FP+ at midnight

[Kalea]

Last night, my 60-day window opened. Everything unlocked at midnight (thank god).

We have 8 days of park tickets, so I started with Oct 8 & 9, which are our last MK days.

There was plenty of Anna & Elsa availability. Nearly every hour was available both days. I picked up two sets of FP+, but I'll cut one set of 4 loose before we go.

Same with 7DMT. Total availability near the end of our trip.

I checked one day closer to the beginning of the trip (Oct 3), and there was absolutely nothing for either A&E or 7DMT.

The Great Movie Ride was available for our dates (Oct 3-10); Maelstrom was not.

If I can answer any questions or check on anything or help anyone, I'll be happy to try!!

 

[elgerber]

Last night, my 60-day window opened. Everything unlocked at midnight (thank god).

We have 8 days of park tickets, so I started with Oct 8 & 9, which are our last MK days.

There was plenty of Anna & Elsa availability. Nearly every hour was available both days. I picked up two sets of FP+, but I'll cut one set of 4 loose before we go.

Same with 7DMT. Total availability near the end of our trip.

I checked one day closer to the beginning of the trip (Oct 3), and there was absolutely nothing for either A&E or 7DMT.

The Great Movie Ride was available for our dates (Oct 3-10); Maelstrom was not.

If I can answer any questions or check on anything or help anyone, I'll be happy to try!!

I was shocked when I tried at 6:30 this morning, and had no trouble getting 7DMT on October 5th. I even see some still for the 4th. I was pleasantly surprised, as I was not getting up at midnight to try! Even more surprised, since 60 days for half of party doesn't start until tomorrow and it let me make theirs too.

 

[AmyB2006]

Just curious, but why are holding onto a set of 4 FPs for A&E that you don't intend to use?

 

[Kalea]

Just curious, but why are holding onto a set of 4 FPs for A&E that you don't intend to use?

I don't intend to hold on to them much longer. I selected a set for each day so that I'd have some wiggle room in my planning. I'll sit down this afternoon and make sure I have each MK day fully fleshed out. Then I'll drop the extra set.

Midnight is not my best time for planning strategically.

 

[Kalea]

I was shocked when I tried at 6:30 this morning, and had no trouble getting 7DMT on October 5th. I even see some still for the 4th. I was pleasantly surprised, as I was not getting up at midnight to try! Even more surprised, since 60 days for half of party doesn't start until tomorrow and it let me make theirs too.

Yes! I was really surprised at how many options there were. I was anticipating having 0-1 time slots and having to rework other plans.

 

[AmyB2006]

I don't intend to hold on to them much longer. I selected a set for each day so that I'd have some wiggle room in my planning. I'll sit down this afternoon and make sure I have each MK day fully fleshed out. Then I'll drop the extra set.

Midnight is not my best time for planning strategically.

Oooooh, ok, that makes sense.

 

[SnowBelleAlice]

Great news! 12am EST is 10pm for me, that'll be no problem.

 

[M likes the mouse]

So, we are 66 days out, arriving on the 9th for 5 nights.... That kind of mean there won't be many time slots left, if any, for the 7DMT by the time I can book my FP+?

 

[elgerber]

So, we are 66 days out, arriving on the 9th for 5 nights.... That kind of mean there won't be many time slots left, if any, for the 7DMT by the time I can book my FP+?

We have only 4 nights, and I could find plenty of mine train timeslots for every day of our trip this morning. And not right at midnight.

 

[Kalea]

So, we are 66 days out, arriving on the 9th for 5 nights.... That kind of mean there won't be many time slots left, if any, for the 7DMT by the time I can book my FP+?

I really think you'll be in good shape, especially if you're flexible on the timing of the FP+.

 

[M likes the mouse]

Thank you all so much for the reassuring words and kind thoughts! I'll definitely have to be flexible but it seems worth it!

 

[ktlm]

Last night, my 60-day window opened. Everything unlocked at midnight (thank god).

