FastPass+ Basic Info, Suggested Priorities, And Strategies--Part II

[doconeill]

Ok, I know I asked about this before, but i have since read some conflicting info. I want to be sure I understand the combo of FP+ and rider swap before our booking window arrives. It will be DH, ODS(6), YDS(10mos), and me. If we all want to ride something with swap, but we want to maximize ODS's number of rides, is the example below how it works?

FP+ Star Tours (me & ODS) @ 9am - ODS & I ride, DH & ODS ride again after
FP+ Star Tours (DH) @ 1pm - DH & ODS ride, I ride again after (ODS cannot ride again because he didn't have a FP+ this time)

I think where I am confused is ODS riding twice...I think he can only do so if he had a FP+, too. Otherwise, he only gets to ride once? Uh...I blame Disney overload. Thanks!

Everyone who enters the FP+ line on the first pass MUST have a FP+. No question on that.

If I'm understanding your plan correctly, at 1PM you are attempting to get DH in on his FP+ with ODS, who does not have a FP+. That will not work at all.

With the 9am slot, ODS is already getting to ride twice - once with the FP+, and once with the Rider Switch pass.

At the 1pm slot, if ODS is only going to ride once more, then you get a Rider Switch pass, but DH uses the FP+ _alone_. Then when he returns, you and ODS use the Rider Switch pass.

This assumes that Star Tours is doing Rider Switch passes...for a long time they did not - they did a physical swap at the simulators. And that could completely mess up your above plan because all three of you will need a FP+ to enter that line. I don't know how often they might do this these days though.

 

[HCinKC]

You are confused with this aspect.^

Your son can ride with you for a 2nd ride. With a Rider Swap pass, any 3 riders in your group can ride again. Technically, your DH and ODS can shut you out and ride again!

Ah, ok! So he can ride without needing the FP+ again.
And there will be a throw down if they try to shut me out!

 

[HCinKC]

Everyone who enters the FP+ line on the first pass MUST have a FP+. No question on that.

If I'm understanding your plan correctly, at 1PM you are attempting to get DH in on his FP+ with ODS, who does not have a FP+. That will not work at all.

With the 9am slot, ODS is already getting to ride twice - once with the FP+, and once with the Rider Switch pass.

At the 1pm slot, if ODS is only going to ride once more, then you get a Rider Switch pass, but DH uses the FP+ _alone_. Then when he returns, you and ODS use the Rider Switch pass.

This assumes that Star Tours is doing Rider Switch passes...for a long time they did not - they did a physical swap at the simulators. And that could completely mess up your above plan because all three of you will need a FP+ to enter that line. I don't know how often they might do this these days though.

Hmm, good to know about the Star Tours swap. That was just an example, but I know that ODS would like to ride that one as many times as possible. I will try to further look into any special circumstance swaps. Otherwise, for traditional swap, I am following now. Thanks for the clarification!

 

[RollTide1017]

I'm trying to understand how to book split party FP+. We only need at least 3 A&E, at most 4, for our party of 7. Can I split our party for just 1 attraction? I thought I read somewhere that when booking FP+ online, if you only select 1 attraction, the system randomly selects 2 others, is that true. What I'm hopping to be able to do is book 3 or 4 for A&E first, then go back and book the rest for that day. Is this possible or do you have to book all 3 attraction for a given day at the same time?

 

[Cluelyss]

I'm trying to understand how to book split party FP+. We only need at least 3 A&E, at most 4, for our party of 7. Can I split our party for just 1 attraction? I thought I read somewhere that when booking FP+ online, if you only select 1 attraction, the system randomly selects 2 others, is that true. What I'm hopping to be able to do is book 3 or 4 for A&E first, then go back and book the rest for that day. Is this possible or do you have to book all 3 attraction for a given day at the same time?

Yes, you need to schedule all 3 FPs at the same time. You select your party first, so would just select those that need A&E, and schedule their 3 FPs for the day. Then go back and schedule the rest of your party for that day. You can always tweak the times of the other 2 attractions after the fact so that the windows overlap for all 7 of you (assuming you want the same attractions for the other 2 FPs). Hope that helps!

 

[RollTide1017]

Thanks for the information. I'm gonna be a nervous wreck until 11pm next Wednesday. For my 2 daughters, seeing A&E will make or break the trip.

 

[Cluelyss]

Thanks for the information. I'm gonna be a nervous wreck until 11pm next Wednesday. For my 2 daughters, seeing A&E will make or break the trip.

Just remember that if at first you don't succeed, keep checking! It took me about a month to finally get A&E on the day I wanted for my trip last October. It's best to start with your last MK day and work backwards. Good luck!!!

 

[LizEN]

I had a kiosk list until the new board software put a 10K character limit on posts. No room for it anymore, and it was not that great a list anyway--as you note, they seem to change too often to track anyway.

Are there any kiosk locations that seem fairly permanent? Any locations to especially avoid? Are they easy to find or did you have to hunt around for them? Not loving the FP+ so far. Thanks.
--Liz

 

[lily2521]

Just remember that if at first you don't succeed, keep checking! It took me about a month to finally get A&E on the day I wanted for my trip last October. It's best to start with your last MK day and work backwards. Good luck!!!

