Fastpass + at tiered parks...Is it worth it?

[BelleChick]

While planning our fastpass plus selections with my husband, I have stumbled upon a delimma...is it a total waste to use fastpass plus at tiered parks? My husband feels that at Epcot you really only need a fastpass for soarin or test track. Since you can only reserve a pass for one, it isn't really worth it to waste the remaining two for attractions that you can walk onto easily. He feels we will be able to get on soarin during emh and use the single rider line for test track. I am just concerned about how the lines are looking for the rides that normally have not had much of a wait. Are they longer now? What are the wait times for headline attractions during emh hours? Any imput would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Mom2Stitch]

I think FP+ is a complete waste at Epcot because you essentially are throwing away 2 of your FPs for the day. We plan to FP Soarin and hit TT at rope drop, the other 2 picks are worthless. I chose Nemo and Crush because of my dgs, but I'm guessing we won't need either

 

[redrosesix]

While planning our fastpass plus selections with my husband, I have stumbled upon a delimma...is it a total waste to use fastpass plus at tiered parks? My husband feels that at Epcot you really only need a fastpass for soarin or test track. Since you can only reserve a pass for one, it isn't really worth it to waste the remaining two for attractions that you can walk onto easily. He feels we will be able to get on soarin during emh and use the single rider line for test track. I am just concerned about how the lines are looking for the rides that normally have not had much of a wait. Are they longer now? What are the wait times for headline attractions during emh hours? Any imput would be greatly appreciated!

We used EMH at Epcot but we were hopping out that day. We had very little wait for Soarin but we did it first -- by the time we got out it was 25 minutes SB. Test Trak was like 10 minutes.

Then we went on Mission Space, green line, after EMH ended -- 45 minutes SB when it was supposed to be about 5 minutes. So if you do single rider for TT and MS during EMH ie. don't do what we did, you'll probably be ok.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

In December on a 3 day trip, we used FP+ exclusively at the Magic Kingdom bc we felt the same way. Just do Soarin at rope drop and test track via single rider and you'll be fine. At DHS we did toy story at rope drop followed by RnR and tot. We walked on TSM and had waits of 15 min or less on RnR and tot. RnR also has a single rider line.

 

[hemmie]

I think FP+ is a complete waste at Epcot because you essentially are throwing away 2 of your FPs for the day. We plan to FP Soarin and hit TT at rope drop, the other 2 picks are worthless. I chose Nemo and Crush because of my dgs, but I'm guessing we won't need either

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is the disadvantage of using FP+ even when you don't really need it? Unless you plan to park hop... or is that the idea?

 

[glamdring269]

It's fine at DHS. But I would consider Epcot to be a waste unless you're planning to use them in the afternoon/evening time frame.

 

[JimmyV]

If you plan to remain in the park all day, there is no reason not to use your other FPs, even if you only shave a few minutes off the wait. But if you plan to use EMH to do the headliners and then go to another park, then that would be a sound strategy for Epcot. Not as much for DHS. At DHS, I would get a FP for TSM, ToT and Star Tours. I don't consider any of those to be wasted. At Epcot, I would get one for either Soarin' or Test Track, would Rope Drop the one I didn't get the pass for, and get a FP for Spaceship Earth and then one admittedly useless attraction. Where SE used to be a walk on, now that they have introduced FP to the ride, and it is a ride that many people get a FP for due to limited other options, the SB line can really bog down. So even if you only save 20-30 minutes at SE, that is still 20-30 minutes saved. It sounds like you are considering doing an EMH "hit and run" attack at a tiered park and then leaving. That's not a bad strategy, but it isn't one that we like to employ. To us, just checking off the headliners and then running to another park turns the Disney parks into ordinary amusement parks and detracts from the full immersive experience that we much prefer. So with that, we get and use our 3 FPs per day at the park we start at and leave it at that.

Oh. And by the way. You forgot to add another option to your poll that says:
"I love FP+ so your question doesn't apply to me."
Apparently, you will get scolded for not doing so.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Aren't people saying there are lines sometimes at Nemo and Figment now?

 

[ZoZo]

I think FP+ is a complete waste at Epcot because you essentially are throwing away 2 of your FPs for the day. We plan to FP Soarin and hit TT at rope drop, the other 2 picks are worthless. I chose Nemo and Crush because of my dgs, but I'm guessing we won't need either

I felt the same way on my trip last month. I used my FP for Soarin' (knowing I could single-rider-line TT), then picked two others as "fillers". I did end up using the FP for Spaceship Earth, but the standby wait was only 10 minutes, so it was really wasted. Such a shame!

 

[practicallyperfect77]

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is the disadvantage of using FP+ even when you don't really need it? Unless you plan to park hop... or is that the idea?

For me, if I am given 3 FP+s I want them to be used on rides that need them. In my opinion there are only 2 rides at Epcot that do, so I would probably rope drop there and rise Soar in' and then TT and save my FP+ for a park I hopped to. I am hopeful for the day they open up hopping with FP+. Then over 2 days I can FP+ all the tier 1 rides at Epcot and HS (provided they let you pick 1 from each park on ibw day).

