Fastpass Strategy

[MightyGitis]

Based on recent reports, starting in HS and hopping to MK, you'll probably be able to get some FP+ at your 2nd park. Hopping to Epcot, you probably won't get the tier 1 rides. Starting in MK and then hopping to HS you probably won't get tier 1 either. All yet to be seen of course, but the tier 1 in the afternoon doesn't appear to be happening a lot.

The tier issue is something we've long discussed as well. The current plan is to hit those in the morning days in conbo with FPs. So in EPCOT I have a Soarin scheduled so we would ride Test Track first. And use the FP for Soarin. In DHS we have TSMM scheduled so we plan to ride it first thru standby and then with the pass and using single rider line for RNR (there's only two of us). We have THREE MK evenings because we do. Lol. We like MK evenings. And even if we are only getting FPs for secondary's we will catch the main attractions on the MK morning.

The only way to find out is to try unfortunately. This is why I avoid June normally. I blame Harry Potter for the timing of this trip.

But fortunately I already have the SDMG FPs. That day I shall not touch.

 

[asmit4]

I need some help here...Im feeling maybe Im doing this wrong.

We have a morning at EP and an evening at MK. We are 100% rope drop folks- you won't see us sleeping in EVER. With that said- my plan was to do Maelstrom, nemo ride and living with the land in the AM without FP....then we have a coral reef lunch for 11:30....

THEN we NAP

THEN we head to MK around 5:30 and that is where I have 3 FPs planned. Am I wrong on this? Should I book the 3 FPs at EP and bank on getting FPs at the kiosks in MK??

 

[ashleighbass06]

I was having this same issue and changed my fp+ For Epcot about a dozen times when optimizing my TP because it was telling me that it wasn't using my fp+ because it would increase my waits. I want to spend my afternoons in WS where there are no attractions that need FP+ so on that day my last FP+ is at noon.

 

[disneytraveler]

The tier issue is something we've long discussed as well. The current plan is to hit those in the morning days in conbo with FPs. So in EPCOT I have a Soarin scheduled so we would ride Test Track first. And use the FP for Soarin. In DHS we have TSMM scheduled so we plan to ride it first thru standby and then with the pass and using single rider line for RNR (there's only two of us). We have THREE MK evenings because we do. Lol. We like MK evenings. And even if we are only getting FPs for secondary's we will catch the main attractions on the MK morning.

The only way to find out is to try unfortunately. This is why I avoid June normally. I blame Harry Potter for the timing of this trip.

But fortunately I already have the SDMG FPs. That day I shall not touch.

Looks pretty good to me. I may be in a disadvantage when I go as I cant get internet on my cell phone to change the fp times like most do. I am going in late Sept and beginning of October.

 

[practicallyperfect77]

I need some help here...Im feeling maybe Im doing this wrong.

We have a morning at EP and an evening at MK. We are 100% rope drop folks- you won't see us sleeping in EVER. With that said- my plan was to do Maelstrom, nemo ride and living with the land in the AM without FP....then we have a coral reef lunch for 11:30....

THEN we NAP

THEN we head to MK around 5:30 and that is where I have 3 FPs planned. Am I wrong on this? Should I book the 3 FPs at EP and bank on getting FPs at the kiosks in MK??

Personally I think if you're not wanting to ride Soarin' or TT at Epcot you'll be fine without FP+ there. The only thing is that I believe Maelstrom doesn't open til 11 as it's in the world showcase (I could totally be wrong but check). Only mention this because of your ressie at 11:30.

 

[practicallyperfect77]

The tier issue is something we've long discussed as well. The current plan is to hit those in the morning days in conbo with FPs. So in EPCOT I have a Soarin scheduled so we would ride Test Track first. And use the FP for Soarin. In DHS we have TSMM scheduled so we plan to ride it first thru standby and then with the pass and using single rider line for RNR (there's only two of us). We have THREE MK evenings because we do. Lol. We like MK evenings. And even if we are only getting FPs for secondary's we will catch the main attractions on the MK morning.

The only way to find out is to try unfortunately. This is why I avoid June normally. I blame Harry Potter for the timing of this trip.

But fortunately I already have the SDMG FPs. That day I shall not touch.

Sounds like a plan to me. My next trip is end of Oct so hoping for lowish crowds, but who knows. It's also during free dining so not sure how that'll work out for me. I have an idea for a plan right now but I know that is all subject to change based on how the system evolves.

