NEWS: Disney reveals details on Walt Disney World MyMagic+

[A.J.]

It looks like you can assign priority levels to them as well. Neat!

[coasterfreak101]

Really can't wait to see how this works out! Glad they're taking this huge step now, hopefully we're getting close to the roll-out.

[MayTheGForceBeWithYou]

Looks nice! Knowing how crazy some FastPass rides get during peak times, I'm hoping this will help save some hectic trouble when it rolls out.

[Mechanic]

I will certainly reserve judgment until the plan unfolds and is fine tuned, but my initial impression is: Only 3 fast passes all day, really? I recall reading, perhaps in this thread, that part of the MyMagic program would be ride wait times updated and reservations made available accordingly throughout the day in order to better distribute crowds. That part really made sense to me. Did I misunderstand? Again, I'm not bashing the program, but rather trying to gain a better understanding of it.

[robbalvey]

I will certainly reserve judgment until the plan unfolds and is fine tuned, but my initial impression is: Only 3 fast passes all day, really? I recall reading, perhaps in this thread, that part of the MyMagic program would be ride wait times updated and reservations made available accordingly throughout the day in order to better distribute crowds. That part really made sense to me. Did I misunderstand? Again, I'm not bashing the program, but rather trying to gain a better understanding of it.

Yeah, I think you really need to wait and see how it unfolds. You're making the same mistake that those MiceChat crazies are making by thinking that the way things are *right now* is exactly how it's going to be forever.

 

Right now they still have Legacy FastPass and FP+ going simultaneously. Last weekend we were only at MK a few hours and we were able to use 5 FastPasses between the FP+ system and the normal FastPass. We probably would have ended up with at least 3-4 more had we stayed longer.

 

This is the FIRST TIME they are shutting off the legacy FastPass at a park and going to only FP+. I *guarantee* you part of this test is to see how many FP+ will be the right number per day, or perhaps it's even scaled based on availability like it is now.

 

This is going to be quite a major test and I don't expect to see final results of this for a while. But I DO expect to see changes and tweaks over the next few months.

 

Give it time. Disney isn't spending all this money to piss people off. Pissed off people don't spend money. Happy people spend lots. Their goal is to make you happy. And I'm confident they will get it right.

 

--Robb

Edited December 18, 2013 by robbalvey

[Mechanic]

This is going to be quite a major test and I don't expect to see final results of this for a while. But I DO expect to see changes and tweaks over the next few months.

 

Give it time. Disney isn't spending all this money to piss people off. Pissed off people don't spend money. Happy people spend lots. Their goal is to make you happy. And I'm confident they will get it right.

 

--Robb

 

Thanks for the reply Robb.

 

Since it's Disney, I'll certainly give them the benefit of the doubt. I truly do understand that it's in testing and will go through changes. I guess I was just disappointed that the part that I found most appealing didn't seem to be part of the initial roll out.

[robbalvey]

^ I think in order to grasp a handle on it, they had to reel it in. Just like how they had to enforce return times, etc. If you come into the park with too much flexibility, guests will set unrealistic expectations for themselves. But if you apply more restrictions, it's easier to let up on them over time than it is to do the opposite.

 

No one is going to get mad if they hear "We've gone from 3 to 4 FP+ per day", but they will freak out if they go from 4 to 3.

 

Get it?

Edited December 18, 2013 by robbalvey

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Have there been mad rushes to the FP kiosks shortly after opening by non-Resort guests who currently do not have access to advanced FP+ reservations?

[dylanreich]

Disney isn't spending all this money to piss people off.

/thread. Nicely said, Robb. Disney knows what they're doing and isn't just going to screw up something like this, it can only get better.

[bbomser]

I honestly love the things that Disney is doing with MyMagic+. The program has advanced leaps and bounds since it first started. One thing that has gone relatively unnoticed, is that at 2 of the 4 parks (Epcot and Hollywood Studios), they are semi-restricting your FP+ options.

