Beach Club Babe
10-02-2013, 01:35 PM
Cont. from previous post
Also, when I prioritized my AP on the Magic Band I was told to double check with concierge upon check in and if it was not correct, they could fix it for me. Well not surprisingly, it was not prioritized and the CM Victor, told me he could not fix it, I would have to go to guest relations. But sensing my unhappiness, he called for a manager who was able to help me by calling the Magic Band people once again. Problem resolved! Yes, I did check at the gates to make sure that it was indeed reading my AP first.
Another note about regular fastpass. According to the website you are not eligible for regular fastpass if you have the bands. However, i was told by a CM on one of my previous phone calls that with your KTTW card, you could indeed get regular fastpass as the two systems are not yet linked. So if you didn't want to use the band or FP+ system you could still use the regular fastpass system.
As far as making the fastpass selections, almost every selection I made from home needed to be changed by either time, attraction, or park altogether. I also found it very time consuming to use the phone app as it was very slow and you need to keep backing out if you need to make more than one change. "On the go"? I don't think so. Our first issue came on our first day since I did not know ahead of time that Courtney and Jason would be joining us on that day. However, oddly enough their FL AP's worked in the FP+ kiosk. First though, I had to cancel out our previously scheduled FP+'s at MK since we would be now going to Epcot. Still it was tough to coordinate our FP+ times with theirs. With the help of a CM at the kiosk we were able to at least get times that overlapped so that we would all be able to ride together. We had to time everything just perfectly, but we were able to get it done. I'm not really sure that an inexperienced traveler would have been able to make the same situation work.
Probably the worst problem we encountered was when I wanted to go to Guest Relations to exchange my paper AP for a plastic one, just in case. I had thought about getting this done early on in the trip, but the lines for all Guest Relations were outrageous and I never wanted to wait. Finally I spotted no line at GR outside of MK. I explained what I needed to the CM, no problem. Yeah right! First she tells me that it looks like I have two tickets attached my band. Yes, I'm very well aware. She then says that it is not allowed and one ticket must be separated. I explain yet again what I have been through, but she insists it is not allowed. She tells me she is going to separate my AP. No! I tell her as that will mess up all my FP+s with my family. She agrees to take the MYW ticket off. Everything else will remain the same she tells me. Nope! First I am denied entry into the park and I must use my plastic ticket. Next I cannot use a QS credit at lunch. Finally, when we return to the room, I cannot gain entry to that. Another trip to the front desk confirms that she has permanently deactivated it and now I will need to be issued a bland gray one. Not really amused.
Overall, I think the bands are fine for charging and room entry. I would've said park entry as well, but for my Hallie who is 4, she had a hard time reaching the Mickey and/or getting her wrist in the correct position. This slowed things up here as well as the FP+ return stations. I don't really think they work for families with such a diverse group of people. I dreaded having to wear these all day, but it was not as bad as I had imagined. I found myself fidgeting with it on numerous occasions, but I was able to deal with it. I am very surprised that my younger kids wore them and kept them on with no complaint.
I accept that this is the latest technology and they do improve some aspects and this will be permanent. However, I do hope the continue to make huge improvements here especially with the number of FP+'s allowed in one park/per day. 3 or 4 is not enough and with just one park, it makes park hopping a bit more tricky.
Also, when I prioritized my AP on the Magic Band I was told to double check with concierge upon check in and if it was not correct, they could fix it for me. Well not surprisingly, it was not prioritized and the CM Victor, told me he could not fix it, I would have to go to guest relations. But sensing my unhappiness, he called for a manager who was able to help me by calling the Magic Band people once again. Problem resolved! Yes, I did check at the gates to make sure that it was indeed reading my AP first.
Another note about regular fastpass. According to the website you are not eligible for regular fastpass if you have the bands. However, i was told by a CM on one of my previous phone calls that with your KTTW card, you could indeed get regular fastpass as the two systems are not yet linked. So if you didn't want to use the band or FP+ system you could still use the regular fastpass system.
As far as making the fastpass selections, almost every selection I made from home needed to be changed by either time, attraction, or park altogether. I also found it very time consuming to use the phone app as it was very slow and you need to keep backing out if you need to make more than one change. "On the go"? I don't think so. Our first issue came on our first day since I did not know ahead of time that Courtney and Jason would be joining us on that day. However, oddly enough their FL AP's worked in the FP+ kiosk. First though, I had to cancel out our previously scheduled FP+'s at MK since we would be now going to Epcot. Still it was tough to coordinate our FP+ times with theirs. With the help of a CM at the kiosk we were able to at least get times that overlapped so that we would all be able to ride together. We had to time everything just perfectly, but we were able to get it done. I'm not really sure that an inexperienced traveler would have been able to make the same situation work.
Probably the worst problem we encountered was when I wanted to go to Guest Relations to exchange my paper AP for a plastic one, just in case. I had thought about getting this done early on in the trip, but the lines for all Guest Relations were outrageous and I never wanted to wait. Finally I spotted no line at GR outside of MK. I explained what I needed to the CM, no problem. Yeah right! First she tells me that it looks like I have two tickets attached my band. Yes, I'm very well aware. She then says that it is not allowed and one ticket must be separated. I explain yet again what I have been through, but she insists it is not allowed. She tells me she is going to separate my AP. No! I tell her as that will mess up all my FP+s with my family. She agrees to take the MYW ticket off. Everything else will remain the same she tells me. Nope! First I am denied entry into the park and I must use my plastic ticket. Next I cannot use a QS credit at lunch. Finally, when we return to the room, I cannot gain entry to that. Another trip to the front desk confirms that she has permanently deactivated it and now I will need to be issued a bland gray one. Not really amused.
Overall, I think the bands are fine for charging and room entry. I would've said park entry as well, but for my Hallie who is 4, she had a hard time reaching the Mickey and/or getting her wrist in the correct position. This slowed things up here as well as the FP+ return stations. I don't really think they work for families with such a diverse group of people. I dreaded having to wear these all day, but it was not as bad as I had imagined. I found myself fidgeting with it on numerous occasions, but I was able to deal with it. I am very surprised that my younger kids wore them and kept them on with no complaint.
I accept that this is the latest technology and they do improve some aspects and this will be permanent. However, I do hope the continue to make huge improvements here especially with the number of FP+'s allowed in one park/per day. 3 or 4 is not enough and with just one park, it makes park hopping a bit more tricky.