*** Updated to add spring break Data*** New Data, FP+ impacting wait times, discuss

[coopersmom]

Quite frankly at the rate technology advances I'm not so sure that in 10 years much of this will be outdated and way overpriced. I sure would like to know if anyone has a clue of what comes next or is everyone just speculating?

The technology life cycle is a very real, and very short, thing. Anyone that thinks MyMagic Plus is a decade-plus solution that will pay out over the "next 20 years," as someone suggested earlier, is myopic. The average life cycle of, say, a laptop computer is three years. A TV, five. A cell phone only two. And those numbers are trending downward quickly. Does anyone really think the entry, guest tracking and general RIFD and "app" technology Disney dreamt up and created circa 2010 is going to be cutting edge and impressive in 2030? Not likely.

Can they continue to advance, program and modify it over that time period? Perhaps. But as people's communication technology and habits shift, so will this product's usefulness. It won't take long before they'll be working with an antiquated system that costs more to maintain and update than is financially feasible. That's the life cycle of any programming system.

MyMagic+ has gotta pay off way, WAY before the end of this decade to have any chance at being a success.

Secondarily, for those that contend, 'It's new, wait it out.' I have said, and will continue to say, I absolutely think Disney will continue to tweak and improve the system. Of that I have no doubt. But it's also true that the biggest marketing push and profit-making opportunity for ANY new tech product is not "down the road" ... It's at its release when it's new, hot and exciting. So, yeah, MyMagic/FastPass+ did need to come out of the gate guns blazing. It hasn't done that on any level. It hasn't created positive buzz. It hasn't created an attendance boom. And it hasn't lowered operating costs.

Windows 8 came out with a pasle of problems and loads of bad online buzz. Microsoft fanbois advocated a wait and see, you just gotta' get used to it attitude. Guess what? Two-ish years later even Microsoft admits, 'Whoops, we screwed that up.' It was an obvious bust upon arrival, though many tried to spin it otherwise, and that never changed, no matter how many tweaks and slight improvements have been made to the system overall, including "feature" and interface roll backs due to customer demand.

Like Disney, Microsoft is also still valiantly trying to make 8 work because they've put all their eggs in that basket. They basically have no choice. (Though they've also backtracked on service, support and sales for earlier operating systems to promote customer goodwill, but that's another topic altogether.)

There are people that genuinely like Windows 8. There are people who don't really care and use it whether they like it or not because it came with their latest computer. But Windows 8 was NOT a success for Microsoft, by any definition of the word. My gut says that MyMagic/FastPass+ is Disney's Windows 8.

 

[flicx]

Heck I am not so sure Disney shouldn't have kept updating their pal mickey product. They could have gotten a lot of the same information they are getting from their MB technology and people would have paid for Mickey dolls too. If this is just a big information grab there were far smarter ways to get it and make cash too.

 

[Mad Hattered]

Sorry, it's hard to keep up with having to entertain passionate arguments in one thread about how the jury's back and FP+ is guilty and equally passionate arguments in another that guest's satisfaction is illegitimate because we haven't had time to properly evaluate the system...

So, what track record? Yours an Jimmy's, or Some guy named Jason?

Yeah...that's it. Jimmy and I are to blame for all the backlash. Actually, Jimmy wasn't even part of the original Dirty Dozen. He does make a valid argument, though.

3< 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 and so on...

And Jason is OK in my book, too. He cleans up the mess...

Edit....and for the record....they have been testing FP+ with the RFID cards since 2012.

 

[mmbl]

Read many of these posts and we have used FP+ already (AP and stayed on property.) HATE THEM. They takeaway flexibility and FORCE you to follow a set plan. Have two more trips on this AP planned and after that, won't renew for a long time. We don't live in Fla. and will go elsewhere. Don't get me wrong, we love WDW but it seems their customer satisfaction is no longer important to them. I hope they lose $$$ on this - and we have stock in Disney.

 

[Silock]

Disney is playing chess and we're talking about checkers.

Then the only winning move is not to play, because this new system is horsepuckey.

 

[Silock]

We are not people who might or might not come back ten years from now.

Well, I am now.

 

[Mad Hattered]

. Disney is playing chess and we're talking about checkers.

These kids are pretty darn good at Chess....just sayin'.

 

[Shaden]

Read many of these posts and we have used FP+ already (AP and stayed on property.) HATE THEM. They takeaway flexibility and FORCE you to follow a set plan. Have two more trips on this AP planned and after that, won't renew for a long time. We don't live in Fla. and will go elsewhere. Don't get me wrong, we love WDW but it seems their customer satisfaction is no longer important to them. I hope they lose $$$ on this - and we have stock in Disney.

