My Magic + details ...

[durangojim]

MM+ will work no matter where you buy your park tickets. If you bought them from a discounter and entered them into your electronic profile, you would be able to prebook FPs and do just about anything that a MagicBand owner can do.

If you are a resort guest, regardless of whether you bought your tickets as part of a package or if you even bought your tickets directly from Disney, you should be getting a MagicBand.

Off-site, non-AP, non-photo package purchasers will not automatically receive a MagicBand. They can either access MM+ by entering their ticket number into their profile or they can choose to upgrade to a MagicBand. Either way, they will be able to get the benefits of MM+ including FP+. The only benefits that they will not have is those that come via the powered RFID of the bands. So basically, the interactive queues won't single them out and Cinderella won't know their names.

Thank you! This was exactly what I was wondering!

 

[dadddio]

I'm concerned about this for the most of the reasons that PolyPhan, above, just dismissed. We go to WDW quite a bit. And we park hop like crazy. Rarely if ever are we in one park for any one day. I'm concerned that flexibility is limited now. I'm fine with all of the rest of it....but the idea that I can only visit one park betrays the idea of staying on property with transportation and being offered parkhopper options in the first place. I like going to Magic Kingdom in the morning and then to EPCOT later in the day...it diminishes some of the value of that for me to limit it like this.

My wife and I parkhop often. However, I can't think of a specific time where we've park-hopped and used FP in the second park. I'm sure that we have, but it definitely isn't a regular occurance as either the FPs are gone by the time we get there, the times don't work for us, or the crowd levels have been low enough so that we haven't bothered with the inconvenience of going to a ride twice to ride once.

 

[MadMax11]

Question: If I'm competing ahead of time to put reservations in on fast passes...how early do I need to consider buying my tickets? Typically I don't buy my tickets until I get to the hotel and check in. It seems like that's not such a good idea anymore. Any thoughts on all that? My next trip isn't until June, but I already have hotel reservations in place...just haven't bought the tickets yet.

 

[dadddio]

I'm good with one park per day for FP+. Pretty easy to walk on if you go first thing in the morning. I've found the trouble is at night when FP are gone for attractions like TSM. This would help. I probably have a unique situation as have flight benefits that allow us to go last minute. Also AP holder. Also out of town, staying on the property. Using the FP+ for the second park in the evening would be great but I'm wondering if we will be squeezed out by advance FP reservations. Any way to tell if it is just us Disneyphiles who are worried about this? Will general public really take advantage of the FP+ system? I've been asked by a lot of people if you need to pay for regular FP or need to be on resort, so will this be getting out to the general public in a way that they take advantage of it and therefore, my downfall ?

The company has stated that they don't believe that utilization will be so high that it will become a serious issue. One person in one of the test threads also stated that test utilization has been low. He stated it as a negative, but it reinforces the company's estimates and benefits me, so I see it as a positive.

 

[dadddio]

Question: If I'm competing ahead of time to put reservations in on fast passes...how early do I need to consider buying my tickets? Typically I don't buy my tickets until I get to the hotel and check in. It seems like that's not such a good idea anymore. Any thoughts on all that? My next trip isn't until June, but I already have hotel reservations in place...just haven't bought the tickets yet.

My advice is to buy your tickets as early as you can for a few reasons. First, as you mentioned, if you buy them 60 days out you can prereserve FPs 60 days out. Also, buying your tickets early protects you against ticket price increases that could hit prior to your June trip.

 

[fosse76]

It's not that hard to plan. Rope drop at a park and do as many rides as you need to, then park hop in the afternoon and have your FP reservations for the late afternoon-early evening when the lines are longer...pretty simple...

It's not simple. If FP+ is available for that first hour, that will substantially increase the standby lines. I once was one of the first people on Soarin' after Epcot opened (second or third ride, I believe). At 9:30am, the standby wait was already over an hour. Conversely, I've always found it easier to do Future World in the evenings, when there are no lines for anything except Test Track and Soarin'. So depending on crowds, it isn't as simple to just arrive early, since you most likely will only get one or two rides with fairly little wait.

Of course, if you know the crowd patterns, that also helps. At MK, people tend to head towards Tomorrowland first. I've had quite a few walk-ons for Splash Mountain and BTMRR because of that.

 

[fosse76]

But the price of a room at Uni probably higher than Disney.

Nope. They are all deluxe resorts for sure, but priced at a level Disney prices the moderates...and if you get a discount they can be even cheaper than Disney's Value resorts.

I travel a lot and the majority of resort or even good non-resort hotels love to add on an extra fee over the rack rate for use of the health club or even the pool even if you do not use them. Many people do not notice the fee until check out.

