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Thread: Fastpass+, Magic Bands and MyMagic+: Share your experiences

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  1. #1

    Fastpass+, Magic Bands and MyMagic+: Share your experiences

    I heard that you only get 3 Fast Pass Plus per day.

    So once you use those 3 fast pass plus passes can you get regular fast passes?

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  2. #2
    Ready for MA World Explorers! Drince88's Avatar
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    Fast Pass Plus

    Per a conversation I read with a. 'Live chat' with Disney, they're still testing on how they're dealing with fastpass+ vs regular fastpass.

    Cathy

  3. #3
    The Hollywood Chain Gang CariBelle's Avatar
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    With the current beta testing that's going, yes, you can still pull a traditional FP. But from what I've read (and obviously this is apt to change at any time before the system goes live) that the paper FPs will go away and you will be limited to however many FP+ they decide to allot each guest per day. Currently it's 3, but most people are getting a "bonus" 4th FP+ in MK. It issues you the 4th one as either Pirates or HM, but I've been able to swap attractions with the bonus FP+ to a more desirable attraction.


  4. #4
    Registered User petesimac's Avatar
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    This does not bode well, in my opinion. The fastpass plus system will make lines that are normally quick, such as HM, into long waits unless you have a fastpass (which you didn't use to need for HM). I'm willing to reserve judgement until it all shakes out, but red flags are waving all over the place (and I'm not even talking about the ill-fated Avatarland).

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  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by CariBelle View Post
    With the current beta testing that's going, yes, you can still pull a traditional FP. But from what I've read (and obviously this is apt to change at any time before the system goes live) that the paper FPs will go away and you will be limited to however many FP+ they decide to allot each guest per day. Currently it's 3, but most people are getting a "bonus" 4th FP+ in MK. It issues you the 4th one as either Pirates or HM, but I've been able to swap attractions with the bonus FP+ to a more desirable attraction.
    So you can get your 3 FP+ and aslo some regular FP for additional rides?
    "If you can Dream it you can Do IT." Walt Disney


  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by CariBelle View Post
    With the current beta testing that's going, yes, you can still pull a traditional FP. But from what I've read (and obviously this is apt to change at any time before the system goes live) that the paper FPs will go away and you will be limited to however many FP+ they decide to allot each guest per day. Currently it's 3, but most people are getting a "bonus" 4th FP+ in MK. It issues you the 4th one as either Pirates or HM, but I've been able to swap attractions with the bonus FP+ to a more desirable attraction.
    Were you able to swap attractions using your smartphone?
    Tony S.
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  7. #7
    Ready for MA World Explorers! Drince88's Avatar
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    Fast Pass Plus

    I don't think Caribelle is on her trip yet.

    Cathy

  8. #8
    The Hollywood Chain Gang CariBelle's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sjhanksaz View Post
    So you can get your 3 FP+ and aslo some regular FP for additional rides?
    Currently, yes. But this is a test and everything that Disney is saying includes the fact that once FP+ is live they will phase out paper FP.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lovethemouse View Post
    Were you able to swap attractions using your smartphone?
    I haven't tried yet. I've just been using MDE online to make any changes. I will for sure try when we are there though, and I want to test out a kiosk as well. We don't have an FP+ for our last 3 days since we don't have a touring plan for those days, it's our "do what we missed" days so we will for sure be changing them around on our phones.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by CariBelle View Post
    Currently, yes. But this is a test and everything that Disney is saying includes the fact that once FP+ is live they will phase out paper FP.



    I haven't tried yet. I've just been using MDE online to make any changes. I will for sure try when we are there though, and I want to test out a kiosk as well. We don't have an FP+ for our last 3 days since we don't have a touring plan for those days, it's our "do what we missed" days so we will for sure be changing them around on our phones.
    Can you change all parties in your group all at once on the phone or do you have to do each one individualy?
    "If you can Dream it you can Do IT." Walt Disney


  10. #10
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    We just got back and were able to use our FP+ and regular fastpasses. At one point we had a regular FP and a FP+ for just about the same times for the Tower of Terror. Can't answer the smartphone question because we don't have them, but were able to go to a kiosk in EPCOT and review our FP+.


