Give it to me straight...

[qtwns]

We haven't been to WDW in 2 years, so FP+ will be a new experience for our trip the first week in June. I'm a planner and know the ins and outs, tips and tricks, but I am brushing up so that we have the same great trip as we always do. Under the old FP system, other than Soarin', TTMM, and the mountains, we never really HAD to have FP due to smart touring. We always had a usable FP, but many times didn't really need them. We would always get the ones we knew we wanted as soon as we could. Honestly, I'm looking forward to (hopefully) not having to partake in the RD rush to the FP machines at TSMM and Soarin' since we will (hopefully) have them reserved. My kids are older and we use single rider as much as possible.

So, give it to me straight...has the new system really changed things so much that it drastically affects touring the parks? It seems like it will free up a lot of my time and let us slow down a bit.

TIA!

 

[Mikie]

I think if you mostly toured effectively without lots of FP- in the past, you'll find your general approach unchanged (especially if you arrive at rope drop), or possibly improved (if you like to arrive later but still get a shortened wait on your pre-booked FPs). People most affected were pretty efficient FP- users.

This is not to say that your exact prior plans will result in the exact same results. People more observant than me about specific rides and specific waits are reporting longer waits at secondary attractions than in the past.

If you had a plan of attack for what order to progress around the park and know what to FP, your familiar approach is likely a good starting point. If your kids are older, does that mean they like to do more thrill rides and few slow/dark rides? If so, you might like to ask some specific questions about how/when to achieve repeats on those favorites - inability to do repeats without long waits is an oft-reported downside of FP+. if you like to do some of everything (not necessarily lots of repeats) and have a general touring plan, I think you'll have little trouble with FP+

 

[JennyDrake]

Here is the biggest difference. Used to, you arrived at RD, grabbed FP, rode some rides used FP, grabbed another FP, rode some (secondary) rides with little wait times, used the FP, repeat....

ALL rides now have long (as compared to before) standby lines. What used to be 15-20 min is now 30-40 min, and headliners will boast standby lines of 50-70 min. by lunch.

RD is still your best friend. Arrive early with breakfast in your belly and hit it hard until 11-12 when crowds really build. THAT is when you want your FP scheduled.

 

[soniam]

After being there last week, I think posted SB wait times are highly inflated, as much as twice as long as actual times. I think Disney is having a hard time estimating the wait times with FP+. For example, we got in line at Figment with a 15 min posted wait. Disgusting, huh? It took 6 minutes. We were riding Soarin' with FP+. The SB posted wait was 90 min. The SB line was not long at all. Based upon previous visits with FP- & FP+, the wait really only looked like 30-40 minutes. Peter Pan had a posted time of 40 minutes, and it only took 15 min. Most of these times were morning or mid-day, not right before closing where it seems they give up and leave the last posted time. I just think some of them are really over inflated. However, just remember to not trust anyone over 30

As for your touring, it sounds a lot like ours before FP+. I don't think FP+ has really changed ours much. We have done 2 FP+ trips now. I say go for it. You will have a great time.

 

[Mome Rath]

We haven't been to WDW in 2 years, so FP+ will be a new experience for our trip the first week in June. I'm a planner and know the ins and outs, tips and tricks, but I am brushing up so that we have the same great trip as we always do. Under the old FP system, other than Soarin', TTMM, and the mountains, we never really HAD to have FP due to smart touring. We always had a usable FP, but many times didn't really need them. We would always get the ones we knew we wanted as soon as we could. Honestly, I'm looking forward to (hopefully) not having to partake in the RD rush to the FP machines at TSMM and Soarin' since we will (hopefully) have them reserved. My kids are older and we use single rider as much as possible.

So, give it to me straight...has the new system really changed things so much that it drastically affects touring the parks? It seems like it will free up a lot of my time and let us slow down a bit.

TIA!

It sounds like you toured a lot like my family; we've found that the new system has not changed things that much. We enjoy having our FP's already picked out, and sometimes it is even like our old style; we find we don't need them all. We loved rope drop years ago, and still utilize (and enjoy) it now.

 

[maryandtyson]

I will just add to the PPs. Rope Drop, ride standby til 11-12, do your FP and you will be fine. Have a great trip!

