Fastpass+

[BigB]

Has anyone been lucky, or unlucky, enough to test the new system out? How was it? How much did you like picking your park so far in advance? We pick our park day of and do not carry our cell phones and if the app crashes for everyone as much as it does for me the kiosk is going to be busy.

I know they are still testing the system out and have no definite "full live" date but will they get rid of the existing Fastpass system? We don't use the system much but we do take advantage with some of the extremely busy rides, Soarin and Toy Story Mania especially!

[Imalismom]

we have a few moderators that have or are right now.. Hopefully they will be along soon to answer your question...

[VWL Mom]

I haven't tested the system so I can't answer you on that. I have been reading that people doing the testing like it and I don't doubt it. Right now there are a limited number of people using it so times are readily available even on the day of. Once everyone is using it, the popular rides will become harder to get.

As far as the future, they are saying that once FP+ goes live the current FP will be gone.

[GoofyHidee]

I have reservations in March 2014 with a Military Discount. We plan to purchase the Military Salute tickets. From what I understand Fastpass+ is not available on these tickets. If they take the currect Fastpass system out, as they have indicated is the plan, then Military families staying on property are just out of luck for fastpasses. Am I wrong? We go to Disney every year and if this is they way it is going to be, I'm very displeased. That doesn't seem like much of a salute. I will have to rethink our plans.

[VWL Mom]

I have reservations in March 2014 with a Military Discount. We plan to purchase the Military Salute tickets. From what I understand Fastpass+ is not available on these tickets. If they take the currect Fastpass system out, as they have indicated is the plan, then Military families staying on property are just out of luck for fastpasses. Am I wrong? We go to Disney every year and if this is they way it is going to be, I'm very displeased. That doesn't seem like much of a salute. I will have to rethink our plans.

I have not heard that Military Discount tickets will be excluded rom FP+. What I have read is that the MagicBand will not be available for Military Discount tickets but instead the tickets will be RFID cards.

BTW to INTERCOT

[taleasoldastime]

How will you register your Military ticket take your reservations? Your tickets have be activated against the park first. I'm confused.

[Ed]

DW (who is a CM) and I have done two beta tests of the MyMagic+ system.

Truthfully, the first was pretty bad. Our test scenario involved a one-night stay and one day in the park of our choice. When we went online to make our selections, the system was SLOWWWWWWWW and prone to errors. For example, we chose the colors of our bands, but the system showed the default color - grey. Picking FastPass+ options was also a challenge. After changing our time choices, the system kept showing the originally-suggested times. All in all, it took us five hours to set up a one-night/one park visit for two people. We could only imagine the possible frustration for someone trying to set up a week-long stay for a family of six hitting all four parks!

After our test, we submitted detailed and brutally honest critiques to WDW management.

Two weeks later, we did a second test, and the difference was astounding. This time it took us about 20 minutes to do the entire setup, and the system moved along smoothly and swiftly. Apparently the feedback from the first group opened some eyes and corrected some problems.

We had very few problems connected to the bands; in the first test, one quick service location was totally unable to read the bands, and in the second test our server at Yak & Yeti tried using two different portable devices, and both failed. We had been issued standard KTTWs as a backup, and the portable device accepted one of them immediately.

All in all, we liked the functionality of the bands, especially the fact that we didn't have to fumble around with multiple slips of paper or plastic (tickets, KTTWs, FastPasses, etc).

As with most new things, there will be those who positively the system, those who absolutely it, and those who just and accept it for what it is. Put me in the third category.

[faline]

Thanks for the feedback, Ed. I'm sure this will be helpful to lots of folks!

By the way, did you find that the fastpass + system increased the lines for the regular fastpass users and those in the standby lines as someone else recently reported?

[GoofyHidee]

Glad to hear they are working out the kinks. I'm still not sure how Military tickets will work with the new system. I realize the tickets will have an RFID in them, but since they are not activated until you get to the parks, I don't see how you can book you Fastpass+ reservations prior to your visit.

I have hopes that the new system will be wonderful after they figure out all the details. I'm always the optimist.

[BigB]

Thanks Ed for your information. I'm in the third category as well. I like the idea of the bands, but would like them to be more than just a band. For instance, a watch. I just hope they keep the existing fastpass system. We like planning our dinners and some breakfasts but not every little detail. I think the new fastpass+ system will create a robotic monotonous experience. But despite all that I wouldn't be against testing it out myself to make a better more informed decision.

