My Disney Experience & Magic Bands & Fastpass+

[Memphis 105]

This is a little (or a lot) long winded you can skip down to the pros and cons for shorter version.

 

Just go home from a 2 day weekend trip to WDW. We stayed at Pop Century and were offered to participate in the Magic Band test program.  I had ordered and received our magic bands a couple of weeks before the trip so we had them with us when we arrived.  I had scheduled our Fastpass+ for Saturday at Hollywood Studios.  I set up Toy Story at 930, Star Tours at 1040 and RNR at 12 50.   We left home at our typical time 1 hour late as usual and did not arrive at HS until 845. It was an Extra magic morning so as resort guest to be we were allowed to bypass the masses of regular Joes lined up for 9AM opening.  We got in the park without any trouble using our Magic bands. Just tap the band on the round Mickey Head Ball and scan our finger and we were in. 

 

 

So here’s where we ran into a little trouble. I had set up My Disney Experience on my Android EVO a couple of months ago shortly after the App was released.  I set up my computer and IPad right after I made my reservations. I used the IPad to set up my Fastpass+s.  So when I opened the app on my phone neither my resort resi nor my FP+s were showing. So I tried to link my resi to my phone via my resi # and I got the error msg that the resi # was already linked to me. So without the app working I had no idea when my FP+ times were.  We were still early so we used our AP cards to get FP for RNR and then stood in the stand by line for the 15 min wait.  After riding RNR I went over to the FP return line and asked who I could talk to about getting my app working on my phone. He directed me to a CM by the PF distribution place. I explained my problem to the CM and he took me back to the FP return line to scan my MB to see what info he could find. He said yes you do have a FP+ for RNR at 1250 so lets go over to Tower of terror where they have a help desk set up for the apps. And FP+. The lady over there scanned my MB and looked at my phone and my wife’s I Phone but could not figure out why the app was not working. She said they were having some trouble with the app that morning but they thought they would have it fixed in about 1-2 hours.  She wrote down my FP+ places and times for me and said if I was still having trouble with the app later that she would be working the help desk at Pop Century (our resort) later that evening and was sure she would be able to fix it then.

 

 

So we went about our day and went to the rides at the proper time for our FP+s and the MBs worked great.  You just tap them to the devices at the FP return line and the CM would look at the IPad they were holding and knew our names and hometown and probably a lot more info.  The MB scan process is actually a little slower than just showing the person a FP ticket but considering we did not have to trek all over the park and stand in line to get the FP+ to begin with it was a much faster and more pleasurable experience .

 

 

We ended up leaving the park early after a temporary crown I have came off so we never used the last FP+ for RNR.  Another drawback to FP+ is if we had had FP tickets we would have given them to someone on our way out of the park but you can’t do that with FP+.

 

 

We decided to go check in at Pop and see if our room might be ready early.  At the guard shack they had me touch my MB to an IPad the guard had and she passed us into the resort without showing ID and having to check a list for our name. That was a much faster process, about as fast as having your card key already and just scanning at the automated gate. A big plus for MB.  I had done online check in so the girl just had me scan the MB, she then went got our paper work told us the room number and how to get there.  She said our MB would open the door but they gave us the normal room cards just in case. This was another big plus for the MBs.  I don’t know how much online check in helped but this was by far the fastest check in process we have had on property.

 

We went and found our room and got moved in. I was able to get my crown to snap back in place which was wonderful and meant I would be able to eat and more importantly be able to drink ICE cold beer. YAY the trip is saved.   I checked our phones and the apps still weren’t working but the app on the IPad was. So we gathered all our techi stuff and went back to the lobby and found the help desk. The young man there after looking at all three devices for about 30 seconds said you big dumb idiot (which in Disney CM speak sounded like) Oh I see the problem sir let me fix it for you.  I had set my phone up with the wrong Email address. I had put it ****@mcn.com instead of @ msn.com which I had done correctly on the IPad. Why Disney ever let me set up an account originally with an invalid email address is a different subject.  He then took my phone and sent an invitation to my wife’s phone to join my plan and suddenly everything was working and showing all the correct info everywhere.  

