FastPass Plus Version 2.0 (you can get more than 3-- STARTS APRIL 28!)

[BridgetBordeaux]

So the recent Disney Blog reports that FP+ will be changing .....--APRIL 28TH

We will be able to get additional FP's after the first 3 are used.

This thread is devoted to the new strategies that will help guests enjoy many rides and attractions with minimum wait times.

Once you have tried your version 2.0 touring plan, please share the results here so that others can have the best vacation possible.

This is very exciting!

 

[Porsche44]

My biggest worry with this new FP+ version is that rope drop will become redundant. People will now book FP's for rides starting at 9:00 followed by another at 10:00 and another at 11:00 so that they can make the most of being able to get more FP's after using their first three. This means that it will no longer be advantageous to arrive at RD as no matter what ride you choose BTM or SM for example there will be early FP users who will get immediate access and the standby line will build immediately. Gone will be the days when you could hit rope drop and ride your favourite ride two or three times in a row with hardly any wait. Now your whole day will be Fastpassed with rides that had little or no wait now having longer standby lines too as they get impacted by the new technology. I am an uber planner who usually loves the planning stage but FP+ is doing my head in.

 

[JimmyV]

My biggest worry with this new FP+ version is that rope drop will become redundant. People will now book FP's for rides starting at 9:00 followed by another at 10:00 and another at 11:00 so that they can make the most of being able to get more FP's after using their first three.

Maybe. And that strategy might be short-lived. If you go to Epcot with that strategy and use a 9:00 FP to by-pass a 10 minute line at Soarin’, then use a 10:00 FP to bypass a 10 minute line at Spaceship Earth, and an 11:00 FP to bypass a 10 minute wait at Nemo and then go to a kiosk only to find out that the only FPs you can get are for slots after 4:00 and are for Living With The Land, Figment and EO, you might quickly conclude that you would have been much better off arriving at RD, doing headliners in the morning via SB lines and using your FPs later in the day. No sense burning your FPs when the SB lines are short if the "payoff" is a fourth FP for a ride you don't want. I think people are being delusional if they think that after using their 11:00 FP they are going to get a meaningful FP in the noon slot, and then use that one and get a meaningful FP in the 1:00 slot and so on throughout the day. Instead you might get a late afternoon FP for something that doesn't require one, and then after using that one, you will find yourself shut out of anything further. If that proves to be the case, then the "use 'em early" strategy is a losing one.

 

[Missyrose]

So the recent Disney Blog reports that FP+ will be changing soon.

We will be able to get additional FP's after the first 3 are used.

This thread is devoted to the new strategies that will help guests enjoy many rides and attractions with minimum wait times.

The prior approach of riding standby in the morning and getting FP+ "reservations" for the afternoon and/or evening will not be as useful as it was during the testing phase that allowed only 3.

Once you have tried your version 2.0 touring plan, please share the results here so that others can have the best vacation possible.

For the moment, the actual date of the change has not been announced. Once it is, I will update this first post.

Depending on the rollout of the changes, we may or may not see park hopping included in version 2.0................that may become part of 3.0

This is very exciting!

I guess I'm tempering my excitement until we start to get first-hand reports of what FP+ reservations are available for the additional slots. To put it bluntly, I'm not changing my afternoon and evening FP+ reservations for May until I know if it's worth burning them earlier in the day.

 

[heybravo626]

I don't think it can be said that riding standby in the morning and getting FP+ for later will not be as useful as it is now until it is known how the extra FP+ will work. If it is lower tier type of rides, it might not be to your overall advantage to burn through your first 3 FP+'s as fast as you can. It still might make sense to save them for later.

There may also have to be multiple strategies depending on the crowd level (i.e. on low crowd days, the 3 FP+ might get you top rides but on high crowd days those rides might be gone).

It's going to make planning much more interesting.

 

[2Tiggies]

I guess I'm tempering my excitement until we start to get first-hand reports of what FP+ reservations are available for the additional slots. To put it bluntly, I'm not changing my afternoon and evening FP+ reservations for May until I know if it's worth burning them earlier in the day.

This is precisely what I have decided. There will need to be enough reports of a radical change for me to consider changing mine, even then. I am still of the view that I would rather secure my FP+ for times that will save me time in line and not worry too much if there is nothing worthwhile left, than burn the 3 'good' ones I have wastefully as a gamble in the hope that I might get something worthwhile that justifies standing in line at a kiosk to save me standing in what could be a 20 minute standby line for a lesser attraction ....

My thought is that if I schedule my FP's for my entire trip on that basis and it all goes out the window on day one, my chances or changing up the rest of the days leave me far fewer options than they would at 60 days out.

The way I see it, unless there is something I am missing, my decent 3 are better than 3 good rides at bad times so I can get a 4th meh ride at another bad time. I know that is exaggerating things to illustrate the point, but I'm not messing with my plans as they are right now.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

You all have already brought up some great points. I am hoping that once we get some reports from actual FP+ 2.0 users, that we can figure out what adjustments, if any, may need to be made to our own personal touring plans.

Under the original FP+ (with only 3 choices), we would generally book from 1-2, 2-3, and 3-4. So at about 3-4pm each day we were forced to deal with stand by lines the rest of the day. Now, I might be able to pull one or two for much later in the day and take a break at the resort knowing that we can return at 6 or 7 or 8pm and be able to at least do one ride without a wait.

