Category — t. Disney’s MyMagic+ Project and Expansion Plans

The Animal Kingdom went Fastpass+ only just before the holidays, this happened at the Magic Kingdom in mid-January, and FastPass+ only is expected at Epcot January 23 and Hollywood Studios January 21.

All of my itineraries except this one (and this variant of it) are still framed around the old Fastpass system–sometimes called “Legacy Fastpass”–that is going, going, gone.

So over the next couple of days I’ll be publishing supplementary instructions for how to adapt my Autumn Winter Spring itinerary and its key variants to Fastpass+.

All dining stays the same–what changes is what you need to book ahead of time as Fastpass+ (or that day, if you are not a Disney resort hotel guest), and the sequence of things you do over the course of the day.

These Autumn Winter Spring itinerary variants cover now through the first full week of April. (See this.)  By 60 days before April 12 (60 days ahead is when you can begin booking Fastpass+ if you are a Disney World hotel guest) I’ll also have out supplementary instructions for the Easter Week itineraries…

Plus there’s more all new itineraries, designed for Fastpass+ from the start, on the way! See this for an example aimed at the high-crowd summer 2014 weeks.

More to come tomorrow!! And for more on Fastpass+, see this.

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As of December 18, 2013, in a new—and perhaps enduring—change, there will be couple of differences at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park

• The old Fastpass machines at the Animal Kingdom will be turned off—no paper Fastpasses will be available until further notice, just FastPass+
• Off-site guests will be able to use FastPass+, although they won’t be able to book them ahead of time—just the day of their visit.

As I write this, while you can only book three FastPass+ per day, you can still book all three of your FastPass+ as headliners, which makes planning much easier…if this changes I’ll revise what follows.

Below, I’ll make suggestions for how to handle this in one and two-day itineraries at the Animal Kingdom for on-site guests, and then suggest differences that off-site guests should pursue.

This is a moving target, so things may change. Those who experience this directly: please weigh in with what you discover in the comment form below!

FASTPASS+ PRIORITIES AT DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM

FastPass+ will be available at Disney’s Animal Kingdom for the following rides:

• Character Greetings at the Adventurers Outpost
• DINOSAUR
• Expedition Everest
• Festival of the Lion King
• Finding Nemo – The Musical
• It’s Tough to be a Bug!
• Kali River Rapids
• Kilimanjaro Safaris
• Primeval Whirl

Of these, the prizes for families with kids old enough to enjoy all the best of Walt Disney World are Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest. These rides are wildly popular and build long lines quickly.

After those, on really hot days, Kali River Rapids will be a high priority. You get just soaked on this ride, making it a popular cooling tool late in the day.

Right now, it’s not that hard to see most of the other options. But I expect Dinosaur, Festival of the Lion King (while it’s still open) and Finding Nemo to become harder to see, especially on busy days, simply because many will pick these as their FastPass+ options.

(If your kids are young, you likely want to avoid Everest, Dinosaur, and It’s Tough to be a Bug, and put the Character Greeting as a higher priority.)

FASTPASS+ ITINERARY FOR ONE DAY AT DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM FOR ON-SITE VISITORS

Book up to 60 days ahead of time via MyDisneyExperience FastPass+ for Kilimanjaro Safaris, Festival of the Lion King, and Finding Nemo—The Musical, for 10.30a or later. If you can, set Nemo for the morning, and the other two in the afternoon. This will lead to less backtracking later!

Arrive at the park at least 45 minutes before the scheduled opening—earlier if during a high crowd week.

When you are let in—typically these days about 15 minutes before the scheduled opening—head immediately to Expedition Everest, ride it, and ride it again if you wish, using if necessary the single-rider line. (You do Expedition Everest at open rather than through FastPass+ because its regular queue is much better than its FastPass+ queue.)

The rest of the morning, while keeping an eye on your return times for your FastPass+ for the nearby Finding Nemo—The Musical, see what interests you in Dinoland: Dinosaur for sure, and, if they appear of interest, the nearby Primeval Whirl and TriceraTop Spin.

