Didn’t get FOP FP+ as expected... how much do I refresh?

[disneylover102]

Today was the 30 day mark before Animal Kingdom day and as expected I wasn’t able to get FOP. I know people have had luck refreshing and getting FP+. How much do I refresh each day? We were able to get HS Fastpasses last month and the only thing we had trouble getting was Star Tours (the other 2 were TOT and some show) because we wanted an earlier time (we had 2:00 and we wanted it in the morning). I refreshed as much as I could and 2 days later I got it for 11:55. Would that work for FOP or are people less likely to cancel those?

 

[DavidNYC]

When people talk about refreshing, they're talking about seeking 4th fastpasses while in the park because inventory on those literally changes from second to second and you can usually get what you want for most rides with a moderate amount of patience. Refreshing is much less successful 30 days in advance - technically, you're not doing what we refer to as refreshing, you're just checking again. I think getting FoP is still going to be a longshot. Can it happen? Sure. But it's really going to require luck in timing. Getting FoP is not going to be like getting Star Tours . . . as you correctly noted - when people get FoP, they generally keep them. I'd check now and then to the extent you're able, but don't kill yourself to do it hourly for example, and don't expect that any magical amount of checking will make it likely that you'll get one. I'd suggest planning on either rope dropping it or going right at the end of the park day when you can get on with relatively minimal waits. But who knows, people do get lucky and check at just the right time. . .

 

[tlmadden73]

Unfortunately FOP isn't available even at 60 days .. (unless you have a LONG (5+ day) trip and thus can book your AK 64+ days in advance.

What "refreshing" is referring to is looking for new FPs the DAY you are at AK. Even that you just have to be lucky and be refreshing at the right time.

Most people aren't changing their FP plans until the day of, so not much is opening up (unless Disney adds FP capacity to an attraction). Sometimes the day of, people cancel (or change) their FP plans as their day unfolds and if you are refreshing your MDE app at that time you may find a FP opening that wasn't there just a few seconds earlier.

Personally, I dno't bank on it .. as I don't want to be checking my phone, but i check it occasionally (like while in line or at dinner) just to see what may pop up. It has worked for minor (non-headliner) attractions, not so much for the big ones.

 

[monkyby87]

Unfortunately FOP isn't available even at 60 days .. (unless you have a LONG (5+ day) trip and thus can book your AK 64+ days in advance.

What "refreshing" is referring to is looking for new FPs the DAY you are at AK. Even that you just have to be lucky and be refreshing at the right time.

Most people aren't changing their FP plans until the day of, so not much is opening up (unless Disney adds FP capacity to an attraction). Sometimes the day of, people cancel (or change) their FP plans as their day unfolds and if you are refreshing your MDE app at that time you may find a FP opening that wasn't there just a few seconds earlier.

Personally, I dno't bank on it .. as I don't want to be checking my phone, but i check it occasionally (like while in line or at dinner) just to see what may pop up. It has worked for minor (non-headliner) attractions, not so much for the big ones.

All of this sums up refresh very well. Refresh really only utilizes results the day of, as it takes advantage of people changing stuff around that same day. I've manage to get it to work for most all of the rides at least once, but FOP, 7DMT, and SDD are the hardest and least likely to work out. So, if it's really important to ride you should try and plan on riding it a different way, like rope drop or at the very end of the evening.

 

[Rach3975]

No one can tell you for sure. Some people get lucky, and others don't. I couldn't get FoP at my 60 day FP day. I've tried at least 3x a day in the 8 days since then, and I haven't seen it at all. I'm only looking for 1 person; obviously the smaller the group the better your chances. The one other FP I'm trying to modify is 7DMT for 2 people. In contrast, that one has popped up 3 or 4 times when I've done my daily checks.

 

[PattiPB]

You all just reminded me to check my FP availability, and I was able to grab FoP for the day and time I wanted---at 41 days away! Yesterday I snagged a 7DMT, too.

Don't give up! It does sometimes happen. Now....SDD...I'm comin' for ya!

 

[mamamelody2]

I would keep checking, but it is unlikely. DH and I were there last week when it was super low crowds and we were just a party of 2 but weren't able to get any additional FoP even with refreshing. Your best bet may be getting in line a few minutes before close. Wait should be less than an hour.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Keep checking and also pay attention to park hours. If they extend AK hours there will be more FP available.

