FastPass + for Late Arrival

[magicwishes]

We are not rope drop folks. Does fastpass + make it easier to get headliner attractions for late arrivals? In the past we've always had issues getting to ride TSM because we weren't able to get their early enough for rope drop and FP would either be gone or too late for our young family by our arrival.

We are debating going for more days to be able to take a more leisurely vacation vs. getting park hoppers and staying with a shorter trip. Any input on fastpass plus making it easier to park hop and get to do things in the evening at an alternative park?

I looked for old threads, but I didn't find any on this particularly. Please feel free to direct me to them if they exist.

 

[doconeill]

In my opinion what you are describing is pretty much the POINT of FastPass+...being able to get your reservations in advance so you don't HAVE to plan to be there at rope drop, running to the kiosks, etc.

 

[maryj11]

I would say it depends on when you are going. If you are going at a more crowded time and you want more fastpasses after the 3rd is used you may have a hard time getting them. If it wont be busy or crowded then you should be able to get extra fastpasses.

 

[vicb]

I'm just back from 5 days at WDW. We were able to book 4th and 5th FP+s but.... usually not for the rides we wanted. Couldn't get Soarin, or TT in Epcot, same with TSM. In MK we couldn't get any later FP+ for Peter Pan or Pooh but we were able on Tuesday night to change our FP+s all around for Thursday in MK and get both of those. So I think it is just trying same day, later in the day for the extra ones. CM's were really helpful and we would tell them our time frame and they would tell us what was available.

Should have added that this was not a super busy week, crowd levels were 5's.

 

[jsbowl16]

My wife and I are taking our two year old in July and we planned to go for ten days. I realize that not everyone has the time or means to do that but we figured that we could do fast pass + for every attraction we want to see whether it requires a fast pass or not (small world, etc). She will be potty training at the time so it was very important that we could go on everything we wanted and not have to really wait in line for anything. We will get to the parks most days around 11 or so and just do our fast passes right away and then see how it goes from there.

Usually we run around doing fast passes but with fast pass + it has allowed us to do our attractions and then leave if she needs a nap or if it is too hot. I have never used fast pass + but I am hoping that with the proper planning, this vacation will be much more laid back than our last few to Disney where we were running from one end of the park to the other to get fast passes at rope drop.

 

[Lisa71]

We are excited about our later fast passes so we do not have grumpy kids at rope drop!

 

[wisblue]

Some of the comments here highlight why, in my opinion, FP+ is going to be more popular for the significant majority of guests than the old paper FP system.

FP+ offers something for everybody regardless of their touring style, what attractions they are most interested in enjoying, and how much effort they want to put into their trips. It can also be as simple as you care to make it.

There is another thread on the board that goes through all of the things you have to consider if your goal is to squeeze the maximum number of FPs out of the system, including things like getting on your phone to change the times for your upcoming reservations as soon as you pass a scanner so that you can get your fourth and other future FPs as soon as possible.

The fact is that a lot of guests (and I suspect the vast majority) either won't or don't care to put that much effort into planning and executing their days in the parks. That includes a lot of folks like our family that know how the system works, but simply don't care if a simpler and more relaxed approach to the day means that we do a couple of attractions less than the most dedicated commandos.

With FP+ you can simply pick out 3 of your favorite attractions, make FP+ reservations, and look forward to enjoying your day. Unlike paper FP, you don't have to be concerned about whether all of the FPs for one of your favorite attractions will be gone for the day, or will have an inconvenient return time, when you are in a position to claim one. If you really want to enjoy the mine train or TSMM without a long wait, you do not have to join in the dash at rope drop.

For the people like the OP who choose not to arrive at rope drop because it makes their days more enjoyable, there is no doubt that FP+ will make it easier to enjoy some of their favorite attractions.

 

[heathsf]

We are not rope drop folks. Does fastpass + make it easier to get headliner attractions for late arrivals? In the past we've always had issues getting to ride TSM because we weren't able to get their early enough for rope drop and FP would either be gone or too late for our young family by our arrival.

We are debating going for more days to be able to take a more leisurely vacation vs. getting park hoppers and staying with a shorter trip. Any input on fastpass plus making it easier to park hop and get to do things in the evening at an alternative park?

I looked for old threads, but I didn't find any on this particularly. Please feel free to direct me to them if they exist.

If I had to guess, I would say your family will love FP+. I think this is the kind of info you are looking for:

Considering a Late Arrival at Epcot with FastPass+

Considering a Late Arrival at Hollywood Studios with FastPass+

onsidering a Late Arrival at Animal Kingdom with FastPass+

 

[vicb]

I agree with the post above but wanted to add that if you want to get on a lot of attractions rope drop is still the way to go, especially at parks that tier.

This week at Epcot we did TT twice in the first 45 min of park opening then went to our first FP at MS which was for 10am (frankly we didn't need it as the wait was only 10 min.). Then we were able to do Soarin and Living with Land as our FP, booked 4th FP for Spaceship Earth for after lunch, did Sum of all Thrills then off to WS for lunch.

At HS we did RnRC twice by 9:40. We had 10 min till FP for Tot so we walked up the street and browsed a few shops, came back and rode it once. Stand by was 20 so opted not to ride again but could have. Went to meet Wreck it Ralph, watch Indy, ride ST, lunch then FP for TSM.

At MK we got on Buzz twice, Astro Orbiter and TTA all before our 10am SM FP. As a matter of fact stand by was still only 15 min so we rode it once as stand by then came out and used our FP for a second ride. I had FP for BTM right before lunch and Splash right after lunch, both were 40min waits at that point mid-day. We booked 4th FP for Goofy. 5th for Pirates although we had already been on it earlier it was the best of what was available in that hour (nothing available for BTM, Splash, Peter Pan or Pooh)

It still seemed to us to be worth rope drop, you can get on easily during that first hour, atleast the big rides. We don't have little kiddies anymore.

Having said that my other observation is that we had park hoppers so we always left a park by 4pm-ish and usually went back to our hotel to shower then head to a different park for dinner and evening. So other than AK we had two shots at each park. And on arrival day we had 3 FP+ booked at HS for the last three hours the park was open (ToT, TSM and ST) then during emh we rode RnRC, ToT again, Muppets, GMR). So eve emh worked good for us at HS and at Epcot in terms of getting another shot at rides. For MK we did rope drop one day and 7-11pm another day. Rope drop also good at TL as we got on everything except Shark Reef before noon with little or no lines. Afternoon got much busier.

 

[wisblue]

Vicb, your post illustrates my point about how FP+ offers something for everyone.

I totally agree about rope drop. That's what we do, and the combination of rope drop and FP+ works great for us. We really do things pretty much the same as we did before, but enjoy the fact that we have FPs for 3 of our favorite things set up before we leave home. If Disney would allow hoppers to make FP+ reservations in more than one park and get a 4th FP after using just one, it would be even better.

 

[vicb]

Vicb, your post illustrates my point about how FP+ offers something for everyone.

I totally agree about rope drop. That's what we do, and the combination of rope drop and FP+ works great for us. We really do things pretty much the same as we did before, but enjoy the fact that we have FPs for 3 of our favorite things set up before we leave home. If Disney would allow hoppers to make FP+ reservations in more than one park and get a 4th FP after using just one, it would be even better.

Totally agree with your points and I would have to say for the most part we thought FP+ worked well for us. I had some frustrations with the app in park, usually wait times not being accurate or being unavailable for brief period of time when I needed it. But overall not too many complaints.

 

[magicwishes]

Thanks everyone. I'll read the links included. I appreciate everyone's input and discussion on their plans and experiences.

I think fastpass+ has the potential to improve our experience.