From my visit 3/2 - 3/7 .... Does FP even exist anymore??

[Missyrose]

I had FP+ for both BTMRR and 7DMT and skipped both because the waits were over 35 minutes.... actually the FP+ wait for 7DMT was looking to hit one hour!!

CMs were quoting you wait times for FP+ lines?

 

[Klayfish]

If you decided not to ride a ride, then how would you know how long the wait would be for the FP line?? FP line for 7dmt looking to hit 1 hour?? Either someone was severely exaggerating to you or a CM didn't know what they were talking about.

Of course FP lines aren't a 0 wait, but they're never a long wait. 99% of the rides at Disney, with the FP line you get on the ride in 1-15 min.

You did go during a busy time with some on spring break and during a festival. But really no FP lines should be more than 30 min

Amen. I'm not saying it's completely impossible that a FP+ line hits 30 minutes, I believe it could happen. But if it did, I'd say that's a true anomaly. Having been in MK on many 4th of Julys, a Thanksgiving Day and a Christmas Day. Haven't had an experience where FP+ was 30 minutes even on those days. Again, not saying it's impossible, but I don't think it's common to have long lines in FP+.

 

[GrumpyDad1974]

We were there the following week and were also surprised by the crowds... not in a good way. I enjoy the FP+ (not running all over the park). Yes the FP return lines seemed bigger than normal but they didn't seem to have enough staff that week. One thing that needs to change is the tiers, HS and EP we ended up only using one or two FP those days.

 

[disneyAndi14]

I have to agree with Klayfish, I have been many times when SB lines were well over 100 minutes and when you looked at FP+ it looked really long as well, snaking way out of the area you tap Mickey, however we went in those lines and the longest FP+ was 15-17 minutes and that was the longest. We have been in summer, Easter, Presidents' Day and have never waited 30 minutes for any ride even in SB because of the way we tour.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

We were there the following week and were also surprised by the crowds... not in a good way. I enjoy the FP+ (not running all over the park). Yes the FP return lines seemed bigger than normal but they didn't seem to have enough staff that week. One thing that needs to change is the tiers, HS and EP we ended up only using one or two FP those days.

The tiers aren't fun but I see why they are completely necessary at those two parks.
There are simply not enough FP+ worthy attractions to begin with.
If you didn't have tiers then EVERYONE would be choosing the top 3 attractions at each.

 

[AngiTN]

I ended up not riding many things..... even if I had a FP+ because the waits were just not worth it. And there's no way to be able to do anywhere near as much as we used to be able to accomplish in past trips.
I had FP+ for both BTMRR and 7DMT and skipped both because the waits were over 35 minutes.... actually the FP+ wait for 7DMT was looking to hit one hour!!

If you didn't ride with your FP how do you know how long the wait was? FP wait times are not posted anywhere

 

[AngiTN]

I have to agree with Klayfish, I have been many times when SB lines were well over 100 minutes and when you looked at FP+ it looked really long as well, snaking way out of the area you tap Mickey, however we went in those lines and the longest FP+ was 15-17 minutes and that was the longest. We have been in summer, Easter, Presidents' Day and have never waited 30 minutes for any ride even in SB because of the way we tour.

Exactly. When the FP lines get long the stand by suffer greatly. They'll take 90% FP riders and 10% stand by to get the lines down. But short of a ride going down while in line you'll never wait 30 min in the FP line. And I've gotten in to some VERY long FP lines, BTMR snaked all the way to the entrance to Tom Sawyer Island, Safari back up to Harambe village where the new restaurants are, still never stood in line for 30 min.

 

[ReelRedHead]

We just returned from our Mar h 10-19 trip. We had between 4-6 fastpasses all 9 days. We never waited longer than 10 minutes for Any of them. We did all FP+ at peak times too, mostly evening. The longest standby we waited in was 20 minutes. It's all in how you do it I guess. I never saw long FP+ lines. Sorry you had that experoence.

 

[Lothlórien]

My point is that the now FP+ used to actually be much faster when it was still FP. But now it seems only slightly faster.

I would say that is true.... along with single rider lines not being as fast. It is just the way things are with crowds, the number of people Disney is packing in and the number of FPs they allow. 35 minutes with a FP or 90 minutes without.... the FP is still a win.

 

[tinkerbesh]

The Lines app will give you wait times for all lines, incl FP.

 

[AngiTN]

The Lines app will give you wait times for all lines, incl FP.

Where? I'm looking right now and see no FP wait times (MK is still open)

 

[cindyfan]

If you decided not to ride a ride, then how would you know how long the wait would be for the FP line?? FP line for 7dmt looking to hit 1 hour?? Either someone was severely exaggerating to you or a CM didn't know what they were talking about.