 

[famy27]

I doubt I will be increasing my wait in line as with the touring plans I've been using for two decades I never wait in a line over twenty minutes. This way I just don't have to run across a park for a pass and back again.

Midday is also when we switch parks. So while one of the three FP+ is a burner I need it scheduled early so when we reach the second park we aren't waiting for the time to expire on a pass in another park.

We are trying to use 4,5, and 6 FP+ in a day and to do that you have to get the first three done to do so.

Not a newb.

You sound like you tour a lot like we do. We don't do RD and we don't wait more than 20 minutes or so. I anticipate that FP+ won't change that at all. It mid-tier rides have long SB waits, we won't ride them. We'll pick something else. The kids will do Agent P or Sorcerers in the afternoon if SB lines are that bad. We like park close much more than RD, so we'll do the smaller rides then if they are unmanageable mid-day.

I do hope to be able to get lots of rolling FPs for the mid-tiers throughout the day, especially at MK. I was super-annoyed by FP+ (and I still much prefer original FP), but I am at least now looking forward to playing around with it and seeing how I can adjust it to my touring style.

I do hear lots of people taking about time saved, but that's not a concern to me. I care about how much time I spent. If I don't wait in a line that's more than 20 minutes, it doesn't matter to me if I avoided a 40 minute line or a 100 minute line. I wasn't going to wait in either of those anyway.

It's like a super-couponer. "I got $1000 worth of groceries for $100!" But now you have $1000 worth of mustard and pickles. I spent $75 and got groceries I needed. Neither one is right or wrong, it's just what's more important to you.

The value in the FP+ to me is skipping the line. When I skip it doesn't matter, just as long as I do skip it.

 

[hunter1722]

A lot of people are saying the best time to get your FP+'s is between the hours of 11a & 2p. Get to the park as early as you can. Ride standby for what you like and can get on or meet & greet characters, take your time wandering around.

Get your 3 initial FP+'s for the rides you know you want to do during peek hours (thats that 11-2 time I mentioned earlier). Its not a sprint. Its a vacation. Don't stress over it. Its not worth it.

But does this work for 10 out of 10 weeks (ie. Christmas week)?

 

[LSUfan4444]

(1) In MK and AK, don't schedule too early when lines are shorter. A pre-booked FB is worth more than getting a FP at the park because of the certainty it provides. Don't spend $2 to get $1. In tiering parks, it may make sense to burn through FPs early to get other tier ones. We need to see how availability shakes out on crowded days to know how viable this is. If Tier 1s remain available early in the day, schedule your Tier 1 FP first, ride the ride, move up the other two, and then start reserving extra FPs.

Excellent point.

 

[LSUfan4444]

The tier issue is something we've long discussed as well. The current plan is to hit those in the morning days in conbo with FPs. So in EPCOT I have a Soarin scheduled so we would ride Test Track first. And use the FP for Soarin. In DHS we have TSMM scheduled so we plan to ride it first thru standby and then with the pass and using single rider line for RNR (there's only two of us). We have THREE MK evenings because we do. Lol. We like MK evenings. And even if we are only getting FPs for secondary's we will catch the main attractions on the MK morning.

Again, this is NOT a lecture, just pointing out a different perspective.

It appears that in the end our goals are the same which is to have FPs in the afternoon or evening when the crowds get heavier.

The two strategies in question differ because I am willing to sacrifice a little wait time in the morning (when waits are the shortest) and ride those headliners or popular secondary attractions via standby. By doing this, I am ensuring my afternoon/evening FPs are for the exact attractions I want, at the times that I want, booked 60 days in advance.

You as well are trying to ensure you have FPs in the afternoon/evening, but you are putting more of an emphasis on the shortest wait possible in the mornings and less emphasis on exactly what FPs you get in the afternoon and for when.

This is a good example for people to use when making their decisions because as I have said since day 1, there will be no right or wrong strategy. The key is to use the proper execution for what your (not you, just any guest) goals are.

We have a morning at EP and an evening at MK. We are 100% rope drop folks- you won't see us sleeping in EVER. With that said- my plan was to do Maelstrom, nemo ride and living with the land in the AM without FP....then we have a coral reef lunch for 11:30....