We are with you !!!

We are 45 days away from our next trip ... 15 nights, at WDW. but we locked in by renting points 11 months in advance, well before any of this crap started to roll out. In fact, we upgraded to APs before we even had a sniff of the FP+ to come, planning on returning within the year ...

Our experience so far, even just pre-booking our FPs, we absolutely hate FP+. We are a group of 12, ranging in age from 11 to 67 .... people have different preferences for rides, and rides they just wont do.

FP+ has been a nightmare. Funny thing is, that 2 years ago this same group was together, with FP- ... and it was fluid. We went from attraction to attraction, where we wanted to pull FP, we did, where we didn't we didn't. We pulled, as a group, far more than 3FP per day. We started at RD, and went most of the day. Currently our plans, as messed up as they are, as many people they leave out as they do, every day we are out of the parks by 1:30pm at the latest ....

This system is just a complete fail for us ... this is probably the last big family WDW vacation.

That is pretty sad considering that when we came home last May, 2013, the first thing I did was order a DVC package, sure that we would make this a life choice. My wife and I are in our late 20s early 30s. The perfect age to start a family, invest in DVC, and make this our "thing" ... but these changes, have completely turned us off. I can't believe we are unique, but rather we are representative of a considerable portion (as I have seen on these boards) of the WDW guest. The improvements, marginal as they are for guests to WDW can't possibly convert a significant portion of guests to DVC/loyal WDW goers .... at least not in the way the old system did.

We will see how this all pans out ...

 

[Shaden]

The technology life cycle is a very real, and very short, thing. Anyone that thinks MyMagic Plus is a decade-plus solution that will pay out over the "next 20 years," as someone suggested earlier, is myopic. The average life cycle of, say, a laptop computer is three years. A TV, five. A cell phone only two. And those numbers are trending downward quickly. Does anyone really think the entry, guest tracking and general RIFD and "app" technology Disney dreamt up and created circa 2010 is going to be cutting edge and impressive in 2030? Not likely.

Can they continue to advance, program and modify it over that time period? Perhaps. But as people's communication technology and habits shift, so will this product's usefulness. It won't take long before they'll be working with an antiquated system that costs more to maintain and update than is financially feasible. That's the life cycle of any programming system.

MyMagic+ has gotta pay off way, WAY before the end of this decade to have any chance at being a success.

Secondarily, for those that contend, 'It's new, wait it out.' I have said, and will continue to say, I absolutely think Disney will continue to tweak and improve the system. Of that I have no doubt. But it's also true that the biggest marketing push and profit-making opportunity for ANY new tech product is not "down the road" ... It's at its release when it's new, hot and exciting. So, yeah, MyMagic/FastPass+ did need to come out of the gate guns blazing. It hasn't done that on any level. It hasn't created positive buzz. It hasn't created an attendance boom. And it hasn't lowered operating costs.

Windows 8 came out with a pasle of problems and loads of bad online buzz. Microsoft fanbois advocated a wait and see, you just gotta' get used to it attitude. Guess what? Two-ish years later even Microsoft admits, 'Whoops, we screwed that up.' It was an obvious bust upon arrival, though many tried to spin it otherwise, and that never changed, no matter how many tweaks and slight improvements have been made to the system overall, including "feature" and interface roll backs due to customer demand.

Like Disney, Microsoft is also still valiantly trying to make 8 work because they've put all their eggs in that basket. They basically have no choice. (Though they've also backtracked on service, support and sales for earlier operating systems to promote customer goodwill, but that's another topic altogether.)

There are people that genuinely like Windows 8. There are people who don't really care and use it whether they like it or not because it came with their latest computer. But Windows 8 was NOT a success for Microsoft, by any definition of the word. My gut says that MyMagic/FastPass+ is Disney's Windows 8.

Very much agree about windows 8, there is a TON of literature on this.

Funny thing is, and this might well apply to WDW and FP+, is that the product testing and the BETA testing of Windows 8 resulted in MASSIVE positive response.

When they floated the idea of the OS and when they had people test it.... the LOVED the idea .... but in actual use, people are NOT fans. FP+ anyone ?

Ask me "How would you like to be able to lock in 3 ride selections before you arrive ?" ...

Me: "sounds great !!!" assuming I could still FP everything else, but could be assured those selections .... no idea about tiers, etc.

