Magic Kingdom going FP+ only on 1/14/14

[Tom Morrow]

The service centers are not just there for "maintenance", they are for anyone without a smartphone, or enough data to use the app, or don't feel like using their personal electronic devices while on vacation, etc.

 

[Supermatt70]

I forgot to mention the tiering was taken away as well. At the guest relations office, the cast member was able to remove the restrictions of only 3 per day and the tiering. She did not have park hopper tickets, so perhaps that restriction would have been gone as well. With a very noticeable disorder, I bet cast members do this for all deserving of it.

While I'm glad to hear that your friend received help on her recent trip, I feel compelled to say that this situation was a huge exception made by the Guest Relations Cast Member. I don't know why the Host/Hostess didn't explain & assist better with the DAS card, but I'm sure there was a reason and "plaid" usually tries to solve problems by "thinking with their heart." But, this was an exception.

Guest Relations Cast Members have the ability, just as they always have, to give out multiple FastPasses from an unregulated pool. In the past, a Host/Hostess could just give your party generic white FastPasses (so called re-ads) or perhaps a yellow voucher with Pinocchio on it and send you to a FastPass return. Neither of those items came from an attraction's "inventory." Guest Relations may still do that, but now they can do it electronically on your Magic Band, still not pulling from "inventory." If a Host/Hostess wanted to, they could load your Magic Band up...make it rain FastPass+. But this is an exception and not the way the system was created to be used. You must also understand that the Cast Member helped just this one small family with more than three FastPasses, not the more than 70k people in Magic Kingdom two days before New Years. 70k people each with 5 or 6 FastPasses would not only tax the system, we'd be looking at Stand-by lines shorter than FastPass lines.

I know that I have a different view/insight of this than most on here, but I really feel that 3 to 4 FastPasses is just about right. FastPasses are still there on the day of, in the mornings, for all attractions (even Soarin' and Toy Story Midway Mania). But now we have choices to make--sleep in or get there early; Test Track or Soarin'; Magic Kingdom or Disney's Animal Kingdom. Walt Disney World has asked us to prioritize what's most important to us on our visit for a day; one family may choose Princess Fairytale Hall, while another chooses Space Mountain, but both families chose/scheduled what was important to them and hopefully Stand-by lines will go down for both.

 

[Disneyfamily4]

While I'm glad to hear that your friend received help on her recent trip, I feel compelled to say that this situation was a huge exception made by the Guest Relations Cast Member. I don't know why the Host/Hostess didn't explain & assist better with the DAS card, but I'm sure there was a reason and "plaid" usually tries to solve problems by "thinking with their heart." But, this was an exception.

Guest Relations Cast Members have the ability, just as they always have, to give out multiple FastPasses from an unregulated pool. In the past, a Host/Hostess could just give your party generic white FastPasses (so called re-ads) or perhaps a yellow voucher with Pinocchio on it and send you to a FastPass return. Neither of those items came from an attraction's "inventory." Guest Relations may still do that, but now they can do it electronically on your Magic Band, still not pulling from "inventory." If a Host/Hostess wanted to, they could load your Magic Band up...make it rain FastPass+. But this is an exception and not the way the system was created to be used. You must also understand that the Cast Member helped just this one small family with more than three FastPasses, not the more than 70k people in Magic Kingdom two days before New Years. 70k people each with 5 or 6 FastPasses would not only tax the system, we'd be looking at Stand-by lines shorter than FastPass lines.

I know that I have a different view/insight of this than most on here, but I really feel that 3 to 4 FastPasses is just about right. FastPasses are still there on the day of, in the mornings, for all attractions (even Soarin' and Toy Story Midway Mania). But now we have choices to make--sleep in or get there early; Test Track or Soarin'; Magic Kingdom or Disney's Animal Kingdom. Walt Disney World has asked us to prioritize what's most important to us on our visit for a day; one family may choose Princess Fairytale Hall, while another chooses Space Mountain, but both families chose/scheduled what was important to them and hopefully Stand-by lines will go down for both.

