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

[Andtototoo]

We were just there on Sunday and Monday. We are diehard ride junkies. I don't want to be negative, but I think if you are a ride junkie, do NOT go to the parks during peak periods any more. With the limits on FP+, especially with not allowing FP at more than one park per day, it's just not worth it for a ride junkie any more. In the past, we could go for RD and arrange our FPs to get on every ride we wanted in MK with perhaps one exception without waiting on long lines. This time? No. No, no, no.

I think the only way it would have worked better is if we were willing to leave late afternoon and early evening (to do what? If I wanted to take a nap, I could have done that at home for free, it was too cold to swim, and the traffic was horrendous in Orlando) and return for EMH in the late evening, but that means (in my mind) that I've just thrown away part of the value of the ticket.

 

[redsbe]

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.

Here is you "dismiss" in your own words:
"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."

And the critical issue is not the total amount of time spent in a park to maximize number of rides of possible, but the timing of that time. To best adapt your style of touring, you are going to need to use RD to maximize ride times, arriving when the park has already been open 2hrs and when crowds are peaking during the day is not going get you on as many ride as you would like now with FP+ in place.

 

[redsbe]

We were just there on Sunday and Monday. We are diehard ride junkies. I don't want to be negative, but I think if you are a ride junkie, do NOT go to the parks during peak periods any more. With the limits on FP+, especially with not allowing FP at more than one park per day, it's just not worth it for a ride junkie any more. In the past, we could go for RD and arrange our FPs to get on every ride we wanted in MK with perhaps one exception without waiting on long lines. This time? No. No, no, no.

I think the only way it would have worked better is if we were willing to leave late afternoon and early evening (to do what? If I wanted to take a nap, I could have done that at home for free, it was too cold to swim, and the traffic was horrendous in Orlando) and return for EMH in the late evening, but that means (in my mind) that I've just thrown away part of the value of the ticket.

Taking a break mid day does not mean a nap, we would go for a swim and a snack then go back to the park, using perhaps 2-3 hrs in the middle of the day rather then simply stand in long rides in the mid day sun for 2 or 3 more rides. And taking a mid day break also does not mean heading back to your resort or hotel, but spending a relaxing time walking the parks, window shopping and enjoying other less busy attractions, and parades/shows etc.. The point is not to spend hours in line for attractions that you can hit early in the morning or late in the evening. It really depends on the value of the ticket you are looking for, if that means riding the top attractions 6-8 times then it is hard (and has been so for many years) to do so when peak crowds are there, but for many visitors the value of a WDW ticket is all that the parks and resorts have to offer which is much more then a few top rides in each park.

 

[kaybird]

Love Love Love the rides. We have been with FP+ 3 times now, and 2 during particularly crowded times. We have nearly always been Rope drop, or at least opening type people. We love the new FP+ system, ride over and over in the mornings (last trip did Everest 8 times in a half an hour), then have our FP+ scheduled after the crowds increase.

We pulled multiple FP- in the past, but as a voice of reason, if it was very crowded in the parks, they would often run out or be so far out timewise that you couldn't pull another for a couple of hours. Many Many trips we did not get a FP- for Soarin, Test Track, TSMM, or RocknRoller.

We don't do a mid afternoon break per se, but often use that busier park time to go to the waterparks. Evening back at the parks, tired people usually leaving by then.

 

[panthergirl]

Love Love Love the rides. We have been with FP+ 3 times now, and 2 during particularly crowded times. We have nearly always been Rope drop, or at least opening type people. We love the new FP+ system, ride over and over in the mornings (last trip did Everest 8 times in a half an hour), then have our FP+ scheduled after the crowds increase. We pulled multiple FP- in the past, but as a voice of reason, if it was very crowded in the parks, they would often run out or be so far out timewise that you couldn't pull another for a couple of hours. Many Many trips we did not get a FP- for Soarin, Test Track, TSMM, or RocknRoller. We don't do a mid afternoon break per se, but often use that busier park time to go to the waterparks. Evening back at the parks, tired people usually leaving by then.

This has been my experience as well. So far I am a fan!

 

[Twende]

If you want to ride many attractions, you have no choice but rope drop and then have your 3 FP+s scheduled for afternoon.

