FP+ planning for those who need flexibility/have unpredictable needs?

[rjthkids]

So, as briefly as possible:

My DH and I have 8 young children, a couple with significant special needs. Due to transitions with my husband's job, we actually have quite a bit of time for this vacation and will be for three weeks in December, Dec. 2nd- December 22nd. We have purchased Annual Passes for this trip.

The last trip we went was 4 years ago, and so much has changed since then. Specifically, this whole need to have FP+ plans done 30-60 days out already is really overwhelming me. My biggest issue is that we are slow, and not always predictable. My youngest has a ton of medical needs and is pretty labor intensive; this just requires a whole lot of flexibility in terms of dropping whatever you are doing and attending to them.

In the old system, you pulled fast passes day of, and if an issue came up, it didn't matter if you were past the FP time, they would let you use them. As you only got FP one at a time, you only had to focus on what you were doing next, not what you were trying to do all day long. This was pretty key for us, because some days when you end up with an emergency trip to First Aid, or surprise seizure or fill-in-the-blank where you just need to bail out early, or start a day much later than planned, or scrap a day altogether and switch to something else you had much more flexibility to do so.

So, we are going to need to learn new tricks. And I am struggling to do so.

How do you decide what park you want to be at on what day?
How much time at minimum do you need to schedule between FP+ attractions?
How easy it is to modify FP+ on the day of? Can you do it from MDE or are their kiosks in the park?
If you end up in a different park, can you just cancel all your FP+ at the "old" park and reschedule them at the "new" park you are currently in?
Is it better to just take a stab at scheduling FP+ now even if we end up not being able to use most of them, or only schedule the handful that we know are high priority for the kids and hope we can make them?
Any general touring advice for how to make this manageable? We are not going to be able to cover five million miles in a park every day. We are slow, and unwieldy, it takes us forever to do anything, and that's our reality--- that's why we are trying to compensate by being there for so long, so we can take five trips to MK to see everything if that's what we need to do.

TIA for helping out a very tired, overwhelmed mama!

 

[Alesia]

So, as briefly as possible:

My DH and I have 8 young children, a couple with significant special needs. Due to transitions with my husband's job, we actually have quite a bit of time for this vacation and will be for three weeks in December, Dec. 2nd- December 22nd. We have purchased Annual Passes for this trip.

The last trip we went was 4 years ago, and so much has changed since then. Specifically, this whole need to have FP+ plans done 30-60 days out already is really overwhelming me. My biggest issue is that we are slow, and not always predictable. My youngest has a ton of medical needs and is pretty labor intensive; this just requires a whole lot of flexibility in terms of dropping whatever you are doing and attending to them.

In the old system, you pulled fast passes day of, and if an issue came up, it didn't matter if you were past the FP time, they would let you use them. As you only got FP one at a time, you only had to focus on what you were doing next, not what you were trying to do all day long. This was pretty key for us, because some days when you end up with an emergency trip to First Aid, or surprise seizure or fill-in-the-blank where you just need to bail out early, or start a day much later than planned, or scrap a day altogether and switch to something else you had much more flexibility to do so.

So, we are going to need to learn new tricks. And I am struggling to do so.

How do you decide what park you want to be at on what day?

I pick the park that had emh the day before

How much time at minimum do you need to schedule between FP+ attractions?

You don't need to schedule any time between them. I generally schedule mine for 11-12, 12-1, and 1-2

How easy it is to modify FP+ on the day of?

Simple

Can you do it from MDE or are their kiosks in the park?

Both

If you end up in a different park, can you just cancel all your FP+ at the "old" park and reschedule them at the "new" park you are currently in?

Yes

Is it better to just take a stab at scheduling FP+ now even if we end up not being able to use most of them, or only schedule the handful that we know are high priority for the kids and hope we can make them?

I would go ahead and schedule 3 per day

Any general touring advice for how to make this manageable?

A good attitude is more important than anything. Don't compare this trip to your last one, or to anyone else's. The best trip is the one that works best for your family.

We are not going to be able to cover five million miles in a park every day. We are slow, and unwieldy, it takes us forever to do anything, and that's our reality--- that's why we are trying to compensate by being there for so long, so we can take five trips to MK to see everything if that's what we need to do.

TIA for helping out a very tired, overwhelmed mama!

 

[Realfoodfans]

If one of your children has significant needs/difficulty for queuing have a good read of the DAS guidelines - that may work for you.

