Advice, please. TA says we won't get FP until 10 days before arrival.

[cakebaker]

I'll pass on the debate, thanks. That wouldn't be helpful to anyone here.

Absolutely agree- What the OP has a chance of doing is getting that TA to speed things up. That's what I'd focus on rather than things I can't do a thing about.

Good luck OP!

 

[sharona]

I hope the group got a decent discount on the rooms/tickets to help make up for this issue.

 

[lugnut33]

That's highly debatable but nonetheless, Disney shouldn't have to tailor their systems so that ta's not doing their jobs can get away with it.

I too hope the OP gets things settled. The good news is even 10 days out, availability can be quite good. A&E will be tough, SDMT should have some availability with limited times. But hopefully, you get the TA to move on this and do what they ought to do. Sorry for you problems, I know it can be frustrating.

It's not debatable at all. Every day the parks started over again. All you had to do was get there before 10 and you could have gotten a FP for anything.

Also, I doubt this is the TA fault. Most groups that go don't get their tickets firmed up until just before they leave.

If the major headliners are important to OP, they are just going to have to be there at rope drop and head right to those rides. For Epcot I would ride Soarin first and then single rider line Test Track. For DHS I would do TSMM first, then single rider line RnR and do ToT standby. Shouldn't take more than 3 hours.

 

[cakebaker]

My 14 year old DD is playing in a large sporting event at EWWS the third week of June. One travel agency (who has been rather underwhelming and unimpressive so far) is handling hotel and ticket reservations for all athletes and their families for this particular event. We have booked 6 nights at CBR through this travel agency and also purchased theme park tickets through said travel agency. This will also be our first visit to Disney since the implementation of FP+. When I called this TA earlier this week to inquire about 30/60 day window for making FP reservations, the person answering the phone said the tickets would not be delivered until 10 days prior to the event and that we could not make FP+ reservations until the tickets arrived. 10 days prior to a mid-June arrival seems to put me at a terrible disadvantage for making FP+ reservations.

For those with extensive experience with FP+ reservations during a busy part of the season, how difficult is it going to be to get FP for popular rides (3 kids ages 14, 11, 9 who like to ride) 10 days before arrival? Any other helpful strategies that anyone else has for making FP in such a short time frame? Any other advice or counsel? Thanks!

If it is indeed standard not to release these tickets until that time, then there's not much you can do about it. Changes in policy won't help you.

As I said earlier and others have said as well, at 10 days out there are only a couple of things you'll have trouble with for sure. Some others will have availability with limited times and the vast majority won't be a problem at all.


We normally plan our days, then get fp+'s tailored to that plan. You don't have that luxury I don't think. I'd just take a deep breath, get a good idea of exactly what you want to ride in each park and then wait until you can actually schedule fp+'s. Get the best times you can, plan your days around those times. It's not an optimal situation, but it's not an impossible one either.

Once you're there, since you are on site, you'll be able to use EMH's and those are great for getting in things you don't have a fp+ for or you want to ride more than once. Make use of rope drop to do even more. I really think you can get most, if not all of what you want done with good planning.

 

[cakebaker]

It's not debatable at all. Every day the parks started over again. All you had to do was get there before 10 and you could have gotten a FP for anything.

What could've been under an old system that is no longer in place is in no way helpful to the OP. The discussion got started because of course, that's the default response anytime there's a problem- it's all FP+'s fault. Whether it is or it isn't is a completely pointless discussion and does not help the OP. So for my part, and I apologize for my part in it, the dead horse argument of " paper fp was better" is over.

 

[luvsJack]

I would question WHY that is their standard. We just did a group trip although, maybe smaller than a ball team, and our ticket numbers were available to us 30 days out. We did not physically receive the tickets until we arrived in Orlando but our tour company emailed the director the ticket numbers that had already been assigned to each person going on the trip.

 

[Astridia]

I would question WHY that is their standard. We just did a group trip although, maybe smaller than a ball team, and our ticket numbers were available to us 30 days out. We did not physically receive the tickets until we arrived in Orlando but our tour company emailed the director the ticket numbers that had already been assigned to each person going on the trip.

According to my friend who is the group TA, the large teen groups receive deeply discounted rooms and theme park tickets so they are not distributed by Disney the same way as other tickets are handled.

 

[Astridia]

What could've been under an old system that is no longer in place is in no way helpful to the OP. The discussion got started because of course, that's the default response anytime there's a problem- it's all FP+'s fault. Whether it is or it isn't is a completely pointless discussion and does not help the OP. So for my part, and I apologize for my part in it, the dead horse argument of " paper fp was better" is over.

I think the debate started when you started calling the TA incompetent without any information to support your claim.

