PDA

View Full Version : My Magicband/FP+ review



mickeyman42
10-02-2013, 06:58 AM
not sure where this fits so feel free to move it, but I thought after using magicbands and fp+ for a week I would provide my honest feedback about the system. Overall I will say that there are definite pros and cons to the process, which is how I will breakdown the experience

Pros:
-magicbands makes getting into your hotel room much easier when carrying bags/kids/stuff
-easy park access (no pulling out KTTW cards)
-ability to have an evening FP for major attractions (soarin', TSM, etc without having to be in that park all day was a plus
-makes using DDP and room charges in parks and foodcourts easier
-able to have fp's without being in the park at rope drop, and picking what time you want them for was nice

Cons:
-MDE turned me into a crazy obsessive fp planner
-not able to book more than 3 fp per day even after redeeming them
- not able to book fp's in multiple parks per day
- MDE app would constantly update my changes incorrectly and I would "lose" fp's for some or all of my party if I made a change
-scanning the magicband for fp access slowed down the fp return lines


basically I liked using the magicband. It was great for room charges, DDP redemption, and room access.

The MDE app and booking FP's like I said turned me into a crazy person that I couldn't stop. maybe you all would be fine but I found myself staring at my phone constantly, updating fp's, changing times and experiences based on actual wait times and while we probably got to do more, until I stopped using the program, I was missing the small things that makes WDW great. instead of enjoying the atmosphere of the parks, I was staring at my phone looking for the "best" fp plan possible. After day 3 I stopped using it like that and it was much better, and maybe thats all on me, but I think its going to result in more people walking around the parks staring at their phones instead of enjoying just being where they are. I also think you should be able to have more than 3 fp per day, similar to now once you use 1 you should be able to get another, or even after you use 3 you could book 3 more, or at least I should be able to use my 3 fp's in which ever park I want. If I want 1 in MK and 1 in epcot and 1 at DHS in the same day that should be possible.

Wow, that feels long-winded but I could have gone on,because I'm sure I could have included more if I thought about it longer. feel free to probe me further!

Melanie
10-02-2013, 07:04 AM
Thanks for your review! Again, all the negatives I see are FP related. :unsure:

DonaldDuckUSA
10-02-2013, 09:17 AM
Great review! Thanks!

Susan A
10-02-2013, 09:47 AM
Good point about staring at your phone in the park instead of enjoying the atmosphere. I don't want that to happen to me. I can see myself and others obsessing over the "perfect" plan for the day.
Where you ever worried that you would loose the bands, that they might fall off? Oh, can you swim with them?
Thanks

Dulcee
10-02-2013, 10:35 AM
I don't know.... I was there in December and a lot of people were staring at their phones well before MDE was out and about.

Nice to hear a live review! Sounds like a lot of the problems were related to programing or would be easily switched up if a lot of guests feel the same.

PopPhan
10-02-2013, 10:45 AM
I also think you should be able to have more than 3 fp per day, similar to now once you use 1 you should be able to get another, or even after you use 3 you could book 3 more, or at least I should be able to use my 3 fp's in which ever park I want. If I want 1 in MK and 1 in epcot and 1 at DHS in the same day that should be possible.

See, this is exactly what I LIKE about the FP+ -- All the "FastPass collectors" -- those who will get FastPasses as soon as possible and keep stacking them up, whether they use them or not -- will have to actually PLAN their FastPass usage.

Limiting people to 3 FP+ per day in a solitary park will, in my opinion, actually shorten FP lines. People will not be able to stack up FastPasses to every FP attraction in the park, so will be more discriminate about which attractions they 'book in advance.'

Also, how many will use their FP+ selections for Meet and Greets and Parade/Fireworks shows?

My opinion only, but I think that when this is fully implemented, flow for almost all queues will be much better.

