Fastpass Booking at Midnight

[ebshelt]

I'm trying to help a family member plan a trip in March, and it is about time for her to book Fastpasses. Are there any attractions right now that are necessary to book fastpasses at midnight? Or can she wait until say 7 am and still get all her FPs. When I was planning my trip last September, to get a Fastpass for 7DMT and Anna/Elsa it was necessary to book them right at midnight. Is this still the case now? I'm a little out of touch since I'm not currently planning a trip. Thanks!

 

[mesaboy2]

I'm trying to help a family member plan a trip in March, and it is about time for her to book Fastpasses. Are there any attractions right now that are necessary to book fastpasses at midnight? Or can she wait until say 7 am and still get all her FPs. When I was planning my trip last September, to get a Fastpass for 7DMT and Anna/Elsa it was necessary to book them right at midnight. Is this still the case now? I'm a little out of touch since I'm not currently planning a trip. Thanks!

Answers to FP FAQs like yours can be found in the green link in my signature.

A&E are still tough, 7DMT varies.

 

[disney world dreamer]

it is still the case.
especially since she's going mid/late march which is many school's spring break time.

 

[nemo998]

That is Spring Break time, so if possible I would book them at midnight. Most likely everything will still be available at 7am, but perhaps not at the exact time(s) that you would like.

 

[mesaboy2]

That is Spring Break time, so if possible I would book them at midnight. Most likely everything will still be available at 7am, but perhaps not at the exact time(s) that you would like.

I respectfully disagree. A small handful of attractions will likely be gone.

 

[IWannaBuildASnowman]

Do midnight and save yourself the worry.

 

[nemo998]

I respectfully disagree. A small handful of attractions will likely be gone.

We went during Spring Break in 2014. I wasn't aware of the midnight rule and booked in the morning. I was able to get everything.

The only thing that I couldn't get initially for our Sept. 2014 trip (free dining time) was Anna & Elsa, and that actually opened up later in the week, so I ended up getting it. All of the other major attractions were still available, but sometimes only for times later in the day.

 

[Hoosier Dad]

I'm trying to help a family member plan a trip in March, and it is about time for her to book Fastpasses. Are there any attractions right now that are necessary to book fastpasses at midnight? Or can she wait until say 7 am and still get all her FPs. When I was planning my trip last September, to get a Fastpass for 7DMT and Anna/Elsa it was necessary to book them right at midnight. Is this still the case now? I'm a little out of touch since I'm not currently planning a trip. Thanks!

FWIW, My family is going the 4th week of March. I stayed up to book FP's last night and I regret it now. It's next day, almost lunch time, and I just checked 7DMT and almost every time slot is still available for all 5 of us. Still tons of availablity for A&E (but we aren't doing that). If you're staying on site and have the 60 day window, staying up until your window opens up probably isn't as important as it is for the people who have only a 30 day window.

I'm not a Disney expert like others. This is just my opinion based on what I'm seeing right now at 60 days out for a Spring Break week.

 

[awalker1015]

Totally agree. Exhausted at work today after staying up but got the FP we wanted. I guess there was no way to be sure they would still be available as that will be a busy week.

 

[mesaboy2]

We went during Spring Break in 2014. I wasn't aware of the midnight rule and booked in the morning. I was able to get everything.

The only thing that I couldn't get initially for our Sept. 2014 trip (free dining time) was Anna & Elsa, and that actually opened up later in the week, so I ended up getting it. All of the other major attractions were still available, but sometimes only for times later in the day.

Everything, or everything you wanted? Did you also get Wishes, MSEP, and Festival of Fantasy? Along with A&E, these disappear very fast.

 

[Ninja Mom]

I had the misfortune of waiting until 7am to book mine for a mid November 2014 trip.

NOT recommended!!

Book at midnight (or 1am if that's when the window opens, sometimes it varies) or risk not getting what you want WHEN you want it.

This is especially true for family trips with 4 or more people in the booking party. The more people in your party, the harder it will be to book everyone even close to the same time together, the further away it gets from that midnight opening.

I think the misunderstanding comes from the fact that it's relatively easy for one person to book fast passes at any time in that advanced booking period. They may not be revealing that one of their fast passes is hours away from the rest.