 

At Epcot, you can choose one FP+ from Maelstrom, Soarin, Character Spot, Test Track, and I believe Illuminations (When Available). You choose two from the other attractions in the park. Gone are the days of FPing Soarin and TT. Honestly though, is FP+ really necessary for Spaceship Earth, Captain EO, or Living with the Land?

 

At Studios, you choose one from Fantasmic, Toy Story, Rock n Roller, and Beauty and Beast Stage Show. You can choose two from the other attractions. Not as bad, as there is still ToT, Star Tours, Lights! Motors! Action!, Indy and other good rides, but is FP+ really worth it for things like American Idol?

 

It will be interesting to see how they roll this out to MK and AK, as AK doesnt have 3 wildly popular rides where FP+ would be a necessity. At MK, I can see it working especially whenever Mine Train opens up.

[carolinacaniac]

Having a set number of FP+ uses in a day with the increased number of attractions to use it for may also help reduce the stand-by wait times as well. Personally, I would rather only have 3 Fast Passes and wait times of around 20-30 minutes for other attractions then to have 5-6 Fast Passes and 60+ minute waits for other attractions.

 

-Gary T.

[gisco]

It seems to me that with this new system it wouldn't take much to make any attraction a FP+. All you would need is to configure another entrance.

[robbalvey]

It seems to me that with this new system it wouldn't take much to make any attraction a FP+. All you would need is to configure another entrance.

Well, there is the kiosk for the FP+ cast member side of things that needs to be set up, the RFID contact points, all the wiring and electronics that go into it, the programming on the software side of thing, and most of the attractions have a separate queue, so unless a ride is already set up for normal FP adding FP+ is actually a fair bit of work.

[robbalvey]

Have there been mad rushes to the FP kiosks shortly after opening by non-Resort guests who currently do not have access to advanced FP+ reservations?

None that we have witnessed. Most of the guests aren't really aware of what FP+ even is. At least until today at DAK!

[A.J.]

The reason why Space Mountain had two separate queues in the first place was because it has two tracks, right? One queue for each track, then they decided to shove everyone into one queue and leave the other for Fastpass?

[bbomser]

It seems to me that with this new system it wouldn't take much to make any attraction a FP+. All you would need is to configure another entrance.

 

 

I think they have actually installed FP+ for every attraction. Even things like Captain EO, Living With The Land, and Spaceship Earth have FP+. If someone has better info, feel free to correct me haha.

[gisco]

It seems to me that with this new system it wouldn't take much to make any attraction a FP+. All you would need is to configure another entrance.

Well, there is the kiosk for the FP+ cast member side of things that needs to be set up, the RFID contact points, all the wiring and electronics that go into it, the programming on the software side of thing, and most of the attractions have a separate queue, so unless a ride is already set up for normal FP adding FP+ is actually a fair bit of work.

 

I don't entirely think so. All the hard work has been done. Wouldn't take much for a mobile kiosk with wireless so it could be set up a different rides as needed. The logic for the software is done so adding a ride should be no big deal. The biggest problem is the queue not being set up for two entrances. That would take some work.

[robbalvey]

It seems to me that with this new system it wouldn't take much to make any attraction a FP+. All you would need is to configure another entrance.

Well, there is the kiosk for the FP+ cast member side of things that needs to be set up, the RFID contact points, all the wiring and electronics that go into it, the programming on the software side of thing, and most of the attractions have a separate queue, so unless a ride is already set up for normal FP adding FP+ is actually a fair bit of work.

 

I don't entirely think so. All the hard work has been done. Wouldn't take much for a mobile kiosk with wireless so it could be set up a different rides as needed. The logic for the software is done so adding a ride should be no big deal. The biggest problem is the queue not being set up for two entrances. That would take some work.

Well, living out here and seeing first hand that it took them about a week to set up all the FP+ systems for each ride that didn't already have FastPass. They did actually construct the new kiosks, RFID points, signage, etc. So it wasn't like they just rolled out a computer and plugged it in. This is Disney. They put a bit of effort into these things.

