Disney changed our FP+....Interesting.

[lambdabeta]

It does seem likely this is due to them trimming off ride hours. Or possibly eliminating some total FP slots and squeezing the remaining together.

Either way... to do this after people have planned is totally weak.

Disney created this system of forcing people to plan 180 and then 60 days out — if it isn’t due to a breakdown or unforeseen issue, they should stick to what they offer at the time of booking.

It would be annoying to have reduced hours at the time of booking, but it’s a whole other scenario to do it a month or less out.

Exactly! It has nothing to do with ride breakdowns because the rides are still running those days just not during the entire park day. It will be interesting to see how this affects crowds and overall experiences.

Remember earlier this year in Jan and Feb TP reported that ride capacity was reduced during a time of year that crowds were typically low. The outcome was the crowds were huge in the parks with long waits an lots of complaints from people. They then stopped doing this. TP thought it was a trial program that failed because there was a lot of backlash. I hope that is not what we see with these shorter hours at AK from Oct to Dec. I know I will definitely complain to Disney if this change affects my AK days when I am there.

 

[lambdabeta]

Yep, it's a sneaky way to decrease effective park hours (while keeping the posted park hours the same). Park closing was always a bit "soft" with the rule being you can get in line until park closing... now some of the rides "close" 30 minutes before closing. So by the time the park does close, everyone will have cleared from the queue. Effectively shrinking park hours.

I'm almost impressive in how devious it is...

Good point. It also allows them to cut CM costs with cut hours. So far it seems to only be happening at AK from Oct 14th to at least the end of Dec. I didn't check beyond the end of the year.

 

[crazyash83]

It does seem likely this is due to them trimming off ride hours. Or possibly eliminating some total FP slots and squeezing the remaining together.

Either way... to do this after people have planned is totally weak.

Disney created this system of forcing people to plan 180 and then 60 days out — if it isn’t due to a breakdown or unforeseen issue, they should stick to what they offer at the time of booking.

It would be annoying to have reduced hours at the time of booking, but it’s a whole other scenario to do it a month or less out.

I disagree. I do not think Disney created this system, we did! Consumers created the mass hysteria around the 180/60 day. FastPass+ is effective and I enjoy it a hell of a lot more than rushing first thing in the AM to get to a paper Fast Pass machine. If Disney was 100% responsible for this it would be evident in all parks but it is not.

 

[mom2rtk]

I disagree. I do not think Disney created this system, we did! Consumers created the mass hysteria around the 180/60 day. FastPass+ is effective and I enjoy it a hell of a lot more than rushing first thing in the AM to get to a paper Fast Pass machine. If Disney was 100% responsible for this it would be evident in all parks but it is not.

We'll have to agree to disagree on that. I wanted no part of this from the get go and it has only gotten worse over time.

At least legacy FP didn't have anywhere near this amount of technical glitches.

 

[anomamatt]

I disagree. I do not think Disney created this system, we did! Consumers created the mass hysteria around the 180/60 day. FastPass+ is effective and I enjoy it a hell of a lot more than rushing first thing in the AM to get to a paper Fast Pass machine. If Disney was 100% responsible for this it would be evident in all parks but it is not.

The consumers did not create the albatross that is MDE. And most consumers would heartily get rid of wdw’s system for Disneyland’s. I would pay more to bring Disneyland’s FP system to WDW.

 

[Searc]

No that is not the issue. The rides usually stay open until park close. The park hours have not changed. They are 9am-8pm. What has changed is the ride hours. Dinosaur is now 9am-7:30pm the day summerskye had their FP changed to 7:00-7:30pm. It was probably easier to make it half an hour than to try to fit it into the new hours.

Thank you. I posted before I read to the end of the thread and saw your possible explanation, which makes the most sense.

 

[MicroBeta]

I disagree. I do not think Disney created this system, we did! Consumers created the mass hysteria around the 180/60 day. FastPass+ is effective and I enjoy it a hell of a lot more than rushing first thing in the AM to get to a paper Fast Pass machine. If Disney was 100% responsible for this it would be evident in all parks but it is not.

I completely disagree. WE did not create this system.