I am going to start with my last MK day first and work backwards. Is it best to try to book the A&E FP's for all 3 of us traveling, or try one by one right away? I read about a way to book for one person and use a copy function too? I'm confused as to what the best way to do it is.

 

[Cluelyss]

I am going to start with my last MK day first and work backwards. Is it best to try to book the A&E FP's for all 3 of us traveling, or try one by one right away? I read about a way to book for one person and use a copy function too? I'm confused as to what the best way to do it is.

With a party size of 3, you shouldn't need to start with singles. Only go that route if you need to, it's tedious. And avoid copy at all costs, I have heard horror stories of people losing their original FP selection when they try to copy and the attraction has no additional availability. Also, keep an eye on this site leading up to your FP date to have a good idea of what's available on what days:
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=835236

 

[kreckl]

Does anybody know of a finger scan is needed for FP? Can we swap bands if needed? Sorry if the info is here but after reading several pages I thought I'd just ask!

 

[Candleshoe]

Can we swap bands if needed?

Yes

 

[lily2521]

With a party size of 3, you shouldn't need to start with singles. Only go that route if you need to, it's tedious. And avoid copy at all costs, I have heard horror stories of people losing their original FP selection when they try to copy and the attraction has no additional availability. Also, keep an eye on this site leading up to your FP date to have a good idea of what's available on what days:
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=835236

This is SO helpful - thank you! I was having a bit of anxiety when reading and trying to figure out the FP booking system, and what my best strategy should be, so I'll start looking for all 3 and keep my fingers crossed

I was worried about having to do the copy, so I'll steer clear of that!

I plan on being online right away when our FP window opens, and luckily MK is our last day of the trip, so the first FP I'll book will be A&E for the last day.

Of course, I'm hoping one will open up later on our first day, but not keeping my fingers crossed there I'm even nervous getting one on our last day, which will be day 6 of our stay, as I know others already have access to those dates

 

[wdhinn89]

It's best to start with your last MK day and work backwards. Good luck!!!

Can you explain why?

 

[mesaboy2]

Can you explain why?

Because the days furthest away have been picked over the least.

 

[mesaboy2]

Does anybody know of a finger scan is needed for FP? Can we swap bands if needed? Sorry if the info is here but after reading several pages I thought I'd just ask!

Many questions are answered in the first two posts, including yours. It is often unnecessary to read beyond these.

 

[Vaninou]

Hello,

my 60 day window will open on March 17... But Midnight in Miami will be 5.00 am for me

This will be a tough wake up but I know I will be sooooooooo happy once in wdw enjoying my FP

I will continue reading this 102 pages.... So usefull!

 

[Cluelyss]

This is SO helpful - thank you! I was having a bit of anxiety when reading and trying to figure out the FP booking system, and what my best strategy should be, so I'll start looking for all 3 and keep my fingers crossed

I was worried about having to do the copy, so I'll steer clear of that!

I plan on being online right away when our FP window opens, and luckily MK is our last day of the trip, so the first FP I'll book will be A&E for the last day.

Of course, I'm hoping one will open up later on our first day, but not keeping my fingers crossed there I'm even nervous getting one on our last day, which will be day 6 of our stay, as I know others already have access to those dates

Just for reference, day 6 was the first day I saw any availability for A&E when I was scheduling for my October trip, but with some persistence, I was finally able to find FPs on day 2, which was what I really wanted. Also, A&E seems to be a "bit" easier to come by than it used to be, so you should be fine. Just be online the minute you can start scheduling and do that day first. Good luck!

 

[DisFam95]

1. For onsite guests, the 60-day prebooking window will not activate until the 60-day mark. Before this point, the booking window will be only 30 days for those with room-only plus active tickets. At midnight (or 1:00a on certain nights) of the 60-day mark, the 30-day window will automatically expand to 60 (or more) days. Additionally, guests with resort/ticket packages commonly report that all members on the account with tickets don't appear on the MDX account until the 60-day mark.

What does the "before this point" mean? I'm about to book a trip and trying to learn what I can about this new system. I'm contemplating getting a Room ONly ressie and a 3rd party ticket. Reading that room only plus active ticket and the 30day booking makes me confused. As long as I'm an onsite guest I get the 60 day window right? With room and ticket linked on the MDE site.

Thanks for any help - trying to soak it all in!!

 

[Itinkso]

1. For onsite guests, the 60-day prebooking window will not activate until the 60-day mark. Before this point, the booking window will be only 30 days for those with room-only plus active tickets. At midnight (or 1:00a on certain nights) of the 60-day mark, the 30-day window will automatically expand to 60 (or more) days. Additionally, guests with resort/ticket packages commonly report that all members on the account with tickets don't appear on the MDX account until the 60-day mark.

What does the "before this point" mean? I'm about to book a trip and trying to learn what I can about this new system. I'm contemplating getting a Room ONly ressie and a 3rd party ticket. Reading that room only plus active ticket and the 30day booking makes me confused. As long as I'm an onsite guest I get the 60 day window right? With room and ticket linked on the MDE site.

Thanks for any help - trying to soak it all in!!

It just means that every MDE account with ACTIVE tickets has a 30-day booking window open. On exactly 60 days before your resort check-in, you will be able to book FPs for your complete trip.

All you really need to know is:
Onsite Reservation plus Active Tickets allows you to book your FastPasses for your trip 60 days before you check-in.