Disney Fastpass+ at Walt Disney World

[shark6495]

Let me know how that goes so I can prepare. Knowing that by the time I go, things could change drastically.

[Gabe]

As more evidence of Disney tweaking the FP+ system, I got an email last night inviiting me to be part of a test group for how BOG lunch dining is handled. The test group is being asked to go onto a special BOG page within their system and basically reserve not only a lunch time, but also pre-order their meals as well. Upon arrival, you are to go to the FP + line, where you will be directed right to the counter, where you will confirm your order and pay. Then, you go straight to your seat (it's still open seating at lunch). On busy days, the wait for lunch there can easily be an hour or more (it's Quick-Service at lunch, not Table Service), so I think Disney is about to begin taking a certain amount of reservations for lunch there in the future. I went ahead and prebooked my reservation (It does not count against any of your other 3 FP+ selections, so in essence it's a bonus one) and orderded and again found the process seamless and easy.

[bkroz]

I got that. I guess my post was a little vague. I was thinking (obviously not typing) that if I used all 3 by 11, and had to sign up again, the next one would probably be available at 1. Then I could do a 5th, then a 6th, etc......

But you are right, it is going to be interesting for first timers and those not knowing how to work the system will only be getting 3-4 fast passes per day. Knowing they replenish I would be more willing to register to use fast passes early in the morning for some rides and home to get a new one later in the day.

I like the idea of being able to park hop with them now as well.

Ah, I see. I understand that too. But recognize that all you can do is choose three rides. Then, the FastPass+ system will give you three schedules to choose from using your rides. You select one of the schedules that's pre-made for you. It would be very, very unlikely that you would have all three of your FastPass reservations before noon. The computer will automatically spread them throughout the day.

[The Interpreter]

The more I read about this, the more I hope it NEVER gets to Disneyland.

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

Sounds like Terpy may not go back to WDW. You know what that means? Shorter lines for Expedition Everest for me.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4 Active using Tapatalk

[The Interpreter]

They say it never rains in Southern California...and we'll have fun, fun, fun in the warm California sun.

[thedevariouseffect]

For some reason those lyrics remind me of Daddy took the T Bird Away

[TTD-120-420]

I was about to say the same thing!

[Gabe]

I got that. I guess my post was a little vague. I was thinking (obviously not typing) that if I used all 3 by 11, and had to sign up again, the next one would probably be available at 1. Then I could do a 5th, then a 6th, etc......

But you are right, it is going to be interesting for first timers and those not knowing how to work the system will only be getting 3-4 fast passes per day. Knowing they replenish I would be more willing to register to use fast passes early in the morning for some rides and home to get a new one later in the day.

I like the idea of being able to park hop with them now as well.

Ah, I see. I understand that too. But recognize that all you can do is choose three rides. Then, the FastPass+ system will give you three schedules to choose from using your rides. You select one of the schedules that's pre-made for you. It would be very, very unlikely that you would have all three of your FastPass reservations before noon. The computer will automatically spread them throughout the day.

That's not nec. true. When I prebooked my FP+ experiences, I was given a schedule at more than one park that would exhaust my supply by 1 PM. If you're not a fan of the 3 schedules you're given, simply refresh the page and different ones will be cycled into the mix.

[RailRider]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is Disney fans are some of the most loyal, but change averse folks I have ever met. When the Main Street bakery started serving Startbucks coffee some loyal fans were grabbing their pitchforks and torches on many forums.

Like I said earlier, i am very excited to use this new system. Less walking and running over the park for me. We will stick to a rope drop standard morning touring plan beating the crowds to all the rides. Then use our FP+ reservations before we leave the park, take an afternoon break (during which time I will use the My Disney Experience app to book an additional FP+ for when we renter the park). Re enter the park use our FP+, shop, see a show and watch some fireworks.

Plus the Magic Band system is awesome. Resort Key, Tickets, FP+, Dinning Reservation, My Memory Maker, and charge account all in one easily worn wrist band. Yup that works for me. I have also heard that the RFID tech in the bands may eventually be used to provide even more interaction within the parks and rides. Should be interesting to see how this system develops once it is fully utilized.

[Spectrum91]

The more I read about this, the more I hope it NEVER gets to Disneyland.

The more you read about it? How about actually trying it? Cause until then, you're primarily basing your opinion off miscellaneous complaints on enthusiast boards. And as you of all people should know, enthusiasts are a very vocal minority. Their opinion, no matter how loud or present it may seem, remains a very minor one. And as RailRider perfectly sad above, Disney enthusiasts are especially change averse. Heck, many of them freaked out when Disney announced plans to rename the parking lot sections. The parking lot sections.

Coming from someone who has actually used the new FastPass+ and MyMagic+, the system is great. There's no more splitting parties to sprint to an attraction in the morning, there's no more paper tickets or room keys you could potentially lose, there's no more crossing the park again and again without riding the rides the first time through, major attractions no longer run out of FastPasses before noon, and the whole system is far more flexible and convenient.

Are there kinks or flaws that need fixed? Of course, just as there were when FastPass was originally introduced. But the company is already addressing them, and they're incredibly minor.

