Originally Posted By Fantasmicmagic82 Is Disney trying like the previous poster said .Trying to make it if you stay on property and pay the price you get this and this and if not then sorry you are out of luck. Just a Question.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Obviously I don't know what kind of research Disney has done, but it doesn't appear to be in their best interest to make accessibility to attractions MORE difficult for casual visitors when long lines and crowds have been the number one complaint from all guests for decades.
Originally Posted By CDF2 Somehow all of these different perks and reservations systems make what is supposed to be a relaxing vacation trip into monumental exercise in program planning and execution. Sorry - too much of that already at work and just arranging for the travel to a place like Orlando. The whole FP+ still sounds like it is geared to the ultimate goal of shutting out day guests at WDW parks for onsite resort guests with pre-existing reservations.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Somehow all of these different perks and reservations systems make what is supposed to be a relaxing vacation trip into monumental exercise in program planning and execution." Probably. On the other hand, assuming it works as planned, it'll make the actual experience on the ground a lot more enjoyable.
Originally Posted By tashajilek The good thing is at least at WDW you can stay at a value resort and get the same benefits. I made sure to stay at a value resort for my Christmas trip, so if FP+ is in full swing I will benefit from it.
Originally Posted By Michael G First time poster here. I was able to take part in the Magic Bands tests last week while staying at Pop Century. Overall it was positive, but I think it will be dramatically different once everyone has access to Fast Pass+. It was nice to be able to switch our pre-booked FP+ during the day on the fly on my phone. I was able to change one a minute before the window closed and we knew we wouldn't make it on time. It was very easy to switch with attractions that do not have curent "Regular" FastPass (for example, Tomorrowland Speedway). For attractions like Soarin, the possible times to switch to were much more limited, as it must have been taking into account exiting FP volumes. I expect that will be the case with all attractions once only FP+ exists. We were told repeatedly that we would not be able to use the "Regular" FP's during the test, but I gave it a try using our keycards and was able to get them with no problem. I would have felt at a significant disadvantage to other guests if we hadn't been able to get "Regular" FP's, since we only had 3 or 4 FP+ per day during the test period. This does make the test results somewhat invalid, since only FP+ will be available in the future. Overall I do think FP+ will be an improvement over the existing system. There is always going to be a group of people who don't do their homework before coming, but I think FP+ will be easier to understand for the general guest that the existing system. We went to Discovery Cove one day during our trip, and it was nice knowing we had FP+'s for Soarin and Test Track for our evening afterward in Epcot, as all regular FP's were gone once we got there(though I don't think this is a scenario Disney is trying to promote!!) I think it could make some stand-by times go down on major attractions such as TSMM, as you can only get one FP+ per attraction per day. I think many people are getting two per day currently on TSMM before they run out, since there isn't much else in that park you need a FP for. We'll see how it plays out. If anyone has any questions on my experience let me know.
Originally Posted By tashajilek So for sure if you have FP+ you are unable to obtain regular FP's in the future? If this is the case I think I actually wouldn't want it.
Originally Posted By Michael G My understanding is that only FP+ will exist in the future. FP's as they exist today (go to the attraction, get a FP, come back at the posted time) will not exist. Everything will be booked online or through kiosks in the park.
Originally Posted By tashajilek So even non resort guests will have to go to a kiosk and book online? I'm not sure I like the idea of it. At least a FP distribution line moves fairly quickly and is a no brainer to use. I can just imagine people taking forever deciding which attraction to get FP's for or some people not knowing how to use the kiosk. There's going to be a lot of confused guests that's for sure.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Thanks for the review, and welcome aboard! I agree that it sounds like your experience was an improvement over the existing system, but that it's not a fair test of the new system, since so many things will change once it gets fully rolled out. One of my big concerns is that there is currently flexibility in changing your reservation, but once everybody in the park is trying to use the system, that likely won't be the case It will be interesting to see how they continue to tweak the system in upcoming tests. I believe they're planning a 1-2 month break from testing starting in mid-October, so there may be some changes coming soon
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "We went to Discovery Cove one day during our trip, and it was nice knowing we had FP+'s for Soarin and Test Track for our evening afterward in Epcot, as all regular FP's were gone once we got there(though I don't think this is a scenario Disney is trying to promote!!)" I've alluded to this convenience in previous posts, but it's nice to see someone talk about it from firsthand experience. Assuming the roll out goes smoothly MM+ looks poised to be an industry game changer.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "One of my big concerns is that there is currently flexibility in changing your reservation, but once everybody in the park is trying to use the system, that likely won't be the case" If I have a standard FP now for a 2pm return time and I want to return at 10pm instead, but the FPs are gone for that slot, how is that any different? The convenience of MM+ is not a guaranteed pass for the preferred time; it's the way they are distributed for people enrolled in the program.
Originally Posted By Disney Joy So do you need to go to class to learn about this before visiting the park. ok ... just kidding .. kinda LOL
Originally Posted By tashajilek "So do you need to go to class to learn about this before visiting the park" Maybe they will send all guests a 20 minute tutorial video.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros ^^MyMagic+, the official name for the NextGen program and its associated online components
Originally Posted By danyoung Gotcha. We were talking about FP+ and that rascally Hans changed acronyms and confused me!
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Thats okay...last night I googled RFID cause I knew it did not mean rapid fill...but was surprised to find radio frequency since that seems old fashion... So , Dan, did you just return from WDW or going soon? I have plans for Halloween. I think my hotel is not connected yet for MM. Keep checking , tho. I actually have some very collectible (to me) old room keys from Disney and they sure seem more magical to me than waving a piece of plastic in front of the door. Oh well.
