Fastpasses hard to get

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Im not sure why the results would be so different for some to others, but it obviously is as shown in this very thread.

I've been trying to find the answer to that question for 3 years (it sucks being on the other side of the refresh table, honestly). I've tried a lot of different things (different phones, different PCs, busy vs slow days, large party, small party, android vs iOS, I've asked about AP and people's locations), but nothing I've found explains it.

I don't know if you were around for the glitch last year in March but people started being able to book their FPs earlier than 60 days (just to avoid confusion - that glitch is closed). Some people just looked for fun and saw it. But not everyone who had an FP window about to open could get in early. Then people discovered they could keep trying (refresh-like) and eventually get in. Some people could get in every time no problem. Some people could refresh a little and get in. Some people had to refresh a lot (someone said 30 minutes of trying per FP they were trying to pre-book). Some never got in early. It never got tied to ticket type or PC/mobile or anything like that.

Someone who said they were in IT posted with a theory that basically explained everything that was seen with that glitch. People need to go through a Disney server to book FPs. Say there are 10 total servers and they replace a driver on server #1 that opens a hole in the code that allows the FP pre-booking window to open early. The theory assumes everyone has a 'home' server. It's the server that their account is most likely routed to the majority of the time. If their home server is #1, they get to book FPs early. But any server routing system is going to auto-reroute to a different server if one is down or busy. So if your home server is #2 and too many people with #2 home servers are trying to access it at the same time and #1 is your first backup. You get routed to it and bam, you get to book early FPs after a little refreshing. If #1 is your second backup you maybe have to try a lot longer to get early FPs. And if you're on server #10 which almost never gets routed through #1 you won't ever get the early FP glitch.

That theory explained the glitch perfectly but it doesn't explain easy FP booking as well. It could be a factor though. Some people's accounts are more often routed to better FP servers maybe. Or maybe not. It's probably a combination of a lot of factors even if servers are part of the answer. It's impossible to know for sure unfortunately. I really wanted to crack the reason and have it be something like phone type that I could fix. But it doesn't appear to be that easy.

 

[DrummerBoy523]

Someone who said they were in IT posted with a theory that basically explained everything that was seen with that glitch. People need to go through a Disney server to book FPs. Say there are 10 total servers and they replace a driver on server #1 that opens a hole in the code that allows the FP pre-booking window to open early. The theory assumes everyone has a 'home' server. It's the server that their account is most likely routed to the majority of the time. If their home server is #1, they get to book FPs early. But any server routing system is going to auto-reroute to a different server if one is down or busy. So if your home server is #2 and too many people with #2 home servers are trying to access it at the same time and #1 is your first backup. You get routed to it and bam, you get to book early FPs after a little refreshing. If #1 is your second backup you maybe have to try a lot longer to get early FPs. And if you're on server #10 which almost never gets routed through #1 you won't ever get the early FP glitch.

That theory explained the glitch perfectly but it doesn't explain easy FP booking as well. It could be a factor though. Some people's accounts are more often routed to better FP servers maybe. Or maybe not. It's probably a combination of a lot of factors even if servers are part of the answer. It's impossible to know for sure unfortunately. I really wanted to crack the reason and have it be something like phone type that I could fix. But it doesn't appear to be that easy.

I'm in IT and this is a plausible explanation and definitely could explain a glitch where some people got in "early"...but the same-day refreshing is likely tied to the load on the system, the app, your phone, or the network (wifi or cellular) that you are using. Too many variables