 

I did not book our Sunday FP+s until Friday before the trip to see what effect waiting until the last minute had on FP+ availability.  I was still able to book Everest, Kilimanjaro Safari, and any of the other popular attractions at almost any time I wanted.  We used our FP+ and MBs and phone apps without a hitch Sunday at AK. We even used them to buy food and gifts that were charged to the CC we had attached to the MB when we checked in our resort.

 

Pros

Very easy to use and set up FP+.  You don’t have to walk all over the park to get your FP to only have go back across the park at your scheduled time.

It was very nice to have one simple device that was always on your wrist to get you into the park, into your room, and to use to pay for food and gifts.

During this trail period at least you can still use your AP cards to get paper FPs  You are instructed to use one or the other but right now they are not checking and the machines do not stop you from getting tickets.

 

Cons

You only get 3 FP+s (4 at MK) and they all have to be at the same park and for different attractions. You can’t get 2 to the same attraction for one person.

It hinders flexibility.  If you happen upon an attraction or street performance you may have to either skip the FP or the unplanned event.  While you can cancel and reschedule a FP+ attraction it may not be available or it may only be available at a much later time than you want.

 

I am not sure how they are going to handle APs and parking with the MBs.  We still had to show our card at the parking booths.  They even ask for photo ID at AK. At HS they ask for our address and zip code.  I guess they are having trouble with people trying to avoid paying for parking.

 

 

OVERALL

I think the MB and My Disney Experience apps are going to be great things. The app is a little slow and there is much room for improvement. I can see a lot of potential in what the app and MB could do.  If I can see a plus side people really in the know must have big plans.  I can see being able to place an order at a counter or even table service place with the app on your phone and when you get there just tap your MB to place and pay for your order all at once.  You already can make ADRs. It could be set up for any language, give currency exchange rates, and a ton of other things I haven’t thought of. I did only see about 1 out of every 20 or so guest using the MB. I hope the system can handle when this rolls out to all guest.

 

PS

 

I just checked my email and I have 6 emails from Disney dated today from 938am through 953 am saying :

 

Hello, Harold.

We're sorry, your previously confirmed FastPass+ selection for Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain® from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM on 08/11/2013 needs to be changed because the experience is temporarily unavailable.

As a replacement, you may now visit any one of the following FastPass+ experiences on 08/11/2013, starting at 9:30 AM through anytime during normal Theme Park operating hours (Valid Theme Park admission is required and your FastPass+ selection cannot be redeemed during Extra Magic Hours):

Experiences*
Primeval Whirl®
Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain®
Festival of the Lion King
Finding Nemo - The Musical
It's Tough to be a Bug!®
Kali River Rapids®
DINOSAUR
Kilimanjaro Safaris®

There is no action needed to select the experience in advance. During the designated day and time, just arrive at the FastPass+ entrance to one of the experiences above and touch your MagicBand to enter!

*Note that you may be able to still experience your selection for Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain® if it becomes available again today, unless you opt to visit one of the other listed experiences.

Visit My Plans on My Disney Experience for more details.

 

Funny thing is we got to and rode Everest about 10AM so I don't know if the ride was having trouble when the park first opened or what but everything seemed normal when we got there

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

[Beckers 1,136]

Thanks for posting your experience!

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Most importantly.....I am glad you got your crown back on. 

 

That would have been a nightmare.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

hearing that makes my mouth hurt

[Lou... 3,118]

Wow, thanks for such an in depth report. I took your advice and went directly to the pros and cons.

 

Regarding being able to get only 3 or 4 FPs. We should remember that FP+ is not intended to give you enough FPs to take up your entire day. It's a replacement for the current FP program. My guess is that Disney came up with the 3 and 4 number because the average person, not including the spreadsheet commandos, doesn't get much more than 3 or 4 FPs in a day.

 

As for hindering flexibility, I don't see how the new system is much different from the current system in that regard. 

 

The skeptics on here are not going to like your overall assessment that "the MagicBand and My Disney Experience are going to be great things".

 

Having followed the MyMagic program very closely and being able to get a heads up before things are tested, I have a different viewpoint on program.

 

Once the testing at the individual resorts is completed, the biggest test will come when all CMs will be able to get a MB. That test could involve up 66,000 people.

