SOOO Fed up with My Magic + !!!

[Buttercup]

Okay I have been keeping an open mind about all this Magic Band/Fastpass+ stuff all along, with the thought that "I'll wait and see how it rolls out for me personally" before making an opinion.

Well, I hate it.

Jennsky and I will be going to WDW in January for the RunICOT get together.
Tonight, we received the email that said "HEY GUESS WHAT YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO MAKE FASTPASS+ RESERVATIONS AND CUSTOMIZE YOUR MAGIC BANDS!!!"
(sounds exciting, right? until you start digging in...)

Jennsky and I are purchasing Annual Passes because we will be making multiple trips in 2014.

Problem #1: I have already bought my AP voucher, which I understand I'm supposed to turn in at Guest Services when I arrive in January, and receive my actual Annual Pass. MEANING: I can't order my magic band now through the website. I can't pick out my colour, or have my name printed on it, etc. because I'm not buying a regular park ticket. I have to wait until I arrive in January.... unless I'm misunderstanding something?!? So, this "perk" doesn't apply to me.

Problem #2: I decided I would look on the My Disney Experience App to see what FP+ I could possibly reserve for our trip. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to make any FP+ reservations unless I link a park ticket to my hotel reservation. I thought "No problem, I have my AP voucher." WELL GUESS WHAT? It won't accept my AP voucher because it's not an actual annual pass yet. So I can't make FP+ ressies until I am at the park in January. So much for reserving stuff months out from our trip. I'll be stuck with the sloppy leftovers.

Problem #3: Now, with all of that in mind, I'm thinking ahead to my trip in March, where I will be staying off-site. I will have my Annual Pass by then, but from what I can see on the Experience App, there's nowhere for me to make FP+ ressies for that trip, since I'm not staying on-site. Essentially without a room reservation, they don't know I am coming in March so no FP's for me then either! I know how Christine must feel as a local that just wants to go to Disney World but can't make use of this new ridiculous FP+ system!

So, those are my thoughts on it so far. NOT user friendly AT ALL. I can't imagine being a Disney newbie and trying to navigate all of this insanity. I might put a call in to Jennifer (our AWESOME rep) at Magical Journeys just to see if there's anything I can do for our trip in January since I have an AP voucher. But still. WHAT A HEADACHE!!!

[VWL Mom]

I thought they fixed the AP voucher issue. You supposedly can enter the barcode ID in manually or if you have a smartphone you can scan the barcode in. If you can't find the spot on MDE I would give them a call and ask for help. I needed some assistance linking one of my sons APs and they were great.

UPDATE:
I just went over to MDE and there is an option for entering the AP Voucher. There is a 17 digit scratch off number on the voucher that you put in.

[1DisneyNut]

We were thinking about going down for a long weekend to check out "Jingle Cruise" and to see MVMCP but said forget it, it isn't worth the hassle. It has gotten worse than planning a wedding.

[lawgirl]

We were thinking about going down for a long weekend to check out "Jingle Cruise" and to see MVMCP but said forget it, it isn't worth the hassle. It has gotten worse than planning a wedding.

Haha...that is exactly how I feel! I finally just had to let it go, and we'll do what we can get to. It's been so stressful trying to coordinate those things for 8 people! I understand the "convenience" and all, but it's a pain for the planners, and I'm done. I really do kinda feel like when I was helping plan my sister's out of town wedding!

[PopPhan]

Problem #1: I have already bought my AP voucher, which I understand I'm supposed to turn in at Guest Services when I arrive in January, and receive my actual Annual Pass. MEANING: I can't order my magic band now through the website. I can't pick out my colour, or have my name printed on it, etc. because I'm not buying a regular park ticket. I have to wait until I arrive in January.... unless I'm misunderstanding something?!? So, this "perk" doesn't apply to me.

Why can't you customize you MagicBand now? Customizing the band has nothing to do with tickets or FP+, only with your resort reservation.

I understand your consternation with the AP and FP+ selections, but this is still test stage and there are a lot of 'kinks' to be straightened out.

Breathe deep, count to 10, and relax....You're going to Walt Disney World!!

[spoiledraf]

As with anything new of this magnitude, it takes a little learning curve to figure it out. And although I had some frustrating moments, after a couple calls to get an explanation and a fix, I now see how things need to be done. Next time will be a breeze.
I feel for those having problems but it seems they are trying to smooth the road and correct the glitches. Keeping track of millions of reservations, many with specific situations and different scenarios can be daunting. They are still trying to get it right and in the end I believe it will make for a better experience for all. As they say, you can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but.....

In the end they will probably lose some regular customers, but I think the changes will also bring new visitors who like the changes and the ability to know they have reservation times for everything they want to do without going to a **** shoot as far as getting on their favorite attractions. I for one love this new system. I hated running the parks for FP. I've talked to a few families who have shied away because of long lines, who are considering going now because of the new FP+ system. I guess Disney may have done some extensive research before they put this into use. In the end they know how to make people happy and that means more $$$ for Disney.

[AgentC]

Problem #3: Now, with all of that in mind, I'm thinking ahead to my trip in March, where I will be staying off-site. I will have my Annual Pass by then, but from what I can see on the Experience App, there's nowhere for me to make FP+ ressies for that trip, since I'm not staying on-site. Essentially without a room reservation, they don't know I am coming in March so no FP's for me then either! I know how Christine must feel as a local that just wants to go to Disney World but can't make use of this new ridiculous FP+ system!

Unless something changes (which could very well happen) you will be okay to make FP+ reservations while staying off site since you will have linked your annual pass to the system. From the reports, the RFID in your annual pass will work with the system (I have not tested this myself, but several AP holders have reported this.)

I just came into the window for my January rip and linked our bands to our passes. It won't let me make a reservation for before my trip but it will let me make FP+ selections for after my trip.