asianway
Well-Known Member
Have any layoffs actually hit Parks and Resorts? Empty cubes doesnt mean layoffs - they have been moving offices around lately between the myriad of complexes...
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
My Magic + details ...
- Thread starter WDW1974
- Start date
Sans Souci
Well-Known Member
So basically, if I want to go on attractions in two parks, I can only get FP+ at one park and either A) get up for rope drop at a non FP+ park or B) tough out the lines at my non FP+ if I don't get up early. We like a leisurely breakfast at somewhere like Kouzzina before strolling into a park at 10 or so.
I don't even make more than 2 or 3 ADRs for a week long vacation. I've been discussing this with my husband and he reminded me (again) that the money we spend at WDW would get us a pretty plush holiday elsewhere. Maybe I should start listening to him...
I don't even make more than 2 or 3 ADRs for a week long vacation. I've been discussing this with my husband and he reminded me (again) that the money we spend at WDW would get us a pretty plush holiday elsewhere. Maybe I should start listening to him...
ParentsOf4
Well-Known Member
As I believe you've mentioned several times, there's a lot of unknowns. If my "back of the napkin" calculation has only one flaw, then I'm doing pretty good!
I'm also assuming Disney treats its Deluxe Resort guests the same as its Value Resort guests. I can imagine (
) a scenario where Deluxe Resort guests are offered more "preferred" FP+ selections than Value Resort guests. For example, a Deluxe Resort guest being offered 2 FP+ selections for TT, M:S, and Soarin' while a Value Resort guest is offered only one.Alternatively, imagine the following conversation at the Grand Floridian concierge:
CM: "Hello Mr. Smith. We hope you are enjoying your stay at the Grand Floridian. How may we assist you."
Mr. Smith: "Well, I got a FastPass+ for Test Track but really don't want to stand in line 2 hours to wait for Soarin'. What can you do to help?"
CM: "We are so sorry about that Mr. Smith. We apologize for any inconvenience it causes you but, unfortunately, there's nothing we can do. You see, Disney wants to treat all of our guests fairly and we wanted to make sure that our day guests also had the opportunity to ride popular attractions like Soarin' with little wait, so we made sure we allocated only a limited of preferred FastPass+ selections to our Deluxe Resort guests."
Mr. Smith: "You mean, I'm paying $700/night, spending a ton of cash at Victoria & Albert, going whole 9 yards taking my daughter to Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo Boutique, and there's nothing you can do because you want to make sure some bozo off the street doesn't have to stand in line?"
CM: "Yes, Mr. Smith, you understand it correctly."
Let's see if Disney can't figure out a way to send a few extra "preferred" FP+ selections to its Deluxe Resort guests. You know, the ones that are paying Disney $700/night for a room that costs Disney $70/night.
As I suggested earlier on this thread, only a foolish company doesn't take care of its best customers first.
Prince-1
Well-Known Member
I was going to say the same exact thing...just with less facts and info that made me sound like I knew what I was talking about. I was going to go the snarky route.
Beholder
Well-Known Member
This sounds like a nightmare. For folks like me who prefer the simple, no drama vacation, this is more than a bit intimidating. I go away to get away, not to take on even more chores. I know it's still early and hasn't been implemented yet, but this just sounds terrible.
Captain Chaos
Well-Known Member
Oh screw WDW... Universal is where it is at... I'm done with those morons and the brain dead cultists that follow these bozos...
BigThunderMatt
Well-Known Member
I doubt it...Jay Rasulo basically explains in this article: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-05-07/on-the-call-disney-cfo-explains-mymagic-plus
That they don't want to eliminate FastPass because that would mean more people standing in line with less money being spent. However, the only way I feel that FP+ benefits that ideal is that with the homogenization of wait times coming up with the additional FP+ offerings people will no longer feel inclined to wait for attractions that in the past had little to no wait before the advent of FP+ because now they WILL have a wait and that wait could be substantial enough to cause them to miss their pre-selected FastPasses, so instead they will use that time either shopping or eating.
And if that's the case both merchandise and food & beverage better up their game substantially. I'd bet all I have in Vegas that after going into 3 different shops all showcasing the same generic crap that a family is going to idly sit by on some bench or planter just waiting for their FP+ to become valid.
BigThunderMatt
Well-Known Member
This is assuming a perfect day. Which will never happen. Not with the way Disney does maintenance and upkeep. So assume diminished capacity nearly every day of the year.
The thing Disney is aiming for here is to take advantage of Ma and Pa Podunk first visit from North Dakota who have no clue what attractions actually needed FastPass prior to implementation of FP+ versus those who do not. They're going to say "Oh Timmy loves Jack Sparrow let's get a FP for Pirates of the Caribbean!" Grant it, this will increase standby wait times at said attraction, but in turn will lessen demand at another, such as Space Mountain. I'm thinking many guests will stupidly blow FastPasses on priority viewing for fireworks and parades. Sucks to be them, the one for day parade at MK has absolutely no shade. So in a way, it might not be as much of a detriment to day guests.
Weather patterns could also come into play here. A lot of people may book a FP for Splash Mountain in say...December when it could potentially be warm enough to ride it comfortably, but then that day rolls around and it's only in the low 70s. I'm betting there's going to be a lot of people returning those FPs to the ride and getting one for something else. Shortening Splash Mountain's wait significantly but negatively impacting other attractions in the process.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
I believe Spirit has been saying for years (here and elsewhere) that the plan since the beginning of FP was to eventually include a fee to use it. That's what this system is doing. It sounds like it's the culmination of the FP plan dating back to its origins.
