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

[msteel]

FP+ is contributing to the problem, but there certainly seems to be something else here as well.

The particular instance I cited was just before 5:00 on a Wednesday that ended up being rated as a 5/10. Our standby wait was 18 minutes and posted was 30. The standby line filled about half of the covered courtyard area, and there were almost no FP+ riders. All the rows in the boats were being loaded.

I can easily see how, if FP+ usage were significant, or if boats were going out empty, how the wait could have been twice the time with the same number of people in line.

I don't have the perspective to know - is this a typical wait for this time of day, on a day with average attendance?

 

[Fractal514]

I can't conclude that from the discussions. I'm a complainer of the system partly because I can't see it as a beneficial change for my park experience when I visit the parks when it is crowded. Now that is not to say I don't like being able to arrive onsite and book a few FP+'s from my phone or laptop and then a couple of hours later wander to the park and walk on to my 3 selections, filling the gaps with eating, or other short wait time attractions. But I don't like being limited to 3 only, I don't care for the tiers if I am going to be limited to 3, and I hate the 1 park per day system.
Personally I am more dismayed at the rollout of MM+ and the new FP+ system from the standpoint of uncertainty more than anything else. Removing something I know how to work like legacy FP and giving me FP+ in the current format is not a significant magical improvement. But what is more disconcerting is really not knowing what the final product is going to look like.
That is why I have been following along on the NGE stuff for the past year to try to understand what kind of change and impact to my vacation at WDW this will have. I saw some of it in November when it was in testing. And the concerns many of us have over the limitations of FP+ compared to legacy FP are legitimate IMO. Whether you are locked out currently and will remain locked out from the 60 day windowan AP holder who stays offsite or you will see higher standby lines at attractions that are typically walk on or under 15 minute wait times, to no FP+ on a high crowd day for e-ticket rides not booked in advance are all uncertainties for Disney customers.
So I don't see this discussion as the fail or succeed camp. It is more along the lines of dismay over the issues some of us have faced during the rollout, unhappiness over this kind money and time invested by Disney when there is so much else that could have used that capital, and uncertainty/fear over what the final product will do or not do for each of us when we visit WDW.

I agree that not everyone falls into either camp, that's why I used the word some.

Have you used the new system yet?

 

[jlsHouston]

I went to MK last night so here is how FP+ worked for me at MK on a Saturday night:

G

I agree that not everyone falls into either camp, that's why I used the word some.

Have you used the new system yet?

Yes sort of, we were there in November and it was in testing. I got MB's for our stay at WL, and for the stay at BWV which that part was using DVC points so the reservation is different and we had MB issues with the bands working at the resort but they always worked fine at the parks. I used nothing but the FP+ system and did not double dip with legacy FP, but my daughter did and she was the first one who pointed out to me that 3 FP+ per day and only 1 park ...um...sucked ? I believe is the the word she used.

I was a little annoyed over the tiering at EPCOT and HS because I would have of course take TT with Soaring and maybe preferred seating for Illuminations...which is probably what everyone would right ?

I liked the MB's. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say I have no complaint about the MB's or using them in place of a KTTW card but if I had a choice I would probably still go with the card...I liked not having to dash around for a FP. Since the MB's never worked at BWV, I don't think I used them at all to pay for anything....

I found making changes for FP+ from my laptop in my room easy and convenient. I found doing it on my phone a little slower and I can see where battery level on phones could be an issue, and when I went to a CM with a tablet for help I found that the slowest and most limiting method to book or alter a FP+.

 

[Fractal514]

I get what you are saying about it not being what you'd prefer, but the system can't be what everyone want, right? It has to be what will work best for the most people. so, yeah, you'd love to get Soarin and TT, but so would everyone else, so only half the number of folks would get "good" FP+'s compared to the tiered system. I think what makes me frustrated is folks who seem to be ignoring that fact that this is arguably designed for the "most good" not the "individual's most good." Does that make sense?

Also, your daughter is wrong. It only sucks because she's used to being able to get more than that and at multiple parks in a day. If she went there in the 80's she'd have gotten none at all and this new system would be AWESOME. I honestly think all of the fervor is about expectations being changed.

 

[wm49rs]

I get what you are saying about it not being what you'd prefer, but the system can't be what everyone want, right? It has to be what will work best for the most people. so, yeah, you'd love to get Soarin and TT, but so would everyone else, so only half the number of folks would get "good" FP+'s compared to the tiered system. I think what makes me frustrated is folks who seem to be ignoring that fact that this is arguably designed for the "most good" not the "individual's most good." Does that make sense?

