Not to reopen that can of worms but...

[Doug M]

CM was polite, but said that my wife had the wrong magic band and that they were not interchangeable. We did not argue, already being frustrated by that point and not wanting to make a scene in front of the rest of our group.

Sorry but some people have different names not typical for their gender, why on earth would a CM even question a name on the screen, if the FP is valid who cares?

 

[Vaughn4380]

We all know that CMs don't enforce things uniformly.

I agree with this, we happened to get one that enforced whatever rule Disney MIGHT have that does not allow swapping bands. The next CM might have allowed it. But if guests were allowed to swap bands, I have to wonder why Disney designed the system so your name shows up on a screen when you scan your FP+.

I have considered shooting Disney an email for clarification on this.

 

[ELSA711]

Sorry but some people have different names not typical for their gender, why on earth would a CM even question a name on the screen, if the FP is valid who cares?

Yeah, we never had a problem. My DD used her brothers or dads a few times as they didn't want to do Space or EE.

 

[tlmadden73]

My only trip (10/14) it worked great. Short trip with a 2 year old. Since I wasn't about to attempt to stand in a lot of lines with a 2 year old, I got Fast Passes for almost everything we went on (even rides you normally wouldn't get them for) .. it made us be able to "stop and smell the roses" with some things in the streets of the park since we weren't spending a lot of timing waiting in line.

I had no issues getting a 4th, 5th and 6th fast pass at the kiosks (I picked rides that were near kiosks so I could quickly go get another one after it was over) (and we were only there until 8:00 PM) (though, not on the headliners)
We had no issues getting Fast Passes at decent times at 30 days for the rides we wanted (except SDMT)
We had no issues coordinating some of our fast pass times with other groups going at the same time (we weren't linked, we just picked times that matched theirs)

 

[kj2mom]

FP lines looked long a few times, but they always moved very quickly. We did Splash right after the parade, and tons people were getting in the FP line. It stretched all the way up past the gift shop, to the main walkway toward BTMRR. But we were still in line only about 10-15 minutes total, when standby was 150 minutes!

I am wondering about Splash? We have a FP for 2:30-3:30 with the intention of watching the 3pm parade at the beginning then heading straight to Splash. Do you think we will have a problem getting to the FP check in point before 3:30? Thanks!

 

[Jennytoon]

But I don't see how not booking any advance FPs will make anything better.

I have to agree with this. For the people who miss the experience of picking their park the night before or playing bus roulette, here is my suggestion:

Pick one park where you think FP+ will have the most impact on your day. 60/30 days out, make similar FP+ reservations in that park for every day of your trip. When you arrive, if on the first day you feel like going to that park spontaneously, great! If not, cancel the pre-booked FP+ for that day and then manage your ressies however you would have done it without an advance plan -- make them by phone on the bus, at a kiosk, or don't use them at all in that park. Eventually, it will turn up that you are heading to the park where you have the ressies, and then you will have three awesome FP+ already in place!

Will it replace the FP- experience for you? No, of course not. But it will be better than not having any FP+ at all in advance, anywhere. Kind of like the stopped clock that is still right twice a day.

ETA: I should clarify that this suggestion is for people who miss the spontaneity so much that they feel it is preferable to not make any FP+ at all, as PP was responding to.

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

We were part of the testing of this before it was completely rolled out and we've been there 3 times since. It works great for our touring style which is a bit odd. Every day we hit a non-EMH park, tour until standby lines exceed 25 mins or so then we hop to WS. Before, when we got to Epcot the FP- availability was non existent or too late for our taste. Now, we can have rides waiting at Epcot for us when we hop, we can get a lot in at our early park without fast passes.

BillFromPA

Yes this is a real benefit and we loved that also; the ability to ride headliners in the 2nd park of the day.

In the end for us it was exactly as I expected. It is much harder to spam headliners and that can be a bummer, but then again spamming headliners had it's own headaches for us with feeling pressure to maximize the paper FPs we held and always looking at when the next window opened up and running to and fro from TT to Soarin (what a hike that is) or ToT to RNR or TSMM.

We enjoyed being able to book headliners on multiple days and ride without any hassle...just turn up in the window and get on the ride.

So over a week there we rode everything we wanted, as often as we wanted.

That's us.

People who liked more than 2 times per day easily on a headliner will be bummed.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

I agree with others about the lack of spontaneity, we too would not have specfic park in mind for a specfic day. My biggest frustration with FP+ (aside from booking in advanced and locking in park) is how difficult it is to book FP+ as a group with different reservations, especially when some will do some rides and some will do another.