Our last trip in March, we stayed for 8 days. We only made it into a park early two days. We had our FP+'s scheduled for 11 AM to 1:30 AM, and then we promptly left the park except for the day we stayed to see the first Festival of Fantasy Parade.

We did other things outside the parks and outside of Disney in some cases. It was just too frustrating to stand in excessively long standby lines.

In total we did far less riding than we have ever done before. We spent a lot less money in the parks than what is normal for us. We did not get any of the meal plans as the savings they offer are nonexistent for us. We picked a number of off site places to eat meals and we cooked a few meals in our rooms.

It was a very different trip for us. Yes, we relaxed more, saved more money, and did not have newbies join us for the incredible experience.

I missed some of the past magic but it just seems the good old days are gone. I am happy we had hundreds of trips behind us because unless changes are made by Disney corporate, I do not see the magic returning.

 

[kittylady1972]

LOVE reading this one...especially since we are a family of five ride junkies! We are heading down in November (Thanksgiving week) and while this will not be our first Thanksgiving Week rodeo, it will be the first time ever using FP+ and magicbands.

I've already discussed it with my husband, and I think our only option (if things don't change between now and then with FP+ limits and tiers) is to arrange for our rides in the afternoon (prime time), maybe close to lunch. We'll try our best to still be at parks close to rope drop...the same park as our FP+ reservations. We'll ride all morning, take a short lunch, do our afternoon FP+ rides and then head back to our room or offsite for dinner. Maybe relax for a while in the room. Then do our best to try to take advantage of whatever park is open that evening for EMH and just drag the kids (who will be 14, 10 and 12 at the time) around as late as possible.

Will the rest of our travel party be able to keep up with us? Don't know but I honestly think this will be the only way to get in our favorites this time.

Oh and we'll spend two days at the Universal Parks as well.

 

[Amanda999]

FWIW, we're going to go for 3 weeks instead of 2 weeks, do 1/2 as many rides per day as we did with FP-, and buy APs. To counter the additional cost of APs, we're going to stay offsite ($100 a night with tax for 3 bed/3 bath townhouse with splash pool) and eat most meals in the condo (we prefer grocery store food anyway) and bring snacks with us to the parks (which is fine with us too - if it enables us to go for a longer number of days).

OP - thanks for posting this question. I like hearing others' responses. I think we'll be rope droppers for sure in the future.

 

[davedmaine]

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!

We went in March and February -like we do every year and the lines were awful. We also aren't rope droppers and the idea of going back to a resort for an afternoon nap makes no sense to me. What kind of vacation is that? Not very magical

 

[MickeyOCD]

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.

Was just there last Tues. We used to pull quite a few FP- & have always gone during Spring Break. We used to arrive around 10 am & only RD at DHS to get a FP for TSMM. We did have to change our touring plans & we rode/did filler items. But this is how we did MK on a very busy day during Spring Break:

march 25, 2014, Tuesday. EasyWDW has MK as a 9 & its a recommended park. there was no EMH at MK today. Park open at 9
Walked on POTC, then Jugle Cruise, then BTMRR by 9:45
Cinnamon Roll @ Gastons then Dumbo - by 10:20 The bad thing about FP+ on POTC is that they load FP on 1 side & STBY on the other. We went STBY & had to wait while FP boats went empty.
Pooh - posted stdby said 35 min, got in line at 10:22 - got on ride at 10:47. Rode Tomorrowland Speedway, Stitch, & Tea Cups Stby by 12:09. MK was very busy; it's Spring Break. FP+ kiosk in Tomorrowland was insanely long, there were at least 100 people in line - NUTS!! - and this was at 11:30 am.
We did BOG FP lunch. We had a FP for Splash at 1pm but changed it (at 11:30 am) to Space Mtn. The only avail return time was 8:30-9:30pm. (i tried to see if there was an earlier return time, there were none). Done with lunch at 1:15, went to Philharmagic (10 min. stby, NOT a walkon) There are 6 FP Kiosks here & there were 4 CMshelping guests, there was no wait at the kiosk at 1:20 pm. At 1:52 pm, headed over to Tom sawyer Island. The kids drive what we do, & they wanted to head over to the island. While walking to the rafts, noticed that the posted stby time for HM was 75 min & IASW was 45 min at 2 pm. Watched The 3 pm Fantasy parade then Played the Pirates game, takes about 15-20 min per scavenger hunt. Stopped for a Dole Whip. Used FP for Haunted Mansion at 4:25pm. Finished the pirates treasure hunt (there are 5 maps to be used) by 6:15 pm. Stopped for a Nutella fruit waffle at Sleepy Hollow for dinner. Shopped a little. FP for BTMRR at 7:50pm. FP for Space Mtn at 8:30pm. Then Laugh Floor at 9 pm (10 min stby, had a high of 45 min earlier in the day). Watched Wishes at 10pm. Then rode the Carousel, Barnstormer, under the Sea, & IASW by 11:30. Finally left the park. 14.5 hrs and we are tired. Pretty much banged out the park. At the end of our night, I checked return times on MDE, Space Mtn was 70 min & Peter Pan was 25 min.