After lunch, keeping in mind any FastPass+ return times and the 3.45p parade, see the rest of the shows, rides, and walk-through exhibits, saving Kali River for the end of the day.

Because your later Fastpass+ are both in or near Africa, coordinate them with seeing Pangini Forest trail and also Rafiki’s Planet Watch and its associated Wildlife Express Train. (If time presses, Rafiki and the train are quite skippable.)

FASTPASS+ ITINERARY FOR TWO DAYS AT DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM FOR ON-SITE VISITORS

Two days at the Animal Kingdom is a bit of a luxury.

The first day, plan to take the morning off, and 60 days in advance or sooner for the afternoon FastPass+ Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and, at the end of your planned time there, Kali River Rapids.

At the park, see between these the parade, Flights of Wonder, Panagani Forest Trail, Maharajah Jungle Trek, Flights of Wonder, and It’s Tough to be a Bug

For day two, FastPass+ beginning 60 days in advance for the morning but 10a or later Festival of the Lion King, Finding Nemo-The Musical, and Dinosaur. Make Dinosaur the earliest of these.

Arrive at the park at least 45 minutes before the scheduled opening—earlier if during a high crowd week. At open, immediately head to your favorite between Everest and Kilimanjaro from day one, re-ride it, then head to Dinoland and ride the rides there until your Dinosaur FastPass+ is ready.

Catch your other FastPass+, and see what you missed on day 1!

CHANGES TO THE ANIMAL KINGDOM FASTPASS+ STRATEGY FOR OFFSITE VISITORS

During this test, off-site guests will only be able to make FastPass+ bookings in the park, and only using Disney objects—that is, not their own cell phonse or iPads.

Right now, from what I’ve seen on the web, the places off-site guests can sign up for FastPass+ are near

• Creature Comforts, on Discovery Island
• Disney Outfitters, also on Discovery Island
• Expedition Everest, in Asia near Dinoland
• Kali River Rapids, in the heart of Asia
• Primeval Whirl, in Dinoland

(I’m surprised there’s nothing in Africa…)

I don’t know how this will unfold. I expect at the beginning of the test it’ll be a zoo, as off-site guests go to the old Fastpass machines, learn they don’t work, and then mob these off-site FastPass+ distribution points.

If the test sticks around for a while, then, as the word gets out—and it took years for people to understand that the old FastPass system was free with your ticket, not an extra-charge perk—more and more off-site guests will head to the distribution points as soon as the park opens, to lock in their FastPass+ for the day.

FastPass+ One Day Strategy for Off-Site Visitors.

FastPass+ priorities are the same for off-site as for on-site visitors, so here’s what I’d suggest:

• At open, head straight towards Everest.
• If the FastPass+ booking line there is short, then book your FastPass+ for the day (same list as in the one-day itinerary above: Kilimanjaro Safaris, Festival of the Lion King, and Finding Nemo—The Musical, for 10.30a or later, with Nemo for the morning, and the other two in the afternoon). Then ride Everest.
• If the Everest FastPass+ booking line is long, then skip it, ride Everest, and make your way to Kilimanjaro along the path that passes near Kali River Rapids. Check the FastPass+ booking line here; if short, do it; if long, keep going and ride Kilimanjaro stand-by. Then get your FastPass+ for the rest of the day booked after you are off Kilimanjaro, likely at Discovery Island.
• Then follow the rest of the one-day itinerary above, adapting it for your actual FastPass+ and their times

FastPass+ Two Day Strategy for Off-Site Visitors.

Off-site visitors with two days at the Animal Kingdom should start both days by arriving 45 minutes or more before the scheduled park opening.

On day one…

• Start as above—head for Expedition Everest, book FastPass+ there if the booking station is not busy for Kilimanjaro, Kali River at the end of the day, and Finding Nemo. Skip this step if the line for FastPass+ is long. Either way, ride Everest.
• If you did not book FastPass+ before Everest, then book after at either the Everest or Kali River Rapids stations, if not too busy. If they are too busy, then then head for Kilimanjaro.
• If you leave Kilimanjaro without FastPass+, then get them next.
• The rest of the day, see as much of the Animal Kingdom as you can.

