So a friend of mine was saying she has heard negative reviews of the new FastPass program. That the Fast Pass lines are just as long as the standby lines. Kind of defeats the purpose. Curious what everyone has been experiencing?
We leave on Friday!!!!
Jackie 
We have been there twice since the new system. We have not had any problems with fastpass lines. Most of the time we pretty much walked right up and got on the ride. The only line that looked long was for Toy Story. It looked as long as the regular line but once we got up to where you use your band it moved and it was only about 5 minutes before we were on the ride.
We noticed a little of this in January, especially for the safari ride at AK. But once you made it to where you tapped your bands, it was very quick. It looks deceiving, but the lines do move very quickly.
Have a great trip!
Like my DW said, we had no problem in Oct or January. Pretty much walked right on to most rides we had fastpasses for. I've heard this from several people, but I can never get any more info from them. I think most of the people make comments like that just don't like the change.
Our experience in early December was that once we tapped our magic FP, we basically walked on. We definitely did not wait nearly as long as the people in the "peasant" line. Cast members seemed very intent on making sure that this was the case. I imagine that they anticipated a riot if guests felt like they "wasted" a FP.
Be good at something. It makes you valuable. Have something to bring to the table because that will make you more welcome. --Randy Pausch
Trip Reports:
December 2013: 10th Anniversary, 1st DVC Stay | April 2014: Birthday on the Boardwalk | May 2014: Star Wars Weekend, Navigating WDW with a wheelchair | August 2014: Villains Unleashed | September/October 2014: MNSSHP, F&W, Tower of Terror 10-miler | March/April 2015: Disneyland and California Coastal Cruise | November 2015: Wine & Dine Half, Food & Wine, 1st Disney Cruise | February 2016: Presidential Classic Gymnastics Meet | March 2016: "Work" Trip, Tours, F&G Festival | April 2016: Conference at Disneyland | Fall 2016: Festive Fall Fun | January 2017: Festival of the Arts | May 2017: AbD Backstage Magic | July 2017: AbD San Francisco | Sorry I had to give up doing trip reports. Too many time commitments right now.
We experienced the new Fast pass+ system in January and again this past weekend, Feb. 14-Feb.16. In January the lines weren't too long and moved pretty fast, but they still had paper fast passes in January. This past weekend the lines were very long and they took between 15-20 minutes just to get to the point where you scan your AP or MB, whichever you have. The Fast pass+ kiosks lines were very long also and took 20 or more minutes to get to a screen. There were a few cast members with Ipads to help thin the lines, but they were still longer than any fast pass lines, at every attraction, we've ever experienced(and we go about 30 days a year.)
The lines were longer because it was a two holiday weekend. So of course all lines are a little longer. But, the fast pass lines will take longer to get through now because there are no longer any paper fast passes for any rides.
As AP, we don't have the MB yet, and we could only select fast passes at a kiosk, not online at MDE. The problem for us was there were only a few options left for us to pick because everyone with a MB chose their fast pass choices months in advance. So there was almost nothing left for us to choose when we got to the park. At HS our only choices(at 9:30am) were the muppets, star tours and the great movie ride. It wasn't worth it for us to even use Fast passes there so we saved them for later in the day at MK.
We went in September and the only lines for FP+ we encountered were for people waiting to scan their bands! but even when the queue looked miles long it still only took around 5-10 minutes and once you got through no waiting after that.
this has probably been ironed out since we were there as it was still in testing phases and I think people were still adjusting to it all
When we went, we had no issues with the new FP+ except one, mostly walked right on. We did end up waiting over 30 minutes on Thunder Mountain for some reason even with our FP. But I think the regular line was around 90 minutes at the time.
No problems when we were there in October. Lines were basically short and moving along.
This is slightly off topic, but I'm curious about people's experiences with the lines at the FP+ kiosks. I joined a DVC group on FB and people were posting about how long the FP+ kiosk lines were. I recall many instances where I waited in line for several minutes while CM's helped the people in front of me at the old paper FP machines.
