My Fpass experience so far..

[Doug Means]

I never said I'd rather not have a FP. Just that the old FP was better for spontaneity. Imagine this. I give you $100 every week. Then I start to only give you $50 a week. When you complain, I'll tell you I'm not forcing you to take the money. You still want the $50, but you'd much rather have the $100. Same with FP and FP-.

i'm not sure i understand how with the old pass system you could be spontaneous, mainly because every time i used the old system in the past when i went to the kiosk the times available were not always that convenient. now as i am planning my trip in june, i have scheduled rides to be very convenient for us.

when i was an FL AP owner i only used fast passes when friends or family came to WDW with us. we visited so much and at times where parks weren't busy, we rode whatever we wanted as much as we wanted. really IMHO fast passes are not really made for AP holders. they are made so the occasional visitor can plan and hit the big things they want with a guarantee. we now visit WDW about every other year, love it, and generally right now enjoy the fact that unlike other places fast passes are free!!! yes free!

 

[12_Ears_Dad]

3 fastpasses = 1.5 hours of your time. I don't see how that is "planning your whole day" you've got the rest of your 12-hours or so to do whatever..

Also this is our first time to Disney. I agree with the above poster, Doug, that FP was never meant to appeal to those who go multiple times a year

 

[bethymouse]

Different members of the group silly. I said that in my original post.

Oh. OK.

 

[Disney4family]

3 fastpasses = 1.5 hours of your time. I don't see how that is "planning your whole day" you've got the rest of your 12-hours or so to do whatever..

Also this is our first time to Disney. I agree with the above poster, Doug, that FP was never meant to appeal to those who go multiple times a year

We go once a year if we're lucky.

Again, it's a subtle shift in enjoying your day. If you don't get it, that's great since your experience will never be affected.

 

[natolij02]

Magic Kingdom
Fps for Monsters Laugh Floor, Big Thunder Mountain, Main St Elec Parade..
(Our options were really limited here..)


Wait! What? FP for Electrical Parade? I thought this was a stand for hours and wait for the parade? I am confused about this one......someone please explain!

 

[Disney4family]

Magic Kingdom
Fps for Monsters Laugh Floor, Big Thunder Mountain, Main St Elec Parade..
(Our options were really limited here..)


Wait! What? FP for Electrical Parade? I thought this was a stand for hours and wait for the parade? I am confused about this one......someone please explain!

We told Disney once that instead of enjoying our excitement and anticipation of our upcoming trip, we felt limited and stuck because of this. You can't pick your top 3 choices for FP. You get to pick from what's left. Really?

 

[sheriffwoody]

I didn't think I would like it, but it ended up being fine. We didn't even use some of our FPs when we went in December. We'd made them so far in advance, but then sometimes we'd just ride standby or not ride stuff at all. We missed TSMM (for the 3rd time...still haven't done it) because it was down when we went to use our FP and we didn't feel like coming back. I guess we just don't care. We go with the flow whether we have FPs or not.

 

[natolij02]

We told Disney once that instead of enjoying our excitement and anticipation of our upcoming trip, we felt limited and stuck because of this. You can't pick your top 3 choices for FP. You get to pick from what's left. Really?

So does this mean not everyone can watch the parade anymore?

 

[Disney4family]

So does this mean not everyone can watch the parade anymore?

What?

 

[draybook]

3 fastpasses = 1.5 hours of your time. I don't see how that is "planning your whole day" you've got the rest of your 12-hours or so to do whatever..

Also this is our first time to Disney. I agree with the above poster, Doug, that FP was never meant to appeal to those who go multiple times a year

FP was meant to scatter people into the shops and dining locations while they waited to ride, whether you were from Florida or Indonesia.

And what am I missing about the 3 FPs= 1.5 hours of your time? At BEST, you've locked up the first 2 hours of park time. While I hardly think it's planning your whole day, it was much more convenient for many folks to decide which FP to get first when they arrived at the parks, not 30 days in advance. Also, like I've mentioned before, we were able to get many more FPs than we can with the new system.

You did say this is your fist visit, right? I guess you had to actually experience it. At least it's our opinion that the Legacy sytem was better.

 

[DManRightHere]

First of all I want ask what's all the fuss? No it's not a perfect system, but I think the way it is set up is the way it has to be to cater to the most guests the best way. It's tiered to give the most people a chance to experience one of the most popular attractions. We were at a disadvantage because we're off property.

Hollywood studios
Fps for TT, TSmania, Indiana Jones (overall, cant complain)

Epcot
Fps for Soarin, TestTrak, Mickey and Friends M&G, TTwCrush
(Happy with this)

Magic Kingdom
Fps for Monsters Laugh Floor, Big Thunder Mountain, Main St Elec Parade..
(Our options were really limited here..)