 

If a week or so worth of front end/back end work and installations isn't considered "much" then I guess you're right.

Edited December 18, 2013 by robbalvey

[robbalvey]

For example, they have added new electronic signs that weren't there before. These required conceptual design, construction, installation and wiring. And that's just the sign. That doesn't include all the other equipment for the cast members, the RFID readers, etc...

On Spaceship Earth, for example, here is where the took the entire ride down for a week to construct the new entrance queues and FastPass+ signage and equipment:

Here is the RFID contact point for FP+ on Space Mountain. You can see it's not cheaply installed and it appears to have been there forever seamlessly integrated with the rest of the queue area.

[vine]

[/vine]

 

I don't think you can just slap FP+ onto any ride. It's going to take some planning and time. And then remember, on the software end of things, it has to be worked into that system. That probably means that all of the attractions have to be re-balanced to take into consideration there is a new attraction with new FastPass slots that have been added to the pool.

 

Again, I'm not speaking from any personal experience on the side of implementing all of this. But I have been around the parks a LOT while this has been going on, and I've been using the FastPass+ system personally as an end user.

 

Take that for what it's worth.

 

--Robb

Edited December 18, 2013 by robbalvey

[azza29]

^Robb - having seen the rollout at WDW, do you think that the Fastpass+ arrangement would be as effective at Disneyland/DCA, given the much greater proportion of locals visiting those parks?

[Moose]

This is an exciting next step in the implementation. It looks like they really are doing the rollout in a smart manner.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Have there been mad rushes to the FP kiosks shortly after opening by non-Resort guests who currently do not have access to advanced FP+ reservations?

None that we have witnessed. Most of the guests aren't really aware of what FP+ even is. At least until today at DAK!

 

Yeah, that's not too surprising considering how long it took most guests to figure out what legacy FP is/was. Hopefully it won't take a decade for misconceptions over FP+ to mostly work themselves out like it did legacy FP!

 

 

The reason why Space Mountain had two separate queues in the first place was because it has two tracks, right? One queue for each track, then they decided to shove everyone into one queue and leave the other for Fastpass?

 

No, many Disney rides had parallel queues to increase how many people could be in a queue at any one time. When FastPass came around, many of these parallel queues became Stand-By/FastPass with relative ease. But, instead of having both sides similarly full, it became one side stuffed with people all watching FP holders gleefully stroll by.

 

For example, Disneyland's Pirates had parallel queues until FP came. Then it went one side Stand-by, one side FP. After Pirates' FP machines were removed, parallel queues returned and are in use today.

[COASTER FREAK 11]

^Robb - having seen the rollout at WDW, do you think that the Fastpass+ arrangement would be as effective at Disneyland/DCA, given the much greater proportion of locals visiting those parks?

 

I would be very interested in seeing how this would word at Disneyland. They operate in such different ways, I do wonder if it'd be even worth the cost.

[robbalvey]

Interesting benefit to encourage upgrading to the parkhopper at a time whne Disney is going the other way with Fastpass+ discouraging park hopping.

This is actually not true for their long term plans. Don't be fooled into thinking that the way FastPass+ is right NOW is the way it will be forever. Remember, the system is still in "testing."

[denning]

Interesting benefit to encourage upgrading to the parkhopper at a time whne Disney is going the other way with Fastpass+ discouraging park hopping.

 

This is actually not true for their long term plans. Don't be fooled into thinking that the way FastPass+ is right NOW is the way it will be forever. Remember, the system is still in "testing."

 

I think is pretty clear that Fastpass+ today will be very different from what it becomes five years from now. My point is more than in the summer of 2014 the two companies seem to be taking very different paths. For Universal which needs to break the reputation of being a one day escape from disney it is a brilliant move. Can't wait to see how Disney reacts if this works.