Fast Plus+ Experience

[nls721]

Someone mentioned about targeting Magical Express. Yep that is what we are doing. We are also staying at POP but we don't have our disney tix booked through Disney. We bought tickets on our own under the Military Salute program so with Disney targeting us, they technically don't even know we have tickets.

[CMCTxMom]

Yes, Disney is testing the FastPass+ system with guests who are using the Magical Express between certain target dates.

[KAJUNKING]

I read, but have no idea if this is completely accurate, that those coming in on Magical Express on these target dates are the ones being offered this test.

That may be true because I leave on the 21st and no email, no magical express....

[Quadstriker]

What I hope it ends up being when all is said and done:

Stay on property and get 2 fastpasses a day! Use your smartphone app or a handy kiosk at your hotel to pick them up before leaving for the park.

What I fear it will end up being:

Fastpasses! Get your fastpasses here! $9.95 a pop!

[stephicakes]

No Email yet. We've got 2 trips reserved, one in 2 days then one in 46 days. I wonder if they're only targetting guests who reserved thru hotels and not DVC.

I think you are right. We leave in 14 days and taking ME.... BUT we rented DVC points. No email for us.

[Kwesty]

We just received our postcard in the mail today -- it looked beat up and like it had been in the mail for a few weeks!

I logged in and could only select FastPasses for certain days. It wasn't a day we planned on being at Magic Kingdom. I went ahead and proceeded thinking we might hop over to use them in the evening during Extra Magic Hours -- this ended up not an option.

A couple of my initial concerns --

Some of the rides were grayed out. I assume that means the FastPasses for those rides were taken. If this is how the system will continue -- I think it will turn into a CRT ticket and have mass hysteria over FastPasses.

Secondly, I picked the rides that were available and they assign a certain window for you to be there so I doubt I even use them. It would have been nice to be able to select your window.

My opinion thus far -- not great -- you would have to plan your entire day around your reserved Fast Passes. I'm a planner but not down to the minute. However, since this is a "test" they may perfect the system and it may end up being a good thing. I'll reserve complete judgement once the entire system is in place.

[Kenny1113]

Someone mentioned about targeting Magical Express. Yep that is what we are doing. We are also staying at POP but we don't have our disney tix booked through Disney. We bought tickets on our own under the Military Salute program so with Disney targeting us, they technically don't even know we have tickets.

This was going to be my question. Thx

[emmatink]

You actually can adjust your window after you reserve your initial attractions. After you select your 4 choices you can go back into each individual attraction and move the time frame. We originally had all of our times in the evening and I was able to go back and move some of the times to early morning and afternoon. I was also able to change from the late parade to the earlier parade in the evening. So there is some flexibility, at least there was when I signed up

[ledudes]

The parades and wishes may have been neat to have gotten, but naturally they were all filled up so the rides don't really seem worth the trouble of being there at a certain time.

[ledudes]

Well, I kept going back in and checking, and I ended up getting the electrical parade and wishes. We usually just wander by and watch the parade as it passes, but it will be interesting to see what the viewing area is like. I am hoping it isn't just an overly crowded roped off area. Has anyone done it yet? Wishes will be good to see from a viewing area becasue it is always soooo crowded out in front of the castle.

[stephicakes]

ok - we just got our postcard and we are 10 days out It is definitely linked to ME (per the postcard message) since we rented DVC points and still received one. I am still not warmed up to the idea yet as deciding on times in advance can be a hassle (there are 6 people in our party) but I guess I will have to see how it works out once we are there. MK closes at 7pm the day we arrive (we fly in around noonish) so we chose JC, BTMRR, HM and Splash to use the FP+ on for that first afternoon. As others have said, times for attractions are limited. We'll see how it goes!

Can't wait!

[DNS]

Friends leave in 3 days and received this email. My concern is if this replaces the current system, that will finish off the spontaneity of vacation plans. Planning table service already locks you in to a certain park, place and time every meal, but now the rides too? I guess we will take what we get, but I have to say, I think it will take some of the fun out of it for us if we have to plan ride times well in advance. Hopefully it will work out much better than some of us think it will.

[joonyer]

Here's a couple of thoughts about the FastPass (next gen) system, that apparently will let you arrange Fastpass times before you arrive at WDW.

Under the old system (with the return time window being enforced), your choice consisted of walking to the FastPass kiosk area, looking at the signs showing the current return times, and then deciding if you wanted to get a pass for that time or not. Your only other option for that attraction is to wait and come back later if you wanted a later FastPass time. But you would have to take the risk that there may be no passes available by then (very likely for popular attractions like Toy Story Mania or Soarin'). So in some cases, you have very little option either you get there early and get a pass when you can, or you may be forced to wait in the stand-by line to ride the attraction.