We have 8 days of park tickets, so I started with Oct 8 & 9, which are our last MK days.

There was plenty of Anna & Elsa availability. Nearly every hour was available both days. I picked up two sets of FP+, but I'll cut one set of 4 loose before we go.

Same with 7DMT. Total availability near the end of our trip.

I checked one day closer to the beginning of the trip (Oct 3), and there was absolutely nothing for either A&E or 7DMT.

The Great Movie Ride was available for our dates (Oct 3-10); Maelstrom was not.

If I can answer any questions or check on anything or help anyone, I'll be happy to try!!

Boy, 24 hours later and we had a whole different experience. No A&E availability at all for Oct 10. Oct 8, it showed us the option for the 3 of us which included A&E, but then when I selected the option and it assigned FP+, it had DD(8) going to see A&E by herself at 2:00, and DH and I going to see Mickey at 5:00 p.m. instead. No telling us the option was no longer available, no putting the 3 of us together somewhere. I went back in and tried to get DH and I individually in the same time frame as DD, but I couldn't get anything that overlapped with hers. I got DH and I overlapping A&E times (20 minutes apart), but then I couldn't get DD to overlap with that, nor could I switch any of us to any other times at that point

It did unlock right at midnight...but it kicked me out several times as I was trying to set things.

All the parks except for MK were easy (this is our 2nd trip with FP+, so I knew how to get the times I wanted with the least amount of effort- i.e. pick the option with the times no where near you want them and then manually move them 1 by 1 to the right times).

I will say though that getting 7DMT was not hard. It involved some individual staggaring of times, and accepting a time that was no where near the time we really wanted, but we could do that and get it pretty much any MK day of our trip.

I wound up spending 2 1/2 hours on it between getting kicked out of the system, trying to get A&E, trying to get MK set up (because in trying to get A&E I wound up with other FPs for random things all over the place) etc.



Not a pleasant night at all!!!!! Not to mention that today I'm now tired and cranky!

Maybe the moral of the story is that it isn't good to be 60 days out from a weekend date that has more people arriving that day?

 

[kdubs]

I'm just getting back now to looking at FP+ for a shorter, early October trip. I thought I had it figured out pretty well earlier this year. Some in our party (we're staying in a Grand Villa) are still getting tickets squared away, so I just started browsing for availability today. There is no availability for even a party of 2 for SDMT or A&E 10/1-10/6. Am I surmising correctly that those staying offsite and APs without an earlier qualifying on-site stay are now essentially locked out of FP+ for those two attractions? Is there any evidence that Disney is releasing more spaces as time goes on?

I'm a little bummed that I didn't get my ducks in a row earlier for the Mine Train, but that's on my lack of planning. I feel so badly for those offsite guests who can't get FP+ for these two attractions regardless of how much they plan. I'm just shocked that Disney seems to be locking out a huge group of guests and creating a scenario where even their onsite guests are spending multiple hours online in frustration months before their vacations. It's not magical. AT ALL.

 

[Meriweather]

I did mine last night......was open when I tried at 8:50 pm (AZ time, which is Pacific time right now).
Got everything we wanted.....and things we didn't want
Did see lots of Anna and Elsa's......but we are 2 adults and don't need them.
We have 2 rides of the mine train

 

[ktlm]

Am I surmising correctly that those staying offsite and APs without an earlier qualifying on-site stay are now essentially locked out of FP+ for those two attractions? Is there any evidence that Disney is releasing more spaces as time goes on?
.

I've heard rumors that more open up on the 30 day mark which leads me to believe they hold some back. I'm hoping if I get on that night when it opens up I can get DD's A&E moved to overlap sometime with DH and mine. Otherwise, I think I may just send DH in the FP line using DD's MB at the last minute of her FP+, and then he can just let people go ahead of him until DD and I can enter the line with DH and my A&E staggered FP+, which will be about 35 minutes later.