In the end, entirely disappointed, and feeling duped, we locked in almost a year ago, paid for everything, bought flights, etc. And now this is what we have to deal with.

 

[Davey Jones II]

Disney is trying to provide the maximum amount of today's guests with as enjoyable an experience as possible while building toward what it believes is its future success.

We argue about whether 3 pre-books are better than unlimited same-day-pulls, and whether or not Disney should model or compete head on with other theme parks. Disney knows more about why you love them than you do. And they know this about all of their guests, across every conceivable ethnic, national and socioeconomic demographic.

Disney knows more about your kids than you do, and knows that in a few short years they'll be the ones deciding where to take their kids. Disney knows why you come, why you'll eventually choose "competing" venues (which they consider as "complimentary") and why you'll come back.

They know how to connect to you through various platforms and emerging technologies. They have created strategic partnerships that build brand loyalty.

The only thing Disney desires more than loyal customers is a larger number of loyal customers. If their plans to achieve the latter leaves some less than satisfied, that's the unfortunate price that must be paid. It isn't personal, except for you.

Disney has always planned beyond a horizon that you aren't even aware exists. Disney is playing chess and we're talking about checkers.

*And by you, I don't mean you. I mean the collective of the 100s of millions who make pilgrimage to the parks around the world annually, take cruises and buy movies and videos and merchandise.

Wow. Sounds like Disney is God.

They can do no wrong. They plan everything far into the future. They can see 14 moves in advance. They are omnicient. They actually know more about me and why I like theme parks than I do! Awesome.

Enough sarcasm. Let's get real here. Disney has made plenty of mistakes in the past, and they are still making 'em. They are pissing off a big chunk of their core, most loyal audience because they took us for granted. They are trying to manipulate the masses into buying more merch, instead of simply giving us great reasons to come visit by spending on park infrastructure rather than IT. They couldn't even learn from the example across town, at WWOHP. Guess what happened when that new land drew big crowds? Yep, not just an attendance boost but a boost in food and merch sales, too.

I've lost track of how many posts I've read that say something to the effect of "we are going somewhere else on our next trip" or "we are cutting back on the number of days at Disney" or "we won't make our travel plans until they fix this FP+ mess", and numerous other variations of disenchantment with the Mouse. Those posts just keep multiplying.

So you still think that Disney, in their infinite wisdom, forsaw all of this?

 

[Davey Jones II]

I think that their results suggest otherwise...

They built their empire on the most solid foundation I can imagine: the incredible legacy of Walt Disney. What he accomplished was miraculous. The ones who came after him were just lucky to stand on the shoulders of a giant. It would take some incredibly bad business decisions to fail with that kind of an advantage.

But sometimes I swear their greatest creativity is in coming up with ways of killing the goose that laid the golden egg...

 

[Davey Jones II]

Many people who go on vacation throw the budget out the window, but I still don't see this as a financial windfall for Disney. It's POSSIBLE that in the scenario discussed above people go, use their 3 FastPass+, find other lines unpalatably long and instead shop, spending more money than intended. BUT, and it's a big Fantasia Hippo-sized butt, they also leave having had a subpar experience. For the vast majority of Disney park goers it really is all about the rides. Sure, they like the cleanliness, the Disney details, swimming in the hotel pool, spending time with family, etc., but if Disney developed a park with immersive story-telling walkways and restaurants only, their attendance would be miniscule.

The amount of people I talk to think three things about Disney World: it's expensive, it's hot and it's crowded. "All we did is wait in line," is the mantra of the one-timer. And that's often WHY they're one-timers.

FastPass+ does NOT alleviate it, in its current form, for either the supermajority, or the former superusers. Sure, you may get on 3 rides--perhaps not the ones you even wanted--somewhat quicker than before if you never used legacy FastPass, but basically no one goes into a Disney vacation saying they happily plan to only to ride three rides a day for their exorbitant entry price. And please spare us the story of your Grandma, Grandpa, Grand Niece or Second Cousin Twice Removed who loves Disney and never rides a single ride and would happily pay twice the current tariff to do that. Those folks are the extremely rare exception, usually brought along to the park as part of a larger family group to boot, most of whom came because they want to ride rides.

And the idea that wanting to ride a favorite, 60-90 second ride more than once without waiting 2 hours for the privilege makes you a selfish jerk? Umm, not so much.

Excellent post. And I guess we're all selfish jerks for wanting good value for our hard-earned vacation dollar.

