Spirited News and Observations and Opinions ...

[Disneyhead'71]

Good grief. Every part of the above post looks like a nightmare. The schedules are so stacked. When we're in a park we generally have 1 FP in our pockets, sometimes 2. There's a LOT of empty space to do whatever comes to mind. With those FP+ schedules we'd be stressing over whether we could fit things in between. And then there's the absurd thought of waiting around between attractions because we don't want to chance missing a window. Ugh!

Oh geez! And now there's kiosks to find & utilize, more crap to figure out on the iPhone, time spent doing stuff we don't want to fool with from the very start. But if you don't utilize the system you're shooting yourself in the foot because you'll either not experience the e-tickets or wait hours for them.

Nightmare.

The "New" Disney simply is NOT for people who can comprehend sitting in front of the fire at the Wilderness Lodge soaking up the ambiance.
But As a local think I have figured out how I am going to utilize FastPass+. From far away up at Universal Resort Orlando!

 

[GoofGoof]

Good grief. Every part of the above post looks like a nightmare. The schedules are so stacked. When we're in a park we generally have 1 FP in our pockets, sometimes 2. There's a LOT of empty space to do whatever comes to mind. With those FP+ schedules we'd be stressing over whether we could fit things in between. And then there's the absurd thought of waiting around between attractions because we don't want to chance missing a window. Ugh!

Oh geez! And now there's kiosks to find & utilize, more crap to figure out on the iPhone, time spent doing stuff we don't want to fool with from the very start. But if you don't utilize the system you're shooting yourself in the foot because you'll either not experience the e-tickets or wait hours for them.

Nightmare.

I think he just posted this as one example. Here are my pixie dusted thoughts. If you only had half a day at DHS the schedule he posted would actually be ideal if those are the 3 rides you definitely want to do. Nothing to stop you from booking Star Tours at 10am, Toy Story at 1pm after lunch and TT at 7pm after dinner (unless those times are booked). I agree that I would want to spread things out if I had the whole day in a park. Unless you want to change your "reservations" you won't need to use the IPhone app or on site kiosks. As far as having set return times for rides to worry about its no different than current FP but at least under FP+ you can choose the times. If you get to Toy Story and the FP return time is 12pm to 1pm but you have an ADR at noon you either have to rush lunch to get back in time or not get the fast pass. With FP+ you can at least avoid that issue. You are definitely right that you will be pretty much forced to use the system, especially in busy times, just like ADRs for dining. I think it will take some time to get familiar with, but the system has some potential positives.

 

[GoofGoof]

The "New" Disney simply is NOT for people who can comprehend sitting in front of the fire at the Wilderness Lodge soaking up the ambiance.
But As a local think I have figured out how I am going to utilize FastPass+. From far away up at Universal Resort Orlando!

FP+ is just an extension of ADRs and DDP. It has been hard to have a "spontaneous" vacation at WDW for over a decade now IMHO. I hate to say it, but if you can't beat em, join em. I will be booking my FP+ reservations the same time as my ADRs.

 

[invader]

FP+ is just an extension of ADRs and DDP. It has been hard to have a "spontaneous" vacation at WDW for over a decade now IMHO. I hate to say it, but if you can't beat em, join em. I will be booking my FP+ reservations the same time as my ADRs.

None of which should have ever been implemented in the first place.

The only place you should ever have to have an "ADR" for in Orlando is 4Rivers!

 

[Bolna]

FP+ is just an extension of ADRs and DDP. It has been hard to have a "spontaneous" vacation at WDW for over a decade now IMHO. I hate to say it, but if you can't beat em, join em. I will be booking my FP+ reservations the same time as my ADRs.

One can still be spontaneous at the moment. There is no rule that one need to eat at a Disney table service restaurant every day. I like to schedule a few ADRs throughout my trip, mainly for signature restaurants and only very rarely for an in park table service as I find those in general not a good value for money. So I have a few evenings blocked off with reservations for restaurants at some resorts. But this leaves me still free to go to whichever park I want to go to during the day.

Also the people who booked the counter service dining plan certainly would not have any specific plans on where they will be for every day.

I think a lot of people would be surprised by the amount of visitors at WDW who still tour the parks very spontaneously.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I think a lot of people would be surprised by the amount of visitors at WDW who still tour the parks very spontaneously.

I be one!

