I've read the writing on the wall, and its not a great big beautiful tomorrow

[capegirl]

We just went through our first FP+ adventure last week, and it was a learning experience. We enjoyed the convience of the magic bands, but we did not like the fact that we could no longer wake up in the morning and change parks without sacrificing FP's that had been in place for weeks, and since water parks are all about the weather, switching out days is not so simple anymore. The same was true for ADR's; if we did not cancel 24 hrs before we faced a penalty. FP + worked well for 7DMT, A&E , and Wishes, and Soarin. We found that by doing rope drop, we did not need FP+ for any other attractions. Our family pretty much feels as though the spontaneity we enjoyed with our previous Disney vacations is what made them special. As it stands now, there are consequences to consider if you decide to change your plans, and there lies the problem for us. Now that we have educated ourselves, our next Disney vacation will be very different. I hope that Disney will revisit some of their policies in order to enhance our future vacations with more flexibility.

 

[zeekinator]

I'm glad FP+ works for some guests. We have tried it 3 times and have come to the sad conclusion that our visits to WDW have ended. We're still really happy that we can visit DLR

 

[3DisneyFanz]

Well...I didn't like fp when we were there in Sept/Oct and I like it even less now. Clearly it doesn't work for us at all. We're going end of next week. I've read the posts of the few staunch fp+ supporters and I held out hope that perhaps what we experienced was an anomaly. For this trip it is actually worse(albeit some of it self imposed because of changes).
For those of you who read the saga of our friends on and off plans suffice to say they aren't coming. Prob a good thing at this point because I don't want to have to hire a Florida attorney to defend me when I commit murder(kidding )
Because of the their changes dh and I decided to make changes to suit ourselves better (our entire trip was booked around newbies)
I expected 7dmt to be difficult to rebook within the 30 day mark but I didn't expect near impossible. I say near because I have spent countless hours (and lost work hours) stalking until I was able to get 2 single solitary overlapping fp's at a time that works for us. Dh has been laughing at me because one would have thought I won the lottery.
Honestly what I didn't expect though was having trouble rebooking things like Buzz, which we now have rebooked but at a not so great time and this is still a week out.
We couldn't even get the character meet at Epcot as one of our 2nd tier fp's .
Based on this I took a glance around at our days at Disney which are now 7th,8th and 10th. I was amazed at how limited some things were. While some were easy to come by (Pirates), others were very limited in terms of time. While many were available at some point during the day, they wouldn't have worked for the hours we'd be in the parks.
Now I suppose if I were to stalk some of these secondary things I might get more luck but these were things pre fp+ that we never ever ever had more that short waits for in any pre fp+ trips.
Let me say this...for those of you who have been reading about fp+availability and haven't tried it yet, and you are not planning on long park days, do not assume that when you hear that you can wait until the last minute to book and still get most attractions that this is always the case. Matter of fact I would hazard a guess that if you are picky about times you will be unhappy with the results. Book your fp's as early as you can...and gawd forbid try to avoid making changes. Just because someone says they had "availability" on their days doesn't mean that there would be "availability " when you want it. If you are not fussy about times last minute might work for you, during this slower period "most" things were there, some more sporadic than others.

What they're banking on is people ignoring the level of ridiculousness it took to get the 7d FP+ and just be happy they got it.

 

[zeekinator]

What they're banking on is people ignoring the level of ridiculousness it took to get the 7d FP+ and just be happy they got it.

I think that works for a lot of things at Disney. They have a "feeding frenzy" for ADR's , the marathons, and some hard ticket events. I've read a lot of posts where the author is sharing their excitement over "scoring" a hard to get FP!

 

[AquaDame]

I think that works for a lot of things at Disney. They have a "feeding frenzy" for ADR's , the marathons, and some hard ticket events. I've read a lot of posts where the author is sharing their excitement over "scoring" a hard to get FP!

It's human nature.. for example I just had to stop myself from having second thoughts about trying to grab a BoG for our trip 180 days out from now even though I KNOW we thought it was terrible the last time we were there. But, "...its so popular! What am I missing?! What if I regret it?!" sigh.... thankfully I've been honing my self control.

 

[Davey Jones II]

It's human nature.. for example I just had to stop myself from having second thoughts about trying to grab a BoG for our trip 180 days out from now even though I KNOW we thought it was terrible the last time we were there. But, "...its so popular! What am I missing?! What if I regret it?!" sigh.... thankfully I've been honing my self control.

You thought BOG was terrible? May I ask why? (we have yet to eat there, or even set foot in the building -- sure looks nice from the outside, anyway).

 

[eliza61]

You thought BOG was terrible? May I ask why? (we have yet to eat there, or even set foot in the building -- sure looks nice from the outside, anyway).

