YIKES. It’s (3/12) So busy! Planning and FP are so important.

[Mambo Junkie]

Honestly, I can go to Disney and not ride a single ride and still have a good time taking in the atmosphere, watching shows, etc. Do I like to ride the rides? Absolutely, but I can still have a good time without doing so.

^^This^^
Personally, I hate to plan, and loved the old system, which I learned to work very well. You could still feel like you were winging it and do everything you wanted. With the advent of fp+, I felt like I was forced to plan, which I agree is both stressful (especially if taking the grandkids) and also confining. So I do it to a degree. I would say our only fps we pre planned last time were FOP and Frozen (because we had the grandkids). We got the rest pretty much while there. We also use PPO and paid events to see popular attractions. Last time we had EMM TSL booked and canceled it because it rained and everything was a walk on except SDD which was a 20 minute wait. You can wait almost that long with a fast pass. So we canceled EMM and decided to go to MK the next morning, and while we were waiting for dinner, I got fps for 7DMT and while they were riding TSMM, I got Peter Pan. I used the last set of fps to get 3 Dumbo and 3 Pooh. It was pretty crowded, too. (F&W, Marathon weekend, Halloween and Jersey week rolled up in to one big mass) I also found out (after literally months of trying to get a specific ADR, even using TP's reservation finder with no success), that practically any ADR will pop up a day or 2 before we were going to that park.
I come here to learn tips and tricks, but there are many, many more out there who have no idea how this system works, or better yet, how to work the system.

 

[mamapenguin]

And this is exactly why I keep saying moving to a FP structure like Disneylands (without the paying for Maxpass part) would work much better. All FPs would be day of only, you don't get to pick a time slot, you get what ever return window is available for the attraction you want to go on at that time and you can only book a FP after entering one of the parks for the day. You could through the app book a FP for another park, but only if your tickets have park hopping entitlements.

This would actually make everything far more fair and since there would still be no paper FPs, they could even stop distributing for say an hour for a particular attraction, then distribute again to ensure that people who arrive later in the day have a fair shot at FPs.

I agree except for the fact that I don’t mind paying for Maxpass even after the price increase. It comes with photo pass which is great for people without it on their AP. Fast passes should be day of and not until you scan into at least one park. That levels the playing field.

 

[cmwade77]

That’s good to hear! If so then I’m going to get quite a bit accomplished in my day

Yeah, I am cautiously optimistic that they are right from my Disney World trip, we shall see.

 

[cmwade77]

I agree except for the fact that I don’t mind paying for Maxpass even after the price increase. It comes with photo pass which is great for people without it on their AP. Fast passes should be day of and not until you scan into at least one park. That levels the playing field.

Right, but my point is they couldn't charge for booking on the phone at Disney World since there are no more paper FPs there as an alternative, that is why I said except then paying part.

 

[mamapenguin]

Right, but my point is they couldn't charge for booking on the phone at Disney World since there are no more paper FPs there as an alternative, that is why I said except then paying part.

I see your point, but there should be free paper fast passes available just like DLR

 

[cmwade77]

I see your point, but there should be free paper fast passes available just like DLR

That wouldn't really be doable anymore, I am realistic about that part.

 

[JETSDAD]

No, it really is a complete failure, i think anything that brings more stress to the planning process, which it definitely does is indeed a complete failure.

I love FP+ and find that the ability to use FP+ actually frees us up to do so much more than we could otherwise and let's us really go with the flow. Yes, we set our 3 FP's at 60 days however many evenings we decide to change which park we are going to the following day. Most days the only pre-booked FP that we end up using is the first one of the day, sometimes the second one (at MK probably the first and second, other parks mostly just the first). Then we use the system to move up FP's or move them around to what we want to do then. Not waiting in SB lines for hours each day allows us to do more rides, spend more time just walking through the parks, and to have time to spend back at the resort mid-day to relax. I saw a post on FB today about a 40 minute SB wait for Figment mid-afternoon which I could understand people being upset about except for the fact that there was plenty of FP availability with very little wait if they would just take 30 seconds to look. If people choose to not use the system put in place that's not the fault of the system.