This is a very wise investment from Disney and it'll quickly pay off for them in guest satisfaction and increased spending. And I guarantee it'll find its way to Disneyland, and the international parks, shortly thereafter.

[shark6495]

My question to this whole scenario is why would they try something so aggressive and what would arguably be there biggest resort area. I would have thought it would have been easier to try at one small park/resort area.

[IBEW_Sparky]

They say it never rains in Southern California...and we'll have fun, fun, fun in the warm California sun.

You can stop into a Church you pass along the way, get down on your knees, and begin to pray that the plan doesnt make it to DL

[upstop]

If it makes $$$ it will.

[Gabe]

I got my Magicbands in the mail yesterday and was impressed with how lightweight and comfy they are. I usually hate wearing any kind of wristband, but these seem to breathe quite well and I'm sure will hold up well even as the temps heat up big time down there come June.

[RailRider]

We just picked our colors for our Magicbands, they will not ship till November

[upstop]

Are they now required if you stay on site at Disney World?

[shark6495]

I believe you can either use your tickets or the bands.

If you are choosing to use the different disney offers, they are trying to be as easy as possibly by only having you use one thing.

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

If you are staying on resort I do believe the MagicBands are required. If you are staying off site I believe you can upgrade to them.

[Gabe]

If you are staying on resort I do believe the MagicBands are required. If you are staying off site I believe you can upgrade to them.

For a price. They are free with your resort reservation (but you must go on their website to pick out colors and personalization options). They also sell the grommets that go in the MagicBand holes for various characters. None of those are included with your MagicBand pkg.

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

You learn something new everyday.

[Gabe]

For those staying offsite but not wanting to pay for a MB, you can still use your park ticket at the FP+ kiosks once inside to select your first 3 attractions. The tickets have a special RFID chip in them that is compatible with the kiosks.

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

The system must not be to bad.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-disney-fast-pass-20140501,0,6675500.story

[CedarPointer]

That could be because they're REALLY pushing scheduling them in advance, though. It's easy to use statistics to your advantage to make a billion dollar investment look good. Imagine if they had instead spent that much money to improve the parks to Tokyo Disney standards. I do like the idea of MagicBands, having admission/dining/FP combined into the wristband, but I don't want to have to schedule my vacation in advance. I guess I prefer being more spur-of-the-moment.

[shark6495]

they are not making you use it. You can still be spur of the moment. They are upgrading their previous system. If you dont want to pre-plan your ride order, then nothing affects you..

[The Interpreter]

Yeah...just exactly like Cedar Fair's Fast Lane doesn't affect those who don't buy it.

Terp, who is going to Disneyland (and may have made his last trip ever to WDW).

[CedarPointer]

they are not making you use it. You can still be spur of the moment. They are upgrading their previous system. If you dont want to pre-plan your ride order, then nothing affects you..

Getting rid of the real Fastpasses affects me.

[Gabe]

I just returned last night from a long weekend trip to WDW. I stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter andf utilized both the MagicBand and FP+ liberally throughout my trip. Below is a combo trip report/FP+ review.

Day1--Arrived at AK about 11:30 AM. The park was surprisingly busy. We ate at flame tree bqq (long line) which was quite good. I had the half slab of ribs (served with slaw and baked beans). After lunch, we hot up Kilmanjaro Safaris, which was about a 25 min wait. The safari can be hit or miss depending on what animals are out and about. This particular time was pretty boring, considering not many animals were remotely close to the vehicle.

I then hopped in the SRL for EE, which was about a 5 min wait each of the 5x in a row I rode. Always a fun ride, esp the backwards part in the dark! Folowing another short wait at Dinosaur (10 min), we hopped on the bus to DHS to use our fastpasses.

We arrived at DHS about 3 and our first FP was for Star Tours at 3:30. The line was only 20 min, but we zoomed to the front. I got a ride experience I hadn't gotten before (Hoth), which was cool. Following that, we had about an hr wait until our FP for Toy Story so we browsed the shops, attened a showing of the Indiana Jones stunt show and rode the Great Movie Ride, which was about a 10 min wait. For a change, the gangster was actually into his role, which was nice.

Following Toy Story, I hopped into the SRL at Rock N Roller Coaster, for a few laps..about a 5-10 min wait each time. I really enjoy this ride and can see how Premiere Rides used soem of the same concepts from FOF at KI on this ride. We then had a reservation at Mama Melrose which, while good, was diminished by poor service at the outset. Once we alerted a manager, however, our server apperared promptly and we got our food in a timely manner.

Following dinner, I used the last of the FP for TOT, which is always a fun ride (love the random drop sequencies).

Day 2 was spent at Epcot. The park was decently busy given that there were a lot of school groups in attendance for educational days. We had FP for SE, Soarin and MS which we used by mid afternoon. We then were able to get FP for Maelstrom, which was fun as always. We had a dinner reservation at Teppan Edo in Japan, which is like Benihana. The chefs are great as is the food. We didn't stay for Illuminations (seen it 50x lol) but went back to the hotel. I have to agree with some of the bloggers in that Future World really needs a revamp. The Imagination Pav is a joke nowadays (STILL running EO), and the Wonders of Life pav is only used rarely. I didnt even bother with the Energy show since it hasnt been updated in 20 years (Ellen looks so young and Alex Trebek with a moustache lol). I know the park doesn't suffer much attendance-wide, but that area is vastly underserved IMO.

