Reviews of FastPass+
Reviewed by dailey71 Review Date: 06/15/2014
Rating: (0) Recommended
While it was nice to not have to make a mad dash for a fast pass kiosk as soon as the park gate opened, you were limited to which rides you could reserve them. The system also wouldn't let you get passes for only certain members of your group. It was all or nothing. We did find that if you let your pass time expire, you could then set up any fast pass you wanted to replace it.
Pros:
no having to run for fast pass kiosks when park opensCons:
limited amount of fast passes, ride categoriesReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 12/20/2018
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
We used the FastPass system yesterday on a trip to Magic Kingdom. We were unsure of what day we were to be able to go so we were walking in without anything booked until park opening. Of course the big attractions were not available (Seven Dwarfs, Splash Mountain, ect) but we were optimistic that we would still have plenty of ride opportunities thru the day even if we had to wait a bit. Well, we were wrong! All the wait times were astronomical and the park wasn’t even crazy crowded. The line attendees would let 2 or 3 families thru, and then literally 30 people with FastPass. Most wait times were 65-105 minutes! We have been going to Disney for 16 years now and have never experienced such an awful experience. Basically Disney punishes those who don’t plan their vacation weeks and weeks in advance and if you don’t commit to your day we’ll in advance, you’re likely to be spending your whole day in lines only to ride 6-7 rides. For over $100 a ticket, that’s pretty ridiculous. Also, with Florida’s unpredictability in weather, it use to be nice to move your park days around if rain chances went from 10% to 90% in 24 hours and you were facing huge downpours to continue to commit to your park day. If you’re going to give preference and privilege to those who book weeks in advance, give a ‘last minute trip’ customer a discount. We could not be any more disgusted with the new system and will definitely be looking into other attractions that more fairly treat their well paying customers.
Pros:
Wonderful experience if you’re game to plan every minute of your vacation weeks or months in advance and have zero flexibility in your time at the parks.Cons:
No flexibility, no opportunity for decent wait times unless planned far in adavance.Reviewed by lynmar Review Date: 08/09/2018
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
We haven't been to Disney for a few years and this was our first experience with the new FastPass. We were incredibly disappointed with it. It makes visiting the parks stressful and we were constantly looking at our phones and watches. It takes away from the magic of the experience. I have been there at peak times before and I feel like it changed the flow of the lines and made it worse. I love Disney, but this was very poorly thought out.
Pros:
noneCons:
allReviewed by HouTam Review Date: 12/18/2017
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
I hate this horrible system. Disney came up with this system solely for their own benefit -squeeze more people into the park by spreading them out into attractions they don't really want to be in.
Unless you plan two months in advance, forget about riding your favorite attraction without a 2+ hour wait.
If you are a local AP holder, you can forget about enjoying last minute trips because FPs are not available.
Horrible horrible system
Pros:
NothingCons:
EverythingReviewed by promopete Review Date: 01/22/2015
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
The bottom line is this system was designed to make you stay at Disney longer to get in all the main attractions - and just like a casino, the longer you stay at Disney, the more $$$ you give back to Disney.
Look at it this way...I'm an able bodied person, and if not me, the kids in my family are, or someone in our party is. In the old system, someone could collect everyone's tickets, run across the park and FP everyone at once at a popular attraction, and return to the group. We did this all day. 1 day at each park was enough, because we could FP almost everything and rarely had to wait in a line - so we were operating all day at optimal efficiency.
FP Plus is a Disney Trojan Horse. It is a business plan wrapped in a shiny wrapper. On the surface it looks great - you seemingly have control of your trip in the palm of your hands. Make FP plans, Dining Reservations, all with the app and magic band.
But it strips you of so many things. The tiered FP system means your are no longer as efficient as you could be. Want to make a change just on a whim, or due to weather, or just because? Well, those FP times are gone, along with all the others because people started booking those months ago.
Disney has crossed the line from the thrill and fun of planning a trip with your family, to now micro-managing your trip down to the minute. It's just no longer enjoyable. Gone are the days of getting everything in at 1 park on 1 day, and I guess that is the point.
Pros:
None. Old system was better.Cons:
More time micro-managing trip, less time having funReviewed by lstehle Review Date: 01/21/2015
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
We had been Disney regulars a while back. We mastered the old FastPass experience by timing our location and hitting all the rides and using the FastPass to do it efficiently. This new way is terrible. Like the other reviewers, you have to have planned out your trip weeks in advance to get any great times. I was 28 days out to plan a trip to Magic Kingdom and all the times for the roller coasters were in the late afternoon or midnight. We are annual pass holders and like to hit the parks in the morning and leave by afternoon. I liked my FastPass printed out, not having to take a picture. You spend more time trying to select times, make adjustments later. I liked walking past the select rides that had the FastPass before, saw the time from a distance of when the FastPass ticket would be and then make my decision whether I wanted to do it or wait in line. We are just so disappointed with this.
Pros:
I guess less time waiting in a lineCons:
Restrictive, not an efficient way to see the parkReviewed by John Review Date: 12/07/2014
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
The new FP+ system have taken away from any freedom that one might have had. Now you have to pre-plan every day.
I personally hate the new system.