Based on that and knowing what we know about Mickey's inability to leave a dollar on the table, we can conclude:
1) FP+ will not be limited to a small number of guests. It may be a perk at the resorts, but it will likely be sold for astronomical fees to any guest. (Similar to how Universal does Express Pass, but with smaller numbers the impact on standby waits is relatively low.)
2) FP+ tickets will not be limited to small numbers overall (which is the only way this system would effectively work for those people without FP+ tickets), because it would severely limit how much money Disney can make off the system.
I wonder if FP+ for E-tickets will ever be "sold out." If the demand increases and the system hands out more FP+ for, say, Space Mountain, the only people who will suffer are those who were unwilling to either stay on-site or pay for the hypothetical upcharge to use FP+.
Guest Services will quickly master the art of telling guests for $49.99 they too can skip the horrendous standby lines and enjoy the benefits of FP (which they've conditioned you to expect).
Based on that and knowing what we know about Mickey's inability to leave a dollar on the table, we can conclude:
1) FP+ will not be limited to a small number of guests. It may be a perk at the resorts, but it will likely be sold for astronomical fees to any guest. (Similar to how Universal does Express Pass, but with smaller numbers the impact on standby waits is relatively low.)
2) FP+ tickets will not be limited to small numbers overall (which is the only way this system would effectively work for those people without FP+ tickets), because it would severely limit how much money Disney can make off the system.
I wonder if FP+ for E-tickets will ever be "sold out." If the demand increases and the system hands out more FP+ for, say, Space Mountain, the only people who will suffer are those who were unwilling to either stay on-site or pay for the hypothetical upcharge to use FP+.
Guest Services will quickly master the art of telling guests for $49.99 they too can skip the horrendous standby lines and enjoy the benefits of FP (which they've conditioned you to expect).
This is what I'm wondering about too. The latest test is the first one where the full palette of rides is available for real guests to decide what they use FP+ on. @WDW1974, @Lee or anybody else who is the know, how is this test going? Any surprises in guest behavior? I know the allowed use of legacy FP skews it but I do wonder if it's working like the folks who dreamed this up think it will.
TinkerBelle8878
Well-Known Member
I'm finding some of this extremely confusing and I'm trying to wrap my head around the logic. Maybe that's my problem. There's no logic, just greed behind it. Here's what makes no sense:
1- The whole idea that once you use the first FP+ of the day, you're locked into that park- So why bother with a park hopper? (Isn't that cutting into Disney's own profits?)
2- If someone doesn't participate in MM+ (either staying at Swan and Dolph (do they count?) or downtown Disney, not at 'Disney' hotels)- Then are there still regular FPs? I'd rather have those and not be locked into 3 choices that may or not be what makes sense or actually what I want to waste time doing.
3- As far as these special FP+ only events/attractions- While vague, I'm sure those of us who've gone to WDW more than a handful of times will find these a poor use of the term 'perk'.
Since this whole idea was announced, it just sounds like it will be a huge headache. Rides are constantly shutting down for unknown time periods during normal operations. So when someone uses one of their 3 FPs+ on a ride that has this issue, then what? Or what about all 3? Say Splash, Space, and I don't know...Little Mermaid are all down for the times the person has reserved. They tried to use the one for Splash but it shut down as they were about to board. So now they're locked into MK? Are they deferred to later? Do they get them back? Are the CMs at Guest Services going to be able to handle it when this inevitably happens?
WDW and the powers that be there are relying much too much on this technology to handle everything. All it would take is a power outage, a server outage, or some virus and nothing will move.
1- The whole idea that once you use the first FP+ of the day, you're locked into that park- So why bother with a park hopper? (Isn't that cutting into Disney's own profits?)
2- If someone doesn't participate in MM+ (either staying at Swan and Dolph (do they count?) or downtown Disney, not at 'Disney' hotels)- Then are there still regular FPs? I'd rather have those and not be locked into 3 choices that may or not be what makes sense or actually what I want to waste time doing.
3- As far as these special FP+ only events/attractions- While vague, I'm sure those of us who've gone to WDW more than a handful of times will find these a poor use of the term 'perk'.
Since this whole idea was announced, it just sounds like it will be a huge headache. Rides are constantly shutting down for unknown time periods during normal operations. So when someone uses one of their 3 FPs+ on a ride that has this issue, then what? Or what about all 3? Say Splash, Space, and I don't know...Little Mermaid are all down for the times the person has reserved. They tried to use the one for Splash but it shut down as they were about to board. So now they're locked into MK? Are they deferred to later? Do they get them back? Are the CMs at Guest Services going to be able to handle it when this inevitably happens?
WDW and the powers that be there are relying much too much on this technology to handle everything. All it would take is a power outage, a server outage, or some virus and nothing will move.
Dukeblue1227
Well-Known Member
FP+ is dumb.
JenniferS
When you're the leader, you don't have to follow.
From its inception anyway, FP+ will be the same for everyone. Three per guest, irrespective of which hotel one is staying at - on site or off. AP or day visitor. OCD planner or non-English-speaking guest who has at best a slim chance of navigating these ridiculous hurdles.
Edited to add - Regular FastPass will go the way of the dodo bird.
@WDW1974, I posted this a few days back in another thread but didn't get any responses. Have you heard anything about this?
TinkerBelle8878
Well-Known Member
Then I guess the bigger question would be how long until FP+ follows? I hate to be doom and gloom. I have just seen such a huge downward slope in these parks in the last 10 years that I wonder if it can ever crawl back up out of it and be what it was.
If the RFID on soda cups failed miserably, and that was so small scaled, soda cups, and only at one resort, the large scale way this can fail is epic.
PUSH
Well-Known Member
Exactly. But they are too far into this to stop MM+ like they did the soda cups, unfortunately.
SirOinksALot
Active Member
Not skimming back through 21 pages, but did anyone say what the ninth color is?