NextGen / FP+ / Magic Band. The official truth starts to appear

[MMFanCipher]

My questions are: Will Disney tell me which system I need to use before we go in May & June? I don't want to
be expecting to use FP and then when we get there be told we need to use FP+. Will FP+ require every
member in a party of ten to log on and get FP+ tickets or can 1 person in the group get one FP for all members
of the group for the same time?

 

[RSoxNo1]

I've read Expedition Everest capacity is 2000/hour

Using your Peter Pan's number as an example, it handles 1200 per hour or 100 ((1200/60)*5) per 5 minutes. This is Peter Pan's "capacity available every 5 minutes". Therefore, distributing "5% of an attraction's capacity available every 5 minutes" means handing out 5 (100 * 0.05) FP per 5-minute block. I know I'm missing your math.

Do you mean, distributing "5% of an attraction's hourly capacity every 5 minutes"? Then the math is: 1200 * (0.05 * (60/5)) = 720 FP per hour block, which corresponds to 60% (720/1200) of ride capacity.

Yes, for Pan it would be 720 Fastpasses distributed per hour, or 60 Fastpasses every 5 minutes.

 

[awoogala]

My questions are: Will Disney tell me which system I need to use before we go in May & June? I don't want to
be expecting to use FP and then when we get there be told we need to use FP+. Will FP+ require every
member in a party of ten to log on and get FP+ tickets or can 1 person in the group get one FP for all members
of the group for the same time?

you should be informed before you go, so you can preselect- but since it's a new, most likely, buggy system, you never know.
The person who is at the kiosk/smartphone app can control fp+ for their party, as long as they are "connected friends" from what I am reading.

 

[flynnibus]

Will FP+ require every
member in a party of ten to log on and get FP+ tickets or can 1 person in the group get one FP for all members
of the group for the same time?

A single account can manage other accounts (known as 'Managed Accounts') which allows one person to make reservations on behalf of someone else. So the typical scenario of a family... the controlling figure can be setup to manage the accounts of everyone in the family. Additionally, there are 'connected friends' which allows someone to grant permission to someone else to see their reservations and add them into reservations. Example: two families going together, and you want to make it so you can make dinner reservations together, but don't want to delegate all control to the other family.

 

[MichWolv]

Woah. Seriously? I had no idea that was part of it. No Fastpass machines at all, and every Fastpass reserved in advance via computer or phone?

Not quite. There won't be FP machines as we know them today. However, not all FPs will be reserved in advance. I don't know actual numbers, and I don't have insider information, but it's not hard to decipher how this will work.

Some portion of FPs will be reservable in advance -- let's say 20% of FPs for each attraction. The remaining 80% will be available day-of, in park. But instead of getting them by running to the attraction and slipping your ticket in the machines, you'll get them by firing up your smart-phone or going to a kiosk set up in the park. Location-based services will confirm that you're in the park, and then the full boat of FPs (whatever is available) will be available to you. I suspect that, for in-park FPs, you won't get to pick your time -- you'll just get whatever comes up, the way you do now).

 

[dhall]

Besides the thread about the mean ol' vendor at Epcot's flower and garden festival this has been one entertaining bunch of posts.

Right up there with the Emu Legs, too

 

[flynnibus]

Not quite. There won't be FP machines as we know them today. However, not all FPs will be reserved in advance. I don't know actual numbers, and I don't have insider information, but it's not hard to decipher how this will work.

I agree - everyone is hell bent on the idea 'no FPs will be available for me...' - Do they not think Disney would realize that?

What if we turned the tables and said

"What if I said you can always get a FP - and never worry about them running out. Would that interest you? Yes? Ok, what if I could give you that with the tradeoff of you can only get 1 FP per attraction per day and I limit how many FPs you can have total. Are you still interested?"

Disney CAN offer such a model with this system (within reason). But because everyone is so fixated on seeing how it can't work - they aren't willing to explore the possibilities of a system with different constraints from what they assume the model will be - simply be current FP+advance booking of it.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I agree - everyone is hell bent on the idea 'no FPs will be available for me...' - Do they not think Disney would realize that?

What if we turned the tables and said

"What if I said you can always get a FP - and never worry about them running out. Would that interest you? Yes? Ok, what if I could give you that with the tradeoff of you can only get 1 FP per attraction per day and I limit how many FPs you can have total. Are you still interested?"

