Sped2424
Well-Known Member
Okay lol.
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Magic Band Accessories
- Thread starter cslafferty
- Start date
Okay lol.
bubbles1812
Well-Known Member
And apparently having to hyper-plan vacations down to the time a person rides a ride or the food they are going to eat weeks to months in advance is what is going to make people happy? To have things be so rigid that any thought of spontaneity is lost? (Yes Im aware you will in theory be able to change things in the park, but it isn't that convenient or intuitive for the average guest). Funny. I thought it was the attractions that made people happy...
englanddg
One Little Spark...
Well, the issue will be, once everyone has booked everything...will you be able to change? Or will your choices on the park for on the fly changes be severely limited by the tens of thousands of other guests who have also made their choices in advance?
Just look at what happens with Table Dining when you don't plan ADRs...and how even more limited the choices have gotten since the ADR system really took hold?
I would say, not being able to walk by France and say...hey, I think I'd like to eat there today, it smells delicious...but, you can't, because it's been booked solid 180+10 days in advance...actually works AGAINST a vacation.
Buried20KLeague
Well-Known Member
bubbles1812
Well-Known Member
Yup. But Disney seems to have the mind set that is a good idea to apply that to rides and even right down to the food you are going to eat on a particular day. Call me crazy, but I don't usually think about whether I want a stake or pasta weeks in advance of when I'm going to consume them...nor do I feel I should need to.
englanddg
One Little Spark...
Even more so, and more importantly, neither do your kids. In fact, nothing will toss my kid into a frump faster than if I insist we change gears when she's excited about where she is, what she sees and what she wants to do. The "hand the kid a map and let them help you plan it" myth is just that. Very few kids, once they get on the parks, want to "stick to the plan". Adults? Sure...awesome! But, kids? Nah...
And, when it comes to rides, weather, especially in central FL, may not play along with your immaculate plans.
Gabe1
Ivory Tower Squabble EST 2011. WINDMILL SURVIVOR
Exactly. Make bands ugly gray clunks and Ka-ching! Like they couldn't imagineer a Disney themed hunk of plastic to start with?
HDS
Well-Known Member
LOL wow! You all sound like a buncha old woman. I have held one, I have had it on my wrist. I like it, its cool. I can wear it ala Prince Albert. I hate taking a card out of my pocket, I welcome the band. You don't think people lose their park tickets in card form?? I work in IT, I see people who fear change all day long. I'm seeing it here.
englanddg
One Little Spark...
I work in IT as well, and I see well meaning management who make short-sighted decisions and large dollar investments that end up bucking human behavior assuming that technology will "auto-magically" make it work all the time.
You may enjoy wearing your band, as may I. But, will a 4 year old? What about the 7 year old that takes it off while on Pirates and bored because the ride is so poorly kept up...but hey, they have a 2 billion dollar investment on their wrist!
Great way to expend effort and investment.
Nope. IF that happens then cry about it all you want. But it won't. You're the only one suggesting this apocalyptic scenario.
Buried20KLeague
Well-Known Member
I'm looking at facts. What few facts we have available.
All signs point to 3 FP per day.
They're artificially inflating FP capacity by adding it to attractions that don't need it because it isn't physically possible for everyone to get one for attractions that "deserve" it.
They're allowing early booking of FP just like ADR's, and we've seen what that's done to "day of" reservations at restaurants all over property.
The system has the capability, and even seems to be designed for the purpose of, the ability to reward those that Disney chooses for whatever reason Disney chooses.
This all points to longer lines at secondary attractions and less access to top attractions, all which needs to be planned out well in advance.
The ONE, SINGLE, positive I can think of in this system is it solves the early morning TSMM rush to get FP. So.... 2 billion well spent then?
You want me to trust TDO. Give me one good reason.
luv
Well-Known Member
I've noticed some people on the boards will hear a negative opinion on something new and say, "You don't like change." It is illogical and I don't even think the people saying it believe it. I think they're just behaving in a dismissive manner. If you like something, they don't say, "Oh, well, he likes change!", lol.
Don't fret. Most people don't fall for it.
I think you visit WDW different than the average guest if that's your position. VERY FEW people are "spontaneous" when they get in the park. They know it's Fastpass for Splash, ride Thunder, get to Tomorrowland to Fastpass Space, return to Frontierland to use the Splash Fastpass, wait 45-minutes for a taco bowl at Pecos Bill's, then sprint back to Tomorrowland because your Fastpass is in seven minutes.
What allows more time for spontaneity?
A. I know I need to be at Buzz Lightyear at 2:00.
B. I need to leave Adventureland at 11:00 to get to Buzz Lightyear to pick up a Fastpass, then go back to find my family in Adventureland, then return to Buzz at whatever time they tell me, which might be during a parade or show or meal that I was hoping to do?
The Fastpass window already says "you need to be in this place at this time to skip the line." By adding the band and the ability to pre-plan, you're eliminating the first trip to the attraction to pick up the Fastpass ticket. Without crisscrossing the park, you're going to save a lot more time to be "spontaneous." Yes, three or so attractions will be planned, but you'll have much more free time if you don't need to drop what you're doing and walk to a different section of the park just to PICK UP the Fastpasses in the first place.
Here's a hypothetical. Let's say you want to "do" Magic Kingdom "counterclockwise" and your favorite attractions are Space, Peter Pan, and Big Thunder.
With the band:
1. Space Fastpass at 10:00.
2. Peter Pan Fastpass at 2:00.
3. Big Thunder Fastpass at 7:00.
There's plenty of room in there to take your time in each land and "be spontaneous". No need to sprint around the park or panic.