[VWL Mom]

Glad to hear they are working out the kinks. I'm still not sure how Military tickets will work with the new system. I realize the tickets will have an RFID in them, but since they are not activated until you get to the parks, I don't see how you can book you Fastpass+ reservations prior to your visit.

I have hopes that the new system will be wonderful after they figure out all the details. I'm always the optimist.

You just need to enter the ticket number in My Disney Experience and link it to any reservations (dining, resort) you may have. The ticket does not need to be activated to do this.

[CaptSmee]

We just got our invite & setup the fast pass+ times with no issues! The only thing I didn't care for is the suggested times that you have to pick & then go in to edit each one individually if you didn't like the times

[buzznwoodysmom]

You just need to enter the ticket number in My Disney Experience and link it to any reservations (dining, resort) you may have. The ticket does not need to be activated to do this.

That will work fine for those who live on or near a military base and can purchase tickets before they go. However, for others, like myself, who don't live on or near a military base, tickets are often purchased at shades of green. We don't have a ticket to input until we are on property. This is usually a day before we hit the parks. I can't imagine FP+ having any advantages for us if other guests had months to prebook FP, and we can't do it till we are on property.

Might have to look at driving the few hours to the nearest base to get our tickets, or seeing if they can be mailed to us for future trips.

[Dulcee]

We we're invited to test it way back in December. We liked it. I tend to plan parks in advance so that wasn't an issue. We tested pre kiosks so I can't attest to that side.

Personally we liked it. We're a 3-4 fastpass a day couple and don't mind waiting in reasonable lines. Having a fastpass in hand for Toy Story Mania was worth its weight in gold. It was also nice having them for the new attractions in MK. To be honest we probably wouldn't have gotten into Enchanted Tales with Belle without them.

However, I'm a planner. I plan our ADRs and what parks on what days well in advance. If you aren't a planner I could see how it may not be an optimal situation.

[dreadpirateemily]

I just set up our times for the FastPass+ system and had one question - we were offered a "bonus" FastPass and of course, I jumped on it. So, we got 4 instead of 3. Cool!
However, our day is getting really crunched and I didn't know if there was a problem if I didn't use one of them? WIth the old system, if it looked like I wasn't going to use the FastPass, I would give it to someone.
Any experiences?
Thanks!

[baldburke]

It might be better when it comes off beta, but for now I'd say you were lucky not to be picked.

We're planners, but I couldn't say two weeks from now if I was going to be at MK or AK for the day. You can wait to plan you FP+ options a few days ahead, but as I understand it the options will diminish the closer you are to your trip. Much like Disney dining I suppose. Try booking a meal a week or even a few days ahead of your arrival!

The other draw back is that you can only use your FP+ at one park per day right now and your are limited to 4 or 3 per day depended on the park. We tend to split our days between parks so that's a definite negative too.

But leave it to Disney to find a way to turn a buck on something they're already selling you. I only saw them at one store in the Contemporary, but they have jibitz (sp?) like things and covers for your bands to help personalize.

[Tekneek]

We're going to be testing it out. I'm actually looking forward to it, because I've not been a fan of the idea. This way I will get to evaluate it first hand and offer my commentary to Disney regarding it.

[mariak]

Gale, be careful what you ask for....

I’m so sorry that it took me so long to get this posted. I was asked to post last month but as soon as we arrived home, we turned around and went out of town again. Then, when we got back, we were getting ready for school to begin and I dropped the ball. Now that we’re getting back in to a routine, I’m FINALLY getting this done. Recently, my family was selected to test the new Disney Magic Bands during our August 7th-12th trip to “The World”. I took lots of notes during the trip so that I could give as complete feedback as possible. Hopefully, I’m not missing anything but, so far, here’s my report on the negatives, the positives, and questions that I still have. At the end of the day, we agree that the Magic Bands would fall in to the “Take It” category for all but Fast Pass use. Hope this information is helpful but keep in mind that, as we all know, Disney policies are ever evolving. Some things may have changed even in the past month.

