How are you ride junkies dealing with FP+? (Especially during peak?)

[magentarhps93]

Hi everyone! This is going to be a long post because I talk too much. So sorry in advance.

I was wondering how you people who used to pull 7+ fastpasses a day are dealing with the new system? I was looking over my itinerary for my very important June trip (21st birthday which I've been planning for 2 years) and started to get a little nervous. I think it's going to negatively effect how I tour the park and I was wondering what strategies you guys have developed to "get the most bang for your buck"

Here's how I normally tour: I go to DW/DL once a year, during peak because I'm in school. We would usually arrive around 11 at the parks (my family doesn't like to RD) and my mom and would close a park down from there (and maybe hop, depending on how much we got done at the first park). On average we'd pull around 7-9 FP a day, without double dipping or RD. We are always holding at least one fastpass during the day. We would use the time where we had to wait on fastpasses to do our shopping if most standbys are long.

I don't get the point of getting all your rides and re rides over with in the morning, using your 3 FP+ in the afternoon, taking a break, and then coming back late at night. I'm not spending $50 a day to take a nap for 4 hours. Is there any other strategy aside form this one to get the most rides in and the shortest wait time ALL DAY aside from this one? (Or FP-. :'( )

TL;DR: With FP+, How do you wait a 30 min or less for all rides during peak without RD and/or a break?


***Also, this thread is addressed to people who like to go on a lot of rides. If you want to debate FP+ there are dozens of other threads I can direct you too. And please don't tell me that WDW is for other things than rides, or to slow down, or etc. The rides are what make the magic for me, and I'm planning my trip after all!

 

[WillAustin]

I was wondering how you people who used to pull 7+ fastpasses a day are dealing with the new system?

Generally, poorly.

I'd say do rope drop, and schedule FPs for later in the day. Lines will be long by noon during busy days.

I am still waiting to see a post from someone who used to get 6 or 7 FPs per day and gives a positive report on wait times from a recent trip on a busy day.

 

[2Tiggies]

Generally, poorly.

I'd say do rope drop, and schedule FPs for later in the day. Lines will be long by noon during busy days.

I am still waiting to see a post from someone who used to get 6 or 7 FPs per day and gives a positive report on wait times from a recent trip on a busy day.

You can count on me to post a review in a couple of months.

OP, what I can tell you is even at the planning stage, it has been a challenge thus far and I have lost count of how many hours we have spent redoing our plans either because something changes, new information comes to light or we just decide to try see if we can work a day better than the way it is at the moment. I am a researcher and like to gather information for upcoming trips but I am not a planner when put in the context of 'planner' according to the DIS in the typical sense. Part of the reason - a large part - that we managed so successfully to do so much in the parks regardless of crowd levels in the past was FP- coupled with not having a set plan and being able to make decisions on the spot based on where we were at that moment, what wait times were posted, etc. Now the ability to change our minds in a second to suit has for the most part been removed. It is going to be interesting. This is going to be a very different trip for us. We regularly open and close a park (or two if we hop) and love to jam our days full of activity, often using our evening park to chill out; so arriving late didnt' matter if FP's were all distributed at the second park as it was usually where we would have dinner, fireworks, enjoy the atmosphere and to the short lines on the 'lesser' attractions and our shows. Looks like those options are non starters now too.

 

[MermaidMommy]

We just got back from a spring break trip. Like you, we used to get as many FP's a day as we could, and would re-ride our favorites numerous times. The only way we could do this on our last trip was to rope drop and, particularly at MK, do late nights as well. Lots of burning the candle at both ends, which eventually left us pretty worn out. But, we got most everything done.

FP+ seems to have increased the lines at many of the second and third tier attractions, so there's not as many rides that you can walk onto in the afternoon when the crowds are the largest. That's why it makes more sense to do rope drop if your goal is to ride the most rides - it's when you can get the most done. It might not be your preference, and that's ok, but that's why many people chose to break in the middle of the day.

 

[sunkissed4]

From my experiences, it's not possible to ride everything you want without RD anymore, especially at MK. If you show up there at 11, lines are already long. The secondary rides that you always could get on quickly, have long lines now as well.

Stay positive, plan the best you can, try to hit RD!

