FP+ is Live! Magic Bands in the park!

[d1gitman]

I'm here now, staying onsite at Universal. We are Disney vets with 18 trips under our belts. But, I have to say with HP, the new Transformers ride, the Springfield expansion and everything else...Universal is kicking some Disney booty.....I think the "motherland" better watch it's back.

I agree the Universal does some things really well, but i have to say that my biggest complaint with Universal is that too many attractions are 3d rides. At least for my liking there are too many.

We absolutely love the unlimited express pass while staying onsite but the only reason that works is due to Universal only having 3 onsite hotels thus no capacity to overcrowd the parks with onsite guests. I would however be a fan of Disney offering such a perk for a premium. Universal offers it as an upgrade to offsite guests but it's so pricey as an upgrade you can stay onsite.

Unless Universal buys a very large parcel of land in FL, i just don't see them being able to draw mass volumes of people away from Disney. Even if Universal opened up 2 more locations in the USA i don't see them denting Disney's overall draw.

 

[d1gitman]

as a comment to Rileygirls's last post, i have to say that Universal's website is horrible. for all the complaints we have about issues with Disney sites....Universal's is as bad as any i've encountered for userfriendliness.

 

[magicbob]

Lots of thought provoking info in this thread!

 

[Rileygirl]

Hey Magic Bob, I meant after I responded to Damo.

But darn it, I just did it again.

Im stopping now. My eyes are buggy.

 

[shyjade]

as a comment to Rileygirls's last post, i have to say that Universal's website is horrible. for all the complaints we have about issues with Disney sites....Universal's is as bad as any i've encountered for userfriendliness.

Agreed! I was toying with the idea of heading over to see HP on our upcoming trip and their website had me sooo frustrated. I finally gave up and came on DIS to find out more about Universal, touring plans, etc.

Unfortunately, the slower-than-dial-up experience I have on Disney's website (using a T1 connection) is an entirely different bag of "icky poo"!

 

[magicbob]

Hey Magic Bob, I meant after I responded to Damo.

But darn it, I just did it again.

Im stopping now. My eyes are buggy.

Granted, you DID say "after that" but you also fell into my trap.

Now take a much deserved break.

 

[jade1]

1. Magic Kingdom 17,536,000 +2.3% change
2. Disneyland 15,963,000 -1.1% change
3. Tokyo Disneyland 14,847,000 +8.5% change
4. Tokyo Disney Sea 12,656,000 +8.5% change
5. Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris 11,200,000 +1.9%
6. Epcot 11,063,000 +2.2%
7. Disney's Animal Kingdom 9,998,999 +2.2%
8. Disney's Hollywood Studios 9,912,000 +2.2%
9. Universal Studios Japan 9,700,000 +14.1%
10. Islands of Adventure 7,981,000 +4%
11. Disney California Adventure 7,775,000 +22.6%
14. Hong Kong Disneyland 6,700,000 +13.6%
15. Universal Studios Orlando 6,195,000 +2.5%
19. Sea World Florida 5,358,000 +3.0%
20. Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris 4,800,000 1.9%
23. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay 4,348,000 +1.5%

 

[darnheather]

So I was there during a test phase and there are kiosks. They are stored when not testing and are wheeled out for testing then plugged in. I have to imagine they will be rolled off state every night and secured in a closed location as well.

During testing there was a kiosk at Guest Relations, a few at Buzz Lightyear Space ranger Spin, 2 at Jungle Cruise and I think one somewhere in fantasyland.

You have the option of your itinerary being emailed so you could print it at home. My friend and I just screen-capped ours and also had it in our google calendar so we could check quickly what was up with out having to use Internet to check. We only switched at the kiosks when we saw that the wait time was not worth using our fastpass. So we would quickly change the fastpass then go get in standby. I never felt like our Standby times were any longer than before. We were able to do our 3 fastpass+ attractions plus 4 other standbys before I had to leave for work at 3. We got to the park around 10 am. So a short day fitting in about 1 attraction an hour is not so bad.

I was right! I was right! LOL

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

1. Magic Kingdom 17,536,000 +2.3% change
2. Disneyland 15,963,000 -1.1% change
3. Tokyo Disneyland 14,847,000 +8.5% change
4. Tokyo Disney Sea 12,656,000 +8.5% change
5. Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris 11,200,000 +1.9%
6. Epcot 11,063,000 +2.2%
7. Disney's Animal Kingdom 9,998,999 +2.2%
8. Disney's Hollywood Studios 9,912,000 +2.2%
9. Universal Studios Japan 9,700,000 +14.1%
10. Islands of Adventure 7,981,000 +4%
11. Disney California Adventure 7,775,000 +22.6%
14. Hong Kong Disneyland 6,700,000 +13.6%
15. Universal Studios Orlando 6,195,000 +2.5%
19. Sea World Florida 5,358,000 +3.0%
20. Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris 4,800,000 1.9%
23. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay 4,348,000 +1.5%

This just proves that new attractions is what gets the numbers up. And the new Carsland wasn't open until June.

 

[jade1]

This just proves that new attractions is what gets the numbers up. And the new Carsland wasn't open until June.

Yep, and as for WWOHP it may have kinda peaked but still going strong anyway.

