No fastpasses available today?

[mbtohill]

So from my understanding, if you've already participated in the testing over the past few months AND have an AP, you are in flagged in the system as being able to book FP+ whenever you'd like (weird glitch). If you have have not yet had a resort reservation during testing you will not be able to make FP+ even if you have an AP. This will NOT be the case once testing is over, this anomaly is only during the testing phase. Once fully launched AP holders will be able to make FP+ reservations 60 days out like everyone else, though it is speculated that they will be provided a fixed number of FPs per month, quarter or year to use while NOT staying on property.

That explains it then, I spent a couple days at the Beach Club earlier this month. Thanks for the info

 

[tissandtully]

I am not DVC but I do have 20+ years experience in other timeshare/pointshare systems. Here is what I have noticed... They will ALL promise you THE WORLD plus a footrub, to get you to buy in. BUT, once you have paid off the term of the contract, and are just paying your monthly/annual maint fees - then they treat you like TRASH!!! I have experience with 3 other systems either directly or through relatives. At that point you had better like what you have bought because they have GOT you and they can raise your FEES at their any whim!!! Then the product is hard to get out of and hard to re-sell. My point is "BUYER BEWARE !!"

exactly why we have not done dvc. We can., and could ..do it..with cash.. but nothing I have seen has made me think it would be worthwhile. In fact,I would have thought, had they used the beautiful advantage and assured dvc members all the fp+ first choices, that dvc at gf would have sold out in a week. The fact that fp+ has not been mentioned in connection with dvc, has made me think they will effectively, be screwed.[/quote]

Huh? You need to stop spouting falsities, I'm DVC and I got FP+ all set up for my trip at WLV at the end of this month. It's been known for a while DVC is included in FP+.

 

[ctxak98]

FP+ seems like an awful concept to me. So let me get this right....when I got to the parks with my family from now on, If I don't reserve my ride time 2 months in advance, I wont be able to get a FP that day most likely!?

My family and I only go every couple of years and when we go we like to do as much as possible and by not having as much access to FP's we might not get to do that much if all we are doing is standing in LINE! We don't get FP's for everything but for some of the bigger attractions with longer wait time we will! This just seems unfair!

I am not looking forward to my next vacation now, I am not planning out my day before we go....that is just pure ridiculousness!

 

[ABQ]

FP+ seems like an awful concept to me. So let me get this right....when I got to the parks with my family from now on, If I don't reserve my ride time 2 months in advance, I wont be able to get a FP that day most likely!?

My family and I only go every couple of years and when we go we like to do as much as possible and by not having as much access to FP's we might not get to do that much if all we are doing is standing in LINE! We don't get FP's for everything but for some of the bigger attractions with longer wait time we will! This just seems unfair!

I am not looking forward to my next vacation now, I am not planning out my day before we go....that is just pure ridiculousness!

Most responses you'll get to this are purely conjecture and not official. All usage thus far has been testing and not final product. And though the testing my be barely beta if not alpha, though the projected release date is 11/30, who knows what the final product will be. Kinks, bugs, gremlins, they'll be there for quite some time. I'm not saying don't prepare for the worst, but don't assume too much yet.

 

[wdwmagic]

My latest info is suggesting testing phase is going to extend into Jan 2014

 

[rd805]

Again though... why not? If you can't get an FP you can wait in standby right? I swear I'm not being a smartass... I am totally confused by the responses is all. I didn't realize FPs had become such a necessity for folks. We rarely use them and have been many times since they were implemented in '99 (see signature), including a year that we were AP holders. I've ridden "E Tickets" every trip. I am truly just doing the "jaw drop" thing at the responses is all... hoping someone responds with something eye opening where I go "ohhh I didn't think of that" y'know?

You want to wait an hour for anything? This is just the silliest comment.

 

[janoimagine]

Right now, with my AP, I can reserve a FP+ for Dec 15th. but not the 16th. FYI, I have no resort reservations for that time.

I dont get it, it wont let me make any fast pass reservations except for our scheduled trip to the WLV in Nov ... and even then it will only allow the MK, no Epcot DHS or AK, and no shows at the MK ... might be time to make a phone call here ...

 

[rd805]

It has to do with the expectations of guests who do not think it's worth it to wait in line -- particularly for those who made efficient use of the old Fastpass system, and will be the biggest losers under the new system.

Here's my experience: pre-Fastpass, my family showed up at rope drop, hit every headliner we could, and then waited in lines for the rest of the day. We were there during Easter breaks, so if waiting for 45 minutes or even 90 was what we had to do, that's what we did, and we didn't think twice about it. Everyone else was waiting in standby: why shouldn't we?