On day two, start at whichever of Everest or Kilimanjaro was your favorite, getting FastPass+ at Everest or on the way to Kilimanjaro if the lines aren’t too long, or after if they are. Prioritize for your FastPass+ any key rides or shows you didn’t see on day one, and then anything you want to re-ride!

OK, that’s what I got. Josh of EasyWDW.com published a slightly different approach here that’s also worth a look.   I’ll revise these suggestions as experience proves necessary!

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Just got back from a great week at Walt Disney World that overlapped my top ranked weeks of 2013!

This was my third visit this fall, and at first I had two goals:

1. To test FastPass+ in utterly unplanned use:

• No customizing, no MagicBands mailed ahead, no FastPass+ booked at all, much less 60 days out, not even any ADRs
• We didn’t even pick parks til the actual day of visit, and often didn’t get around to picking that day’s FastPass+ until after noon that same day.
• Another way to put this: we tested using FastPass+ spontaneously. (For more on the first test of Fastpass+, see this, and the second, this.)

2. To re-visit a bunch of DVC and deluxe resorts with a view towards refreshing their reviews:

• I’m one of the few people to have recently stayed in and reviewed every Disney World resort hotel, and every major room type within them.
• My moderate and value resort reviews are all from re-stays in 2012 or 2013. But a few of my deluxe and DVC reviews go back as far as 2009 and 2010 stays, so as part of this trip we booked seven different rooms so we could update the reviews based on fresh experiences.
• After this and my November visit, I now have a backlog of 8 and a half deluxe and DVC updated reviews to write…when they are done, my oldest review will be just 30 months old, and only four will be from a 2011 visit–all the rest will be newer

Then some other goals emerged:

• A joint fan meet-up with Jodi of Magical Mouse Schoolhouse
• Finally meeting the great pinner Linda Stevens-Jones in person
• Testing crowds these two weeks that I rank so highly
• And taking a lot of holiday shots with my new camera!

So here’s the scoop.

FASTPASS+ AND SPONTANEITY

My original thought in not booking any FastPass+ ahead of time was to test in real time at Walt Disney World just how well the MyDisneyExperience app worked from my phone.

Most of what I’d done on the prior trips–including day-of changes–was from my laptop, as were all of my pre-planned FastPass+.

Well the short answer is that the phone app worked fine and I mostly had no trouble getting on the app, setting FastPass+ up, and changing them from my phone, in both the hotels and parks. Others continue to report difficulties, especially on Android-based phones, but my creaking old iPhone worked like a champ.

I tested this to see how making and changing FastPass+ from phone apps would work for first time visitors. But without really meaning to, I was also testing FastPass+ and spontaneity.

Here’s the deal–many repeat visitors have a way of approaching Walt Disney World, that works for them and because FastPass+ is new and different, it’s raised a lot of concerns–one of them being not wanting to set their park plans in stone 60 days ahead. This is the “spontaneity” issue.

Well, we had no problems getting great FastPass+ options on the day of use–sometimes picking them in the morning, but more commonly not getting around to choosing the until the afternoon–even late afternoon. We got fireworks shows, parades, and tons of headliners offered.

See the image, of FastPass+ that I selected around 3p on a Magic Kingdom day with the full evening program and evening extra magic hours, sandwiched between two 7p close days.

Even on such a predictably rough day at MK,  I was offered even more headlines–Peter Pan, the Electrical Parade, Splash–but had already done these earlier in the trip.

(The new Talking Mickey, one of our FastPass+, weirded me out a bit.  As a severe introvert, I know how to do regular silent Mickey…but am not a chatterer. I probably weirded him out too.)

So we had absolutely no issue with spontaneity.  Now we know when to go in general, and which parks to see which days specifically, so that helped.  But even so we went to certain parks on lousy days and still had no problems.

