Biggest changes to touring strategy in past year or two?

[juliekzp]

What are the biggest changes to how you plan your day now compared to a year or two ago? For example, changes to what you rope drop because lines are different now than before, or because FPs are easier/harder to get for certain rides now.

(I'm thinking more about changes in what's going on at Disney, rather than your family's changing interests and needs, but feel free to tell me about those too lol.)

 

[cindyfan]

With all the construction at DHS it's now a 1/2 day park so we only plan it for an afternoon. Crowds are leveling out so now there are no slow times of year. So early mornings are a must and fast pass planning is crucial.

 

[preemiemama]

From our experience last July, with Soarin and TSMM were easier to ride without a FP because of the additions to their capacity. Also, if Frozen is a priority, make your Epcot FP for FEA- it is difficult to ride without one.

FWIW, we noticed that later in the day, some of the capacity was shut down on certain rides. The most noticeable to me was Star Tours- 30 mins prior to closing they had only one of the simulators open. So the line was the posted 30 minute wait!

 

[gap2368]

as fair as touring I would still do rope drop park is empty early in the morning I would do your first FP starting around 10-1030 and have them almost if not back to back. this will give you time for more FP or enough time to go back to your room to swimm or rest and head back to the park for the night time fun

 

[Accident]

fastpass system has really been streamlined, I take full advantage to modifying fastpasses and quickly getting a lot more. same day no longer means you can't get a hard fastpass but some luck involved.. so far, I've been happy with what I get..

I also should note, I"m also happy to not ride a single thing so you might have a different definition of success.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

In some ways the strategy is still the same. RD will still maximize your daily ride quotient. You should still plan on hitting your favorite headliner first thing in the morning if you don't have a FP or want to ride it more than once.

But, now you must learn the new ebb and flow of stand by wait times with FP+. It has purposely changed the way people tour, for sure, but if you figure out this system, you can still zig while others zag. Disney has a master plan to control flow and you just have to be smarter than the system. Be smart on choosing the right park days, too.

One thing I see now with other people is that FP+ has created an intolerance for anything over a 10 minute wait. I hear it all the time.

 

[BudgieMama]

From our experience last July, with Soarin and TSMM were easier to ride without a FP because of the additions to their capacity. Also, if Frozen is a priority, make your Epcot FP for FEA- it is difficult to ride without one.

I second this- we were there in August and rode Soarin' mid afternoon with a 30 minute wait on multiple days. Soarin' is usually our no-brainer Tier One FP+ choice (we did plan an evening hop to Epcot after a day at Blizzard Beach to make use of our FP and ride FEA one day, but every other day we went to Epcot, we picked Soarin', but we actually rode it a bunch more times). Also, super fun quiz whilst you're in the queue if you have a smart phone. I had no idea about it and I LOVE it! I had a few high scores! Worth carrying the portable charger for!