 

[Davey Jones II]

There is potential Disney could lose us. Lots can happen between now and October but if they don't allow FP+ at multiple parks by then when paying for Park Hopper I will be very disappointed.. We've never been to Universal but will be starting our trip with 3 nights at (likely) Hard Rock and 4 days in the parks there. Following that up with 5 nights at BWV and 6 days at the parks (with park hopper).

WDW may have some high standards to live up to after enjoying Universal for 3-4 days using Express Pass. Like I said, I've never been there before but will be very interesting to see how it compares to FP+.

(FYI, I did test FP+ back in October but it was just an added benefit and I can't really judge it on it's own. We always RD and were pretty good at pulling paper FP. RD and both FP types was like video game God mode hah.)

Maybe if Disney was the only game in town, they could afford to alienate a chunk of their customers. If you really love theme parks, where else would you go?

But Disney has rivals who have been nipping at their heels for years, and making inroads on the industry leader. No one is untouchable. Today's empire can be tomorrow's rubble; that is one of the lessons of history, both business and otherwise.

Right now, I see a company that is gift-wrapping a number of its customers and mailing them directly to the competition.

P.S.: Sorry for four posts in a row, but I'm trying to catch up with several pages of this thread, and I keep coming across posts that compel me to respond. Besides, it's 3 in the morning and the thread is kinda quiet right now.

 

[Davey Jones II]

Oh, I see. You don't know what it was supposed to do, nor when. But you're here today to inform that, despite the fact that it has not even fully implemented, it's a unquestionably a big, fat failure.

Thanks.

BTW, how did Cars do while they were building it?

Cars Land and WWOHP boosted attendance right out of the box. No need for P.R. spin, surveys about how to change it, scrambling to try to appease frustrated and angry fans, etc. No, they built it, and people came.

They gave us what we want, and they reaped the benefits -- and continue to do so. That sounds pretty much the opposite of what they "accomplished" with the Magic Bands and FP+.

By the way, the recent 1.5% attendance increase is directly attributable to the brutal winter which whalloped the east coast, and sent lots of people running to warmer climes. I live in Montreal; believe me, I know what I'm talking about.

 

[2Tiggies]

When they floated the idea of the OS and when they had people test it.... the LOVED the idea .... but in actual use, people are NOT fans. FP+ anyone ?

Ask me "How would you like to be able to lock in 3 ride selections before you arrive ?" ...

Me: "sounds great !!!" assuming I could still FP everything else, but could be assured those selections .... no idea about tiers, etc.

In the end, entirely disappointed, and feeling duped, we locked in almost a year ago, paid for everything, bought flights, etc. And now this is what we have to deal with.

Funny I was thinking just last night about a survey I remember taking in late 2011/early 2012 asking about being able to pre book FP's. I don't recall my response at the time but it wouldn't surprise me if I'd been all for it. Why? Because they implied it would be an addition or enhancement to the current system, not a benefit deficient and restrictive replacement. Conducting a survey asking people if they like oranges when you intend to use only the orange rind is not going to give you a true reflection of how people are really going to feel about it because you left vital information out of the survey question. Had they phrased it in such a way to suggest that there was even a chance that you would feel compelled to pre book your FP's, be restricted to fewer, only FP each attraction once and only have one park per day ..... (the list goes on) I probably would have added my thoughts in the additional comments section to back up my NO.

I've lost track of how many posts I've read that say something to the effect of "we are going somewhere else on our next trip" or "we are cutting back on the number of days at Disney" or "we won't make our travel plans until they fix this FP+ mess", and numerous other variations of disenchantment with the Mouse. Those posts just keep multiplying.

So you still think that Disney, in their infinite wisdom, forsaw all of this?

ITA. Referring only to people I know personally who had trips booked or flights booked for a Disney trip this year, 2 families have canceled, one is going to Mexico instead and another family and one couple who have flights they can't change have booked accommodation at US/offsite/a hotel at the beach.

Not one of these families were super users and most of them would decide over breakfast what park they would do on the day. The deal breaker for each and every one of them has been either the clunky MDE or feeling over scheduled - or in most cases a combination of the two.