Only time will tell how the standby/FP dynamics will change!

 

[rn448698]

Does anyone know when this policy goes into effect? What about when the park hopping option will start?

 

[Momtomouselover]

Over spring break we found RD to be pretty good, however, it didn't take long for rides to start to build. As for FP+ I don't think I would change mine from evening to the morning but I would be tempted to try to show up at RD, then have the FP+ for afternoon (11,12,1 or so) then try and book another one for the evening before we head out for a break. I guess time will tell what strategies work. Alternatively, if you are not a RD family (which is usually us) you could book your FP+ for early afternoon and then just see what happens when scheduling another, etc. Curious to see how this all pans out. I think usage of FP has gone up greatly with the release of FP+ so the FP genie is out of the bottle so to speak! I want Disney to get on with adding additional attractions.

 

[sethschroeder]

Why not just create this thread after the change? Right now no one has a clue on strategy as no one knows how many FP+ would be available normally, if you can re-ride, if there ends up being a time limit between FP+ or a limit for the day?

Personally pick 3 main rides for about 10-12 and then just FP+ minor rides rest of day one after another if there is no limit or time wait? Why do Barnstormer SB when you can FP+ 10 times in arow Thursday afternoon?

 

[Missyrose]

You all have already brought up some great points. I am hoping that once we get some reports from actual FP+ 2.0 users, that we can figure out what adjustments, if any, may need to be made to our own personal touring plans. Under the original FP+ (with only 3 choices), we would generally book from 1-2, 2-3, and 3-4. So at about 3-4pm each day we were forced to deal with stand by lines the rest of the day. Now, I might be able to pull one or two for much later in the day and take a break at the resort knowing that we can return at 6 or 7 or 8pm and be able to at least do one ride without a wait. Only time will tell how the standby/FP dynamics will change!

There aren't any. FP+ 2.0 users to post their reports because the change has only been announced, not enacted. And Disney isn't saying when things will change either.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

Here is an update on the timeline from the Disney Blog. Tom Staggs is with Disney.

Penny on April 2nd, 2014 at 12:35 pm

So glad to hear that you are working on being able to add additional fast passes once you use your three per day. When do you anticipate this will be available? Will you be able to book the additional, above 3, on a mobile device or will you have to use a kiosk?

Tom Staggs on April 7th, 2014 at 11:12 am

Thank you for the comment, Penny. As I mentioned, we’re working on providing guests with the ability to add and enjoy additional entitlements on the day of their visit, and also provide them the ability to make additional FastPass+ selections after park-hopping. We expect both to come online later this spring.

 

[cigar95]

Does anyone know when this policy goes into effect? What about when the park hopping option will start?

I would recommend trying it right now. This system was in place during (unannounced) tests in January and March, including park-hopping. It might already be in place now without anyone being aware.

 

[kbuck]

I know of several people in the parks who tried this past weekend and it was not working yet!

 

[Laz]

I would have to go along with a wait and see approach. If the 4th or 5th FP+ has nothing worthwhile available, then using your existing 3 early may not be the best thing to do.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Maybe. And that strategy might be short-lived. If you go to Epcot with that strategy and use a 9:00 FP to by-pass a 10 minute line at Soarin’, then use a 10:00 FP to bypass a 10 minute line at Spaceship Earth, and an 11:00 FP to bypass a 10 minute wait at Nemo ...

You realize, of course, that you can mix in some SB rides between the FP+ rides, right? In other words, you could ride all of the rides that you listed TWICE during the period mentioned, and maybe a few more rides. Then you get another FP+ for whatever is left, just like FP-.

 

[jade1]

You realize, of course, that you can mix in some SB rides between the FP+ rides, right? In other words, you could ride all of the rides that you listed TWICE during the period mentioned, and maybe a few more rides. Then you get another FP+ for whatever is left, just like FP-.

Yep and why ride at 9 ( (if 9 to 10 is the window), ride first then FP+ after, reported results will dictate when the best time is to jump in the FP+ line..

Also the EMH AM should be open unless they start reserving that hour as well.

Many have said they never ran out of FP- in slow months, so I think the slow months will have many more FP+'s available after the first 3 (and may even allow many more than 3 reserved). If they never ran out before, why would they now?

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Yep and why ride at 9 ( (if 9 to 10 is the window), ride first then FP+ after, reported results will dictate when the best time is to jump in the FP+ line..

Also the EMH AM should be open unless they start reserving that hour as well.

Many have said they never ran out of FP- in slow months, so I think the slow months will have many more FP+'s available after the first 3. If they never ran out before, why would they now?

Yep - for my trip in Sept I think that this rule change could once again allow me to use many more FP than 3. Depends - do they stop us at 4, or let us keep going so long as all are used.

 

[prudence64]

Dd people who report getting 6 or so fp in the old system avoid SB lines altogether or did they wait in some of those too? I feel like some people equate 3 fp with 3 rides total, but you can still always wait in line.

 

[Sammie]

Dd people who report getting 6 or so fp in the old system avoid SB lines altogether or did they wait in some of those too? I feel like some people equate 3 fp with 3 rides total, but you can still always wait in line.

I don't think those people ever used the standby line, it was Fastpass or nothing based on what many have shared.