NEWS: Disney reveals details on Walt Disney World MyMagic+

[azza29]

The latest update at MiceChat

 

Here's your problem. Much of the "news" this site puts out is riddled with hysteria, and unfortunately they seem to believe their own hyperbole too much to make any effort to change. Miceage artlces are the worst offender - rumours dressed up as fact. Occasionally they get something vaguely right and then point to that as evidence that they are "accurate".

 

The comments, on the other hand, can be (unintentionally) hilarious...

[jray21]

Miceage artlces are the worst offender - rumours dressed up as fact.

 

That's what annoys me most about their articles. A lot of their articles seem to not even qualify as a rumor because they are so far fetched and ridiculous, yet they write them as if they are 100% factual.

[cfc]

As others have said, Mice Chat is the Fox News of Disney sites.

[robbalvey]

Oh, god did one of our members just post something from MiceChat and thought it should be taken seriously???

 

MiceChat is the Fox News... Wait, no... The Weekly World News of theme park sites.

 

They post things just to get page views. Nothing they write is ever grounded in any sort of reality.

 

Please don't quote them on TPR.

 

Thanks.

 

--Robb

[Rollercoaster Rider]

Actually I quoted a Screamscape post that included them. I apologize. I didn't know that rule.

[robbalvey]

Actually I quoted a Screamscape post that included them. I apologize. I didn't know that rule.

There's no "rule" I just expect our members to know better that anything posted to MiceChat is complete crap.

Edited November 29, 2013 by robbalvey

[jray21]

Unless it's for comedic effect, which is pretty much all MiceChat is good for.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Reads just like a tabloid news article whose headline would be "BOB IGER'S SHOCKING SHUT DOWN OF WALT DISNEY IMAGINEERING!!!"

 

Weekly World News of theme park sites indeed...

[Jew]

^Tabloids have better grammar. The subtitle of the article says "effect" instead of "affect."

[A.J.]

So, Theme Park Tourist posted something about MyMagic+ stuff, you can find it here -

 

http://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20131213/15317/weekly-orlando-theme-parks-rumor-and-refurbs-update-december-14-2013

 

After reading it I have a question. So, with normal guests being able to do Fastpass+ reservations at kiosks at the front of the park at the beginning of their day, does this mean that "go get a Fastpass whenever, come back in several hours" will no longer be a thing?

 

That seems like it would be super-inconvenient for park hoppers if that's the case. They hop to their second park in the afternoon, stop by the kiosk to reserve ride times, and they're all gone!

 

In fairness, I know that certain attractions (Toy Story Mania comes to mind) run out of their normal Fastpass allocation really early in the day anyway.

[COASTER FREAK 11]

The new system 'should' operate the same as the old for non-resort staying guests. The only difference is they can only get 3 Fastpasses a day instead of the unlimited Fatspasses that the original system used. I didnt think you were able to make all 3 ride reservations at the kiosks. (I could be wrong, and the company can change the policy to fit the guests needs as they see fit) Has anyone used the in-park kiosks that didn't have a magic band?

[ernierocker]

 

After reading it I have a question. So, with normal guests being able to do Fastpass+ reservations at kiosks at the front of the park at the beginning of their day, does this mean that "go get a Fastpass whenever, come back in several hours" will no longer be a thing?

 

 

I don't think that was ever supposed to be a "thing", the system was being abused by guests and the lack of enforcement by the employees.

 

Looking forward to reading reports of how this plays out at Animal Kingdom.

[A.J.]

I don't think that was ever supposed to be a "thing", the system was being abused by guests and the lack of enforcement by the employees.

From my understanding, you could always (even up until now) get a new Fastpass after two hours regardless of how many you had already (I was merchandise, not attractions, so please someone correct me if I'm wrong).

 

The thing that guests abused and cast members didn't enforce was the return window - they let you in even if the your return window had passed, essentially giving you quick access to the ride up until the end of the day.

 

I know that they've cracked down on that recently, but I've been under the impression that even now you could still get a new Fastpass after several hours regardless of whether the one you had in your hand was good or not.

[COASTER FREAK 11]

I don't think that was ever supposed to be a "thing", the system was being abused by guests and the lack of enforcement by the employees.

From my understanding, you could always (even up until now) get a new Fastpass after two hours regardless of how many you had already (I was merchandise, not attractions, so please someone correct me if I'm wrong).

 

The thing that guests abused and cast members didn't enforce was the return window - they let you in even if the your return window had passed, essentially giving you quick access to the ride up until the end of the day.

 

I know that they've cracked down on that recently, but I've been under the impression that even now you could still get a new Fastpass after several hours regardless of whether the one you had in your hand was good or not.

 

You are correct, the system allows for anew fast pass after 2 hours. I don't think that has changed with the new system and the old system is still running that way. The only new thing is the limit of 3 Fastpasses per day, but I can see that changing later.