Also, your daughter is wrong. It only sucks because she's used to being able to get more than that and at multiple parks in a day. If she went there in the 80's she'd have gotten none at all and this new system would be AWESOME. I honestly think all of the fervor is about expectations being changed.

It's honestly a bit more....

 

[jlsHouston]

I get what you are saying about it not being what you'd prefer, but the system can't be what everyone want, right? It has to be what will work best for the most people. so, yeah, you'd love to get Soarin and TT, but so would everyone else, so only half the number of folks would get "good" FP+'s compared to the tiered system. I think what makes me frustrated is folks who seem to be ignoring that fact that this is arguably designed for the "most good" not the "individual's most good." Does that make sense?

Also, your daughter is wrong. It only sucks because she's used to being able to get more than that and at multiple parks in a day. If she went there in the 80's she'd have gotten none at all and this new system would be AWESOME. I honestly think all of the fervor is about expectations being changed.

Okay the only reason I am giving you a like is because of your last statement. She did in fact go to DL as a young child in the late 80's, early 90's and there were no FP's in those days. I don't remember 90 minute waits either at that park but I do remember 20-30 minute waits for Matterhorn and the Speedway Cars and the Model T Cars. Peter Pan and PoC and Small World had waits too but the lines moved. But that was 20 years ago and there were less people visiting the parks so a FP system probably wasn't as necessary.
I do not know for sure, because I am not a statistic or analyst type but I suspect with no FP TODAY we would still have very long waits at the more popular rides and attractions because the parks and number of attractions have not significantly kept pace with the increase in park visitors.
I will agree many of us who visit WDW are nervous and concerned and dismayed about how 3 FP+ confined to one park per day will affect/impact our quality of vacation. That is Disney's fault. Honestly they should hire about 20-30 people from this board to do some social media work and marketing pr on MM+. I feel Disney management has done a terrible job of articulating what MM+ is really going to look like, along with FP+ and they have also done nothing to give their customer base a timeframe for all this. It happens when it happens. To me that smacks of a company who really does not care at all about what is going to be good for their customer base, much less one that is trying to add benefits for the majority versus the individual.
Of course there will always be vocalization less that supportive of change, any change. MM+ is significant and expensive. Part of the lack of enthusiasm is also directly related to things in the park not being maintained and updated, and not much new in attractions and rides built in the past ten years.
IMO Disney management deserves the ridicule and complaining and lack of acceptance it is getting from a fairly vocal customer base.

 

[Fractal514]

I agree that Disney deserves gripes and complaints, but I disagree with the target being MM+. I think people are making a false equivocation in stating that if they hadn't spent so much money on MM+, they could have given us 10 Expedition Everests. Well, that might be true financially, but it isn't true realistically. The parks and resorts have been looking to cut costs and maximize profits for awhile now and it irks me to no end.

I've thought about buying stock and attempting to get into the shareholders meeting just so I can ask Iger if he believes, as Walt did, that "Quality will out" and what will happen to the parks department if Universal keeps outing the fact that Disney isn't maintaining a high level of quality.

Long story short, I agree with your frustration, I just don't feel it towards this program.

 

[wm49rs]

I agree that Disney deserves gripes and complaints, but I disagree with the target being MM+. I think people are making a false equivocation in stating that if they hadn't spent so much money on MM+, they could have given us 10 Expedition Everests. Well, that might be true financially, but it isn't true realistically. The parks and resorts have been looking to cut costs and maximize profits for awhile now and it irks me to no end.

I've thought about buying stock and attempting to get into the shareholders meeting just so I can ask Iger if he believes, as Walt did, that "Quality will out" and what will happen to the parks department if Universal keeps outing the fact that Disney isn't maintaining a high level of quality.

Long story short, I agree with your frustration, I just don't feel it towards this program.

You mean, like they cut back on the parks in DL, and are building not one, but two DVC resorts around the monorail line?

 

[I_heart_Tigger]

My personal experience in MK last night went as follows:

Chose FP+ times that afternoon - got HM at 9:45-10:45pm, Peter Pan at 10:55-11:55pm and Little Mermaid at 11:55pm-12:55am. I got to the park at 10:20 and went straight to HM for my FP time, wasn't time for PP yet so I stood in line for Pooh (15 mins), went back and did PP for my FP time. Wasn't time for Mermaid so I stood in both line ups to meet princesses (5 minute wait for Cinderella and Aurora, 15 for Snow White and Rapunzel), rode Mermaid with my FP then went through Adventureland on my way out to ride POTC got back to CSR around 1:00am

Obviously many of the wait times were shorter due to the late park hours but I was pretty pleased to do 5 attractions and meet 4 princesses in 3 hours. That also included a snack and a hot chocolate from the bakery which I enjoyed while hanging out in Adventureland.

