77 Days To Go - Help with FP+ please

Easto

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jan 21, 2011
Messages
390
August 23 - Arrival

August 24 - Epcot

August 25 - Magic Kingdom

August 26 - N/A

August 27 - Hollywood Studios

August 28 - Magic Kingdom

August 29 - N/A

August 30 - Magic Kingdom

August 31 - Animal Kingdom

September 1 - Departure

- Family of 4
- Daughters are 4 and 6 years old
- 6 year old is 44" tall
- 4 year old is 40" tall

I'd like to be able to hit the high priority stuff early in the vacation if possible just incase the girls want to go again we can try and work that into the plan somehow.

- Tower of Terror will probably cost me several thousands of dollars in post Disney therapy for my 4 year old, so that ride I may just wait in the normal line for if I can convince someone else to go on it with me. Likely not a family of 4 ride for us.

How would you plan your FP+ around these plans?
 
For MK, I'd def. fastpass 7DMT each day, and then maybe Splash and Thunder Mountain. -This is assuming you're going to do rope drop each of those days and first do Peterpan, followed by Winnie Pooh, Tea Cups, Cars if your kids make you do them lol. Once you use your 3 fastpasses, I'd try for Buzz and Space as your next fastpasses.

For Epcot, are you guys needing to do the Frozen stuff...it should be open by then...if so I think you'll probably need to fastpass those (not sure if both the ride and meet n greet are going to be tier ones, although I'm guessing they will). Keep watching the boards and try to change up your fastpasses if necessary. Right now, I'd probably fastpass the ride and then just pick 2 of the other tier 2 ones (probably Nemo and Spaceship Earth, as for us those seem to have the most likelihood of having a longer line. Make sure you do Soarin or Test Track as your rope drop pic and then good luck with the other (maybe you could get it as a 4th fastpass).

AK, I'd probably fastpass, Everest and Kali and I guess Safari.

DHS: If you decide to do Rock-n-roller coaster (don't think either of your girls are tall enoug)...know you can do a child swap on it. Since the kids won't be doing R-n-R, I'd do TSM as your Tier 1 fastpass, then probably Tower of Terror (if you'll all ride) or Great Movie Ride and Star Tours as your other two.

Crowds should thin out towards the end of your trip which will be nice. We'll actually be there for part of your trip as well. Have fun!
 
DNS: If you really want to do TSM (and it is a great ride for families and kids) I would advice FP, and RD RRC, as I have seen TSM with waits 60 min+ soon after RD.
 
Your biggest problem is going to be EPCOT with just 1 day there. EPCOT was by far DD's favorite park other than MK at both those ages. With the tiers, you have Frozen, Soarin and Test Track and you can only pick one of those and your kids are not old enough to do the single rider line. At age 4, DD loved Soarin and tolerated Test Track. At age 6, she liked both. Assuming your kids are not yet totally burnt out on Frozen, I guess you will have to try to get the FP+ for that one-- although it is going to be a VERY hard to get FP+, I am expecting. I would do that if you can and then try to get there really early to get to Soarin at the front of the rope drop crowd--- with it being a whole new movie which almost makes it a new ride- those lines will be very long this summer. My only concern with that for you is making it the 4 year old's first ride. If it scares her- it might be hard to get her on something else. We told DD she would be flying like Peter Pan, her first time (she was 3)-- after the ride she corrected us to tell us we were wrong and we were in a hang glider like Diego. TT probably will have the shortest (but still long line), so I would just try to get to that one when the line isn't horrible if at all possible. When Frozen was not in the mix, several times we have loaded our FP+ in the morning to try to get another tier 1 (either Soarin or TT whichever we did not have for the day- or we would even had taken Illuminations), but we have never even once been able to pick up another Tier 1, even when we have moved up FP+s between rides to try to get them done as fast as possible after park opening.

Other FP+s for Epcot. Since FP+, we have actually found that the attractions we usually rode walk on often have 1/2 hour rides. I would say the ones we have used the FPs to avoid longer lines have mostly been Nemo and Imagination. Turtle Talk with Crush isn't a bad idea- but we have gotten into that pretty easily without a FP+. DD also loved Living with the Land at those ages, but even since FP+ we have typically been able to do that ride with a line of 20 minutes or less. Spaceship Earth, even since FP+, as long as we don't go first thing in the morning (people enter the park and stop there since it is the first ride they pass) we have still always walked on- or waited less than 10 minutes for- it.