Of course FP lines aren't a 0 wait, but they're never a long wait. 99% of the rides at Disney, with the FP line you get on the ride in 1-15 min.

You did go during a busy time with some on spring break and during a festival. But really no FP lines should be more than 30 min

Seriously, if you are an experienced WDW guest you can estimate wait times from the number of guests standing in front of you!
And The point I am making is that it's NOT the 1-15 minute wait anymore like it was before the last 3 years! And believe me.... from the amount of people in the FP+ lines and the comments from CMs and guest coming off the attractions..... YES .... the 7DMT was looking to hit 1 hour! Is 1 hour FP line unusual... in most cases I'd say yes.... but for a few of the headliners like 7DMT and Frozen it is becoming the trend.
And NO I didn't go during the busy time! the end of Feb and first week of March are still considered "regular" season. And as I said, we've been there many many busy times and this time had the longest FP waits I've seen.

 

[tinkerbesh]

Where? I'm looking right now and see no FP wait times (MK is still open)

Hmm... Not sure what app looks like now, but when we went in Dec you could see wait times for FP that users posted throughout the day. And when I used FP i posted mine.

Maybe someone that's using it for this purpose now could chime in?

 

[AngiTN]

When it comes to the FP line the number of guests in front of you is not a valid tool to measure wait times.

 

[cindyfan]

CMs were quoting you wait times for FP+ lines?

Yep!! absolutely! And at 7DMT and BTMRR they were holding the pole with the "Fast Pass line starts here" signs.... and the lines were LONG!!

 

[HydroGuy]

So, from my visit this month and from lots of posts I am reading on boards....
Does Fast Pass even exist anymore? Or is it simply a shorter Stand By line??
I thought I had picked a quieter time of year to visit..... wanted to go to Flower and Garden too...
So first week of March.... good.... right? NOT so much.
I was very surprised at the crowds.
I ended up not riding many things..... even if I had a FP+ because the waits were just not worth it. And there's no way to be able to do anywhere near as much as we used to be able to accomplish in past trips.
I had FP+ for both BTMRR and 7DMT and skipped both because the waits were over 35 minutes.... actually the FP+ wait for 7DMT was looking to hit one hour!! The stand by was 120 minutes. When I asked the CM if the ride had been down, she simply replied that this was pretty normal!!!!!
REALLY???!!!??? What ever happen to the 10 minute FP waits?
At AK the FP+ wait was 15 minutes for EE. and to get into Lion King.... FP+ really was a waste as you needed to stand in line just as long as the stand by lines! For the safari.... FP+ was 25 minutes vs. 1 hour stand by.
Seriously..... I think Disney took a step backwards with the FP+.

We visited on almost those exact same days March 4-8 and 11-13. I agree it was much more crowded than expected. However, we did not experience the FP waits that you did. EE was like 1-2 minutes. Safari was about 5 minutes. SDMT was like 3-5 minutes. We rode FEA twice with FP. Each time about 5 minutes and no breakdowns thank goodness. Sorry it was a negative for you!

I wrote about our experience with crowds here:

We were at the parks March 4-8 then again on March 11-13. I cannot complain about the weather as that was great on the days we were there. But it was MUCH more crowded than I was expecting and sites like TP had predicted. I have gone a couple times in late March in the heart of Spring Break and it was not this crowded.

Unlike the OP, we did not have any problems with ADRs. I had 1 or 2 each day and we were always seated and served in a timely manner. But the lines for rides? Yowza!

FWIW, I was able to get a 4th and even 5th FP at all of the parks. There was just DW and I and that made it easier. At Epcot we even got FEA as a 4th FP when someone canceled. After that I got another Soarin FP for a 5th FP.

This past Monday we went to Epcot and got to the IG at 8:45AM with the goal of riding TT first thru Standby. No it was not an EMH morning. I always avoid EMH parks. Like our other day at Epcot (on March 5) they let guests in early and started the rides early. By the time we got to TT it was 8:55 and TT was up and running and the line was moving (and all the way out to Innoventions). We waited 40 minutes to get on the ride. Yes really. And it was not broken down. Just REALLY long.

Put all that together and we still had a great trip. I was just expecting lower crowds.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

IDK one post OP says you can see how long its going to be and the next that CM's were quoting times....

 

[HydroGuy]

Erroneous post!

 

[Sparkly]

When it comes to the FP line the number of guests in front of you is not a valid tool to measure wait times.

Yeah, a long line could be just because someone's band isn't working.

 

[shm_helene]

We were there inJune last year, and for the most part FP was good, though it took just under an hour for both my husband and I (separately) to get through Splash Mountain. When I got off the ride the queue for FP went up the hill and around the curve. It wasn't a ride breakdown either and I can't imagine one person's band doing that (though the FP line there is horribly set up). That was a 9 day at the parks though.