Reviews of FastPass+ (Retired)
Reviewed by MajorMalfunction Review Date: 11/13/2013
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
Even though I had RFID enabled tickets, I was shut out from using/testing Fastpass+. However most of the resort guests had access to it. Therefore, most rides had one line for standby and one line for FP+ that I had no access to.
In conjunction with FP+ being semi-operational, it was obvious that the paper FP system was severely limited to the point most E ticket rides have return times of 8 hours, if at all.
So I was not able to use this system. However the people I saw using it were clueless as to what to do, when to return, missed their returns, etc. It seems FP+ is the answer to the question that nobody was asking.
Meaning, I don't think anyone was asking why can't I reserve a ride on the Jungle Cruise at 11:15 on a Tuesday 60 days from now?
Pros:
Don't have to be in the park to get one?Cons:
Feel like I need a spreadsheet to manage my vacationReviewed by Kate27 Review Date: 11/13/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
Loved that I could make fastpasses before we even left home. I'm a planner so I already had mapped out which park we were visiting on certain days. I chose the rides I know can have long lines without fastpasses such as soarin', tower of terror, toy story midway mania, etc. It was so nice to enter Animal Kingdom and not have to race back to the safari ride. We already had our fastpasses for 10-11am so we could do It's Tough To Be A Bug and leisurely walk back to Africa through the Oasis. We did the same at Hollywood Studios because we already had fastpasses for Star Tours and Toy Story. We could just enjoy the park and other attractions knowing we would be able to experience these rides without long lines and without having to run to them to get paper fastpasses. The only downfall is that you can only make 3 per day. I'm not sure if you can still get paper fastpassses in addition. I was, howerver, able to change them at the parks using the mobile app. Of course, I went at a less busy time so it was no problem pushing back a time. I'm sure at busy times this is not going to be possible. But overall it was great! I would absolutely use fastpass+ again on my next trip!
Pros:
can book before you even leave for tripCons:
limit of 3Reviewed by srm444 Review Date: 11/13/2013
Rating: (6) Recommended
FP+ was interesting. We had a lot of trouble getting everyone synced up per reservation. We had a couple of room reservations, and therefore we couldn't see everyone in the DME, so we weren't always certain that everyone had the same FP. Getting them changed wasn't a problem, but getting everyone on at or around the same time was.
It was also unfortunate that you could only do 3 per day, and typically they were right away in the morning. What do you do the rest of the day? We were fortunate enough to still have paper tickets so we definitely utilized those as well as the MagicBands to get as many FPs as possible. I am hopeful they'll up it up to more than just 3 per day b/c that certainly isn't a lot nor the best way to maximize your time at the Parks, especially if you park hop.
In general, I can see where the MagicBand is going to be cool, but there are quite a few bugs that need to be fixed first before I'm fully satisfied with it.
Pros:
Loved tapping my wrist rather than holding on to a paper FPCons:
3 per park is not enough!Reviewed by LynnM Review Date: 11/13/2013
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
We find it difficult to plan every hour of our vacation in advance. For Our last visit in October we used fastpass +, and did not use any of them because we changed our plans completely when we got there. We prefer the old system.
Pros:
noneCons:
difficult to plan every hour of vacationReviewed by DanInNH Review Date: 11/13/2013
Rating: (1) Recommended
Our family park hops every day we are there. Typically a morning at one park - lunch could be anywhere - then the late afternoon evening in any other park. Our 3 fast pass times were spread out between early a.m. and late afternoon. And trying to change times to what we wanted did not work. If people book times and then do not show, other people are blocked from the ride...
And the more people staying onsite - which inreases when GF (and soon Poly) open additional wings, every FP is going to be booked ahead and I fear walking up to get a FP for any attraction, will be a thing of the past.
I wish I had a solution to offer up, but alas I do not. What next, pre-booking funnel cakes? It is not going to allow for any spontaneity! And everyone is going walk with their heads down and have their eyes glued to smart phones or such, trying to figure out how many minutes to go to their next designated reserved spot for a bottle of water. Now serving #34....
Pros:
great if you plan in advance and stick to one parkCons:
park hopping? sure! that is if you don't want a FPReviewed by DuncanTaylor Review Date: 11/13/2013
Rating: (6) Recommended
Just returned from 2 weeks using MDE, wristbands and Fastpass+.
It was good to be able to prebook Fastpasses without having to visit the ride to get them. We did this a few days in advance and got suitable times. However, when we decided to change our plans for the day selections were limited and we had to rely on the somewhat clunky MDE to do it.
One negative was that at Epcot the attractions were limited to two choices only from the headline list so Soarin, Mission Space and TestTrack was not a possible selection.
We did still have available the key to the world card which allowed the normal use of Fastpass distribution machines but I guess this will stop.
Another negative was that MDE only seemed to allow the changing of the time of one selection.
Overall the advantages slightly outweighed the disadvantages.
Pros:
allows prebooking of fastpassesCons:
limited to 3 per day, limits on selectionsReviewed by Lay Review Date: 11/13/2013
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
I like that your park ticket, room key, etc. is on the band and you don't have to keep up with a card. I don't like that they want you to schedule your fastpasses before you leave home. If you get to the park and the crowds are lower and you don't need fastpasses for rides you scheduled but do for others, you are stuck waiting in line without fastpasses to those rides. Also, by scheduling your fastpasses, you don't have a lot of freedom to ride at your leisure because you have to be at certain rides at certain times for your fastpass.
Pros:
You don't have to keep up with a chardCons:
You can end up scheduling your entire vacationReviewed by DisneyDork Review Date: 11/11/2013
Rating: (6) Recommended
We liked being able to get fastpasses from across the park, but had trouble with cancelling ones we didn't want, as I have heard some people do. This probably causes people who do want those fps to not be able to get them, which made us feel bad. We had also feared we wouldn't be able to get any same day passes, as we don't plan that far ahead, we usually wait to see what the weather is like, how tired we are, etc. before deciding what to do on a given day, but we were able to get most things we wanted (except Toy Story- not sure what they are going to do about that one!) Overall it worked better than we anticipated and I hope once the bugs get worked out it will be good for everyone.
Pros:
Liked being able to get fastpasses without going to ride locationCons:
still has bugsReviewed by NJDzneMom Review Date: 11/11/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
I'm an avid planner so I really enjoyed being able to get fast passes planned in advance of our arrival. This eliminated the need for being at the parks right at rope drop because I knew we would still get on our favorites like Expedition Everest or Toy Story Mania. I liked that convenience. I also liked being able to make changes to ride choices or times if needed.
Pros:
Picking Times in AdvanceCons:
—Reviewed by adkmel Review Date: 11/08/2013
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
I'm DVC/Annual Pass holder and wasn't issued a magic band so we couldn't get fast passes to any 'big' rides! wait was 120+Minutes w/no line and the fast pass line was 2hrs long! At toy story the fast pass line stretched back past Little Mermaid!! I Hope they change it back to "must be in the park" to get a fast pass.. IMHO This is Not fair people book them up and there's no way those without can get on big rides.. it was a HUGE Disappointment this trip especially since I brought a 1st timer..