 

[Labelleauboisdormant]

After being there last week, I think posted SB wait times are highly inflated, as much as twice as long as actual times. I think Disney is having a hard time estimating the wait times with FP+. For example, we got in line at Figment with a 15 min posted wait. Disgusting, huh? It took 6 minutes. We were riding Soarin' with FP+. The SB posted wait was 90 min. The SB line was not long at all. Based upon previous visits with FP- & FP+, the wait really only looked like 30-40 minutes. Peter Pan had a posted time of 40 minutes, and it only took 15 min. Most of these times were morning or mid-day, not right before closing where it seems they give up and leave the last posted time. I just think some of them are really over inflated. However, just remember to not trust anyone over 30

As for your touring, it sounds a lot like ours before FP+. I don't think FP+ has really changed ours much. We have done 2 FP+ trips now. I say go for it. You will have a great time.

I agree with the inflated SB lines... I was there March 15-21 and we noticed there were often differences between the posted time and the actual time we waited in line. It was almost always inflated. The worst was 90 minutes SB for Tower of Terror... it was a walk on!

To answer the first poster, we also rarely used regular FPs. We found the FP+ wonderful! We did not have to dash towards TSM... we would do rope drop and leave before it got busy. We would then return before closing. Many days we did not use our FP+. Have a great trip!

 

[soniam]

I agree with the inflated SB lines... I was there March 15-21 and we noticed there were often differences between the posted time and the actual time we waited in line. It was almost always inflated. The worst was 90 minutes SB for Tower of Terror... it was a walk on!

To answer the first poster, we also rarely used regular FPs. We found the FP+ wonderful! We did not have to dash towards TSM... we would do rope drop and leave before it got busy. We would then return before closing. Many days we did not use our FP+. Have a great trip!

We were there 3/18-20. I didn't think that I had imagined the inflated wait times. I think a lot of people are just giving up when they see the long posted wait time and not really trying to ride. I suspect that's why some people on the boards believe that the SB times have significantly increased.

 

[qtwns]

Thanks, everyone! I'm really lookng forward to this trip. Did anyone use the lines app to help with wait times as opposed to the WDW posted waits?

 

[soniam]

Thanks, everyone! I'm really lookng forward to this trip. Did anyone use the lines app to help with wait times as opposed to the WDW posted waits?

I used both. Both show the posted wait times. Lines shows the expected, which I find to be more accurate. There is also a link at the bottom of the park attraction list to see reported times. However, I didn't always see people doing this, so it wasn't always that helpful, especially if they just put the posted, instead of actual, time.

 

[princessanj]

Most have replied with what I would say, but we had fastpass+ for TSMM and tried to see if we could ride once before our time using rope drop....no way. Unless the time was inflated, we ran straight from rope drop and wait time posted was 75 minutes. It was crazy and this was mid October 2014. We love fastpass+, and we loved regular fastpass. Your touring won't change much. Have a great trip!!

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

I will just add to the PPs. Rope Drop, ride standby til 11-12, do your FP and you will be fine. Have a great trip!

that is our experience exactly. The only thing I will do differently next time is make FP reservations for times in late morning or afternoon. We had some for around 10 AM and the standby lines were short so really didn't need FP.

 

[danceteachermom]

I prefer FP+ with the exception of two things....

Since you do all the reserving and planning in advance, you really can't effectively change park plans the last minute.

If you have friends on site and have not linked your accounts and made plans in advance, then doing things together spontaneously is tough. Not a big deal fr us but it was for our 14 year old the last trip. She would run into friends and get invited to hang with them but her fast passes were all linked to my account.

Those two things aside it is SO NICE to not have to run to FP machines. Plus having evening fast passes planned n advance is great. We usually do rope drop but now take a couple of days to sleep in and visit parks in the evening.

 

[luvsJack]

Unless they fixed the problem, we found most wait times to be off. Some showed a shorter wait than what was real and some showed a longer time than was real. Most were actually shorter.

It was pretty busy when we were there and honestly the stand by waits weren't all that longer than on past fp- trips.

We fp for favorites and hit everything else before and after those. Our time was limited but we did everything we wanted to.

You will have a great time. RD and preplanned fp will enable you to do pretty much what you want.

 

[soniam]

Most have replied with what I would say, but we had fastpass+ for TSMM and tried to see if we could ride once before our time using rope drop....no way. Unless the time was inflated, we ran straight from rope drop and wait time posted was 75 minutes. It was crazy and this was mid October 2014. We love fastpass+, and we loved regular fastpass. Your touring won't change much. Have a great trip!!

TSMM, Soarin', A&E, and 7DMT are definitely going to need FP+. Sometimes, if you ride Soarin' first thing, you can ride again later with FP+, but that means you have to give up on doing Test Track. It also can get really busy. TSMM has always been busy. It fills up really fast. However, sometimes the posted wait times at RD are inflated. I think they just don't know what to do that early. We got to TT at RD. There was no line, but it had a posted wait time of 20 min.