do soaring and test trek and afterwards we were at the resort with an accomplished day. For every single family like mine who spent their day like this, Disney has now prevented that from ever happening again.

Disney was done on my schedule, on my terms, the way I wanted it. Now I have to schedule, then take the times they allow me to take. If I change, the times may be even worse. The problem is, we don't pick anymore, our say is limited.

After every single thing me and my wife did in Disney in September, she would then look at me and say, "Well, were not going to be able to do that in March/April".

 

[Goofnut1980]

I think the bands are cool... but honestly I spend less with them on my December trip because it was harder for me to keep track... I always travel with Disney GC's because we get fuel perks at our local grocery/gas... So for me, I can manage better. Now my in-laws, who have never been to WDW before, loved the bands. Although it took them 2 days to realize they could use the band to pay. There had to be a glitch in them because they had one days worth of charges that never came through on their credit card... every day before and after posted!

 

[Lord_Vader]

When people talk about the positives of this system, to me, it just sometimes seems that they have not even been to the park yet. So I do apologize for that assumption.

The reason is because when my family and I have gone to Disney, there has not been one thing good about these bands, that make me look forward to our next trip, especially after the total elimination of the legacy fast pass machines.

Some think it is nice to schedule the park, the ride and the time of the attraction is a good thing, but I just cannot see how it is. Obviously before the bands, we all went to Disney and had excellent times. Does scheduling everything a month in advance now make our upcoming trips better than our previous trips? Or does the system create more of a hassle?

My typical day during spring break was waking up early, going to the park, and with the fast passes, we would ride way more than 3 rides and wait in no lines. We would then park hop to Epcot. Through fast passes, we would do soaring and test trek and afterwards we were at the resort with an accomplished day. For every single family like mine who spent their day like this, Disney has now prevented that from ever happening again.

Disney was done on my schedule, on my terms, the way I wanted it. Now I have to schedule, then take the times they allow me to take. If I change, the times may be even worse. The problem is, we don't pick anymore, our say is limited.

After every single thing me and my wife did in Disney in September, she would then look at me and say, "Well, were not going to be able to do that in March/April".

I don't think anyone has stated everything was great and that there was or will be no impact to anyones vacation, only that there are SOME positives and that not everything about FP+ is doom and gloom. There is a pushback on the boards over the past couple weeks because it seems that the only voices being heard for a while were those of complaints about how bad things are going to be and not really what they are from experience. Yes, your style of touring will have to change but so does everyones and for many of us it is drastic. We were NOT happy about FP+ until we were able to use it when in the past we were usually locked out of FP for rides such as Soarin' and Test Track b/c it takes us longer to get out the door than most families (my wife has MS.)

We found that FP+ with the flexibility to schedule, reschedule, a much more relaxing trip than one of us having to run across the park with tickets and get FP then find the rest of us. The loss of the ability to get more than 3 was a major issue on my part but we simply changed our expectations a bit and were pleasantly surprised at how much we were able to do versus our initial expectations. Due to children in HS/College our opprotunities to travel are limited severely as our son plays HS baseball which is nearly year round and limits us to Christmas break and late July to early August which are all peak times.

We simply planned extra time to ride a few attractions and waited in lines at times when we would not have in the past. There were days that we did not ride as much as we had in the past but instead of focusing on a daily ride count as our be all goal of the day we focused on our family being together and having a good time during our limited stay.

 

[Disneyfamily4]

I don't think anyone has stated everything was great and that there was or will be no impact to anyones vacation, only that there are SOME positives and that not everything about FP+ is doom and gloom. There is a pushback on the boards over the past couple weeks because it seems that the only voices being heard for a while were those of complaints about how bad things are going to be and not really what they are from experience. Yes, your style of touring will have to change but so does everyones and for many of us it is drastic. We were NOT happy about FP+ until we were able to use it when in the past we were usually locked out of FP for rides such as Soarin' and Test Track b/c it takes us longer to get out the door than most families (my wife has MS.)

We found that FP+ with the flexibility to schedule, reschedule, a much more relaxing trip than one of us having to run across the park with tickets and get FP then find the rest of us. The loss of the ability to get more than 3 was a major issue on my part but we simply changed our expectations a bit and were pleasantly surprised at how much we were able to do versus our initial expectations. Due to children in HS/College our opprotunities to travel are limited severely as our son plays HS baseball which is nearly year round and limits us to Christmas break and late July to early August which are all peak times.