 

[lazyboy97o]

Actually, for me it is convenience. I make heavy use of smartphone apps. My cellphone is a cheaper android but it is much less stable. Instead of buying the iPhone, I bought the Ipod touch to get the apps and stability I wanted. I never bought it for its camera ability. I have other items that perform much better. However, as the park gets more integrated with apps, especially My Disney Experience, I just find it is a convenience. A 10 megapixal camera is not all that bad. It is better than the camera I had five years ago for $300. I'm a heavy tech user. I don't buy to show off but for what it can do.

I think you misunderstood, I was talking about lugging around an iPad.

 

[Rasvar]

One can still be spontaneous at the moment. There is no rule that one need to eat at a Disney table service restaurant every day. I like to schedule a few ADRs throughout my trip, mainly for signature restaurants and only very rarely for an in park table service as I find those in general not a good value for money. So I have a few evenings blocked off with reservations for restaurants at some resorts. But this leaves me still free to go to whichever park I want to go to during the day.

Also the people who booked the counter service dining plan certainly would not have any specific plans on where they will be for every day.

I think a lot of people would be surprised by the amount of visitors at WDW who still tour the parks very spontaneously.

It is harder. I still do it all the time. I may make one dinner reservation for a visit. In many cases, it will be a same day. Yeah, that limits what I can do. But, in spite of all my technology, I am still the person who want to sit by the WL fireplace or in a lounge chair on the beach just resting with a drink in the evening. I'll eat more in the resorts than the parks. I try to avoid the counter service locations in the parks. I still go by the out of park by noon and back after 5:00 pm most of the time. I'd much rather spend the afternoon relaxing or riding my bike (if I'm at the campground) than fighting the crowds. I'm a nighttime in the parks kind of person. Practically never see a rope drop. Now, I'm not going with a bunch of kids but I could not imagine trying to heard cats trying to keep a schedule with a bunch of kids in tow. I occasionally visit the parks with friends with kids. It is impossible to keep a schedule. Someone always needed to tinkle or was hungry or they just lose their pants and start running (the last one had me getting very dirty looks from my friend as her husband was trying to catch their 3 year old pants less son who lost his pants jumping out of the stroller when he saw Buzz Lightyear and started running after him). I will always figure out a way to be spontaneous. But, the changes will make it harder to be as spontaneous as in the past. However, I will leverage whatever technology is available to help me be spontaneous.
Heck, not sure you can get more spontaneous than waking up at 7:00 am on a Wednesday, deciding to drive to Orlando (4 hours away) and stay until 11:00 pm then drive home. I did that just two weeks ago.

 

[Rasvar]

I think you misunderstood, I was talking about lugging around an iPad.

Ahh ok. Yeah, I still don't understand that one. My iPad camera is not really good either. A $75 point and shoot usually does a better job of stills and video.

 

[PeterAlt]

... from a quickee holiday visit to WDW and UNI this week.

Let's start with the stuff you likely don't know.

EMH. You like it? You don't? You are ambivalent? Well, doesn't matter because plans are to eliminate it. First step was cutting night hours down from three to two. Look for that to drop more and nights to slowly get eliminated. They'll cut back mornings lastly as they are more popular, but look for DAK to lose a morning soon as well.

The reason? Resort guests will be getting a perq (using Queen's English here) in the form of extra FP+ so that will allow them to ride as much as the extra time allegedly does. It's all about eliminating labor hours for ops, while telling guests it's the amount of rides they get, not when they get them that matters.

Upset that Fantasmic looks like a disaster? Well, it seems that maintenance has basically been told not to fix anything that breaks or doesn't work because the show isn't long for the park. Let the WoC rumours commence.

EPCOT truly looks sad at the holidays with such little decoration. And c'mon guys, can't you at least keep all the lights on the tree working? Or maybe add some more pyro back to RoE (tag nonwithstanding)?

New Fantasyland? ... Where do I even start. Maybe tomorrow or Monday. ... But while what's there looks detailed and nice (and it does), can I also state that The Port of Entry at IOA is just as detailed or more and that ET is a better ride in 2012 than Little Mermaid is? Oh, I just did.

Gotta remember to also plug the best new thing at the MK that no one seems to want to talk about (no, it isn't pork shanks at Gaston's ... or the new interactive game Help Gary Buchanan Find His Missing Dragon!)

More to come you can be sure ...