Animal Kingdom
Fps for Dinosaur, Everest, Kilamjaro, Festival of the Lion King

We still have one more day each at Mk and Epcot that we can't schedule yet until tomorrow and Friday ..

(And the days there are 4 fp listed is our group split up)

Here is a poll I did that ended recently. Generally 71.7% of people approve of the MM+ system.

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/poll-disney-my-magic-experience.897032/

I like it, it is a very flexible system and that is why it's worth the investment. It has the potential to be made better pr worse though!

 

[Nick Wilde]

i'm not sure i understand how with the old pass system you could be spontaneous, mainly because every time i used the old system in the past when i went to the kiosk the times available were not always that convenient. now as i am planning my trip in june, i have scheduled rides to be very convenient for us.

when i was an FL AP owner i only used fast passes when friends or family came to WDW with us. we visited so much and at times where parks weren't busy, we rode whatever we wanted as much as we wanted. really IMHO fast passes are not really made for AP holders. they are made so the occasional visitor can plan and hit the big things they want with a guarantee. we now visit WDW about every other year, love it, and generally right now enjoy the fact that unlike other places fast passes are free!!! yes free!

I don't see how deciding what you want to ride 30 DAYS IN ADVANCE is more spontaneous than the day you actually go to the park. And you still don't get to choose exactly when your FP are either. I'm sorry that the old FP was inconvenient for you. It worked great for me. My OPINION (which is what everything on this thread is) still stands. I was just trying to answer the OP's question.

 

[Nick Wilde]

3 fastpasses = 1.5 hours of your time. I don't see how that is "planning your whole day" you've got the rest of your 12-hours or so to do whatever..

Also this is our first time to Disney. I agree with the above poster, Doug, that FP was never meant to appeal to those who go multiple times a year

I'm confused. Was your original intent for this thread to actually find out why some of us don't like the new system, or start a "FP vs. FP+" argument? It sure seems like the latter.

 

[JohnD]

While people are complaining about the planning, I like the fact that I don't have to break my neck at rope drop to rush to the attraction I want most and grab a FP for it (old system). Having FP+ gives you peace of mind knowing you won't have long waits and don't necessarily need to be at the park for rope drop (unless you can't get the attraction you want).

On my trip last week, because I had full days for Epcot (2 days), AK (1 day) and HS (1 day for SWW), I was in MK for half-days on three separate days. I liked the fact that I could pick FP+ for three rides in the area of MK I would be in on a particular day. Catch shows, etc, for the time in-between until the next FP+ window.

 

[JohnD]

The issue with it is that it sucks. Now, you have to plan your ENTIRE trip 60 days out. You have no choice but to do the parks commando style. It leaves no room for spontaneity. You are limited to 3, but can get a 4th once all 3 are used. To get that 4th one, all 3 have to be early in the day. Otherwise, by the time you can get that 4th, they are gone.

Using the kiosks, we were able to get 5-7 FPs a day, do everything we wanted and when we wanted. The "only" benefit of this system is that we have been enough and don't need to try to do everything.

"It sucks" but "Using the kiosks, we were able to get 5-7 FPs a day, do everything we wanted and when we wanted." And that's bad?

 

[Disney4family]

"It sucks" but "Using the kiosks, we were able to get 5-7 FPs a day, do everything we wanted and when we wanted." And that's bad?

Just wondering - how long did you spend at each kiosk? How much time was spent waiting on line all those times?

 

[JohnD]

Just wondering - how long did you spend at each kiosk? How much time was spent waiting on line all those times?

You realize I was quoting BigRedDad who said the system sucked but got everything he wanted. And that's bad because...?

 

[Disney4family]

You realize I was quoting BigRedDad who said the system sucked but got everything he wanted. And that's bad because...?

Sorry.

I am curious, though. People who like it. Do they realize they're standing in more lines now? And still they can only get what is available, not what they may want.

 

[JohnD]

Sorry.

I am curious, though. People who like it. Do they realize they're standing in more lines now? And still they can only get what is available, not what they may want.

I was in a kiosk for no longer than a few minutes each time I walked up. If there was a line, it was no more than one or two parties who all moved up to the same reader.

 

[Disney4family]

O

I was in a kiosk for no longer than a few minutes each time I walked up. If there was a line, it was no more than one or two parties who all moved up to the same reader.

Ok great. It has really improved since the last time I was there (and that was before people could get extra ones after the first 3). That's promising. Now if they could eliminate the kiosks and let us do it all on our own before I get back there this summer...