So does this mean that like us, you can show up with no FastPass+, decide each morning which park you are going to, and still grab a bunch of great ones?  Well, I dunno…it’ll depend on the pace of roll-out of FastPass+ to other visitors, and of course when you go.  But based on this test, I’m encouraged that at least so far you can still be spontaneous with FastPass+— if you pick your dates and parks wisely.

However, there are still tons of other complaints about FastPass+–too few FastPass+ available per day; headliner restrictions; can be used in only one park per day; no repeat FastPass+ in a day–and many people are still having all kinds of technical problems.

So while I’m very happy about FastPass+ for first-timers following this site’s itineraries (after I revise the rest of them on this model…) the jury is still out on the overall initiative.

UPDATING DVC AND DELUXE REVIEWS

Between my November and December visits I stayed for multiple days in all the key room types at

• The Wilderness Lodge and Villas
• The Animal Kingdom Lodge and Kidani Village
• The Contemporary and Bay Lake Tower
• Saratoga Springs and the Treehouses, and
• The new DVC offering at the Grand Floridian

For all these but the last, my published reviews were for stays in 2009 and 2010, so it was time to get back for a fresh–but kinda expensive–look.

Updated reviews will be coming out soon–well, soon by my standards–for all but the Grand Floridian Villas. The review of Villas at the Grand Floridian is already being published, see this.

None of these re-visits will likely have much of an impact on the resort rankings–though I may change my mind on that, after I actually settle down and write them.

But what was reinforced from being in all these two-bedroom villas in less than a month was something I already knew and have covered here, but need to do much more sharply: there’s huge differences in livability for larger groups in the two-bedroom villas.

Two Bedroom Villas at Old Key West, Kidani, Bay Lake Tower, and the Grand Floridian are much more livable for families of 6 or more than are the two bedroom villas elsewhere. (So are the three-bedroom Treehouses, for those who can productively use the two 70 inch long bunk beds.)

See below for the starkest example–first, the dining table at the Villas at the Grand Floridian…

…and next, the dining table in a two-bedroom villa in the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge.

More on this later…

The other thing I learned from being in all these rooms is that Disney is not well set up for people staying in more than one hotel.

The system won’t check you into one resort easily unless you’ve checked out of another, and there are inconsistencies within Disney systems as to whether or not you have done so.  As a result, often our check-in took a while (though all had been completed on-line), and too often our new MagicBands were messed up–all eventually fixed except in one case, where we just made do.

Now our account–combining multiple reservations with all-new MagicBands provided at each new resort’s desk, rather than mailed to our home–was kinda complicated. But this is a bug that Disney needs to fix.

(Disney is aware of this bug–all our on-line check in packets included a handwritten routing slip letting the cast member know about our multiple reservations, and most of the front desk staff dealt with the issue immediately, and all courteously! A little more worryingly, about half of the check-in staff said that I looked familiar to them…that’s never happened before…maybe they are fans of my Facebook page!)

THE MEET-UP WITH MAGICAL MOUSE SCHOOLHOUSE

My bud Jodi of Magical Mouse Schoolhouse now lives just outside Orlando, and after the joint meet-up with Steve of MiltiaryDisneyTips.com last month, wondered if she and I could do one too!

So we did it–with help from our travel partners Destinations in Florida and 3D Travel Agency–on Wednesday.

That was a day we changed resorts, and we got into our room at Bay Lake Tower so late that I thought I might have to do the meet-up in my swimsuit and life jacket…

But, freshly showered, I met Jodi…

…gave away some Glow With the Show Ears to the fans who showed up…

…gave away some more–that’s lovely wife Amy Girl in the back, and a recipient in the front…

…and just chatted with folk.  It was fun!

MEETING A FAMOUS PINNER

The great Disney World pinner Linda Stevens-Jones was in the parks during the second half of my visit, and I had a chance to sit and chat with her and husband Dan for a bit at the Magic Kingdom.