I realize there are some legitimate complaints but I had a complicated reservations (multiple ticket purchases and resort reservations) an had no issues with the MB's or the FP+ program. I didn't always get things exactly as I wanted but it was pretty close. I could generally find one of the 4 options of FP+ times that didn't involve too much back and forth but I know that people that don't pay careful attention to a park map or don't know the park well will end up with things like Space Mtn followed by HM followed by Buzz which would be exhausting especially if it involves the wrangling of small children.

My biggest issue was that I rely on wifi in the parks and at times couldn't check MDE due t a bad connection. It also means even more people than before seem to be walking while staring at devices compared to my last trip in June. I had cancelled and rebooked FPs as well as shared my FP choices with my friends who were there so we could all ride together and it seemed easy enough to do. On Tuesday (later in the day) I did get a message that I couldn't choose FP's because there were none available for MK.

My concern is that people will show up without really grasping the entire program. I heard a few complaints of "They won't even let us in because we're 2 minutes early!" followed by glares at the CM. A few others were trading MB's and trying to remember if they had put the POTC on the green band or the pink band and splitting off into separate groups. I guess that's not a big deal - they aren't getting extra FP's that way just trading them between family members. I just don't understand why they would have had to do that unless they chose then at different times and preferred attractions were not available.

My ride access with FP+ was easy all week - tap, turn green, enter - no issues for me. I'm just glad that I had the chance to experience things first hand so I can better guide clients and help them choose their FP times and fully explain how to modify them if needed.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I really have less of an issue with this at the Magic Kingdom than I do at the other parks. At the Magic Kingdom, there is legitimate capacity in the Magic Kingdom to support demand for 3 FP+ selections at attractions that truly need it. There really won't be issues at the Magic Kingdom other than power users of Fastpass aren't going to benefit as much from Fastpass+ as they did from Fastpass. Conversely at DHS and Epcot, (Epcot especially), you are only getting 1, maybe 2 worthwhile Fastpasses. They took a system that wasn't broken and broke it. Fastpass has some issues but it wasn't fundamentally flawed. This new system is fundamentally flawed. It relies on distributing Fastpass+ reservations for things that will save less than 5 minutes in many cases. In other cases, you could argue that the Fastpass+ return times for shows actually cost you time versus save you time.

What they're doing is the equivalent of taking a popular restaurant like 'Ohana, expanding the seating and then say that guests can only chose three of the following menu items: Salad, Pot Stickers, Wings, Noodles, Chicken, Steak, Pork, Shrimp, Bread Pudding. Sure, technically 'Ohana still offers the same things but you're not having the same access to it.

 

[Fractal514]

What they're doing is the equivalent of taking a popular restaurant like 'Ohana, expanding the seating and then say that guests can only chose three of the following menu items: Salad, Pot Stickers, Wings, Noodles, Chicken, Steak, Pork, Shrimp, Bread Pudding. Sure, technically 'Ohana still offers the same things but you're not having the same access to it.

These two things are in no way similar. You still have access to all of the rides, you just have to wait a little bit for them now. Bad analogy dude.

 

[asianway]

I really have less of an issue with this at the Magic Kingdom than I do at the other parks. At the Magic Kingdom, there is legitimate capacity in the Magic Kingdom to support demand for 3 FP+ selections at attractions that truly need it. There really won't be issues at the Magic Kingdom other than power users of Fastpass aren't going to benefit as much from Fastpass+ as they did from Fastpass. Conversely at DHS and Epcot, (Epcot especially), you are only getting 1, maybe 2 worthwhile Fastpasses. They took a system that wasn't broken and broke it. Fastpass has some issues but it wasn't fundamentally flawed. This new system is fundamentally flawed. It relies on distributing Fastpass+ reservations for things that will save less than 5 minutes in many cases. In other cases, you could argue that the Fastpass+ return times for shows actually cost you time versus save you time.

What they're doing is the equivalent of taking a popular restaurant like 'Ohana, expanding the seating and then say that guests can only chose three of the following menu items: Salad, Pot Stickers, Wings, Noodles, Chicken, Steak, Pork, Shrimp, Bread Pudding. Sure, technically 'Ohana still offers the same things but you're not having the same access to it.

Steak shrimp pork please

 

[Bryansworld]

The big issue I am reading and hearing about is how long it takes to scan into the Fastpass+ line as well as use it at the end of the queue before you board. The good news is that it is making the Stand-By line move more when there are holdups.