We simply planned extra time to ride a few attractions and waited in lines at times when we would not have in the past. There were days that we did not ride as much as we had in the past but instead of focusing on a daily ride count as our be all goal of the day we focused on our family being together and having a good time during our limited stay.

The problem that sent me over the edge last time was that before we went to sleep, we were all set to go to Hollywood Studios the next morning. We had 4 days left and everything was scheduled. When we woke up, it was pouring and it was going to be that way all day. I then had to get my computer out and change four days of reservations that Disney made me schedule a month in advance. Luckily, we talked to the Cast Members at Boardwalk and they arranged it that I wouldn't get charged for my dining reservation. That might not sound like a big deal to some, but for me it is. Rescheduling is something we never had to do before and it is a huge hassle to do so. Add that to being limited to 3 fast passes, taking the fun out of park hopping and the list goes on and on. Like I said, all of our trips were great in the past. These bands do not make them any better.

 

[Lord_Vader]

The problem that sent me over the edge last time was that before we went to sleep, we were all set to go to Hollywood Studios the next morning. We had 4 days left and everything was scheduled. When we woke up, it was pouring and it was going to be that way all day. I then had to get my computer out and change four days of reservations that Disney made me schedule a month in advance. Luckily, we talked to the Cast Members at Boardwalk and they arranged it that I wouldn't get charged for my dining reservation. That might not sound like a big deal to some, but for me it is. Rescheduling is something we never had to do before and it is a huge hassle to do so. Add that to being limited to 3 fast passes, taking the fun out of park hopping and the list goes on and on. Like I said, all of our trips were great in the past. These bands do not make them any better.

I can easily see the issues for any guest without a smartphone to make those changes on the fly. We have four iPhones in our family so any of us can make the changes, my kids love to do it. ADRs are always a mess, we try to avoid restaurants that are in parks we don't want to be in during rain/storms and most of the time dine in resorts anyway to avoid the whole which park do we want to be in in six months question because we are like you in that we don't know that far out. We now watch the weather a few days out and if the rain chances go above about 70% we change our dining around if possible. Again, we try to stay as flexible as possible while making sure we eat where we want to most of the time.

BTW, the concierge at BWI is fantastic. We spent two weeks there at Christmas and they took great care of us when needed.

 

[Redhawk]

I agree, and whatever team decided that they did not need printers for the day-of guest kiosks should be... I digress. There should be a quick and easy method for guests without smartphones to have a ticket type printout with their reservations.

The cost of new printers linked to the system, ink, and paper would never have been "worth" it to Disney. Even if you don't carry a smartphone, most families/couples carry a digital camera. Otherwise, paper and pencil still works well.

 

[Redhawk]

Disney was done on my schedule, on my terms, the way I wanted it.

And things have changed, so you're clearly upset and unhappy about it. You have a right to say that. However, you seem determined to negate the positive experiences anyone else reports and have resorted to belittling those of us who aren't totally against the whole MM+ system.

My own experience in January (using same-day FP+) was that there were aspects of it that I enjoyed and found surprisingly relaxing. For example, I got to HS around 10:30 a.m. and was able to get a FP for Toy Story with a 1 p.m. return time. Not being a rope-drop person, I rarely have been able to get a FP for TS, at least not with a return time before 6 p.m.

Do I want access to more FPs? Of course! However, I could see that even with a limit of 3, on a future trip with my husband we will be able to move at a different pace knowing we have booked FPs for certain rides at certain times. I'll be less stressed about getting to that machine to get that piece of paper and then get back to that ride at that time. Maybe if we want second and third rides we'll have to do HM in a standby line of 30 minutes and BTMRR for 45 minutes. Ok, we'll go at night and enjoy the views and the atmosphere. Now, rather than feeling rushed, we'll manage the 3 FPs as well as possible and then focus more on enjoying the ambience and perhaps trying new attractions, as I did on this past trip in the MK.

 

[MaryJaneP]

Gotta wonder why some negative nellies get their panties in a wad over this and why they even bother to read these comments. Oh wait, I'm getting it now, maybe it helps their self esteem or maybe they hope they can discourage everyone else from visiting and therefore have shorter lines themselves, or maybe both.