Under the new system, if it allows you to choose a time in advance, you may have more options than using the current system. If it completely replaces the old system, so that you could not get FastPasses at the parks anymore, or if you could only get passes for the most popular attractions by reserving them in advance, then there are going to be a lot of unhappy guests. But if they strike a balance between the two, still allowing guests to obtain FastPasses on site if they choose, then I see this new plan as only increasing your options to avoid stand-by lines, and that would be a good thing. If you can guarantee a FastPass in advance for TSM for instance, versus risking that you may not get one at all by going to the park, then it may work out alright.

[Main Street Jim]

Some of the rides were grayed out. I assume that means the FastPasses for those rides were taken. If this is how the system will continue -- I think it will turn into a CRT ticket and have mass hysteria over FastPasses.

Secondly, I picked the rides that were available and they assign a certain window for you to be there so I doubt I even use them. It would have been nice to be able to select your window.

My opinion thus far -- not great -- you would have to plan your entire day around your reserved Fast Passes. I'm a planner but not down to the minute. However, since this is a "test" they may perfect the system and it may end up being a good thing. I'll reserve complete judgement once the entire system is in place.

Here's the thing a LOT of folks don't understand about how FastPass worked/works: there are a *limited* number of FPs for any given attraction, based on the projected attendance for that time of year/that day. For example, at Space Mountain, the ratio was 80% of the guest attendance would be the number of FP's for that day (and it is at most attractions). 20% of the projected attendance was the stand-by. Stand-by could be more, could be less; it just depends on how much of that 80% of guests will actually *get* FPs.

Now...this new system...I'm wondering...if they're factoring those guests into the original "80% FP guests", or, if they're taking away from the 20% of "Stand-by guests" (like say, maybe 5%? So that total FP distribution would be 85%/15%?). If they're factoring them (these "reservation" type FPs) into that 80%, then that means that *less than* 80% of guests *in the park* will be able to get FPs, because they'll be running out of FP's quicker. Understand what I'm getting at?

Looking at actual numbers: say, in a 10-hour day, Space Mountain puts...20,000 people through. In one hour, that means that 2,000 people are making it through the ride. Let's say it's a busy time, so the FPs are all gone by 2:00pm. Of that 2,000 people going through, 1,600 are FP; 400 are Stand-by. With this new system, will they factor in those "reserved FP's" with the 1,600, or will they allow more FPs per hour to be distributed, cutting the Stand-by down to say, 200 instead of 400. So now, 200 more people will *have* to plan their day around a one-hour window in order to enjoy the attraction; if they don't, then, they either get stuck in the Stand-by, waiting an additional 30-45 minutes while those 200 "extra" FP guests come through.

See what I'm getting at? With this system, you'll have to plan out every hour - if not every half-hour - in order to enjoy the FP attractions.

[Christine]

So where does this leave locals? No FPs for us?

[mydisneygirls]

We leave in 10 days, are on the Magical Express and DID NOT receive the Fast Pass email or postcard.

[MargaretMessler]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

The old system worked fine. No need to clog it up with more off-shoots.

FPs before I even arrive?!? I don't even decide what park I'm going to until the night beforehand. It's vacation, I just refuse to be that rigid in my planning.

Gut feeling, it ends up being "tested" for a period of time and then we go back to only having the regular system as we have known it for years. Maybe I'm off base, but I don't think the majority of people will favor the new system.

[awaggett]

We arrive on the 21st via Magical Express. I received a FedEx this morning from Disney with the Fast Pass Express information. I was super excited having read your posts. We were able to pick one day during out trip, then four experiences for that day. It seemed all were available (but to be honest, I didn't "click" them all). I chose the experiences/times that worked best--between 6 pm and 11 pm that Saturday night we will hit Pooh, Jungle Cruise, Fireworks, and MSEP. We are not usually the folks that stake out a spot for fireworks or parade, but thought we'd try something new.

I'll let y'all know how it goes.

[vicster]

Just booked our experiences and I am excited to see how it all works out. To answer a previous question, yes the experiences are only for the MK park.

I can't seem to book ours - does not seem to recognize my confirmation #. What am I doing wrong?

[Grumpy.]

I can't seem to book ours - does not seem to recognize my confirmation #. What am I doing wrong?

I had to take the spaces out of the confirmation number in order for it to work. Maybe try that.