Advice on FP+ attractions and which to pick

[halfmonkey]

We're AP holders at DLR but will be going to WDW for the first time soon. Our window will be opening soon to make our FP+ selection and I was hoping to get your feedback on what we plan to get. A couple of things to keep in mind as you're reviewing our selections. My dd4 loves Ariel and we all love Star Wars. We also want to ride the rides that DLR doesn't have. Others things to note as you review our selections. Please let me know if I'm wasting a FP+ selection on a ride that isn't really that busy. Also, the ones where I've listed more than 3 will the ones that I'd like to get next once the first FP+ expires.

Our days are currently laid out as follows:
day 1 - Hollywood Studios
day 2 - Epcot
day 3 - Magic Kingdom
day 4 - Magic Kingdom
day 5 - Animal Kingdom

Hollywood Studios
1. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
2. Voyage of the Little Mermaid
3. Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular

Epcot
1. The Seas with Nemo & Friends
2. Frozen Ever After
3. Mission: Space
4. Test Track
5. Illuminations - Reflections of Earth- question: what exactly do I get with this fastpass+ selection for Illuminations? Is it a reserved seating, better standing area, closer standing area?

Magic Kingdom - day 1
1. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
2. Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid
3. Fireworks - question: what exactly do I get with this fastpass+ selection for the fireworks? Is it a reserved seating, better standing area, closer standing area?

Magic Kingdom - day 2
1. Princess Fairytale Hall
2. Enchanted Tales with Belle
3. Peter Pan's Flight (Believe it or not, we've never been on this ride with the kids before because the lines at DLR as so long for some reason)

Animal Kingdom
1. Expedition Everest
2. Dinosaur
3. Festival of the Lion King
4. Kilimanjaro Safaris
5. Finding Nemo - The Musical
6. Kali River Rapids

 

[jcarwash]

My notes:

Waste of pre-planned FP:
-Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
-Festival of the Lion King
Both of these shows have a lot of capacity, so as long as you're on time (and even sometimes of you're not) you'll be able to enter the seating areas.

May be tough to expect to get:
Test Track as a 4th FP, but if you are prioritizing Frozen Ever After as your Tier 1 Epcot choice (which you will need to), you can't preplan two tier 1s on the same day
IllumiNations as 4th or 5th FP -- more likely than Test Track in my experience, but still iffy

Don't really need additional FP for:
Finding Nemo: The Musical
Lots of capacity and show times offered, easy to get into and see. And it's definitely worth it -- I love this show.

On IllumiNations and MK fireworks FP:
Yes, if you get an IllumiNations FP, you are admitted into a reserved, central viewing area. The viewing area is directly at the center of World Showcase Lagoon.
For MK Wishes fireworks, unfortunately there is no longer a FastPass offered. You can try to get FP for the daytime Festival of Fantasy parade for a reserved viewing area in Town Square.

May be tough to ride without a FP:
Toy Story Midway Mania at Hollywood Studios. But as you point out, you have this at DLR and it's identical.

 

[halfmonkey]

My notes:

Waste of pre-planned FP:
-Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
-Festival of the Lion King
Both of these shows have a lot of capacity, so as long as you're on time (and even sometimes of you're not) you'll be able to enter the seating areas.

May be tough to expect to get:
Test Track as a 4th FP
IllumiNations as 4th or 5th FP -- more likely than Test Track in my experience, but still iffy

Don't really need additional FP for:
Finding Nemo: The Musical
Lots of capacity and show times offered, easy to get into and see. And it's definitely worth it -- I love this show.

On IllumiNations and MK fireworks FP:
Yes, if you get an IllumiNations FP, you are admitted into a reserved, central viewing area. The viewing area is directly at the center of World Showcase Lagoon.
For MK Wishes fireworks, unfortunately there is no longer a FastPass offered. You can get a viewing area FP for the daytime Festival of Fantasy parade.

May be tough to ride without a FP:
Toy Story Midway Mania at Hollywood Studios. But as you point out, you have this at DLR and it's identical.

Thanks for the feedback. This is the kind of information I'm looking for.

So is the Indiana Jones Spectacular not needed because the attraction sucks or is it because even with it being busy, I can still get good seats? If it's not all that great, what do you suggest I replace the FP+ with?

For Epcot, maybe I should use the 3rd FP+ for Illuminations and then then just wait it out in line for Mission: Space and Test Track. If I do that, which is the busier of the two attractions? Curious so I know which I should wait for first?

For Animal Kingdom, do you know if the Kali River Rapids is the same as DCA Grizzly River Run?

 

[jcarwash]

Indiana Jones is an opening-day "behind the scenes" stunt show that is totally great and worth seeing, especially for the first time. You don't have a lot of other Tier 2 choices to replace it with, though. For me, I would suggest Great Movie Ride, since it's unique to DHS. The popular choice would be Tower of Terror as a tier 2 pick, but you have to like Tower of Terror (which I don't).

