What Happened?

ThemeParkFan

Member
Original Poster
I just went to Disney for the first time in 3 years. Last time I was here, seven dwarfs mine train didn't exist. And I gotta say, so far, I'm disappointed. We used to be season pass holders and we tried out the magic bands before they fully switched. Now that I'm older, I see how stupid they are. First of all, the new fastpass+ system is the worst thing ever invented. It forces you to plan ahead, which is great for the people who like to do that, but for anyone who is local and just decides to come to Disney someday or at a time, it sucks. The app, has crashed on me twice. Disney was better when they had the previous system, first come first serve. If you want to get fastpasses then you can get them. If you don't but want to later they still might be avaliable. I tried to get fastpasses for toy story and the seven dwarfs mine 2 days before and they were fully booked. I will give Disney props for seven dwarfs mine though. That's a great ride and fits perfectly with the park. However, I just wish Disney would do what is best for the people more often. These magic bands are the worst invention Disney has ever come up with. The new lands they are building also have rides similar to what they already have. An avatar boat ride and a kiddie coaster in toy story land. You can find a kiddie coaster in Magic Kingdom and a boat ride at Epcot and Magic Kingdom. I have my opinions about what the new rides are. I personally think they should be more thrilling but that is just my opinion. (Kinda why rockin roller coaster is always packed) Walt Disney added rides at Disney land that were thrilling at the time (Matterhorn bobsleds) why can't they add thrilling rides now? Anyway that's just my opinion, feel free to state yours
 

Flippin'Flounder

Well-Known Member
Personally I like Magic Bands and the idea of FP+. FP+ doesn't work for two reasons. Too many rides have it (Who needs a FP for Muppet Vision???) which ruined high capacity rides, especially MK ones like Pirates, IASW, and Haunted Mansion. Also, I hate having to go to kiosks for extra ones, why can't I get them on my phone? As for locals, I understand why the would have an issue with it, but if they have an AP they can go all the time anyway, so they can just wait in line.
 

Chef Kronk

Well-Known Member
I just went to Disney for the first time in 3 years. Last time I was here, seven dwarfs mine train didn't exist. And I gotta say, so far, I'm disappointed. We used to be season pass holders and we tried out the magic bands before they fully switched. Now that I'm older, I see how stupid they are. First of all, the new fastpass+ system is the worst thing ever invented. It forces you to plan ahead, which is great for the people who like to do that, but for anyone who is local and just decides to come to Disney someday or at a time, it sucks. The app, has crashed on me twice. Disney was better when they had the previous system, first come first serve. If you want to get fastpasses then you can get them. If you don't but want to later they still might be avaliable. I tried to get fastpasses for toy story and the seven dwarfs mine 2 days before and they were fully booked. I will give Disney props for seven dwarfs mine though. That's a great ride and fits perfectly with the park. However, I just wish Disney would do what is best for the people more often. These magic bands are the worst invention Disney has ever come up with. The new lands they are building also have rides similar to what they already have. An avatar boat ride and a kiddie coaster in toy story land. You can find a kiddie coaster in Magic Kingdom and a boat ride at Epcot and Magic Kingdom. I have my opinions about what the new rides are. I personally think they should be more thrilling but that is just my opinion. (Kinda why rockin roller coaster is always packed) Walt Disney added rides at Disney land that were thrilling at the time (Matterhorn bobsleds) why can't they add thrilling rides now? Anyway that's just my opinion, feel free to state yours

In regards to thrill rides...

First of all, there's going to be two rides in Avatar Land: the unnamed boat ride you mentioned and a simulator thrill ride (Flight of Passage). So, that takes AK's thrill ride total to 4 or 5, depending on if you consider Kali a thrill ride or not.

Slinky Dog Coaster is not going to be a kiddie coaster like the Barnstormer. There's supposed to be a launch element and it seems like it will be more thrilling than 7DMT. Besides, Hollywood Studios needs more family friendly rides and this coaster will fit the bill of that.

Star Wars Land is getting at least 2 rides. The two rides we know of now are going to be thrill rides.

That's 4 thrill rides coming to WDW, plus the Alien Claw ride at TSL and whatever we eventually get from Phase 3. I'm not trying to be rude, but I want you to know that WDW will be getting a fine amount of thrill rides over the next 5 years.
 