 

[cakebaker]

I would question WHY that is their standard. We just did a group trip although, maybe smaller than a ball team, and our ticket numbers were available to us 30 days out. We did not physically receive the tickets until we arrived in Orlando but our tour company emailed the director the ticket numbers that had already been assigned to each person going on the trip.

This is a definitely possibility I think- I've read many reports of people who got their ticket numbers well in advance. There's no need to physically have the ticket and every day counts in ease of availability.

 

[Angel Ariel]

OP - I would talk to your TA again and see if there is anything they can do to get you the ticket numbers for your group ahead of time. I think I've read a few posts here where they have managed to make that happen. And like some suggested, having multiple parents call in may help light that fire.

Obviously I haven't dealt with your TA, so I can't speak to their competence or not, but I know that there have been issues in other special ticketing areas (I'm thinking mostly of the Armed Forces Salute tickets) with the new 30/60 day requirements as well. There was a big problem with them last year because Disney didn't release the tickets for sale for October 2014-Sept 2015 until September 2014...so many people with trips in October and some in early November missed their FP+ windows, which last fall was a bigger deal (I went in November, and my base didn't get tickets to sell until *right* before my onsite FP+window opened, and availability last year seemed to go more quickly than it is going now). SteveLT, who runs the militarydisneytips site has been taking to Disney to get them to release next year's salute tixkets (if they renew it) earlier so that those problems don't happen again this year.

Hopefully with some parental encouragement your group can get the TA to get the info you need!

 

[Astridia]

OP - I would talk to your TA again and see if there is anything they can do to get you the ticket numbers for your group ahead of time. I think I've read a few posts here where they have managed to make that happen. And like some suggested, having multiple parents call in may help light that fire.

Obviously I haven't dealt with your TA, so I can't speak to their competence or not, but I know that there have been issues in other special ticketing areas (I'm thinking mostly of the Armed Forces Salute tickets) with the new 30/60 day requirements as well. There was a big problem with them last year because Disney didn't release the tickets for sale for October 2014-Sept 2015 until September 2014...so many people with trips in October and some in early November missed their FP+ windows, which last fall was a bigger deal (I went in November, and my base didn't get tickets to sell until *right* before my onsite FP+window opened, and availability last year seemed to go more quickly than it is going now). SteveLT, who runs the militarydisneytips site has been taking to Disney to get them to release next year's salute tixkets (if they renew it) earlier so that those problems don't happen again this year.

Hopefully with some parental encouragement your group can get the TA to get the info you need!

I also wonder if all of the trip payments have been received. Maybe the group had a payment in full deadline that was closer to the date of departure. If this is the case, Disney won't release ticket numbers until they're paid in full.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

this is the way group events are done. Your argument is with Disney itself. Not with the travel agent.

 

[bumbershoot]

If you are going to do Disney through a TA pick one like Dreams Unlimited or another that specializes in Disney vactions.

They can't, though. This is through Disney Sports and they don't get to choose TAs in the same way. And the Sports group has their own way of doing things.

I would question WHY that is their standard. We just did a group trip although, maybe smaller than a ball team, and our ticket numbers were available to us 30 days out. We did not physically receive the tickets until we arrived in Orlando but our tour company emailed the director the ticket numbers that had already been assigned to each person going on the trip.

Did you go through a normal TA or through the Sports group? Was it just a trip or was your group competing?

If it was through Sports and if you were competing, perhaps you could share your tour company with the OP so their tour company could contact he other and find out how they did that?

 

[BarbieGal457]

OP, it stinks to hear that is their standard of dealing with tickets, but I wanted to hopefully provide a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. We went for NYE this past year, and only were able to do our FP 8 or 9 days prior as we did not have the tickets until then. We were still able to get awesome times for Splash, Big Thunder, and 7DMT with basically no hassle at all. I was really surprised, but don't think all hope of good FPs is lost if it is the case that you do have to wait until 10 days out. Even that day people cancelled awesome FPs and we were able to pick them up since we had already used our first 3.

 

[Freekncreekn]

According to my friend who is the group TA, the large teen groups receive deeply discounted rooms and theme park tickets so they are not distributed by Disney the same way as other tickets are handled.

This is true. Due to this being a very large sporting event with thousands of girls coming to play, we are able to get deeply discounted tickets and slightly discounted rooms. I really do not intend to beat up on the TA over this issue as it seems to fall into the category of "It is what it is." I wish it were different, but it's not. Our family has done Disney enough now to know that you plan as best as you can and then be flexible when circumstances necessitate. I will continue to encourage the TA to move as quickly as they can on the tickets, but knowing that they may still come 10 days prior to our arrival. We'll make the most of it by booking what we can 10 days out and then using normal strategies to get to the ones that are booked up.

