Here now fourth FP+ is a mirage

[MaryKatesMom]

This AM the DD did not want to park hop to MK and I didn't want to cancel Via Napoli so at 8:30 AM some family got 7dmt this afternoon.

The only thing the DD want to do is TT which is no longer available, couldn't get it for even 1. We'll do single rider but I am not loving FP's being gone at 8:30.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Btw our original plan was RD Epcot lunch than MK but over Easter (crowded also) we did Epcot RD and did much less than we did in years past, so it made no sense to be at the gate at 8 AM it was a wasted effort.

 

[jon18uk]

Also keep in mind there aren't as many attractions at Animal Kingdom to choose from so that park will have the hardest time getting extra FP's. Also that park isn't open as late as the other parks so there are less time slots to choose from.

Yep, 4th FP+ is much more useful at Magic Kingdom where there is more to choose from.

At Animal Kingdom you might as well just queue standby for Dinosaur and Tough to be a Bug plus Primeval Whirl never gets much of a line. In fact with old paper FP I remember getting FP only for Everest and still getting the whole park done (including walking trails and shows) in a day.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Yep, 4th FP+ is much more useful at Magic Kingdom where there is more to choose from.

At Animal Kingdom you might as well just queue standby for Dinosaur and Tough to be a Bug plus Primeval Whirl never gets much of a line. In fact with old paper FP I remember getting FP only for Everest and still getting the whole park done (including walking trails and shows) in a day.

Agreed. I don't think there is anything I won't do at MK but Captain EO??!

 

[jeffbear]

Yep, 4th FP+ is much more useful at Magic Kingdom where there is more to choose from.

Agreed. Unless you are hung up on riding Test Track or Soarin' multiple times in a day it's all but useless in Epcot. It could come in handy at Studios if you're looking to ride one of their big three late in the day ahead of Fantasmic or a dinner ADR, but otherwise you can get by with three there if you rope drop. And AK ... I'm pretty sure I only made two FPs there and was just fine. And we rode Everest multiple times.

 

[BeccaA]

Anyone successful at getting a 4 th Fastpass for Fantasmic?

 

[ampc3]

I was checking for 3. You're right--party size will make a difference.

Just wanted to add that party size definitely matters.. we were a party of 7 and was always hit or miss,, anything worthwhile was always hours and hours later.. and NEVER any headliners. except one night for RnR which like I mentioned was for the end of the night.

Anyone successful at getting a 4 th Fastpass for Fantasmic?

Yes we did one night on our way out at about 2:30 crowd level 7 end of May. Never saw it again after that for any other day.. Think we got really lucky that night?

if traveling with big parties or peak season, I would consider 4th fp to be a bonus and not count on anything to special.. plus honestly the whole back and forth thing at the kiosks is a huge PITA..

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Anyone successful at getting a 4 th Fastpass for Fantasmic?

On June 1, Fantasmic FastPasses were available right up until showtime. We didn't take one as we were in a hurry to leave after the show and Standby seating is a little closer to the exit.

 

[cattywampus]

Although I'm not at the park now, I am an AP holder, so I can technically reserve FPP for today. I'm not positive that the same attractions would be available for a 4th FPP for those at the parks now, but at 4:10 pm, the following attractions are still showing available on MDE:

Magic Kingdom
IASW
Buzz
Dumbo
Enchanted Tales
Haunted
Jungle Cruise
Mad Tea Party
MSEP
Meet Mickey on Main Street
Philharmagic
Monsters Laugh Floor
Peter Pan
Pirates
Barn Stormer
Magic Carpets
Speedway
Winnie the Pooh
Little Mermaid

Many of these attractions show substantial waits on the Touring Plans Ap (30 mins or more), so would be valuable 4th FPP in my mind. My strategy in November will be use my first three for headliners (7DMT, Space, Splash, and/or BTMRR) late morning and hope for 4th FPP on other attractions to avoid wait.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Although I'm not at the park now, I am an AP holder, so I can technically reserve FPP for today. I'm not positive that the same attractions would be available for a 4th FPP for those at the parks now, but at 4:10 pm, the following attractions are still showing available on MDE:

Magic Kingdom
IASW
Buzz
Dumbo
Enchanted Tales
Haunted
Jungle Cruise
Mad Tea Party
MSEP
Meet Mickey on Main Street
Philharmagic
Monsters Laugh Floor
Peter Pan
Pirates
Barn Stormer
Magic Carpets
Speedway
Winnie the Pooh
Little Mermaid

Many of these attractions show substantial waits on the Touring Plans Ap (30 mins or more), so would be valuable 4th FPP in my mind.