  11. #11

    If you have a magic band how do you get a regular fastpass since you do not have a card to insert in the machine?


  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by sjhanksaz View Post
    Can you change all parties in your group all at once on the phone or do you have to do each one individualy?
    you can change everyone at once, or do them individually.
    Tony S.
    "It's kind of fun to do the impossible." - Walt Disney

    url=http://www.magicalkingdoms.com/timers/][/url]

  13. #13

    Fastpass+

    It will make every day like 4th July or Christmas Day if the early signs are anything to go by. Complete and utter disaster in my early opinion having two classes of guests. I am an ber planner and if I ever visit again and have access to FP+ I shall do my research and learn how to exploit it to my benefit as far as possible. But I think I hate it already.

     

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  14. #14

    Midway Mania Fastpass

    Got to Midway Mania at 9.04hrs the Fastpass return time was 4.15 -5.15pm.
    Standby line wait time was stated as 45 minutes but the line was almost down to the Backlot tour entrance so I don't know how accurate the 45 minutes was.

    It was not an Early Magic Hours day.

    Only two Fastpass stations were open, deliberately so I suspect, if all six had been operating I wonder if any Fastpasses would have been available at 9.04hrs.

    Is this the wonderful Fastpass+ in operation ???


  15. #15
    Read Everything-Assume Nothing GusMan's Avatar
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    Yep, Brian, it probably the case.

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  16. #16

    Yet Another Discussion Thread about FastPass +

    I am just trying to wrap my brain around the whole Fastpass + concept...

    If you pick three Fastpass + attractions for the evening at HS...will you be able to get regular fastpasses in the morning at MK?

    Once you use your three fastpass + passes, can you then get regular fastpasses?

    I have seen other discussion boards where others are saying they were given the choice of a fastpass + option to get seating at Be Our Guest restaurant for lunch...isn't that a sneaky way of letting there be reservations for a QS restaurant? I think either make it a TS or leave it open as a QS restaurant.

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  17. #17
    Ready for MA World Explorers! Drince88's Avatar
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    Yet Another Discussion Thread about FastPass +

    Disney is still testing/tweaking the FP+ system. At one point, you could get a regular FP and FP+ on the same day. How/if that will still be the case during your trip is unknown while they're tweaking.
    Just in the last few days they tweaked the system for Epcot, for Nov/Dec trips.

    Cathy

  18. #18

    I made my FP+ selections last week and don't even want to see how they have just recently tweaked the system! I'm afraid of losing what took me a long time to figure out. I have soarin' and test track back to back now which is great for me. From what I understand, I probably cannot get regular FP's too, which I'm fine with since I feel I am doing more than enough planning at this point. If this was one of my first trips, I'd be very frustrated. Hopefully when testing is done and the system is rolled out it will make sense and be easier for people to figure out!

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  19. #19
    Read Everything-Assume Nothing GusMan's Avatar
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    Hey everyone,
    I did merge the two threads about FP+ together since they were pretty much covering the same sorts of questions.

    As for the latest news about the tiered system being tested at Epcot that just started, if you had your FP+ choices made already, you will be OK.
    Just dont change anything.

    The FP+ system is very much still in a transitional phase. Some sing its praises. Some curse it. Personally, I think until the testing phase is over, you are going to see a lot of differing reports.

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  20. #20
    The FP+ system is very much still in a transitional phase. Some sing its praises. Some curse it. Personally, I think until the testing phase is over, you are going to see a lot of differing reports.
    For those people who make one or two trips in their lifetime and do not know how to "run the traps" I think fastpass+ is great. If you have been several times and go yearly then perhaps this takes away a bit on the "advantage"
    Personally I will be glad not to be at rope drop moving with the herd to Toy Story or Soarin. Get a little sleep and maybe even eat a decent breakfast. I know I will be spending more money at Disney as I normally do breakfast in the room and hit the buses.
    If you still go to rope drop you can now ride Soarin first thing without getting in a fastpass line. Magic Kingdom will need 4 or 5 fastpass + to be really effective.
    Last edited by GusMan; 11-04-2013 at 06:59 PM. Reason: Fixed quote tags.