When I first got the call from our travel agent informing me that we had been selected to test the new Magic Bands and asking if we would like to participate, my first question was, “OK, so, if I’m scheduling our Fast Passes ahead of time, how will we be able to ride attractions at the same time as our friends who are meeting us down there (who won’t have bands)? Will we be able to get extra Fast Passes using our Annual Passes so that we can ride together?” So, I made a call to the info line that was given to us. The cast member that I talked to assured me that we would be able to get FPs with our cards in addition to the (3 per-day) band-scheduled passes so that we would be able to ride with our friends. However, she did go on to explain that this would only be during the testing period. I think this will still be a sticky point with the bands. Several times, we have met my in-laws (who winter in Tavares, FL) in the parks. So, I’m thinking, if they choose not to purchase bands (once available) will they not be able to schedule Fast Passes? If that’s the case, we won’t able to ride with them. If part of your vacationing party is staying on property, getting the bands, etc… and part are locals OR are staying off property, then how will we be able to schedule rides together?

Upon arrival at the Yacht Club Resort, we were presented with our Disney Magic Bands that we had pre-selected (colors). They were incredibly packaged (no pun intended) in a very sturdy box featuring Elastigirl on the outside (click here for pictures link). On the inside, our 4 bands were lined up with our names neatly pre-printed below each band. By the way, all bands have names printed on the reverse side as well (in case 2 people select the same color) so they don’t get mixed up. Also, they’re actually two bands in one…the outer, gray area can be peeled away leaving only the color portion for smaller wrists. My only question on that is, if you peel the gray portion away and then realize that the band fit better with it, will it stick back together? Hmm??? Grace’s little wrist was probably borderline on size so she kept the outer portion on just in case it turned out to be too small once it was peeled away. In regard to the packaging and presentation, I question its cost effectiveness??? To me, it seems like expensive packaging! Guess who’s gonna pay for that!!!

The bands did work well in the parks….for the most part. The first couple of times that we used the bands, we were a little creeped out by the fact that the cast members would address us by name telling us to “have a good ride [Maria]”… We quickly figured out that our names appeared on their podium screens as bands were scanned (see pictures link). This brings me to my next concern….sharing Fast Passes. During our June trip, my in-laws decided to take my young nephews back to the room to nap. That left extra Fast Passes that our teens were able to use to ride Rockin’ Rollercoaster an extra time. I’m sure we’ve all had instances like this as well as times when random people walk up to you and ask if you’d like to have their Fast Passes. Over the years, we’ve both given and received unused Fast Passes. Now, this did work for us by giving our wrist bands to friends in our party but you can’t just hand over your band to a random stranger as you’re leaving the park to use FPs booked on it. If Disney is trying to eliminate this, I don’t like it. It won’t improve anything and more Fast Passes will be wasted. I guess if people actually take the time to cancel their fast pass reservations, it would throw those back into the pool of available passes. But, more often, I think people will forget or just be too lazy to cancel. We actually had this happen. I had made FP reservations in Hollywood Studios for the day that we checked out. However, we had a late night the night before and slept in on our departure day. I totally forgot to cancel our Fast Passes so those went to waste! Furthermore, those times when you are able to share or receive unexpected Fast Passes add to the “Magic” of a Disney vacation! More “magic” eliminated if there are no longer paper Fast Passes!

In addition, another problem with trying to share bands for Fast Pass use came up when my 9-year-old got totally drenched on Splash Mtn. She was miserable walking around in soaked shorts. I was going to take her back to the room to change but we had fast passes scheduled. I wanted to give the bands to our friends so that their teen boys could use them while we were gone but, had we done that, there would have been no way for us to enter our resort room or to get back in to the park. Hmm….another reason to keep paper Fast Passes!

Most importantly, I have some major issues with the reliability of the system itself. Unfortunately, it crashed one evening during our scheduled BTMRR and SpMtn Fast Pass times. They let us go anyway but I was prepared….I had taken a screen shot (on my phone) of our itinerary earlier so I did have proof of our FP times. But what if the system crashes when this thing is live? Does EVERYONE with a band get cleared to go in the Fast Pass line? I envision MASS CHAOS!!! Furthermore, the “My Disney Experience” app is soooo SSLLLOWWWW!! “Loading”…… “Retrieving Data”…… “Finalizing”……… blah, blah, blah…..
When I tried to book dining reservations (during our stay), using the app, I kept getting “Call Restaurant”. The only way I was able to book was by going to the full site on my iPad.