THEN we NAP

THEN we head to MK around 5:30 and that is where I have 3 FPs planned. Am I wrong on this? Should I book the 3 FPs at EP and bank on getting FPs at the kiosks in MK??

I think you have it perfect.

If Single rider is an option for you at Test Track (and you can be together all the way until you actually board the attraction):

Once you enter Epcot head straight to Soarin if you're doing it, then do Living with the Land. After that head on over to Test Track which you would want to do via single rider. Soarin only takes 5 minutes, but takes a while to actually load and get off so between Soarin and Living with the Land (about 13 minutes), I think you should be back over at Test Track by about 9:25 (ish). The single rider wait time by that point should not be significant.

After Test Track if you want to do Sum of All Thrills, I would do it now then head back to Mission Space if you want. Then you can knock out Spaceship Earth, Figment, then Nemo and head to the World Showcase so you can be one of the first to board Maelstrom.

After Maelstrom have lunch at Coral Reef then head over to finished whatever you need/want to in Future World.

 

[MightyGitis]

Again, this is NOT a lecture, just pointing out a different perspective. It appears that in the end our goals are the same which is to have FPs in the afternoon or evening when the crowds get heavier. The two strategies in question differ because I am willing to sacrifice a little wait time in the morning (when waits are the shortest) and ride those headliners or popular secondary attractions via standby. By doing this, I am ensuring my afternoon/evening FPs are for the exact attractions I want, at the times that I want, booked 60 days in advance. You as well are trying to ensure you have FPs in the afternoon/evening, but you are putting more of an emphasis on the shortest wait possible in the mornings and less emphasis on exactly what FPs you get in the afternoon and for when. This is a good example for people to use when making their decisions because as I have said since day 1, there will be no right or wrong strategy.

I think our main hesitation is this: we are power tourists at our morning park. Sometimes we've done AK in 2.5 hours. We are concerned with putting FP+ in the morning park later and being tied down from leaving when we want and we are afraid to put FP+ too early in the second park and not MAKE it in time.

We feel it puts deadlines on us for the park switch in the middle.

We are however reexamining our AK day. I think we can do AK FastPass free and put that days FPs in the evening because that evening is MK which has the most attractions to a concerned about scheduling FP for. We have the mountains, Peter Pan, and the mine train already scheduled there on two different days though so the decision is still up in the air.

 

[LSUfan4444]

I think our main hesitation is this: we are power tourists at our morning park. Sometimes we've done AK in 2.5 hours. We are concerned with putting FP+ in the morning park later and being tied down from leaving when we want and we are afraid to put FP+ too early in the second park and not MAKE it in time.

We feel it puts deadlines on us for the park switch in the middle.

We schedule our FPs around our ADRs.

We RARELY schedule nighttime ADRs in the parks so if our ADR is in the park we are hopping to, we know we can start the time gap an hour after our ADR. If our ADR is in our morning park, we usually know we can start them around 2 hours after our ADR.

My emphasis is on my afternoon park. If I want to blow off a park, I'll blow off my morning park. If I go to do something in the morning (say Soarin) and it is closed for some reason, no worries because I know I have a FP on another day, in the evening. I don't HAVE to hit the same attraction twice in the same morning...if I can, great, if not no biggie because I know my FP+ awaits me on another day.

It's all a matter of where you put your priorities. If someone is willing to skip attractions in the afternoon because they didn't get a FP and standby is too long, that works. The morning I am more energized and more willing to move around and hop around the park if need be. I prefer my afternoons and evenings to be more "relaxed" with short waits, snacks, parades, nighttime fireworks, a few cocktails around the world showcase or dawa bar etc.

I have more confidence I can do what I want without pre-booked FPs from 9 am - 11 am then I am from 3 pm- 5 pm.

 

[JimmyV]

We are however reexamining our AK day. I think we can do AK FastPass free and put that days FPs in the evening because that evening is MK which has the most attractions to a concerned about scheduling FP for. We have the mountains, Peter Pan, and the mine train already scheduled there on two different days though so the decision is still up in the air.

Makes sense. If one intends to park hop, it would almost always make sense to use FPs for the second park and try to commando the first park. Going in late June, early July, there is no guarantee that any FPs of value will be waiting for you at the second park of the day. So lock in your favorites in late afternoon, early evening, and get to AK at RD. (Incidentally, this is one of the reasons that we have largely given up on park hopping. Too much stress and too much uncertainty.)