  21. #21
    Ready for MA World Explorers! Drince88's Avatar
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    Fastpass+

    Technically, FP+ is still in testing phases.

    Cathy

  22. #22

    Hopefully all the complications listed above are just because of this being in "test mode". Perhaps it was worsened by the (now closed apparently) loophole with FP+ participants also using normal room key cards for regular FP participation as well.

    I'm trying to mentally calculate how many normal FP tickets one could reasonably expect to collect in a given day. I'm thinking with the time restrictions before you could collect another, it's somewhere around 4 to maybe 6, and that might be if you based all of your planning on exactly when you could collect another FP and riding on the attractions for those FPs. Of course, no one was competing with you regarding pre-planned times in that scenario.

    This is just thinking out loud, so be gentle if you think I'm crazy and you have gotten 12 FPs on a normal day and had an enjoyable day. The whole point of this pondering being if the double dipping that was possible earlier could have been the sole reason for things like the example of FP for Toy Story being gone by 5 minutes past 9.

    I've not yet personally been there when any of this FP+ system was in effect in a major way, but all the things I'm reading above seem way too complicated and restrictive.

    If this is how hard it is to get a regular FP when people doing FP+ can only sign up for 3 in a day, can you imagine how hard it would be if there were more than 3 available? (several posts have indicated they would like the new system if more than 3 sign ups were allowed)

    Not everyone can plan 6 months in advance. Some jobs are not scheduled with that amount of precision in terms of when people can take time off due to dynamics of the job.

    It's not unreasonable to expect that certain lower capacity situations (like Cinderella's Royal Table reservations) would not be able to be scheduled for people in that situation (or that you can't get other ADRs for your party at the exact time you wish to eat), but if the recent scenarios described above end up being the long term normal, it now is also going to become harder to even get to experience any of the major attractions.

    It's almost like any big ticket ride will revert to the state they are in when they first debut (i.e., multiple hour waits) if you are not an on-site visitor with the FP+ system scheduled 6 months ahead. I see Dumbo as the actual trend setter here with now having twin rides, though obviously most other attractions don't lend themselves to that solution to deal with rider throughput.

    I'm hoping when they "throw the FP+ switch" and it's fully operational, we are all pleasantly surprised.

    My mother is trying to schedule a trip with my sister's family next summer, and I'm a little worried after reading all the above that this could have a negative effect on the trip.

    This is not likely going to become a routine trip as it is for most people on this board (nothing to do with FP+ implementation, just because it's a costly vacation), this is probably a one time trip while the kids are still kids (maybe twice, but would be quite a few years down the road). I am seriously wondering as I read all of this if it might be better to wait a year until this has played out with a little more certainty.

    -Dave

  23. #23

    Magic Bands and MyMagic+: Share your experiences

    As the Magic Band rollout continues to expand, share your experiences with with them and the whole MyMagic+ initiative in this thread. What has worked well for you, and what has been a source of frustration?


  24. #24

    I don't have a problem with the concept - in fact, I think it would be a great advantage to book FPs in advance. For me, the problem came with the fact that I have the Premier passport (the AP for both DL and WDW), and as of my last trip at the beginning of October they didn't know how to deal with it. It's since been added on to my MDE account, so we'll see what happens next time.

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  25. #25
    Contributing Writer RunningFool's Avatar
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    I chose not to take part in the MagicBand test during my Wine & Dine Half Marathon weekend visit as time was limited. However, I was met at the front desk during check-in with a pre-loaded MagicBand that I took only because the Cast Member couldn't guarantee that it would be destroyed if I didn't take it. The Cast Member who was working checkout (at 4:30 a.m. on Sunday after the race) could not print out my receipt without using a MagicBand so I'm still trying to get a receipt copy.

    Most people I talked to who tried the band were extremely displeased including one family who, after pre-checking in online, still experienced a 3-hour check-in at the hotel due to issues they and others were experiencing in setting up the bands.

    I did notice in the gift shop you could purchase all sorts of decorations and covers for your MagicBand.

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