Disney does this with DME. The costs of it are built into the room rates, whether you use DME or not.

 

[ASilmser]

Yes, but some people prefer the old system, and do not want to enter their profile information online. When this was announced, there were many media outlets that quoted guests and experts who were concerned about consolidating all of their private information under one number accessable through an RFID reader. Staggs and Iger had to go on a media blitz and stress the opt-in nature of this. They billed it as an ADDITIONAL feature. They highlighted the privacy policy. A congress member got involved and wrote to Disney about privacy concerns. I think Disney's hands are tied for awhile. I think there are people who will CHOOSE to just use the old-school paper FP's, and because of the controversy, Disney will keep them around for awhile.

Guests who use RFID-enabled tickets instead of bands are NOT locked out of using MM+ and will be able to prebook FPs. Having a 'paper' ticket does not lock anyone out of FP+. All those guests will have to do is enter thier ticket numbers into thier electronic profile.

,

 

[fosse76]

1. I think the Magic Bands are here to stay, and I am a fan of the concept. It was ultra-convenient to be able to have my room key, my charge card, my park passes, my meal plan/snack credits and my FastPasses all in one place.

Unless your ticket media was an AP, you were already able to do this with your KTTW card.

Everyone in our group unanimously agreed that this took a huge weight off of the constant pocket/purse searching that we usually do on our trips for all of the media that we have to keep track of. It was, on a small scale, one of those inventions where you don’t know how you survived before it came along, like a microwave oven, or a smartphone. If they add the photopass to the bands, then life will be pretty slick on a WDW vacation.

Talk about hyperbole! It was simpler because in the past you couldn't be bothered with putting everything in one place, but rather haphazardly threw things into a bag or purse (not judging). My KTTW card (and AP) are always in my pocket in one location. And while a wristband is slightly more convenient (I admit I don't always put the AP and KTTW in the same pocket), the time it would save me is so miniscule it would be ignored in a scientific study on time management.

2. The bands are pretty comfortable. I cannot wear a watch, a WWJD/LIVESTRONG/Breast Cancer-type bracelet, or even my wedding band when I am on a summer vacation in WDW because of all the sweating I do. I start to break out. After a week-long trip, I had no trouble with my Magicband. There was a slight problem with the Mickey area of the band being curved and raised a little strangely for my wrist. Like on a watch face, it is the only part of the band that is not flexible, but unlike most watches, there is no hinge on the band. The band is all one piece, so if it doesn’t fit the curve of your wrist, it won’t fit your wrist EXACTLY. This, however, was a minor problem that did not effect my being able to use the band. If I ever had a problem with the band not making good contact with the scanner, I either picked up the scanner (they are not bolted down at the POS registers) or (rarely) removed the band and held it directly to the scanner (sometimes for room entry or to scan at the gate of the resort when we were pulling up in a car).

It amuses me that you say you had no problems with the band, then describe the problems you had with the bands. Personally, I hate having anything on my wrists, no matter how confortable they might be. And while I'm sure there are some people who enjoy concentration camp style accessories, I think I'll pass.

3. None of the details about what is happening with these test runs is set in stone.

There's just no way they ever could have been. And no company is ever going to give absolutes when describing something as unpredictable as technology.

4. There were some quirks. Most notable was that the system as we tested FORCED you to choose 3 fastpasses.

That's pretty interesting. I'm surprised they would force the third FPs on you, I assume if you had only wanted one, you'd be forced to reserve the other 2, as well. This is definitely something they need to change.

6. Other thoughts 2: We were told that there are no plans on phasing out the regular FastPasses in the foreseeable future. This is good for those who wish to race to the rides the old-fashioned way. The MagicBands are currently an “opt-in” option. However, the FastPass+ system will definitely put a damper on the number of regular fastpasses available to the general public (look for Soarin’ to fill up by 11am). It’s Disney’s own special way of sticking it to the one or two day park guest for sure.

Of course not, the system isn't ready. They aren't going to phase out FPs when only a miniscule number of guests are able to use FP+. Regular FPs will be phased out when they are ready to go live with the system for the whole resort.

8. Other thoughts 4: This new system will let Disney know who shows up for their FP’s and who does not. I could envision Disney giving those who actually show up for their experiences a reward (like an extra fastpass or two) and (maybe) “scolding” those who do not.

That would for sure aggravate and irritate me. I don't want Disney "scolding" me for missing a FP return, since they will have absolutely no clue as to why I missed it.

No more “let’s get a Fastpass just in case. . . “ P.S. For the fastpass we did skip, the system sent us a “sorry you missed it” email and said we could show up for any other attraction in the park that day and go through the fastpass+ return. Not sure how that will work when there are attractions/experiences that are full for that day.