Disney did. They needed a system to make everything centralized. They wanted a single point of access for all the guests to use...i.e. the MDE website and app. The 180/60 day points are part and parcel to that end. An end that includes tracking demographics, spending patterns, instant feedback on trial and incentive programs, etc. Metrics and data that can easily put into pivot tables and used for trend analysis. The backend of MDE tracks everything needed to maximize profit. And yes, I mean everything there is to know about their guests. I wouldn’t be surprised if it links to Google for addition analytics about our likes and habits. MDE and the 180/60 day time frames have one purpose and that’s money.

I’d go so far as to say that Disney makes decisions based on the 180 day and 60 day points.

- The number, times, and locations of FPs guide the number of CMs needed.
- The number of ADRs tell them how to stock their restaurants months in advance.
- The locations of FPs and ADRs, along with a guest’s spending habits, help with targeting merchandise, events, or other revenue generating vehicles.

These are just a few examples of the possibilities. Disney wants people making ADRs & FPs and they want us to do this as soon in the time windows as possible. And, we’re more than happy oblige. That’s the way Disney wants it.

Although, MDE has the potential to make our vacations much easier. That is if it ever works correctly. We should use MDE to our advantage. With the understanding that MDE is a tool for Disney, the business, to make a profit...and there’s nothing wrong with that. The current cutbacks and price increases not withstanding; but that’s a discussion for another thread.

Mike

 

[MicroBeta]

People's schedules being rearranged? Wow. Just wow. I had no idea.

Disney has to be able to do that. You never know when a ride might go down for whatever reason. I just thought we'd have more of a say in those changes. I realize that I can change FPs in MDE but with all the swapping at AK there are precious few to be had.

Mike

 

[kittyab]

With the MDE meltdown it really messed up my fast past pick time (60 days out). I really think it is crazy to book your rides. Get rid of the fast passes and go with a express pass like other parks. I rather pay the extra then go through this headache again.

Some fast passes I couldn't get at all.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

The consumers did not create the albatross that is MDE. And most consumers would heartily get rid of wdw’s system for Disneyland’s. I would pay more to bring Disneyland’s FP system to WDW.

well, I for one would not - I prefer pre-planning as it makes "day of" much less stressful for me. I found Disneyland to be way more stressful (though we haven't been back since the paid Maxpass system was introduced -so perhaps that helps, though I hate the idea of paying $50/day extra for my family of 5)

That said, I think it could be something like 60 days ADRs and 45 days FP or even less time than that - and then that might eliminate some of this impact of Disney changing hours after your plans are made

 

[TheMaxRebo]

FYI - if anyone missed it posted to the News board, this article covers Disney changing ride attraction times at Animal Kingdom until the end of the year:

https://www.wdwmagic.com/attraction...-animal-kingdom-attractions-to-be-reduced.htm

Kilimanjaro Safaris has moved to a 7:45pm closing for this week, and then moving down to a 6:30pm closing in November.

Maharajah Jungle trek is now operating with a delayed open at 10am, and closing early at 5pm.

Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail is similarly now opening after park open at 9:30am, with an early closing at 4:30pm.

Kali River Rapids is also opening at 9:30pm, with early closing at 7:30pm.

 

[mom2rtk]

well, I for one would not - I prefer pre-planning as it makes "day of" much less stressful for me. I found Disneyland to be way more stressful (though we haven't been back since the paid Maxpass system was introduced -so perhaps that helps, though I hate the idea of paying $50/day extra for my family of 5)

That said, I think it could be something like 60 days ADRs and 45 days FP or even less time than that - and then that might eliminate some of this impact of Disney changing hours after your plans are made

And then the hard to get FPs and ADRs get even harder to get. My pre-trip disappointment would still be there. I love that we're going to DLR in about 6 weeks and all options are still open for us!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

And then the hard to get FPs and ADRs get even harder to get. My pre-trip disappointment would still be there. I love that we're going to DLR in about 6 weeks and all options are still open for us!

We generally stay off site so there are always going to be some ADRs and FPs we wont' be able to get - but to me it makes it easier to know ahead of time which ones we don't have and plan around that for rope drop or whatever

Not knowing and having "all options open for us" stressed the heck out of me - when we were in Disneyland not knowing what times we could get a FP for (or if we even could or if they would be gone for the day) stressed me out and made us have to adjust plans so many times.