 

[cmwade77]

I love FP+ and find that the ability to use FP+ actually frees us up to do so much more than we could otherwise and let's us really go with the flow. Yes, we set our 3 FP's at 60 days however many evenings we decide to change which park we are going to the following day. Most days the only pre-booked FP that we end up using is the first one of the day, sometimes the second one (at MK probably the first and second, other parks mostly just the first). Then we use the system to move up FP's or move them around to what we want to do then. Not waiting in SB lines for hours each day allows us to do more rides, spend more time just walking through the parks, and to have time to spend back at the resort mid-day to relax. I saw a post on FB today about a 40 minute SB wait for Figment mid-afternoon which I could understand people being upset about except for the fact that there was plenty of FP availability with very little wait if they would just take 30 seconds to look. If people choose to not use the system put in place that's not the fault of the system.

If the system treated all onsite guests equally, then perhaps I might agree; however, if you are being signed in you can only book three days of FPs regardless of the length of your stay and you also can't book additional same day FPs.

The reality is try going to Disneyland and get Maxpass and you will see the how superior the system really is. I seriously can do at least 80% of the rides at Disneyland by about 1 PM if I show up at park opening with Maxpass and focus on rides. I think my record has been to do all of the following by 1 PM:

• Jungle Cruise
• Pirates
• Haunted Mansion
• Splash Mountain
• Winnie the Pooh
• Big Thunder
• Pinnocio
• Snow White
• Small world
• Matterhorn
• Finding Nemo
• Casey Jr Circus Train
• Roger Rabits cartoon spin
• Alice
• Space Mountain
• Star Tours
• Buzz
• Main Street Ride Vehicles

Granted not all of those have FPs and there are some we skipped, but that is because we didn't want to do them, not because we couldn't. And that is from park opening (no extra magic hours) until 1 PM. Can you do the same at Magic Kingdom? Oh and this was on an 8/10 day according to the crowd calendars just in case you think it wasn't busy.

Normally we don't push ourselves that hard since we live nearby, but it is doable on almost any day with no advance planning required.

 

[StacyStrong]

If you are being signed in? I'm confused.

Not trying to be difficult. I don't know what that means. I wasn't aware that any guests could only make 3 days worth of fp and that they couldn't make additional day of.

I don't think that's a thing?

 

[JETSDAD]

If the system treated all onsite guests equally, then perhaps I might agree; however, if you are being signed in you can only book three days of FPs regardless of the length of your stay and you also can't book additional same day FPs.

The reality is try going to Disneyland and get Maxpass and you will see the how superior the system really is. I seriously can do at least 80% of the rides at Disneyland by about 1 PM if I show up at park opening with Maxpass and focus on rides. I think my record has been to do all of the following by 1 PM:

• Jungle Cruise
• Pirates
• Haunted Mansion
• Splash Mountain
• Winnie the Pooh
• Big Thunder
• Pinnocio
• Snow White
• Small world
• Matterhorn
• Finding Nemo
• Casey Jr Circus Train
• Roger Rabits cartoon spin
• Alice
• Space Mountain
• Star Tours
• Buzz
• Main Street Ride Vehicles

Granted not all of those have FPs and there are some we skipped, but that is because we didn't want to do them, not because we couldn't. And that is from park opening (no extra magic hours) until 1 PM. Can you do the same at Magic Kingdom? Oh and this was on an 8/10 day according to the crowd calendars just in case you think it wasn't busy.

Normally we don't push ourselves that hard since we live nearby, but it is doable on almost any day with no advance planning required.

Let's just say that I do quite well with FP+...if you've read posts on refreshing you would see how many people use the system very well and that is available to everyone. I'm sure there are people who use Maxpass better than others....those who get it and don't use it well are not evidence that Maxpass doesn't work. I'd like to give it a try someday and will certainly do some homework on it prior to showing up. By the sounds of it MP allows people who know what they are doing to have very good success with riding rides....as does FP+.

 

[cmwade77]

If you are being signed in? I'm confused.

Not trying to be difficult. I don't know what that means. I wasn't aware that any guests could only make 3 days worth of fp and that they couldn't make additional day of.

I don't think that's a thing?