Is there a reason why you're being so cryptic? Like this message if you would like to just tell us the things that you know but you just can't.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Fast Pass sucked out a little of the spontaneity of visiting the parks. ADR a little more. And I believe that FastPass+ plus the ability to actually order your meal choices 180 days out will be the Death Knell to spontineity of a day in the parks. Those who's hobby is sitting at the computer planning Fantasy Disney Vacations that they never plan to take will eat this up like free caviar. But will make Oliver Twists out of day guests. ("More please.")

 

[BryceM]

I think you misunderstood, I was talking about lugging around an iPad.

The amount of people I see at Universal and Disney taking pictures with iPads is incredible. The man behind me on The Cat in the Hat was filming with one. I just don't understand!

 

[GoofGoof]

One can still be spontaneous at the moment. There is no rule that one need to eat at a Disney table service restaurant every day. I like to schedule a few ADRs throughout my trip, mainly for signature restaurants and only very rarely for an in park table service as I find those in general not a good value for money. So I have a few evenings blocked off with reservations for restaurants at some resorts. But this leaves me still free to go to whichever park I want to go to during the day.

Also the people who booked the counter service dining plan certainly would not have any specific plans on where they will be for every day.

I think a lot of people would be surprised by the amount of visitors at WDW who still tour the parks very spontaneously.

Good point. If you get the QS plan and dont really eat at sit down spots then you don't need ADRs at all. If you get regular DDP then ADRs are a must, especially in busy times. I try to avoid DDP myself. I am not a fan of DDP and I hate that free dining is the current marketing strategy to get people on site. Even though I don't have DDP I still need to book my ADRs in advance since the free DDP people book up all of the better places 6 months out. I much preferred the time before DDP and FP when you just showed up at WDW and toured at leisure. For me, that was before kids so we didnt do character meals and didnt mind a little wait for dinner. We never made reservations except for maybe a dinner show. Before free DDP people probably didn't do 3 or 4 character dining meals a week so it was easier to get into those things. I always felt less rushed, but there were also only 2 or later 3 parks so if you went for a week you could spend 3 days at MK and 3 days at EPCOT and really take your time. Now with the competition down the street plus 4 parks I find it hard to fit everything in. I think maybe if I went more frequently I could be more spontaneous. I would just skip rides or even whole parks and know I would be back soon.

 

[GoofGoof]

Please note the website http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/media/park-experience-terms-and-conditions.html includes the following:

I interpret this as meaning that it will not be possible to use FP+ to "hop" attractions at different theme parks. Thus, in your example, if you mean Test Track by "TT", then it will not be possible to book "FastPass+ experiences" (Disney-speak) at DHS and Epcot on the same day.

The most depressing thing from this post:

Is that FP+ are being booked at 9 AM. Assuming this is the same as park opening, offsite guests are really up a creek without a paddle. Not only will they end up booking their "FastPass+ experiences" after all onsite guests, but they won't even be able to enjoy "Fast Passless" attractions for the park's first hour.

I REALLY hope this changes. Please Disney, at least give offsite guests the first hour to enjoy the attractions.

Sorry. I meant ToT not TT. Too many acronyms.

 

[flynnibus]

Ever hear of Cal-OSHA? Just check their website: http://www.cal-osha.com

Again - you are simply full of it. Cite the laws or policy regarding strict crowd control.

Here's a hint.. OSHA guidelines on crowd control are guidance.. not laws.

Oh, and when you want to point someone to the California state board for OSHA - you might try actually using their site.. http://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/ - not a 3rd party commercial site.

 

[Bolna]

I I will always figure out a way to be spontaneous. But, the changes will make it harder to be as spontaneous as in the past. However, I will leverage whatever technology is available to help me be spontaneous.

The point of my post was to say that at the moment you can be spontaneous, even in the time of ADRs and DDP. And I agree with you FP+ will make it much harder.

I actually think that taking spontaneity out of people's vacation is indeed one of the purposes of FP+. FP+ is very much a way in which Disney tries to allocate their resources (i.e. ride capacity) more evenly. In an ideal world (from Disney's perspective) every attraction would have a 30 minute standby line from park opening to park closing. That would be the most efficient use of park capacity. FP+ is a tool which is designed to help them acchieve that. This is why they added it to all those attractions that normally "don't need" FP. They are trying to artificially level out the demand of certain attractions. The only way they can do this is by pressuring as many guests as possible in rigid schemes.