Disney CAN offer such a model with this system (within reason). But because everyone is so fixated on seeing how it can't work - they aren't willing to explore the possibilities of a system with different constraints from what they assume the model will be - simply be current FP+advance booking of it.

 

[SirLink]

I agree - everyone is hell bent on the idea 'no FPs will be available for me...' - Do they not think Disney would realize that?

What if we turned the tables and said

"What if I said you can always get a FP - and never worry about them running out. Would that interest you? Yes? Ok, what if I could give you that with the tradeoff of you can only get 1 FP per attraction per day and I limit how many FPs you can have total. Are you still interested?"

Disney CAN offer such a model with this system (within reason). But because everyone is so fixated on seeing how it can't work - they aren't willing to explore the possibilities of a system with different constraints from what they assume the model will be - simply be current FP+advance booking of it.

Not really...I don't see the problem of people just queuing in a non-interactive line...I was going to say it is because I'm British, but I don't think it is that ... more like people are trying to appease OCD parents and kids that haven't been taught about patience ...

 

[BigThunderMatt]

Not really...I don't see the problem of people just queuing in a non-interactive line...I was going to say it is because I'm British, but I don't think it is that ... more like people are trying to appease OCD parents and kids that haven't been taught about patience ...

What always shocks me are the people who come to Disney and expect everything to be a walk-on. I've seen people flip out if a wait is 20 minutes. I used to go to Cedar Point every summer, which is really the only time it's open, and 45-60 minute waits for the most popular rides are the norm there. And for a long time they had no type of queue bypass option.

I agree with @WDW1974...how in the world did we ever survive without FastPass from 1955 -1999?

 

[SirLink]

What always shocks me are the people who come to Disney and expect everything to be a walk-on. I've seen people flip out if a wait is 20 minutes. I used to go to Cedar Point every summer, which is really the only time it's open, and 45-60 minute waits for the most popular rides are the norm there. And for a long time they had no type of queue bypass option.

I agree with @WDW1974...how in the world did we ever survive without FastPass from 1955 -1999?

OCD Parents and ADD kids who seem to believe they have some more importance than everyone else waiting in line, like I say to people "You wouldn't let the guy cut in line while waiting for the next Nintendo/Apple/Microsoft/etc device why would you want the guy to cut in front of you in a queue for an attraction...tis a false economy ... if I was in charge of P&R I would rip FP outta the parks faster than you could say "It is MAGICal people!"

 

[sbkline]

Pardon me if I am asking stuff that has already been covered, but 23 pages is alot to dig through.

1) We're going in April. Should I expect this system to be in place by then?

2) What are the details on this wristband? Can you take it on and off conveniently, without having to cut it off with scissors? We have stayed at the Nickelodean Suites a couple of times and they have wristbands which you are supposed to wear throughout your stay. It's a good thing we only stayed one night the first time and two nights the second time, because once those things are on, they are on for good until you snip them off with scissors. And I don't like the idea of spending 11 nights with a wristband permanateley wrapped around my wrist. Are they waterproof? I enjoy going to the pool midday, but the problem is that my wife likes to lay down for a nap, so I can't count on her to get up and open the door, which means I have to take a key card with me and just leave it in my shoe or a locker while I am in the pool. A waterproof wristband/room key would be very convenient so I don't have to keep track of a key card. But I would also much prefer to be able to take it off whenever I want to (such as showering, sleeping, etc)

3) I am not the most high tech person on the block. I have a basic cell phone, but it's not a smart phone and I am not into all these apps (although I may upgrade to a smart phone when I am up for renewal in March, just before our trip). For folks like me and my wife, who aren't into all his high tech gadgetry, are we just being pushed to the side, or is there still a way for us to use the system? For example, can we still get paper fastpasses like usual, or are we being forced to choose between learning all these phone apps,or just taking our chance with the standby line?

I am a planner just like the next guy, but I think there is such a thing as too much planning. I like to decide as I go which attraction to visit, and I like to go to fastpass kiosks in the parks while I am in the park, to get my fastpass for later. I don't like the idea of having to sit in my hotel room, or my own home (before we even leave for the trip) and map out what day and time I want to ride this ride or that ride. That's way to for me, and believe me, I have a reputation among my family and coworkers for being in my trip planning. But this sounds like way too even for me. Someone please reassure me that I am misunderstanding this thing and it won't be as as it sounds...

