Fast pass questions

[Goofey Drool]

Our family has not been to Disney World for a few years and we are kinda out of the loop. I have read about the changes in the fast pass and it sounds like it will not be a positive experience for us. In the past we have used the park hopper so we could leave a park and go to a diner reservation. Sometimes we would go to another park for diner and then return to our resort. Sometimes we might stay and watch a show etc. The only place we had to be was a reservation for the late afternoon/evening. This allowed us to get up in the morning and decide with the kids, where we were going for the day. We might watch the weather and decide to go to a water park for the day. We might be tired from a long day previous, and decide to stay at the resort for a few extra hours and then go to Downtown or something. This was why we always got the hopper pass.
It sounds like we have to know where we will be every day far in advance if we plan on using fast pass. From other posts it sounds like the people who love to plan every detail enjoy this. They plan where they will be each day well before hand so the fast pass is just another thing to plan. We will not know months in advance where we will be each and every day. Can we just plan a few of our days for fast pass? If we do...should we avoid wasting some of our passes on attractions that wont matter too much? Our two boys are early teens and love TOT, RRC, EE, so my plan was to schedule a couple days where we could have FP's for those. Does this sound realistic? Am I crazy? ....I just want a relaxing vacation and not stress over times etc. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[mesaboy2]

You may find the green link in my signature helpful.

 

[mom2rtk]

Stress over the schedule. Or stress over long waits.

Pick your poison.

 

[kayteekt]

We have been coming to Disney for the last 6 years, personally i could never figure out how the legacy fp was beneficial. I really like the new fp system, but i admit I'm a planner Additionally, in the past we've only gone to 1 park per day, so it was sort of a no brainer. However, we just got APs so we will be able to hop on our upcoming trip(s). For me, similar to what you're saying, it has been more challenging choosing FP or knowing which park on which day i should choose. For our family trip i planned it out. But DH and i are going early nov for f&w and i really under planned. Minimal adrs and hard plans. I did go ahead and book our FP for each day to ensure we do our must do's. We like to do the thrill rides but we'd rather skip if line is too long, so we always FP those.

Here's what i would say...make a tenative plan for each day. Make ur FP accordingly, worst case you dont use. If you dont use you can reschedule, pick another attraction, etc... as long as your time slot has passed.
I would just make them it's not like you're penalized for not using. So if you use great, it'll save you some time, if you miss some no worries!