I'm wondering if you added the time it would have taken to go out of your way to walk to the old paper FP machines, wait for your turn to get the FP and walk back to your party (x3 of course since now you can get all 3 in one stop) if people really think that it is LESS convenient to use FP+. Add in the issue that under the old system, you were stuck with whatever time you lucked into when you walked up to the machine.
Be good at something. It makes you valuable. Have something to bring to the table because that will make you more welcome. --Randy Pausch
Trip Reports:
December 2013: 10th Anniversary, 1st DVC Stay | April 2014: Birthday on the Boardwalk | May 2014: Star Wars Weekend, Navigating WDW with a wheelchair | August 2014: Villains Unleashed | September/October 2014: MNSSHP, F&W, Tower of Terror 10-miler | March/April 2015: Disneyland and California Coastal Cruise | November 2015: Wine & Dine Half, Food & Wine, 1st Disney Cruise | February 2016: Presidential Classic Gymnastics Meet | March 2016: "Work" Trip, Tours, F&G Festival | April 2016: Conference at Disneyland | Fall 2016: Festive Fall Fun | January 2017: Festival of the Arts | May 2017: AbD Backstage Magic | July 2017: AbD San Francisco | Sorry I had to give up doing trip reports. Too many time commitments right now.
This is slightly off topic, but I'm curious about people's experiences with the lines at the FP+ kiosks. I joined a DVC group on FB and people were posting about how long the FP+ kiosk lines were. I recall many instances where I waited in line for several minutes while CM's helped the people in front of me at the old paper FP machines.
I'm wondering if you added the time it would have taken to go out of your way to walk to the old paper FP machines, wait for your turn to get the FP and walk back to your party (x3 of course since now you can get all 3 in one stop) if people really think that it is LESS convenient to use FP+. Add in the issue that under the old system, you were stuck with whatever time you lucked into when you walked up to the machine.
For people like my hubby and myself, this new FP+ has had a big impact on our WDW experiences, and all the ways have been negative. It's not the waiting in line that bothers us, it's Disney so we wait if we have to wait! For people in our position, we don't get 60 days yet to make FP+ selections, so we are stuck with whatever times and rides/attractions that are still available on the day we visit. And in our experience, the day of choices are very few and far between.
Another MAJOR problem we've run into is that we are now competing for FP+ times against people who had up to 60 days before us to make their decisions, versus the old paper FP system where you were just competing with people on the same day to get a FP. So the last three visits for us to WDW, the FP+ options have been getting fewer and fewer each visit. Now that the paper FP are completely gone, we had almost no choices for FP+ at any park, because they were all gone, except for a few options in each park. In February, we had 3 options TOTAL, from both tiers to choose from at HS, and none of them were worth the FP+.
The other thing we've noticed is now that certain shows are offering FP+ options, especially Nemo, Fantasmic! and Beauty and the Beast, we weren't able to get into any of them in February. We couldn't even get into a showing of the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and we checked 6 times! Yes, it was a 2 holiday weekend (feb. 14-feb.16) but we have been to WDW for almost every major holiday in the past few years and it was NEVER EVER like that before! The shows were filled up days, or weeks before hand because of FP+ There were no available seats in any of the shows. We asked about Fantasmic! and were told that of the 6000 seats, 4500 are now FP+ seats. They also said the remaining 1500 go to people who get the dining packages first. That means that we have almost no chance of seeing Fantasmic! without a FP+ or dining package(that's what guest services at HS told us)
I don't begrudge anyone a magical, wonderful WDW vacation! I hope everyone has the best vacation of their lives when they are at Disney. But the new FP+ didn't seem to take into account the AP like us~yet. The people that go many times through out the year. The people that live in Florida and often go to WDW on the spur of the moment. Guest services did say that they've been told new changes for AP are coming, and I hope that's actually true. But in the meantime, it has been a huge disappointment for us. 
I don't see it as an AP issue, we are AP holders too, and we get to use FP+ at 60 days out. It's the fact that people staying on property get the FP+ and people not on property don't , meaning locals not staying on property. I do think there should be some perks for people staying on property, but I don't think locals should be penalized just because they are not staying on property. They do have to even things out a little bit there.