How many people are you checking for?

 

[cattywampus]

How many people are you checking for?

Four.

 

[WiscMomof2]

Just got back from a fabulous day at Epcot! At 3PM had no trouble getting SE for 8 with a return of 4:25 at the International Gateway kiosk. I also saw CM at a few other places in World Showcase with IPads so you could check with them as well. No headliners available except Maelstrom.

 

[Delirium]

I wouldn't anticipate even trying to get a 4th FP. Standing in line at kiosk kiosk is not any better than standing in line for the ride.

My plan will remain touring the most recommended park of the day in the morning without FP and then hopping to another park in the late afternoon/night and using the original 3 FP in the second park.

 

[blbrodger1]

We just returned from our 5 day trip. The only park where additional fast passes were helpful was the Magic Kingdom. BUT, some of the lines at the kiosks were incredibly long and slow. The line at the kiosks was particularly brutal. I think that I'd rather wait in a 30 minute shaded/air conditioned line for a ride than to wait for the same amount of time (or more!) to have the opportunity just to (try) to get another FP.

We did get additional FP for the MK while we were there. The kiosk by Buzz Lightyear was not nearly as busy as the others we had seen.

One day, we got a FP for the Haunted Mansion after dinner.

Another day, we were able to get a FP for Aladdin and another FP for Small World.

Every time I avoided the Fantasyland kiosk and walked to the other kiosk even if it meant more walking for me.

 

[d-r]

We were there for 2 weeks last week of May, first of June and found the 4th fp to be pretty useless unless you wanted something that wasn't really a fp worthy attraction.

The whole tiering thing at Studios and Epcot was a pain - if MK ever goes to that forget it. We tried to get a 4th fp at Studios and eventually gave up because of the whole tier thing - we could get Little Mermaid, but if we wanted to switch we couldn't switch to a tier one (I don't remember if anything was available even) because we had picked a tier 2...it was extremely aggravating.

 

[SpecialK]

Actually, it is quite a bit different. With paper FP, you could get a FP for Soarin' at 9:00 and then get a FP for TT as soon as your return time kicked in--9:40 to 10:15 most days. So you were assured of getting a FP for both headliners. Now, your second headliner has to be your 4th FP and by the time you burn through your first three, you may not get one.
Paper FP and Rope Drop = 100% success.
FP+ and Rope Drop = < 100% success.
How much less? Not sure yet. But less is less.

Completely agree. We are just back today and found FP+ to be less than ideal. Not only is availability less for the headliners, rope drop has become useless.

With paper FPs, we'd get there for rope drop and ride all the headliners without any FPs as well as other lesser attractions. This trip, for example, the line for BTMRR was at 50 by the time we walked back there after the park opened.

Availability for that fourth FP was usually for attractions that never had much of a wait in the past and never used to require a FP. Not a fan.

 

[Minniekins]

I thought that previous posters had good luck when trying to book the 4th FP+s, and getting later evening times, using the back button several times to try again and eventually earlier times would show up. Is this idea not working so much anymore, or are people even trying this at all?

 

[naarg]

Here now & that's my experience too. At AK yesterday & by 2pm no more FP to dinosaur so we just waited in standby. Not bad though about 25 min. Same thing at Epcot, by 1pm no more passes to soarin. & no FP to toy story mania at HS. We did rope drops, nap/swim breaks in the afternoon then nights. We rode toy story at night with 30 min wait which is not bad. Not sure how that's gonna work with the crowds getting bigger as summer progresses but it worked for us. Love FP+

 

[wdwjeffc37]

We were there the last part of May through the first part of June and were able to get a 4th FP+ at the MK several days. After riding BTMRR, Splash, and 7DMT we got POTC for an immediate time (40 minute SB wait), then HM immediate (30 min SB), then Jungle cruise 30 min from reservation (60 min SB wait). It worked well for most of the non headline attractions. YMMV.

 

[wdwlovin'family]

We just left yesterday after a week in the parks. Starting Monday, it got SUPER busy in the parks. We were able to get a 4th FP for an evening ride on Thunder mountain in the evening on Monday but we left for a nap and were too tired to return! On Tuesday, we were at AK (crazy crowded) and they didn't make us scan our bands for FOtLK. So, I sat down, pulled out my phone and immediately rescheduled our FP for primeval whirl. Not the best choice, but we had never ridden it and wanted to. Never again.