Not the poster but just wanted to answer. I didn't think it was "terrible", I think like many new places it's way over-hyped. I've only had lunch there.
The castle is beautiful, no doubt about it. I had the Roast beef, my sons had the turkey and the grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. they were ok.
One of those places where you try once and then you're good.
My crew laughed at the breakfast menu. I've got all guys in my family and we eat!!!

So would I eat there again?? maybe. I was going with a newbie who just wanted to eat in the castle. would I ever stalk the net to get an ADR?? no

 

[Praying Colonel]

^Agree re BOG. We've had lunch there a few times and had dinner there once. The ambience is great, but there's not a thing that's memorable about the food--even less than your average WDW QS/TS.

As to the topic, I've stayed away from FP+ threads for awhile because it's clear WDW is going to stick with the current FP+ product and probably not make any more significant changes to it. Many people like FP+ and many people don't, but what we have is what we've got. Just makes me sad that Disney saw the demand issue and chose to deal with that by going with an expensive ride-rationing sytem instead of adding attractions.

 

[AquaDame]

You thought BOG was terrible? May I ask why? (we have yet to eat there, or even set foot in the building -- sure looks nice from the outside, anyway).

I've only had lunch there.

Touche to eliza61 - lunch there is great and I have an ADR for lunch for our upcoming trip, it is dinner that we thought was terrible. The main dining area feels like a cafeteria (a very pretty one mind you) and it is very loud. The drink stations are distracting to boot, so it feels a little off as a sit down IMO though it works great as a QS.

Check in took forever (ok, thats common enough) and they have you wait outside (not that common). Service at dinner was very slow and our food came out cold - my husband ordered a steak and I had the puff pastry. Both were pretty small, he said the steak was not great, there was not much to either of our sides they are served with. My pastry was not great cold - maybe I'd have liked it better if it came hot but regardless it was pretty small and I am NOT a big eater. Thankfully we also split an appetizer, I can never turn down onion soup and each had a beer and we split a cupcake. At the time we went, the only beer option was the Chimays which are $11 EACH. That hurt but I do see they have cheaper options now.

When it opened they touted that it was a REASONABLY PRICED meal, but we typically split entrees at other locations easily, these were far too small for it. I was also miffed that the onion soup is more at dinner than the exact same serving for lunch to the tune of a 50% increase. The total - with a table in wonderland discount - was well over $100 for the two of us which is about the same as we paid for a very lovely and memorable meal at the Yachtsman steakhouse. I get that they're two different kinds of experiences, but given that you can have a great meal and enjoy the ambiance at lunch far easier than 'snagging' a dinner, it just doesn't make sense to hemorrhage money when a much better meal can be had for the same amount.I don't mind dropping $150 on a meal if its GOOD and I enjoyed myself but we didn't. The final kicker is that a kid barfed all over the table next to us and they took a very long time cleaning it up (but honestly that can happen anywhere, I just wish they'd have been able to do it faster than 20 minutes while we were trying to eat).

TLDR; We walked out kicking ourselves for paying what we did. It was slow, cold food with some options that are just plain cheaper at lunch, and expensive even compared to signature meals.

 

[Davey Jones II]

That's disappointing, considering all the BOG hype. Thanks for the detailed response, though.

Quick question: if we book a breakfast ADR, can we have a minimal breakfast, e.g. some coffee with a danish? Or is there some minimum that you have to shell out with your reservation? Obviously, I would be booking mostly to get first crack at 7DMT, and wouldn't want to eat much before jumping on a coaster ride anyway.

 

[WillAustin]

TLDR; We walked out kicking ourselves for paying what we did. It was slow, cold food with some options that are just plain cheaper at lunch, and expensive even compared to signature meals.

We didn't really like it either. The constant and endless parade of people moving past our table to take a picture of the rose didn't help.

 

[mom2rtk]

We didn't really like it either. The constant and endless parade of people moving past our table to take a picture of the rose didn't help.

The time we ate in the West Wing was cool, but definitely had its hassle factor. For me it wasn't as much about the number of people coming in, but the flashes that kept going off every time my eyes adjusted to the dark.

 

[cakebaker]

That's disappointing, considering all the BOG hype. Thanks for the detailed response, though.

Quick question: if we book a breakfast ADR, can we have a minimal breakfast, e.g. some coffee with a danish? Or is there some minimum that you have to shell out with your reservation? Obviously, I would be booking mostly to get first crack at 7DMT, and wouldn't want to eat much before jumping on a coaster ride anyway.

There is 1 set price per person. You don't have to eat it all, but you do have to buy it. So your desire for coffee and pastry will cost you the same as the full breakfast.

On the reviews- you're going to hear it's the worst place on earth from some people, that it's the best thing since sliced bread from others. We've had lunch there twice and thought it was quite good- and the best qs in the parks, for both the food and atmosphere. We would not do dinner there because while it has all the features of sit down dining- it's still qs with a higher price. We find we can get all we want out of it at lunch!

