Some complaints are valid.....some not so much

[Sudcaro- Sudcaro]

I think it is the dining reservation issues that hinder last minute trips more thanFP+. They NEED to hold back some dining capacity for walk-ups.

I agree with you.

And - sorry if old timers hate me for this - but there should be a limit to how many character meals you can attend on the same trip. It's unfair that some people get one of these meals every day or almost every day, while others get zero because they booked later.
We are going in March, and yes we have character meals booked - not necessarily the ones we wanted, or when we would have liked them, and I was surprised there were still a few slots available - and we were at the 5 month mark. It makes me feel bad, and a little selfish when I think of other guests. It was so frustrating to get nothing when we booked our other trip (In early September for Nov30-Dec1, MK only). But we want to try character meals next time as it will be a Make A Wish trip for our daughter, and probably our last WDW trip (we're leaving the US next summer and may not be able to do this kind of trip before long).

 

[Magenta Panther]

Booking attractions with FP is a total pain in the butt. Whereas getting an FP ticket was a breeze. I'm surprised anyone is defending an expensive fail that cost way more than predicted and is causing more hassle for a lot of people. But to each his own...

 

[DisneyRoy]

Booking attractions with FP is a total pain in the butt. Whereas getting an FP ticket was a breeze. I'm surprised anyone is defending an expensive fail that cost way more than predicted and is causing more hassle for a lot of people. But to each his own...

I actually found it rather easy. Logged on, clicked a few times....bingo. Rides reserved. Last week we even decided to change our FastPass times/rides the night before our next day in the park. Open the app, clicked a few times...bingo. New rides and/or times. Could not have been any easier. I will never say that FP+ is a fail. Does it force you to plan...nope. As the OP originally said...choose to use it or not. It's up to you. But it works and it does work rather well.

 

[anchorman314]

It's all a matter of perspective. I, for one, enjoy knowing that I'll be able to show up at DHS after 9am and ride TSMM before lunch, with a minimal wait. My last trip to WDW prior to FP+, we showed up shortly after 9, and by the time I got to TSMM with our tickets, the FP window was all the way out to 5pm. (And this was May....not a peak season.)

 

[flynnibus]

My biggest issue with this argument is.....no one is forcing you to use FP+. No one forced you to use legacy FP

Yes, no one is forcing you to use it - that does not mean it's existence is transparent on your trip however. So it DOES impact the trip.. regardless of your participation or not.

I don't have to watch the christmas entertainment to have the christmas season impact a trip I want to take during that time period.

Before FP+, were you able to book a last minute trip? Yes. After FP+, are you able to book a last minute trip? Yes. Indisputable. Fastpass plus has zero impact on if you want to book a last minute trip. The same rides and attraction were there before and after FP+ yes? The same restaurants? Same WDW? The stand-by lines were also there before and after yes? So why exactly can't you go last minute? Zero reasons.

Now, does FP+ affect the wait times? Yes but so does weather, time of year, tour groups, cheer competitions, mardi gras, etc... Irregardless....it doesn't stop anyone from booking a last minute trip.

Sorry, but your logic we should just ignore time of year when we visit too... because the same restaurants, the same WDW, the same attractions are all there regardless of date. So why don't we ignore the date when we visit? Oh yeah, those things you lump FP+ as uncontrollable... weather, crowds, events, etc. The truth is those things are NOT entirely out of our control and people DO pick when they vacation because of them. Why? because they impact their experience... just like FP+ does.

Easter weekend crowds don't PREVENT you from making a last minute trip... yet no one should be dense enough that the crowds of that weekend wouldn't impact your decision to go and/or experience.

 

[draybook]

I do not care that much for FP-. The number of Fps that we were able to get during our September trip was severely less than in trips of the past. I also dislike the current tiers. They make me wanna toss around some RKOs outta nowhere. I do like being able to change things on the fly with my phone, but using the kiosk is a headache, due to the vast amount of foreigners AND the domestic folks who left their brains back at their resort. Just my .029 peso...

 

[Ralphlaw]

You always need to be creating new customers. Old customers eventually stop coming, and they need to be replaced.

That's true that a resturant probably has a max number of people it can serve per hour or per night. Simply based on chairs. .

Even though you have the same number of chairs, a busy restaurant's trick is to maximize those chairs, usually by filling up the early to mid afternoon gaps and/or to get more money out of each customer. Keeping customers coming in past 8 or 9 pm also helps. Serving them quickly (and thus getting them out quickly) is also a good strategy.

Most businesses cannot survive keeping the same number of customers and doing the same old thing. Competition constantly nips at the heals. Just about every business I know, to stay open, has to serve more and more customers. Find a successful business of 20 years ago that's still doing well, and you'll probably discover that they're serving at lest twice as many customers now as they did then.

 

[Nick Wilde]

Before FP+, were you able to book a last minute trip? Yes. After FP+, are you able to book a last minute trip? Yes. Indisputable. Fastpass plus has zero impact on if you want to book a last minute trip. The same rides and attraction were there before and after FP+ yes? The same restaurants? Same WDW? The stand-by lines were also there before and after yes? So why exactly can't you go last minute? Zero reasons.