Day 3 was spent at MK, which will always be my fav park, given it was the one I worked at when I was there. The park wasn't too busy, and, while the wait for Anna and Elsa quickly soared to 5 hours soon after park open, it was down to 2.5 hrs around lunch and stayed thee until they left at 5 PM. For those wondering the 7Dwarves ride was running empty cars all day and I did catch a glimpse of some CMs riding later in the afternoon. LOTS of people were asking about a soft opening and while the CMS did tease that maybe one was imminent, it was never opened. FP for the big mountains were used and more FP were easily obtained for other rides up until prob about 10 PM. I stayed from open to close (8:30a-12a), so was able to do everything and then some (sev laps ea on the big mountains, never waited for than 30 min for anything). The park really sparkles and you can tell the TLC Disney has put into revamping Fantasyland.

Now, here are my observations about FP+. First, the good:

1. Magicbands are super comfy, and super easy to use.

2. No more running around trying to secure paper FP tickets!

3. No need to carry anything into the park with you, money wise. It's all linked to your MB.

4. It controls everything in and around the resort-park entrance (MUCH more efficient than turnstyles!), FP entry, and all purchases no matter how big or small. It also acts as your hotel key.

The Needs Improvement:

1. Under the old system, you were allowed a new FP at the earlier of either 2 hrs after you got your FP or the first minute of your return window, whichever was earlier. Under the new system, you are not allowed any new FP untill ALL 3 of your pre-booked ones have been used. So, if your last FP isnt until later in the day, you must either cancel it if you want a new one right away, or wait until you've used it. I did notice that least on my visit, there was some flexibility if you were seeking to ride an attraction earlier in the day than your pre-booked time, but I doubt that will be the case once summer season rolls around soon. Also, there were FP available up until about 2 hrs before closing, which was way different than the old system, where all FP for everythign were usually gone by dinnertime.

2. If you wanted to book a new FP after your first 3, you HAD to do so at one of the in-park kiosk locales. At prsent, there are only about 3-4 stations per park and they are pretty spread out. Each station featured 5-6 terminals with Ipads where you could make changes. A coule of CM also had Ipads as well at eachstation to alleviate congestion. If you wanted to cancel a FP and book a new one, you could so so on the Disney app or at a kiosk. Disney needs to add prob 3-4 more stations at each park.

3. Your 3 FP are locked into one park if you prebook. No park hopping until they are gone.

IMO, I'd give the current system a B+. If Disney increased the no of terminals and opened up more flexibility as far as park hopping and prebooking (4 or 5 would be better than 3) and eliminate the requirement to use all 3 before getting more, I think the system will reach its maximum potential. I imagine lots of griping once summer season begins and FP are spaced out such that people prebooking would have to stay from basically open-late afternoon or later before using their initial 3. I enjoyed my time there immensely as always, and am looking to return in October w my kids, so hopefully by then the system will have worked out more bugs. I'm happy to answer any questions, so either post them here or PM me. Thanks for reading!

[RailRider]

Awesome review of the FastPass+ system and your time at WDW.

2. No more running around trying to secure paper FP tickets!

No more running around is the part that excites me the most about FP+. No longer the FP Volunteer that races around the park gathering paper tickets a head of the crowds while everyone else in my party enjoys the scenery and a relaxing walk.

One thing I did want to point out is there are more than the 3 or 4 FP+ locations, at least this is what EasyWDW reports. Locations as follows.

FastPass+ Kiosks:

1. Fantasyland: Storybook Circus in the very back tent near Pete’s Silly Sideshow

2. Adventureland: Jungle Cruise old FASTPASS machines to the left of the entrance

3. Adventureland: Breezeway to the right of Diamond Horseshoe, across from Treehouse

4. Fantasyland: To the right of Mickey’s PhilharMagic

5. Tomorrowland: To the left of the Stitch’s Great Escape entrance

6. Tomorrowland: Buzz Lightyear’s old FASTPASS machines to the right of the entrance

7. Main Street: Town Square Theater just inside the entrance on the right

Thanks again for the review of the system.

[jzarley]

2. If you wanted to book a new FP after your first 3, you HAD to do so at one of the in-park kiosk locales. At prsent, there are only about 3-4 stations per park and they are pretty spread out. Each station featured 5-6 terminals with Ipads where you could make changes. A coule of CM also had Ipads as well at eachstation to alleviate congestion. If you wanted to cancel a FP and book a new one, you could so so on the Disney app or at a kiosk. Disney needs to add prob 3-4 more stations at each park.

Thanks for the very complete & objective review of your experience!

I wonder when (or even *if*), the additional FPs (over the initial three) will be available to book through the mobile app? That definitely seems like the next iteration that makes the most sense as opposed to adding more kiosks (which adds not only hardware expense, but also the labor expense of staffing them...)