What I think is also not being said is that to book a group of people for a specific time for the most in demand attractions is exceptionally hard as time goes on.

I don't consider it a success when the FP+ are booked at a time not convenient to my time schedule or where the window of overlap where everyone can get on at the same time is something like 15 minutes wide. If you have ever toured with a family you know that this one has to be dragged out of a store or that one needs a bathroom break. Then there are the slow eaters or, God help you, getting trapped in line for another ride and you experience someone's window of overlap expiring. Narrowing that window where everyone can ride together just makes things more stressful.

So if you choose to book NOT at that midnight opening you are limiting options, more so the more time that goes by. Much like a broken clock is correct twice a day I'm sure there are wizards out there that can wing it and book late in the game and get any time they want for any attraction they want.

The simplest thing to do and the one with the greatest chance of success is to book as soon as your window opens and Disney was kind enough to make that midnight/1 am.

As they say the early bird gets the worm...

~NM

Ninja Mom's rules for booking FP+

*Do want to book FP+ at times of your choosing?
*Do you want to book the most in demand attractions?
* Do you have multiple members in your party that need to get on the ride at the same time?
*Do you need an overlap period for everyone to board at the same time that is larger that a 15 minute window?

~Then you need to make your FP+ reservations at midnight or as soon as the FP+ reservation window for your trip opens.~

 

[Ninja Mom]

We went during Spring Break in 2014. I wasn't aware of the midnight rule and booked in the morning. I was able to get everything.

The only thing that I couldn't get initially for our Sept. 2014 trip (free dining time) was Anna & Elsa, and that actually opened up later in the week, so I ended up getting it. All of the other major attractions were still available, but sometimes only for times later in the day.

Regarding the FP+ times that you saw the next day that were still open:
Did you try to put in for everyone in your party for the same time?

For me this is always were the hang up lies. The system makes it look like there is still availability for those time frames but when you try to reserve for multiple people in your party the availability evaporates.

I even tried to get clever and book for one person and then copy to the rest but then the system starts to stratify the times for the other people so that the window of overlap gets so tight or it disappears entirely.

Don't be fooled by the illusion of availability. The system is showing that for one person the time is there but in my experience it won't be there for the rest of your group.

Then, in an effort to "fix" the not together on the ride problem, you spend endless hours fishing on the FP+ site checking for better availability.

That's what I call a great start to an AMUSEMENT park vacation...

~NM

 

[Hoosier Dad]

I had the misfortune of waiting until 7am to book mine for a mid November 2014 trip.

NOT recommended!!

Book at midnight (or 1am if that's when the window opens, sometimes it varies) or risk not getting what you want WHEN you want it.

This is especially true for family trips with 4 or more people in the booking party. The more people in your party, the harder it will be to book everyone even close to the same time together, the further away it gets from that midnight opening.

Were you booking 60 or 30 days out?

My 60 day window opened up this morning. It's now 2pm and when I go in and try to change my booking for 7DMT for all 5 of us, I see availability for almost every time slot 60 days out. I haven't submitted a change to the time so I don't know if those time slots are really available for 5 people.

 

[MyGirlLovesTink]

I know A&E and 7DMT are the top ones and can sometimes be hard to get, but is the FP for FOF parade hard as well? Is that one where if you do not grab it at midnight, you might lose it?

 

[lyndeah]

We just got back and when I scheduled a+e I did schedule at midnight. The next morning while scheduling some of the others a+e was gone already! I would definitely play it safe

 

[mesaboy2]

I know A&E and 7DMT are the top ones and can sometimes be hard to get, but is the FP for FOF parade hard as well? Is that one where if you do not grab it at midnight, you might lose it?

Answers to FP FAQs like yours can be found in the green link in my signature.

In short, yes.

 

[Ninja Mom]

Were you booking 60 or 30 days out?

My 60 day window opened up this morning. It's now 2pm and when I go in and try to change my booking for 7DMT for all 5 of us, I see availability for almost every time slot 60 days out. I haven't submitted a change to the time so I don't know if those time slots are really available for 5 people.

60 days out.

~NM