Test Track is definitely the priority over Mission: Space in terms of expected wait times and crowds.

Kali River Rapids is a similar type of water ride as Grizzly River Run, but GRR is considered the better experience.

 

[loves to dive]

Any of the shows are easy to just do stand by on, just make sure you are there at least 15 min. in advance. HS is all about Star Wars right now. It's hard to know this far out but if they are still doing the Star Wars night time show, you are probably going to want to see that. It's pretty hard to get a good seat unless you do the dessert party but all that is up in the air right now. I wouldn't worry about a FP for Illuminations, there are loads of spots all around WS to see the show. If you are at Epcot all day and book your other FPs early in the day, you might have luck getting TT for later in the day but you have to use all the others first. Standby isn't bad there, even if the lines are long there are some pretty cool things to look at. If your brave, you could attempt to FEA at rope drop and book your FP for TT. Be careful with that though, you would really need to get there early so you are pretty close up in the line, you have to walk through the park and people tend to run. If HS is not tiered (can't remember because we rarely book FPs) you could replace Indiana Jones with Star Tours.

 

[halfmonkey]

Any of the shows are easy to just do stand by on, just make sure you are there at least 15 min. in advance. HS is all about Star Wars right now. It's hard to know this far out but if they are still doing the Star Wars night time show, you are probably going to want to see that. It's pretty hard to get a good seat unless you do the dessert party but all that is up in the air right now. I wouldn't worry about a FP for Illuminations, there are loads of spots all around WS to see the show. If you are at Epcot all day and book your other FPs early in the day, you might have luck getting TT for later in the day but you have to use all the others first. Standby isn't bad there, even if the lines are long there are some pretty cool things to look at. If your brave, you could attempt to FEA at rope drop and book your FP for TT. Be careful with that though, you would really need to get there early so you are pretty close up in the line, you have to walk through the park and people tend to run. If HS is not tiered (can't remember because we rarely book FPs) you could replace Indiana Jones with Star Tours.

Good thought about Hollywood Studios and the Star Wars night time show. The calendar doesn't currently show a Star Wars show at night but it does say that Fantasmic will be showing. I think I get that instead but if Star Wars is shown again, I'm going to get that FP+.

 

[loves to dive]

Good thought about Hollywood Studios and the Star Wars night time show. The calendar doesn't currently show a Star Wars show at night but it does say that Fantasmic will be showing. I think I get that instead but if Star Wars is shown again, I'm going to get that FP+.

there is no FP for the Star Wars show, they do have a dessert party which is an add on but you get good spots. Otherwise, it's just get there early and wait.

 

[jcarwash]

Have you been using the first set of posts from this thread? Really useful: http://www.disboards.com/threads/fastpass-frequently-asked-questions.3491680/

 

[halfmonkey]

Have you been using the first set of posts from this thread? Really useful: http://www.disboards.com/threads/fastpass-frequently-asked-questions.3491680/

I haven't as I didn't know that thread existed. I will be now. It's an awesome thread and thanks for pointing it out to me. Lots of useful info that I didn't know like the FP+ window opens at 7am et, which sucks for me because I'm in Cali.

 

[cassie58]

For HS, in your #2 spot, you could replace Mermaid with Tower of Terror(if you want to ride classic again, since yours is changing) or Star Tours. You should not need one for Mermaid as it is shown every half hour and a large group goes in each time, so not usually a long wait. Can usually get Fantasmic as a 4th as well. We like having one for Indy show, cause you can get close seats, but it isn't needed to see it. If your kids are into SW, Jedi Training is cool, but you need to get there early to sign up first thing, then will want to do Launch Bay area for meets with Chewy and Kylo.

At Epcot as PP mentioned Test Track is not usually around for 4th FP. You can do it at Rope Drop, or single rider line. Illuminations could be around as 4th FP, but there are many area to see it all around the lake, so you don't need one to see it - you can see it from many areas. Just an FYI for Mission Space, you might want to ride the green level - even that can make some feel sick, but the orange does it for more. You don't want to feel bad the rest of the day - it depends on your party. I don't risk it all, but you will have to read up on it and decide. You might want to do Spaceship Earth in the giant "golf ball" - can probably get a fourth or have short waits early. Same for Seas - can do early with little wait, but definitely do Turtle Talk with Crush before or after (can FP both or get 4th) - lots of fun for kids as Crush interacts with people in the crowd.

In MK, if you want to do any of the mountains, I would add those into your list. Little Mermaid can usually be gotten as a 4th if waits are longer. If you want the meet in the Grotto w/her, I would FP that or do early. If you are Rope Drop people, you can do Peter Pan first and use FP for something else. Pooh ride is cute but will have hour waits later like Peter Pan, so that's another one to hop on early. Others to FP would be Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean - I know you have some of these, so that will factor in which you choose to FP first.