Let's say you wanted to do the same schedule without the band. This is what people's trips look like right now.
1. Ride Space immediately.
2. Go to Fantasyland to get a Fastpass for Peter Pan.
3. Crap, the Peter Pan Fastpass window is earlier than you liked, 11:00- 12:00.
4. Return to Tomorrowland to join up with your family. Tell them the Fastpass time.
5. Get in line for Buzz because you don't want to miss it.
6. 11:15, gotta make that Fastpass. I guess we have to skip CoP for now. We'll return (you never do.)
7. Fastpass for Peter pan.
And it continues like that for the rest of the day. Having tent poles in your day actually ALLOWS for spontaneity because you don't have to worry about physically retreiving those Fastpasses throughout the day. Plus, YOU pick the Fastpass return time before hand, rather than be told what time you must be back.
I love how @englanddg has problems with the band because he thinks his small children might be irresponsible with it (resonable), while other grown adults on this board cry about it louder than @englanddg's eight year old.
You don't NEED to do those things. If you want to order ahead so your food's ready when you get there, then you have that option. If you prefer waiting in line to order and then waiting again for your food in the name of spontaneity, you have that choice as well.
This is the normal average use rate per guest under the current system. There will be no increase in total Fastpasses used in a given day. In fact, Fastpass lines will be shorter at the top attractions because some people will choose to use their FPs on A-D tickets, as well as parades and shows.
More FP capacity + the same amount of Fastpasses being used = shorter fastpass lines (and therefore standby lines) at E-ticket attractions.
We hear that argument all the time and it's BS. I live in the area and I get "day of" reservations ALL the time, and at good restaurants (Sanaa, The Wave, Boma, Olivia's, etc.), weekends and "busy times' included.
You started this post with "I'm looking at facts." You've retreated into paranoid speculation again.
Wrong, per my above posts. Plus, you CAN plan well in advance. You need not.
That's how many people spend their entire WDW vacation. Frantically crisscrossing the park for Fastpasses in the hopes of not missing anything.
At least they're not the federal government?
Buried20KLeague
Well-Known Member
If you end up being right and I'm wrong, and FP+ turns out to be the greatest thing since sliced bread and the majority here changes their tune and is pleased with it, you have my word that I'll admit you we're right.
I just don't believe there's virtually any chance of that.
I've been reading these Fastpass+ threads for months, and I'm still shocked by most of the responses. From the moment Disney announced the project, the entire Internet simultaneously shouted that it will kill spontaneity. When I heard it, it sounded it would increase spontaneity. Tim totally nailed it, and I can't believe it took this long for somebody else to echo what sounded so obvious to me from the beginning.
The current Fastpass system is horrible for spontaneity. It requires two trips to the same attraction within the span of several hours, and it allows for no flexibility. The machine gives you a time to return, which essentially tethers you to one section of the park until your time comes up -- or forces you to waste a ton of time walking.
The idea of pre-booking a ride time on, say, Toy Story Mania sounds incredible. Think about all the free time you aren't spending walking to that corner of the park, waiting in line at the Fastpass queue, and then later walking all the way back. It's even worse in Epcot. Now, many people rush to Soarin' at 9 a.m. to grab a Fastpass. They then walk all the way across Future World to ride Test Track, only to walk all the way back to The Land. I hated doing that, but there wasn't really any other way to experience both attractions
Do I want my day micromanaged? Of course not . Would I like to not have to rush to Soarin' at 9 a.m. just to walk out of the building and come back a few hours later? Heck yes.
(EDIT: For the record, I'm not at all saying Fastpass + was a smart investment -- or even a smart idea. Most of it sounds useless, and I wish that money was spent on infrastructure or maintenance. That said, I just don't see this as some sort of apocalyptic event that's going to run everything. I sort of wonder how these boards would have reacted when Disney went away from the "pay-per-attraction" ticket system to what we have now. There would have been mutiny.)
The current Fastpass system is horrible for spontaneity. It requires two trips to the same attraction within the span of several hours, and it allows for no flexibility. The machine gives you a time to return, which essentially tethers you to one section of the park until your time comes up -- or forces you to waste a ton of time walking.
The idea of pre-booking a ride time on, say, Toy Story Mania sounds incredible. Think about all the free time you aren't spending walking to that corner of the park, waiting in line at the Fastpass queue, and then later walking all the way back. It's even worse in Epcot. Now, many people rush to Soarin' at 9 a.m. to grab a Fastpass. They then walk all the way across Future World to ride Test Track, only to walk all the way back to The Land. I hated doing that, but there wasn't really any other way to experience both attractions
Do I want my day micromanaged? Of course not . Would I like to not have to rush to Soarin' at 9 a.m. just to walk out of the building and come back a few hours later? Heck yes.
(EDIT: For the record, I'm not at all saying Fastpass + was a smart investment -- or even a smart idea. Most of it sounds useless, and I wish that money was spent on infrastructure or maintenance. That said, I just don't see this as some sort of apocalyptic event that's going to run everything. I sort of wonder how these boards would have reacted when Disney went away from the "pay-per-attraction" ticket system to what we have now. There would have been mutiny.)
Buried20KLeague
Well-Known Member
I've said since the beginning that the cross crossing issue would easily be handled by a central FP location at the front of each park, and a bank of FP machines in each land for the attractions in that land.
And that would be a hell of a lot less $$ than $2billion.
And there's a good chance the TSMM FP problem won't go away... It'll just happen at 60 days instead of at rope drop. No one knows... Including Tim.