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

[trainingupmy4princes]

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?

They would run out because more people are using the system. Hence, why they also added rides into the system that normally didn't use/need them. I don't think they would have added in rides like Teacups,HM, or POTC if they had extra Splash,SM, or BTMRR lying around. IMO

 

[wisblue]

To be fair, if those people were getting 6 they were likely getting quite a few "quality" FPs. Even if they were spaced out over an hour each ... that would mean they would be pulling FPs from 9am til 3pm ... those are "quality" FPs after all timing wise.

And if you want to bring in quality, please let me know how your Star tours or Muppets your Figment or Living with the Land or Captain EO FPs are "quality" ... and hell I love star tours, but its a walk on ...

When you have to travel during the holidays, Soarin, Mission Space, and Spaceship Earth or TSMM, TOT, and Star Tours in the evening are all quality FPs in my book. None of those things are close to walk ons at 5 PM on a crowd level 9 or 10 day.

It's not just the quality of the attraction that gives a FP value to me. There is also value in being able to choose our times and having them set in advance. If I arrive at MK at 7 AM for EMH during Christmas week and leave a little after noon, it's nice knowing that we have 3 good attractions lined up for the evening.

Getting back to the topic of the thread, if the system only allows a 4th FP after using the original 3, I would still make my reservations in the late afternoon and evening because I think those 3 are more valuable than using FPs in the first 2 hours after the park is open when lines are shorter and then taking your chances on what you can get for later.

 

[agavegirl1]

I have a spreadsheet and have re-analysed my potential FP+ selections and times. My criteria for potential additional FP+ include...

Which park? My AM park or PM park may have my FP+ selections depending on the overall plan. If hopping is added, I may be able to FP an additional selection in my PM park. Unfortunately, my PM Park is likely to be Epcot and choices there are tiered and not likely to be available when arriving at 2-3PM.

My MK visits are primarily AM hours but, over my visit, I start in MK 3 times and end in MK once on a MNSSHP day. This park has the most FP+ opportunities and my afford me additional FP+ for POTC or HM in the afternoon before I leave.

The key to me is whether Standby is negatively affected by the whole "everyone can book in advance and more are available" dynamic. I am anxiously awaiting feedback on this board once this becomes fully operational and I get a better idea. I may need to shift parks and FP+ times around if Standby is unmanageable on certain days.

I really believe crowd level will be a huge impact here. Normally, I go during crowd levels of 3 or 4. There are a few 5 and 6 days during my current reservation.

 

[back2disney]

Watching y'all discuss from afar on how to make a trip to my once beloved DisneyWorld work anymore..

Good luck.

Simple solution from me, would be bring back old fastpasses -> get there early and tour, pick up fastpasses as you go if you don't want to wait in line and more importantly extend park hours to 1 or 2am like back in the old old days. Thus if you wanted to sleep in you could get there late and stay very late with shorter lines and temps..
But nope.

In the meantime good luck trying to work in the madness you have been caged in. I'll be at the better capacity parks and I'll patiently wait for "a" simpler solution to emerge here later after the mania wears off.

 

[agavegirl1]

Watching y'all discuss from afar on how to make a trip to my once beloved DisneyWorld work anymore..

Good luck.

Simple solution from me, would be bring back old fastpasses -> get there early and tour, pick up fastpasses as you go if you don't want to wait in line and more importantly extend park hours to 1 or 2am like back in the old old days. Thus if you wanted to sleep in you could get there late and stay very late with shorter lines and temps..
But nope.

In the meantime good luck trying to work in the madness you have been caged in. I'll be at the better capacity parks and I'll patiently wait for "a" simpler solution to emerge here later after the mania wears off.

I do wish I could do that. Unfortunately, my trip was planned and budgeted and is being saved for over a year ago. My next plan, go to Disneyland.

 

[DougEMG]

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.

We only ever did SB if the line was 15-20 minutes or less, otherwise it was FP only. At slow times of the year it was very easy to go on the same ride multiple times in a row alternating between FP and SB.

 

[DougEMG]

One thing i'm considering for our next trip is rope dropping Epcot, DHS and AK and then park hopping over to MK in the afternoon to use the 3 FP+ there. Then hope to get a 4th FP for later in the day. With the most rides, MK should have the best chance of getting something later on.

 

[TooMuchMana]

I'm excited and very nervous about this change. Disney has not let me down yet haha

 

[jcemom]

We only ever did SB if the line was 15-20 minutes or less, otherwise it was FP only. At slow times of the year it was very easy to go on the same ride multiple times in a row alternating between FP and SB.

This is what we did.

 

[MrInfinity]

The key to me is whether Standby is negatively affected by the whole "everyone can book in advance and more are available" dynamic. I am anxiously awaiting feedback on this board once this becomes fully operational and I get a better idea. I may need to shift parks and FP+ times around if Standby is unmanageable on certain days.