Susan A
10-02-2013, 11:15 AM
Popphan,
that's a very good point about FP hogs (I chose a different word).
I have wondered how many FPs and I obtained in a single day and I can't remember since it has been 8 years. Maybe 3 or 4?

g8rgirl29
10-02-2013, 12:02 PM
I can see this turning me into a crazy person in regards to FP planning!! I already feel like I micro manage with having to get park hours, emh hours, and dining reservations figured out before 180 days out so that I am not planning my vacation around dining ressies. Plus a very good point on staring at your phone and missing the Magical Moments that are all around you. That is the reason I loved when they started photo pass, it limited my picture taking so I wasn't viewing our vacation through my camera. Thanks for the review!!

DisneyBarb
10-02-2013, 01:08 PM
We are going the week before Thanksgiving, I did make FP reservations for 4 of the 5 days we will be there. If the park is not too crowded as it tends to be this time of year (last time we went at this time we only used 1 FP the entire trip). I may end up cancelling some so that I have more flexibility. On the other hand it is nice that I know we will get to ride Soarin and Toy Story Mania at least once without too much of a wait.

I love the idea of the magic bands, no more looking to where the kids put the room key after they return from the pool etc!

Thanks for the feedback

twinboyz
10-02-2013, 01:11 PM
Great review! Thanks for the honest feedback. I too, would probably be on my phone too. We've been selected for the magic bands and I think we'll use them for everything except FP+. Maybe book the FP+ after we check in and see what's available.

AgentC
10-02-2013, 01:34 PM
Limiting people to 3 FP+ per day in a solitary park will, in my opinion, actually shorten FP lines. People will not be able to stack up FastPasses to every FP attraction in the park, so will be more discriminate about which attractions they 'book in advance.'

Also, how many will use their FP+ selections for Meet and Greets and Parade/Fireworks shows?



You might be right. It will be interesting to see. I don't use Fast Pass that much so I am not terribly concerned. We tend to only use it for certain rides and only when it is busy.

We were just at WDW for 4 days two weekend agos. It was not very busy at all. In fact on 9/20 we were able to do almost everything at MK as a walk on or 10 minute wait. We did get FP for two things- the new Princess Fairytale Hall that had a 70 minute wait and the next day a Epcot for Test Track (we didn't get there until noon).

I saw several people testing FP+ but in some cases it did seem silly since they were going on rides that didn't have lines.

mickeyman42
10-03-2013, 06:13 AM
so just to answer a few questions, there is no chance of the bands coming off, they snap on and you might think that they could fall off similar to how and old plastic timex watch would have felt, but the connection is so firm that it isnt going anywhere. the band was actually very stiff, and yes you can swim with them on no problems.
Can't believe I'm saying this but they need to have a watch add on that you could buy for you band. I found that the band had to "replace" my watch on my arm, using both arms felt to awkward, and I would look at my band to check the time. After a few days when asked the time I would say "its mickey head" as thats whats you see on the "face" of the band where a watch would be.

another fp comment too, I found that probably the worst part of it was my own doing in that I would have my 3 fp's for the day, but when I get to the park I realize that 1 of them only has a 5 min wait, so now I feel like if I use that one then its a waste of a fp, so I scramble to change it to something else, and then you run into the tech/app problems and it spirals out of control. if you can be content with what you originally planned no matter what, you'll be fine, but I kept having to have the "perfect" plan. also perhaps I'm still not thinking of something but in my "more than 3 fp" plan you could only get more fp's after 1 had been redeemed, never having more than 3 at any one time. So if say you have 3 booked for first thing in the am and you use them all by noon, then I see no problem with being able to get more "on the fly" if they are still available, just like you can now. Converse to that, if your 3 are not until later in the day, then you would not be able to get any more until at least 1 would be used, and the chances of more fp's being available late in the day are slim to none. you would have no chance to "save" them as you would still have a window to return between.

TheVBs
10-03-2013, 07:26 AM
Thank you for the review! Just curious, when the app failed you, did you try any of the kiosks they're supposed to have for this in the parks? Do they have the kiosks yet?

We don't have smartphones, and don't even like to bring the phones we do have into the parks. Don't know if we'll change that, or if that will help keep us from getting crazy over planning.

mickeyman42
10-04-2013, 05:51 AM
I never noticed any kiosks, not that I was looking for any, but I don't think any existed. I probably could have done it at guest relations, but didn't think about it at the time