I coulda chatted with them for hours…but we both had FastPass+ to pursue! Linda, by the way, was one of the many who were having technical difficulties with FastPass+

TESTING THE CROWDS THESE TWO TOP-RANKED WEEKS

As it happened, I was at Disney World during parts of my two top ranked weeks of 2013! So it was a nice test to test whether in fact these remain low-crowd weeks.  (They are not, by far, the lowest crowd weeks of the year–but I did forecast them as low.)

Were they?  Well, I thought they were great. But I’ve had multiple comments and emails from others about them facing longer than expected lines, and this post on TouringPlans.com supports the thought that crowds, while still low, were heavier than expected.

But if you dig into the details, what you’ll learn is that except for one or two days, the crowds were largely driven by Extra Magic Hours and the absence of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

Crowds during this period go up a bit every year, but overall they were still good.  But this time of year, you really have to be careful about which park you go to which day!

A TON OF PHOTOS OF CHRISTMAS AT DISNEY WORLD!

On both the November and December trips I got a ton of photos of the resorts and parks in their Christmas finery.

I’ll never be able to use them all–unless I just do a page of photos, should I?–but the one below is my favorite!

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I did my second test of FastPass+ a week and a half ago, focusing on the value of FastPass+ for character greetings, parades, and fireworks.

(My first test, in September, focused on FastPass+ on rides; at my third test, next week, I’ll be showing up with nothing booked, and testing how well day-of FastPass+ bookings go.)

The comments below about the value of FastPass+ assume that you will be able to book only one headliner a day, and that parades, the big character greetings, and fireworks shows are gonna be in the list where you can only “choose one from here.”

This is now true at Epcot and the Studios, and I expect it to become the case at the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom soon…

FASTPASS+ FOR DISNEY WORLD CHARACTER GREETINGS

This site is aimed at kids 8 and older, for whom character greetings aren’t such a high priority.

Its itineraries handle character greetings largely through dining—recommending meals at which kids will meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pooh, Tigger and buckets of princesses.

Folks with younger kids, especially those for whom most of the other “headliners” offered in FastPass+ are not age-appropriate, may save some time in line by grabbing character greeting FastPass+, especially at the Magic Kingdom.

Some such lines in the other parks aren’t long now, but they may become long as more families grab such sessions as part of FastPass+.

Folks with older kids booking FastPass+ at parks where people can pick only one headliner should skip FastPass+ at character greetings—there’s better ways to use these.

(Note: I’m not counting Enchanted Tales with Belle or Turtle Talk with Crush as “character greetings”—these are much more, and much better, than that…)

FASTPASS+ FOR DISNEY WORLD PARADES

It’s not hard to find a good viewing spot for parades most of the time, but for many families with little kids the key is locking a spot early enough so that the kids can see the parade—that is, their views aren’t blocked out by older kids or adults.

(There’s some etiquette to the parades— see this.)

The current FastPass+ location for the Magic Kingdom parades is right in front of the Castle.  This creates a wonderful photo backdrop (especially if the day is a lot sunnier than when I was there).

However, the spot is so deep—much deeper, for example, than the Main Street viewing areas– that little kids can still not have a good view.

This was not an issue on the cold and quiet November day that I tested the FastPass+ for the parades, but as FastPass+ becomes more predominant, it will be.

Arriving at the FastPass+ parade viewing area when it opens (that is, at the earliest time your FastPass+ lets you in) solves this problem, as you’ll then be able to claim a viewing spot right on the curb.

My dates, FastPass+ let me in about 35 minutes before the parade was expected to pass by the FastPass+ viewing area…but most times of the year, you can find a front of the curb spot in Fantasyland at 35 minutes before…

So for the parades, too, for most families, I’m not seeing a lot of value to FastPass+…

FASTPASS+ FOR DISNEY WORLD FIREWORKS

There’s a coupla things you might want out of FastPass+ for the Disney World fireworks shows—including

• Being on the axis for which the show was designed to be seen without having to wait much
• For the shows that often close the parks—almost always Illuminations at Epcot, except on evening Extra Magic Hours nights, and often Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios—being closer to the cars and buses than most other people, so that if you want to leave then, you can without so long a fuss in getting out of the park
• Moreover, for Fantasmic in particular—the only evening fireworks show with limited capacity—you’d want guaranteed access as well.

