Fast past newbie here

[jliucci]

I'm trying to plan my fast passes for our upcoming September trip but I'm so confused lol!! I plan to get to the parks for rope drop take a break mid day and then head back later on.. When should I be booking fast passes?? If I'm there at rope drop shouldn't the lines already we somewhat shorter? Do you save your fast passes for later on in the day/evening?

I feel like booking 3 fast passes doesn't leave you much room for flexibility throughout your day? Am I wrong?

 

[Mamato2cutekiddos]

I am also curious about this. I told my husband last night (as we are coming up on our 60 day time window to book...) that I feel a little stressed with the whole FP+ thing, and how that might restrict the flexibility that I enjoy. It's been 3 years since we've been there and last time we just got the FP at the booth (I'm sure I am remembering wrong) and showed up at our given times and it worked great.

However 3 years ago I didn't have a little girl desperate to meet Anna and Elsa...

 

[scottb8888]

Planning for next summer as well!

 

[Mikie]

There's another thread going where people are discussing what approach they take and why. You might find it helpful
Tell me about YOUR FP+ strategy (especially if it's worked)

Also, have you read the Fastpass + Attractions and Strategies thread by Mesaboy2? It's usually on the first or second page and is basically a bible of how FP+ works and suggestions on which things are a best use of a FP. It was a perfect primer for planning my first trip with the FP+ system

 

[tinkerbesh]

Mesaboy's info is fabulous. I also recommend the Cheat Sheets here-

http://www.easywdw.com/category/cheat-sheets/

 

[Eldon_Brasche]

You are correct that the lines at rope drop are usually shorter and will provide opportunity to jump on many rides with little to no wait. Save the passes for afternoon/ evening.

 

[wisblue]

If you are planning on being at the park at rope drop, taking a break, and then returning to a park later, I recommend saving your FPs for later.

We follow that approach, though we usually hop to a second park after our break. So, we make all of our FPs at that second park. If you are going to return to the same park, you could think about using one or two of the FPs in the late morning or early afternoon and the remainder in the evening so that you get at least one major attraction then. If you are there at rope drop you will be able to do several attractions without long lines and without using a FP that will be more valuable later in the day.

You will find a wide range of opinions about what having 3 FPs does to your flexibility. IMHO, those FPs give you an opportunity to do 3 attractions of your choice at times that fit your schedule, while leaving you completely flexible for the rest of the day. In our case of using hoppers, we can choose whatever park we want to start the day and still have those 3 FPs for later. If you make one FP for late morning or early afternoon and 2 in the evening, they aren't going to tie up much of your day. If you make two in consecutive hour blocks, you can do both of them one right after the other by going to the first at the end of the window and then going directly to the second.

Hope this helps you to consider what will work best for you.

 

[Hootch]

We had a mixture of ways we booked. Some of it based on how we split our parks.

Arrival day - we weren't sure when we would get there. FPs for the evening. This is when FP+ pays off as we had Seven Dwarves, Space and BTMRR already booked.

Second day was morning at DAK and afternoon at world showcase. FPs were for Everest, Dinosaur and Kali. Kali is a killer in the summer. At 11:00 AM standby was well over an hour. We walked on the safari first thing and did standby for a few other things.

Third day we opened at the MK and closed at DHS. Rope dropping at the MK really reduces wait times. Especially since we had done Seven Dwarves and had no need for A&E. FPs were used for DHS with TSMM and ToT as the most important.

Fourth day Epcot Futureworld morning and the MK evening. We did rope drop for Soarin'. I think we hit the first flight. In addition we had FPs for TT, Mission Space and Spaceship Earth. My wife and son had the Behind the Seeds tour alsoWe had fairly good luck with additional FPs at the MK that night and did a few standby rides with reasonable times.

Fifth day was SWW morning and the MK in the evening. We decided to end our DHS visit with TSMM which required us to use our FPs. At rope drop I headed to RnRC which was down (all day). I headed to the MK before our afternoon break. Watched the Tiki room, had a dole whip float and got FPs for Space Mountain that afternoon. I think that evening we had additional FPs for Space, Buzz, Splash, BTMRR, Haunted Mansion and Tomorrowland Speedway. That was before 9:00 PM when we headed back to the resort. We were up at 5:45 AM for SWW and we were headed to Universal the next morning.

If we did not park hop, I would not schedule any FPs before 10:30 or so, unless it was an EMH day.It appeared to me that the MK, by far, has the best chance of getting additional FPs with DAK a distant second.

