Magic Bands/FP+ and Legacy FP (Rumor)

[pirateatheart]

I found this on the Touring Plans Chat last night and had to share with you guys. I am just posting some of the comments from the chat. (not my comments/info)

"Ok the info I was given is by January all FP machines will be gone. There will not be any paper FP. Instead there will be kiosks or you can use the app. You automatically will get 3 FPp a day. After you use a FPp you can then schedule a new one."

"The RUMOR of October 27 is that your KTTW card will not be eligible to pull up legacy fp.This sounds like a real possibility. It would mean you would want to book your 3 FPP earlier in the day so you could go on with more FPP. That would ensure the headliners in the AM and then others (what was available) after those. Not good for hopping tho"


If this really turns out to be true i would think on-site guests that have magic bands would no longer need to also be issued a KTTWC at check in? or will the still give them to you incase the Magic band stops working?

If this does become a real thing AM FP's are going to be the ones that are hardest to get (Don't you think)

I do wish you could atleast pick 2 parks per day to make FP+ in. or atleast when you book the 1st 3 you have to book in the same park but once you use one of those 3 and can book more you could book in a 2nd park. We do like to park hop. Normally 1 park in the AM and then another in the afternon/evening. So it would be nice to make FP+ for both parks atleast after we use the 1st 3. ::

(What do you guys think?)

[Cardinals314]

It's not a rumor. If you have a MagicBand, you will not be able to use the old Fastpass system which is fair. Disney has been decreasing the number of old fastpasases that are being distributed because of FP+. Rides lately like Test Track have run out of legacy Fastpasses by 10:30am.

The hardest fastpasses to get are going to be the ones set for around late morning or early afternoon I believe. In the morning, there isn't much of a line for most attrctions (Except for TTMM and Epcot's two attractions).

I like how now people are noticing the negatives of this entire system now. There are more negatives to this new system than positives. It really hurts the frequent visitors that have APs. I think they are the ones that will really hurt from this.

[Belle1082]

Has anyone who has been setting up FP+ been having problems where you select everyone in your group and haven't picked any fast passes for the day, but when you finalize the passes, it says that a certain member of your party is not eligible? Frustrating!

[cousininmiami]

I agree that it seems to be a negative for Annual Passholders. As a Florida Resident (Miami), and AP holder (we buy one every year), many of the newest options are not available to us! We go to WDW frequently, maybe 5-6 times a year, and got our new RFID AP cards within the past year. But each time I go, the Magic Bands are not available for us as of yet!

Also, how will the whole Fastpass system work for us is still a mystery. We generally do not stay on property. We have a few favorite hotels in Downtown Disney that are bigger rooms and incredible values as compared to the actual Disney resorts. So, if you are a weekend visitor that is staying off property, how will you ever be able to obtain a Fastpass under this current system? We went last weekend for another quick trip to EPCOT Food and Wine, and all the Fastpasses were gone when we got to Soarin' in the mid morning! So we simply did not ride it this time... A two hour wait for something we have done 100 times is a poor use of time. Same thing went for Test Track, but we decided to go on it and use the Single Rider option.

[Amy]

I agree that it seems to be a negative for Annual Passholders. As a Florida Resident (Miami), and AP holder (we buy one every year), many of the newest options are not available to us! We go to WDW frequently, maybe 5-6 times a year, and got our new RFID AP cards within the past year. But each time I go, the Magic Bands are not available for us as of yet!

Also, how will the whole Fastpass system work for us is still a mystery. We generally do not stay on property. We have a few favorite hotels in Downtown Disney that are bigger rooms and incredible values as compared to the actual Disney resorts. So, if you are a weekend visitor that is staying off property, how will you ever be able to obtain a Fastpass under this current system? We went last weekend for another quick trip to EPCOT Food and Wine, and all the Fastpasses were gone when we got to Soarin' in the mid morning! So we simply did not ride it this time... A two hour wait for something we have done 100 times is a poor use of time. Same thing went for Test Track, but we decided to go on it and use the Single Rider option.

I do hope they address these issues. Seems like a bad idea to alienate the AP holders!

[Cardinals314]

From what I have been reading, AP holders will eventually be able to get Magicbands. For the number of FP reservations, the talks right now is that AP holders will have a certain number of FPs they can use every 3 months. I used to know the number, but I don't know it right now. I believe it was around 10 or so but I'm not sure. What's sad is that right now AP holders can't use FP+ and are now limited with the decreased distribution of the legacy fastpasses. AP holders don't decide 60 days out when to visit a Disney park. I would like to say it is a week or a couple of weeks (I wouldn't know I'm not one). By this time, the FPs for the major rides will be already gone or mostly gone and you will be stuck with attractions like Muppets 3d and It's a Small World.

One option I can see Disney doing is that they can make MagicBands only available to onsite visitors and AP holders, thus they will only be the ones that can use FP+. It would entice more people to stay on site at Disney. Universal is currently doing the same thing for its on-site guests.

[cy1229]

What hubby and I are wondering is what this all is going to do to super-high-demand attractions like Toy Story. Really stinks, cousininmiami, that you were unable to get onto Soarin'. We generally don't go during busy times of the year, but "dead" times are becoming few and far between. So is the trend going to be that you can go on a high-demand attraction and spend an hour or two in line, or you can go to a bunch of less popular attractions, but miss on the big deals? Compromise, compromise, compromise. Hmm. As these kinds of changes keep coming on over the years, I feel less and less driven to spend so. much. money. for a vacation that is becoming less and less of what I want it to be. Not that Disney owes me, it's just that all the whittling away makes it less attractive.

