FP strategy in early August?

[chris4disney]

We'll be traveling to WDW in early August this year. We are WDW veterans, but typically visit in late October... never in the summer. Comparing October to August... I know that it's going to be hotter, it's going to probably rain more and have higher crowd levels. So mentally I think I'm going in to this August trip with the right expectations. What I'm unsure about is how to plan our FP's. Given the higher crowds in August, is it best to prebook our 3 FP's to be used in the afternoon when it's warmer out and the crowds are higher... but then once those 3 FP's are used, is it too late in the day to have any decent 4th or 5th FP's available? OR... is it a better strategy to book our 3 FP's in the morning and hope then that decent 4th, 5th FP's attractions are going to be available for the afternoon? If it makes a difference... we are the type of family that gets up early and tries to be at the parks at RD. So I do feel like we could get in several rides via standby with reasonable wait times.

 

[SarahC97]

I have found a very effective strategy for busy times to be to go to rope drop, ride as many things as I can for the first two hours the park is open, then start my fastpasses. So, if a park opens at 9, I usually start my fastpasses around 11 and then schedule them back to back and plan on trying for a 4th and 5th (maybe more!) after I've used the 3rd one. That's worked pretty well for me, even when the crowds are crazy.

 

[Monykalyn]

Only been once in August- last year-

What worked for us was RD most days, late morning FP (starting around 9:30 or so- although we'd often wait til closer to end of the window to use it), get another 4th FP for whatever park we were going to in evening when those were done. Usually out of parks after lunch (or around lunch if no adr for lunch).

It gets really really hot and humid so we needed a break every day to cool down, swim, nap, refresh etc. then back to a park for few hours after dinner if we felt like it. Alternatively- sleep in if we'd been to to really late EMH night before with FP for late afternoon/early evening.

 

[dwheaton]

A lot depends on when you arrive. Like others have said, if you do RP (30+ minutes early), you can do a lot. I'd suggest starting the FPs around 10 or so. Then you can finish the three FPs at little after noon. The few hours difference in finishing them then (instead of 2-3 pm) will give you a better chance to get better attractions for FP. You also will then have more time to get them. I've still had good luck even on busy Spring Break days by refreshing the app repeatedly. You may not get 7DMT or Space Mountain with the extra FPs, but you can get Pirates, Haunted Mansion, It's a Small World, etc.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Whenever we have gone in August crowds have been pretty low. Last time we went you couldn't book additional FP+ on your phone. Only at kiosks. So we never pulled additional FP+ since it didn't make sense to stand in one long line to avoid another long line. We would do RD, midday break by the pool and FP+ at our PM park. It worked perfect since crowds are low. We rode all of our faves multiple times with waits being no more than 15 minutes.

 

[chris4disney]

Whenever we have gone in August crowds have been pretty low. Last time we went you couldn't book additional FP+ on your phone. Only at kiosks. So we never pulled additional FP+ since it didn't make sense to stand in one long line to avoid another long line. We would do RD, midday break by the pool and FP+ at our PM park. It worked perfect since crowds are low. We rode all of our faves multiple times with waits being no more than 15 minutes.

Do you typically go in early, mid or late August? Just curious if there is much of a difference in crowd levels from early August vs late August.

 

[SarahC97]

Do you typically go in early, mid or late August? Just curious if there is much of a difference in crowd levels from early August vs late August.

In my experience, early and mid August remain busy whilr it tapers off in late August.

 

[marcais]

Do you typically go in early, mid or late August? Just curious if there is much of a difference in crowd levels from early August vs late August.

Last year we did 4th-17th August, with our first and last days being in MK. Crowds were noticeably lower at the end compared to at the start. They were still very busy, but there was definitely a difference.

 

[ultimatefans]

I personally prefer to get afternoon FPs, that way I know we've got a plan during the heat of the day when crowds are crazy. If I can get a 4th FP, great, but I see it as a bonus and don't count on it. To me having prebooked FPs in the afternoon is worth more than possibility of getting a good 4th (or more) FP later in the evening.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Do you typically go in early, mid or late August? Just curious if there is much of a difference in crowd levels from early August vs late August.

Later August.

 

[rentayenta]

Subbing. We are going early August, 5-10.

 

[maryj11]

A lot depends on when you arrive. Like others have said, if you do RP (30+ minutes early), you can do a lot. I'd suggest starting the FPs around 10 or so. Then you can finish the three FPs at little after noon. The few hours difference in finishing them then (instead of 2-3 pm) will give you a better chance to get better attractions for FP. You also will then have more time to get them. I've still had good luck even on busy Spring Break days by refreshing the app repeatedly. You may not get 7DMT or Space Mountain with the extra FPs, but you can get Pirates, Haunted Mansion, It's a Small World, etc.

This! We do exactly this but after our 3 FP's we eat lunch in an air conditioned restaurant. It gets pretty hot! So plan some indoor attraction like Carousel Of Progress to get a nice cool break from the heat. Also we have gotten SDMT by refreshing the app over and over so it is possible. Not always be we were lucky that day.

 

[maryj11]

Whenever we have gone in August crowds have been pretty low. Last time we went you couldn't book additional FP+ on your phone. Only at kiosks. So we never pulled additional FP+ since it didn't make sense to stand in one long line to avoid another long line. We would do RD, midday break by the pool and FP+ at our PM park. It worked perfect since crowds are low. We rode all of our faves multiple times with waits being no more than 15 minutes.

I had trouble using the MDE app for additional fastpasses and finally just went on the MDE on Disney's website and it worked fine. I'm not sure if maybe my app needed updated or not, but the website works better for me.

 

[maryj11]

I had trouble using the MDE app for additional fastpasses and finally just went on the MDE on Disney's website and it worked fine. I'm not sure if maybe my app needed updated or not, but the website works better for me.

Ops I didn't read that right sorry.