Reviews of FastPass+ (Retired)
Reviewed by mom2mybugs Review Date: 02/05/2014
Rating: (4) Recommended
We were at Disney during marathon week in January. I was very worried about the bands and fast pass plus issues so I screenshot all my reservations. During this non peak time and since I wasn't at opening every day (running my first marathon took a bit of touring and sleep out of me!) The fast pass limit was fine and I could easily make changes if I was going to miss a fastpass. I live in absolute terror of the summer though. Since Disney has made staying on-site so expensive for a family of 5, we plan on staying off-site for 7 days and 4 on-site. Ok...no easy fast pass for those "cheap days". 3 of the family has magic bands already and annual passes so we might be able to get them ahead if Disney grants the ok, but my 17 and 15 year olds are just out of luck. Have fun standing in hour plus lines at opening because that is what they will be in crowded peak time in July. In the past, we were genius at Fastpasses. Sure we did park crossing but we got on everything...sometimes two or three times a day. And we park hop a lot. So great...3 of us can do later day fast passes and do standby lines at the first park when they are shorter. But by the time we get to park two, the two teenagers will be out of luck again because the passes will be gone. I always loved that Disney didn't punish for staying at value or off-site, but now they really are doing just that. Maybe after the test phase and first year are really done they will let everyone get them early. However it will be too late for our final family trip before college. The benefits will just not outweigh the consequences. I will just have to hope that following unofficial guides touring plan will offset no family fast pass+, because I'm not paying 150 more a night to live in one room just for three fast passes a day.
Pros:
didnt have to be at park openingCons:
limited to 3, lack of spontaneity, no park hopingReviewed by hello12345 Review Date: 02/03/2014
Rating: (3) Recommended
I have to say yes when recommending this product only because there is no other alternative!
It is a good idea in theory and that is where it ends. Even during the busiest times during the summer I could score 4-5 paper fastpasses easy. Magic Kingdom I could get passes for Thunder Mtn, Splash Mtn, Space Mtn, and Peter Pan, and possibly one more repeat for Thunder Mtn depending on how long we stayed at park. If you knew how to work the paper fastpass system it was easy. It did require some extra walking, but that was good to burn off those high calorie Disney meals. Now you can only get a pass for one big ticket ride and two rides that you usually don't even want to go on or don't need a pass. Wait times for those rides have also increased. Jan 31 and the wait times for Goofey's coaster, Small World, Haunted Mansion were all at 25-30 min by Noon? Never have I seen those crazy wait times at end of January. Who needs fastpasses for figment, Muppets show, Spaceship Earth, and Small World? Seriously Disney!
I have to pick my fastpass+ selection from one park per day only. Why get a park hopper option then? That was not well thought out by Disney.
In order to make this a success Disney needs to modify some of the policies/rules. Resort guests should get more Fastpass+ picks and there should be no restrictions. Resort guests should be able to get a pass for Soarin, Test Track, and Malestrom in the same day. I should not have to pick one of those rides. I would even not be opposed to a "class system" for the fastpass+. Deluxe guests get 5, Moderates 4, Value 3. They already do it for the bus stop locations at parks so why not for fastpass+?
This was a good theory, but it needs some big changes. This is obviously not a big hit right now and I can see why.
Pros:
reduce walkingCons:
limited selectionReviewed by BrendaKim13 Review Date: 01/29/2014
Rating: (7) Recommended
Our family was part of the magic band roll out in Sept. I had to learn on the fly about the what fast pass + was all about. However if you are smart phone savvy (ask your pre-teen or teenager if not.) it made our trip less hectic. Here's why: usually at the start of the day I am running out of the gate to get to Toy Story or Soarin to get a fast pass, This trip I sat in our hotel room and in some cases on the bus ride over to the park and made our reservations for the day. I also changed them a few times also using my phone. I found no issues creating or changing reservations on the fly with my phone. However it would be a pain to have to use a kiosk instead of my handy phone. I remain anxious to see how it will pan out when the park is busier (then the Sept when we went) and when it is rolled out to everyone, how easy it will be to get the time slot that you want. Although anything that keeps me from running to the back of the park at the start of a hot Florida day to grab fast passes is a step in the right direction.
