MiceAge on the latest news regarding MyMagic+ : Read it and weep.

[janoimagine]

Getting into the party is not preferred, it is the cost of admission.

Funny ... and all this time I thought the party was a premium event ... thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Recon443]

Funny ... and all this time I thought the party was a premium event ... thanks for clearing that up.

No problem.

 

[Lee]

Ok I will bite, how were you a victim?

Visited Epcot. Got there before 10am. Went to get a FP for Soarin, fully accepting and expecting a return time of late afternoon or later.
But...no...all the FP were gone. For the day. At 10am.
Suspicion confirmed by a CM....the bulk of the day's FP were pre-booked.

Day guests...SoL.

And that was during the current testing phase. One can only imagine what it'll be like when/if the whole evil mess goes fully live.

 

[Recon443]

Visited Epcot. Got there before 10am. Went to get a FP for Soarin, fully accepting and expecting a return time of late afternoon or later.
But...no...all the FP were gone. For the day. At 10am.
Suspicion confirmed by a CM....the bulk of the day's FP were pre-booked.

Day guests...SoL.

I would ask is that a problem of the system or that you didn't get there early enough?

I also wonder what day you went? After all if the bands are only being issued to resort guests, how many resorts were using bands that day? And then how many of those resort guests were going to Epcot and riding Soaring? Obviously it was a lot if what the CM told you was true. And we have to provide that the CM was full of it as well.

 

[Lee]

I would ask is that a problem of the system or that you didn't get there early enough?

I also wonder what day you went? After all if the bands are only being issued to resort guests, how many resorts were using bands that day? And then how many of those resort guests were going to Epcot and riding Soaring? Obviously it was a lot if what the CM told you was true. And we have to provide that the CM was full of it as well.

It was a random Saturday.
I have no clue which/how many resorts were testing, but I do know that arriving less than an hour after park opening has historically been early enough, even on very busy days.

And why would a CM lie about it? Fact is, FP+ simply won't be a positive experience for many guests.

Keep the bands, I'm really ambivalent about them.
But FP+ needs to be taken out back and shot.

 

[Nubs70]

What led to the Great Wall? Did you make this up or is this a pop culture reference I am unaware of?

Not a pop culture reference that I know of. The term is a combination of previous posters constructs. Mongolian Hoarde refers to a large group of loosely directed project staff while Scope Creep refers to a bunch of project additions that are added after project launch in an effort to justify the original project goals. Which in the end leads to missed deadlines, poor functionality, and massive cost overruns.

 

[janoimagine]

Same thing is happening at MGM. Typically fast passes were gone by 12, 1pm if not earlier for Toy Story Midway Mania, since FP+, as witnessed by us last week, regular fastpasses were gone as early as 9:30am, at the latest 10am. It's not isolated, and this was on 2 separate weekdays.

 

[Recon443]

Huh? I think I was offering an example of how the system can be tailored for a guest. Don't think I said anything about canceling anything.

It was a random Saturday.
I have no clue which/how many resorts were testing, but I do know that arriving less than an hour after park opening has historically been early enough, even on very busy days.

And why would a CM lie about it? Fact is, FP+ simply won't be a positive experience for many guests.

Keep the bands, I'm really ambivalent about them.
But FP+ needs to be taken out back and shot.

I see. That is an issue because there is no way to tell if indeed all the FP's were pre-booked.

The CM may be telling a white lie. How does he/she know the passes were pre-booked? Not saying hey wouldn't know just asking how on that particular day did they know?

 

[ParentsOf4]

Visited Epcot. Got there before 10am. Went to get a FP for Soarin, fully accepting and expecting a return time of late afternoon or later.
But...no...all the FP were gone. For the day. At 10am.
Suspicion confirmed by a CM....the bulk of the day's FP were pre-booked.

Day guests...SoL.

And that was during the current testing phase. One can only imagine what it'll be like when/if the whole evil mess goes fully live.

IMHO, this Thanksgiving week is the first good test of FP+. All resorts are using it and are busy, simulating what it's going to be like once FP+ becomes available to day guests.

We spent this morning at Epcot. Soarin' and Test Track FP were both gone before 10 AM today. For those with FP+, practically no FP+ alternative times were available at 7 AM, 2 hours before park opening.

FP/FP+ lines were the longest I've ever seen. We waited 30 minutes to ride Test Track and 25 minutes for Soarin'. We visit every Thanksgiving and have never see FP/FP+ lines like this.

On the plus side, when we exited Soarin', the Standby wait time was only 110 minutes. That's at least 10 minutes less than what we've seen in previous years.

MM+ and FP+ has proven to be a horrible waste of valuable company resources that could have been used to expand ride capacity.

 

[Recon443]

Same thing is happening at MGM. Typically fast passes were gone by 12, 1pm if not earlier for Toy Story Midway Mania, since FP+, as witnessed by us last week, regular fastpasses were gone as early as 9:30am, at the latest 10am. It's not isolated, and this was on 2 separate weekdays.

And nothing says it will stay as you perceive it either. As I noted before, what happens when the bands are de riguer for AP holders. Your complaint will be moot.