 

[redsbe]

Hi everyone! This is going to be a long post because I talk too much. So sorry in advance.

I was wondering how you people who used to pull 7+ fastpasses a day are dealing with the new system? I was looking over my itinerary for my very important June trip (21st birthday which I've been planning for 2 years) and started to get a little nervous. I think it's going to negatively effect how I tour the park and I was wondering what strategies you guys have developed to "get the most bang for your buck"

Here's how I normally tour: I go to DW/DL once a year, during peak because I'm in school. We would usually arrive around 11 at the parks (my family doesn't like to RD) and my mom and would close a park down from there (and maybe hop, depending on how much we got done at the first park). On average we'd pull around 7-9 FP a day, without double dipping or RD. We are always holding at least one fastpass during the day. We would use the time where we had to wait on fastpasses to do our shopping if most standbys are long.

I don't get the point of getting all your rides and re rides over with in the morning, using your 3 FP+ in the afternoon, taking a break, and then coming back late at night. I'm not spending $50 a day to take a nap for 4 hours. Is there any other strategy aside form this one to get the most rides in and the shortest wait time ALL DAY aside from this one? (Or FP-. :'( )

TL;DR: With FP+, How do you wait a 30 min or less for all rides during peak without RD and/or a break?


***Also, this thread is addressed to people who like to go on a lot of rides. If you want to debate FP+ there are dozens of other threads I can direct you too. And please don't tell me that WDW is for other things than rides, or to slow down, or etc. The rides are what make the magic for me, and I'm planning my trip after all!

If you are going to visit during a busy season you will need to take advantage of RD or EMHs to ride your favorite rides as many times as possible before crowds really pack in by 11am, the use FP+ for later and day, and chance to hit a few more very late if park is open to 12p or later.

Sorry but there is not going to be any other way. FP+ will have the greatest impact to those who would collect several FPs a day and/or arrive mid day. That type of day planning during peak crowds simply will not work.

ps I find it interesting that you dismiss those taking a mid day break while you would arrive 2-3 hours after the park opens, either way you are both getting the same amount of hours actually in the park if you stay until the same departing time.

 

[FLSarah]

I'm not a morning person either, but we have to do RD to get the rides we want without absurd lines. I know that's not what you want to hear. I'm hoping the Mine Train in MK will help lessen some of the other lines once it opens.

 

[magentarhps93]

ps I find it interesting that you dismiss those taking a mid day break while you would arrive 2-3 hours after the park opens, either way you are both getting the same amount of hours actually in the park if you stay until the same departing time.

When did I "dismiss" the people who are taking a break? I dismissed it for myself, but as I said in the *I don't want this to be an argument thread* part of the post, this is how I tour, and I'm asking for advice on how to best adapt my style of touring.

Depending on where we are staying, it can take up to an hour to get back to the resort and then an hour to get from the resort to the park. That's already 2 hours, plus the actual break which might be 2 hours in itself. A majority of the parks open at 9 (unless it's EMH which then we do usually go to except for MK) so 11 is only 2 hours after, which is close to the time bus transportation takes. And that's why I make that touring choice.

 

[magentarhps93]

Thanks for the tips guys- I guess we're gonna have to do the RD thing and maybe park hop/eat,shop during the break times. It's hard for me to be excited because I'm so worried that I won't get a lot of my favorite rides in and like I said, that really is the most magical part for me. I am still looking forward to it, and know I shouldn't worry as much as I am! Please post when you guys start having experiences during higher crowds. I would love to hear the little tricks you guys figure out. One thing I know about ride junkies is that we always get the maximum around of rides in!

 

[JimmyV]

From my experiences, it's not possible to ride everything you want without RD anymore, especially at MK. If you show up there at 11, lines are already long. The secondary rides that you always could get on quickly, have long lines now as well.

Stay positive, plan the best you can, try to hit RD!

If you are going to visit during a busy season you will need to take advantage of RD or EMHs to ride your favorite rides as many times as possible before crowds really pack in by 11am, the use FP+ for later and day, and chance to hit a few more very late if park is open to 12p or later.

Sorry but there is not going to be any other way.

I'm not a morning person either, but we have to do RD to get the rides we want without absurd lines.

