FastPass Strategy Help

[mamateacher]

Hello all,
I know everyone's FastPass Strategy is different, but I am becoming overwhelmed with the planning of it all. We are a family of 4 traveling in July. In your opinion, is it best to:

(1) arrive at RD (which we intend to do) and ride as many as we can before the crowds and schedule our FPs beginning around 10 or 11 in the morning when crowd levels are higher?

OR

(2) arrive at RD (which we intend to do) and schedule all of our FPs for early morning, say....beginning at 9:00?

Thank you for helping me!

 

[pitpat]

option 1, but there's not too much difference between your 2 options.

Here's how option 2 could be beneficial: if you started at RD in Adventureland, you could do Jungle Cruise and Pirates standby with no wait, then if you had a 9-10 FP for BTMRR and a 10-11 FP for Splash, you could ride those back to back with no wait. Maybe have your next FP for Peter Pan, then you could look for a 4th for Haunted Mansion early and have no problem getting it.

But for the most part, you usually don't need FPs in your first hour.

 

[dkrauss]

I also prefer option 1. The only caveat to that, in my mind, may be to schedule 7DMT for later in the day and concentrate on other rides in the morning.

Doug

 

[Cinderella94]

We are going in July also. I booked my first FP of the day for 9:20-10:20 for the most part. We plan to ride things stand by for the first hour and use that first fastpass at the end of the window, 10:20 (or 10:30 or 10:15 depending on how I made them).

The problem with booking your first fastpass for, say, 10:05 - 11:05 is that even assuming you make them one right after the other, you can't use your third fastpass until 12:05 at the earliest. We are usually heading out of the park right at this time, or at least eating lunch to head out after that.

 

[HydroGuy]

We are going in July also. I booked my first FP of the day for 9:20-10:20 for the most part. We plan to ride things stand by for the first hour and use that first fastpass at the end of the window, 10:20 (or 10:30 or 10:15 depending on how I made them).

The problem with booking your first fastpass for, say, 10:05 - 11:05 is that even assuming you make them one right after the other, you can't use your third fastpass until 12:05 at the earliest. We are usually heading out of the park right at this time, or at least eating lunch to head out after that.

For completeness, this is not 100% true. First, the obvious. You can use FPs 5 minutes early. So that means 12:00 noon in your case. But second, as soon as you enter the queue for FP#2 (and tap the FP machine) you can check on the possibility of moving the FP#3 up and change it to earlier. Doesn't mean you will get it. But you might. It did for me a couple days in March based on the great tips from @Cluelyss

https://www.disboards.com/threads/f...al-tier-1-booking-fps-for-long-stays.3538258/

 

[Cinderella94]

For completeness, this is not 100% true. First, the obvious. You can use FPs 5 minutes early. So that means 12:00 noon in your case. But second, as soon as you enter the queue for FP#2 (and tap the FP machine) you can check on the possibility of moving the FP#3 up and change it to earlier. Doesn't mean you will get it. But you might. It did for me a couple days in March based on the great tips from @Cluelyss

https://www.disboards.com/threads/f...al-tier-1-booking-fps-for-long-stays.3538258/

It's true that that's definitely an option. But as you said, it's no guarantee that you'll get it - I just don't like to book my FPs that way where I could potentially be stuck in the heat and lines of the park later than I want to be. I go into it assuming I'll get to use what I have booked at that time.

 

[HydroGuy]

It's true that that's definitely an option. But as you said, it's no guarantee that you'll get it - I just don't like to book my FPs that way where I could potentially be stuck in the heat and lines of the park later than I want to be. I go into it assuming I'll get to use what I have booked at that time.

Me too. I just added that thought in case you or others did not know. I didn't. I came across it just a few months ago myself.

 

[Malestrom Troll]

It all depends on what your goal is. If you want to maximize your time and blow and go, then at RD you can ride a lot of rides with minimal wait till almost 11AM most days. (Obviously getting the big E- ticket rides done first) Schedule FP for big rides you may have missed, or even go to another park and use FP there.

 

[mamateacher]

For completeness, this is not 100% true. First, the obvious. You can use FPs 5 minutes early. So that means 12:00 noon in your case. But second, as soon as you enter the queue for FP#2 (and tap the FP machine) you can check on the possibility of moving the FP#3 up and change it to earlier. Doesn't mean you will get it. But you might. It did for me a couple days in March based on the great tips from @Cluelyss

https://www.disboards.com/threads/f...al-tier-1-booking-fps-for-long-stays.3538258/

Oh my gosh....Just checked that link! I'll need a day off from work just to get through it and plan my FPs. Thanks for the info!

 

[ChasingLeslie]

July here, too, and I choose option #2.

We RD or do PPO breakfasts and I booked all our FPs starting between 9-9:30am. We do as many rides as possible in the first hour and use the first FP in the last few minutes. I like doing that so I can make secondary FPs ASAP (immediately after we tap into #3).

 

[oktxregulators]

We have never done rope drop and usually get into the park around 10 unless we booked a breakfast in the park somewhere to get early access. We always try to book FP as early as possible so when it comes time for lunch we can start booking our 4th the 5th then 6th then 7th. I remember last year we went in June and there was a Friday where we got 11 FP's that day. We will be there in July as well this year.

 

[chiisai]

I rope drop and book fp at 10, 11, and noon