Now this I definitely agree with. I didn't even dare try switching FPs around for my trip with a party of 8 last year because I was too afraid of losing what I had managed to get. But for this upcoming trip for my family of 4, I decided that my son shouldn't have to meet A&E if he doesn't want to or go to the Frozen singalong. So I went back in to switch some stuff up. I canceled he and my husband's A&E FPs easily butI couldn't just replace A&E with something else, I had to go back in and redo the others as well, which of course meant I had to try and realign our times on the stuff we were riding together (like Mine Train). What a pain. I was able to do it but it took forever and was a huge headache. Why don't they let certain members of your party cancel one FP and reschedule just that one and leave the others alone?

 

[smitch425]

If you're going in October, I would think carefully about how you plan your FP+. If you want to try for a 4th FP+ and beyond, I would have your last of the 3 prebooked attractions scheduled to end by 1pm at the latest. We tried getting 4th FP+ in MK and DHS around 3:30pm (two separate days) in November, but there was virtually nothing left, especially in MK. With party guests coming in at 4pm (and being able to book FP+), and the park closing at 7, we really felt that impacted overall availability. We did not have as much flexibility as I've seen others post they've had here since January, and IMO party season had a lot to do with it.

Wow! That wasn't our experience at all. We were there Oct 18-26, and had our FPs set between 10am and 2pm. We had no trouble using 8 FP at MK and 6 or 7 at DHS. Hopefully OP has our luck. Lol

 

[ELSA711]

Wow! That wasn't our experience at all. We were there Oct 18-26, and had our FPs set between 10am and 2pm. We had no trouble using 8 FP at MK and 6 or 7 at DHS. Hopefully OP has our luck. Lol

We were there towards the end of your stay and had the same experience except at DHS, but we really only go for a few shows and Fantasmic so it was fine. Our first day at MK we had 7 FP, we did everything we wanted to do. With 3 days of MK scheduled, we were able to take a pool day for the first time.

 

[Tomh]

FP+ is NOT legacy FP. I know that seems obvious, yet it is an important thing to understand.

We visited last August, and will be there again this coming August. As a matter of fact, I will be staying up until midnight tonight to make our FP+ selections.

Last August, we had zero problems with FP+ functionality. No missing FP+, no problems getting into any of the attractions during our window, no problem obtaining 4th and subsequent FP at the kiosks. A few small glitches paying for meals, seemed to be related to equipment issues and / or training of the CM's, but nothing earth shattering.

The app on my phone was a constant problem, frequently crashing and requiring me to restart the phone to get the app to work again (I tried forced shut down of the app, that wasn't enough to get it going). Again, not earth shattering, but a bit more of a nuisance than the occasional hiccup at the table service restaurants (never had any problems paying at QS), and certainly something that I hope is no longer an issue this summer.

For us, as for many here, the FP+ system is limiting. We are NOT the normal Disney World guests though, we knew well how to take full advantage of the legacy FP system to get multiple rides on headliners without ever waiting in line. That is something that is no longer possible with FP+. That stinks for us, BUT it is good for regular day guests who now have a pretty easy shot at getting on all the headliners using FP+ with short waits, where as many had to wait in long lines under the old FP system if they didn't know exactly how to go about planning their day and getting FP for the right rides at the right times.

All considered, I think that FP+ was the right move for Disney to make, and was probably made at the right time. If they continue on the current path of adding capacity to the parks, and continue developing the capabilities of the FP+ system, I think it will serve them, and their guests very well for many years to come.

 

[ucfknight]

But if guests were allowed to swap bands, I have to wonder why Disney designed the system so your name shows up on a screen when you scan your FP+

So cast members can greet you by name.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

What concern is it of theirs how you want to use your FPs when you book them? Swapping should no issue whatsoever and there is no way I would stand for some busybody CM trying to deny me entry when he/she doesn't know my family dynamic and who may or may not want to ride a ride. Kids change their minds all the time.

 

[Barnabe]

All considered, I think that FP+ was the right move for Disney to make, and was probably made at the right time. If they continue on the current path of adding capacity to the parks, and continue developing the capabilities of the FP+ system, I think it will serve them, and their guests very well for many years to come.

I just wish they had added more attractions instead of more cement to increase park capacity. I also wonder how much more Disney will be spend to enhance the capabilities of the FP+ system.

 

[shepd]

Complete waste of time, but that's only because I visited during the lowest of the low seasons (mid September last year). I will not return except during that time, however, due to FP+ strongly favouring resort-goers (and I don't have an interest in that). I can completely see how without FP+ getting on any headliner rides when the park is busy is going to be impossible. Even though I went when the park was just about empty, and I chose my FP+ literally at 12:00 midnight the moment I could as an off-site visitor, all FP+ for headliners were completely gone across the board at all times.

