Fastpass+ availability if staying offsite

[kmb]

I am planning a trip for early August 2015 for my family of 5. I am trying to decide whether to stay on or offsite. We stayed at AOA in early Dec. 2012 and loved it. I am weighing the cost benefit of staying on vs off. I am particularly concerned about fastpass+ availability if we stay offsite since we will be traveling during a busy time.
The question is, do you think it is worth it to stay on property for the early access to fastpass+?

 

[Robo]

Have a great trip.

 

[kmb]

Thanks. Anna & Elsa and & 7DMT are two must-do attractions for us. I am just trying to get a sense of what availability is like if you can only book your fast passes 30 days out.

 

[CAS239]

7 dwarfs is normally very doable now at 30 days out. Anna and Elsa is still tough. So about the only advantage on site guests have is getting Anna and Elsa. I'd stay offsite if it's just coming down to fast pass availability

 

[meeko987]

We stayed off-site during the busiest week of the year - between Christmas and New Year's.

With the exception of the 7D Mine Train, we got every FP+ we wanted easily - that is, if you call waking up at 12:00 a.m. for 6 days straight (exactly 30 days before each trip day) easy. We got all of the major rides - Big Thunder, Space Mountain, Toy Story Mania, Expedition Everest, Test Track, Soarin', etc. We didn't try for, nor did we want, Anna and Elsa.

I checked several times for the Mine Train as our trip approached, and surprisingly, with about 10 days to go, there were suddenly many times available for one of our Magic Kingdom days. Booked and done.

 

[Brian Noble]

Here is a thread that tracks FP availability over the upcoming 70 or so days, to give you a sense. These are the (sometimes) hard-to-get reservations; anything else should be easy.

http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=835236

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Yep the link in the above post will give you some ideas. It appears the hardest to get are Anna/Elsa (you have very little chance of getting them at 30 days) and Wishes - not 7DMT. What you do have think about is whether or not the available passes for these most popular attractions will be at times that you want to have them.

 

[Brian Noble]

We did an offsite stay at Christmas. We had no trouble getting most things exactly when we wanted them---and I made some of the FP+ reservations well into the 30 day period. We even got lucky with some late-breaking 7DMT availability which allowed me to reserve both a daylight and a night-time ride on two separate days. I wouldn't count on that, though.

 

[kmb]

These were all very helpful replies. Still on the fence but this helped a lot! Thanks.

 

[Planogirl]

I was mulling over the same thing but we have no desire to see A&E and won't be heart-broken even if we do miss the mine train. So we're not worried. At least not yet.

 

[growinupdisney]

Last July was the first time I have ever stayed off site, I was able to get my Fp selections for everything I wanted other than mine train and Anna and Elsa, we were able to mine train getting there at rd but no chance on Anna and Elsa!

Now as far as onsite or offsite everyone is different but I can say I will never stay offsite again, the savings just wasn't enough for me to do again. we stayed at a Downtown Disney Resort although very nice and walking distance to DTD as far as going to parks was a nightmare. Well, MK was took way tooooo long! Plus the hidden resort fees...parking etc. they charged an incidental fee of over $200 that I didn't get back for over 2 weeks plus had to pay for valet. The savings I thought I had was eaten up in that $200 I could have stayed at a value and came out cheaper in the long run and been much happier.

I know there are a lot here on the boards and other forums that swear by offsite but I am not one of them. If you aren't feeling it than I would try and stay onsite a couple of hundred dollars in savings is not worth staying offsite and missing out on the perks of staying onsite

 

[kmb]

Last July was the first time I have ever stayed off site, I was able to get my Fp selections for everything I wanted other than mine train and Anna and Elsa, we were able to mine train getting there at rd but no chance on Anna and Elsa!

Now as far as onsite or offsite everyone is different but I can say I will never stay offsite again, the savings just wasn't enough for me to do again. we stayed at a Downtown Disney Resort although very nice and walking distance to DTD as far as going to parks was a nightmare. Well, MK was took way tooooo long! Plus the hidden resort fees...parking etc. they charged an incidental fee of over $200 that I didn't get back for over 2 weeks plus had to pay for valet. The savings I thought I had was eaten up in that $200 I could have stayed at a value and came out cheaper in the long run and been much happier.

I know there are a lot here on the boards and other forums that swear by offsite but I am not one of them. If you aren't feeling it than I would try and stay onsite a couple of hundred dollars in savings is not worth staying offsite and missing out on the perks of staying onsite

I think we are leaning towards staying onsite. Funny thing is that it is much cheaper to stay at Port Orleans or Carribean than the AOA in August. We have 5 so we only have a few choices in the value/moderate categories.

 

[Planogirl]

If you decide to stay offsite watch those resort and parking fees. There are several places that don't charge these fees or at least the fees are minimal but some places are outrageous.

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

I think we are leaning towards staying onsite. Funny thing is that it is much cheaper to stay at Port Orleans or Carribean than the AOA in August. We have 5 so we only have a few choices in the value/moderate categories.

We just stayed at AofA in a Little Mermaid room that I booked through Orbitz so at least got a discount. Actually Port Orleans and CBR were only about $30 more per night so I really questioned my decision as the last time we were at WDW we stayed at POFQ and LOVED it. However, I have to say that AofA was just great. The theming is amazing and we thought our room was great. I woule highly recommend this resort.

Good luck with your decision. My vote is always to stay on property!