I do not think this is the first time a person with a genuine disability was given extra fast passes in place of the DAS card.

As my friend told me, the cast member clearly explained to her that with the new DAS card, she is only allowed to get one reservation at a time, however the fastpasses let her take her time and do all the rides at her leisure. She had the impression that for people who's disability in noticeable, extra passes is what they will get. (when I say Noticeable, I mean, as my friend told me, the cast member did not seem as eager to help her, until she showed the cast member the insulin pump attached to her waist.)

Afterwards, the cast member told her that even though she did not get a DAS card, to still come to the guest relations office on her next trip. She was told that her information will permanently be in their computer system and that her families magic bands will be adjusted as they were on this trip.

So again, this is no exception. I am sure she is not the luckiest person in Disney World, who will be allowed to receive extra fast passes on all her future trips. If a cast member can spot an illness that definitely prevents people from waiting in line, the extra passes will be given to them as well.

 

[Lord_Vader]

I do not think this is the first time a person with a genuine disability was given extra fast passes in place of the DAS card.

As my friend told me, the cast member clearly explained to her that with the new DAS card, she is only allowed to get one reservation at a time, however the fastpasses let her take her time and do all the rides at her leisure. She had the impression that for people who's disability in noticeable, extra passes is what they will get. (when I say Noticeable, I mean, as my friend told me, the cast member did not seem as eager to help her, until she showed the cast member the insulin pump attached to her waist.)

Afterwards, the cast member told her that even though she did not get a DAS card, to still come to the guest relations office on her next trip. She was told that her information will permanently be in their computer system and that her families magic bands will be adjusted as they were on this trip.

So again, this is no exception. I am sure she is not the luckiest person in Disney World, who will be the only person in the computer to receive extra fast passes on all her future trips. I am sure that if a cast member can spot an illness that definetly prevents people from waiting in line, the extra passes will be given to them as well.

I would not expect that this case was the only one just more the exception than a rule. I fully expect this is how DAS will be handled in the future where GR can overide settings based on guest needs and keep the complaints down. From a guest point of view this may be easier too as you don't have guests leering at you, believing you are getting something extra that they are not.

When we visited in Dec/Jan we tried to explain the GR that my wife is not always wheelchair bound, the day we went in she was not but we were told to rent a chair or go get ours, DAS was primarily for cases with mental issues and visible physical issues are handled by each attraction at the attraction.

Being insulin dependant would pretty much rule you out of being the luckiest person on the planet. My mother is insuline dependant and I would not wish the trouble on anyone. I hope they enjoyed their stay and am glad WDW would accomodate her.

 

[Supermatt70]

I do not think this is the first time a person with a genuine disability was given extra fast passes in place of the DAS card.

As my friend told me, the cast member clearly explained to her that with the new DAS card, she is only allowed to get one reservation at a time, however the fastpasses let her take her time and do all the rides at her leisure. She had the impression that for people who's disability in noticeable, extra passes is what they will get. (when I say Noticeable, I mean, as my friend told me, the cast member did not seem as eager to help her, until she showed the cast member the insulin pump attached to her waist.)

Afterwards, the cast member told her that even though she did not get a DAS card, to still come to the guest relations office on her next trip. She was told that her information will permanently be in their computer system and that her families magic bands will be adjusted as they were on this trip.

So again, this is no exception. I am sure she is not the luckiest person in Disney World, who will be the only person in the computer to receive extra fast passes on all her future trips. I am sure that if a cast member can spot an illness that definetly prevents people from waiting in line, the extra passes will be given to them as well.

