My Magic + details ...

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Bolna

Well-Known Member
devoy1701 said:
I really think the smartphone part of this is a moot point. An article I read published this month says that 61% of the mobile phones on the market are now Smartphones, up from about 50% last year and 40% the year before. Chances are someone in the family is going to have an idea around how to work a smartphone app.
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I have an IPhone 5. When I was at WDW this spring I considered the safe at AKL a great place for it to stay in, especially since I had no intention to use it as a phone thanks to the ridiculous roaming rates my German provider would charge me. I used the hotel wifi now and then, but was really happy to not bother with the phone at the parks and not be worried about it.

I find it interesting that people think that t is so bothersome to deal with a card and think those bands are wonderful (and I tried one on, I know that I won't want to wear one) because they are do simple but don't mind carrying a device that costs several hundred dollars around a theme park.
 
sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Don't have the time to sort thru 12 pages. Just read the MM+ thing to the husband over the phone. That didn't go very well. Lots of cursing. And laughing. We were already burned-out on the crazy amount of planning it takes to do WDW. This just piles more crap on top of what already was too much to have to do. No, thanks. Neither of us have any desire to "learn" all this new garbage. We'll skip it. Thanks, Disney.
 
ParentsOf4

ParentsOf4

Well-Known Member
maxairmike said:
That is the only positive I can think of to this whole mess. It allows Disney to ween guests off of the FP monster in a selective and "gentle" way, and opens the door to more profitable models. I doubt Disney will every blatantly charge for FP+ access (well, most can see right through the idea of more FP+ for more expensive resorts, but it isn't the same as just charging $20 for another FP+ or two), but building costs into already large sticker prices will become very easy if they want to.
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From a business perspective, Disney is charging for FP+.

Onsite guests get the 60 + 10 days advantage. What a great onsite perk for Disney's target market; the über planners who are willing to spend big bucks for the "perfect" WDW vacation.

Stays at Disney Resorts, particularly the Deluxe Resorts, have among the highest margins of any WDW service. What a great way for Disney to cash in on those without appearing as if they are cashing in on those. After all, it's no different than ADRs and how many complain about those?

However, if you're offsite, you could end up being completely screwed with your 8:50 PM FP+ return time for Soarin'.:eek:

Once the general public hears the only way to get "good" FP+ return times is to stay onsite, occupancy rates should climb.

I realize locals and last-time guests might be out-of-luck but Disney isn't trying for those. It wants the über planners ready to spend top dollar for "premium" WDW vacations.
 
Disneyfan1981

Disneyfan1981

Active Member
So let me see if I have this straight:
  • These wristbands will replace all paper media, so it'll get you into the park, be your FastPass and if you decide your actual method of payment, basically combining the KttW cards and paper FPs right?
  • It will change Park Hopping in the way that to effectively do it you'd be hitting any park in the morning but planning your FP+ at whatever park you plan hopping to later on in order to avoid the crowds right?
The only thing that is still conflicting is how it will effect dining. So if I reserve a meal at a restaurant, does that take away from my 3 FP+ allotments? or does the wristband just serve as my "proof of reservation"?
 
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Tim_4

Well-Known Member
ParentsOf4 said:
From a business perspective, Disney is charging for FP+.

Onsite guests get the 60 + 10 days advantage. What a great onsite perk for Disney's target market; the über planners who are willing to spend big bucks for the "perfect" WDW vacation.

Stays at Disney Resorts, particularly the Deluxe Resorts, have among the highest margins of any WDW service. What a great way for Disney to cash in on those without appearing as if they are cashing in on those. After all, it's no different than ADRs and how many complain about those?

However, if you're offsite, you could end up being completely screwed with your 8:50 PM FP+ return time for Soarin'.:eek:
Once the general public hears the only way to get "good" FP+ return times is to stay onsite, occupancy rates should climb.
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Clearly they're trying to create extra incentive for guests to stay on property, but it's no different than Extra Magic Hours, which people loooooove (see: complaints about EMH hours at MK being reduced). You make it seem like the ONLY way to get "good" Fastpasses would be to stay on property. With that logic, nobody staying off property would ever get a dining reservation, either. Ever.
 