This.
This, and
This.

The game has changed. And so have the strategies. You can arrive later in the day and use your FPs and do a few other rides, or you can arrive early and move deliberately through the park. But you cannot arrive late and do everything. The tradeoff with FP+ is that you can book headliners in advance for times that work best for you. But the cost is that you cannot repeat rides unless your first trips are early in the day or late at night. But at a busy time of the year, early is far less crowded than late. You can still face 30 minute lines at midnight.

 

[mom2faith]

***Also, this thread is addressed to people who like to go on a lot of rides. If you want to debate FP+ there are dozens of other threads I can direct you too.

Wish I could help you but I have zero experience touring non-rope drop.

Just wanted to thank you for this quote!! Had to put something similar on a thread of mine a couple days ago! Glad to see other want STRATEGIES!!

Have a magical trip!

 

[Umbrella]

I've just come back from my first visit - we arrived at MK at Rope Drop and immediately booked Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain. on fast pass. Then we raced around to a bunch of rides - in the morning we did Small World, Haunted Mansion, Winnie the Pooh and Teacups all within the same hour.

The queue for Splash Mountain was long all day - until around 7pm, when it dipped to 20 minutes so we went on twice.

The only ride we couldn't get to was Peter Pan - standby wait times always around 75 minutes.

 

[MermaidMommy]

Thanks for the tips guys- I guess we're gonna have to do the RD thing and maybe park hop/eat,shop during the break times. It's hard for me to be excited because I'm so worried that I won't get a lot of my favorite rides in and like I said, that really is the most magical part for me. I am still looking forward to it, and know I shouldn't worry as much as I am! Please post when you guys start having experiences during higher crowds. I would love to hear the little tricks you guys figure out. One thing I know about ride junkies is that we always get the maximum around of rides in!

Our trip over spring break was between 7-9 crowd levels, so it was pretty crowded. DD14 is like you - all about the rides - so I was concerned before our trip, too. Did we get to ride as much as we did in the past? No. But, we still got to ride a lot, and more than most people.

For example, we did morning EMH at HS (first time for us to do it there). Did TSMM first and then RnR walk-on. Then went to ToT, and DD rode it three times in a row. After the third time there was a line, and I think she got through a bit quicker because she was a single, but she could have easily ridden it twice in a row without a line. We left for AK shortly after that, but we could have used our FP+ for a couple of re-rides there if we had wanted to.

As for AK, it's one park that you don't always need to FP. We usually hop from another park there in the afternoon, and by closing, most everything is a walk-on. We did Everest 3 times in a row the hour before closing. So, if you plan on a half-day there, you can use your FP's at another park.

And, that's one helpful strategy that works with rope-drop -- go to a recommended park at opening (or an EMH park if you'll actually get there when it opens), and you can ride most things for the first few hours without much of a wait. Then, hop somewhere else where you can use your FP's later in the day. That way, you can get more of the headliners in each day.

 

[PirateD]

Hi everyone! This is going to be a long post because I talk too much. So sorry in advance.

I was wondering how you people who used to pull 7+ fastpasses a day are dealing with the new system? I was looking over my itinerary for my very important June trip (21st birthday which I've been planning for 2 years) and started to get a little nervous. I think it's going to negatively effect how I tour the park and I was wondering what strategies you guys have developed to "get the most bang for your buck"

Here's how I normally tour: I go to DW/DL once a year, during peak because I'm in school. We would usually arrive around 11 at the parks (my family doesn't like to RD) and my mom and would close a park down from there (and maybe hop, depending on how much we got done at the first park). On average we'd pull around 7-9 FP a day, without double dipping or RD. We are always holding at least one fastpass during the day. We would use the time where we had to wait on fastpasses to do our shopping if most standbys are long.

I don't get the point of getting all your rides and re rides over with in the morning, using your 3 FP+ in the afternoon, taking a break, and then coming back late at night. I'm not spending $50 a day to take a nap for 4 hours. Is there any other strategy aside form this one to get the most rides in and the shortest wait time ALL DAY aside from this one? (Or FP-. :'( )

TL;DR: With FP+, How do you wait a 30 min or less for all rides during peak without RD and/or a break?