[Wizzard419]

Ideally, they would love to probably do away with the queues and have systems like the GAC or Dumbo, a guest stuck waiting in line is also a guest that isn't able to spend money in stores and on food.

[Cardinals314]

What hubby and I are wondering is what this all is going to do to super-high-demand attractions like Toy Story. Really stinks, cousininmiami, that you were unable to get onto Soarin'. We generally don't go during busy times of the year, but "dead" times are becoming few and far between. So is the trend going to be that you can go on a high-demand attraction and spend an hour or two in line, or you can go to a bunch of less popular attractions, but miss on the big deals? Compromise, compromise, compromise. Hmm. As these kinds of changes keep coming on over the years, I feel less and less driven to spend so. much. money. for a vacation that is becoming less and less of what I want it to be. Not that Disney owes me, it's just that all the whittling away makes it less attractive.

I have heard very similar comments by many others about this new system and it is right. The cost of a Disney trip or even Annual Passes for what you get in return is diminishing. Disney now really wants to cater to the one-time visitor to Disney instead of their AP holders, their most loyal customers. With this over-scheduling in visitor's days with reservations and the combination of getting less for your money, it's going to be even harder for people to justify going to Disney for a vacation

[Wizzard419]

For WDW, it kind of always had been a one time trip destination. It may not have been intentional, but by virtue of the design of the resort and the spread out nature of Florida. They end up with far less local traffic in the parks. DLR, a tourist can come for a day or two, and then go off to another thing while on the same vacation. With WDW, the guest is less incentivized to leave the property, they even discourage car rentals by offering free airport shuttle service to and from the hotel, even if you arrive via private jet, plus the larger number of parks also make it a longer trip.

I do wonder, now that DLR APs no longer have a central distribution center in the park, how they handle the premier passes? When they first came out, the area had a scanner so they could record your biometrics for WDW (since DLR did not use them).

[cy1229]

For WDW, it kind of always had been a one time trip destination. It may not have been intentional, but by virtue of the design of the resort and the spread out nature of Florida. They end up with far less local traffic in the parks. DLR, a tourist can come for a day or two, and then go off to another thing while on the same vacation. With WDW, the guest is less incentivized to leave the property, they even discourage car rentals by offering free airport shuttle service to and from the hotel, even if you arrive via private jet, plus the larger number of parks also make it a longer trip.

I do wonder, now that DLR APs no longer have a central distribution center in the park, how they handle the premier passes? When they first came out, the area had a scanner so they could record your biometrics for WDW (since DLR did not use them).

True, the typical WDW guest is much less local and much less frequent than the typical DLR guest. However, a significant proportion of WDW guests are, indeed, repeat customers. AP holders do visit multiple times over a year (or they should...), but there is a decent-sized slice of that pie that includes people like us on Subsonic - make regular, or semi-regular, visits every year, or two years, or 18 months, or whatever. When people like that are less inclined to go back as frequently, it says something outside of the typical whining about wanting old stuff restored. It reflects an impact on the overall guest experience as not meeting expectations, even the most realistic expectations. I'm not going to say that every decision that Disney makes with which I disagree is a bad decision, but I am going to say that making decisions that erode away at a loyal customer base is a bad decision. Erosion occurs slowly over time, and the true effect isn't seen until it's too late.

[Wizzard419]

Being a repeat customer can vary widely though. Are the average repeat guests more likely to book a vacation every year or every 5+ years? Even with the AP holders, it takes more of a commitment for many of them, since (taking members here for example) they have to book hotel rooms.

The thing is that while the repeats and AP's money would be noticed if it stopped entirely, but they would only really be concerned if first time visitors took a major dive too. They know that very little is required of them to get you to come back. They could literally change nothing between your visits and you would still come back. There is pretty much no requirement to cater to them, and if the spending habits of repeats are lower, then there is even less incentive to cater.

[laurie5658]

I am an AP holder and was able to get my PINK MB with no problem. I was even able to link my husband's RunDisney park ticket to his MB. Oh and I also had an instance where I had trouble with Jim getting a FP but tried it again an hour later with no problem. Glitches happen.

[cousininmiami]

I am an AP holder and was able to get my PINK MB with no problem. I was even able to link my husband's RunDisney park ticket to his MB. Oh and I also had an instance where I had trouble with Jim getting a FP but tried it again an hour later with no problem. Glitches happen.

If you are an Annual Passholder, did you get your band while staying at a Resort? Because like I said before, we pop up from Miami every 2-3 months and mostly do not stay on property. We eat, drink, buy souvenirs, and generally spend money at the parks. We do not stay on property very often because we can get better deals elsewhere. So I think it is guests like our family that fall in the cracks. Maybe by December when we go back we will get out bands! I'm always hopeful!

[laurie5658]

I am an AP holder and was able to get my PINK MB with no problem. I was even able to link my husband's RunDisney park ticket to his MB. Oh and I also had an instance where I had trouble with Jim getting a FP but tried it again an hour later with no problem. Glitches happen.

If you are an Annual Passholder, did you get your band while staying at a Resort? Because like I said before, we pop up from Miami every 2-3 months and mostly do not stay on property. We eat, drink, buy souvenirs, and generally spend money at the parks. We do not stay on property very often because we can get better deals elsewhere. So I think it is guests like our family that fall in the cracks. Maybe by December when we go back we will get out bands! I'm always hopeful!

Oh I gotcha. yes, we are staying on property so that is probably indeed the difference. How frustrating for you and hopefully they get this crack patched up!