Fast-forward to '99 and after: combining rope drop arrivals with Fastpass, we NEVER had to wait more than 25 minutes for ANYTHING. Then we switched to off-peak times of year, and with rope drop and Fastpass we never had to wait more than 10-15 minutes for anything. We got used to that. We liked it. Waits of 20 minutes or more became something we considered to be "unreasonable." If it was more than 20 minutes, we Fastpassed it. Easy-peasy. Short waits were our new normal, and it suited us well since we were trying to cram AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE into a single 5 or 6-day trip every 2 years.

We've been spoiled: I admit it. Now WDW is telling us that for at least some of the E-tickets we want to see, we're going to have to scoot back into a standby line -- a standby line much longer than they were pre-'99, thanks to Fastpass+, and that even our standby waits for non-E-tickets will be slowed by newly-created Fastpass lines. Longer lines for all but 3 attractions every day means fewer attractions we get to see, and less value for our vacation dollars. Everybody is paying more and getting less. That's why people are up in arms.

^This. Yes ^this.

 

[awoogala]

exactly why we have not done dvc. We can., and could ..do it..with cash.. but nothing I have seen has made me think it would be worthwhile. In fact,I would have thought, had they used the beautiful advantage and assured dvc members all the fp+ first choices, that dvc at gf would have sold out in a week. The fact that fp+ has not been mentioned in connection with dvc, has made me think they will effectively, be screwed.

Huh? You need to stop spouting falsities, I'm DVC and I got FP+ all set up for my trip at WLV at the end of this month. It's been known for a while DVC is included in FP+.[/quote]
No one is "spouting" anything. The point is, that you have paid for a premium service, and the fp+ has not been touted as giving you, the funders of their next progress, any type of advantage. To pre-pay for the advantage of being equal, does not compute.

 

[danv3]

Longer lines for all but 3 attractions every day means fewer attractions we get to see, and less value for our vacation dollars. Everybody is paying more and getting less. That's why people are up in arms.

FastPass+ in a nutshell.

 

[donsullivan]

Today a bug in the multi million dollar FP+ system caused legacy (paper) passes to become unavailable at quite a lot of attractions.

Is this confirmed from disney sources that it was an unplanned 'glitch' or are you just speculating that to be the case?

 

[wogwog]

Is this confirmed from disney sources that it was an unplanned 'glitch' or are you just speculating that to be the case?

The MM minus team looks as incompetent as the bunch in DC at doing anything technical and just at good at spinning a tale so we may never know. The rules and performance changes daily as to what works with this disaster.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Again though... why not? If you can't get an FP you can wait in standby right? I swear I'm not being a smartass... I am totally confused by the responses is all. I didn't realize FPs had become such a necessity for folks. We rarely use them and have been many times since they were implemented in '99 (see signature), including a year that we were AP holders. I've ridden "E Tickets" every trip. I am truly just doing the "jaw drop" thing at the responses is all... hoping someone responds with something eye opening where I go "ohhh I didn't think of that" y'know?

Why should APers who book spur of the moment trip have to wait an hour for Space Mountain but those who book their trips more than 2 months ahead of time get to ride with a FP? APers are getting the short end of the stick and I for one am also annoyed by it. I'm not saying that anyone is entitled to FPs, but now APers have no chance at E ticket FPs. We don't plan all our trips 2 months ahead of time. So what happens if we decide to go 2 weeks from today? And there are no FPs left for the E tickets? I get Ellen's Energy Adventure, Spaceship Earth and Imagination? No thanks. The purpose (or one of them at least) was for everyone to have a fair shot at FPs. Because now for certain rides you can only get FPs if you arrive before a certain time (say, 1pm for TSMM) and that apparently isn't fair for people who can't get to the parks that early. The reserving in advance was supposed to make things fair for all. But it's not. Now it might be fair for those people who can't get to the parks at rope drop, but it's shafting those who don't plan a trip 2 months ahead of time.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Not according to the app or website. I've got a Premier Passport and it says I do not have access to anything because I don't have a resort reservation.

Did you link your ticket on the MDE app? If you link your ticket you should be all set.

 

[NearTheEars]

You want to wait an hour for anything? This is just the silliest comment.

I disagree with it being "silly."

Yes you have to wait. Go to any theme park and you have to wait. I used to wait hours at Cedar Point for the big rides.

