FP+ Newbie: PLEASE HELP!

[WannaBeInWDW]

Hi all

It's been a while since I have been on the boards. Quite honestly I only come on a few weeks before my next vacation. Any other time I am deep into my "Disney Depression."

The past two summers I have received my Disney fix in Disneyland. I haven't been to WDW since December 2011

There have been a lot of changes I know! Family members have been as recently as March 2014 with nothing but complaints about the new FastPass Plus system. From the sounds of it, it seems like a nightmare. Sounds like we are all on conveyor belts being pushed along with every moment planned.

We were FP experts in the good old days. How does new system work? I won't buy my ticket until I get down there so does this mean no Fast Pass for me? The spontaneity of park hopping seems to be discouraged with this new system.

I will be going September 24-29. I know crowds will be low, but even dining reservations are hard to come by.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

We've gone to Disney twice now and used FP+ purchasing tickets the day we have arrived, and we have still been able to get FP+ times for the entire trip.

Go ahead and make a My Disney Experience account, creating a "Friends & Family" profile for each member of your traveling party. Download the app onto your phone. As soon as you purchase your tickets, scan them using the scanner in the app and assign a ticket to each member of your party. You can then make FP+ reservations for that day and every other day of your trip using the app on your phone.

You'll have the least selection on your first day, but the rest of the days should have more availability and time options.

You can still Park Hop with FP+. I'd suggest making FP+ reservations for the evening at the second park you're going to that day. Either that, or you can make FP+ passes for the morning and wait in the queue to get more FP+ (one at a time) after you have used your initial three.

FastPass+ is a little intimidating at first, but easy to get the hang of! There is a "everything FastPass+ thread" on the board with more information on how it all works.

 

[CAS239]

Most people that are park hopping go to one park at rope drop and have FP's scheduled for later in the day at the park their hopping too. If it's possible for you I'd really suggest buying your tickets ahead of time and selecting FP's online. Or depending on the 5 days you're there, once you get your tickets try selecting the harder to get FP on the last day of your trip working backwards to maybe have a better shot.

The new FP system is really not that different from the old paper FP's. It's just now it forces you to plan further ahead and broadens the availability of FP's people can get for those that aren't early risers. I find it to be pretty smooth once you get the hang of it. Although I still find it insane that people book dining selections months in advance. I think those should be chose around 30 days in advance.

If you're not getting tickets and setting up FP's until you're there..then some of the bigger attractions might be harder to get. I just went a few days ago and if you didn't have them in advance, getting FP's the day of or 1-2 days in advance were pretty slim for Toy Story, Test Track, Soarin, Seven Dwarfs (completely were gone), & Rockin Rollercoaster.

It can be rough for those that get tickets the day of or us Florida residents that go without much time in between...but for those that can plan in advance (even 1-2 weeks out is enough) it's really great knowing you have FP for a specific ride already

 

[WannaBeInWDW]

Thanks for the advice. It's still only 3 fast passes per day right?

I was the early riser and was able to secure at least 5 FPs per day. All the rides mentioned are all the rides I'm interested in. I wish I could buy my ticket in advance but teacher salary in August goes towards school supplies!

Also we are a very large party going (20+ people) so linking everyone is not ideal. This is where the system just becomes a headache.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

20+ people - yikes! Linking each pass may not be fun, but especially since you have so many people in your group, it will be so much easier if you go ahead and make those profiles in advance.

You can set it up so that you manage all 20+ profiles, or some people can choose to make their own accounts. I have had nothing but trouble with my dad's separate account, so I would recommend to most people that they make one profile and "own" all of their family members (don't invite them to join MDE via email). You can have the people who wish make their own accounts, and one person manage the rest.

What you should not do is have several different accounts, all managing different people (like a family tree set-up).... that will make it challenging for one person to make the FP+ reservation for everyone because you'll be able to make it for the people that you manage and the friends who manage themselves, but not the people that your friends manage.

If you want everyone to have the same FP+ time, it's going to be a little rough choosing the day and week of. Are the 20+ of you doing everything together, or is this a big group made up of families that will split up and do their own thing?

 

[CAS239]

It's only 3 pre planned FP's a day. Once you use those first 3, or the window for them closes, then you can select extra FP's one at a time at the park you're in at the time and only on a FP kiosk, not a phone (as of right now). You can use your first 3 at MK, then park hop over to HS, go to a kiosk to see what's available and book a 4th FP. Once you use the 4th, go back to a kiosk and do a 5th, etc.

Now if you pre select 3 and don't use any of them, you can still change all them around or go to a different park and pick 3 new ones. That's only if you didn't use any.
If you use even one, you have to use the rest, wait for the window to pass, or change the attraction/time in your phone.