 

[itchin2go]

It's human nature.. for example I just had to stop myself from having second thoughts about trying to grab a BoG for our trip 180 days out from now even though I KNOW we thought it was terrible the last time we were there. But, "...its so popular! What am I missing?! What if I regret it?!" sigh.... thankfully I've been honing my self control.

ME TOO! We thought our lunch there was really sub-standard, but I entertained the thought of booking again anyway ... just because I *could*, and it's a hot ticket. Same with Anna and Elsa. No one in our family cared to do this at all, but whenever I saw a FP available, I was tempted to jump on it. Crazy. Luckily I didn't "bite" on either one of those things.

 

[Planogirl]

We didn't really like it either. The constant and endless parade of people moving past our table to take a picture of the rose didn't help.

We didn't take a picture but we did walk by some tables to get a closer look.

I was OK with the lunch we had there. We had the pork dish and the ham and cheese sandwich and I would rate them as passable but not great. It was fun to finally see the place though.

 

[cindyfan]

I hear you. Going through many changes with WDW has been par for the course over the years- so it's not about merely disliking change. IMO, the fact that FP+ makes some offsiters feel like second class seems very un-Disneyesque in the grand scheme. Perceptions are everything, too. Legacy FP seemed to continue in the all-welcoming tradition of Walt Disney himself, no matter where you stayed. Sure, everyone knows Disney is a business, but until FP+ it didn't feel like a business being pushed in your face. Now, if you're offsite- unfortunately the business aspect is front and center with onsiters having the advantage at 60 days. And most of us know that there are a few strategies to try to work-around this hurdle; however, nothing can compare to how you used to be able to just walk into a park with just your ticket for admission and all FP's were open to everyone equally.

OMG.... you hit it right on the head with this...... The last couple years I keep thinking the same thing.... it FEELS too much like a BUSINESS!! And I even find myself using this as an excuse for some not-so-friendly experiences! "well they are trying to run a business!" There are some higher-ups that just have lost sight of what us old-timers see as the true feeling of Magic!
Back to the OP and FP+.... there's a whole new strategy that needs to be learned now! and it's not always going to work out... sad to say! I will just wait and see what it's like after our June trip!

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

We get FPs for 7 Dwarves all the time, sometimes same day. It can definitely be done. Of course, booking early is better, which I always recommend....

 

[MMluvsWDW]

This is interesting because maybe the general "need" at disney has changed. We spend days upon days at EPCOT and the other parks because there is so much to do other than rides. I think the focus has maybe changed and people simply want rides rather than to just experience the parks. Disney is so much more than rides to me and we preface that whenever we take anyone. It's not just another six flags. It's an overall experience.

 

[Marmles]

Keep trying. We went during spring break, booked everything very last minute (less than a week ahead) and still got fast passes for everything we wanted. I even cancelled/rescheduled FP several times and still got on everything. We rode Mine Train seven times in three days! Three times were with FP, the rest were at rope drop or last ride of the night (midnight). The longest we waited was forty minutes.

I just booked our next trip for this coming week....yeah, I really am a last minute person...
At first it looked like I couldn't get FP for Mine Train so I chalked it up to the fact that we are staying off property (for the first time ever). But I just tried again and got it!

 

[SPSRAS]

Everything that I have read indicates that Mine train at rope drop is not an effective strategy, that you'll still end up waiting 40 mins + End of day is not a great option for young kids, especially when the park closes late. I will try during fireworks, but it is certainly not going to be as effective as a FP, and I will certainly end up waiting longer, which is not ideal, and really my whole point.

I also understand that it is not a great ride, for an adult, but I'm not talking about adults, I'm talking about a 5 year old. A 5 year old who has watched that stupid mine train promo on Disney junior countless times.

But really, this thread isn't about Mine Train, that's this trips disappointment, I'll figure something out, or I wont. The thing really is, if this was one isolated incident, it wouldn't be so bad, but its going to be every new ride, for the forseeable future.

We rode at RD 2 weeks ago and I would disagree. We arrived at MK at 8:15. My DH was near the front (on the right) just before you go under the walkway to wait for RD. Me and my DD stood by the big tree to watch the pre-show. Just as it was ending we joined DH. I do have to admit that the walk to 7DMT was a bit stressful. It was fine for adults but my DD did have a hard time keeping up - but I had her tightly by the hand and just kept reassuring her. It only takes a few minutes. When you get to the hub a CM announces - this way to MT - and breaks off on the right through tomorrow land - by the teacups. We walked right on the ride and were off at 9:06. I asked my DD if the crowded and fast walk was worth it and she said she wanted to do it again the next day!