FP+ in AM or late afternoon?

[pitpat]

I used the refresh strategy all week, but, unless I'm wrong, I don't think it works when there are NO times available for a ride. Like I said, rides like BTM and PP were not available at all by the early afternoon, so I can't select it, and then try to adjust the time.

there's never a time in the afternoon when there won't be any more FPs available for the day - people change things constantly. It takes persistence and no times may pop up for 10 tries in a row, then 8:30. so you take that 8:30 and refresh it and nothing for a few tries, then 5:10 pops up, etc. We've gotten through whole trips and realized we never waited more than 10-15 minutes for anything.

 

[Delirium]

With September crowds, you should have no problem rope dropping Frontierland & Adventureland and getting all of that done in the morning. That leaves essentially only 3 high priority attractions that usually require FP or Rope Drop (Peter Pan, Mine Train, and Space Mountain). Granted, Mine Train is probably not available this late in the window, so you would need to substitute something else and do that at the very end of the night. I would grab a fast pass for any of those three attractions whenever I could get it, and if that means 5:30, so be it.

Way too much focus is put on refreshing and getting additional FPs, when what's really important is a good rope drop and late night strategy. Between rope drop, late night, and 3 FPs, you can easily do all the major attractions without having to get a 4th. especially in September.

 

[Shanti]

Last minute one day trip with my DH to the MK on 9.12.18. (PM EMH - staying on site) Since we're under two weeks out, do you think we're better off picking morning slots for FPs and trying for additional FPs after we use the first three; or should we book rides that might be hard to come by on the day of, even if the times are late in the afternoon? For example, the only FP I can get currently for PP would be in the 5:30 PM range. The park is open 9:00 AM to 11:00 PM and we plan on being early for rope drop. Also, not sure if this figures into it, but we carry old school tracphones - which may or may not possess the ability to navigate the inner workings of MDE. (Although I could lug my ipad around with me maybe?) Thanks for your help!!

For a warm weather trip, I vote a.m. to minimize the chance of afternoon rain interfering with plans.

 

[KNovacovschi]

I always book ours in the morning that way we can book additional FPs during the day. The way I handle our FPs is once we scan in for our first FP I try and move the 2nd one up, and once scanned in for that one move the 3rd up and so forth. I've managed to get up to 10 FPs in one day this way. We also make sure to take breaks between FPs to just enjoy shows, lunch/dinner and walking around the shops.

 

[Davey Jones II]

If you are staying in the same park from RD until whatever the end of your day is, I would do your 3 FP starting around lunchtime. RD through the morning the lines are usually pretty short. Business picks up around lunch, so I would start the FPs then, and then go for 4th+ one by one after the first 3 have been used.

That used to be my basic strategy, but, by the end of the afternoon, will there by any useful FPs left over? Last trip, we tried to do this with the kiosks (we have no smartphone, yes we are dinosaurs) and found slim pickings. Maybe we should`ve been "refreshing" at the kiosks?

 

[Davey Jones II]

RD can be like that if you're trying to ride Flight of Passage or 7DMT first thing, but if you have FPs for the heavy hitters (7DMT, Peter Pan, Space Mtn.), you can easily start in Frontierland/Adventureland for example and knock out 4-5 rides there with no wait and no hordes of people. So using RD in combination with your FPs is the most efficient way to get more rides in.

Right, that`s what I call the contrarian rope drop strategy. Head for the attractions that are not drawing the mobs in the morning, then have FPs for those headliners later on.

 

[lauritagoddess]

For a warm weather trip, I vote a.m. to minimize the chance of afternoon rain interfering with plans.

Also, for a warm weather trip it's just less hot earlier in the day. Rope dropping lets you get more done with shorter lines, less chance of rain, and less heat.

 

[cheshiregoofy22]

That used to be my basic strategy, but, by the end of the afternoon, will there by any useful FPs left over? Last trip, we tried to do this with the kiosks (we have no smartphone, yes we are dinosaurs) and found slim pickings. Maybe we should`ve been "refreshing" at the kiosks?

Love me some fellow dinosaurs! Forgot about the kiosks - they still exist? Now if they could just hook up a rotary dial, i’d be good to go!