It's been awhile and ? about FP+

[my3sonsagn]

I tend to stay off the Disboards when I don't have a trip planned (being on here makes me want to go way more often than what will work with my budget lol), so I'm a bit behind on new things at WDW.

For instance, the last time we went we were part of FP+ testing and really liked it, but I keep seeing posts about needing to grab your FP+ reservations as close to midnight of the day your reservation window opens (when we tested they didn't even have it open for all WDW Resort guests, so changes were easily available if needed). How critical is that? We're going mid-November, and really want to do the new Mine train (plus some older faves like BTMR, Space Mountain, TSM, RnRC, Test Track and a couple of others) and we're part of a YES group (so I have no control over when the YES tickets are ordered or delivered), so I can't be sure we'll have them at that midnight release. Since that's normally a slower week, is it possible/likely we'll be able to get the FP+ we want?

I also need to look up Memory Maker (they were doing PhotoPass+ - I think that was what they called it anyway - testing when we were there that gave us the regular PP stuff plus the ride photos; is MM pretty much the same thing only renamed?).

And if anyone has any other tips/info about things that have changed since 2013 I'd love to here them. TIA!

 

[jimandami]

I think the big FP that must be booked at midnight is Anna and Elsa, and to a lesser extent SDMT. The others can probably be booked at a later time, but you definitely want to try to book them as close to day 60 as possible. I thought I read it was possible to link yes tickets ahead of time, but I'm not sure. As far as MM, it's pretty similar but the nice thing is that you can share one with everyone in your party and all they need is a magic band to scan at the photographer. At rides, your MB should automatically be detected and the ride photo uploaded to you account, which is nice. One other big difference is you no longer receive a disc, you receive the ability to download the photos.

 

[nilla]

Is midnight the earliest in all cases? A CM on the phone told me it opens a minute after MK closes (with 12:00 am being the earliest). So, if MK closes at 1:00 am that night, you can start booking at 1:01 am.

That said, I still fully intend to try booking at midnight

 

[jimandami]

Is midnight the earliest in all cases? A CM on the phone told me it opens a minute after MK closes (with 12:00 am being the earliest). So, if MK closes at 1:00 am that night, you can start booking at 1:01 am.

That said, I still fully intend to try booking at midnight

It is true that there are some nights the booking starts at 1:00 and I believe there is a thread on here that tracks them?

 

[Reddog1134]

Is midnight the earliest in all cases? A CM on the phone told me it opens a minute after MK closes (with 12:00 am being the earliest). So, if MK closes at 1:00 am that night, you can start booking at 1:01 am.

That said, I still fully intend to try booking at midnight

I do remember reading something about people being unable to book their FPs because the park was open late.

So it's entirely possible that the booking window opens at Midnight or after park close. Whichever is later.

 

[Robo]

Is midnight the earliest in all cases?

A CM on the phone told me it opens a minute after MK closes (with 12:00 am being the earliest).

If 12AM is the earliest (and it is) then, yes, midnight is the earliest in all cases.
(We are discussing the Eastern Timezone.)

Now, if you are asking if midnight is the LATEST in all cases, that answer is "no."

 

[nilla]

It is true that there are some nights the booking starts at 1:00 and I believe there is a thread on here that tracks them?

Not sure about the thread, but park hours are certainly posted. When I called to ask, the CM looked up MK's hours for the previous day. Supposedly 1:01 is the earliest I can book, but as I said, I'll be on there at midnight anyway, clicking F5 until I can book

 

[my3sonsagn]

Thanks for the info! Neither my kids nor I are really into Anna or Else, so we're safe there. SDMT is the one that makes me nervous; since I'm not the group organizer for the YES tickets I'm not even sure when they'll be ordered (though deadline for registration is about 90 days out, so hopefully soon after that since the organizer has experience doing this trip every year and everything has gone smoothly in the past). I guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed and hope they either get here in time or some will be left since we're going on a (based on past years) slower week.

 

[mesaboy2]

It is true that there are some nights the booking starts at 1:00 and I believe there is a thread on here that tracks them?

Not sure about the thread, but park hours are certainly posted. When I called to ask, the CM looked up MK's hours for the previous day. Supposedly 1:01 is the earliest I can book, but as I said, I'll be on there at midnight anyway, clicking F5 until I can book

The green and purple links in my signature have a lot of info about FPs in general and when booking windows open.

 

[shpooey]

I think the big FP that must be booked at midnight is Anna and Elsa, and to a lesser extent SDMT. The others can probably be booked at a later time, but you definitely want to try to book them as close to day 60 as possible.

I would add that if you want FP+ for Wishes or the FoF parade, then those tend to go quickly. Not right at midnight, but they're often gone very close to 60 days out.

 

[Robo]

I would add that if you want FP+ for Wishes or the FoF parade, then those tend to go quickly. Not right at midnight, but they're often gone very close to 60 days out.

Not so much FoF but more so MSEP.

 

[shpooey]

Not so much FoF but more so MSEP.

My post was based mainly on availability from the Dibb - showed FoF mostly unavailable before 58 days out and Wishes mostly unavailable before 57 days out, but MSEP still available from 30 to 60 days. Maybe this is an anomaly? Or due to two MSEPs a night? I assume that would affect FP+ availability.

To be on the safe side @my3sonsagn, if you'd like FP+ for Wishes or either parade, always best to select as soon as possible