Of course there could be another way to enhance capacity: build more rides. But I guess for the current TDO efficiency trumps show and courtesy.

 

[Rasvar]

I actually think that taking spontaneity out of people's vacation is indeed one of the purposes of FP+. FP+ is very much a way in which Disney tries to allocate their resources (i.e. ride capacity) more evenly. In an ideal world (from Disney's perspective) every attraction would have a 30 minute standby line from park opening to park closing. That would be the most efficient use of park capacity. FP+ is a tool which is designed to help them acchieve that. This is why they added it to all those attractions that normally "don't need" FP. They are trying to artificially level out the demand of certain attractions. The only way they can do this is by pressuring as many guests as possible in rigid schemes.

Unintentionally, it is kind of a return of the A-E tickets. One thing the ticket books did was overload you with the lower level tickets guiding you to use these attractions that you might not have otherwise used. I'm still not convinced that FP+ will have major changes on the stand by lines. I think some attractions will see increase in stand by times during the peak periods. FP+ will probably have its largest impact on the holiday season crowds. I would not want to be in the park at that time without FP+ but I usually am not there at the peak times. I'm going to wait and see. I admit I no longer just wander around the park and looking at a line to figure out what I will get on. I now sit on a bench and pull out my iPod and check wait times and FP times to figure out what I will do next. It actually saves me some walking on these old legs now.

 

[BigThunderMatt]

I am not a fan of DDP and I hate that free dining is the current marketing strategy to get people on site. Even though I don't have DDP I still need to book my ADRs in advance since the free DDP people book up all of the better places 6 months out.

A lot of people give the DDP grief, but if you know what you're doing with it, you can still have a lot of spontaneity in your trip. My family tried it out when they came down to visit this month (albeit at a discounted rate) and as far as TS goes, we just doubled up and did mostly signature restaurants (racking up equivalently large bills considering it was 4 adults) on a few nights rather than trying to do a different TS every night. Couple that with the fact that we basically had prepaid QSR breakfast (or sometimes lunch depending on the day) and all the snacks it actually made the trip a lot less stressful in determining where we ate, what we could get etc. because what we got was all pre-paid for.

I think people tend to fumble on it more when they try to use 1 of each credit for each person in their party each day of their visit. Two of the days we were there we were actually at Universal which allowed us to really kind of be flexible with the extra credits we hadn't used those days. In the end though we did the math and had saved quite a bit of money on it. I can see a lot of families losing money or just breaking even, especially ones with kids who are forced to get the cheaper children's menu options for kids under 9.

 

[Bolna]

Unintentionally, it is kind of a return of the A-E tickets. One thing the ticket books did was overload you with the lower level tickets guiding you to use these attractions that you might not have otherwise used. I'm still not convinced that FP+ will have major changes on the stand by lines. I think some attractions will see increase in stand by times during the peak periods. FP+ will probably have its largest impact on the holiday season crowds. I would not want to be in the park at that time without FP+ but I usually am not there at the peak times. I'm going to wait and see. I admit I no longer just wander around the park and looking at a line to figure out what I will get on. I now sit on a bench and pull out my iPod and check wait times and FP times to figure out what I will do next. It actually saves me some walking on these old legs now.

Maybe it even is an intentional return to those old A-E tickets. Just with the pretence of still offering one ticket that pays for it all. But then FP+ opens the backdoor to reintroduce a way to pay more for better access to the popular rides. @ParentsOf4 has explained it in depth already how FP+ works financially. And it is that promise of FP+ enhancing revenue and efficiency that makes FP+ so dangerous. They will try soooo hard to make this work even if it turns out an operational nightmare (according to the reports here on wdwmagic it seems like the recent tests did not go well at all). The promise of being such a money maker will ensure that this thing will not be considered a failure easily.

I remember that @WDW1974 posted a few months ago that TDO expects the profit (or was it revenue?) per guest to go up by 13% (or a similar high number) thanks to FP+. When I read it then I thought that was ridiculous. I am starting to see how they could think that....

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Just use an iPhone 5 if you have one. It about on par with digital cameras. Not shabby for a phone at least plus it's small and one less thing to carry.

Of course it is. Just goes to show how folk have been dumbed down to accept immediacy as a preference to true quality.