MK--- The priorities for us would be 7DMT and Peter Pan. The worst thing about FP+, was usually DD rode Peter Pan several times a day-- there were days when we just FP that one several times and never pulled a different FP. Even if you hit PP within the first 5 or 10 minutes of rope drop before the line builds (and it will have built by about 15 or 20 minutes after rope drop), your 4 year old may be begging for another ride on that one. The rest really depends on your kids. DD hated BTMRR at those ages and still does today. Do you think you think your kids will be thrill seekers and wiling to ride Space Mountain? If so, I would do that one of your days. Splash is a really good one to have in hot August-- especially in the hot afternoons because that is when the lines get the longest.

AK-- Safari. As far as the rest, when DD wouldn't ride EE, DH and I would still use FP+ on it and take turns riding-- or you can still use the single rider line. DD was tall and was tall enough for that one at age 6, but was not going to set foot on it. Other than that, Kali - again in the afternoon for hot August is a good choice. You can also FP+ the Lion King or Nemo. The FP+ line gets to enter first which gives more of a seating choice. Also, it guarantees you entry at the time of your choice-- we have been lucky with Lion King doing standby and have never been turned away, but people do get turned away.

DHS--- This is another place you are dealing with tiers. With kids that age, I would say TSM. They have opened the other track recently, and I have heard that has shortened the line, but I don't know how short they will be in the Summer Months. Plus, even if you hit it with a short line, it can't hurt to have a FP+ to get them a 2nd ride. This unfortunately leaves the parents out of RNRC- but I'm guessing neither kid is tall enough to ride that one. RNRC does have a single rider line- but it often is very long itself. Another good FP+ for that age is Star Tours. That line is typically not too bad unless you get there right as the Indiana Jones show gets out, but it doesn't hurt to be holding one just in case. That ride can have different scenes, so you might get a totally different ride as second time. I don't know if your girls have gotten caught up in the Star Wars frenzy, but mine definitely has and she loved the ride even before she had seen any of the Star Wars movies.
 

My next question is about TIME!!

If I am going to book FP+ does it really matter what time I book it for?

Last time I went to WDW FP+ didn't exist so we had to get to all the good attractions first thing in the morning, then we hit the Fast Pass machines and got fast passes for the earliest available times.

If I am looking to book FP+ for my upcoming trip should I be spreading them out throughout the day?

Should I try and book them early so once I use 1 FP+ I can add another one for later?
 
This is what I am thinking:

For Epcot, The Tier 1 rides are really the only things I can see us wanting FP+ for. It's too bad you can only pick 1. What do people usually do with Epcot FP+?

In regards to other FP+, how do you guys picks times to do these? Do you aim for middle of the day when it's busy?

August 23 - Arrival

August 24 - Epcot

-
Frozen Ever After (Tier 1)
- (Tier 2)
- (Tier 2)

August 25 - Magic Kingdom

-
7 Dwarfs Mine Train
- Splash Mountain
- Peter Pans Flight

August 26 - N/A

August 27 - Hollywood Studios

-
Toy Story Mania (Tier 1)
- For the First Time in Forever: A "Frozen" Sing-Along Celebration (Tier 2)
- Star Tours (Tier 2)

August 28 - Magic Kingdom


- 7 Dwarfs Mine Train
- Splash Mountain
- Peter Pans Flight

August 29 - N/A

August 30 - Magic Kingdom


- 7 Dwarfs Mine Train
- Splash Mountain
- Peter Pans Flight

August 31 - Animal Kingdom

- Expedition Everest
- Safari
- Kali River Rapids

September 1 - Departure
 
If I am looking to book FP+ for my upcoming trip should I be spreading them out throughout the day?

Should I try and book them early so once I use 1 FP+ I can add another one for later?

Just a quick note to say that you cannot book another FP until all 3 have been used (or the time window for the third as expired). So if you spread them out throughout the day, you won't be able to choose a 4th etc until the 3rd has passed.

If you are going to RD and are planning an afternoon break, I would line them up about 11 am, 12 pm, and 1 pm -ish. Try to keep the ones that are closer in time closer to each other in the park. For example, SDMT and PP are really close together, while Splash is much farther away. Don't book SDMT at 11, Splash at 12, and the PP at 1. You will spend way too much time doing the back and forth across the park.
 












Receive up to $1,000 in Onboard Credit and a Gift Basket!
That’s right — when you book your Disney Cruise with Dreams Unlimited Travel, you’ll receive incredible shipboard credits to spend during your vacation!
CLICK HERE






DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter DIS Bluesky

Back
Top Bottom