FP+ Attraction Examples

[Dream'nDisney]

Can someone give me examples of what FP+ Attractions would be lumped together? For instance, can we get a Space Mountain, a Buzz Lightyear and a Pirates of the Carribean together? Are the groups posted somewhere so that we can have some idea of what to plan for before our 60 day mark?

[Strmchsr]

Right now it's only at Epcot and DHS where they're testing the "premium" and "non-premium" groupings for FP+. Doesn't apply at MK or DAK so you can pick whatever you want those places.

[Dream'nDisney]

Can you give examples of premium and non-premium attractions at those parks? Do you get one premium and two non-premium attractions per day? or are their three categories?

[Strmchsr]

Yes, it's 1 premium and 2 non-premium selections. At Epcot it's choose one Fastpass from the following Character Spot, IllumiNations, Maelstrom, Soarin, or Test Track and then two Fastpasses from the rest:
Captain EO
Journey into Imagination
Living with the Land
Mission: SPACE
Seas with Nemo and Friends
Spaceship Earth
Turtle Talk with Crush

At DHS it's choose one from Beauty and the Beast, Fantasmic, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, or Toy Story Mania and pick two from the rest:
American Idol Experience
Disney Junior – Live on Stage
Great Movie Ride
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show
Muppet Vision 3D
Star Tours
Tower of Terror
Voyage of the Little Mermaid

[Dream'nDisney]

Great. Thanks. I know a lot of people are complaining about this new system, but I think it is actually going to make our visit more pleasant. We have a hard time getting clear back to get a Fastpass for Toy Story after riding Tower of Terror and Rock'n Roller Coaster. So now we can have a FP and not even have to run to get it! Added bonus, we can get a FP for Star Tours and Great Movie ride! I think it takes a lot of stress off our visit. Now we can relax a little and enjoy more of the park, instead of running to get FP's.

[Strmchsr]

Not having to run to get a FP for TSM is nice, but the rest of it I haven't been too pleased with. What if we want to ride RNRC twice? Can't do it. What if I want to ride Soarin and Test Track? Well, now I'll have to wait in a 60+ min standby line for one of those. Same for RNRC and TSM. Now I have to run to a standby line instead of running for a FP. So I definitely am not a fan of the way they've implemented the new FP program. It's made for much longer lines and more limitations on what we can choose to do.

[Mitzie]

Not having to run to get a FP for TSM is nice, but the rest of it I haven't been too pleased with. What if we want to ride RNRC twice? Can't do it. What if I want to ride Soarin and Test Track? Well, now I'll have to wait in a 60+ min standby line for one of those. Same for RNRC and TSM. Now I have to run to a standby line instead of running for a FP. So I definitely am not a fan of the way they've implemented the new FP program. It's made for much longer lines and more limitations on what we can choose to do.

I am one of those few that so far we have liked the new FP system. We used the old system to some degree but we found we were wasting time on the old system doubleing back to get a new FP ticket when the window of the current one opened up and we could get a second one. Many that have posted have be so negative about WDW in general..that I have even stopped reading some post. When you wrote your opinion I took note. I value your opinion because it was well thought out and directed to a very specific issue. I sit back and ask..what is WDW thinking in doing the things they are. Why set it up to only get fast passes for one park a day when buying the PH option on a ticket increases their bottom dollar...I just hope it gets worked out. WDW should be able to offer something to all kinds of people. Some post that mention WDW tracking you and monitoring your purchases seems silly to me. These posts act like "Big Brother is watching" umm they don't need to see me buy a Mickey plush to know that golly there were 30 of those this morning and 15 sold..lets order more of those...Why does it seem like so many feel that Disney is out to get them...? Sorry for the rant..it just feels like the whole tone on Intercot has shifted and not always in a good way. I miss the old days

[Kenny1113]

Some post that mention WDW tracking you and monitoring your purchases seems silly to me. These posts act like "Big Brother is watching" umm they don't need to see me buy a Mickey plush to know that golly there were 30 of those this morning and 15 sold..