It is an AP holder, who lives in Florida and doesn't stay at a Disney resort issue. I agree that there should be perks for people staying on property~and there definitely are perks to that. I include AP because I also believe there should be perks for being a loyal AP holder year after year, regardless of whether you stay on property. The way it is set up now, there are no perks at all for AP unless you are staying on property.
Disney hasn't said whether there will be any changes for AP in the future. I feel confident that at some point Disney will change this and make it more fair for AP holders that don't stay at a Disney resort. But if/or until then, it's very hard from our vantage point not to be disappointed. We are most disappointed with the fact the we were unable to get into any shows because of FP+. The shows are a HUGE part of every one of our visits. Not getting FP+ for rides is inconvenient, but as I said, it's Disney and we wait if we have to wait. It's the fact the we're going to have a hard time getting into any of the shows until this is settled.
That does stink that you were not able to get into any of the shows. Hopefully, it was just the holiday weekend thing and not something you will encounter on every trip. I had no idea that AP holders have no perks at all. You would think you would at least get free parking or discounts of some sort whether or not you are staying on property.
That does stink that you were not able to get into any of the shows. Hopefully, it was just the holiday weekend thing and not something you will encounter on every trip. I had no idea that AP holders have no perks at all. You would think you would at least get free parking or discounts of some sort whether or not you are staying on property.
Oh, we do get the normal AP perks(which we love.) I was referring only to perks for AP associated with the new FP+ system. Currently there are none, but I'm hopeful that will change someday.
Annie, based on how we currently travel, I like the new system, but I can understand how in your shoes, I would not feel the same way! I do hope that the folks who are working on this project can tweak it so that it is fair for everyone. If Disney places too much importance on their guests staying onsite, we will start to see room shortages and the disappearance of 30% off rooms/free DDP. When I was a kid, there was only the Polynesian, the Contemporary, and maybe the Grand Floridian. We always got a hotel in Kissimmee because there was an 18-month wait to get a room onsite and they were so outrageously expensive, my parents could never have afforded it. If demand for Disney resorts increases because of the benefits of FP+ preferences for resort guests, those of us who regularly stay onsite may see the resort part of our experience change as well.
How were the lines at the actual kiosks? This is another area where I have recently heard a lot of complaints. I would estimate that getting a FP under the old system could cost me up to 10 minutes of time per FP (depending on where I was walking from and how long it took the folks in front of me to understand how to use the machine), so as long as I waited less than 30 minutes in a FP+ kiosk line, I'm thinking that aspect should be roughly a break-even and involve less backtracking. What has your experience been like in that line--especially during the recent busy holiday weekend trip?
Be good at something. It makes you valuable. Have something to bring to the table because that will make you more welcome. --Randy Pausch
Trip Reports:
December 2013: 10th Anniversary, 1st DVC Stay | April 2014: Birthday on the Boardwalk | May 2014: Star Wars Weekend, Navigating WDW with a wheelchair | August 2014: Villains Unleashed | September/October 2014: MNSSHP, F&W, Tower of Terror 10-miler | March/April 2015: Disneyland and California Coastal Cruise | November 2015: Wine & Dine Half, Food & Wine, 1st Disney Cruise | February 2016: Presidential Classic Gymnastics Meet | March 2016: "Work" Trip, Tours, F&G Festival | April 2016: Conference at Disneyland | Fall 2016: Festive Fall Fun | January 2017: Festival of the Arts | May 2017: AbD Backstage Magic | July 2017: AbD San Francisco | Sorry I had to give up doing trip reports. Too many time commitments right now.
Annie, eventually everyone will be able to pre-select fp+ but for I think for AP holders and day guests, it would only be a week or two out just so fastpasses don't get booked out because locals may think that may end up going on a day then don't go. I'm not sure about AP only perks.
