Anyone else nervous about FP+?

[webcreatrix]

We prefer to stay off site. I have a 10 year old son and 13 year old daughter who need their own space, so we booked Windsor Hills at a townhouse we've stayed in before for our June trip this year. My daughter will be going to Disney just out of a boot and PT following a broken ankle and surgery, so I thought she will have the downstairs bedroom and we will rent a wheel chair if we have to. This will be great!

Now, I'm getting nervous about lines without FP+, crowds and am thinking we might be a 3 FP and happy for anything else that we get to do since we will likely have to take it slow. And I'm worried about what's available for booking at 30 days out and after the first 3 FP of the day have been used.

I already have 7 day tickets, so there's no going back. We can take it slow and enjoy some downtime swimming and relaxing, but I'm starting to wonder if I need backup plans like other FL attractions (Titanic exhibit, springs, etc).

Thoughts?

 

[crusoe2]

We have a similar situation - a 24 year old son and 13 year old daughter. So we've been staying offsite at Windsor Hills for awhile now. We went last June and that was our first trip since they implemented the new fastpass system. We made the decision to go at just a little over a month out so I had to rush to figure out the new system and decide which attractions to try to get fastpasses for. We did okay with it. I think about the only thing that was totally a bust was Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and the Anna and Elsa meet and greet (which we didn't want in any case). Never could catch a fastpass for 7DMT so we had to wait in the standby line. That wasn't a horrible thing tho because we got to enjoy all the cute interactive stuff as we made our way thru the line. While we were there, we were also able to adjust our fastpass times for most attractions - even a lot of the headliner stuff. It worked out well enough that we're going back in June this year - staying in a WH townhouse again - and I'm not nearly as concerned about it this year as I was last year. Good luck - hope you're able to get what you want.

 

[KristinU]

We just returned from our second offsite trip with FP+. Our trip was with DS 12 and his friend, so we are around that same age range as well.

At 30 days, as long as you don't want the princesses of 7DMT, you'll be totally fine. We even changed things up on the fly and found a decent selection the day before or the day of. And we also used the new thing where you can book another FP+ on the app after you've used all three. Those were certainly the day of and were pretty late in the day for us. We also did rope drop a few of the days, which is sweet for getting through the mountains and other biggies with minimal wait. For 7DMT we did finally ride via standby on our "close the park" day. We waited about 25 minutes around 9:30 PM.

I was also reminded on this trip that there are so many things to do that aren't FP+. I think the FP+ system makes us all a little nuts about not being able to do anything if we don't get fastpasses and we forget about the other things that aren't even on that list - at least I know that's what has been happening to me! I had all but forgotten about the Maharajah Jungle Trek and the Pangani Forest trail at AK, and we had a great time doing both. It had literally been years since we took the time to walk through either one!

Another thing we did was ride something for the first time as a group, then repeat via single rider if we wanted. The boys totally embraced that and did EE, TT, and RnR several times that way.

They also loved the Sorcerers of the MK game, we went back to the MK last night for an hour or so just to do another round. I wouldn't worry about adding other Orlando attractions if I were in your shoes, especially since you'll be going at a little slower pace with your DD's ankle.

Happy planning!

 

[webcreatrix]

We went last June and that was our first trip since they implemented the new fastpass system. We made the decision to go at just a little over a month out so I had to rush to figure out the new system and decide which attractions to try to get fastpasses for. We did okay with it. I think about the only thing that was totally a bust was Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and the Anna and Elsa meet and greet (which we didn't want in any case).

Thank you for the encouragement! Glad to hear you had no issues booking late! We've haven't been since prior to FP+, so I am not sure what to expect.

I was also reminded on this trip that there are so many things to do that aren't FP+. I think the FP+ system makes us all a little nuts about not being able to do anything if we don't get fastpasses and we forget about the other things that aren't even on that list - at least I know that's what has been happening to me! I had all but forgotten about the Maharajah Jungle Trek and the Pangani Forest trail at AK, and we had a great time doing both. It had literally been years since we took the time to walk through either one!

Another thing we did was ride something for the first time as a group, then repeat via single rider if we wanted. The boys totally embraced that and did EE, TT, and RnR several times that way.

They also loved the Sorcerers of the MK game, we went back to the MK last night for an hour or so just to do another round. I wouldn't worry about adding other Orlando attractions if I were in your shoes, especially since you'll be going at a little slower pace with your DD's ankle.

Wow, great advice! Of course there are tons of things we have never even done because we are used to chasing Fastpasses all day. We've never done Sorcerers, Maharajah or Pangani. :-/ It's probably worthwhile for me to review some of those things we've never done because we were so focused on rides, rides, rides. I feel a lot better now!