What did the email say? Did it specifically tell you to reserve a new FP+? Or could you simply use the FP you already reserved later at any other attraction (which wouldn't make sense, but your description sort of implies it so just to clarify).

 

[stevehousse]

Unless your ticket media was an AP, you were already able to do this with your KTTW card.


Talk about hyperbole! It was simpler because in the past you couldn't be bothered with putting everything in one place, but rather haphazardly threw things into a bag or purse (not judging). My KTTW card (and AP) are always in my pocket in one location. And while a wristband is slightly more convenient (I admit I don't always put the AP and KTTW in the same pocket), the time it would save me is so miniscule it would be ignored in a scientific study on time management.


It amuses me that you say you had no problems with the band, then describe the problems you had with the bands. Personally, I hate having anything on my wrists, no matter how confortable they might be. And while I'm sure there are some people who enjoy concentration camp style accessories, I think I'll pass.


There's just no way they ever could have been. And no company is ever going to give absolutes when describing something as unpredictable as technology.


That's pretty interesting. I'm surprised they would force the third FPs on you, I assume if you had only wanted one, you'd be forced to reserve the other 2, as well. This is definitely something they need to change.


Of course not, the system isn't ready. They aren't going to phase out FPs when only a miniscule number of guests are able to use FP+. Regular FPs will be phased out when they are ready to go live with the system for the whole resort.


That would for sure aggravate and irritate me. I don't want Disney "scolding" me for missing a FP return, since they will have absolutely no clue as to why I missed it.


What did the email say? Did it specifically tell you to reserve a new FP+? Or could you simply use the FP you already reserved later at any other attraction (which wouldn't make sense, but your description sort of implies it so just to clarify).

What's with all the harsh responses and criticisms? Not needed here...

I appreciate the details that the poster released. Just because he did the test doesn't mean he needs to be hounded for answers to things he probably can't tell you...

Go ask a CM if you want all the info u seek...

 

[RSoxNo1]

FP+ is not about improving guest satisfaction. Instead, as CFO Jay Rasulo said, “if we can get people to plan their vacation before they leave home, we know that we get more time with them. We get a bigger share of their wallet.”

FP+ is not being implemented for “guests”; it’s being implemented for corporate Disney.

Yep, this is the only explanation for this program. There is no reason to believe that Disney is doing anything other than repackaging the existing product in Florida. They have essentially conceded that they can't build rides that drive attendance anymore.

 

[dadddio]

Yes, but some people prefer the old system, and do not want to enter their profile information online. When this was announced, there were many media outlets that quoted guests and experts who were concerned about consolidating all of their private information under one number accessable through an RFID reader. Staggs and Iger had to go on a media blitz and stress the opt-in nature of this. They billed it as an ADDITIONAL feature. They highlighted the privacy policy. A congress member got involved and wrote to Disney about privacy concerns. I think Disney's hands are tied for awhile. I think there are people who will CHOOSE to just use the old-school paper FP's, and because of the controversy, Disney will keep them around for awhile.

You are forgetting two things.

First, that the feared privacy concern that you mention doesn't really exist since no private information exists on the bands to be slurped up by an RFID reader.

Second, you failed to mention that the first fact was explained in Iger's response to the congressman. The congressman's letter basically showed that he didn't have the most basic understanding of MM+ and hadn't even read the company's initial information releases about it. Iger thoroughly ate the congressman's lunch in his response.

 

[dadddio]

Talk about hyperbole! ...

... And while I'm sure there are some people who enjoy concentration camp style accessories, I think I'll pass.

It is amusing that you jumped on the previous poster for using hyperbole, but then you went all in.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

Just received the package for our late August trip. Made dinner and fast-pass+ reservations with no problems. We were able to go in and change fast-pass+ times other than what Disney offered, to times that were suitable to us. Regarding the park hopper option, yes its true you can only reserve fast-pass + in one park per day, but it obviously won't prohibit you from visiting all the other parks. You just won't be able to fast-pass there. I mean come on..you can pick a time to go on virtually any attraction at any time you want. All you need to do is plan ahead a little. You also can reserve/change anything via your smart phone. The application was very user friendly and took less than a couple hours to complete for a ten day trip. I say bravo Walt Disney World!

You're part of a small minority currently involved in the testing. Talk to me about availability and application functionality when the masses are given access.

Talk to me when the FP+ ques they've added to every attraction that doesn't need it are full, and you're having to wait in much longer standby lines for those attractions because of it.

I think it's laughable when people right now talk about how they LOVE it. Think for just a second about the percentage of the crowd that's using it. It's very slim. And on top of that, you're being catered to. They want to do everything they can to make you love it, so they can ask you about it afterward and share your love with the suits. You're getting the attractions you want, when you want them, with the ability to easily change the attraction or time around without restriction. Let me know how that goes when the 50,000 other people in the MK that day are trying to do the exact same thing.

