Changes to FastPass+ aims to reduce misuse of the service

FyreDansyrApr 18, 2019

I had to wait around for him to ride roller coasters all summer while I was pregnant. I'd totally ride one without him. Then he can wait in the line so we can do the rider swap and I'd ride it a second time.

TrackmasterApr 17, 2019

I would 100% do that though. Worst case scenario, just have him pound the app on the day of.

nickysApr 17, 2019

Bummer. 😕 I guess though, to look on the bright side, if you were adding BF to the reservation then you might not have wanted to use the FP anyway? “I’ve got an FP for Slinky but you’ll have to wait in stand-by” - hmmm, not very diplomatic! Although your Mom could have used your band to ride it.

FyreDansyrApr 16, 2019

Well, I was unfortunately effected by the new policy. I have a resort reservation and had managed to get a SDD fp for the end of my stay. It was only for me since I hadn't purchased a ticket for my mom yet. Well, I called to add my boyfriend to the reservation and they somehow managed to unlink me from my reservation. I didn't notice until I decided about a week later that I should probably set up fastpasses for everyone. I couldn't make any for myself and my SDD one was gone. After a few phone calls I was able to make fastpasses but didn't get another SDD one.

larryzApr 10, 2019

@bUU is Steven Tyler, confirmed!

TrackmasterApr 10, 2019

Maybe Disney wants you to use burners so you can put more into your Disney trips.

bUUApr 10, 2019

More affluent people having an advantage with regard to Disney vacations? Shocker! :D

scottieRossApr 09, 2019

So now you expect Disney to handicap those with high-end phones to make it fair for all? The US does not prohibit discrimination against people with crappy phones.

TrackmasterApr 09, 2019

Right, I get the exceptions some on the PC when I'm booking. Its more common on a busy day during park hours. When I had an older phone, I couldn't even use the app at a certain point, but now its more or less OK with my new phone. I still kind of blame the app, as it was the only app I ever had any issues with for my old phone. Personally, if they make FP+ such a game where you have to pound it just to get what you want, that gives an unfair advantage to people with higher end phones. So that's one of the reasons too that I think that Disney would be smart to do something to close the Pound the App loophole.

bUUApr 08, 2019

I think you need to define what you mean by "crash". Typically, the word "crash" means that the application you're using effectively vanishes and you get an error message from the operating system. That being the case, it would be very unlikely for the server to be involved. If you're receiving a cute error page from Disney itself, then it isn't a crash. Technically it is an exception - it is no different from when you spell something wrong and hit backspace on your keyboard. That could be that the server is busy handling other requests. That happens with every application to some extent - generally less with Amazon, Microsoft and Google; Comcast, Charter, Verizon, and the like - but my bank occasionally tells me that it is too busy to show me my balance, CNN occasionally tells me to try again later when I click on a video link, and my favorite online game occasionally spits out exception messages like that.

TrackmasterApr 08, 2019

I do agree that since I switched to a new phone, its more or less reliable. But there are crashes even when I use a high powered desktop. So I'm assuming that server overload can play a part in it as well. And the bandwidth does cost Disney money, so they have some skin in the game to stop pounding. But on the other hand, pounding does keep people on the app, and keeps Disney on people's minds, so it does have some marketing value.

bUUApr 07, 2019

Back to the topic. The point is that Disney's apps stretch the capabilities of the less powerful devices and even browsers running on less powerful desktops. That doesn't preclude them from having server-side related problems as well, especially with users using the system in a manner inconsistent with its intention. Disney is especially plagued by fans who are so passionate that they seek out and exploit every loophole and effectively make it practically impossible to deliver excellent software, in today's environment where people readily and effectively share such exploits with each other. They face the issues that many companies face in today's marketplace - doing what they can to earn the most revenue despite the mess. And let's not lose sight of the reality of the mess that is the state of software in our society today: We have companies charged with protecting our private information regularly exposing that information to hackers and other miscreants - and currently there is no legal penalty for that. That's the standard that applies today. Just like anything else a company does, we always need to consider it in the context of, "How would the company make more money if they did things differently?" rather than just, "How would I have them do it if what I wanted was all that mattered?"

LensmanApr 07, 2019

Lol of course not! How else would my crazy but super-creative idea be considered marketing genius? It's like the idea I presented to my boss in 1988 that instead of simply writing applications that present bits to a screen, we should write applications that generate hypertext as their presentation layer, and then write a single hypertext interpretation layer that would generate the interactive screens. He thought the idea was crazy.

bUUApr 07, 2019

I have never seen either iOS or Android suggest that you buy a new phone due to a crash. That's just not something the operating systems do.