But obviously a million ways to do a Disney (whatever coast) vacation and no way they can make everyone happy - but I think we can all agree it is annoying when they change plans from their end (park hours, etc.) so close to the actual date vs wanting/enabling guests to plan much further in the future

 

[lambdabeta]

FYI - if anyone missed it posted to the News board, this article covers Disney changing ride attraction times at Animal Kingdom until the end of the year:

https://www.wdwmagic.com/attraction...-animal-kingdom-attractions-to-be-reduced.htm

Kilimanjaro Safaris has moved to a 7:45pm closing for this week, and then moving down to a 6:30pm closing in November.

Maharajah Jungle trek is now operating with a delayed open at 10am, and closing early at 5pm.

Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail is similarly now opening after park open at 9:30am, with an early closing at 4:30pm.

Kali River Rapids is also opening at 9:30pm, with early closing at 7:30pm.

Thanks for the information. I did miss this post but it doesn't give the full details. Kilimanjaro Safaris is closing at 6:15 from late November on. It also doesn't mention that Dinosaur is also opening and closing early at 9:30-7:30pm. I looked this up earlier and posted it up thread with exact times. I didn't look at the trails to see if they were closing early just the rides because the FP's were being changed because of this. Good to know about the trails.

 

[sandym718]

Thanks for the information. I did miss this post but it doesn't give the full details. Kilimanjaro Safaris is closing at 6:15 from late November on. It also doesn't mention that Dinosaur is also opening and closing early at 9:30-7:30pm. I looked this up earlier and posted it up thread with exact times. I didn't look at the trails to see if they were closing early just the rides because the FP's were being changed because of this. Good to know about the trails.

Really glad I have a 4:40-5:40 Safari FP for Nov 29! Debated going later but was trying to get dusk. Anything later probably would’ve been moved I guess

 

[gotomu212]

Thanks for the information. I did miss this post but it doesn't give the full details. Kilimanjaro Safaris is closing at 6:15 from late November on. It also doesn't mention that Dinosaur is also opening and closing early at 9:30-7:30pm. I looked this up earlier and posted it up thread with exact times. I didn't look at the trails to see if they were closing early just the rides because the FP's were being changed because of this. Good to know about the trails.

Are you sure about Dinosaur? We leave Thurs and I’ve been looking at times and I’m still showing Dinosaur opening at 9 am, 8 for EMH. We were really hoping to hit it at EMH opening Saturday so my fingers are crossed, but maybe I’m lookin* in a different place than you??

 

[lambdabeta]

Really glad I have a 4:40-5:40 Safari FP for Nov 29! Debated going later but was trying to get dusk. Anything later probably would’ve been moved I guess

Yes. When we originally booked our FP's for Nov 26 we could not get anything later than 5pm. We wanted to go at dusk or at night because we have never been at that time. We had Kali River Rapids moved to a different time which is why I have been posting in this thread. When I looked at the 3 rides people seemed to have FP's moved it was KS, KRR and Dino. I think Kilimanjaro's times were already set when we made FP's but the other 2 rides Kali and Dinosaur were the ones that got changed more recently. The people who had Kilimanjaro changed were in Oct. The others were in late Nov and early Dec. It is interesting because the park hours haven't changed and they have been extended for Thanksgiving week but not these three rides.

 

[lambdabeta]

Are you sure about Dinosaur? We leave Thurs and I’ve been looking at times and I’m still showing Dinosaur opening at 9 am, 8 for EMH. We were really hoping to hit it at EMH opening Saturday so my fingers are crossed, but maybe I’m lookin* in a different place than you??

You must be. I am looking under attractions in MDE on my laptop. Dinosaur is open 9-7:30 on EMH days with an 8am opening and 9:30-7:30 on days the park is open 9-8. When the park hours have been extended which they were done after my original search, then the ride hours are 9:30-8:30 with the park open 9-9 and 8:30-8:30 with the park open 8-9 over Thanksgiving week. That is the information I have off of the Disney website.