I'm not going "debate" (and get off topic) this issue further than this post...which is to say, I can assure you that an exception was made for your friend. Period. There are plenty of folks on these forums that use the new DAS card and will tell you that they did not receive "extra FastPasses" on their past, current or future visits. Why would Walt Disney World and Disneyland eliminate the old GAC only to replace it with a new system of unlimited FastPasses? Again, there will always be unique situations that require exceptions to be made but, no one at Guest Relations is going to just give FastPasses away to someone saying they can not wait in lines. Furthermore, a Host/Hostess can no longer promise that another park will do something for a Guest. Example, what is done for a Guest regarding FastPasses/DAS at Magic Kingdom may not be honored or accommodated at Disney's Hollywood Studios. While your friend may have a "MAGIC file" permanently in a computer, that file is only a summary of what was done for your friend and why by the Guest Relations Cast Member. When your friend goes back to a Guest Relations area, the Cast Member there will review said file and make their own decisions on assistance.

I feel I must also ask, what is a "noticeable disability?" No Disney Cast Member should be making judgements on how a Guest may look. Assumptions are usually always trouble! A Guest Relations Host/Hostess offers assistance based on a conversation with the Guest and an understanding of their needs, not on something noticeable. I am sorry if I come across as rude, that is not my intention. But, I feel either your friend, you or both have a misunderstanding of Guest Relations polices and what a Host/Hostess can do vs will do.

 

[SirLink]

I think Disney is going to push on-property guests quite hard to use the advance FP selections. They will certainly sell it as an added perk of staying on-site. For off-site guests, I think they will also encourage the use of same-day FP much more than they did the paper FP. However, you'll still have first-timers and others who simply won't get it or won't bother.

Nope they want everyone to pre-book so they know how to staff so they can reduce staffing. If you only allow one group to pre-book they aren't controlling their staffing costs which was the reason for MyMagic+.

 

[msteel]

look at what adding FP+ does for a ride like POTC. Every other boat goes out empty when there is no one in the FP line.

FOR CRYING OUT LOUD
Please people quit saying this because it is not true in general. I, along with some others have given personal experience examples of how both sides of POTC load are being used, even with an empty FP+ queue.
I cannot say that boats never go out empty, but if so it is not a FP+ problem, nor a queue design problem. IF it happens it would be because there is no cast member at the correct spot or the CM there is not doing his job properly.

 

[Redhawk]

Nope they want everyone to pre-book so they know how to staff so they can reduce staffing. If you only allow one group to pre-book they aren't controlling their staffing costs which was the reason for MyMagic+.

But not everyone can pre-book. I may be wrong but my understanding is that advance FP+ is only for guests of Disney resorts. Everyone else will get same-day FP+ choices, and they will be greatly encouraged to use the system once they're onsite. And yet like it's always been with FP, some folks just won't understand or won't bother, although I think there will be greater usage of FP+.

 

[SirLink]

But not everyone can pre-book. I may be wrong but my understanding is that advance FP+ is only for guests of Disney resorts. Everyone else will get same-day FP+ choices, and they will be greatly encouraged to use the system once they're onsite. And yet like it's always been with FP, some folks just won't understand or won't bother, although I think there will be greater usage of FP+.

Nope, everyone will be able to pre-book by the end of the year. Hence why they are both a)testing advance booking for offsite guests this month. b)have been talking pretty openly with UK Tour Operators/UK Ticket Brokers about being able to pre-book 60 days out. As I said they want to "fix" their staffing costs, you can only do this if everyone pre-book the 60 days, or in this case the majority.

I also love it when people say: "Oh they will add park hopping" or "they will allow 4FP+", to that I say not until they dramatically increase ride capacity across the 4 parks.

 

[stevehousse]

Nope they want everyone to pre-book so they know how to staff so they can reduce staffing. If you only allow one group to pre-book they aren't controlling their staffing costs which was the reason for MyMagic+.

The reason for MM+ was to increase revenue, not control staffing. Why do you think they want you to preplan everything? It gurantees that you will stay in their park longer, instead of leaving early and spending your money elsewhere!!!

Labor costs could be used in accordance with MM+ if they do allow EVERYONE to prebook everything, but that hasn't been the case as of yet, and I really doubt thy will let offsite guests really book 60 days out. Most offsite guests either get discounted tickets from other places or buy them at the gate that day, with no knowledge that thy could book their FP selections months in advance if they buy their tickets early enough...

