MyMagic+, FastPass+, and MagicBands coming soon

The News and Rumors sections seem to be very dead lately...REALLY surprised there is no discussion here on this...

There are plenty of articles out there...but here is what I wrote up about what we know, what we still have questions on, and my relative confidence of some of the possibilities so far...

Some details of the forthcoming FastPass+ and MyMagic+ programs at WDW

I'm estimating maybe about 3 months before first actual use by guests, as guests at the first roll-out resorts get first dibs and a couple months lead time for their FP+ selections.

Yeah, I noticed that too a few weeks back. I started a thread under misc. to add to so every time something new happened we didn't have to start another thread and we'd be kinda able to keep it together. Can you also post your info there, it is very good. :thumbs:

http://www.wdwradio.com/forums/misce...-launches.html

I wonder if Disney can pull off MyMagic in 3 months. While WiFi worked fine in the slow periods it failed horribly between Christmas and New Years. MyMagic has only been stable or accessible sporadically and if the resorts and parks cannot keep the guests connected without dropping them once connected this isn't going to work. At the resorts the WiFi is still painfully slow, guests are not going to have the patience to fight with both the internet and an unstable website.

Disney for whatever reason has never been able to develop a website that was easy to navigate. 3 months maybe optimistic And if they launch MyMagic in a slow season and it crashes when it is crowded I cannot imagine how they will rectify that.

I am really looking forward to all of this and HOPE its up and running by our trip in October. we're taking my sister with us and this will be her first trip :mickeykid and I want to 'plus' it up as much as possible for her. :thumbs: I'd love to secretly put things on her band info so when we meet Mickey he knows her name and little tid bits about her, etc. Do a special messege for her on Small World and I know my son would LOVE to design a doll to see in there as even at 10yrs old, it is his favorite ride.

I think the idea is great, a handy way to keep all the info you need to hand rather than papers in your bags, etc. I'm not too sure about pre-ordering your food on your ADRs though. However I do tend to order the same things at places LOL We are quite 'public' people so we'd probably put loads of personal info on our bands to really make the most of it and see just what all we can do with them.

Fingers crossed for October :musa:

That's the spirit!!!

I have no idea what the timeline for the rollout is. I'm not even sure Disney itself knows. But, I hope you get your wish. Keep us posted on your trip!

I posted this in another thread, forgot about this one:

By the way, the first official guest tests of FP+ with MagicBands will begin in a couple weeks.

Guest staying at AKL (Jambo House only) or Contemporary (not DVC guests), checking in June 20th, 21st, or 22nd, are being pre-selected to take part and are being contacted. The test will run through the 26th.

This appears to be a full-scale test as well, as nearly all attractions plus other rumored experiences are available for selection, in all four parks.

From a guest who has already been pre-selected and is using the system now to choose experiences, there appears to be NO TIERING of the selections, unlike previous tests. So you CAN get three E-ticket FP+.

You can only choose an attraction once. And you can only choose attractions in a single park for each day.

Once you make selections, it will assign you times - however, you are free to change the times or attractions.

Interestingly, Big Thunder Mountain seems to already be "sold out" on most of the test days. :)

Still no idea if/how you can get more FP+ while in the park.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by doconeill

I posted this in another thread, forgot about this one:

By the way, the first official guest tests of FP+ with MagicBands will begin in a couple weeks.

Guest staying at AKL (Jambo House only) or Contemporary (not DVC guests), checking in June 20th, 21st, or 22nd, are being pre-selected to take part and are being contacted. The test will run through the 26th.

This appears to be a full-scale test as well, as nearly all attractions plus other rumored experiences are available for selection, in all four parks.

From a guest who has already been pre-selected and is using the system now to choose experiences, there appears to be NO TIERING of the selections, unlike previous tests. So you CAN get three E-ticket FP+.

You can only choose an attraction once. And you can only choose attractions in a single park for each day.

Once you make selections, it will assign you times - however, you are free to change the times or attractions.

