FP+ Experiences

[marvel]

Hi everyone. Been a long time since i have posted and thought firstly would say hi.

We have a WDW trip planned for Sept, and have been mulling over all the posts, many negative of the FP+ system.

Wondering how we aussies have fared, given that we pretty much have to have internet enabled smartphones to use the system effectively.

Seems like the FP+ is going to take up a lot of my planning time !

 

[LivingforDisney]

We had no problems last Sept with them, I just booked them on our ipad in the room after we checked in, as we had a plan of what we were doing on most days.
Though now I think you can book them so many days ahead, so I would do it a home as soon as it is time.

 

[DVCAustralia]

I think FP+ is a colossal waste of money that has had ridiculously bad results.

Having said that since there is no choice you need to make the most of it. To do that I STRONGLY recommend using easywdw.com as Josh has posted very informative and useful information about how to use it as it has evolved (yes they keep changing the rules). In particular he has touring plans that incorporate the use of FP+ that he then tests in real time.

If you are staying on-site at Disney you can do everything in advance from home, and change it as you like. If you are not staying on-site you will need to check when you can do it.

You need to be very particular in what you choose as you are stuck with only three choices in one park per day, with more available only after you have used them. The system is also tiered so that you can not take the three headline attractions or events. DO NOT use them in the first 2 - 3 hours in the park, this is the only time you have to ride attractions with relatively short waits. They are normally best scheduled in the early afternoon when the normal waits get long.

 

[cola]

I think any past experiences with using Fastpass+ will all change now they have opened it up to everyone. Onsite can book 60 days in advance, offsite 30 days in advance. That only came in at the beginning of April, and probably most off-site guests wouldn't know about it yet, let alone used it (stats indicate that most guests didn't know about the old Fastpass system!) They've only added the extra Fastpass+ and hopping over the last couple of weeks, so any experience will be the old system, on-site guests only, only 3 and no hopping.

It's free WiFi in the parks, so if you're prepared to use that you shouldn't have to use data on the phone. Also, it sounds like they have lots of CMs with an iPad that can adjust things for you if you don't want to use your phone. Any CM with an iPad has virtually become a talking Fastpass machine for any attraction - that's technology for you!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Nice to see you on the boards. Hope you've been well.


My FP+ experience was mostly positive within the rules that were in play last October. But for my family, FP+ was a disaster for the way we would normally tour the parks. We used to average 6 - 8 FP per day and now we were limited to 3. Naturally, this rule has changed now so it will be different for you. (And I totally don't like the tiering system but we didn't have to deal with that last year either.)

The new rule of being able to add on a 4th FP+ AFTER you've used up your 1st 3 may also impact when you select your FP+. I believe it is changing a lot of people's opinions where previously they may have scheduled times for later in the day to perhaps now considering getting their FP+ completed earlier in the day so that they could access the 4th. Some people are finding that when they book their 3 in for later in the day cannot schedule a decent 4th choice as there are no more to be selected. Again, it comes down to how busy the parks are going to be.


I did spend a bit of time thinking about how/where to schedule my FP+. And I don't think I accepted any of the MDE generated times per se. I accepted the auto-selection but on every single day, after the auto-selection was amde, I went in immediately and changed things around. The earlier you do this, the better the chance of you getting the time you want for that particular attraction.


Have fun with it! And happy planning.

 

[marvel]

Thanks everyone, sounds like it will take a lot more planning. We got so used to the old system.