FP+ question... Trends on return times

[mommajo143]

Know return times are staggered, and don't always neatly fall on the hour. ( though my limited experience was that on the hour offerings were most offered when making my reservations at 60 day mark)... Anywho, has anyone seen / noticed any trends in the FP+ return time & lines... IE I've read on some threads about long FP+ Lines ... Is arriving during the middle 30 min of your return window more likely to encounter a shorter FP line? Minutiae perhaps but just curious.

 

[PrincessJo]

We were there Dec. 31 - Jan. 6 and didn't have any problems with FP+.

Most of our return times were within the first 15 minutes on the hour, one was at 1:55pm. We never waited more than 10 minutes in an FP+ line, except for Test Track which was about 20 minutes. We usually arrived within 30 minutes of our time... except once when we arrived about 5 minutes before. We saw no difference.

We love FP+. Changing our return times on MDE was easy too. No problems here.

 

[mommajo143]

We were there Dec. 31 - Jan. 6 and didn't have any problems with FP+. Most of our return times were within the first 15 minutes on the hour, one was at 1:55pm. We never waited more than 10 minutes in an FP+ line, except for Test Track which was about 20 minutes. We usually arrived within 30 minutes of our time... except once when we arrived about 5 minutes before. We saw no difference. We love FP+. Changing our return times on MDE was easy too. No problems here.

Good to know someone used & liked the system, anywho, glad to know there wasn't more strategy to apply. My head is spinning just keeping up with ADRs & trying to (re) arrange FP+ in a way that makes sense ( oxymoron perhaps)

 

[Wild about Walt]

I don't mean to party crash here but I'm really confused myself. I'm doing my first solo trip with my 3 kids in May. I didn't go through a travel agent and I'm staying off property. What is FP+, how does it work and what kind of restriction are there?

 

[plutoloversmom]

FP+ is the new fast pass system for people staying at a Disney resort. There are fast pass systems throughout the park for park guests. But with FP+ resort guests can actually pick the rides and the time that they are going to want to be on up to 60 days ahead of their booked vacation.

 

[mommajo143]

I don't mean to party crash here but I'm really confused myself. I'm doing my first solo trip with my 3 kids in May. I didn't go through a travel agent and I'm staying off property. What is FP+, how does it work and what kind of restriction are there?

FP+ is available now to everyone on & off site.
It's basically a way to "go to the front" and skip the line for a ride...Without getting into too much unnecessary detail, If you stay off site then you will book your FP+ rides on the day of. Currently, There are 3 per person (ticket) per day ... So at Park opening (or throughout the day) you can go to a FP+ kiosk in the park and reserve a ride time for a specific ride. Actually, you must book all three, but anyhow - once you book the ride you go to that ride during the time slot you signed up for & go into the FP line and go to the front. There are lots of tutorials & info on various WDW blogs...different people have different ideas on using the FP+ system. People have different expectations, likes & dislikes so don't get too bogged down in that. Each family is different. We prefer late afternoon time slots which are typically when lines are longer & we just get in the regular standby line in the mornings & evenings. We eat lunch and nap midday which seems to be the longest lines IMO. The rides / times you pick will be limited by what's already been chosen...availability of rides / times can change during the day so you can check in at kiosks if you want (need) to change something . I'd say you probably do need to have a rough idea of what you want to do when you step up to the kiosk to make your selections.

 

[Sherpa]

It's been a while (and that's putting it mildly!) since we were last at WDW. Thanks for your explanation of the FP+ system. I've been reading so much on the board about it but didn't understand it! We are staying at a WDW resort. Is there an extra charge for these passes?

Sorry, too, if I'm "crashing" this thread. So much has changed since we simply went and stood in line for an attraction!