And it took you, an avid WDW fan with good knowledge of WDW (I'm assuming, since you're here and posting) a couple hours to plan a 10 day trip. How's that going to go for those that aren't into the parks? Or those parents who are only making the trip so their kids can say they've been? And if they DO put the time in to plan, what if they get there and figure out their choices for FP+ were completely wrong? How happy is that family going to be?

I think if this program rolls out with all the same functions we are currently seeing, we're going to hear about a LOT of first-timers that come back from trips and decide they don't want to mess with all that again. We already hear that now, all the time. I have all kinds of people that cringe when I talk about WDW because of various reasons. Crowds, temps, kids, requirement to make dinner reservations ahead of time (I hear that one all the time), and the nickel and dimeing. Now throw on top of that the essential requirement that they spend literally hours plotting out what they're going to do for 10 days if they want to make sure to maximize their return on a VERY hefty investment??

I'm telling all of you... This is going to create so many issues, we have no idea.

 

[righttrack]

I'm telling all of you... This is going to create so many issues, we have no idea.

It may create no more if this means the elimination of paper fastpasses. I'm sure that is where we are headed. No more ticket printing machines to maintain. The RF/Bluetooth features enable new experiences. Fastpass itself needlessly created most of this mess. Omnimover style rides, anything that keeps moving really, do not benefit from Fastpass and are needlessly complicated by it. That said, fastpass is here to stay and perhaps the new fastpass+ fixes other things. Maybe park openings won't be so harried because half of the people already have "appointments" for rides and aren't stressing.

I guess it's a wait and see. Time will tell.

 

[TP2000]

Al Lutz has another of his famous updates today, and he talks a lot about what won't be announced at D23 yet what is in the short pipeline for Anaheim and DHS. http://micechat.com/37890-miceage-tomorrowland-starwars/

But Lutz also mentions MyMagic+ and has a funny riff on how Tom Staggs always gets VIP guides to hustle him and his family in through the exit on everything, thus avoiding any lines or Fastpasses or 180 Day Planning or wearing plastic bands.

It's the usual Al Lutz snark that he's famous for, but I think the point is valid. If you've got a senior executive (Tom Staggs) who never has to use the product and purposely avoids having to use the product (lines at theme parks), then why would he be the one to stand on stage in the Anaheim Arena and tout the wonders of this new product that he has absolutely no intention of ever using?

 

[jessfriends]

Some premier annual passes do not work right now with MM+. I have the RFID card but I cannot add it to my online account. I called and they can't help me. They told me they are working on the issue. So this means I have no annual passholder benefits linked to my account so I can't book online if there is a passholder promotion and I could not participate in a test MM+ if I was going during a testing period at a participating resort.

 

[Clamman73]

Some premier annual passes do not work right now with MM+. I have the RFID card but I cannot add it to my online account. I called and they can't help me. They told me they are working on the issue. So this means I have no annual passholder benefits linked to my account so I can't book online if there is a passholder promotion and I could not participate in a test MM+ if I was going during a testing period at a participating resort.

Can you do it on the My Disney Experience app on a ios or android device? I can link my UndercoverT Magic Your Way ticket and Pop reservation on the MDE app, but not online on a computer. I scanned my ticket - it's a paper ticket and doesn't have the code that it asks for online.

I'm about 63 days out and not sure if I'll be part of the MM+ trial or not yet...would like to do the fastpass reservations at 60 days if I was going to be.

 

[No Time To Say Hello Goodbye]

Can you do it on the My Disney Experience app on a ios or android device? I can link my UndercoverT Magic Your Way ticket and Pop reservation on the MDE app, but not online on a computer. I scanned my ticket - it's a paper ticket and doesn't have the code that it asks for online.

I'm about 63 days out and not sure if I'll be part of the MM+ trial or not yet...would like to do the fastpass reservations at 60 days if I was going to be.

So far from what I have read, no one is getting to actually book at 60 days yet because it is still in testing. Several people have posted that they got notified on the site, app, and/or by email a week or so in advance of their trip. This may change for future tests of course. I am also at close to 60 days (just under actually) and am watching these threads closely for any news of testing plans for October.

 

[RandomPrincess]

So far from what I have read, no one is getting to actually book at 60 days yet because it is still in testing. Several people have posted that they got notified on the site, app, and/or by email a week or so in advance of their trip. This may change for future tests of course. I am also at close to 60 days (just under actually) and am watching these threads closely for any news of testing plans for October.

Same here. We would love to test.