Yep this is really the key. As Disney gives out more Fast Passes, the Standby lines will, by an equal amount, go up. And then you'll have your ppl who will be dissatisfied with not getting enough Fast Passes, but then in the next sentence be dissatisfied about the Standby lines.

There is simply no way to have "more fast passes" and "shorter lines" at the same time. As one gets better the other will get worse.

The reason I am thinking this new system might be good, is because like with the FP- days, most guests will not, in my opinion, go out of their way to pull more FPs from a kiosk. They'll use their 3 that are on their MDE app and be done.

Even so I don't think we'll get more than 1 useful extra FP, and you had to burn your 3 in the morning so having 4 is debatably worse than having 3 in the mid afternoons. I'm gonna keep mine at useful times until I hear that there is anything worthwhile available around 1 or 2pm.

 

[MrInfinity]

In MK, A&E screwed up the idea of getting early FPs because the earliest I could get was 1:30pm 60 days out.

You're sitting on one of the most highly coveted Fast Passes in existence and calling your day screwed up because you might not get a 4th FP to something you could ride any time.

When the mentality has become such that "if I cannot cram all my fast passes in by 1:30 to get a 4th then it's screwed up"... clearly this change is causing ppl to think irrationally about the need to get more fast passes as opposed to using the 3 we can prebook in a most effective time-saving way.

To use your FPs at 9, 10, 11... will save you 10, 20, and 40 min. And get another FP at night which might save you 40. (110 min saved)

But to use them at 1, 2, and 3 will save you 50, 60, and 70 minutes. (180 min saved).

Quality. Not quantity.

You have to remember you're all thinking about this as if you'll be able to pull one more per hour like you used to but what you're failing to observe is that there are 50,000 guests who all pulled 3 months ago. So the supply is going to be close to gone. There will be scraps left over and nothing else.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

To use your FPs at 9, 10, 11... will save you 10, 20, and 40 min. And get another FP at night which might save you 40. (110 min saved)

But to use them at 1, 2, and 3 will save you 50, 60, and 70 minutes. (180 min saved).

I did the same type of calculation to pick my FP+ times for my trip later this month and came to the same conclusion.

In September my strategy might be different - I will redo the numbers when that trip gets closer - but for a trip on a crowded day I found that it is better to use my FP+ later in the day, even if it costs me more FP+.

 

[Angel Ariel]

You're sitting on one of the most highly coveted Fast Passes in existence and calling your day screwed up because you might not get a 4th FP to something you could ride any time.

You have to remember you're all thinking about this as if you'll be able to pull one more per hour like you used to but what you're failing to observe is that there are 50,000 guests who all pulled 3 months ago. So the supply is going to be close to gone. There will be scraps left over and nothing else.

It's been pretty well proven that FP+ is lengthening the lines at these secondary "you could ride any time" attractions. At the time the poster you quoted is going to Disney, those rides that we've all taken for granted as "you could ride any time" rides may very well have 30min waits, and being able to get a FP+ for them, even if they are considered "scraps" could be useful. I see statements like that made a lot - that only "scraps" will be left, and they aren't worth it because the rides are easy to get on any time....but that's also old-school thinking, to an extent.

We just don't know, right now, what those SB lines will look like during the busiest times *now that 100% of WDW guests can prebook*. Easter week may not even be the best predictor, as the offsite guests that week have had less than their 30 days to prebook (and who knows how many of them have had the marketing blitz to prebook the way onsite guests have). We may not have any true idea as to what a very busy time will be like, with 100% of park guests prebooking, until Memorial Day weekend/early June.

Would I have ever considered getting a FP for Figment before? no! It was literally a walk on when we were there - both in march 2013 for spring break and in october. But if we were to go back during spring break season again, and Figment had a 20-30 min wait (and tiers were still in place), would i get one? Quite possibly.

 

[jade1]

They would run out because more people are using the system. Hence, why they also added rides into the system that normally didn't use/need them. I don't think they would have added in rides like Teacups,HM, or POTC if they had extra Splash,SM, or BTMRR lying around. IMO

Keep in mind I said "slow months".

By adding all of the other attractions, right or wrong will spread even more FP+'s out. If BTTM was available until closing in med Dec-I think it will also be available for a 4th or 5th-maybe 6th pick (if they allow rolling) this mid Dec. We will see.

 

[jade1]

When you have to travel during the holidays, Soarin, Mission Space, and Spaceship Earth or TSMM, TOT, and Star Tours in the evening are all quality FPs in my book. None of those things are close to walk ons at 5 PM on a crowd level 9 or 10 day.

It's not just the quality of the attraction that gives a FP value to me. There is also value in being able to choose our times and having them set in advance. If I arrive at MK at 7 AM for EMH during Christmas week and leave a little after noon, it's nice knowing that we have 3 good attractions lined up for the evening.