 

[Kalea]

Boy, 24 hours later and we had a whole different experience. No A&E availability at all for Oct 10. Oct 8, it showed us the option for the 3 of us which included A&E, but then when I selected the option and it assigned FP+, it had DD(8) going to see A&E by herself at 2:00, and DH and I going to see Mickey at 5:00 p.m. instead. No telling us the option was no longer available, no putting the 3 of us together somewhere. I went back in and tried to get DH and I individually in the same time frame as DD, but I couldn't get anything that overlapped with hers. I got DH and I overlapping A&E times (20 minutes apart), but then I couldn't get DD to overlap with that, nor could I switch any of us to any other times at that point

It did unlock right at midnight...but it kicked me out several times as I was trying to set things.

All the parks except for MK were easy (this is our 2nd trip with FP+, so I knew how to get the times I wanted with the least amount of effort- i.e. pick the option with the times no where near you want them and then manually move them 1 by 1 to the right times).

I will say though that getting 7DMT was not hard. It involved some individual staggaring of times, and accepting a time that was no where near the time we really wanted, but we could do that and get it pretty much any MK day of our trip.

I wound up spending 2 1/2 hours on it between getting kicked out of the system, trying to get A&E, trying to get MK set up (because in trying to get A&E I wound up with other FPs for random things all over the place) etc.



Not a pleasant night at all!!!!! Not to mention that today I'm now tired and cranky!

Maybe the moral of the story is that it isn't good to be 60 days out from a weekend date that has more people arriving that day?

I'm so sorry--and surprised!--that you had so much trouble.

The system is very clunky IMO. It doesn't make sense, but I felt like it was designed to force the user to REALLY pay attention. For example, I selected A/E, 7DMT, and Splash Mtn. Then MDX puts up its 4 options, and very frequently by option 3 or 4, it was giving me a Micky M&G, it's a small world, and Splash Mtn, for example. So if someone is just looking at times and not attractions, it opens the door for a problem.

There are also too many steps/clicks. At every stage, something can go wrong.

I hope that more things open up and you're able to get everything closer to the way you want it.

 

[misskerri]

My window opened Friday night/Saturday morning, and I was able to get A&E pretty easily for October 7th (our final park day, departing on October 8th). I was even able to get 4 of them, but then switch DH and DS to Space Mountain for the same time slot, dropping their A&E passes.

I was also able to get 7DMT for the 5th, in the afternoon. We'll be there for MNSSHP.

I was so worried about how it would all go down, but just went straight to my very last MK day to try for A&E, which is a good thing, since there was no A&E availability for October 5th at that point.

 

[DVCkidsMOM]

Kalea, or anyone willing to answer:
I have been checking FP+ for parades and fireworks using our AP and getting zero availability at 30days. Have you seen Wishes FP+ at 60 days out? (They used to release them closer to travel dates, but I read on the DIS that August fireworks/parade FP+ were available at 60 days out...)
TIA

 

[elgerber]

Kalea, or anyone willing to answer:
I have been checking FP+ for parades and fireworks using our AP and getting zero availability at 30days. Have you seen Wishes FP+ at 60 days out? (They used to release them closer to travel dates, but I read on the DIS that August fireworks/parade FP+ were available at 60 days out...)
TIA

I had heard that also, but my 60 day window opened this week, and those were already all gone for the days I wanted, by 6:30 am. MSEP is available for later in my week, when I can't go, but the weekend is gone. I have snagged 2 of the 4 I need today for MSEP, but I can only find one at a time and I still need to find 2 more.

 

[Kalea]

Kalea, or anyone willing to answer:
I have been checking FP+ for parades and fireworks using our AP and getting zero availability at 30days. Have you seen Wishes FP+ at 60 days out? (They used to release them closer to travel dates, but I read on the DIS that August fireworks/parade FP+ were available at 60 days out...)
TIA

I want to say I saw Wishes as an option, but most of our MK days are MNSSHP days so no Wishes those days any way. I definitely saw IllumiNations. The Fantasy parade thing was on the list but said closed for refurb, which I thought was bizarre. I don't recall seeing MSEP.