What Happened?

ThemeParkFan

Member
Original Poster
See what I do enjoy about the magic bands and fast pass + is that I don't have to wake up at the crack of dawn and race to toy story with a mob of other people to get a fast pass. Now I have it booked way ahead of time and I can enjoy my vacation. And it's not like you have thousands of fast passes a day. We normally only have like three which allow us to plan our day better and if a time comes up for a fast pass and it's no longer a feasible option (lunch ran later, we are somewhere else in the park) then we skip it. I have seen family members run themselves ragged because they viewed their fast passes as something that must be kept no matter what and also due to poor planning would plan fast pass tickets at opposite ends of the park right next to each other and be stressed running around the park.t definitely requires some forward thinking and knowledge of the parks (park layout and which rides you actually need a fast pass for) and with that in mind you will be just fine!
I mean you could still get there at like 10:00 though and still get some for like 4 or 5
Now if you do it the day before it's gone already
 

DisneyFans4Life

Well-Known Member
I didn't think I was going to be a fan of the MB because they are rubber and figured they'd stick to your skin during the summer months. Though this has turned out to be true, I don't mind it like I thought I would. It's nice to have everything you need right there on the band, including your FPs for rides.

I consider myself a local, though I am about an hour away, and my wife, daughter and I go about twice a month for the day. My wife is in charge of booking our FPs and we've never had an issue with them. Because we go so often, if there's something we miss out on, we just do it the next time. I like having our rides planned out so we just go from one thing to the next and don't have to worry about waiting in a long line. With a 2 year old...they can only wait in so long of a line before they start getting bored and antsy. There's no way you can expect a 2 year old to stay entertained for 75 minutes while waiting for TSMM. For us (and I'd imagine most families with kids), having FPs are excellent.

I can see why some truely local people can be frustrated if they want to swing by after work one day to grab something to eat, but at the same time, Disney is a vacation spot where people from all over the world are coming for their vacation (and have probably had it planned for quite a while). Going to Disney for dinner is not like going to your local Applebee's or Olive Garden where you can show up and expect to get seated. Sure you can grab a QS dinner without problem, but I wouldn't expect to get seated at Le Cellier if you didn't already have a reservation.
 

Disneyhead'71

Well-Known Member
I didn't think I was going to be a fan of the MB because they are rubber and figured they'd stick to your skin during the summer months. Though this has turned out to be true, I don't mind it like I thought I would. It's nice to have everything you need right there on the band, including your FPs for rides.

I consider myself a local, though I am about an hour away, and my wife, daughter and I go about twice a month for the day. My wife is in charge of booking our FPs and we've never had an issue with them. Because we go so often, if there's something we miss out on, we just do it the next time. I like having our rides planned out so we just go from one thing to the next and don't have to worry about waiting in a long line. With a 2 year old...they can only wait in so long of a line before they start getting bored and antsy. There's no way you can expect a 2 year old to stay entertained for 75 minutes while waiting for TSMM. For us (and I'd imagine most families with kids), having FPs are excellent.

I can see why some truely local people can be frustrated if they want to swing by after work one day to grab something to eat, but at the same time, Disney is a vacation spot where people from all over the world are coming for their vacation (and have probably had it planned for quite a while). Going to Disney for dinner is not like going to your local Applebee's or Olive Garden where you can show up and expect to get seated. Sure you can grab a QS dinner without problem, but I wouldn't expect to get seated at Le Cellier if you didn't already have a reservation.
I expect there to be some table service options for walk ups all but the absolute busiest of days. Unfortunately, all the parks but Epcot seriously lack dining capacity.

So we just don't even bother going to Dismey anymore.
 

Chef Mickey

Well-Known Member
I'm going to just start ignoring these kind of "underwhelmed" people when it comes to Disney...but let me rant a little first.

First of all, your rant was barely intelligible, but I did my best to get the gist of you being unimpressed with Fast Pass+ and the new additions.

At a high level, if you're not impressed with Disney, just don't go back. They certainly don't need more people jammed in the parks and especially the disgruntled complainers. I honestly can't completely blame you. They have dropped the ball lately.

That said, your basic premise of hating Fast Pass+ is that you don't want to plan. The reality is, you have to for the most popular rides but you really don't for most of the rides and most of the year. I've been multiple times and changed my times the day before with no problem. TSMM and 7DMT are among the most popular attractions, so it's not a shocker.

Do I wish they held out a few "walk up" fast passes so you could be guaranteed a fast pass if you choose to show up at 8am? Sure, but they are not going to manage 2 systems. I hate the new system too, but it can and does make your experience easier if you plan a little.

Unimpressed with the additions? I can't disagree that Toy Story Land seems to be underwhelming already, but let's give it a chance. Perhaps the TSMM expansion will be better than expected and the "kiddie coaster" may be more fun than Goofy's Sky School. Maybe not. I've argued for years that we haven't seen anything incredible since Everest and even that has no working Yeti today.

Bottom line is, Disney still has tons of classic attractions, shows, and even newer attractions to love. If you're going to let unfinished areas and a new fast pass system ruin it for you, don't let the door hit you on the way out.
 
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DisneyFans4Life

Well-Known Member
I expect there to be some table service options for walk ups all but the absolute busiest of days. Unfortunately, all the parks but Epcot seriously lack dining capacity.

So we just don't even bother going to Dismey anymore.
I think Epcot is the exception because they utilize dining options as a way to showcase each country...thus resulting in more dining options than the other parks. If you start to load the rest of the parks with dining options (TS options specifically), then people will complain that there aren't enough attractions and that we didn't come to Disney to just eat all day. What would probably be a better idea for the people who want to show up for dinner after work is to check and see what reservations are available for that night and then book based on availability. Sure that takes away a bit of the spontaneity, but at least it prevents you from getting to a restaurant to find out they don't have any availability.
 