Many are making it seem like they only rode the rides if a fastpass was available. Our system usually involves grabbing a Fastpass for one ride, say RNRC and then waiting standby at Tower of Terror.

It worked out great. There will always be lines. With or without a Fastpass.

 

[donsullivan]

Did you link your ticket on the MDE app? If you link your ticket you should be all set.

Unfortunately because I'm a Premier Passholder (yes I pay extra for this silliness) I cannot link my pass to the account via the website or the app. I'm being told that I have to go to Guest Relations to get that done and hope they'll be successful but nobody is really sure.

I've also been told by Disney that without a resort reservation AP holders are not eligible to use FP+ under any condition and they do not have a timeline they are willing to share as to when we can. There does appear to be a 'glitch' in the system where an AP holder who had their AP linked to a resort reservation during the test, can now go forward and make FP+ reservations after their resort stay has expired but if you have not had a reservation and participated in the 'test' you cannot.

 

[CndleontheWater]

The plot thickens...I only have 1:30-4 and 6-7 available tomorrow.


I don't have any hotel reservations right now. I have an AP and tested back in Aug, therefore i can make FP+ everyday from now until mid-dec.

Just like you, I'm not staying at a deluxe resort, I'm at home. I have an AP and I tested two weeks ago, so I still have access to FP+. I don't think it is tiering, I think it is apps not talking to the system properly. It is really bizarre that the iOS app is showing something different from the android app which is showing something different from the website. I wonder if the kiosks would show something else also.

 

[Adrian0214]

To build on this...

What are vacations going to be like for those people who simply buy park tickets through AAA or Undercover tourist, or wherever, stay offsite, and try and just go to the parks?

Ok, I'm very confused. I bought my tickets through WDW, but Iam not staying on site. Will I be able to get fast passes? Confused about all of the "kiosk" talk?

 

[Adrian0214]

Hmm, were you looking on the app and saw nothing available? I know when were there two weeks ago the app was giving us lots of trouble. I pretty much just used the kiosks when I needed to make changes, because they were faster and more reliable. I would pull the app up on my phone, and meanwhile walk to the nearest kiosk, and always I was able to get to the kiosk faster than I was able to get the app to load up on my phone.

When we were there, they had CMs assigned to the kiosk and they were doing a good job of informing everyone. They were even coming out of the area to get guests and bring them to the kiosk.

Dumb question...I know.. But, what are the kiosk for?
Haven't been to WDW in a year and never had a problem walking onto rides. This year, going in two weeks, afraid of crowds and horrible wait times.

 

[John]

I disagree with it being "silly."

Yes you have to wait. Go to any theme park and you have to wait. I used to wait hours at Cedar Point for the big rides.

Many are making it seem like they only rode the rides if a fastpass was available. Our system usually involves grabbing a Fastpass for one ride, say RNRC and then waiting standby at Tower of Terror.

It worked out great. There will always be lines. With or without a Fastpass.

I just read thru this thread....every post: My take on things. First Someone tell me what was wrong with the system we had? Everyone said....Now we don't have to make rope drop and "run with the bulls" ....huh! Now if you don't score a TSMM and you want to ride that is exactly what you will have to do....along with many of the e-ticket attractions. A lot of us knew this system was going to be a cluster..... but were called Doom and Gloomers. Are there glitches?...you think? Someone give me something to be positive about this system.....anything....anyone? Major attractions and ride FP's will be gobbled up quickly at the 60 day mark....no big secret. Just like the attractive ADR's....that too was predicted.

We had a system that wasn't broke.....now we have a new system that seems to be always broke. If you are one of the lucky ones who have had no problem with the system....GREAT! good for you....but what about those who have had serious problems? They spent the same kings ransom for their vacation also. We all understand that when we go to WDW we will have to wait in line....it goes without saying....the problem is waiting in a unneeded manufactured line. Waiting on queues that previously had no wait or a very little wait.

IMO Disney is going to take a huge PR hit with MM+...the general attitude of most WDW guest is one of a self entitled attitude. What is going to happen when these people show up and their reservations are missing.....fouled up? GR will be manned by armed security. There have been reports that there have been artificially inflated lines at the turn styles because of how you have to hold your MB on the Mickey....This isn't something you can teach every single guest....I see big problems come the peak season. I wouldn't go to WDW at Christmas or Easter next year if Bob Iger himself picked me up in his private jet and flew me to Orlando. Then again instead of the stale entertainment at WDW I could sit in front of GR and be entertained all day....heck they might be able to sell it as a hard ticket event......lol...maybe even offer a FP+ for special reserved seating in front of GR.