Will be interesting to see US after the next HP phase.

 

[Cafeen]

This just proves that new attractions is what gets the numbers up. And the new Carsland wasn't open until June.

Although, interestingly, assuming my math (and these numbers) is roughly accurate... the loss of 1.1% at DL park would be roughly 1.6 million, whereas the gain of 22.6% at DCA would be a gain of about 1.4 million.

So the net is roughly a wash (to slightly down). Guessing that DCA cannibalized more locals than it drew in from outside? Of course, with Carsland opening in June rather than at the start of the year, it skews the data considerably.

(It's also interesting to see that all the WDW parks are up by the same rate (not amount)...doesn't mean much really, other than the same patterns of guest attendance has stayed the same).

Edit - As jade so nicely points out below. I'm an idiot (my words, not hers). So...yeah....large gains at DLR with only a slight cannibalization of DLPark (~150k)

 

[jade1]

Although, interestingly, assuming my math (and these numbers) is roughly accurate... the loss of 1.1% at DL park would be roughly 1.6 million, whereas the gain of 22.6% at DCA would be a gain of about 1.4 million.

So the net is roughly a wash (to slightly down). Guessing that DCA cannibalized more locals than it drew in from outside? Of course, with Carsland opening in June rather than at the start of the year, it skews the data considerably.

(It's also interesting to see that all the WDW parks are up by the same rate (not amount)...doesn't mean much really, other than the same patterns of guest attendance has stayed the same).

A 10% loss at DL would have been about 1.5 million, 1% is closer to 150,000. DCA gained about 1.7 million.

 

[bwang123]

Having just left WDW on my way home, I can confirm that there is no sign of any guest-oriented equipment beyond the scanning posts at any of the attractions I saw at DHS, Epcot or MK. There is a kiosk set up near the scanning posts for CMs to see when guests scan their bands/cards at the posts.

Even where I would have expected to see something based on their location - like where the old FP kiosks for HM used to be - there is absolutely nothing.

The only unusual thing is there is still one of those "boxes" they use to cover something at TSM, between the entrance and the FP kiosks. But it isn't anything very significant in size.

we were there may 11-16 and i saw one by the entrance of POTC. it is not big and blended in well. It faced away from the main walkway so it was only visible if you started walking into POTC and looked back. the screen looked like a computer monitor.

It was turned on so I could see that the interface was exactly what is seen in videos and reported by others.

it appears its more from CMs to make the changes not visitors.

 

[Rileygirl]

Wow, very interesting stats.

wow.
2.2 is up for all of the orlando disney parks, compared to the year before last, where they averaged 1%

Interesting regarding DL too.

Lots of food for thought.

 

[d1gitman]

So I was there during a test phase and there are kiosks. ...We only switched at the kiosks when we saw that the wait time was not worth using our fastpass. So we would quickly change the fastpass then go get in standby...We were able to do our 3 fastpass+ attractions plus 4 other standbys...

Interesting, it never occurred to me that one could change out a FP+ at last minute for something else if the current standby was desired. I'm sure that aspect has been discussed but this thread is too long to catch up on every post

Maybe Disney is on to something and all of us FP and touring experts will learn new tricks. Afterall, the current FP changed how many of us do the parks, FP+ might just offer up options we haven't thought of yet.

On a different not, i saw there is a small amusement park in TX (i forget the name) that advertises it is virtually 100% ADA accessible for attractions. One of the things i saw on their website was that they have RFID bracelets. The bracelet allows you to scan at a kiosk and see where others in your party are located within the park. I wonder if this is a feature that Disney has considered or will offer.

 

[doconeill]

we were there may 11-16 and i saw one by the entrance of POTC. it is not big and blended in well. It faced away from the main walkway so it was only visible if you started walking into POTC and looked back. the screen looked like a computer monitor.

It was turned on so I could see that the interface was exactly what is seen in videos and reported by others.

it appears its more from CMs to make the changes not visitors.

Right...that is one of the CM-oriented ones I mentioned.

 

[jade1]

Im still waiting for the 2012 theme park stats, if Universal killed it again, Im thinking disney is getting geared for war.

Wow, very interesting stats.

wow.
2.2 is up for all of the orlando disney parks, compared to the year before last, where they averaged 1%

Interesting regarding DL too.

Lots of food for thought.

So what's the summary on this for you?

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

Wow, very interesting stats.

wow.
2.2 is up for all of the orlando disney parks, compared to the year before last, where they averaged 1%

Interesting regarding DL too.

Lots of food for thought.

Looks like WDW in general is as strong as ever All those festivals paying off for EPCOT attendence. As a stock holder I'm very happy Of course when I'm visiting I want all those people to go away

 

[LovingDisny]

Rileygirl, you should copy and paste all of your posts into a single document. With a little bit of editing, you might have a best-seller on your hands.

MOUSE WARS: How Disney and Universal compete for Orlando's Tourism Dollars

Here Here!

 

[magicbob]

Interesting, it never occurred to me that one could change out a FP+ at last minute for something else if the current standby was desired.

Rather simple to do within a limited test. I'm admittedly a big FP+ naysayer, but I'll be quite surprised if making a change like this is so simple when it's rolled out for the masses. The process might be simple, but good luck finding another FP+ time to exchange it for.