Magenta Panther

Well-Known Member
I just went to Disney for the first time in 3 years. Last time I was here, seven dwarfs mine train didn't exist. And I gotta say, so far, I'm disappointed. We used to be season pass holders and we tried out the magic bands before they fully switched. Now that I'm older, I see how stupid they are. First of all, the new fastpass+ system is the worst thing ever invented. It forces you to plan ahead, which is great for the people who like to do that, but for anyone who is local and just decides to come to Disney someday or at a time, it sucks. The app, has crashed on me twice. Disney was better when they had the previous system, first come first serve. If you want to get fastpasses then you can get them. If you don't but want to later they still might be avaliable. I tried to get fastpasses for toy story and the seven dwarfs mine 2 days before and they were fully booked. I will give Disney props for seven dwarfs mine though. That's a great ride and fits perfectly with the park. However, I just wish Disney would do what is best for the people more often. These magic bands are the worst invention Disney has ever come up with. The new lands they are building also have rides similar to what they already have. An avatar boat ride and a kiddie coaster in toy story land. You can find a kiddie coaster in Magic Kingdom and a boat ride at Epcot and Magic Kingdom. I have my opinions about what the new rides are. I personally think they should be more thrilling but that is just my opinion. (Kinda why rockin roller coaster is always packed) Walt Disney added rides at Disney land that were thrilling at the time (Matterhorn bobsleds) why can't they add thrilling rides now? Anyway that's just my opinion, feel free to state yours

I've got a friend who's booking his first trip to WDW with his little boy. He's been going kinda nuts with the Fastpass bookings. It's really adding to his stress level. I'm going to ask him how things went when he gets back from his trip, if the Fastpass system made things easier. Me, I generally ignore Fastpass+ bookings. The band is okay for paying for meals and getting into your hotel room. But it's no better than the old cards were IMO. And I agree that the old Fastpass system was WAY better. You just walked up to a Fastpass machine, got a paper ticket telling you when to return to a given ride, and that was that. So easy and much more accommodating to us spontaneous-oriented types.

Not that there's anything wrong with planning in advance. I advise EVERYONE who asks me about WDW trips to plan their days in advance, especially if they have kids. WDW is just too big to play it by ear, especially if you want to visit all the parks. You can literally walk your feet bloody (had a friend who actually did that, thanks to a badly-trimmed toenail. :p ).
 

mergatroid

Well-Known Member
Magic bands have completely changed the way we do the parks, I agree with that. We like to just visit the parks some days for just a few hours unplanned, now if we do that we just can't get as much done as we used to be able to.
 

cjack300zx

Well-Known Member
I really like the magic bands a lot, I like not having to take my wallet to the park and I can use it to pay for everything and its the hotel room key. The fast pass system doesn't bother me because we just like to wing it and see what happens and some times waiting in line for a ride is the only rest we get, which can be nice to interact with other people
 
Last edited:

ThemeParkFan

Member
Original Poster
Not
In regards to thrill rides...

First of all, there's going to be two rides in Avatar Land: the unnamed boat ride you mentioned and a simulator thrill ride (Flight of Passage). So, that takes AK's thrill ride total to 4 or 5, depending on if you consider Kali a thrill ride or not.

Slinky Dog Coaster is not going to be a kiddie coaster like the Barnstormer. There's supposed to be a launch element and it seems like it will be more thrilling than 7DMT. Besides, Hollywood Studios needs more family friendly rides and this coaster will fit the bill of that.

Star Wars Land is getting at least 2 rides. The two rides we know of now are going to be thrill rides.

That's 4 thrill rides coming to WDW, plus the Alien Claw ride at TSL and whatever we eventually get from Phase 3. I'm not trying to be rude, but I want you to know that WDW will be getting a fine amount of thrill rides over the next 5 years.

Thank you for clearing that up about avatar land. However, the point of view of the slinky dog coaster looks like a seven dwarfs mine train type of ride. I don't understand why Disney views roller coasters as evil or something. Let me remind you that tower of terror is also one of the major thrill rides and it's not nearly as packed as rockin roller coaster
 

ThemeParkFan

Member
Original Poster
I read that a big part FP+ was essentially because they found that planning ahead decreases the likelihood of leaving property. Decisions such as getting "certain" IPs and opening new e-tickets at a faster rate would likely have prevented FP+ from being so important to them now.

I am cautiously optimistic about Flight of Passage and at least one of the SW e-tickets, though.
So basically a great corperate decision. Except now you can't get fast passes for soarin, seven dwarfs, or toy story unless you plan ahead. Like way ahead.
 

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
MyMagic certainly wasn't introduced to assist the guest more than the company - much like original Fastpass.

Nor has it been the stellar success - or cost anywhere near what was estimated. Hence attempts to recoup the huge overspend anyway possible.