 

[cheerky]

Contact guest services. If your daughter is having difficulty getting around due to the surgery and is in need of a wheelchair, they may be able to help. Temporary disability is not something we ever plan for. I hope your daughter heals well and your family has a great time!

 

[Matty_Disfan]

There was a listing on a site called "The Dibb" which had graphs to show when FP+ ran out, and it was mostly just 7DMT and the ladies which ran out prior to the 30 day mark. (It's gone now, Disney appears to have limited their ability to get the FP+ info)

Pretty much everything else was fine.

Now.... I am going to guess that when Soarin and the Frozen ride opens up then they will both join the list of 'difficult' 30 day FP+s. And yet they will both be Tier 1 so that will break up the logjam a little.

Purely Speculation:

Soarin will have 3 theatres and should be available at 30 days. It will also benefit from Tiering pushing many families away from being able to reserve it early.... and it will benefit from not being Frozen.

Frozen will suffer from the same issue as Maelstrom: limited capacity. The length has been increased by a minute or two (longer track) and I bet they will be using slightly larger boats, so the capacity will be increased slightly, however: this will be super-popular. It will occupy many of the tier 1 picks and therefor with limited capacity it might be a few years before anyone can get a FP+ 30 days out. It will be a long-dash at RD, but that should be your plan.

So, if 7D and Frozen are in your plans then don't despair if you don't get FP+, just hit RD twice in your vacay and motor to them.

Bonne Chance!!!

 

[Bete]

First, I would double check with your daughter's surgeon about Disney World rides just coming out of her boot and such. If there are restrictions then I would certainly not pick those rides for my FP+ choices. You should be okay in June with 30 days out on most attractions.

Next, there are plenty of shows to see in every park. The parks are not just rides. Enjoy the park street entertainment that's available, too.

Enjoy some of the secondary rides. It doesn't have to be all thrill rides or just the popular rides.

 

[mom2rose&john]

We were there the week before Easter this year and stayed offsite. Absolutely no problems getting fast passes to any of the rides. We rode Space Mountain Thunder Mountain and 7DMT the first day and got 4th fp for Jungle Cruise. Rode Space Mountain Toy Story and Splash mountain second day. I did want to change the time of 7DMT and couldn't using all four FP+s. I had to individually change them and I got three for 6:40-7:40 pm and one for 6:50-7:50 pm. This was no big deal because we all just went in at 6:50.

 

[buzz2400]

What website did you book windsor hills. About five years ago we stayed there and we are thinking of staying again next year.

 

[webcreatrix]

We were there the week before Easter this year and stayed offsite. Absolutely no problems getting fast passes to any of the rides. We rode Space Mountain Thunder Mountain and 7DMT the first day and got 4th fp for Jungle Cruise. Rode Space Mountain Toy Story and Splash mountain second day. I did want to change the time of 7DMT and couldn't using all four FP+s. I had to individually change them and I got three for 6:40-7:40 pm and one for 6:50-7:50 pm. This was no big deal because we all just went in at 6:50.

That's great to hear!

 

[webcreatrix]

What website did you book windsor hills. About five years ago we stayed there and we are thinking of staying again next year.

We're staying at Story Time. This will be our second stay with them.

 

[webcreatrix]

So, if 7D and Frozen are in your plans then don't despair if you don't get FP+, just hit RD twice in your vacay and motor to them.

Bonne Chance!!!

Thank you! I am definitely planning RD for our first MK day as I do think we will need it to ride 7DMT, for sure.

I hope Frozen is open then, too, but I won't stress out if we don't get a FP for it. Maybe not up to the crowds for this or ROL. We'll see!

 

[Dis703]

We stay onsite, but I just did a trip in February that I only booked 1 week out and another this month where I only had a ticket for my DS 1 month out and I still got everything we wanted. Granted they were shorter trips but I got things like TSM and 7DMT. I had to check back now and then to get some of them, but they do tend to pop up. So don't think if it's not there right at 30 days that you won't get it at all.

 

[webcreatrix]

We stay onsite, but I just did a trip in February that I only booked 1 week out and another this month where I only had a ticket for my DS 1 month out and I still got everything we wanted. Granted they were shorter trips but I got things like TSM and 7DMT. I had to check back now and then to get some of them, but they do tend to pop up. So don't think if it's not there right at 30 days that you won't get it at all.

That's awesome to hear!

 

[Ametista]

We always stay offsite so we only get the 30 day FP+ window. I have always been able to get everything we wanted, except A&E was a tough one last year. We have an upcoming trip starting May 24 and I have no worries about fastpasses, even first week of June.

Honestly my biggest complaint was that it was so hard to get character meal reservations if you don't get that 60-day window, but my daughter isn't as in to those as she was so it's ok.