My Magic + details ...

[Turtle]

one day... one day, the parks will be restored and this bs FP+ and Management will be removed. hopefully

 

[PhotoDave219]

So. Since Disney is horribly unlikely to change the 3 FP+ per day limit.....

Is this going to make the standby lines better or worse? How long will Peter Pan's Flight or TSMM end up?

 

[Longhairbear]

I totally see Disney offering an "Extend Your Magic" for a price. Add another park for the same day, or stay to play more in one park only. Or even, DDP type offer. Stay at any resort at full rack rate, and get 3 extra FP+ free during certain times of the year, such as the major holidays.

 

[MOXOMUMD]

"Buy another FP+ selection for such and such more."

 

[alissafalco]

From an inside source at WDW:

FP+ in a Nutshell:
-60 days from arrival, plus 10 days with resort reservation like dining. Guest selects park. Then their three preferred experiences (attractions, food, spectaculars, activities) and then the MyDisneyExperience (MDX) gives up to four groups (early, mid, late, all day) of their choices and/or substitutions. There will be activities that are FP+ only - no standby option. The immediate party then has the same set of FPs and from there the Guest can modify individuals if they want different experiences/times. You can also then copy with friends not traveling in the same reservation or under control of/created by the primary.
-One park per day.
-No paper (legacy) FP.
-Same FP return policies. Must return within time window, five minute early and fifteen minute late grace period.
-Guests can modify their park up until their first FP+ is used in park. Then they can only modify within that park.
-No MDX account or valid park tickets? No FP+. MDX allows legacy ticket conversion for some tickets by keyed in information and now barcode via camera. Partially redeemed tickets must have at least one day. Once converted, cannot be transferred. (This attaches demographics to tickets that wouldn't and encourages buying tickets directly from Disney. This won't completely devistate the 192 scalpers, but is aimed at them.)
-Special event tickets do not count at this time (nomenclature change from 'hard ticket' since most tickets are now hard...)
-FP+ downtimes are still being hammered out.

Low tech or no tech? Reservation Center can help, but they are being instructed to actively teach the Guest how to do this on their own by accessing the account via proxy. Front line cast actively encouraged to ask Guest to use their device (iDevices and Android) to show Guests how to do it themselves.

MagicBands:
-Nine Colors (Red, Blue, Green, Pink, Yellow, Orange, Iconic Gray, and NEW Purple...)
-Shipped to Guest's address (WORLDWIDE) within thirty to ten days of arrival.
-Shipped to resort if within nine days of arrival.
-Guest gets Iconic Gray if within five days of resort reservation arrival.
-MagicBands for non-resort or year long passes being determined.
-Replacement MagicBands will be Iconic Gray.
-MagicBands costs Disney roughly $4.50 each to produce, there's a world-wide shortage of RFID due to the 20k being produced daily.
-Waterproof, doesn't float.
-Three year battery, can be disabled.
-Multiple ticket entitlements can be loaded onto the MagicBand. No Tables in Wonderland or Cirque du Soleil at the moment.

Annual Passholders:
-First replacement MagicBand is free, $50 afterwards or RF plastic card alternative.
-Same FP+ rules (can book FP+ sixty days out, one park only, three selections, etc.)
-Benefits and discounts will be on a separate RF enabled card.
-Will have the ability to add a credit card to their MagicBand similar to Key to the World currently.

Parking/Toll Plaza:
-Touch Points have been added to verify resort and year long passes.

In Park Kiosks:
-Guest Relations in parks will have terminals for same day, same park FP+ and MDX registration.
-Sid's is likely closing and converting over for this.
-Old WorldKey booths by Epcot's lobby will be one location.
-MK is already open at Town Square Theater (Old Disney Visa location.)
-Downtown will be indoors adjacent to their Marketplace location.
-AK still being formalized.
-Other in-park regional locations being tested.

Reading this is giving me a headache. Seriously this is no longer a vacation. Thanks for the info though.