***Also, this thread is addressed to people who like to go on a lot of rides. If you want to debate FP+ there are dozens of other threads I can direct you too. And please don't tell me that WDW is for other things than rides, or to slow down, or etc. The rides are what make the magic for me, and I'm planning my trip after all!

Our touring style was very similar to what yours used to be. I like to get to the parks early but no one else in my family does. We always used to do fine with a later arrival riding the second tier attractions and building up our legacy FP. It worked well for us in the past, but I can see that with longer standby times that will not be an option. Thanks for posting the question and for those who have responded with advice.

 

[Tiffany507s]

We I went during the peak Christmas time this past year, I found that when MK was open really late you could easily walk on many attractions. We got more done in the evening than at RD.

DH and myself, like you are ride junkies....and really the only solution seems to be early morning and late nights with break in between...or alternating. I will say that late nights at DHS are not as successful as MK bc it isn't usually open as late. People stayed until the very end usually at DHS.

We will all be in the same boat come June, and I can't say I'm looking forward to not being able to ride all my favorites several times a day, but oh well...I'll still be in my happy place!

Good luck and happy early birthday! Go enjoy the heck outta Epcot!

 

[Cookie Princess]

Generally, poorly.

I'd say do rope drop, and schedule FPs for later in the day. Lines will be long by noon during busy days.

I am still waiting to see a post from someone who used to get 6 or 7 FPs per day and gives a positive report on wait times from a recent trip on a busy day.

This is us, and we will be in WDW in 3+ weeks. We are planning EMH in the mornings as much as possible, and I have booked FP+ rides at a different park for the afternoon/evening. We still plan to take an afternoon break between parks. I am going to miss those 6+ FPs per day!

We downgraded from DXDDP to DDP because we can't see spending as much time eating now.

 

[stormer]

We were there Presidents Week and could not ride as many rides as we used to. We will not wait more than 30 min on a regular line and like you always pulled a FP as soon as one was up. We used to ride TT 3 times and Soarin twice in one day. We couldn't do that this trip, at least not without waiting on a really long line or using the single rider line. We found it was important to get there at 9 and hit as many rides as we could before the lines were too long. We scheduled our FPs for after lunch when the park was the most crowded. My kids are used to riding their favorite rides multiple times. Sometimes we let them ride with their MB and then ride a second time with my and DHs MB. It worked for this trip but I can't see me and DH sitting out rides every trip.

 

[EMode]

OP we tour very much like you and we decided to hold off on our WDW trips for the time being. I really want to see how it goes for people who tour like us during Easter week and the summer before I plan another trip.
I will be watching this board closely for the next few months to see what they all have to say.

 

[Lizzim]

We have done 3 trips since Sept (the first when FP+ was still in early testing and we weren't in the test).

I've done trip trip reports so you might want a read to see how the trips compared. Unfortunately we didn't make rope drop very often as we travelled with family who made this difficult.

It certainly affected the number of rides we got on each day and we weren't travelling at peak times.

We have a June trip planned (getting one last use out of our annual passes ) and I am a little concerned as it will likely be much busier than we are used to, but it's just the 2 of use so we'll try a relaxed approach and just hit some favourites

 

[mom2rtk]

OP, you don't say when you are traveling, but I'm assuming it's sooner rather than later.

For future trips though, I would plan to travel during hard ticket party season. Parties have historically provided great ride access. There is (so far) no FP during the parties, and lines are typically very short. We love doing the parties and would plan to schedule at least one extra just to do rides.

For now, I will be interested to see the reports you get here. Although it's not very reassuring. My daughter is 13 and is finally a thrill ride junkie. And now all of a sudden I'm supposed to tell her to slow down and settle for less.

We don't have a problem making rope drop, and like you, find afternoon breaks to just take too long for the payoff to be worth it. I have tried and jut hated the pressure of needing to sleep when there was so much else I preferred to be doing. All the break did was make me more tired. So no really late nights in the parks for us either.

I think probably the best bet is to decide if your group is an early or a late group and just soak that part of the day. Every day. Don't just be at RD, be at the front of the RD crowd. If you're a late group, plan to be the last out of the parks every night.

Good luck and be sure to report back here after your trip.