What guests are experiencing now will change, features will be added or removed, and some features are not being used at all yet.

The MB has two operating methods, and everything being done now is using just one of the methods, stay tuned.

 

Thanks again for the report, nice job.

 

 

 

 

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Thanks very much for sharing your experience!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Harold-

 

Thank you for taking the time to write all of this.

 

Here's my take on the Fastpass+ thing:  It all sounds great on paper- but I don't trust Disney to be able to pull it off in practice.

 

Look at how much time you had to spend trying to get the technology to work.  And this is during a limited test.  What's going to happen when this is rolled out to all of the guests at WDW?

 

If it works as advertised, I can live with it.  But, I think it will be a long time, and probably never, until it works as advertised.

 

TCD

[alexwyattmommy 181]

I think that is what keeps me from jumping on the band wagon proclaiming it the best thing since sliced bread, will it work as advertised?

Thank you for taking the time to give us details and a quick summary.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

I'm reserving judgment on all this, but thank you for the info.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Look at how much time you had to spend trying to get the technology to work.  And this is during a limited test.  What's going to happen when this is rolled out to all of the guests at WDW?

 

The X factor in all this as far as I can tell is the mobile app.

 

It's hard enough to get an app to work perfectly across all platforms - and given the track record of Disney's website, I don't trust that they've fully vetted it out to begin with.

 

Throw in the variable of people downloading the app on dozens of different models of phones, needing to remember passwords, and all the other things that could cause the app not to work as Disney intended (and out of their control) and I'd bet you'll see "tech support" kiosks all over the place for quite some time.  Maybe forever.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Oh well, at least we can still have an ooey-gooey warm MSB cinnamon roll.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Oh well, at least we can still have an ooey-gooey warm MSB cinnamon roll.

:beathorse:

[Beckers 1,136]

:beathorse:

We should change that smiley to beating a cinnamon roll....

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

Thank you for sharing your expierence.

[Lou... 3,118]

The X factor in all this as far as I can tell is the mobile app.

 

 I'd bet you'll see "tech support" kiosks all over the place for quite some time.  Maybe forever.

 

The phone app is just one element of the MyMagic program. Whether one element works well or not will not determine if the overall program is used.

 

The help kiosks located in all the parks, as far as I know, are permanent.

 

 

Oh well, at least we can still have an ooey-gooey warm MSB cinnamon roll.

 

That's very true

 

 

Reasons why "MyMagic" will be used.

 

One billion dollars

Too big to fail

Passed the point of no return

Failure is not an option

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

We should change that smiley to beating a cinnamon roll....

 

Yes!

 

The phone app is just one element of the MyMagic program. Whether one element works well or not will not determine if the overall program is used.

 

But it will be the main point of contact for most Guests.  Even those that may book their FPs online before they arrive may want to change things once they get there and then need to use the app, or *have* to if the system goes wonky like it has recently.

 

If they either don't know how to install or use the app (or their phones) correctly - or if there are any bugs at all in it (and a bug-proof app is all but unheard of) the likelihood of Guests experiencing problems or at least frustration is fairly high.

 

Which isn't to say that in time people will figure it out, but  consider the gigantic percentage of people visiting WDW that never read sites like this or know anything abou tthis before they arrive, and then try and figure it out on the fly.

 

I feel badly for the CMs that will be on the frontline in those kiosks.

 

Of course most adults will be able to remedy this problem by handing their smart phones to the nearest kid.  

[Lou... 3,118]

But it will be the main point of contact for most Guests.  Even those that may book their FPs online before they arrive may want to change things once they get there and then need to use the app, or *have* to if the system goes wonky like it has recently.

 

If they either don't know how to install or use the app (or their phones) correctly - or if there are any bugs at all in it (and a bug-proof app is all but unheard of) the likelihood of Guests experiencing problems or at least frustration is fairly high.

 

Which isn't to say that in time people will figure it out, but  consider the gigantic percentage of people visiting WDW that never read sites like this or know anything about this before they arrive, and then try and figure it out on the fly.

 

I feel badly for the CMs that will be on the frontline in those kiosks.