I love Disney and have to put my vacation days in at work almost a year in advance so it is common for me to be thinking about the next trip before I've even been on the upcoming one. We will go back to Disney I hope and I do believe they will continue to modify the system over time. But I'm not planning another trip there after this until I feel there is something in place that we can work with to suit what we want to get out of a vacation at WDW> I don't feel like being a guinea pig at rack rate in the summer months, or any other time for that matter. And NO I am not not trying to spite Disney or make a point or any other such nonsense that folk disliking the system have been told we are doing. When I pay for my vacation it needs to be something where I feel I got something for my money that allows me to justify the cost. Right now, I am not feeling that so we will sit Disney out until they make up their minds where they are going with this.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

Cars Land and WWOHP boosted attendance right out of the box. No need for P.R. spin, surveys about how to change it, scrambling to try to appease frustrated and angry fans, etc. No, they built it, and people came.

They gave us what we want, and they reaped the benefits -- and continue to do so. That sounds pretty much the opposite of what they "accomplished" with the Magic Bands and FP+.

By the way, the recent 1.5% attendance increase is directly attributable to the brutal winter which whalloped the east coast, and sent lots of people running to warmer climes. I live in Montreal; believe me, I know what I'm talking about.

I can't imagine it's not the winter. This has been the worst winter I remember here in the Midwest too. We've had so many sub-zero days, and we haven't seen the grass since before Christmas. We almost did yesterday, but then it snowed. Everyone is desperate to feel the sun again. We ran outside in t-shirts when it hit 45 degrees.

The great thing about WWHOP is that it not only gave attendance a huge boost, but the shops are money-making machines. DD is already begging for a $30 wand (how do we say no if it chooses her!), chocolate frogs, butterbeer and they haven't even seen what else is there. If I remember, things weren't perfect -- crowds were crazy and larger guests couldn't ride Forbidden Journey -- but it certainly has made plenty of money for Universal.

 

[EMode]

THIS!! The playing field has been leveled. Equal Opportunity! There's no more need for a strategy and super planners are now like, OMG I have nothing to do.

You have no idea what you are talking about here. First, FP- was true equal opportunity, super planners and late sleeper, fly by night guests all had the same opportunity to get their fast passes. If one of those groups didn't use their opportunity that is their problem.
FP+ does not level the playing field at all at this time. Until all guests can pre-book at 60 days out it won't be a level playing field, period.

Second, of course you still have to have a strategy, you are "locking in" your 3 rides 60 days in advance. (um hello, super planning).
You will still need to work around ADRs, you will still have to have a plan in place if you are lucky enough to get to your FP+ time and see the SB lines are really short and want to change your FP+ time or have to change to a different attraction. Etc, etc.


I get it though, for you its great because it now benefits how you want to tour. For some of us it does drastically change the way we have toured in the past. I don't want to spend more time in lines to do the things I have always been able to do there. I'm not one of those people who is just happy being there because its WDW afterall. Our family enjoys riding our favorites multiple times a day with as minimum wait as possible. I have never waited more than 20 minutes for any ride there, and that is during peak season. Now there is the potential for my waits to be doubled. Sorry but that is not how I want to spend my days at WDW, especially for what I'm paying to be there. It isn't about having instant gratification, its about weighing the value of my vacation money and time. I certainly don't think Disney owes me anything, especially not any of Walts blood but I don't have to shell out a ton of money to have my vacation experience diminished either. Luckily there are plenty of other options for families like mine.

 

[OtherScott]

Can they continue to advance, program and modify it over that time period? Perhaps. But as people's communication technology and habits shift, so will this product's usefulness. It won't take long before they'll be working with an antiquated system that costs more to maintain and update than is financially feasible.

Which is why, to my mind, they're trying NextGen in the first place. When I wrote that Disney knows your kids better than you do, this was the underlying point.

 

[OtherScott]

By the way, the recent 1.5% attendance increase is directly attributable to the brutal winter which whalloped the east coast, and sent lots of people running to warmer climes. I live in Montreal; believe me, I know what I'm talking about.

I'll have to take your word for it. I would have guessed that given the cost of air travel and a Disney vacation, plus work and school schedules, most people wouldn't be able to just up and run for Orlando based on the weather.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Read many of these posts and we have used FP+ already (AP and stayed on property.) HATE THEM. They takeaway flexibility and FORCE you to follow a set plan. Have two more trips on this AP planned and after that, won't renew for a long time. We don't live in Fla. and will go elsewhere. Don't get me wrong, we love WDW but it seems their customer satisfaction is no longer important to them. I hope they lose $$$ on this - and we have stock in Disney.

The limited flexibility is a big issue if you like a TS lunch. We are RD people and a nice relaxed lunch is a perfect break for us. In fact, our favorite break is going to the Grand Floridian Cafe. Love walking OUT of the park against the crowd streaming in, love the boat launch directly to the GF, quiet excellent and cheaper than in the park lunch, then one monorail ride back to MK. Being nailed down to specific times in the afternoon is going to make that more difficult.