 

[ChrisFL]

...make it rain FastPass+.

I laughed at that

 

[Supermatt70]

I laughed at that

Glad I could bring joy...

 

[Tom Morrow]

FOR CRYING OUT LOUD
Please people quit saying this because it is not true in general. I, along with some others have given personal experience examples of how both sides of POTC load are being used, even with an empty FP+ queue.
I cannot say that boats never go out empty, but if so it is not a FP+ problem, nor a queue design problem. IF it happens it would be because there is no cast member at the correct spot or the CM there is not doing his job properly.

Precisely. I can't believe some of you would honestly think they would send out seats empty if there were no Fastpass holders to put in them rather than fill them with people from the standby line!

 

[Redhawk]

Nope, everyone will be able to pre-book by the end of the year.

Okay, I stand corrected, thanks. I agree that this will help Disney greatly with planning their staffing, and also increasing revenue. Guests who want to plan their trips and make sure they get on the rides they want, even if they're not staying at a Disney resort, will buy tickets earlier if they come with FP+. And Disney will be able to better estimate how many people are coming to the parks.

 

[stevehousse]

Okay, I stand corrected, thanks. I agree that this will help Disney greatly with planning their staffing, and also increasing revenue. Guests who want to plan their trips and make sure they get on the rides they want, even if they're not staying at a Disney resort, will buy tickets earlier if they come with FP+. And Disney will be able to better estimate how many people are coming to the parks.

Letting guests staying offsite and pre booking FP picks 60 days out won't work...most people who stay offsite buy their tickets either day of their visit or from a discounted online seller, with no notion that they can even book these so far in advance! It's just not plausible. Even if they "staffed" accordingly to their FP reservations, whose to say that twice the amount of people won't show up and just completely overwhelm staff?

Sorry but I'm not buyin it!!!

 

[Redhawk]

They would never staff only according to the number of advanced fast passes booked. Disney has years and years of information about crowd levels and attendance, and FP+ is just going to be another one of their tools. There's a lot they can do with the information they're going to gather from these advanced FP+ reservations.

 

[danv3]

If they're not going to give on-property guests a booking advantage vs off-site guests, then where does the supposed new revenue come from? I've never heard a compelling case for how they're going to make more money as a result of FP+ or indeed any of MM+

 

[rct247]

Day 2 at Magic Kingdom seemed to go pretty smooth from what I hear. It was busier than Day 1. Animal Kingdom has been doing well even through the holidays. TouringPlans had a good article on Fastpass+. It helped explain the numbers a little better. All the talk about limits of 3 right now could very well change once things are up and running. They're still in a testing transition phase.

 

[stevehousse]

If they're not going to give on-property guests a booking advantage vs off-site guests, then where does the supposed new revenue come from? I've never heard a compelling case for how they're going to make more money as a result of FP+ or indeed any of MM+

There is no specific "doing this exact thing is going to make us more money" bit going on. They are banking on the, "if u have to plan your whole day here, you will most likely end up spending your money at Disney instead of another place!"

 

[wdisney9000]

FOR CRYING OUT LOUD
Please people quit saying this because it is not true in general. I, along with some others have given personal experience examples of how both sides of POTC load are being used, even with an empty FP+ queue.
I cannot say that boats never go out empty, but if so it is not a FP+ problem, nor a queue design problem. IF it happens it would be because there is no cast member at the correct spot or the CM there is not doing his job properly.

FOR CRYING OUT LOUD??
I saw it November on two different occasions.

it is not a FP+ problem, nor a queue design problem

I never saw it happen before they installed FP+ or changed the queue. Am I saying its a major issue? No, but it happens NOW, whether its CM laziness or whatever else you would like to blame it on. I never saw every other boat going out empty in all the years I visited but I saw it twice in November. I understand the new queue design requires CM's to be on the look out. My point is simply that it does happen now and it probly is just CM laziness but the laziness is an effect of what FP+ allowed when they changed the queue.