Lines to get in GE or the rest of the park?

[ORD2KOA]

I have a hard time feeling bad for FL residents (I wish I was one). The $699 gold AP pays for itself in the equivalent of 3 single day PH tickets, and most of the DS hotels can be had for the low $100's which have EMH & 60 day privileges. That is a lot cheaper than what out of state people would pay for a vacation (not taking into account travel costs as well).

I think the big driver also what several other people on this thread have mentioned - if FL AP holders can book FP's 60 days out, how is that enforced so they don't hold a spot that's then wasted if they decide not to go to the park that day?

I think that if they didn't need the steady income from APs and Florida residents, they wouldn't sell the specially priced tickets, and would stop advertising for us to come to the parks and stay at the hotels. I think some tourists would be surprised by the number of locals that are in the parks with them, spending money on "stuff" and food (I'm convinced this is now their biggest profit item) and also supporting WDW and spending money when tourists are not here in Orlando for one reason or another.

They don't enforce a "wasted" FP if tourists don't show up either. It just makes the line move faster. ;-)

 

[Laurie DeUmberto]

WDW in general is also a lot bigger and has a lot going on. Not to mention more people at all times of the year. I believe tends to get more local attendance throughout the year compared to WDW, which gets a lot more tourist attendance, not to mention international tourists. That's why comparisons between DL and WDW are sometimes apples to oranges. I really don't think doing away with the current system would benefit people overall.

DL has a lot of attractions in a much smaller space and it still works better. I am a DVC member @ Boulder Ridge Villas so I do go to WDW frequently and understand how large it is. The current system does not work for all- Fla. residents, large groups like senior high school trips who are staying on site but can not book FP in advance because of the large group reservation, etc. The wait times are so off when 100 or more FP people show up at the same time and the stand by line does not move. The lines would move quicker and wait times would be more accurate if everyone was in the same situation. And now with certain non Disney hotels getting the same 60 day booking window and magic hours, it makes it even more difficult for those who can only book 30 days in advance.

 

[Laurie DeUmberto]

We were at DLR last summer. MaxPass was a fantastic feature. We rode so much so often that I lost track. Shhh, don't tell Disney but I'd gladly pay double what they are charging for MaxPass. Too bad we won't see it at WDW.

I AGREE! Wish I lived closer to DL! It was crowded and I still saw 2-3 x more attractions than w/the current WDW system.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I am a lifelong DL park-goer and due to the elimination of RunDisney events in CA, I've been going to WDW 2-4x a year for the past few years. I agree with the PP who said that they should have put in Maxpass rather than FP+. It is a far superior system and enables far more rides than the current WDW system--we're talking literally the difference from doing a handful of rides a day at WDW to triple that at DL. Epcot and HS are ridiculous with the tiers--you can literally get a FP for one good ride. They could "reward" hotel guests by making it free as long as they buy tickets or have a pass or something like that. IMO the FP+systems sucks--even for someone like me who travels and stays on site. My longest trips are 4-5 nights and that is often not long enough to get the big rides except at off hours on the last day. I sometimes get lucky, but that's rare. I hope the Genie system (this was the first I've heard about it) is more like Max+.

 

[fletch1027]

DL has a lot of attractions in a much smaller space and it still works better. I am a DVC member @ Boulder Ridge Villas so I do go to WDW frequently and understand how large it is. The current system does not work for all- Fla. residents, large groups like senior high school trips who are staying on site but can not book FP in advance because of the large group reservation, etc. The wait times are so off when 100 or more FP people show up at the same time and the stand by line does not move. The lines would move quicker and wait times would be more accurate if everyone was in the same situation. And now with certain non Disney hotels getting the same 60 day booking window and magic hours, it makes it even more difficult for those who can only book 30 days in advance.

It's not even as good for the 60 day FP people. I'll use our trip next week as an example. We are staying 3 nights at Copper Creek and when our 60 day FP window opened, we were on there right at the moment our window opened - all FP's for SDD were already gone for the whole day we will be at DHS. Taken by people with longer reservations than us - meaning they are staying 5-6+ nights, and not doing DHS until the end of their stay, but when the 1st night of their reservation was 60 days out they can get FP's for the whole trip, so by 62-63 days out FP's for stuff like SDD are already gone. I understand that people that can't book at all or can't book until 30 days have it rough, but even 60 days out people get hosed also... :-(