[azza29]

I've heard reports that Fastpasses are "running out" earlier on most attractions - is this due to the increased usage across the board now that all resort guests have a MyMagic+ wristband? I'm thinking that people who wouldn't have bothered with the FP program in the past are now aware of it, and so there's a greater number of people making reservations across the board.

[SharkTums]

^I go to the parks a lot, have an annual pass and a magic band. I was there on a super busy holiday Saturday (thanks Derek) and there were still fast passes for tons of major attractions at 6pm when we headed out.

[azza29]

^That's good to hear. I was sort of wondering how exaggerated the situation had been. Definitely felt like I was a bit of a slave to the paper FP system on my last trip to Disneyland, so I really like the idea of being able to turn up to a park in the afternoon having already booked my FPs beforehand.

[A.J.]

Maybe I'm just confused. Is the ability to reserve ahead of time the only difference between Fastpass Plus and regular Fastpass?

[Garet]

The mad-dashs around tokyo disney parks will certainly be different if the system ever goes there.

[TPDave]

Maybe I'm just confused. Is the ability to reserve ahead of time the only difference between Fastpass Plus and regular Fastpass?

 

That and the number of uses is capped per day.

 

Has there been any more word on purchasing extra rides with FP+ or are they going to hold off for a while?

[robbalvey]

This should be VERY interesting to see how this goes! My thoughts...

 

1. I'm really happy to see them doing a test like this. I think they are doing it at the right park and at the right time. It's a busy park, but not insane like MK. And doing it during a busy time like this could give them some "worst case scenario" data.

 

2. I didn't expect the normal FastPass machines to be turned off this quickly, but it's sort of the "rip the band-aid off" approach. Hope it goes well.

 

3. Will be very curious to see if the "three attractions at a time" thing actually turns out to be enough or if they need to expand that later down the road.

 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-disney-mymagic-plus-testing-20131217,0,6863038.story

 

Walt Disney World, which has been slowly rolling out elements in its billion-dollar MyMagic+ technology project in recent months, is about to launch one of its broadest tests yet.

 

Beginning Wednesday, Disney will have all visitors to Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park — including day-trippers and guests staying at off-property hotels — use its new "FastPass+" ride-reservation system, which will allow them to book times for up to three attractions.

 

At the same time, Disney will for the first time turn off its existing FastPass system in Animal Kingdom, the paper-ticket-based reservation system that Disney World visitors have been using for more than a decade. Under the paper system, guests can generally get only FastPasses for one ride at a time, though they can also ultimately obtain more than three per day.

 

There will be several restrictions. Offsite visitors will only be permitted to make their ride reservations once they arrive at the theme park at various in-park kiosks, unlike travelers staying in Disney-owned hotels who can book ride times weeks in advance through a Disney website. And offsite visitors will not be issued "MagicBands," the rubber bracelets equipped with microchips that are another key component of MyMagic+.

 

Disney says it intends to eventually allow offsite guests to book ride times before their visits, though it is unclear when that will begin. Company executives once hoped to have MyMagic+ fully launched by this fall, but it is now aiming for some time in 2014.

 

News of the Animal Kingdom test was first reported earlier this week by the Disney-focused website, WDWMagic.com.

 

Disney is trying out the new systems with a bigger audience at a challenging time. The next two weeks — encompassing the Christmas and New Year holidays — are among the most intensely busy periods of the year for the giant resort, although Animal Kingdom and Disney's Hollywood Studios draw far smaller crowds than the Magic Kingdom or Epcot.

[azza29]

3. Will be very curious to see if the "three attractions at a time" thing actually turns out to be enough or if they need to expand that later down the road.

 

Do you mean if three Fastpasses is enough to make guests happy, or if there will be enough Fastpass availability to give everyone three each day? I don't think there's anything stopping Disney from adding FP+ to more attractions - "hey kids, how about a Fastpass for Captain EO or the Tiki Room?"

 

I'm interested to see how the new setup plays out, anyway. I suspect for the most part the best park visit strategy will remain pretty much the same (ride the headliners early, late, or during a parade) with the main difference being that Fastpasses will be easier to book, even if there are fewer of them available each day.

[SharkTums]

I wish I had a life outside of Kristen's school (damn volunteering, PTA, and Christmas parties!!!) so I could go watch this!!!

[A.J.]

Now that I think about it, there aren't many attractions in Animal Kingdom that I would even consider using on Fastpass anyway - definitely Expedition Everest, maybe Kilimanjaro Safaris, maybe Kali River Rapids (though back in 2011 they weren't using Fastpass for it at all), maybe Dinosaur.

 

Anyone who's visiting Animal Kingdom - do they have posted stand-by times near the kiosks for you to judge your allocation?

[robbalvey]

^ This is why it's a good test. Here are the options for what I could currently book for Animal Kingdom on FP+

There is just enough to see if the current options will be enough for the infrequent visitors, but not too many that it would totally impact someone's day if everything imploded.

 

I still maintain that every time I see Disney make a move on testing, it always seems to be the RIGHT move. I couldn't really think of a better park or a better time to do this at to get some really good data points on how to move forward.