For AK, FP Safari, Everest, and Dino. Everest has single rider as well, but it depends on your kids age. Don't know how old your kids are, but might want to YouTube Dino, as it is loud, dark, and can be scary for younger ones. We like to get one for Lion King, but it is not needed. Again, if you do Rope Drop, you can do Safari or Everest first, then use FP for Kali. For Kali, it always depends on weather for us, to see if you want to get wet or not, as you can come off dry or totally soaked - we bring disposable ponchos just in case!

Are you staying on property? If so, early magic hours are great benefit, as you can get a lot done in the first few hours. If not, Rope Drop works well on nonEMH mornings at parks. When making FP, you don't need to go in order of your days, so go to hardest to get 1st, starting with Epcot day and Frozen, then MK for Mine Train, etc.

 

[halfmonkey]

After reading the tips thread and your responses, I've revised my itinerary. What do you think?

Hollywood Studios
1. Rock n Roller coaster - since we don't have this
2. Voyage of the Little Mermaid - since we don't have this
3. Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular - since we don't have this

Epcot
1. Frozen Ever After - since we don't have this
2. Turtle Talk with Crush - since we don't have this
3. Mission Space - since we don't have this. The adults won't do this. maybe just the kids
4. Illuminations
5. Test Track - we'll wait in line for this first thing in the morning and book the other rides for an early afternoon/late morning time.

Magic Kingdom - day 1
1. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train - since we don't have this
2. Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid - since we don't have this
3. Peter Pan's flight

Magic Kingdom - day 2
1. Princess Fairytale Hall
2. Enchanted Tales with Belle
3. Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade

Animal Kingdom
1. Expedition Everest - since we don't have this
2. Kilimanjaro Safaris - since we don't have this
3. Dinosaur
4. Kali River Rapids - we might do this
5. Festival of the Lion King - we'll just wait in line
6. Finding Nemo - The Muscial - we'll just wait in line

 

[jcarwash]

Just spotted two items you listed as being different from DLR.

Despite the different naming, "Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid" at MK is identical to "The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventure" at DCA. The queue is very different but the ride itself is the same. That said I've lost count how many times I've been on both rides over and over.

Also, Turtle Talk with Crush at Epcot is identical to Turtle Talk with Crush at DCA -- did you mean to plan for the Seas with Nemo ride? Spaceship Earth is another attraction that used to be easy to ride prior to FastPass; now it can help to have one.

 

[gap2368]

just a side not but I would not do any FP for the first hour the park opens as you can walk on a lot of rides I like to have my first FP start about an hour to 90 minutes after the park opens and then I like to have them pretty much back to back this allows for you to hit short waits at RD and still have time to get a good FP and more after you use your 3 FP

also I would never FP the parade as it is directly in the sun with no shade instead I would get to where it starts in fronterland about 30 to 45 minutes early and have some ice cream or some other snack great break time there is a few stops near by that you can let one person save the spot while the other go in and look, I would just be out 10-15 minute before the parade stats as people will get your spot. but CM do start to rope off the space about an hour early and there are some planter that you can sit on you will not be in the front row but second row if you need a set other wise I would just sit on the ground.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

DLR vet turned WDW vet here. Get it out of your head that rides with the same name are the same at DLR and WDW. Most of them are somewhat different. Some of them are radically different. Space Mountain is a completely different ride. Splash Mountain and Tower of Terror are much more elaborate. Haunted Mansion is significantly longer. Buzz Lightyear and it's a small world are both substantially different inside. Half of Fantasmic is completely different. Even some of the near clones have differences. Little Mermaid (in MK) has a completely different ride building and queue. Soarin' has an ending unique to WDW. Jungle Cruise has the original layout that DL used to have with the abandoned float-through temple. Big Thunder has track elements that are absent at DL (and is a more robust ride.) Even Pirates, the MK version of which is barely half as long as DL's and is missing almost all of the fantastic beginning and ending scenes that DL has, sits in an amazingly themed ride building. (As does Toy Story.) If you plan your trip around what you think is the same, you will flat out miss out on many things that make WDW unique.

The only thing in all of WDW I'd take a pass on as a DL vet is Kali River Rapids. Grizzly River Run is far, far better by design--it was actually Imagineered in response to complaints that Kali was too tame. You'll probably wonder why you bothered to ride. Other than that, let go of the assumption that WDW echoes DLR as much as possible. It's a completely different animal and feels that way, even with rides that seem to have the same name.

 

[jcarwash]

Just an update that currently there is no FastPass+ for the Festival of Fantasy parade. That option was removed last year, but that FastPass FAQ thread is still listing it, so I didn't remember it was gone. On the thread some people were discussing the need to update the listing to remove FoF.