 

[practicallyperfect77]

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is the disadvantage of using FP+ even when you don't really need it? Unless you plan to park hop... or is that the idea?

Double post...sorry.

 

[ktlm]

Basically, I see it as I now get 1 FP at EPCOT. That 1 FP is worth it for Soarin. The other 2 are just a throwaway waste that I probably won't use. On the off chance the line is long enough that I need them and that I happen to be in that area during the FP+ time, they might possibly get used. The old days, I would get 2 or 3 FPs at EPCOT. Soarin and Test Track, and possibly a 2nd Soarin FP if it fit into our schedule. Now, I'm resigned to having just 1 "real" FP.

It is pretty much the same at DHS. I'm now limited to 1 or maybe 2 FP, depending on whether Star Tours actually has a line during our FP+ time. Normally, we are able to walk on, or have less than a 10 minute wait for Star Tours at least a couple of times during our trip. But, you do occasionally hit a longer line there, especially if you go right after the Indiana Jones show gets out. In the old days, we did 2 or 3 FPs at DHS. TSM, RNRC and Star Tours if we actually needed it. Now we are limited to 1 and possibly 2, and if the RNRC line is long we won't actually get to ride it at all, because DD has never ridden it and is just getting brave enough to do so, but not as a single rider for her first time. We aren't going to wait in line for an hour for it, we aren't going to give up TSM for it, and we certainly aren't going to add a 2nd park day at DHS to get both (something I'm sure Disney is hoping that people will be inclined to do).

 

[2Tiggies]

I think FP+ is a complete waste at Epcot because you essentially are throwing away 2 of your FPs for the day. We plan to FP Soarin and hit TT at rope drop, the other 2 picks are worthless. I chose Nemo and Crush because of my dgs, but I'm guessing we won't need either

We have come across a similar challenge with Epcot. DD likes Mission Space but it's a once per trip for her. We will use one for TT and Spaceship Earth and have to go back another day or EMH to try do Soarin. It's like you can't just have one day at Epcot if you want to ride what you want to ride. We are not too badly off with Hollywood Studios because we've never been too excited about TSM so that frees up what we consider two headliners (ToT and RnR). I'm re-looking at our plans and wondering if we should do multiple early mornings at Epcot with no FP and hop to different parks to actually use the FP+ for those days.

Aren't people saying there are lines sometimes at Nemo and Figment now?

Yes I've been reading that too. I'm just not sure that my old school of thought will allow me to pull a FP for Figment (and we really do love it) I would rather risk it and if it's a 20 minute wait, then we wait. I can think of worse waits than 20 minutes.

But yes, Epcot is a difficult one for us.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is the disadvantage of using FP+ even when you don't really need it? Unless you plan to park hop... or is that the idea?

If you plan to remain in the park all day, there is no reason not to use your other FPs, even if you only shave a few minutes off the wait. But if you plan to use EMH to do the headliners and then go to another park, then that would be a sound strategy for Epcot. Not as much for DHS. At DHS, I would get a FP for TSM, ToT and Star Tours. I don't consider any of those to be wasted. At Epcot, I would get one for either Soarin' or Test Track, would Rope Drop the one I didn't get the pass for, and get a FP for Spaceship Earth and then one admittedly useless attraction. Where SE used to be a walk on, now that they have introduced FP to the ride, and it is a ride that many people get a FP for due to limited other options, the SB line can really bog down. So even if you only save 20-30 minutes at SE, that is still 20-30 minutes saved. It sounds like you are considering doing an EMH "hit and run" attack at a tiered park and then leaving. That's not a bad strategy, but it isn't one that we like to employ. To us, just checking off the headliners and then running to another park turns the Disney parks into ordinary amusement parks and detracts from the full immersive experience that we much prefer. So with that, we get and use our 3 FPs per day at the park we start at and leave it at that.

Oh. And by the way. You forgot to add another option to your poll that says:
"I love FP+ so your question doesn't apply to me."
Apparently, you will get scolded for not doing so

20 or 30 minutes saved is worth a FP to me, 5-10 minutes is just kind of a waste IMHO.

Aren't people saying there are lines sometimes at Nemo and Figment now?

Gosh I hope not-I can't imagine waiting for either, but I guess the way things are now it's just part of the changing landscape

 

[hemmie]

For me, if I am given 3 FP+s I want them to be used on rides that need them. In my opinion there are only 2 rides at Epcot that do, so I would probably rope drop there and rise Soar in' and then TT and save my FP+ for a park I hopped to. I am hopeful for the day they open up hopping with FP+. Then over 2 days I can FP+ all the tier 1 rides at Epcot and HS (provided they let you pick 1 from each park on ibw day).

With advance-reserved FP+, you can't save FP+ for another park. (or am I missing something?)

But that's a good question - for park hoppers, can you add FP for rides at the second park (via kiosk) if you only used one at the first park?