By these criteria,

• Illuminations is worth a FastPass+ if you have two days at Epcot
• Fantasmic is nearly worth one if you have two days at the Studios
• And Wishes is not worth a FastPass+, unless you have four or more days at the Magic Kingdom.

FastPass+ and Illuminations

The Fastpass+ viewing area for Illuminations is at the intersection of the World Showcase Lagoon and Future World, between the two Tower gift shops.

This puts your family right on the axis from which Illuminations was designed to be viewed (although Illuminations is not so axis-dependent as the other two shows) and also pretty much as close to the exit to the transportation area as an Illuminations viewer can be.

This is not worth a FastPass+ if you are spending only a day at Epcot, but is worth one if you are spending more than a day.

FastPass+ and Fantasmic

Fantasmic is a trickier call.  Your Fantasmic FastPass+ guarantees you access, but not—at least of my November test—a good seat.

In my September test, the Fantasmic FastPass+ seats were in the Pocahontas section, which are in the better middle third of the Fantasmic viewing area.

But on my November visit, there were no dedicated FastPass+ seats.  Your FastPass+ guaranteed access, but how good a seat you got was still a function of when you got in line.

Our FP+ kicked in at 35 minutes before show-time—I think we would have been fine getting there even a few minutes earlier than then–but I didn’t roll in til 20 minutes before showtime, and by then, most of the good seats were taken.

Because I wanted to be close enough to finally take barely adequate photos of Fantasmic, I found good seats near the front, which those in the know avoid because they can be misted for pretty much the entire duration of the show, and greatly delay exit.

But it would have been rough to find “good” seats then.

The best way to see Fantasmic remains seeing it on a night with two shows, and hitting the second show.

Assuming that Disney sticks with the Fantasmic access model I saw in November, and not the one I saw in September–if you have more than a day at the Studios, and neither day has two shows, then the guaranteed access feature of FastPass+ makes it probably worth using one for Fantasmic.

But if you are able, still show up early in the FastPass+ window so that you can get good seats—in the center section, about halfway up.

FastPass+ and Wishes

I’m not so keen on the Wishes FastPass+ location, which is near, but off-center to, the Castle, and somewhat obscured by trees—it’s the area on the left side of the line in the lousy photo.

The best place to see Wishes is facing the castle with Main Street at your back, with no trees obstructing your view.  This lets you see both the great Celebrate the Magic castle show—typically 30 minutes before Wishes–and Wishes itself.  You’d be closer to the train station if you planned to leave right after, and closer to the castle if you didn’t.

The Wishes FastPass+ location has a couple of problems

• It’s very close to the castle—good unless you plan to leave right after, when it will put you behind thousands
• It’s off center—not hugely so, but being off center matters more the closer you are to the castle
• Parts of the viewing area are obscured by trees—not a big issue for Wishes, but a problem for Celebrate the Magic

So I’m not too keen on spending what at the Magic Kingdom are particularly valuable headliner FastPass+ on Wishes…

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There’s been speculation by all who can do math for years now that FastPass+ might need to be restricted to one “headliner” per day for everyone to get a chance at these most popular Walt Disney World rides.

See, for example, this.

Until lately, this has not been an issue among the Fastpass+ tests.

But while making FastPass+ for my December trip (yes, there’s a December trip coming up too) I noted that at Epcot I could only pick one from among Soarin, Test Track, Maelstrom, and the character greeting there.

See the image above for what I saw on MyDisneyExperience.com
Kenny the Pirate adds Illuminations to this list from which you must pick one, and says this applies to all new Fastpass+ selections at Epcot between now and December 29.

I’ve already given my advice here for how to handle Epcot with just one headliner, but here it is again:

Epcot: Plan to arrive early and see Test Track from the stand-by line.  Target for Fastpass+ first Soarin, then Turtle Talk with Crush,  and then Spaceship Earth (the last two aren’t that hard to get now, but I predict they’ll become tougher as Fastpass+ takes more of their capacity).