 

[Lesley Wake]

well, I for one would not - I prefer pre-planning as it makes "day of" much less stressful for me. I found Disneyland to be way more stressful (though we haven't been back since the paid Maxpass system was introduced -so perhaps that helps, though I hate the idea of paying $50/day extra for my family of 5)

That said, I think it could be something like 60 days ADRs and 45 days FP or even less time than that - and then that might eliminate some of this impact of Disney changing hours after your plans are made

See I disagree. Maxpass has completely changed the game. The paper FPs were definitely different and hard to deal with walking all over the Park to get them, especially before the app had the times on it.

But now, Maxpass is awesome. You know that everyone has the same opportunities to go on the big rides. And possibility to get multiple rides in the same day. Also you can stockpile the FPs for later in the day which can overlap or even be the exact same time. I am a local and go a couple times per month. Though sometimes I don’t even know if I’m going to go until that morning. If the system was FP+, I’d never be able to go on Racers or Guardians or plenty of others. Now, if I just get there early enough I’m on the same field with everyone else. Even if I don’t get there until the afternoon, as long as it’s not Christmas Day crowds, I still have a good shot at one or both of those. And it actually allows for much more flexibility than a Disneyworld trip. You don’t need as many ADRs as WDW, so can better fit FPs around that. And if the ride you want is giving out times too soon that would interfere with other things, then you just wait a bit and get a different time. And it helps if you need to change plans-lots of crowds at Disneyland and you want to switch to DCA, you can do that without sacrificing hard to get FPs you had planned months in advance.

I think the biggest negative people have with it is that it costs money. It has always been included with my AP (I have the $$$ Premier), but even if it wasn’t, I would pay to add it. Remember, it also includes photos, so no need to get Memory Maker anymore.

Now that’s not to say I don’t like FP+ too. When I do WDW I like to have things figured out further in advance. WDW is a full vacation experience-I go for multiple days so prefer to know what I am doing each day. Plus the distance between parks makes it less convenient to be flexible, if that makes sense!

Also, the more complicated the system, the more likely people will abuse it. There are so many loopholes with the WDW system, and yes, I do like to use them, but other people don’t and that really can impact their trips. So far I haven’t heard of any ways to abuse the Maxpass system. Sure there are tricks to make the best use of it (like refreshing, or trying to get multi experience passes via ride closures), but nothing that goes against the actual rules set out.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

See I disagree. Maxpass has completely changed the game. The paper FPs were definitely different and hard to deal with walking all over the Park to get them, especially before the app had the times on it.

But now, Maxpass is awesome. You know that everyone has the same opportunities to go on the big rides. And possibility to get multiple rides in the same day. Also you can stockpile the FPs for later in the day which can overlap or even be the exact same time. I am a local and go a couple times per month. Though sometimes I don’t even know if I’m going to go until that morning. If the system was FP+, I’d never be able to go on Racers or Guardians or plenty of others. Now, if I just get there early enough I’m on the same field with everyone else. Even if I don’t get there until the afternoon, as long as it’s not Christmas Day crowds, I still have a good shot at one or both of those. And it actually allows for much more flexibility than a Disneyworld trip. You don’t need as many ADRs as WDW, so can better fit FPs around that. And if the ride you want is giving out times too soon that would interfere with other things, then you just wait a bit and get a different time. And it helps if you need to change plans-lots of crowds at Disneyland and you want to switch to DCA, you can do that without sacrificing hard to get FPs you had planned months in advance.

I think the biggest negative people have with it is that it costs money. It has always been included with my AP (I have the $$$ Premier), but even if it wasn’t, I would pay to add it. Remember, it also includes photos, so no need to get Memory Maker anymore.

Now that’s not to say I don’t like FP+ too. When I do WDW I like to have things figured out further in advance. WDW is a full vacation experience-I go for multiple days so prefer to know what I am doing each day. Plus the distance between parks makes it less convenient to be flexible, if that makes sense!

Also, the more complicated the system, the more likely people will abuse it. There are so many loopholes with the WDW system, and yes, I do like to use them, but other people don’t and that really can impact their trips. So far I haven’t heard of any ways to abuse the Maxpass system. Sure there are tricks to make the best use of it (like refreshing, or trying to get multi experience passes via ride closures), but nothing that goes against the actual rules set out.

I have heard good things about Maxpass - though do wish there was like a “family rate” or something as $50/day for my family adds up ... and we don’t need 5 photo accounts so that value goes down after the first person