This is actually true. While we were at WDW we are at BOG. We paid with our bands and went to sit down in the dining room. Others had a rose given to them, we did not. The waiters found is using GPS to find our bands to deliver our food to us. They called it "magic"

[Strmchsr]

Sorry for the rant..it just feels like the whole tone on Intercot has shifted and not always in a good way. I miss the old days

We moderators have noticed that too and have tried to work to fix it. There are some folks who are just out to be negative. They want to harp on every last little thing and beat it to death. Any comment made about their pet topic they instantly jump in and start bashing Disney. We're trying to deal with those topics and steer them a different direction. Unfortunately, it's not just this site. A lot of folks are quite unhappy with the decisions TDO (Team Disney Orlando) had made recently. They have been nickle and aiming everything and implementing policies that have very much hampered the guest experience. I love Disney, still, but when a company strays from its core values there will be backlash. It doesn't bother me to hear from the constant complainers because they always complain. I just roll my eyes and move on. It does bother me to hear folks who are generally so positive now becoming so frustrated.

[Hammer]

We moderators have noticed that too and have tried to work to fix it. There are some folks who are just out to be negative. They want to harp on every last little thing and beat it to death. Any comment made about their pet topic they instantly jump in and start bashing Disney. We're trying to deal with those topics and steer them a different direction. Unfortunately, it's not just this site. A lot of folks are quite unhappy with the decisions TDO (Team Disney Orlando) had made recently. They have been nickle and aiming everything and implementing policies that have very much hampered the guest experience. I love Disney, still, but when a company strays from its core values there will be backlash. It doesn't bother me to hear from the constant complainers because they always complain. I just roll my eyes and move on. It does bother me to hear folks who are generally so positive now becoming so frustrated.

Chris, you have expressed exactly my feelings about this subject.

[MrPeetrie]

We moderators have noticed that too and have tried to work to fix it. There are some folks who are just out to be negative. They want to harp on every last little thing and beat it to death. Any comment made about their pet topic they instantly jump in and start bashing Disney. We're trying to deal with those topics and steer them a different direction. Unfortunately, it's not just this site. A lot of folks are quite unhappy with the decisions TDO (Team Disney Orlando) had made recently. They have been nickle and aiming everything and implementing policies that have very much hampered the guest experience. I love Disney, still, but when a company strays from its core values there will be backlash. It doesn't bother me to hear from the constant complainers because they always complain. I just roll my eyes and move on. It does bother me to hear folks who are generally so positive now becoming so frustrated.

You have expressed my feelings perfectly. First off, I still love Disney. It's still my No. 1 choice for a vacation venue and there isn't a close No. 2. But sometimes I feel that my love and loyalty to WDW have become exploited by TDO -- that no matter what decisions they make, we'll be accepting. And I think that's what upsets many of us.

Another thing that upsets so many of us fans is we remember things the way the were. When people used to ask, "Why do you go there every year? There are other places." There were so many reasons. Disney did things the way no other park was doing them. FastPass, for example, was a great illustration. Other parks have a pay-to-play program. Disney, on the other hand, was -- in my estimation -- big enough and stable enough of a theme park that it could offer its system FOR FREE! I marveled at that. I bragged about that as if I was part owner. (Many of us are stockholders, us included.) There was no catering to those who wanted to pay more. Disney didn't have to because it was focused on the guest experience as opposed to strictly the bottom line. And focusing on the guest experience ENHANCED its bottom line.

Another reason was its unmatched customer service. For so long, Disney was the industry leader. I remember back in Pittsburgh, a local talk show host would annually broadcast his show from WDW because he was so enthralled with its customer service. "They spend more time training their cast members on how to direct cars in the parking lots than other companies do on all their major positions combined!" And that was another reason we'd reply why we go back so religiously. No place else could match their customer service. But sadly -- and this is only from posts as I haven't been there since 2012 -- but it appears that customer service is waning a bit. I think FastPass+ has placed an unnecessary strain on the cast members.