 

[Fizban]

I'm trying to plan my fast passes for our upcoming September trip but I'm so confused lol!! I plan to get to the parks for rope drop take a break mid day and then head back later on.. When should I be booking fast passes?? If I'm there at rope drop shouldn't the lines already we somewhat shorter? Do you save your fast passes for later on in the day/evening?

I feel like booking 3 fast passes doesn't leave you much room for flexibility throughout your day? Am I wrong?

Since you will be at rope drop, run dont walk to 7dmt and then hit whatever you like in that area. Then get your fastpasses in the evening trip. Your ride mileage will be improved.

 

[BrianL]

Since nobody linked it yet:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/fa...ed-priorities-and-strategies-part-ii.3326057/

It is the bible of FP+ questions. Thanks to Mesaboy.

 

[anneboleyn]

I am also curious about this. I told my husband last night (as we are coming up on our 60 day time window to book...) that I feel a little stressed with the whole FP+ thing, and how that might restrict the flexibility that I enjoy. It's been 3 years since we've been there and last time we just got the FP at the booth (I'm sure I am remembering wrong) and showed up at our given times and it worked great.

However 3 years ago I didn't have a little girl desperate to meet Anna and Elsa...

This is my exact situation, as well! I honestly though they would still have those Fast Pass machines outside of the rides, but apparently those are no longer there. That totally throws off my plans haha. My daughter wants to meet Anna and Elsa, so I will definitely use a Fast Pass for that.

But to be totally honest, I have all my ADR's already planned so I needed something new to obsess over and this whole Fast Pass situation will fit the bill perfectly haha.

 

[Mamato2cutekiddos]

This is my exact situation, as well! I honestly though they would still have those Fast Pass machines outside of the rides, but apparently those are no longer there. That totally throws off my plans haha. My daughter wants to meet Anna and Elsa, so I will definitely use a Fast Pass for that.

But to be totally honest, I have all my ADR's already planned so I needed something new to obsess over and this whole Fast Pass situation will fit the bill perfectly haha.

Yeah I hear ya. Those have been booked for awhile. Now my daugther is throwing a monkeywrench in my plans and no longer wants to do the BBB on the day of the MNSSHP. She wants to be something else and do the BBB a different day. Unfortunately no reservations are left. Oy.

 

[anneboleyn]

Yeah I hear ya. Those have been booked for awhile. Now my daugther is throwing a monkeywrench in my plans and no longer wants to do the BBB on the day of the MNSSHP. She wants to be something else and do the BBB a different day. Unfortunately no reservations are left. Oy.

I thought about doing the BBB on the day we are going to the MNSSHP, but I'm not 100% thrilled with the limited hairstyles they do, so I figured I would just do her hair for the party and then have her go to the BBB on another day where she's not in a Halloween costume. I really wish they could add more hairstyles...even just a simple Elsa braid or wavy Sleeping Beauty hair would be so nice! Those tight buns they do make me nervous!

My 60 day mark for the fast passes isn't until August 27th, and I really hoping I don't have to do what I did when the Dining Plan dates opened up. I called off work to get the Dining Plan (my priorities are questionable) because I knew I would on hold for hours, and I was right! I am hoping the Fast Pass situation is much easier!

 

[Mamato2cutekiddos]

I thought about doing the BBB on the day we are going to the MNSSHP, but I'm not 100% thrilled with the limited hairstyles they do, so I figured I would just do her hair for the party and then have her go to the BBB on another day where she's not in a Halloween costume. I really wish they could add more hairstyles...even just a simple Elsa braid or wavy Sleeping Beauty hair would be so nice! Those tight buns they do make me nervous!

My 60 day mark for the fast passes isn't until August 27th, and I really hoping I don't have to do what I did when the Dining Plan dates opened up. I called off work to get the Dining Plan (my priorities are questionable) because I knew I would on hold for hours, and I was right! I am hoping the Fast Pass situation is much easier!

The hair drives me nuts too. The first time we did it my daugther was 3.5 and it was a total nightmare. We paid $200 and all she let them do was pain her nails. Oof. Though I booked it for noon, which isn't a good time of day for a 3yo especially after we waited over an hour for our slot and my Mom was pumping her full of M&Ms... It was one of her more epic and memorable meltdowns.

 

[DisneyAnytime]

If you are taking a mid-day break, definitely book your fast passes for after nap time; just make sure you allow enough travel time back to the park. Our last trip (June 2014) was our first with FP+ and was by far our best, most relaxed trip ever. Definitely read the threads linked above as they were very helpful to me when planning.

We did not take an afternoon break and booked most of our FP+s for mid-afternoon/early evening when the parks are at their most crowded. We had very little wait time (comparatively) for anything and had no problems working in everything we wanted to do.