Why the hate for MyMagic and Fastpass+

[Disneyhead'71]

They probably still have jobs because your opinion of their thought process makes no sense, thus making it unlikely to be the case. It's Occam's Razor. You have to make too many far-fecthed assumptions to land at MM+ being a tool to kill people leaving AK & HS after half a day. For example, you have to conclude that Disney would rather spend billions than millions to solve this problem. That's just not rational. You have to ignore that Avatarland is proceeding (albeit very slowly), meaning they are spending the billions and the millions. You have to ignore that park hopping is a free add-on to APs and a cheap add-on to MYW tickets. And, of course, closing those parks so much earlier on a regular basis than MK and Epcot does nothing to motivate people to not do exactly what you claim Disney wants to prevent.

It seems far more likely to me that the 3:30 exodus and MM+ are viewed as separate issues. It seems more likely to me that MM+ is there to enhance the guest experience, even if it is debatable about whether it will. And the 3:30 exodus issue is being addressed via the Avatarland expansion at AK and will be addressed via the rumored expansion(s) at HS.

I don't know if all that means park hopping will be an option for FP+ in a year, or two years. or whatever. But it seems to me that your reasoning for thinking it won't ever happen is an epic failure of logic.

I don't think you looking at the big picture. First, Avatar is at least 4 years out. And Disney is looking at MM+ as a MAJOR profit driver. More so than new attractions have proven to be. In Disney's eyes MM+ is a win-win for them as it discourages parkhopping AND is a major profit driver. So maybe NEVER EVER is a bit much, but at least not until both DHS AND DAK up to full day parks. And that is at least a decade off. They are not spending $2.5+ billion solely to discourage parkhopping, but they will use it as such until all the parks are up to speed. AND raking in the dough while they are at it.

 

[Californian Elitist]

The main reason I'm not interested in MyMagic and Fastpass+ is the planning part. Planning a Fastpass/ride? I honestly thought it was a joke when I first heard it. Planning takes a lot of fun out of my Disney trips. The only thing I plan is maybe the day I'm going and what time I'm leaving. What's even worse is they want you to plan the Fastpass/ride six months out. That alone deserves a laugh. Oh, and only three Fastpasses at a time? What the heck? I'm not comfortable with the band, either.

 

[Santa Raccoon 77]

I can't understand the "only 3 fastpasses a day" surely this will help balance things so more people can enjoy more attractions instead of some of the headliners being out of FP by 10 am.and how many Fastpasses can you get in one day i struggle to use or need more than 1 or 2 per day

 

[twebber55]

I'm confused. It's free.

Or did you mean the cost to Disney that could have been invested elsewhere?

money they are investing in this project

 

[Weather_Lady]

I can't understand the "only 3 fastpasses a day" surely this will help balance things so more people can enjoy more attractions instead of some of the headliners being out of FP by 10 am.and how many Fastpasses can you get in one day i struggle to use or need more than 1 or 2 per day

In the past, our Fastpass usage has depended on the park. In the Magic Kingdom, it wasn't unusual for us to use 4 or more in a day, particularly in the afternoon and evening when crowds had built up. We only Fastpassed attractions with a wait in excess of 20 minutes, and often Fastpassed the same attraction (e.g., Splash Mountain, my son's favorite attraction, or Dumbo, one of my daughter's favorites,) twice. In the rest of the parks, we only used 1 or 2. Since we often visited more than one park in a day, though, it wasn't uncommon to use 5 or 6 total in a day.

My family will definitely have to do some adjusting under the new system. I'm very interested to see what impact Fastpass+, combined with the changes to the GAC system, will have on standby lines for all of the attractions. Since our next trip isn't until May 2014, I'm hopeful that the results will be known, and predictable, by the time we travel, so we can tour efficiently despite the changes.

 

[Clancy Wiggum]

I don't think you looking at the big picture. First, Avatar is at least 4 years out. And Disney is looking at MM+ as a MAJOR profit driver. More so than new attractions have proven to be. In Disney's eyes MM+ is a win-win for them as it discourages parkhopping AND is a major profit driver. So maybe NEVER EVER is a bit much, but at least not until both DHS AND DAK up to full day parks. And that is at least a decade off. They are not spending $2.5+ billion solely to discourage parkhopping, but they will use it as such until all the parks are up to speed. AND raking in the dough while they are at it.

Disney may be planning on leaving the one park per day limit on FP+ until the expansions are complete. But the only thing that makes sense is they are doing it for the opposite reason you cite. They want to encourage park hopping, not discourage it. By that I mean, they know people are leaving AK & HS at 3:30 and nothing but a long-off expansion will change that. By letting people know they can get Soarin or Splash Mountain FP at night after spending their half day at AK or HS, it would tend to encourage people staying onsite and hopping to another park. AK & HS are half day parks because they don't have a lot of headline attractions that require FP so that's not a big issue.

 

[Clancy Wiggum]

money they are investing in this project

Ok, that makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[darthspielberg]

They've talked about the potential for park hopping before, so I don't think it's wrong to assume they'll figure it out (Probably give you a smaller allotment of passes at the parks you wish to go to, like 2/2 or something)

I do think that while I feel this is in good hands, the complaints aren't all out of hand, I just don't share most of them.

I love the idea of creating a flexible fastpass system that can be changed on the fly. I also like the band in terms of accessibility and how much control over what information I put on it. Basically I am pro MyMagic+ until I exprience it, and that experience dictates I not be pro MyMagic+

 

[Master Yoda]

They've talked about the potential for park hopping before, so I don't think it's wrong to assume they'll figure it out (Probably give you a smaller allotment of passes at the parks you wish to go to, like 2/2 or something)

I do think that while I feel this is in good hands, the complaints aren't all out of hand, I just don't share most of them.