 

[Mickey1984]

I love the way this board speculates so much before things happen and get themselves wound up over peoples "theories".
Just let things happen, and then complain once things are in place and people are upset, no point in getting wound up over speculating what you think may or may not happen.

In Mouse we trust!

 

[ParentsOf4]

I love the way this board speculates so much before things happen and get themselves wound up over peoples "theories".
Just let things happen, and then complain once things are in place and people are upset, no point in getting wound up over speculating what you think may or may not happen.

In Mouse we trust!

I don't understand your point. This discussion board is titled "WDW Parks News and Rumors". Discussing rumors means speculating about them. Sometimes the speculation is positive, sometimes negative.

 

[Mickey1984]

I don't understand your point. This discussion board is titled "WDW Parks News and Rumors". Discussing rumors means speculating about them. Sometimes the speculation is positive, sometimes negative.

I am all about speculation, great, but people get wound up and angry about things and argue, about essentially things people have plucked out of their minds, with no ounce of fact about them. I love a good rumour, but think some people take it to heart very quickly without all the true facts.

 

[msteel]

There is one aspect of using the wristband as a Fastpass ticket that i haven't seen anyone mention yet. It limits the ability to transfer the Fastpass. On our last trip our kids were too short to ride some of the rides. But, their ticket was still valid to receive a Fastpass for that ride. This allowed the older members of the group to get "extra" Fastpasses. While I expect that you could still do a wristband swap to accomplish this, it would be much less convenient to be doing that all the time than to simply hand off a paper ticket.

In addition, we were handed Fastpasses to TSMM by guests who had (or chose) to leave the park before their window came open. I can't see how that will ever happen with FP+

The elimination of either of these things helps reduce the number of Fastpasses used (whether issued or not) and thus reduces its use.

 

[DisneyFan 2000]

In Mouse we trust!

I think the resounding number of negative comments prove otherwise and that's the problem. It's not in the mouse we trust but rather in the "globe-across-the-street".

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

In Mouse we trust!

To make an erse of it? Then yes Id agree.

 

[stevehousse]

I am all about speculation, great, but people get wound up and angry about things and argue, about essentially things people have plucked out of their minds, with no ounce of fact about them. I love a good rumour, but think some people take it to heart very quickly without all the true facts.

I think most of us on here including myself, just want to know everything there is with the new system. This radically changes everything we all have known about vacationing at WDW for the past 20 years!

As we are taking our 2013 trip at the beginning f May, we are just concerned that without knowing exactly what is going on and when it actually is going to happen is nerve wrecking and I don't want my vacation to be ruined because I end up as a guinea pig for the new system!

We are really hoping that everything won't be on effect when we go!

 

[allgiggles]

I think most of us on here including myself, just want to know everything there is with the new system. This radically changes everything we all have known about vacationing at WDW for the past 20 years!

As we are taking our 2013 trip at the beginning f May, we are just concerned that without knowing exactly what is going on and when it actually is going to happen is nerve wrecking and I don't want my vacation to be ruined because I end up as a guinea pig for the new system!

We are really hoping that everything won't be on effect when we go!

We're going in June and while I'm trying not to be stressed about the whole FP+ thing, I feel the same way you do -- I don't want to be a guinea pig. I'm hoping this either starts to phase in for the masses soon so that some of the kinks are worked out and we can benefit from feedback and tips from people who have already experienced it OR I hope it's not in place (or we still have the option "opt out" and use regular FP's) when we're there. I'll be more than happy to use FP+ on the next trip...when I have a year or two worth of experiences to read about. We went to DW about a year after FP was introduced and a lot of people still didn't know what it was or how to use it. We only scheduled the trip about a month before we went, but I had read about FP on different message boards and knew how to use it efficiently so we knocked out rides at a really fast pace (many people who used it at that time were under the impression that you had to actually use the FP you were holding before getting another one. We knew to get a new one *before* using the current one so that the clock was ticking on that 2nd one while we were enjoying the first attraction/). I'm hoping to have a similar experience with the FP+ system...but I'm really worried about the timing. I know they have to phase it in at some point and there are going to be guinea pigs no matter when they do it, I just (selfishly) don't want it to be me.