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

I spent 3 days in WDW last week, including a full day last Thursday at MK. I was pleasantly surprised to see that MM+ really did help me during my trip (notifications reminding me of FPs and dining on my iPhone are a nice touch).

I did hear people at the SSR bus stop on Wednesday; however, talking about how awful the MK was on Tuesday. The transportation CM standing there said that the crowds were light so they must have been mistaken. I let them know why, and the CM told me he had no idea that was happening (of course, he also told one girl with an E Ticket pin that "those are the old fastpasses....sigh).

I bought my AP on Tuesday 1/14 and immediately connected it to my MagicBand from SSR. I then spent the next 20 minutes trying to line up FPs for the next 3 days of my trip. I hated having to stare at my phone for the first 30 minutes of my trip, but at least I'll be able to schedule in advance before my next trip (for my wedding in July - woo hoo!).

The app is slow, sometimes agonizingly so. The wifi at all parks is also still hit or miss, which makes it difficult. Still, it works - for the most part.

I was able to get FPs for all my desired attractions, easily. And I was able to change them easily too, including day of - at MK on 1/16 as well. A few observations:

- Several times I changed my FP times and found that the app did not update to reflect the new time. Thinking it hadn't saved, I went in to change it again and found that once a few steps into changing it, it showed the "correct" new time. Back to the app main screen, and it still said the old time. So, I had to go in, re-change, and re-save. This is an app glitch, but is a glitch nonetheless. It was a hassle, but not a major one.
- Getting into the parks with the Magic Band is ridiculously simple (even using my fingerprint for the AP). It's also incredibly helpful to not have to dig a room key out of my pocket at night.
- I had zero problems using it for Fastpasses - it was extremely easy and always worked as it should have.
- It's a bit confusing to choose your FP times outright - it suggests times for you, and you can do up to 3 options, but I wasn't able to figure out how to just select your times to begin with (I would just accept the suggested times then go in individually and change them - rendering the app glitch above). I am above average when it comes to tech and I'm sure if I wanted to spend more than 30 seconds setting up FPs I would have figured it out, but I didn't want to keep looking at my darn phone on vacation. I think that setting up FPs before the trip will be MUCH more convenient than on the fly, as I did it last week

I was not a fan of MM+ on the onset, and final verdicts still remain to be seen, but I was extremely pleasantly surprised at the ease of use and actual sense of convenience I found last week.

Mind you, I was traveling alone and wasn't focused on riding as much as possible and maximizing my time in the parks. If I didn't ride something, it wasn't going to be the end of the world. It was great, though, to try MM+ out before the wedding, because my family is very used to the old system and some haven't been to WDW in 5-10 years, so I can speak authoritatively now on how to use the system, etc before everyone arrives in July.

Since it'll be the busiest time of the year and MM+ will be in full swing by then, I imagine it's going to be crazy. Setting expectations about what we will and won't be able to ride or achieve in one day is critical to getting the most out of this, I think.

Side note: 6 months to the day of my wedding, I was standing on the beach of the Swan looking at the very spot where I'm going to be married. Yay

 

[flynnibus]

Side note: 6 months to the day of my wedding, I was standing on the beach of the Swan looking at the very spot where I'm going to be married. Yay

Thx for sharing and good luck with the upcoming wedding..


I kid.. I kid...

 

[Fractal514]

You mean, like they cut back on the parks in DL, and are building not one, but two DVC resorts around the monorail line?

I'm referring to decreased maintenance at WDW, I don't visit DL, I should have been more specific.

 

[culturenthrills]

I wonder when they will update the app so we can see what FP+ return Time windows are available. It would make it a lot easier to figure out which park to go to for us lowly APs who still can't book in advance.

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

I wonder when they will update the app so we can see what FP+ return Time windows are available. It would make it a lot easier to figure out which park to go to for us lowly APs who still can't book in advance.

Can we book in advance if we have a hotel reservation? Once I got there last week (booked last minute) and picked up my AP, I could book for my entire stay on my phone.

If I can't book my FPs, but I can book my fiancé's (who'll have a standard ticket), for our wedding/honeymoon trip, that totally defeats the purpose and would tick me off, lol.

 

[Sped2424]

Cast members are reporting that as of january 23rd paper fastpasses shall be phased out entirely. In all 4 parks. Not sure if I believe it.

 

[wm49rs]

I'm referring to decreased maintenance at WDW, I don't visit DL, I should have been more specific.

Your term was "parks and resorts." And DL showed building quality rides/attractions/restaurants can bring in the guests to achieve the desired ROI. Saying that without MM+ WDW would not have received any other investment isn't an endorsement for the program.