And the other options?

• No one should bother with a Fastpass+ for Maelstrom–just see it first thing after Word Showcase opens, or skip it
• Lines at the Epcot Character Spot will grow because it is the only FastPass+ option especially appropriate for little kids. FastPass+ it only if you plan to see nothing else on this list
• I can’t right now see a Fastpass+ for Illuminations as the highest priority for many, but will have a better sense next weekend, after I’ve seen if from the Fastpass+ location

You would think that this change should have no effect on those who made their Epcot Fastpass+ choices before it went into effect on Friday.

But you know what?  I wouldn’t change any prior Epcot Fastpass+ reservations until we hear from the field that people are able to do this and still keep the three headliners available before this new wrinkle to the Epcot test!

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I like getting surveys from Walt Disney World–not the ones about satisfaction with the hotels, because they are too long and boring, but the ones about real business issues, like this one about room deals.

These surveys about real issues help to illuminate what Disney is thinking about.

So I’m getting ready for my second test of MyMagic+, MagicBands, and Fastpass+, coming up in mid-November, and Monday I got a really interesting survey emailed from Disney about my process for getting ready for that visit.

Now I am OK with FastPass+–so far–for first time visitors following the approaches recommended by this site, as among other things they’ll have their target parks set months ahead.

But repeat visitors have raised a number of issues with this new Disney program that’s being tested now–and so far as I have seen til now there’s not been much response.

The survey, though, raises some real hope that some of these concerns might be heard…

The first interesting thing about the survey is that there are typos in the emailed invitation. (Frequent readers of this site know I’m an expert on typos–though usually in their creation, not their discovery.)

The word “we’re” in the first line is rendered as “were.”  And–as Heidi notes below–the “We’d” that should begin the second para has also lost its apostrophe.  Mandy notes below that the comma in the second para is wrong, and the “for” before “we” in the last para, though perhaps not a typo, is certainly not idiomatic.

Not a big deal…but one could reasonably infer–not certainly, but reasonably–that this survey was created in a bit of a rush…which is itself interesting…

I usually just “spam” unsolicited emails with both links and typos, but I was hoping this survey was real, and so tested the survey link–and it passed Sucuri with all green.

But it’s still a bit of a bummer, because, as you’ll see in a second, I see this as an important survey, and many who notice the typo will assume because of it that the email is a phishing attack, and dump it to spam.

That would be too bad, as there are some important questions here that are worth your answering…and answering well!

The survey is pretty short, and soon into it you get asked about aspects of preparing for the MyMagic+/MagicBands/Fastpass+ test that were troublesome.

I noted issues I’d had with online check-in (eventually resolved), and also checked that I had some problems with Fastpass+ selections.  I had no technical problems with them–rather, I had problems of desire.

Like about ten million other people, I wanted more Fastpass+ than 3, more parades, and the ability to park hop. And I wasn’t sure what screen would come up next…

And what’s above was the next screen. Note that I got to explicitly address the issues of not enough Fastpass+, attractions offered, and no park hopping. Fascinating…and potentially quite important.

Disney did not need to do this survey, and if it wanted to duck some of the widespread complaints about the emerging Fastpass+ program, while claiming it had surveyed its guests, it could easily have done so–like this (I’ve seen similar surveys):

What did you think about your FastPass+ Selections? (Click the one answer that best fits)

1. Spectacularly Marvelous
2. Quite Marvelous
3. Marvelous

But that’s not what this survey question is…it’s a real question that gives as options real concerns.

And guess what the next page (above) was about? Spontaneity, or lack of same–another of the resounding issues with Fastpass+.

Despite the firmness with which some make their predictions, no one really knows anything about the final implementation of Fastpass+. It’s way too early for any of us–even Disney.

Me, I’m delighted that the program will have the opportunity to be influenced by surveys like this…but dismayed that the typos in the emailed invitation will lead many to not trust it enough to answer it…and if enough people “spam” it, it’ll get classed as “spam” when delivered…and many will never see it at all.

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