Yep, you know when a cast member signs you in for free, it doesn't matter if you are an onsite resort guest or not, you can only book 3 days on that guest pass and once the first three FPs are used you cannot obtain more same day FPs, even at a kiosk.

It is indeed a thing as we learned on our last trip, our next trip we have APs, so that won't be an issue, but it definitely is an issue for CMs and people they sign in.

At Disneyland, being signed in by a cast member is no different than buying a one day ticket as far as FPs go. And you don't actually need to know anything in advance with Maxpass, the app walks you through using it, just remember to always hold a FP and book another as soon as you can and you are good.

 

[StacyStrong]

Yep, you know when a cast member signs you in, it doesn't matter if you are an onsite resort guest or not, you can only book 3 days on that guest pass and once the first three FPs are used you cannot obtain more same day FPs, even at a kiosk.

It is indeed a thing as we learned on our last trip, our next trip we have APs, so that won't be an issue, but it definitely is an issue for CMs and people they sign in.

I'm struggling to understand what "sign in" means.
When you get free tickets as a guest of a CM?

If that's the case, Ya. I don't...feel bad about that.

 

[cmwade77]

Let's just say that I do quite well with FP+...if you've read posts on refreshing you would see how many people use the system very well and that is available to everyone. I'm sure there are people who use Maxpass better than others....those who get it and don't use it well are not evidence that Maxpass doesn't work. I'd like to give it a try someday and will certainly do some homework on it prior to showing up. By the sounds of it MP allows people who know what they are doing to have very good success with riding rides....as does FP+.

Nope, refreshing doesn't work for guests who have been signed in by cast members, as they cannot book additional FPs after the first 3, again learned this on the last trip.

 

[cmwade77]

I'm struggling to understand what "sign in" means.
When you get free tickets as a guest of a CM?

If that's the case, Ya. I don't...feel bad about that.

Yes, that is the case, but it shouldn't matter how you are getting in, the rules should apply the same to all onsite resort guests, as I said, all are treated equally at Disneyland and that is the way it should be.

 

[StacyStrong]

Yes, that is the case, but it shouldn't matter how you are getting in, the rules should apply the same to all onsite resort guests, as I said, all are treated equally at Disneyland and that is the way it should be.

Disagree. I'm paying hundreds of dollars to enter a park. You're paying $0. The FP comes with the tickets, not the resort stay.

The resort stay just changes when you can start making the FP.

 

[StacyStrong]

What you're describing isn't a FP+ system failure. It's a problem you have with an employee benefit package which is a whole different issue.

 

[cmwade77]

Disagree. I'm paying hundreds of dollars to enter a park. You're paying $0. The FP comes with the tickets, not the resort stay.

The resort stay just changes when you can start making the FP.

Actually that isn't quite true either, for example if you have an AP, you can only book 7 days worth of FPs, unless staying onsite, then you can book the length of your stay up to 14 days.

And regardless, you are not getting in for $0 when getting signed in, those CMs paid for those tickets in blood, sweat and tears, in many cases literally and Disney needs to treat them better than they do. Seriously they do more work for those than you or I ever will and I recognize and value that at a lot more than $0.

 

[cmwade77]

What you're describing isn't a FP+ system failure. It's a problem you have with an employee benefit package which is a whole different issue.

No, it is a system failure because it has to do with how they have guest passes setup in their system and ITs failure to fix the problem.

 

[StacyStrong]

Actually that isn't quite true either, for example if you have an AP, you can only book 7 days worth of FPs, unless staying onsite, then you can book the length of your stay up to 14 days.

And regardless, you are not getting in for $0 when getting signed in, those CMs paid for those tickets in blood, sweat and tears, in many cases literally and Disney needs to treat them better than they do. Seriously they do more work for those than you or I ever will and I recognize and value that at a lot more than $0.

Ya. They should be paid more. But again, that's an employee benefit issue. That is not a FP+ system issue.

 

[StacyStrong]

No, it is a system failure because it has to do with how they have guest passes setup in their system and ITs failure to fix the problem.

It's not ITs failure. It's an employee benefit policy.

I can't. This is just a really really weird argument.

ETA - it's very possible that I just don't understand CM guest passes because I've never gotten one. If it's not actually the policy and just an IT issue, that sucks.