 

[Jughead]

I am quite looking forward to trying it out and buying all the extra band bits for the kids. I hope it's testing in September at the Beach Club.

Maybe they can tie it into the access for the swimming pool.

 

[Virtual Toad]

The only way this ridiculous excuse for a system can work... and I hope to God this is what they're thinking.. is to SEVERELY limit the number of available FP+s for each attraction. Making it such a pain in the #%#%%* to secure these limited FP+s (60 days out, no paper, must use smartphone etc) could also be a plus.

Let's say, hypothetically, that obtaining FP+ is such a huge headache that the masses (or at least a critical mass of the masses) reject the concept entirely. Clueless guests and seriously challenged OCD types will adore the 60 day window and gleefully book their rides in advance. And since the availability will (hoping to God) be extremely limited, they'll be booking Journey Into Imagination slots as well as Soarin.

Okay, bear with me. Under this scenario, two to three years from now, FP+ has become so unpopular and worthless that the entire system collapses. FP+ will have killed off the FP system entirely and we can all go back to the much more sane routine of assessing lines and adjusting our park visits on the fly.

A lot of folks are trotting out the "FP+ is only a small part of NextGen" line lately.

Could it be they're forging ahead with FP+ to deliberately kill off FP or at the very least limit its use so severely that a critical percentage of guests will use standby again, to the ultimate benefit of everyone?

One last thought on the whole mess, and this is something Disney should ABSOLUTELY incorporate across the board, right now this minute. Make the last two hours of every operating day at every park absolutely, positively FP-free. Meaning, no FP or FP+s will be available for ride times during the last two hours a given park is open. Standby only. That alone would give everyone a shot at riding attractions with sane standby lines late in the day... kind of like the good old days. It would throw APers and spontaneous visitors a valuable bone and a lot of folks would leave the parks a lot happier IMHO.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

That's a big part of FP+'s fail right there.
Say I want to run over to Studios for Tower and TSMM, so I use my FPs there.
Then I hop to MK for the remainder of the day, at like noon...and I'm forced to be FP-less?

Yeah...this system's better...

So when they get their 11% increase in guest spending, how much of that will be taken away once people realize how much worse parkhopping is now?

 

[lentesta]

"There will be activities that are FP+ only - no standby option."

What...

Some character greetings will be FP+ only.

 

[Jakester]

So how about that new Up E-Tick .... Oh yeah.
So much information it is confusing. Isn't a trip to the parks suppose to be "magical"

 

[ParentsOf4]

FP+ in a Nutshell:
-60 days from arrival, plus 10 days with resort reservation like dining. Guest selects park. Then their three preferred experiences (attractions, food, spectaculars, activities) and then the MyDisneyExperience (MDX) gives up to four groups (early, mid, late, all day) of their choices and/or substitutions. There will be activities that are FP+ only - no standby option.

Bingo.

In a nutshell, here's how corporate Disney intends to use FastPass+ (FP+) to increase onsite occupancy rates and "encourage" guests to sign-up for My Disney Experience (MDX) so they can be data mined.

Being able to book 60 + 10 days will be a huge advantage for onsite guests. Good luck getting a "good" FP+ return time for a popular attraction if you are offsite.

FP+ only "experiences" (Disney's word) have been rumored for some time now. It will be interesting to see if the list of "FP+ only" experiences expands over time.

 

[willtravel]

To be fair, very rarely, VERY, VERY rarely do I 'need' FP at WDW. In parts of 17 days there last month, I got exactly three FPs. One for KS. One for ToT. One for PPF.

They all were showing waits of 20-40 minutes at the time (so likely less) and I just didn't feel like waiting.

But I also don't visit during the two weeks around Easter or the week between Christmas and New Years or July 4th anymore ... and I NEVER get to the parks before 11 a.m., but usually late afternoon. Still, I ride plenty and I don't wait plenty. I am used to walking on most things and I have no intention of suddenly standing in a 45-minute standby line for PoC on a Friday afternoon in February. Boy,does this system suck.