I remember when I took my parents there for their first trip, my dad was so blown away. But he said it would eventually lose its way and become more like other parks. "It's human nature," he said. I told him he was wrong, and I sure hope I am. But I agree with other posters about having a Wall Street guy heading up a Theme Park industry. I don't think Iger gets it. The truth is: most of us are eager to spend our money at Walt Disney World if we feel the return is justified. Instead of thinking of how to "pry" our money out of clenched fists, Iger should concentrate on returning the "Traditions" of Disney and our hands will let the money flow freely. And upgrade the merchandise quality. It used to be so much better with greater variety. It's hard to buy anything when all the choices are the same!!!

Still, discussion is good. I think people will listen (eventually). As long as the dissent is respectful, I think it's healthy.

[JerseyDad]

Not having to run to get a FP for TSM is nice, but the rest of it I haven't been too pleased with. What if we want to ride RNRC twice? Can't do it. What if I want to ride Soarin and Test Track? Well, now I'll have to wait in a 60+ min standby line for one of those. Same for RNRC and TSM. Now I have to run to a standby line instead of running for a FP. So I definitely am not a fan of the way they've implemented the new FP program. It's made for much longer lines and more limitations on what we can choose to do.

....couldn't a "hidden agenda" reason possibly be that if a guest cannot do what they need / want to do in one trip.... to one park .....in one day ...(due to limited FP+'s) that the guest will make sure they stay long enough at a WDW resort in order to satisfy their 'agenda'?

.....theme parks are not WDW's main money maker ...the resorts are.

[WDWdriver]

Good post, MrPeetrie. Well stated.

[Melanie]

While I feel Disney is getting a lot of things right recently (runDisney and the John Lassiter led animation division), I think the implementation of this NextGen/Magic+ is horribly wrong. From the secrecy beginning with the early rumblings of this, the very poorly planned/never ending test phase, and finally the mess that is FP+, I won't apologize about my negative feelings on this. I've always been positive and even defensive about Disney, but I just can't with this.

[Strmchsr]

I won't apologize about my negative feelings on this. I've always been positive and even defensive about Disney, but I just can't with this.

There's no need to apologize on the negative feelings on those things. I'm with you 100%. Just because you love something doesn't mean you have to be blind about it. They do a ton of things right. This is one thing that is so not right and so we let them know in a constructive manner.

[Mitzie]

We moderators have noticed that too and have tried to work to fix it. There are some folks who are just out to be negative. They want to harp on every last little thing and beat it to death. Any comment made about their pet topic they instantly jump in and start bashing Disney. We're trying to deal with those topics and steer them a different direction. Unfortunately, it's not just this site. A lot of folks are quite unhappy with the decisions TDO (Team Disney Orlando) had made recently. They have been nickle and aiming everything and implementing policies that have very much hampered the guest experience. I love Disney, still, but when a company strays from its core values there will be backlash. It doesn't bother me to hear from the constant complainers because they always complain. I just roll my eyes and move on. It does bother me to hear folks who are generally so positive now becoming so frustrated.

Cool heads will prevail. That is why I value your and others voices. I want everyone to have a good trip that is worth the use of their hard earned money. Call me naive but I think this will all get fixed. Do I think that the old adage of "You can't please all of the people all of the time" might apply- sure. There are just too many different people with different traveling styles. I know other discussion boards have similar discussions..I peruse those but do not contribute because of negativity and general rudeness. That is why I love Intercot! As far as Disney tracking us at the resort..if they want to know I am in the restroom outside of Flights of Wonder they can know that I drank one too many cups of coffee that morning...More power to them. Some post I have read border on the paranoia. Keep us posted on what you learn and to not sound too cliche..Be Happy and have a Magical Day.

