This is what a FastPass+ line looks like

[copcarguyp71]

So the answer is yes then if I read that correctly...which is another nail in the coffin as I do not, will not carry a phone on vacation.

Nothing solidified this more for me than standing in line for Kilimanjaro two years ago and my guys at the shop call me to ask what to do about a flat tire...if they knew they could not get a hold of me they would have simply taken care of it but since I was easily accessible they sought validation from me to do what they knew what they needed to do anyway....stress level to infinity and beyond!!!!

 

[MinnieM123]

A)- I am on vacation and do not want to be trained to do anything. Nor do I want to race across the park to make it to a reservation for a ride. Sorry but Disney is not so special that I feel that I need to inconvenience myself or ramp up my stress trying to make a reservation time slot running past things I would like to take time to enjoy because we might miss a reservation for a ride. Has anyone really let that sink into their consciousness...an ELECTRONIC RESERVATION FOR A RIDE. I realize that FP was in a way the same thing but this continuing evolution just seems so disturbing. I think Disney overestimates their "specialness" and the threshold of tolerance that people have when on vacation to unwind.

B)- When we are on vacation we lock up our cell phones in the safe. It is family time and we check out from electronica entirely. My DW works in corporate and I run my own business...for one week a year we shut off the electronica for vacation and to reconnect 100%...I have ZERO interest in bringing it back into the fold. Until Disney decides they want to give out a MyMagic only electronic device we will not take part in any of these programs and even then I will probably not...the beach on Aruba does not make me schedule my next margarita on the beach with an electronic device so they get my vacation dollar for next July.

I absolutely abhor the fact that my once frothing fanboi attitude is waning so quickly so please do not confuse my posts for "negative nancy" Disney bashing...it is out of love for what was and what could be again with the right vision at corporate.

Your first sentence really "hit home" for me, and pointed out the primary reason for my resentment of the new system as well.

 

[scoobygirl39541]

Ok so this raises a question... what if your FP+ time expires before you reach the kiosk? (by waiting in the long line, not due to your own negligence)

 

[Tom Morrow]

Yep i was at MK last Saturday and same story for Space Mountain almost the entire day, the line for fastpass+ was extended way out past the queue for it.

Everyone keeps saying this, but the line is for the check in point, once inside the line is the same as before, maybe even shorter than this past summer. In the end, you are waiting the same amount of time in the Fastpass queue as before.

Were any of you here this past summer? The Fastpass queues were consistently full and FP+/Magic Bands had not been rolled out yet. Only a small percentage of people had them. There are not MORE people than before entering the Fastpass queues, its just taking longer for them to "check in" at the entrance- which is absolutely an issue that needs to be addressed.

 

[flynnibus]

Everyone keeps saying this, but the line is for the check in point, once inside the line is the same as before, maybe even shorter than this past summer

That is not consistent with reports over the last few weeks. They have reported the backup is NOT specifically at the first checkpoint, but in fact the queue was full beyond the checkpoint as well.

 

[Tom Morrow]

That is not consistent with reports over the last few weeks. They have reported the backup is NOT specifically at the first checkpoint, but in fact the queue was full beyond the checkpoint as well.

I haven't been seeing that, but either way, its not in any way different than how the FP queue lines were this past summer, with the exception that you might wait a little bit longer at the entry point than before, but the same amount of waiting overall.

 

[flynnibus]

I haven't been seeing that, but either way, its not in any way different than how the FP queue lines were this past summer, with the exception that you might wait a little bit longer at the entry point than before, but the same amount of waiting overall.

I don't buy that at all - it is very different.

Normally the FP queues are NOT filled all the way back to the first checkpoint.
And sustained long queues outside the first checkpoint are not status quo either.

FP queues rarely backed up prior to merge for more than a few minutes.

 

[Tom Morrow]

I don't buy that at all - it is very different.

Normally the FP queues are NOT filled all the way back to the first checkpoint.
And sustained long queues outside the first checkpoint are not status quo either.

FP queues rarely backed up prior to merge for more than a few minutes.

With first-hand experience, I promise that the FP queues being backed up all the way to the first checkpoint was extremely common this past summer. Remember that FP+ has not added Fastpass queue demand/capacity, but subtracted from Legacy Fastpass availability.

I remember there were even threads and posts about it, such as Everest's Fastpass queue backing all the way to Finding Nemo the Musical.

 

[Bairstow]

What about the argument that FP+ availability was going to make the standby queues four times as long?

 

[WDWYankee15]

What about the argument that FP+ availability was going to make the standby queues four times as long?

That could happen, but it all has to do with how many FastPasses (Paper or FP+) they give out. No reason it should change if they give out the same number as they always have.