 

[hunter1722]

Makes sense. If one intends to park hop, it would almost always make sense to use FPs for the second park and try to commando the first park. Going in late June, early July, there is no guarantee that any FPs of value will be waiting for you at the second park of the day. So lock in your favorites in late afternoon, early evening, and get to AK at RD. (Incidentally, this is one of the reasons that we have largely given up on park hopping. Too much stress and too much uncertainty.)

Or what I am thinking for MK Christmas week is FP+ 7D, BTMT and SPMT starting after 10am since the park opens at 7am and work on seeing all the 2ndary rides like HM, POTC, JC, Pooh, Buzz, Dumbo, with Peter Pan being the first ride we go on that morning standby. This way we get all the riding done in the morning then if we hop to Epcot or better leave out car at MK and return that evening via bus we can concentrate on decorations, fireworks and parades instead of rides. Anybody think this might work for Christmas week? We always nap/rest between 2-5pm.

 

[JimmyV]

Or what I am thinking for MK Christmas week is FP+ 7D, BTMT and SPMT starting after 10am since the park opens at 7am and work on seeing all the 2ndary rides like HM, POTC, JC, Pooh, Buzz, Dumbo, with Peter Pan being the first ride we go on that morning standby. This way we get all the riding done in the morning then if we hop to Epcot or better leave out car at MK and return that evening via bus we can concentrate on decorations, fireworks and parades instead of rides. Anybody think this might work for Christmas week? We always nap/rest between 2-5pm.

Caveat: I have not gone during Christmas Week. That said, your MK strategy is sound. But I fear that if you hop to Epcot later in the day without a single FP, you won't be able to do much of anything in the few hours you would be there if you plan to leave and head back to the MK. You would be looking at a 100+ minute wait at Soarin, 70+ minutes at TT, 45+ minutes at Mission Space, 45+ minutes at Maelstrom. You could do pretty much anything else, but the "big" attractions at Epcot would be frustratingly long. Seems like a lot of travel between parks for little gain.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Or what I am thinking for MK Christmas week is FP+ 7D, BTMT and SPMT starting after 10am since the park opens at 7am and work on seeing all the 2ndary rides like HM, POTC, JC, Pooh, Buzz, Dumbo, with Peter Pan being the first ride we go on that morning standby. This way we get all the riding done in the morning then if we hop to Epcot or better leave out car at MK and return that evening via bus we can concentrate on decorations, fireworks and parades instead of rides. Anybody think this might work for Christmas week? We always nap/rest between 2-5pm.

Absolutely.

If you want an attraction free (or nearly attraction free) afternoon, mid morning or later at night is the best time to use those FPs.

 

[hunter1722]

Thank you. That helps! I was planning on doing the Epcot evening FP+ on a day when we were at AK in the morning instead of MK.

 

[KanataDad]

In Dec 2013 it was our very first visit to DW so I have no experience using FP or FP+ before that. So I did the following (which was probably not a good idea)
FP+ for 9 am, 10 am and 11 am.

However, for the first 2 rides there were no lineups, so I ended up not using them. The 3rd one had a 10 minute line, so did not want to waste it. We did all 3 rides (and more) before 10:30 am. So I went to a FastPass+ booth at 10:45 am and they saw I didn't use any so they changed them all to rides in the afternoon.

But it took 20 minutes at the booth to try to switch them over as the system was giving them issues. In the end, for some reason the system assigned me 4 FP+. I showed it to the CM but they said it was a glitch and it would clear up later. But it never did clear up till the end of the day.

Long story short. I should have thought it through, and putting all 3 FP+s early in the morning was not a good idea, and changing them over was a pain.

 

[disneydentist]

But does this work for 10 out of 10 weeks (ie. Christmas week)?

It's what we just did several days during Easter week. Standby was no problem in the morning.

It also worked well for us to use them in the evening after an afternoon break.

YMMV.

 

[boltfan]

If you schedule your FP+ in your first park of the day, you will not be able to schedule another FP+ in your second park of the day, and even then you won't know what is available until you try to schedule. If nothing you want is available, now you are riding standby during the longer waits when you used FP+ in the shorter waits.

This statement has me confused. From the information I have read from a lot of posts, you are able to use your 3 FP+ at your first park, and still be able to get more FP's at your second park. Or did you mean that you can't SPLIT your 3 FP+ at 2 different parks?