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Tim_4

Well-Known Member
Disneyfan1981 said:
So let me see if I have this straight:
  • These wristbands will replace all paper media, so it'll get you into the park, be your FastPass and if you decide your actual method of payment, basically combining the KttW cards and paper FPs right?
  • It will change Park Hopping in the way that to effectively do it you'd be hitting any park in the morning but planning your FP+ at whatever park you plan hopping to later on in order to avoid the crowds right?
The only thing that is still conflicting is how it will effect dining. So if I reserve a meal at a restaurant, does that take away from my 3 FP+ allotments? or does the wristband just serve as my "proof of reservation"?
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No, dining isn't a Fastpass. It's like now, when you hand over your KTTW card to use your Dining Plan credits. You basically got the idea of it though.
 
ddrongowski

ddrongowski

Well-Known Member
This whole FP+ discussion got me mussing about old posts. There was a discussion about WDW doing a RFID chip for the all you can drink cups at the resorts. Did it fail, work, what? Just wondering as it reminds me of this FP+ discussions. Just looking to see who was right and who was wrong in that thread.
 
Disneyfan1981

Disneyfan1981

Active Member
Tim_4 said:
No, dining isn't a Fastpass. It's like now, when you hand over your KTTW card to use your Dining Plan credits. You basically got the idea of it though.
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So you still get a KTTW card with this? So the wristband isn't completely replacing it? I thought the wristband serves not only as your admission into the parks and FastPasses but also your room key, so you'd still get a KTTW card as a backup? Failsafe?
 
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Tim_4

Well-Known Member
WDW1974 said:
This is something I've wondered since the rumors started leaking out. Someone who spends a commando day starting at Studios in the morning, heading to EPCOT from noon to 6 and doing night at MK is royally screwed. You visit three parks, but you can only use FP+ in one ... and that might be first thing in the morning to ride TSMM and you don't even need or use anything else at that park. There is absolutely nothing in this scheme that remotely has changed my opinion from 2009 when I first heard about the existence of this NGE initiative.
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1. If you're at DHS first thing in the morning, ONLY to do TSMM, you'd be better off just getting on the ride.
2. Then, you have your Fastpasses for Epcot.
3. If you're getting to MK at 7:00 PM, you ain't getting any Fastpasses under the current system, either.
4. I think the number of people who hop to three parks in one day is miniscule.
 
Fox&Hound

Fox&Hound

Well-Known Member
Yeah....so, I'm not a big fan. The only positive I see this for is TSMM at Hollywood Studios. I HATE running all the way through that park to get a fastpass for that ride at opening time. It's like the running of the bulls....Besides that, I will probably stay away from this like the plague. Seems like a real shame because fastpass was a great idea but this seems to ruin it.

Any chance a new head for Disney will step up and decide this is an awful idea and say "SIKE..." Maybe if attendance numbers fail then they will realize the errors of their ways...
 
ChrisM

ChrisM

Well-Known Member
ParentsOf4 said:
From a business perspective, Disney is charging for FP+.

Onsite guests get the 60 + 10 days advantage. What a great onsite perk for Disney's target market; the über planners who are willing to spend big bucks for the "perfect" WDW vacation.
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Did I miss any details about FP+ allotments differing by resort category? Will Value resort guests be receiving the same number of FP+ options as Deluxe resort guests?
 
ParentsOf4

ParentsOf4

Well-Known Member
Tim_4 said:
Clearly they're trying to create extra incentive for guests to stay on property, but it's no different than Extra Magic Hours, which people loooooove (see: complaints about EMH hours at MK being reduced). You make it seem like the ONLY way to get "good" Fastpasses would be to stay on property. With that logic, nobody staying off property would ever get a dining reservation, either. Ever.
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The difference is WDW is a theme park whose core business is built around rides. Onsite guests will now get first shot at these.

Please understand that as a business strategy, I think the "60 + 10 days rule" sets the right balance. I'm just saying offsite guests and locals are going to be left with onsite guest leftovers; just like they are today with ADRs.
 
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Tim_4

Well-Known Member
Disneyfan1981 said:
So you still get a KTTW card with this? So the wristband isn't completely replacing it? I thought the wristband serves not only as your admission into the parks and FastPasses but also your room key, so you'd still get a KTTW card as a backup? Failsafe?
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No you had it right. This replaces KTTW. If you lost your band or didn't like it, you could get a KTTW card instead. The KTTW card has short-range RFID technology, so it can do all the touch-to-pay, touch-to-enter, touch-to-do-whatever stuff. It does NOT have the battery that the Band has, so it can't do the long-range RFID technology involved in some of the "special" features of Next Gen, like a Main Street window saying "Happy Birthday Johnny!" as you walk by or something along those lines.
 

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