 

[wdisney9000]

Gotta wonder why some negative nellies get their panties in a wad over this and why they even bother to read these comments. Oh wait, I'm getting it now, maybe it helps their self esteem or maybe they hope they can discourage everyone else from visiting and therefore have shorter lines themselves, or maybe both.

If your gonna make smart a** remarks, at least make them funny.

 

[ford91exploder]

The precise reason I believe they will add PH to FP+ is because of the revenue from tickets that they will lose without it. Park hopping is a major part of most guests plan, they know this very well and I cannot see them eliminating any incentive in the long run. My best guess is that the UI for MDE with PH must have been a complete mess to deal with. The algorithm to not allow overlap, allow for travel time between parks would be fairly complex when comparing to a simple do not allow overlap check.

Why add PH when you can simply boost the ticket price, Eliminate hopping add 10-15 bucks to ticket price and you have a net boost in revenue

 

[JerseyDad]

Gotta wonder why some negative nellies get their panties in a wad over this and why they even bother to read these comments. Oh wait, I'm getting it now, maybe it helps their self esteem or maybe they hope they can discourage everyone else from visiting and therefore have shorter lines themselves, or maybe both.

....why would "the few" negative (and truthful ...by the way) posters have to discourage others from trekking to WDW?

....Disney is doing a wonderful job of that all by themselves.

 

[Lord_Vader]

Why add PH when you can simply boost the ticket price, Eliminate hopping add 10-15 bucks to ticket price and you have a net boost in revenue

Of course the can, but the $60 they get from PH is quite a bit more per ticket unless you were stating 10-15 per day. I do believe the PH option gives them more sales because fundamentally people see the value in being able to move around at their discretion and without it sales could very well decline both in number of visitors and days per visit.

I really believe they will add the PH option to MDE at some point after they add off-site & AP access to advance reservations and I guess only time will tell.

 

[Goofyernmost]

This is the ROOT of the issue, Disney did not take the TIME to do a usability study on the scanners If you need to be instructed on how to use it it it's too complex,

Since Disney is largely secure buildings holding a card to a reader is a 'natural' act, To the majority of the world it is NOT I would wager only about half the people on this board use a RFID access system every day.

There is a reason every subway system and sports venue uses some variety of turnstile system, They work and people 'know' how to use them.

It's not at all complicated, it's just a matter of lining them up properly. Heavens everything new has a learning curve. Not everyone, in fact no one I know, uses a card in anything other then a swipe through manner. Sorry, not all of us live in a high tech world, or want too. It wasn't that much of a problem. If I held the card with the back of it to the scanner it DID work but it took a couple of tries. I was following someone else and they did the same thing so the CM told them to have the face of the card TOUCH the scanner. After that it was instantaneous. The people I saw with the band were just not aware of what part of the scanner that they were supposed to line up with or that you touch the scanner and not just wave it as you walk by. That was just from what I saw, I didn't have one nor was I close enough to hear the conversations concerning the bands.

 

[Goofyernmost]

There has never been any doubt in my mind that Disney was going to monetize FP in some fashion.

I think that if this doesn't work out, that it is more likely that they will completely eliminate Fastpass based on the fact that it is a bigger PITA then the benefit derived by the Guests. Of course, that is just my gut feeling about it and somewhat in line with wishful thinking.

 

[ford91exploder]

Of course the can, but the $60 they get from PH is quite a bit more per ticket unless you were stating 10-15 per day. I do believe the PH option gives them more sales because fundamentally people see the value in being able to move around at their discretion and without it sales could very well decline both in number of visitors and days per visit.

I really believe they will add the PH option to MDE at some point after they add off-site & AP access to advance reservations and I guess only time will tell.

From what I understand PH is only sold on about 30-35% of Tix (hopefully a CM with better data can update) so if you add an upcharge to ALL the tickets you will get a revenue boost

 

[asianway]

....why would "the few" negative (and truthful ...by the way) posters have to discourage others from trekking to WDW?

....Disney is doing a wonderful job of that all by themselves.

Yup. First those of us who know what Disney quality looks like, now they're starting to alienate the soccer moms.