 

[DisneyBelle27]

My n=1 experiences -

I've had pretty good luck with getting FoP through day-of refreshing:

1st week of Dec 2018 - got FoP for party of 3 day-of after a pre-booked one (stayed on-site but unable to get at 60 days out. However, kept randomly checking and ended up getting a pre-booked one somewhere around 32 days out)
July 30th - got FoP for party of 2 day-of (stayed off-site: was not able to get at 30 days out)
solo trip in Feb - got them on a couple of different days, I think I got 2 on one of the days

Moral of the story - keep trying b/c you just never know, but it will also depend on the size of your party and the time of year.

 

[Stephy811]

I didn’t get FoP on Saturday for any of my 4 days. I have since picked it up for two separate park days when we will be at AK...just in the last 3 days. I now have evening on our first day and morning on day 3 for 2 people so it does happen!!! I was checking several times a day...randomly...like I got one when waiting at the grocery store. I just check once and no refreshing as both times it showed up immediately. So you never know!

 

[osufeth24]

Not sure what most of you are talking about, but by constantly refreshing I have constantly been able to get FoP several days out. People cancel/change plans all the time.

But, you need to be flexible with the time. It may not be an ideal time.

 

[Akck]

I’ve been checking several times a day and finally got SDD on our HS day. Granted, it was a late night FP, but it will still fit in with our plans for the day. I’d say to keep checking and you might get lucky. Now I have a SDD to release on Saturday.

 

[a11ie]

Today was the 30 day mark before Animal Kingdom day and as expected I wasn’t able to get FOP. I know people have had luck refreshing and getting FP+. How much do I refresh each day? We were able to get HS Fastpasses last month and the only thing we had trouble getting was Star Tours (the other 2 were TOT and some show) because we wanted an earlier time (we had 2:00 and we wanted it in the morning). I refreshed as much as I could and 2 days later I got it for 11:55. Would that work for FOP or are people less likely to cancel those?

We were able to score FoP on the bus ride over to AK on Monday evening. We got an original on 60+0 FP booking and everyone loved it so I decided to try to get one on our way to the park. It was about 5:45pm and I just kept refreshing and one popped up for 6:40pm.

 

[LiteBrite]

I've gotten FoP at least 5 or 6 times on the day of by using the refresh method, but I had to refresh A LOT. I'm talking maybe 50 tries for each success. And then there were other days that I wasn't able to get one, even though I refreshed A LOT on those days too, so it seems that both persistence and luck come into play.

It's up to you how much time you're willing to spend on your phone while you're at the park, but it is possible for sure.

 

[eeudj]

Unfortunately FOP isn't available even at 60 days .. (unless you have a LONG (5+ day) trip and thus can book your AK 64+ days in advance.

Hi could you explain this? I will be in DW Jan 4-11, so my FP day will be 64 not 60 days out? TIA!!!!!

 

[tlmadden73]

Hi could you explain this? I will be in DW Jan 4-11, so my FP day will be 64 not 60 days out? TIA!!!!!

Sorry to confuse.

When you make your FPs with a resort reservation, you make your Fast Passes 60 days from your check-in date.
But you can also make them for your entire length of stay. So when you are making a FP for January 11th on November 05 (your 60 day mark), you are TECHNICALLY scheduling a FP for THAT particular day 67 days in advance. WAY before people who check in on January 11th can.

That is why the good fast passes are gone even if you sign up for fast passes right at 7:00 AM at your 60 day mark .. there are thousands of guests who already booked Fast Passes for most (if not all) of your trip already simply because they have a longer stay than you..

 

[DSLRuser]

The "refresh" glitch may have been corrected by Disney. My last few trips are not near as effective with refreshing as they have been in years past.

 

[SaintsManiac]

The "refresh" glitch may have been corrected by Disney. My last few trips are not near as effective with refreshing as they have been in years past.

I had zero trouble July 4th week. Even got FoP same day a couple of times.

 

[Gehrig1B]

The "refresh" glitch may have been corrected by Disney. My last few trips are not near as effective with refreshing as they have been in years past.

There is no glitch... If someone cancels a FastPass that goes back into the system. By refreshing you are picking up someone's canceled FastPass, that is all. (in some instances park hours are extended opening up more slots as well) There is and never was something to "fix". As more visitors recognize this is how it works and as crowds continue to increase, same day FastPasses will become a bit more difficult to score.

 

[amg13]

I saw FoP come up quite a few times while doing same day refreshes on our August trip, unfortunately it was just me and my son and he is not tall enough to ride.