Getting back to the topic of the thread, if the system only allows a 4th FP after using the original 3, I would still make my reservations in the late afternoon and evening because I think those 3 are more valuable than using FPs in the first 2 hours after the park is open when lines are shorter and then taking your chances on what you can get for later.

Exactly, and our plan as well.

 

[jade1]

They are basically just saying, if there is anything left, sure you can have it.

Agreed-same as with FP-

 

[BuckeyeBama]

It's been pretty well proven that FP+ is lengthening the lines at these secondary "you could ride any time" attractions. At the time the poster you quoted is going to Disney, those rides that we've all taken for granted as "you could ride any time" rides may very well have 30min waits, and being able to get a FP+ for them, even if they are considered "scraps" could be useful. I see statements like that made a lot - that only "scraps" will be left, and they aren't worth it because the rides are easy to get on any time....but that's also old-school thinking, to an extent.

We just don't know, right now, what those SB lines will look like during the busiest times *now that 100% of WDW guests can prebook*. Easter week may not even be the best predictor, as the offsite guests that week have had less than their 30 days to prebook (and who knows how many of them have had the marketing blitz to prebook the way onsite guests have). We may not have any true idea as to what a very busy time will be like, with 100% of park guests prebooking, until Memorial Day weekend/early June.

Would I have ever considered getting a FP for Figment before? no! It was literally a walk on when we were there - both in march 2013 for spring break and in october. But if we were to go back during spring break season again, and Figment had a 20-30 min wait (and tiers were still in place), would i get one? Quite possibly.

I agree with this, but it is still true that the best time of the day to ride SB is early in the morning. The lines might be longer than pre-FP+, but they are still at their shortest for the day.

 

[jade1]

One thing i'm considering for our next trip is rope dropping Epcot, DHS and AK and then park hopping over to MK in the afternoon to use the 3 FP+ there. Then hope to get a 4th FP for later in the day. With the most rides, MK should have the best chance of getting something later on.

Not a bad strategy when it was limited to 3 even IMO.

 

[famy27]

I did the same type of calculation to pick my FP+ times for my trip later this month and came to the same conclusion.

In September my strategy might be different - I will redo the numbers when that trip gets closer - but for a trip on a crowded day I found that it is better to use my FP+ later in the day, even if it costs me more FP+.

For me, it's not about time saved. It's about time spent. I'm never going to wait in a 120-minute SB line, no matter what time of day it is. I look at how much time I spend in line. I am pretty much not waiting more than 20 minutes (possibly 30) for anything. So, if extra FPs allow me to do a larger number of attractions with a 10-15 minute wait, it is advantageous to me.

So, my numbers might look like this:

EP:
Ride TT SB in SR at 9:15--20 minutes spent
FP+ for Soarin at 10:00--20 minutes spent
FP+ for Mission Space 11:00--15 minutes spent
FP+ for Turtle Talk at 12:00--20 minutes spent

Mix in SB rides on LwtL, SE, etc if waits are low

Hop to MK:
Grab FP+ for JC or HM
eat lunch
ride HM. Get another FP+
keep repeating as possible, with rides with no SB waits (like People Mover and train) mixed in

If I save my FP+s to use from 2-5, I will lose the chance to FP+ 5-6 rides, compared to using them from 9:00 to 12:00.

Now, I will generally just ride most things once per day, so re-riding isn't that important to me.

Of course, if the 4th FP thing rolls out and all that's available is Captain EO, it will obviously derail my plans. But I looked at the survey Disney sent with ideas of what would probably be available, and I think I have a good chance of cutting down my wait times to my preferred amount, just as I did with FP-.

I won't be maximizing the time saved per ride, but I'll be minimizing time spent in lines overall.


What I like about the additional FP+, is there is no right or wrong strategy. Using FP+s in the afternoon might work perfectly for some and using them in the morning will be great for others.

 

[MrInfinity]

For me, it's not about time saved. It's about time spent. So, my numbers might look like this:

EP:
Ride TT SB in SR at 9:15--20 minutes spent
FP+ for Soarin at 10:00--20 minutes spent
FP+ for Mission Space 11:00--15 minutes spent
FP+ for Turtle Talk at 12:00--20 minutes spent

Mix in SB rides on LwtL, SE, etc if waits are low

Hop to MK:
Grab FP+ for JC or HM
eat lunch
ride HM. Get another FP+
keep repeating as possible, with rides with no SB waits (like People Mover and train) mixed in

We could test this... does anyone out there have an AP or ability to pick FPs for today? (just as a simulation). It's 1pm eastern right now (about when you're saying you'd get to the MK) so I'd be interested to know what's available, FP-wise, for this afternoon. Anything for JC?