But we're stuck with it in Orlando at least.
 

Clyde Birdbrain

Unknown Member
I also used to be an annual passholder, hadn't been in about 3 years and recently got an annual pass again, but my experience is very different. I've been following this forum for the last few years and because of all the negativity had a very low impression of FastPass+ and the parks. We got passes in August and I wasn't sure I was going to like it again, but we have already been 14 times since then and are loving it. We went to Food and Wine concerts several times (it was perfect to get FastPasses for concerts ahead of time so we had guaranteed seats) and love going to the lights at Hollywood Studios, looking at Christmas decorations in the resorts and listening to the storytellers at Epcot. We often just go for a half day or an evening for something specific like that.

We are finding FastPass+ quite handy and are often able to get what we want a few days in advance. The app works great and has never crashed for me. It is very fast, WiFi is now good throughout the park (it wasn't 3 years ago when we stopped going) and I like using the app to make reservations and look up wait times.

We regularly plan a trip based on what FastPasses we can get. The good ones like Toy Story and Seven Dwarfs Mine are often gone, like you said, but sometimes we can get them and then we plan a trip around it. I find it reasonable that people who pay a lot of money to stay at the Grand Floridian can get a FastPass for Seven Dwarfs more easily than someone like me who can go whenever I want, but I can still ride it quite often. A few days ago we were at MK and at 4pm were able to change a FastPass from Pirates to Seven Dwarfs. I find that we can more often get these good ones late as I suspect people are canceling them or more are opening up.

I like that the 3 FastPasses you get are often pretty close together, like all in the morning or evening. They are usually within a 4 or 5 hour period so we can go for just a half day or still visit another park. I think it's great. The Magic Bands work so well to get in the park and scan for a ride. When I think back to the old paper FastPass system and how CMs had to check times manually it seems archaic. Last time I was at Universal there was a huge line to get in as many people were having a problem scanning their ticket. Now at Disney there is almost never a line and you just scan your Magic Band, the thing turns green and you're in. I think it's brilliant.
 

rucifee

Well-Known Member
I also used to be an annual passholder, hadn't been in about 3 years and recently got an annual pass again, but my experience is very different. I've been following this forum for the last few years and because of all the negativity had a very low impression of FastPass+ and the parks. We got passes in August and I wasn't sure I was going to like it again, but we have already been 14 times since then and are loving it. We went to Food and Wine concerts several times (it was perfect to get FastPasses for concerts ahead of time so we had guaranteed seats) and love going to the lights at Hollywood Studios, looking at Christmas decorations in the resorts and listening to the storytellers at Epcot. We often just go for a half day or an evening for something specific like that.

We are finding FastPass+ quite handy and are often able to get what we want a few days in advance. The app works great and has never crashed for me. It is very fast, WiFi is now good throughout the park (it wasn't 3 years ago when we stopped going) and I like using the app to make reservations and look up wait times.

We regularly plan a trip based on what FastPasses we can get. The good ones like Toy Story and Seven Dwarfs Mine are often gone, like you said, but sometimes we can get them and then we plan a trip around it. I find it reasonable that people who pay a lot of money to stay at the Grand Floridian can get a FastPass for Seven Dwarfs more easily than someone like me who can go whenever I want, but I can still ride it quite often. A few days ago we were at MK and at 4pm were able to change a FastPass from Pirates to Seven Dwarfs. I find that we can more often get these good ones late as I suspect people are canceling them or more are opening up.

I like that the 3 FastPasses you get are often pretty close together, like all in the morning or evening. They are usually within a 4 or 5 hour period so we can go for just a half day or still visit another park. I think it's great. The Magic Bands work so well to get in the park and scan for a ride. When I think back to the old paper FastPass system and how CMs had to check times manually it seems archaic. Last time I was at Universal there was a huge line to get in as many people were having a problem scanning their ticket. Now at Disney there is almost never a line and you just scan your Magic Band, the thing turns green and you're in. I think it's brilliant.

So, do you work for Disney, or for a third party that Disney's farmed out for positive social PR?
 

Flippin'Flounder

Well-Known Member
What? Since we paid for the ability to go all the time we should just wait in the 100+ minute lines? Yeah, no.
Then just plan in advanced? I don't know how hard it is for you to figure out when you'll have a free weekend, but you should know that you're not going to be able to get on the most popular rides, if you show up at noon on a Saturday. Besides, there's no penalty to missing you're FP+, so you couldn't you make some for everyday and hope you'll be there that day? I'm not sure how many you can make if you have an AP, but it doesn't seem too difficult.
 

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