I love the idea of creating a flexible fastpass system that can be changed on the fly. I also like the band in terms of accessibility and how much control over what information I put on it. Basically I am pro MyMagic+ until I exprience it, and that experience dictates I not be pro MyMagic+

So you are going to try the service before you pass judgment on it? That is just crazy talk!

 

[LuvtheGoof]

So my thoughts. When we are there, we rarely if ever even use a FP for anything. We get to the park at rope drop, do our favorites, and then chill the rest of the day. Now with FP+, we can go to MK in the morning, do our favorites, hop over to EPCOT in the afternoon, and already have our FP+ for Soarin' and Test Track. No waiting in line or worrying about whether they are all gone. Since we go multiple times per year, we just aren't worried about missing a particular attraction. For instance, we enjoy TSMM and R&RC, but on our last trip, we didn't even go to HS at all! We know that we will be back, and go there on a future trip. No big deal.

 

[NearTheEars]

So my thoughts. When we are there, we rarely if ever even use a FP for anything. We get to the park at rope drop, do our favorites, and then chill the rest of the day. Now with FP+, we can go to MK in the morning, do our favorites, hop over to EPCOT in the afternoon, and already have our FP+ for Soarin' and Test Track. No waiting in line or worrying about whether they are all gone. Since we go multiple times per year, we just aren't worried about missing a particular attraction. For instance, we enjoy TSMM and R&RC, but on our last trip, we didn't even go to HS at all! We know that we will be back, and go there on a future trip. No big deal.

Yes! This would be a great plan for day guests. I love going at rope drop. No lines. But when we hop over to other parks we are scrambling to see if any Fastpasses are left.

The key will be how early you can book FP+ and if they release some day of.

 

[GoofGoof]

For me the biggest negative was the amount of money spent on the project and what we could have had instead. $1B+ could have went a long way towards a full refurb of all 4 parks plus the monorails/other transportation or potentially used to build entire new lands and/or major attractions.

That being said, its a sunk cost now. We can't go back in time and divert that cash for something new. I do like the technology. I think the bands are pretty cool and convenient. As long as the website doesn't have too many issues it should help to have everything linked and I like the app.

On to the negatives. I'm not a huge fan of the 60 day reservation. I'm also not a huge fan of the 180 day dining reservations either, but I've adjusted to it and it really doesn't negatively impact my trips. Now that I'm locked into my meals most days its not that much more invasive to pick times for certain rides and/or shows. It's only 3 a day so its not like you are planning every minute of every day. I will not be happy if the system results in longer standby lines which has been theorized by some. Who knows if thats I think we have to wait until it plays out to see the actual results.

While I don't like the idea of thousands of CMs having access to my entire itinerary I am not that worried about the privacy issues. I know for a lot of people the tracking and the privacy issues are a big deal. Its one of the most talked about negatives.

 

[HatboxGhost]

My Wife and I came back on Tuesday night from our vacation and the way we worked the FP system was to plan the night before which 3 attractions we wanted to do based on them NOT having a paper FP ticket. So, we would pick our 3 which, at MK, would be HM, POTC, and a random third. Then we would get to the park at rope drop and head to HM and ride it 3-4 times in a row, knowing that we could come back later and ride it again as 1 of the 3 rides we picked the night before. We then would go to Peter Pan and pick up FP tickets for that and come back at the stated time and then head to our first of three FP picks......which was usually POTC. Sometimes the crowds were so small that we didn't even need to plan for FP since we went right after Labor Day but sometimes it did come in handy. Throughout the day we picked up FP tickets for various rides. Eventually when they get rid of the tickets we wont be able to do this but for now it was cool.

 

[jkl2000]

My only problem with the system so far is that, as far as I can tell (and I've only chosen and managed Fastpasses on my PC, not the app), once you make your three choices and choose times, there no way to adjust the times of all three picks on the same page. You have to do each one separately, and it gives you limited times you can change them to. I think you should be able to change them more dynamically - ideally you'd have a page with ALL the possible time slots, and be able to drag and drop the three attractions where you want them, switch them around, etc. It seems very cumbersome to change the order of your choices, move them all from the morning to the afternoon, etc. Or am I missing something and this is easier than I think?

Also, the times it suggests to you - the optimum ones or whatever it calls them - are sometimes morning, sometimes late afternoon. What is it basing it's decision that they're the best times for me on? I know ADRs are a factor (and it's sort of annoying that it factors them in and makes you avoid them), but ADRs alone don't account for some of the extreme time choices it suggests.

 

[RandomPrincess]

My only problem with the system so far is that, as far as I can tell (and I've only chosen and managed Fastpasses on my PC, not the app), once you make your three choices and choose times, there no way to adjust the times of all three picks on the same page. You have to do each one separately, and it gives you limited times you can change them to. I think you should be able to change them more dynamically - ideally you'd have a page with ALL the possible time slots, and be able to drag and drop the three attractions where you want them, switch them around, etc. It seems very cumbersome to change the order of your choices, move them all from the morning to the afternoon, etc. Or am I missing something and this is easier than I think?

Also, the times it suggests to you - the optimum ones or whatever it calls them - are sometimes morning, sometimes late afternoon. What is it basing it's decision that they're the best times for me on? I know ADRs are a factor (and it's sort of annoying that it factors them in and makes you avoid them), but ADRs alone don't account for some of the extreme time choices it suggests.

I agree - I spent 2 hours getting my FP+ set up just how i want them. Re arranging the times one by one. I finally got them set up just right but it took quite a while, deleting and adding back FP+ choices to make the times just right.

One thing that did work great was splitting our FP+ If I did two FP+ for my DH and DD the system was smart enough to realize that my DS and I would most likely want to ride our FP+ choice at the same time.