If you're an off-site guest, FP+ will definitely affect your experience significantly and will lock you out of headliner attractions (or you'll need to deal with 2+ hour waits just about everywhere). I would recommend off-site guests only visit Disney during low-season, full-stop. As far as recommending staying in a Disney resort, that is up to the guest to choose if they prefer that experience (I don't like hotel rooms and I don't spend more than $100 a night for accommodations, that means the only resort stay I can make is in an RV otherwise it is off-site in a condo).

 

[disneyfantotheend]

I think the reason complaints have close to gone away is because some have stopped going/stopped going as often, some have decided it is what it is and they can't change it, and others really like/love it. You really need to see for yourself to know which category you will fall in. I am in the it is what it is category. Don't love it, but don't hate it enough to stop going. Outside of wait times being extended for quite a few rides that used to be walk ons or close to it, it isn't as bad as I expected it to be.

 

[prudence64]

We liked it better than the old system.

 

[nat8199]

Wow! That wasn't our experience at all. We were there Oct 18-26, and had our FPs set between 10am and 2pm. We had no trouble using 8 FP at MK and 6 or 7 at DHS. Hopefully OP has our luck. Lol

Great to hear you had good luck with getting more FP+. We are going in Sept and I plan to set our first 3 for the same time window you did.

 

[glassslippergirl]

In theory, I don't like FP+. In practice, it worked fine for us on our most recent trip.

What I Don't Like:
1. We are Floridians, living about 3 hours away, so WDW is a weekend trip for us. DH and I loved the spontaneity of driving under the welcome sign and asking each other, "Okay, what park should we head to?" Our days are very regimented at work, so we want our free time to be less planned out. This was the first trip where I made our FP+'s at the 30-day window, which required buying the tickets in advance, planning which park for each day, and and visiting MDE each day for three days to make the FP+ reservations for our three park days, exactly 30-days out. IT WAS A LOT MORE WORK THAN I WANTED TO DO FOR A WEEKEND GETAWAY.
2. We really wanted to ride 7DMT, as we had never been on it before, and DSalmost3 was tall enough (by one inch) to ride it as his first roller coaster. When I didn't get the FP's for that ride on my first try, I had to keep trying for three weeks, first getting us FPs at different times, then finally being able to book overlapping times. It required quite an effort that turned out to be worth it as we all enjoyed the ride. BUT IT WAS A LOT MORE WORK THAN I WANT TO DO FOR A WEEKEND GETAWAY.
3. Epcot has too many tier 1 attractions. I can see having to decide between Soarin and TT, I guess. But to include Illuminations and Living with the Land (seriously?) as tier 1 leaves too few tier 2 attractions to choose from. I booked Character Spot just because I had to book three, but we never went because no one was really interested in it. I'm not sure if this is a failing of FP+ in how they tier certain attractions or if it's a failing of Epcot in general not having enough "top" rides, but it seriously needs to be addressed.
4. Having a toddler makes scheduling a trip to the grocery store a challenge on some days. I did struggle with how to best schedule FP+'s for attractions he would like, never sure when the vacation schedule (late night fireworks shows, different meal times, an unusual place to sleep) would
lead to an unexpected nap or snack time. We were able to make it work, but again, I worried about it more than I would like for a weekend getaway.

What I Do Like:
1. We were able to ride 7DMT. Waiting in a 120 minute+ line with DSalmost3 would have been an incredibly unpleasant experience. With a hard-won FP+, we knew going into our MK day that we would be able to experience his first roller coaster ride together as a family. He smiled and cheered the whole way through.
2. We already live on our phones, so the MDE app was convenient. When DS took a 3.5 hour nap in the middle of the Magic Kingdom, we could reschedule the Buzz Lightyear FP easily. Within our 30 day window, when a dinner discussion turned to a potentially fun experience at WDW, I could just go on my phone and see if there was a FP available for it. I appreciated that flexibility and convenience within the system.
3. When we could, we made the scheduling work for us. I was able to schedule our FP's for Star Tours on a SWW right after the celebrity motorcade. Knowing that during the motorcade, ST lines would be short, we arrived early, and DH was able to ride his favorite ride on his birthday three times back-to-back-to-back-- twice in the short lines and once with his FP. I am sure there are other tricks like this we could use to our advantage with FP+.

I'm sure I could find more plusses and minuses, but those are the ones that stuck out for us on our most recent trip. We are both teachers, so we usually travel during peak times-- this trip was on Memorial Day weekend-- so these thought would probably apply for us to any peak time. Maybe some of my thought would change in we traveled in September or February, but that's probably not going to happen for us.

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

We had a good experience with our first FP+ trip, though actually booking them seemed needlessly overcomplicated. I'm looking forward to seeing how it works out for the second trip, now that we have some experience with the system. It strikes me as most useful for MK, at least as far as our particular touring style is concerned. Caveat: I'm one of those control freaks who consider over-planning to be a feature, not a bug.