 

[Bairstow]

That could happen, but it all has to do with how many FastPasses (Paper or FP+) they give out. No reason it should change if they give out the same number as they always have.

Well, right, and that seems to be what's happening.

 

[GoofGoof]

What about the argument that FP+ availability was going to make the standby queues four times as long?

The week before Thanksgiving there was no impact to standby lines that I noticed. The two main rides that people were expecting longer lines were HM and POTC and neither had standby lines over 10 minutes in the 3 days I spent in MK.

 

[ParentsOf4]

The week before Thanksgiving there was no impact to standby lines that I noticed. The two main rides that people were expecting longer lines were HM and POTC and neither had standby lines over 10 minutes in the 3 days I spent in MK.

We went less than 7 days apart and yet crowds were completely different, as is usual for the week of Thanksgiving vs. the week before or the week after.

During Thanksgiving week, PotC and HM both peaked at around 30 minutes, maybe a bit longer for HM. I recall (not 100% sure) that HM was over 30 minutes for much of the day while PotC definitely dropped to 10 minutes at night. Of course, by about 9 PM, Winnie the Pooh was at 20 minutes and Peter Pan was at 40 minutes, due to huge crowds waiting for the parade.

The Standby line for HM was almost out to Columbia House when we road it on Wednesday at about 1 PM, the day before Thanksgiving.

The FP+ lines didn't seem particularly long for either attraction. It seemed to me that most guests with FP+ did their homework and knew which FP+ selections gave the most bang for the buck. MK is the one theme park that has an abundance of good attractions.

Guests picking FP+ for Thanksgiving week were pretty sophisticated; more than I gave them credit for. Disney is going to have a lot of unhappy customers if they move forward with tiered attractions and force guests into making meaningless FP+ selections.

The scheme to artificially create FP+ capacity by adding FP+ to attractions that shouldn't need them could blow up in Disney's face.

More than ever, I'm convinced FP+ is only going to highlight to guests that WDW doesn't have enough good attractions at 3 of its theme parks.

 

[GoofGoof]

We went less than 7 days apart and yet crowds were completely different, as is usual for the week of Thanksgiving vs. the week before or the week after.

During Thanksgiving week, PotC and HM both peaked at around 30 minutes, maybe a bit longer for HM. I recall (not 100% sure) that HM was over 30 minutes for much of the day while PotC definitely dropped to 10 minutes at night. Of course, by about 9 PM, Winnie the Pooh was at 20 minutes and Peter Pan was at 40 minutes, due to huge crowds waiting for the parade.

The Standby line for HM was almost out to Columbia House when we road it on Wednesday at about 1 PM, the day before Thanksgiving.

The FP+ lines didn't seem particularly long for either attraction. It seemed to me that most guests with FP+ did their homework and knew which FP+ selections gave the most bang for the buck. MK is the one theme park that has an abundance of good attractions.

Guests picking FP+ for Thanksgiving week were pretty sophisticated; more than I gave them credit for. Disney is going to have a lot of unhappy customers if they move forward with tiered attractions and force guests into making meaningless FP+ selections.

The scheme to artificially create FP+ capacity by adding FP+ to attractions that shouldn't need them could blow up in Disney's face.

More than ever, I'm convinced FP+ is only going to highlight to guests that WDW doesn't have enough good attractions at 3 of its theme parks.

I am pretty sure that if by some miracle we actually get new rides at DHS at least a few shows will no longer have FP+. Part of my party had FP+ for the Beauty and the Beast show at DHS. I took my 6 year old on Tower of Terror so we both had that, but the rest of the kids were either too small or chickened out. They got FP for the show since it was the only other thing we planned on doing that had FP. When they got to the theater they asked where the FP entrance was and the CM basically said it was around the side, but wasn't worth using since it leads to the same seats. If they are flat out telling people that the FP is meaningless why have it? Because of lack of other attractions.

 

[Belowthesurface]

For those of you that don't walk the parks often, these lines are typical.

 

[WDWYankee15]

I am pretty sure that if by some miracle we actually get new rides at DHS at least a few shows will no longer have FP+. Part of my party had FP+ for the Beauty and the Beast show at DHS. I took my 6 year old on Tower of Terror so we both had that, but the rest of the kids were either too small or chickened out. They got FP for the show since it was the only other thing we planned on doing that had FP. When they got to the theater they asked where the FP entrance was and the CM basically said it was around the side, but wasn't worth using since it leads to the same seats. If they are flat out telling people that the FP is meaningless why have it? Because of lack of other attractions.

Smoke and mirrors. Plenty to see and do here... Also if you are getting 1 of your allotted three out of the way on a useless FP+ then that is more available to others on ToT, RnR, TMM, etc.