Alicemouse, at MK the kiosk lines are almost always ten minutes or less. I think once since January have the lines been 20 minutes or more. Most locations have 6 or more cast members helping to select fastpasses. I can only speak for MK though. Most of our kiosk locations have at least two fixed kiosk then like three-four or more cast members on mobile kiosks helping out. The lines usually look really long because really big parties like a group of eight will all come into the line to select the fast passes. Also strollers also help make the lines look a little longer.
Also at MK there are lots of availability for most experiences in the mornings. The only experiences you may not be able to get day off is Enchanted Tales with Belle, Wishes and Main Street Electrical Parade. If you can get Enchanted Tales with Belle day off it is usually after 5 or 6 pm.
I have not had the long FP line experience but I have certainly not enjoyed the face that is you are an avid park hopper that you must choose one perk per day to FP. That is my biggest complaint. I really like to have breakfast at the Kona cafe into lunch at EPCOT and dinner back in MK. If I could even split my FP between multiple parks I would be much more content.
-Brandon
ReveredWarrior am with you as I do a lot of park hopping as well. If we can only get 3 why can't we pick where we want that 3? Hopefully down the road they will see a need for this and will make these changes..hopefully.
[url='http://www.mickeypath.com/']
[/url]
I do believe that they are trying to get a park hopping ability for the fastpasses. Fastpass+ is still in the testing process along with the rest of mymagic+. Remember that Disney likes to test and adjust with many new products.
Annie, based on how we currently travel, I like the new system, but I can understand how in your shoes, I would not feel the same way! I do hope that the folks who are working on this project can tweak it so that it is fair for everyone. If Disney places too much importance on their guests staying onsite, we will start to see room shortages and the disappearance of 30% off rooms/free DDP. When I was a kid, there was only the Polynesian, the Contemporary, and maybe the Grand Floridian. We always got a hotel in Kissimmee because there was an 18-month wait to get a room onsite and they were so outrageously expensive, my parents could never have afforded it. If demand for Disney resorts increases because of the benefits of FP+ preferences for resort guests, those of us who regularly stay onsite may see the resort part of our experience change as well.
How were the lines at the actual kiosks? This is another area where I have recently heard a lot of complaints. I would estimate that getting a FP under the old system could cost me up to 10 minutes of time per FP (depending on where I was walking from and how long it took the folks in front of me to understand how to use the machine), so as long as I waited less than 30 minutes in a FP+ kiosk line, I'm thinking that aspect should be roughly a break-even and involve less backtracking. What has your experience been like in that line--especially during the recent busy holiday weekend trip?
Alicemouse, we found the wait for the kiosks to be between 15-20. Waiting at the kiosks didn't bother us, it felt like a reasonable amount of waiting.
The long waiting came once we were actually in Fast pass lines for the rides. We noticed a major increase in wait time in every fast pass line we were in. I'm referring to the lines outside the ride, the people waiting to scan their magic bands, those lines were very long compared to any other visit we've ever made to WDW. For example, we went through the ToT FP line and the FP line was down to the standby sign. We went on Peter pan and it took 20 minutes to get through the magic band area.
The paper FP were definitely quicker because all you needed was a quick glance from a CM and you were on your way. Now that everyone either has a magic band, their ticket or a DAS card we experienced the longest FP lines that we've ever experienced. We've been to WDW on major holidays, with cheering competitions, marathon weekends. We've been there when the parks were much more crowded than they were Valentine's weekend. You name it, we've probably been there at least once for it. All I can tell you is we have never had an experience where FP lines were 15-20 just to get in the line, and all the musicals/shows were completely full all day long. I really hope that weekend was an anomaly and not the norm.
My cousin was having issues changing a time for one of her FPP on her phone while in MK yesterday. She went to a kiosk. It didn't take too long - maybe 10 minutes.
In October our only issue was at soarin. The line for fast pass went all the way to the land ride. The rest was ok. We are big park hoppers so the 1 park use isn't fun for us. The only 3 could help the park flow as a whole but not my style of touring. Still love wdw but not looking forward to the loss of the old fast pass.