Pros:
No more running to the ride to grab a fast pass out of the gate.Cons:
You need a smart phone with Disny app for best resultsReviewed by Kadancer Review Date: 01/29/2014
Rating: (3) Recommended
Although we thoroughly enjoyed the simplicity of use, we found the fast pass + system to be slow and extremely limitng. We are experienced park hoppers who have learned to enhance our experience during peak seasons by getting to the parks early and using paper fast passes to make the lines tolerable for our autistic son. The new system basically puts us in a position where we can be in the parks for the first couple of hours and then must return him to the hotel. Lines become too long and he is not able to understand the purpose of waiting in line at a kiosk in order to obtain/change a fast pass (at times these lines in the Animal Kingdom during the Christmas holiday were almost 30 minutes long). I am concerned that many other families of children with disabilities will also be affected by this change. Our family also falls into the rare group that does not use apps as large as the Disney app on our phone, so we had to do our daily planning on the campground internet which was very slow. The lack of the system accommodating park hopping and the limit of three per day are other disappointing aspects of the program.
Pros:
convenience of useCons:
limitations on experienceReviewed by Metcalfmom Review Date: 01/29/2014
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
Hate, hate, hate magic bands. Used them on three trips this fall. And it's going to get worse. I'm going to give you my magic band (mb) diatribe now that I shared with my travel agent that she promised to share with Disney folks. If she can get it to anyone who will/can do something...great. However, I realize this is probably an exercise in futility. It will make me feel better...maybe:-).
First of all, and this is a problem that probably won't happen again since in a couple of months everyone will be using mb. We had an mb time at Soarin at almost the same time we had a regular fast pass at Test Track. We decided to do Soarin first since every other time we do Test Track, it breaks down (that's an issue I'll be coming to shortly). Anyway, we mentioned our coinciding time to cast member running Soarin. He told us we weren't supposed to use paper tickets. Just mb. Paper tickets were for day visitors and others without mb.
Well, I gave him a piece of my mind. We were paying big money to stay at Beach Club and purchase airline tickets. Why should we not be able to use fast passes to ride our favorite rides? With new mb categories we wouldn't be able to ride Soarin and Test Track with a fast pass. But people coming for the day could??!! I was furious.
After riding both rides, we went to customer service to complain. They listened nicely and offered us a fast pass for Soarin. I actually turned it down. I said there is a bigger issue here that they are not getting. Which I will now share with you.
I was told that by February everyone will have mbs. People with reservations and staying on site will have maybe six months lead time to schedule fp. Big whoop. Others will get choices when they purchase tickets. No more paper fp.
IF, and this is a big if, they keep the same restricted categories, (and most of these comments concern EPCOT), then when we come for a long weekend, we will only be able to ride our two favorite rides, Soarin and Test Track, once or twice the entire time, unless we are willing to stand in line for an hour or more which greatly reduces the time we could be doing something else.
And I must comment here that whoever has been in charge if EPCOT for the last few years has done a dismal job of creating new and exciting rides there. For heavens sake, the maelstrom is in the top priority list. A mildly exciting ride at best. Mission space is a disaster. Nemo, universe of energy, imagination,...these rides are virtually empty. Why would anyone need a fast pass for a ride that has no wait? Ridiculous. And Soarin was created at Disneyland so no imagination involved there.
And all the money to change test track? After doing the car creating once, the thrill is gone. Always the trouble with Test Track was that it broke down so often. And that's still going on, same as before. Now people are beginning to skip the car creating, leaving that room to get in line. We did that every time. Soon no one will be using that very expensive technology because the ride itself is the thrill. The money should have been spent updating the ride itself so it doesn't break down as much.
Anyway....I digress.
This mb idea is just crazy. It will discourage park hopping since you have to confine yourself to one park a day with the mb fast passes. The three times we've been to WDW with the mb we've been able to schedule fp at EPCOT for the afternoon and spend mornings at studios or mk riding our favorite rides using paper fast passes. We won't be able to do that anymore. By the afternoon, lines at popular rides are way too long for older adults.
I am to the point, unless something happens that will ameliorate some if these problems, we won't be going back. We've been to WDW approaching 50 times. We obviously LOVE going there. But this will take the fun out of it for us. And, based on the conversation I had with a very candid cast member at the resort, the "cast members" hate the mb and the problems they've caused and they are getting more and more complaints from the "regulars" like us about how the changes are and will continue to adversely affect their Disney experience.
My one question is "why". Whatever the reason, we are extremely saddened that our magical trips may soon be coming to an end.
I will add that while not senior citizens yet, we are quickly approaching that milestone. My husband is disabled and must use a scooter. That's why we always stay at beach club. We can " walk" to EPCOT, our favorite park, and take the boat to the studios (will always be MGM to us) or the monorail to mk. Buses and scooters are too complicated and bothersome for us. Fast passes are a God send to us.
I can understand trying to control access in some circumstances...esp at mk where you have little ones clamoring to ride and possessing little patience. But at EPCOT the only rides with lines on a consistent all day basis are Soarin and Test Track. Which goes back to my previous comments about lack of new exciting rides there. To me it's the most neglected park.