Interestingly, Big Thunder Mountain seems to already be "sold out" on most of the test days. :)

Still no idea if/how you can get more FP+ while in the park.

---

I had heard the rumor about the absence of tearing for the end of June test earlier this week, do you have any idea if this is how they are leaning for the FP+ reservations or if the omitting of tiering is just for the testing?
The other rumor I had heard was that Big Thunder Mountain was blacked out as a choice for the test run.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HauntedGabe

I had heard the rumor about the absence of tearing for the end of June test earlier this week, do you have any idea if this is how they are leaning for the FP+ reservations or if the omitting of tiering is just for the testing?
The other rumor I had heard was that Big Thunder Mountain was blacked out as a choice for the test run.

---

I can't tell if tiering was removed just for this test, or they decided to get rid of it. I know no one was really happy about the tiering.

Big Thunder WAS initially available, and then mysteriously disappeared for all but one day of the test - but it was still available that one day. Unlikely that it was "fully booked" I think, so it could be that they decided to block it out for some reason - maybe they have issues with the queue still.

I'm obviously way out of the loop on this, Doc. What is this tiering you keep referencing?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mo Noyz

I'm obviously way out of the loop on this, Doc. What is this tiering you keep referencing?

---

i think it may have been that there were several categories for FP's and you could choose one from each one

All the previous testing done, going all the way back to the Birthday Fastpasses (which was an early test of some FP changes), places the FP attractions into two tiers. The top tier consisted of the 3 or so most popular attractions, while the bottom tier was the rest. You got to pick X from the top tier, and Y from the bottom. X, Y and what was in what tier varied a bit between tests.

One of the more recent tests, earlier this year, of FP+ gave you three total selections - but only one from the top tier. That meant at MK, for instance, you had to choose from Space, Splash, Big Thunder and Peter Pan for instance. Of course, back then, you could still use regular Fastpasses.

Ah, OK. Thanks for the explanation, gents. I have only used Fastpass once, for Soarin'. So I wasn't aware of any limitations at all.

I like the sound of the tiering thing though. That does sound as though it will keep things on an even keel.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mo Noyz

Ah, OK. Thanks for the explanation, gents. I have only used Fastpass once, for Soarin'. So I wasn't aware of any limitations at all.

I like the sound of the tiering thing though. That does sound as though it will keep things on an even keel.

---

The tiering was only for testing of Fastpass+ and early "bonus" systems (which were likely all in the end tests for the future system).

But at this point, it looks like the tiering has been taken out. You pick any three FP+ options you want, just no duplicates.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by doconeill

The tiering was only for testing of Fastpass+ and early "bonus" systems (which were likely all in the end tests for the future system).

But at this point, it looks like the tiering has been taken out. You pick any three FP+ options you want, just no duplicates.

---

Yeah the duplicates were abolished pretty much from the get go. The tiering from what my DS is hearing is still swishy and can't seem to get a straight answer on for the longer term beyond testing.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by doconeill

The tiering was only for testing of Fastpass+ and early "bonus" systems (which were likely all in the end tests for the future system).

But at this point, it looks like the tiering has been taken out. You pick any three FP+ options you want, just no duplicates.

---

Hmmm...then no likey.

Won't allowing FP's for all the E ticket rides really mess up capacity and wait times?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mo Noyz

Hmmm...then no likey.

Won't allowing FP's for all the E ticket rides really mess up capacity and wait times?

---

It should be no different impact that what Fastpass has done to them, in theory.

Capacity is really a relative constant. FP/FP+ makes no impact on that. The variables are more on the attraction itself (can is be faster? Slower? variable capacity (ala Star Tours)?) and the crew running it (how efficient are they?)

The impact FP/FP+ would have is on the standby line, and the impact is often more subjective. The lines are often physically shorter, but slower moving. That can actually make them feel like a longer wait.

A three FP+ limit isn't so much reducing the utilization, as it is "spreading the wealth". For those that got 4 or more FPs a day, there are probably others that will gobble up the difference that couldn't before because they ran out earlier in the day.