We are with you !!!

We are 45 days away from our next trip ... 15 nights, at WDW. but we locked in by renting points 11 months in advance, well before any of this crap started to roll out. In fact, we upgraded to APs before we even had a sniff of the FP+ to come, planning on returning within the year ...

Our experience so far, even just pre-booking our FPs, we absolutely hate FP+. We are a group of 12, ranging in age from 11 to 67 .... people have different preferences for rides, and rides they just wont do.

FP+ has been a nightmare. Funny thing is, that 2 years ago this same group was together, with FP- ... and it was fluid. We went from attraction to attraction, where we wanted to pull FP, we did, where we didn't we didn't. We pulled, as a group, far more than 3FP per day. We started at RD, and went most of the day. Currently our plans, as messed up as they are, as many people they leave out as they do, every day we are out of the parks by 1:30pm at the latest ....

This system is just a complete fail for us ... this is probably the last big family WDW vacation.

That is pretty sad considering that when we came home last May, 2013, the first thing I did was order a DVC package, sure that we would make this a life choice. My wife and I are in our late 20s early 30s. The perfect age to start a family, invest in DVC, and make this our "thing" ... but these changes, have completely turned us off. I can't believe we are unique, but rather we are representative of a considerable portion (as I have seen on these boards) of the WDW guest. The improvements, marginal as they are for guests to WDW can't possibly convert a significant portion of guests to DVC/loyal WDW goers .... at least not in the way the old system did.

We will see how this all pans out ...

My heart goes out to you.

I've traveled 3 times with a groupe of 10. My parents hit me last minute with BTW we purchased the dining plan. Why they did that without talking to me made me mad. I had the TIW card plus the dining plan give you dessert. End result, mass confusion at bill time and there wasalways, always a delay gettting their two dessert. Like it was a conspiracy to keep us sitting there. Every meal. No one eats dessert!

My point. Increased inflexibility, increased time wasted.

So you'd like to compare the staggered rollout of an technological support system, spread across 4 theme parks, which began 6 months ago, is still in development, and whose final form is not yet known

with

a 12 acre physical attraction at a single site, that opened date-specific and has been open for over a year

Why?

No we are comparing standby lines since the start of FP+ limitations vs. previously.

They now have 60 days worth of data and thousands of guests. The MB give them a tremendous amount of data. Are guests using 3 and out? Are guests spending more than last year? If we've had a 1.5% increase in guest attendence but a 1.5% drop in spending?

To this I would just like to mention again that Disney plays a loooong game. Looking at immediate results is not very informative. And raising attendance is not the only way to increase parks revenue. You can also increase avg per guest spend... which they may have reason to believe this will do.

What if you raise park attendance but guest do 3 and out? What if total number of people/park go up but hours spent/ guest go down?

For instance, DHS we RD, ride what we want. Eat the the HBD wait out the last TSM FP-. Hit another park in the late afternoon. Now I am planning RD DHS back to hotel for lunch, then another park where I have FP+ later in the afternoon. The lack of a FP and long standby lines by 11AM have pushed me right out of the park. We've have never to my knowledge spent a whole day there.

3 rides and we are out.....That has been our experience at MK since FP+ has been "rolled" out. We are local so we only get to visit on weekends. Rides we used to never wait more than 15 minutes for now have 45+ minute waits. So until our passes expire when we go we will ride our three and leave. No meals, no gift shops, and little fun.

Agreed. Without a FP for the afternoon and increased SB lines. No sense hanging around.

same -- and only once have we been eligible for any of their surveys.

And I think they would actually get more intelligent responses about FP+ AFTER people had been in the parks.

Well, not exactly. If I am using MDE to book my FP+ but not in the park and am having a tough time narrowing down which 3 I am still USING the new technology. I am still a participant but not in the park.

Exactly. My budget is my budget, and that is determined long before setting foot on property. The # of FPs I get/day has no bearing on how much I spend.

As you should but the amount of credit card debt that the average American carries says to me not everyone handles their money so well. I would never, ever pay $2.50 for a Mickey Head anywhere else on the planet but we let the kids get one snack a day. I'm lucky, we plan for that, but what if you have no idea as a parent how hard that is to deny your kid that if it isn't planned for. Meaning, I'm sure every day, someone is blowing their budget at WDW.