 

[WishICouldSpeakWhale]

There is no penalty for scheduling and then not using a fast pass. I believe you change it to something else if it is in the past but you didn't use it.

Yes, you can switch parks day of. We have done this before. Actually, I am not sure we even bothered to cancel the ones in the originally planned park.

If you have certain rides that your family wants to ride, schedule a fast pass for them early in the day (or whenever you think you'll get to the park). You can schedule all 3 fast passes in advance. But I'd make your highest priority ones for a time you sure you'll be in the park. Maybe even reserve FPs for the same attraction on a couple of different days in case it doesn't work out one day.

Good luck with your planning!

 

[KristinU]

Just to note, if you are not staying onsite you will only be able to schedule FP+ for seven days as an AP holder. Then when you use that first day, you can make another day's worth of plans.

I would explore the DAS and also make some FP+ plans, but stay flexible. We definitely drop and shift plans the day of. We go in knowing we won't get the hottest attractions (FoP, FEA), but thats fine by us.

You'll be there long enough to catch everything at a leisurely pace, I'm sure you'll settle in to a nice pace that works for you guys.

 

[scrapquitler]

I'd suggest that you visit the DISAbilities forum. You might want to find out about the Disability Access system at WDW, where they allow you to get a return time for the rides without actually have to wait in line. It might make things easier for you, depending on your specific needs.

I also wanted to point out to you that you can make your fast passes ahead of time, and use the MDE app on your phone to modify the ride choices or times during the day if you need to. So if you have FP for say Haunted Mansion at 1:00, and something happens that you think you might not get there on time, you can go on your phone and change it to say 2:30 or something. That will require a little bit more flexibility, but it sounds like you are probably used to that.

 

[lanejudy]

I suggest you schedule the FP+ for the rides that are most important, and plan for a time of day that is most likely to be optimal for the family. If you are morning people, schedule FP+ for morning; if late risers or slow getting out for the day, schedule for late morning/early afternoon; etc. But if you can't make the FP+ time, don't worry about it; try to reschedule for later. Maybe have each child pick 1 or 2 "must do" rides or attractions. Try to hit those with FP+. Then be willing to scrap plans and wing-it as necessary. You are there for long enough, that over time you should have a chance to hit everything on the "must do" list. I don't believe you'll be able to schedule the full trip 60 (or even 30) days out -- maybe someone else knows for sure.

In another post you mentioned 2 of the children may qualify for DAS. Those are open-ended return times, so get a DAS early and always keep one active throughout the day. Each person may have 1 DAS return-time active at any given point in time. If it doesn't get used, no harm; just try again the next day (or next time at that park). With a 3-week trip and APs you'll have time.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Definitely go to the DISabilities forum to get more advice on the DAS pass and how to use it.

My advice, since you have such a long trip and could conceivably go to each park many, multiple days, pick a time during the day you think is optimal for your family (for us, the sweet spot to start touring is around 10 am - we get to sleep late and meander to the park). In the parks, pick ONE section to focus on per day. In MK on day one, for example, just focus on Fantasyland (or Adventureland, or Tomorrowland, etc.). Make all of your FP+ for that section of the park. So, let's say you choose to focus on Fantasyland, get FP+ for your top three rides (perhaps 7DMT, Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan) at a starting time you think is optimal to you. You can make FP+ in one hour increments. So if you start your first FP+ at 10 am, you can start the next one no earlier than 11 am and the next no earlier than 12 pm. You then have a 1 hour window to use those FP+. Or you can space them out more if you would like. With the DAS, I would recommend going to a ride in the land you are focusing on and getting a return time before you do your FP+. For example, if you FP+ Peter Pan, 7DMT and Winnie the Pooh, you could stop and get a DAS time for Enchanted Tales with Belle, Under the Sea or Small World before you get on your first FP+ ride. That way you know you will have fairly quick access to 4 rides in Fantasyland for the time you think you will be there. I hope this makes sense!

You really could do this with all the parks. Break MK days into a Fantasyland day (could be 2 days), a Tomorrowland day, Adventureland Day and Frontierland/Liberty Square day. In EP, I would do FW East, FW West and WS (perhaps 2 days). In AK, you could do Dinoland day, Asia Day, Africa day and Pandora day and in DHS you could do Sunset Boulevard day, Star Wars day, Pixar day, etc.

We use the DAS for our DS10 and we feel like we've gotten a lot done if we get in our 3 FP+ and 1 DAS ride. I do think by using the 3 FP+, DAS and consolidating your park touring, you will see a lot in the 3 weeks you have planned.