Chef Mickey

Well-Known Member
I think the difference is, for some people, planning a "Disney Vacation" is a hobby. They are that into it! For those folks, this is nirvana.

For normal people, the intensive planning required is borderline insane.
I'd argue there aren't many places you can go and just flat out not plan.

I admit, Disney requires slightly more, but it's also a more unique experience because everything is "right there" and attractions will be done by everyone.

If you go to Disney or anywhere in the world, you have to plan flight/transportation, hotel, and typically at least a framework for food.

Disney's difference are the attraction fast passes you now have to plan, but I'd argue these are just like activities you need to plan anywhere you go, especially popular places.

If you just "show up" anywhere, chances are you're going to miss the most popular stuff because you either didn't know about it, or it will be full and/or unavailable for walk ups.

I've been all over the world and have always planned pretty meticulously. Do I plan more than others? Maybe slightly, but my point is that you really can't go anywhere and just wing it. If you do, you'll probably miss stuff.
 

MississippiBelle

Well-Known Member
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

*Noisly drags Uni v Disney debate wagon into this forum*

I would like to point out that Universal's most recent HP "thrill ride" attractions have been simulators. Maybe Disney is seeing the success of those rides without having to take up a ton of space or spend the money to build and theme a roller coaster type attraction. I was honestly joking about bringing up a Uni v Disney debate so please nobody run with that. *Sets fire to debate wagon* What I'm saying is, the new simulated thrill ride in Avatar has a lot of potential so don't write it off just yet! As far as FP+ goes, I've never had an issue with it. My family and I don't get to go a lot anymore with a college age child and a child who has recently graduated and is entering the work force. Planning is half the fun for us, so selecting FP choices in advance isn't a problem. We also never had an issue changing a dinner reservation or a fast pass on the fly. We've ridden Soarin' three times in one day because the fast pass was always available when we used the kiosk. It definitely isn't a perfect system, but the concept was a good one and it does work out on occasion.
 

Disneyhead'71

Well-Known Member
I'd argue there aren't many places you can go and just flat out not plan.

I admit, Disney requires slightly more, but it's also a more unique experience because everything is "right there" and attractions will be done by everyone.

If you go to Disney or anywhere in the world, you have to plan flight/transportation, hotel, and typically at least a framework for food.

Disney's difference are the attraction fast passes you now have to plan, but I'd argue these are just like activities you need to plan anywhere you go, especially popular places.

If you just "show up" anywhere, chances are you're going to miss the most popular stuff because you either didn't know about it, or it will be full and/or unavailable for walk ups.

I've been all over the world and have always planned pretty meticulously. Do I plan more than others? Maybe slightly, but my point is that you really can't go anywhere and just wing it. If you do, you'll probably miss stuff.
I know of no other vacation destination where there is an entire culture around waking up at the crack of dawn, 180 days before your travel dates, just to make dining reservations for every meal of your stay.
 

Chef Mickey

Well-Known Member
I know of no other vacation destination where there is an entire culture around waking up at the *** crack of dawn, 180 days before your travel dates, just to make dining reservations for every meal of your stay.
Some of that is overblown and unnecessary. Alas, some things are super popular and to do those things, you might have to get up one time to book those few select things and move on with your life.

There are restaurants in NYC with a 3 month waiting list too.
 

Disneyhead'71

Well-Known Member
Some of that is overblown and unnecessary. Alas, some things are super popular and to do those things, you might have to get up one time to book those few select things and move on with your life.

There are restaurants in NYC with a 3 month waiting list too.
Surely you didn't really just compare Cindy's Royal Table and BOG to the likes of The Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare or Atera?
 

thomas998

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
Unless you know about 60 days prior to your trip you'll never get 7 dwarves passes... They vanish very quickly... I think the whole system is intended to make the parks more attractive to the guests that go there and plan on staying in their resorts because they are really the only people that this system works well for.
 

rucifee

Well-Known Member
Unless you know about 60 days prior to your trip you'll never get 7 dwarves passes... They vanish very quickly... I think the whole system is intended to make the parks more attractive to the guests that go there and plan on staying in their resorts because they are really the only people that this system works well for.

I learned a while back that you can game my magic plus, for example I have a 7DMT for almost every day Christmas week that I just set up a few minutes ago. Only took a few minutes to get them, just have to know how to use the MM+ system to your advantage. I realized not too long ago that the people who were telling other people here that we were lying that we couldn't get decent FP+ a few days out were actually only able to get them themselves because they figured out how to game MM+ too.
 

jensenrick

Well-Known Member
*Noisly drags Uni v Disney debate wagon into this forum*

I would like to point out that Universal's most recent HP "thrill ride" attractions have been simulators. Maybe Disney is seeing the success of those rides without having to take up a ton of space or spend the money to build and theme a roller coaster type attraction.

I'm not trying to "run" with it, BUT I can't let the statement pass that HP Forbidden Journey or FP Gringotts don't take up "a ton of space" or cost "a lot of money", because that's just wacky.

We've ridden Soarin' three times in one day because the fast pass was always available when we used the kiosk.

Wow, I wish that would happen to me, I love Soarin! I'm glad you mentioned that, gives me incentive to actually use the kiosk one day.
 

Jon81uk

Well-Known Member
(I haven't read all four pages of posts)

But MagicBands themselves are not really different to the old Key to the World card, its just the band is on your wrist instead of a card in your wallet.

The changes to FastPass are completely separate, they could have made the changes without using bands (and it looks like when they do it at DisneyLand they won't use bands, it will be a card ticket or the app).
 

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