Pros:
Allow long range planningCons:
Have destroyed the MagicReviewed by SarahL78 Review Date: 11/02/2014
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
I've been a frequent WdW visitor for years and I'm quite a planner, but this system truly marks the death of any spontaneity in the parks. I am not a robot. I am on vacation. I don't want to choose exactly which park and which particular day and every ride-time a month in advance! If something changes, or there is an unforeseen circumstance, I'm screwed. I resent being glued to my phone. The system was fine. If it ain't broke don't fix it. I am far less likely to park hop for the reasons stated in the reviews above. I echo all the criticisms in the reviews on this site. I like a bit of flexibility at wdw - maybe I want to change plans and go over to Epcot one day and try for a fast pass for test track. Ha! Impossible now. The tiered system is a rip off. I'm taking every opportunity at guest services to tell Disney that this is trip-planning overkill. For first time visitors, this must be truly overwhelming. Walt would've hated this. I'm rethinking my decisions as to when and how often to go to WDW, and Will spend more time at Disneyland, where my day is flexible, I call the shots, and I don't have to deal with this truly anal retentive nonsense.
Pros:
NoneCons:
Lack of flexibility, unable to access as many attractions as before, spontaneity is gone, and everything else about this productReviewed by Villeguy Review Date: 10/22/2014
Rating: (1) Recommended
We had a horrible experience with Fast Pass+ on our trip last year and I am sorry to report it was the same this year (09/28/14 to 10/08/14). We can't understand how anyone like us who starts their days in the parks in the early afternoon and like all their so called thrill rides worth it. The tiers at EPCOT are unbearable. We were in Disney World for 10 days and were only able to ride Test Track once! We had to waste more fast passes on attractions we had to pick and not show up because we had absolutely no interest in riding. Once at EPCOT Maelstorm was not running, so we could not use or fast pass. When we received a message (about an 15 to 20 minutes after our original fast pass time had expired) that another fast pass was available, we were pretty excited. When we looked at our choices of attractions it was a joke (due to the tiers). We actually looked at each other and laughed. With our Hopper, one day, we were at EPCOT in the afternoon and heading to the Magic Kingdom in the evening. We actually had to wait until our last fast pass at EPCOT was expired (which was kind of late in the day due to the tier choices). We didn't ride the attraction, we used our bands at the attractions then got out of line and headed over to the Magic Kingdom. When we got to the Magic Kingdom and saw the line just for the fast pass kiosk, we looked at each other and laughed again. You have everyone trying to get a fast pass for every attraction in one line. There is no way to tell after all the waiting there will be a fast pass for the attraction you wanted. In the old days only the people who wanted a fast pass for that attraction would be in that fast pass area and you would be able to tell if there were any passes available by the machines that were not covered. Oh my god, the stand by lines this year were the worst we ever experienced. We have been coming to Disney World in the Fall for the past 10 years at the end of September because there were never any lines. We felt the trade off was that the parks closed early. This year the parks closed early and from what we experienced Fast Pass+ added 20 to 30 minutes longer waits on the Stand By lines. We rode less attractions this year than any other year. Starts to make you wonder if it's really worth the expense of a Disney World vacation.
Pros:
Nothing I Could SeeCons:
Longer Lines and Wasted Fast PassesReviewed by StacyLovesDisney Review Date: 07/20/2014
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
I am a planner by nature and thought I would love this product. However, after using the FastPass+ system twice, I have decided this is not a great addition to Walt Disney World.
Problem #1--My family got the flu as soon as we arrived to WDW--domino style. First son, then me. I had to spend a day and a half in the hotel room. This meant all of my fast passes for Tues. were unusable. I had to switch around my park days to accommodate a must do breakfast at Hollywood Studios. What did this mean?
*Some attractions were already "sold out" because people get to choose what they want before arrival. We missed a few of our favs.
*When the grandpa got the flu, grandma had to switch around her days to join my kids and me. She had to go wait at Guest Relations for them to change around her Fast Passes.
*The grandma's fast pass times did not sync up with what we had scheduled.
*All the fast passes that were wasted and unused on the days the family couldn't make it to the theme parks could have been used by others who were actually at the parks.
Problem#2 I do not have a smart phone. I have to carry around return times on a piece of paper. Terrible on the day when I forgot my sheet of paper with the times.
Problem #3 The portable iPads would not work on my MagicBand, so I was told I'd have to go to Guest Services at the FRONT of each park to have a Fast Pass modified.
Problem #4 Waiting in Line to get a Fast Pass at a Kiosk. LONG LINES!!! I did the parks a couple of days w/ 2 kids, age 8 and age5-by myself w/o adult help. They couldn't last in a long line in the heat.
Problem #5--My husband decided at the last minute to join us at MK on our last day (he had been golfing each day minus the sick days) When we got to MK NONE of our Fast Pass times would sync with our band. Here we go again. He could not ride any of those rides with us---one of which was Splash Mountain. Kids disappointed Daddy couldn't go with them.
Problem #6--We finish our day in the parks around 2-3pm so kids can go enjoy resort pool. When one has to modify a fast pass the morning times or early afternoon times have been taken. So, we either didn't get to ride some of them. We had to leave Hollywood Studios in the early afternoon and return at 5:45 just so we could ride Toy Story Mania!
Problem 7# --A couple of times we arrived to use our fast pass and there was only a 0-15 minute wait! For example, Character Greetings at Epcot for Mickey was a 5 minute wait! We could have used that fast pass for something else. Yet, more waste.
Problem #8 -I was thinking about going to Disney at the last minute in a couple of weeks. (I've been so many times I don't need that much time for planning....) Then I remembered about the new fast pass system. Because guests can reserve their attractions so far in advance, I bet the fast passes have already been taken.
Here is my suggestion....BRING BACK the old Fast Pass system and modify it so you can tap your Magic Band and get a fast pass return time on the spot. The old system let you plan SOOOO much better by actually not really letting people plan that much into the future.