[Hammer]

I won't apologize about my negative feelings on this. I've always been positive and even defensive about Disney, but I just can't with this.

Mel, I think your comments are constructive criticism, which is what TDO needs. What is getting mixed up with the good kind of criticism like yours is the negative commentary without any substantive information to support it.

There's no need to apologize on the negative feelings on those things. I'm with you 100%. Just because you love something doesn't mean you have to be blind about it. They do a ton of things right. This is one thing that is so not right and so we let them know in a constructive manner.

Exactly!

As I was part of the testing in October, I received an email asking for my feedback. I took my time and told them what I thought worked and what did not, but I gave ideas on how they could rectify the components that aren't working.

For example, the fact that you must pick 3 FP attractions is a negative aspect of the program to me. My family is the opposite of Chris' family as we want to pick less than 3 fastpasses in a park. The system, however, automatically assigns a 3rd FP ride to the bands on the accounts. As I stated in my feedback, these are fastpasses which will go unused and could have been distributed to another family. Adjust the program to allow you to assign the smaller FP allocation.

I agree with Mel as the testing phase was not handled well, which I also mentioned to them. I create software test plans and oversee the execution of software product testing as part of my job, so I was able to give alternative ways they could have tested this product more effectively. I do not have an issue with the length of testing, as I know many products which are in a testing phase for a few years before the product is fully rolled out, but the test plan was poorly designed.

Negative comments are perfectly fine; just make them constructive and offer solutions if possible.

[joonyer]

. . . .
For example, the fact that you must pick 3 FP attractions is a negative aspect of the program to me. My family is the opposite of Chris' family as we want to pick less than 3 fastpasses in a park. The system, however, automatically assigns a 3rd FP ride to the bands on the accounts. As I stated in my feedback, these are fastpasses which will go unused and could have been distributed to another family. Adjust the program to allow you to assign the smaller FP allocation. . .

It seems their plan really just reduces the number of Fastpasses that are awarded for attractions that guests most want to ride/experience. When you don't want a Fastpass for that third attraction, then my guess is, not many other guests do either. They seem to be encouraging guests to select FP's for attractions that don't need FP's in the first place, why? I don't know. Most of those 2nd tier attractions (or guest experiences) have very short waits or or walk-on attractions with no wait. I'm not sure what the point is with that plan, except to frustrate guests that want to experience all the most popular attractions several times. You are right that there will be FP's that will go unused, but I'm not sure anyone else would want to use them either.

[WDWgoofy]

I appreciate the comments and it seems to me that many regulars of this site are like myself and extremely disappointed with the path that WDW is on.

First of all, I have been a true fan of WDW and have always eagerly awaited my next visit.

At this time, I hold reservations for a trip in early February and I am almost certain that I will cancel this trip as I do not like the current system and I feel it is has taken the joy out of my visit.

Maybe this new system is ideal for the first-time visitor who arrives without a plan and does not know what the resort use to be.

However, for me - a veteran of many visits, who thought the former Fast Pass system was fantastic - the new process will increase my time in lines and reduce the number of attractions I enjoy each and every visit.

Basically, I feel sadness over the loss of something special in my life

[Ms. Mode]

I too have been distressed at all the negativity on Intercot in the past few months. I am trying very hard to reserve judgement on the new FP+ system until we try it out personally.

Also, I am finding as I grow older that I really don't want to schedule every minute of my vacation in advance. I used to read about that on Intercot too...but when FP got limited all the sudden it was the opposite. Maybe, just maybe, they are trying to drop the stand-by times on the rides and are trying out the theory by limited FP+ options. Just because I don't have a FP or FP+ for a ride that I want to ride will not keep me off of it...never has, never will.

Yes, I love WDW. Yes, I have had a few questionable moment with CMs, they are human after all and have bad days...just like I do. Yes, I plan to return as often as possible. It's still my vacation site.