 

 

 

Disney must feel that everything you listed will be taken care of by the, what I'm calling MyMagic help kiosks, and the "FP+" kiosks once you're at the resorts and parks.

And I'm sure there'll be tons of CMs floating around trained to help out as well.

 

Don't feel badly for the CMs. They offered these positions to CMs internally a while back, and I'm sure they got more than enough applicants. The transferees knew what the position entailed.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

 

Disney must feel that everything you listed will be taken care of by the, what I'm calling MyMagic help kiosks, and the "FP+" kiosks once you're at the resorts and parks.

And I'm sure there'll be tons of CMs floating around trained to help out as well.

 

Don't feel badly for the CMs. They offered these positions to CMs internally a while back, and I'm sure they got more than enough applicants. The transferees knew what the position entailed.

 

 

I have a bad feeling about this.

 

I've tried to use the app over the past year, and it doesn't work more than it does. In the meantime, because it doesn't work, it drains the battery on my phone like nothing I've ever seen before. The scary thing is that the app as I've been using it doesn't even have all the Fastpass+ crap added on to it. No wonder they're adding phone charging stations.

 

"So, what?" says Lou.  Just go to one of the kiosks.  You mean those kiosks where everyone whose app doesn't work- which is everyone in the park- is going to be lining up for help?  How magical.

 

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

All I want is a fist full of E tickets and a warm cinnamon roll.  Is that too much to ask? 

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

 

Disney must feel that everything you listed will be taken care of by the, what I'm calling MyMagic help kiosks, and the "FP+" kiosks once you're at the resorts and parks.

 

 

The concerning part is that there's still a lot of this out of Disney's control, like... Guests who let their batteries run down; don't have good cell coverage on property; have app conflicts or bugs/viruses that cause things to not work properly, etc. 

 

All of those things that are actually user issues and not necessarily app/system issues (although Guests won't necessarily see it that way), will cause a good bit of frustration. 

 

I'm not saying Disney isn't anticipating much of this, but I'm thinking too that this has been a voluntary test and it's quite possible that people who aren't particularly computer or smart phone savvy just didn't sign up for it.

 

I'm not worried about this for me personally, I know I'll figure it out.  But I'm trying to picture my MIL using this.  She's new to smart phones (just got one a few months ago) and not super computer savvy, although she gives it a good go.  Trying to navigate this would make her head explode, and spending time every day at a help kiosk would just frustrate the bejinkies out of her.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

New C.O.P. scene........

 

Look at that family of four walking through the hub and bumping into other people staring at their little gizmos Ma.  Isn't it cute?  I mean the four of them walking around with their faces staring at tiny little screens and bitching about the apps not working properly.  We didn't have it that easy back when we actually had to pay attention to each other and our children.  These people don't know how good they have it.  :flush2:

[DaveInTN 3,247]

New C.O.P. scene........

 

Look at that family of four walking through the hub and bumping into other people staring at their little gizmos Ma.  Isn't it cute?  I mean the four of them walking around with their faces staring at tiny little screens and bitching about the apps not working properly.  We didn't have it that easy back when we actually had to pay attention to each other and our children.  These people don't know how good they have it.  :flush2:

 

Sarah, be careful or you'll end up smearing your cinnamon roll glaze all over the screen of your iphone!  Ah, the good old days. 

[Lou... 3,118]

The concerning part is that there's still a lot of this out of Disney's control, like... Guests who let their batteries run down; don't have good cell coverage on property; have app conflicts or bugs/viruses that cause things to not work properly, etc. 

 

 

 

But if that's the case, I don't understand why those people won't go over to the kiosks to do whatever they needed to do on their phone. 

The kiosks are there for people experiencing problems or like me and Bob, don't have a smartphone.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

But if that's the case, I don't understand why those people won't go over to the kiosks to do whatever they needed to do on their phone. 

The kiosks are there for people experiencing problems or like me and Bob, don't have a smartphone.

 

Where are the kiosks?  I must have walked past them at some point, but I can't remember noticing them.

 

How many are there?

 

TCD

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

I am not a fan of kiosks.

 

Everytime I have walked by one in the past, I get sprayed with cologne when I am not looking or someone tries to sell me a cell phone, etc.

 

In most cases I feel a strong urge toward violence.