I didn't read everything in the thread, so sorry if someone already said this, but this is all true. Except for the fact that before FP+, you could plan a last minute trip, and still get FP. You can plan a last minute trip now, of course. The problem is you won't have FP. That's why they're complaining. Would YOU like a trip to the park with no FP? It wouldn't be as near as enjoyable.
As a local, it used to be nice to be able to say, "Let's go to Disney tomorrow, we're not doing anything." But now we have to plan weeks in advance, if not months.

 

[marni1971]

Oh good. It was getting boring around here recently.

 

[Master Yoda]

I didn't read everything in the thread, so sorry if someone already said this, but this is all true. Except for the fact that before FP+, you could plan a last minute trip, and still get FP. You can plan a last minute trip now, of course. The problem is you won't have FP. That's why they're complaining. Would YOU like a trip to the park with no FP? It wouldn't be as near as enjoyable.
As a local, it used to be nice to be able to say, "Let's go to Disney tomorrow, we're not doing anything." But now we have to plan weeks in advance, if not months.

This is incorrect. So far I have done a handful of trips since FP+ went gold. I was not able to do advance FP reservations on any of them and I have had zero issue getting fast passes for all of the headliner attractions.

Sure, my time choices were limited, but the only attraction property wide that was unavailable the morning of was the Frozen Meet n Greet.

 

[Occasional Guest]

We get to Disney about every 3 years and FP+ made it much easier to hit our "must do" attractions. Were there draw backs, absolutely. The good outweighed the bad though in my opinion. I like FP+ better than the paper fastpass. Having said that, I completely understand where it would be frustrating to be a local passholder with the system.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I WAS forced to use fastpass+ actually, because otherwise I would have been required to wait about 4-5 times longer to ride Pirates of the Caribbean than the normal standby wait time prior to FP+ being implemented. I take issue with waiting in a now consistently 40-60 minute line for an attraction that almost never commanded more than 5-15 minutes in the first place (excepting the busiest times of the year or when it was brand new) and was more often than not practically a walk-on. POTC is one of a number of rides (Haunted Mansion was another from my experience) that never needed fastpass in the first place and did not command anywhere remotely close to these absurdly long lines before the system was implemented.

From personal experience using Fastpass+ for Pirates, the system accomplished nothing more than making the standby line 4-5 times as long as it normally would have been (without the system), the Fastpass+ line now simply has the same or longer wait time than what the ORIGINAL standby line normally had prior to FP. This system sucks, even moreso than regular Fastpass. And I have plenty of experience visiting WDW well before FP was invented at all, you don't need such a system provided you have the proper amount of quality, efficient and high capacity rides to evenly disperse the crowds throughout the park. That was how the parks were run prior to the mid-late 90's, and it was a very sound system.

 

[epcot2004]

I could be wrong but it almost seems like FP+ has taken a burden (albeit small) off of the major attractions since the crowds are being diverted to attractions that were not previously FP. The only hole in the theory is that less important rides might not actually have their FP redeemed and people are waiting till the last minute, canceling and trying to get another major (such as Test Track) in place of SSE.

 

[JohnD]

I agree with the points. But to be fair, it does require a learning curve. Newbies could be at a disadvantage. I would suggest they seek out a "veteran" in their circles before they go to help them maximize their trip.

 

[Sudcaro- Sudcaro]

But to be fair, it does require a learning curve. Newbies could be at a disadvantage. I would suggest they seek out a "veteran" in their circles before they go to help them maximize their trip.

The issue is many people don't have anyone to turn to on this topic...
Personally, if I hadn't found this forum, I wouldn't have had a clue about many, many things! And it was just for one and a half days at the MK. Some people reserve directly via Disney and don't go to any other website to prepare for their trip. Some don't even think the trip should be planned as much as possible. They will just think they're out of luck if they can't get the ADR or FP they wanted. Noone should be a veteran or "professional" of WDW to have an enjoyable trip!

 

[DManRightHere]

Where is the person that complained the air conditioning isn't as cold as it used to be??

 

[DManRightHere]

I disagree. Not a rant nor is it at its core FP+. It's based on those who ***** they can't book a last minute trip.

I guess each person will feel their own way about what I said. I was going to open a discussion with those who feel that way with perspective. I know... thatsy first mistake. Lol

I felt like it's a rant about ranters. I agree though! Lol

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I have been to the MK twice since FP+ was instituted. Arriving mid afternoon both times. On both occasions the only FP+ available to me was for spinners and flat rides. I declined to take any.

So for me, the system has been less than helpful.

 

[Pacha]

Wasn't one of the other complaints the cost of FP+? Reportedly $2 billion was spent on it. While, I don't know how accurate that number is, even if it was half that amount, a billion bucks (or even half of that) wouldn't that buy at least one new major attraction or show, and/or updates to existing attractions/shows?

I guess my point is, even if the system works, is it worth the time and money Disney spent on it? Not a complaint, or rant, nor an effort to derail this thread, just thought it might help shed some light on where a lot of the complaints about FP+ come from.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Lets say you own a very popular bakery and could only make 100 birthday cakes a day. Because you are so popular, you have more than 100 people willing to order them 6 months in advance thereby selling your entire production every day of the year without fail.

Is the bakery in MK or EPCOT ?