With the "magic" bands and "my" Disney experience why can't the bands work differently at the different parks? With the bands it's certainly obvious which park you are in so why couldn't experiences be molded to each visitors desired vacation goals?
And I'm with Deb, we've been going to WDW on at least a yearly basis since 1984 when we brought our four daughters for the first time. We were hooked. I remember the excitement building for new rides every time we went. I remember walking around MK as they built splash mountain. And boy, was the wait worth it. That first trip over the falls was indeed magical! And tower of terror....that first plunge was electrifying when we finally got to ride. Remember then it was just up and down one time! Same with Soarin and Test Track! The anticipation was almost unbearable but the payoff so worth it. I haven't felt that in years. Maybe a little with renovation of TT but I've already noted what a disappointment that was.
Anyway, our trips to our happy place are still very happy and treasured. But these magic bands and the ancillary changes accompanying them threaten to ruin future trips...if we return:-(
Posted by Gigi METCALF
Pros:
NoneCons:
SeveralReviewed by rlaneyd Review Date: 01/29/2014
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
Husband & I always stay on property. Our trip was 12/6/13 - 12/15/13 in December. Stayed at Saratoga Springs.
Not early risers when on vacation, so FP+ was a plus in this regard. Had no problems scanning the Magic Bands at any of our FP+ selections.
Since we're in our 50s, not tech savvy, don't own smart phones, and probably never will, that was when the + in FP+ ended.
Had my laptop computer (in the resort room) and IPod touch (in the parks, restaurants, shops). Making changes or even booking FP+s was time consuming - error messages, server busy, system slow, preference groupings are ridiculous, no ability to park hop, limited to 3 per day.
Too much like work. On vacation I want to be "UNPLUGGED" from the rest of the world, not attached to some tech toy. No fun, no magic, no return visit for a long while since I paid a lot of money for the trip. HUGELY disappointed.
Pros:
Concept goodCons:
Not for park hoppers, restrictive, cumbersomeReviewed by BacksideOfWater1971 Review Date: 01/26/2014
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
This is area of the new system I had issues with. I like to plan certain aspects of my trip but there is a fine line between planning and micromanaging. Most of the time I don't even know what ride I want to go on 5 minutes prior let alone 2 months.
It seems to be a hassle to have to pull out a smartphone or tablet or run to a crowded kiosk ever time you want to change plans.
The system feels restricting. For example I was at the Magic Kingdom and I came across the piano player outside on Casey's Corner. I wanted to stop and listen for a while but couldn't because I had to be at Space Mountain in X amount of minutes.
Also Epcot and Hollywood Studios are testing a grouping system where you can pick one thing from group A and 2 things from group B to get Fastpasses for. The problem is everything that you need a Fastpass for is in group A and group B is filled with things that you don't need a Fastpass for. I love Journey Into Imagination With Figment and ride it on every visit to Epcot but come on. When have you EVER needed a Fastpass for it?
Do away with the grouping and I might be on board granted I'll still most likely miss many FP appointments opting to slow down and enjoy the little details like simply talking to a cast member on making sure I can get on Space Mountain at a certain time.
Pros:
no more running to the fastpass machines at the attractionsCons:
now you run to the FP + kiosks, Grouping system, seems restrictingReviewed by IrishDad1957 Review Date: 01/24/2014
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
Disney really messed up with Fast Pass Plus. Spent way too much money with something that does not event work. Now I understand layoffs are in order to help pay for this mistake, which will make park service even a worse experience.
Pros:
NoneCons:
ReliabilityReviewed by jackiejzhou Review Date: 01/20/2014
Rating: (3) Recommended
We had park hopping tickets. We had to choose fastpass in one park in the afternoon. In the morning, we went to another park waiting in regular lines. We were there Jan 7and 8, went all 4 parks in 2days. There were not much lines at all. If you missed a passfast time, you are able to reschedule it on your phone or kiosk.
Pros:
—Cons:
Can't choose Fastpass in multiple parks.Reviewed by Fitzboyzmom Review Date: 01/08/2014
Rating: (6) Recommended
It is nice to be able to schedule fast passes for popular rides instead of having to get up super early or miss one ride because you could only physically get to one.
I don't like that you can only schedule the fast passes in one park. We often stay at the Beach Club and go to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios on the same day. They basically took away any reason to buy a park hopper ticket. I don't like that we cannot also get an old fashioned fast pass with this system at the same park or different...you are kind of locked in.
I also found it frustrating to try to change your fast past to accommodate your schedule. This past trip and one coming up, we have to go back and forth...was trying to get it set up so that we could ride rides in the order that we were planning, but no luck.
I like the idea and it was cool to walk up to the kiosk without having to run to get a fast pass, but the system definitely needs some work.
