First FP+ on travel day

[KSR0330]

We are scheduled to land at 10:05 am on our first day at WDW (a Thursday morning). We're taking Magical Express to POFQ and will probably eat prior to heading off to Epcot. What is a safe time to begin scheduling our Fast Passes?

 

[VACamm]

Our flight usually gets in around the same time as yours. I usually start scheduling my FP's for 4:00pm which gives us time to check in, eat lunch, get to the park, and take pics in front of the castle. Enjoy!

 

[GillianP1301]

I think 2:00 would be about when to expect to be arriving at EP so I would do the first one then. You've got an hour to use it, so even if you run a little behind should still be okay. One tip that I have for arrival day is to do a little risk mitigation against schedule delays by I always putting my most desired FP as the last one. For example, for Epcot, do your your Tier 1 ride last, so assuming your first one is at 2:00, your Tier 1 ride would be 4:00 - 5:00. That way, you have lesser chance of missing the Tier 1 if you are running late.

 

[Disney_and_Wine]

I know that this is not a direct answer to your question, but if the park you are going to on your first day is Epcot, you need not worry about what time to schedule your fast passes. You don't need to try and schedule one for the moment you enter the park because you aren't likely to get too many additional fast passes or need them in any event. Just schedule your 3 for times that work for you. If you end up getting to the park earlier than your first fast pass, Epcot is the perfect park to walk around and do other things that don't require a fast pass without worrying about timing. In other words, there is no need to race through your first three fast passes, scheduling them as early as possible in hopes of piling up more. The major attractions won't be available for bonus FPs, and the less popular attractions won't need fast passes. You can shoot for 3:00, 4:00 and 5:00 if you wish and if you are in the park or earlier than that, just enjoy.

 

[HBaney84]

I think 2:00 would be about when to expect to be arriving at EP so I would do the first one then. You've got an hour to use it, so even if you run a little behind should still be okay. One tip that I have for arrival day is to do a little risk mitigation against schedule delays by I always putting my most desired FP as the last one. For example, for Epcot, do your your Tier 1 ride last, so assuming your first one is at 2:00, your Tier 1 ride would be 4:00 - 5:00. That way, you have lesser chance of missing the Tier 1 if you are running late.

Very good advice!!! I would have actually had the same question in a few days, as I can soon schedule my fast passes.

 

[KSR0330]

Thanks for the replies. The reason I want to schedule the FPs for when we arrive at Epcot is so we can go through Future World (and use the FPs) and then move on to World Showcase (Food and Wine!) for the evening.

I agree that 2pm sounds about right. Thanks again!

 

[richmo]

This is totally personal preference, but the way I look at Epcot now is that there are only 2 FP's needed: whatever you want for your Tier 1 and maybe Spaceship Earth. (Maybe Living with the Land as a 3rd, maybe not). Mission Space seems to mostly be a walkon once late morning or afternoon hits, so I wouldn't bother with that. So, in your case, I'd probably schedule my earliest FastPass as a total throwaway, maybe even around noon when you have no chance of using it, then the 2nd (Spaceship Earth in my case) when you might to probably will be there and the tier 1 at the earliest time you'll be pretty sure to be there. By burning the first one, you'll be ready to try for a fourth earlier. Because Epcot FP's are so limited, you probably won't be able to pick up another Tier 1 for your fourth, but I have sometimes been lucky with picking up an additional Soarin' as a fourth+.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

Soarin is the only real must for us at EPCOT - so I would schedule that for the last one. We like other rides but the other ones seem to be walk ons for us. I always allow for delays because we don't want to miss Soarin. If you see you are running late you can log in and try to change them. I have done that before.

 

[Roxyfire]

1:30, 2:30, and 3:30. Show up around 2. Do the first two back to back, grab a snack, then do the third!