OP, it stinks to hear that is their standard of dealing with tickets, but I wanted to hopefully provide a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. We went for NYE this past year, and only were able to do our FP 8 or 9 days prior as we did not have the tickets until then. We were still able to get awesome times for Splash, Big Thunder, and 7DMT with basically no hassle at all. I was really surprised, but don't think all hope of good FPs is lost if it is the case that you do have to wait until 10 days out. Even that day people cancelled awesome FPs and we were able to pick them up since we had already used our first 3.

This is encouraging to hear and what I was hoping to hear.

OP - I would talk to your TA again and see if there is anything they can do to get you the ticket numbers for your group ahead of time.

I will definitely try this strategy as well.

Thanks, everyone, for your advice and strategies! It will all work out in the end.

 

[itchin2go]

That's really an unfortunate byproduct of this new system. Sorry, OP. I agree with the above idea to get other members of your group calling so you can light a fire under them.

Sounds more like the byproduct of an incompetent travel agent than the system to me.

People could still have full ride access every day (by FP) in spite of an incompetent travel agent until FP+ came along.

That's highly debatable but nonetheless, Disney shouldn't have to tailor their systems so that ta's not doing their jobs can get away with it.

It's not debatable at all. Every day the parks started over again. All you had to do was get there before 10 and you could have gotten a FP for anything.

What could've been under an old system that is no longer in place is in no way helpful to the OP. The discussion got started because of course, that's the default response anytime there's a problem- it's all FP+'s fault. Whether it is or it isn't is a completely pointless discussion and does not help the OP. So for my part, and I apologize for my part in it, the dead horse argument of " paper fp was better" is over.

It IS an unfortunate byproduct of the new system. FP+ has benefitted some for sure, but there are drawbacks and blind spots. This is one of them.

FWIW - I think many, many tour groups are handled this way ... and have always been. I don't think we can jump to the conclusion that the travel agent is incompetent. I personally have never done that job and cannot imagine the headache of having to book all those families and coordinate everything. I don't know what kind of tickets they're buying or through whom. As others have said, OP is already within the 60 day window. Who knows how quickly this was put together or what the deadline was for the families to choose how many tickets, etc. Regardless, if we're strictly limiting our responses to things that directly answer OP's question, how do the "incompetent travel agent" posts pass that test? OP's trip has already been booked, and she/he probably has little control over the TA that was chosen. (I have been involved in one of these competition trips (to another destination) and let me tell you, you have to "roll with it" to some extent, because you just can't run things the way you would like to.)

No one has all the answers so to read posts with smug pronouncements is just ... frustrating.

For many of us Disney-devotees, it is interesting to note that this wouldn't have been an issue under legacy FP. We're learning the ropes of this new system, and I personally read with interest people's stories of how FP+ was helpful to them (i.e. "We didn't have to be at rope drop for the first time in years"), and how it failed them (i.e. "It worked great until the skies opened up.") All of those things are interesting to me, because they help me plan my next trip.

The OP has already gotten informative responses. The rest of this thread may just be academic debate about the new normal. I can only speak for me, but that's ok by me. It is helpful and interesting to me .... for whatever that's worth.

 

[luvsJack]

According to my friend who is the group TA, the large teen groups receive deeply discounted rooms and theme park tickets so they are not distributed by Disney the same way as other tickets are handled.

I was talking about a large teen group. The tickets still have a number on them. All they need is the number.

I didn't say the TA was incompetent, I would just ask why they cannot at least get the ticket numbers for their group. No need to get in a tizzy.

 

[luvsJack]

They can't, though. This is through Disney Sports and they don't get to choose TAs in the same way. And the Sports group has their own way of doing things.



Did you go through a normal TA or through the Sports group? Was it just a trip or was your group competing?

If it was through Sports and if you were competing, perhaps you could share your tour company with the OP so their tour company could contact he other and find out how they did that?

It wasn't through sports. It was a choral group who performed at Disney. The trip was through Performing Art/Disney Onstage but I didn't book it or handle any part of it.

 

[Astridia]

I was talking about a large teen group. The tickets still have a number on them. All they need is the number.

I didn't say the TA was incompetent, I would just ask why they cannot at least get the ticket numbers for their group. No need to get in a tizzy.

I'm sorry, My comment was not intended as an attack, nor was I in a "tizzy" . Please accept my apologies.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

According to my friend who is the group TA, the large teen groups receive deeply discounted rooms and theme park tickets so they are not distributed by Disney the same way as other tickets are handled.

Our large (140+) teen group (band trip) was held over Spring Break at WDW. We received our tickets more than 30 days in advance, so everyone had a copy of their ticket so input number into MDE and be ready to book FP+ at 30 days (staying offsite).

However, our final date to drop/change/pay was about 60 days before our trip. I assume that could make a difference too.

I just finished reading. Obvious our 140 is nowhere near the number in the thousands being referenced for this event. I guess we are maybe a small to medium size group.

I hope everything works out for the OP!