Continued to Part 2....

[mariak]

Not all Magic Band experiences were negative. It’s definitely nice that the bands are waterproof! We loved having them in the water parks although we did have some trouble in one shop at Typhoon Lagoon. The WATERPROOF ad-on of a digital watch, like John has suggested, would really come in handy there too. While on the lazy river, I asked every lifeguard (as we passed) if they had the time. None of them did!!! The biggest (maybe only) “plus” that I have “for” the use of bands with Fast Passes is that it was so nice (especially during the summer months—which we generally stay away from) to be able to enjoy the water parks during the heat of the day and, then, be able to go back to the theme parks during the evening with Fast Passes already scheduled!


There were also some miscellaneous pluses “for” the bands that are worth mentioning. The first was that we were able to use them in TestTrack at the Design Center which reminds me of a suggestion that they also bring back the PhotoPass monitors so that we can walk up to them and scan our bands under the picture that we wish to add. This brings me to another “plus”….linking PhotoPass to the bands is part of the big plan but had not yet been implemented at the time of our trip. This will be great and would be better if all attractions had scanners like those that used to be at Test Track (I’m sure they won’t b/c they want to continue to make a fortune off PhotoPass Plus)! As mentioned on the podcasts, it was nice not having to dig for a card all the time. The band is very convenient in many ways for sure. Grace loved being able to open the door to our room without having to wait for Mom or Dad to dig out a card! I definitely found it convenient to grab and go for my morning run!

I almost forgot to mention the Magic Band “Bling”! Yes, as you may have seen or read about, Disney has lots of extras for purchase to dress up your magic bands. Of course, no opportunity to get more from your wallet is ever passed up by Disney! The little charms are similar to those worn on Crocs. Plus, there are also fabric “covers” for the bands as well (click here for photos link). It’s all very cute and hard to resist. We could not!

With all that we experienced during the use of the Magic Bands, I still had some questions:

1) How many Fast Passes will we be allowed to book per day? More than the 3 that we were allotted during the testing period? I forgot to mention, we were given one bonus ride per day as well. These were for either Haunted Mansion or Pirates of the Caribbean…interesting.
2) Will we be able to book more than one ride per day on a single attraction? We like to get on Soarin’, BTMRR, and a few others at least twice in one day, if possible.
For the two questions above, Spencer was told by a cast member that the answer is “Yes”. But, at that time, no exact numbers had been confirmed.
3) Are these bands only going to be available to those staying on property? I think I read that they will be available for purchase???? If so, how much will they cost? And who gets to purchase them?
4) Will we reuse on repeat visits? Or get new ones each visit? I read that they would be reused but that brings me to my next question….
5) What if I forget to pack our Magic Bands?


Now, for some suggestions:

- I would like to add that the laundry facilities use the band also….like on the cruise lines where you can use your card to charge soap and for the use of machines.

- Also, I like that, on the cruise line, your PIN (for charging) is your room number…although, there must be some reason against that in the parks???

- Also, I’d like to see improvements made to the Disney System before this all goes live. It is SOOO SLOW that I can’t even imagine what’s gonna happen once everyone is using this!

- On a side note, I’d like to see the bands used on the cruises! It’d be much more convenient than carrying the card around to the pool, on excursions, etc….


While there are many positive things to say about the bands, and overall, we did like them, we don’t like them for use with Fast Passes. Everything else, GREAT! But the bottom line, as mentioned on one of the Intercot podcasts, the only way to reduce the lines is to add more attractions and spread the crowd out among those. Otherwise, there will ALWAYS be someone waiting 60 and 120+ minutes for the most popular attractions. That’s just common sense. We really like the original Fast Pass policy (when they didn’t enforce the return time) and agree that it wasn’t broken, so why fix it???

Hope this was helpful!

Maria

P.S. As Christine mentioned, this was a wonderful trip for us…being able to book 3 fast passes per day as well as obtain others with our cards! If the policy were to stay this way (which we were told it will not) we’d “keep it”!

[Melanie]

Maria, you're questions/experiences/negatives with FP are exactly the type of concerns I have. Great, valid points. I DO NOT see any easy way for Disney to get around this issues.

Thanks for reporting!