 

[Nubs70]

Huh? I think I was offering an example of how the system can be tailored for a guest. Don't think I said anything about canceling anything. But thanks for making up stuff.

Your example would work if no previous ADR or walk up opportunity existed. In my experience, since no walk up opportunities have existed, I have always made ADR's. My bill usually exceeds $150. So if I were to take the $100 deal, I would be out the cancellation fee and Disney would not realize the difference in net revenue from my original ADR.

 

[Recon443]

They're publically traded.

And therefore are a 'for profit' company. Which means they will work to extract the maximum amount of money from every guest.

IMHO, this Thanksgiving week is the first good test of FP+. All resorts are using it and are busy, simulating what it's going to be like once FP+ becomes available to day guests.

We spent this morning at Epcot. Soarin' and Test Track FP were both gone before 10 AM today. For those with FP+, practically no FP+ alternative times were available at 7 AM, 2 hours before park opening.

FP/FP+ lines were the longest I've ever seen. We waited 30 minutes to ride Test Track and 25 minutes for Soarin'. We visit every Thanksgiving and have never see FP/FP+ lines like this.

On the plus side, when we exited Soarin', the Standby wait time was only 110 minutes. That's at least 10 minutes less than what we've seen in previous years.

MM+ and FP+ has proven to be a horrible waste of valuable company resources that could have been used to expand ride capacity.

Let me get this straight. You are complaining that fast passes were gone early for a a ride that has a normal 110 minute wait time?

A quick check of my Lines app shows a 10 out of 10 for crowd level. Could it be that your experience reflects a near at capacity park? Naw.......I am sure it is those magic bands.

 

[Bolna]

After using the system I see the money coming in from using the information to tailor experiences for you at a premium. As an example, at DLR: Book POTC? Email offer for dinner at Blue Bayou at a special character dinner. All for the low, low, price of $100. Exclusive offers only for band holders = $

Oh yes, @ParentsOf4 posted a highly intelligent analysis of how well this could work - for Disney, but not the consumer. I can only recommend reading this post about the concept of a reserve price and how Disney will be able to find out just how much someone is willing to pay in order to set us "individual" prices:

Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts IV

 

[Nubs70]

I see. That is an issue because there is no way to tell if indeed all the FP's were pre-booked.

The CM may be telling a white lie. How does he/she know the passes were pre-booked? Not saying hey wouldn't know just asking how on that particular day did they know?

The CM could infer from a high proportion of magic bands to paper FP in the FP return line and early termination of paper FP availability.

 

[Recon443]

Your example would work if no previous ADR or walk up opportunity existed. In my experience, since no walk up opportunities have existed, I have always made ADR's. My bill usually exceeds $150. So if I were to take the $100 deal, I would be out the cancellation fee and Disney would not realize the difference in net revenue from my original ADR.

Ah....but of course you are adding a level of precision, based on your personal experience, to the discussion that I was not aware of.
Anyway, as I noted the ability to tailor an experience to the guest is a clear advantage of the system. And whether that cost is $100 or $200 the ability to do so will generate additional business for Disney.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I see. That is an issue because there is no way to tell if indeed all the FP's were pre-booked.

The CM may be telling a white lie. How does he/she know the passes were pre-booked? Not saying hey wouldn't know just asking how on that particular day did they know?

The times were either booked or the FastPass allotment was drastically reduced.

 

[Recon443]

The CM could infer from a high proportion of magic bands to paper FP in the FP return line and early termination of paper FP availability.

They could and they could also be doing a bit of fudging.

 

[janoimagine]

And nothing says it will stay as you perceive it either. As I noted before, what happens when the bands are de rigger for AP holders. Your complaint will be moot.

Are you looking for an argument or something?

Please point out to me in that post where I was complaining, rather I was stating what we observed our last trip. For the record we are AP holders and our tickets were linked to our bands, and as I said our bands worked perfectly in numerous posts, I just don't care for the system of FP+ because I dont like the idea of having to make ride pics 60 days in advance, and once this thing goes resort wide and consumer wide, like it will, I dont see any way around it ... and nor do I care to wear a cheap plastic band around my wrist or on my person when I am dressed up for a Dinner at the Cali Grill, but because the dining plan is linked to the band ... you have little choice but to have the thing on you.

 

[RSoxNo1]

It was a random Saturday.
I have no clue which/how many resorts were testing, but I do know that arriving less than an hour after park opening has historically been early enough, even on very busy days.

And why would a CM lie about it? Fact is, FP+ simply won't be a positive experience for many guests.

Keep the bands, I'm really ambivalent about them.
But FP+ needs to be taken out back and shot.

This is really the biggest thing.

If the cost savings is going to largely be saving on scheduling staffing I have to believe that Fastpass+ isn't the best way to determine that.

 

[Lee]

They could and they could also be doing a bit of fudging.

And they would do that why?

Don't waste time cooking up a CM conspiracy. The fact is, FP+ greatly reduces a guest's ability to get a FP on the day of their visit, especially for headline attractions.