I would assume this is volunteer basis? I understand that I will not have FP (if I want it) anymore but if I don't want a band, I still can get a card? Or when reservations are made for hotel, will I have to FP+ in advance? I am like you, I don't FP or make ADR. I seem to never show up on time so we don't do ADR's anymore......

 

[Todd H]

Blech. Somebody call me when Disney comes to their senses.

 

[asianway]

So. Since Disney is horribly unlikely to change the 3 FP+ per day limit.....

Is this going to make the standby lines better or worse? How long will Peter Pan's Flight or TSMM end up?

They will be able to control this depending on how much of the theoretical capacity is handed out in the form of fp+. My money is on nearly 100% given that they are scrambling to find lesser attractions to add fp+ to.

And if they back off that % I see them selling them before releasing it to standby

 

[PirateFrank]

If Disney were going to allow folks to get unlimited FPs besides the three they are reserving, then the whole system would fail. Virtual spaces are being set aside for guests who show up and buy a $95 ticket. They can't go to OCD planner X in New Jersey who booked Sapce Mountain at 9:15 a.m., meeting Cinderella at 11:00 and riding the Haunted Mansion at 11:45 exactly at the 60-day mark.

While I realize that not having fp+'s available the day of will be embarrassing to WDW, the idea of reserving slots for folks the day of, stinks to high hell, of a ticketmaster-inspired dogpile of biblical proportion! How many tickets will be held? When do they get released? They think the running of the bulls to TSMM at rope drop was bad? Wait til you have 300 dads fighting over access to a single fp+ kiosk instead? Moreover, the more you actually limit fp+ availability at the 60-day mark, the greater people will snap them up the very second they become available. Just like concert tickets, you will eventually have scenarios where it won't matter how fast you log in at 6:00am, 60 day out...things will simply be unavailable.

Disney can't have it both ways...if they are going to expect us to hyperplan these trips at 180 and 60 day put, then those that are willing to wake up at the -crack the morning of 180 and 60 should benefit....massaging this so that something will always be available, will ultimately result in nothing being available.

God grief this is going to be such a colossal Charlie Fox.....

 

[zooey]

Not happy about any of this. I used to be a WDW pro and now I'm a neophyte again.
Worst thing about all of this? Nail in the coffin for Sid Cahuenga! Once one of the best stores on property, a perfect example of "show" over direct profit, is going away.

 

[ParentsOf4]

What else would the purpose be? Are you suggesting that folks are going to stay at WDW resorts but not visit the parks ...

I do. I've been having a MAGICAL time staying at my DVCs purchased through resale (no money going to Disney) and visiting Uni.

And it's a growing problem among DVC members hence the $300 PAP discount last winter.

I just love the idea of WDW paying for all the infrastructure I use while I pay cost for my villa and spend my cash outside of the MAGICAL bubble.

 

[WDWFigment]

If you can "successfully" visit Walt Disney World, you can travel to just about anywhere on the globe. Language barriers, public transportation, etc., are all nothing compared to a first-time visit to Walt Disney World that is "properly" planned.

I can't imagine that's really what casual guests want...

 

[fbp]

This seems crazy.

It's difficult enough to explain WDW to friends and family planning a visit who aren't fanatics. This is a whole new wrench.

 

[PJean710]

We don't actually know that there will be a three FP limit. We only know that three FPs will be able to be prereserved.

It should be noted that in every FP+ test including the current one, people were able to preserve FPs and also obtain additional same-day FPs. The fact that paper FPs using the current FP system won't be available doesn't mean that same-day virtual FPs won't be offered.

This has been my question all along. There are maybe 3 attractions per park that I'd feel the need to "schedule" but from time to time I'd like a fast pass depending on the line. If I need to se my phone so be it.has it been said that same day passes are going away?