Still don't like FP+. Don't like being chained to a schedule. We went to Disney Quest on Sat & planned late FP at EPCOT. Had to give up my TT FP because rain kept us late at DQ & couldn't get a later FP for it (yes I know they would've been all gone with the old system, but we wouldn't have toured this way with the old system)

 

[morethananyonex]

Rope drop, rope drop, rope drop. No more 11 AM arrivals for you, unless you want to be told to slow down and WDW is more than rides .

Use your FP+ for the busiest rides in the area you'll be in at the busiest time of day (afternoon/early evening).

Take advantage of single rider lines if you can. Some of them make tiering hurt less, like RnRC and TT. TT gives you the added bonus of a being faster than the FP, because you don't have to create a car and wait afterwards. EE single rider line allows you to arrive late to AK if you wanted to, between that and your 3 FP+ you should be almost covered for that park. You may be able to re ride at AK as well if you stay closer to park closing.

Really though, while all the suggestions you're getting will help to cushion the blow of FP+, the truth of the matter is to a family who was used to touring the way yours was, FP+ is not as good as FP-. There's things you can do to improve FP+, like the strategies you've been given, but at the end of the day you really may have to accept that things might be different than before. It is tougher to repeat rides like in the past, especially the rides that previously had no or low FP use.

 

[*disgal*]

First off, I would like to thank you OP for starting this thread. Finally! Some people that don't make me feel like a leper because my family likes to ride lots of rides at WDW and made the most of FP- in the past. (and actually, I hate that symbol. I would like to call it FP+++ just sayin')

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.

Yeah, me too. Not that I don't appreciate any report that comes in because everything helps me plan but I just haven't seen any reports really from a person like ME. I go in 2 weeks though and plan on making my first trip report when I get back.

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

that's my plan too.

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.

That is what I keep hearing and it makes sense to me.

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.

OP I hear what you are saying but when you think about it, you not getting to a park until it's been open for 2-3 hours puts you at more of a disadvantage then the 5 hour break in the afternoon. I missed when you said you will be going but for us going at a really busy time (Easter week), MK is open at 8am(7am everyday for onsite guests) and closing at 1am. So taking advantage of the early and late hours makes sense if you want to be able to ride a lot. We are hoping this works for us and we will get out of Dodge during the afternoon when you can hardly move because of the crowds.

Also, just curious, where will you be staying? We have stayed at places about 10-11 miles from MK(all other parks were much closer) in Kissimmee and must say we always made it back to our place in 15-20 min. The other parks less. Especially Vistana....Epcot is pretty close, taking us about 10 min from our car to condo door. MK is really the only one that's a hassle because you have to park at the TTC. But if you are onsite it should be a breeze.

Love Love Love the rides. We have been with FP+ 3 times now, and 2 during particularly crowded times. We have nearly always been Rope drop, or at least opening type people. We love the new FP+ system, ride over and over in the mornings (last trip did Everest 8 times in a half an hour), then have our FP+ scheduled after the crowds increase.

Was this like in January? I can't imagine doing everest 8 times during any times other than the slowest weeks at WDW and we've been in sept! I've gotta know your secret!

march 25, 2014, Tuesday. EasyWDW has MK as a 9 & its a recommended park. there was no EMH at MK today. Park open at 9
Walked on POTC, then Jugle Cruise, then BTMRR by 9:45
Cinnamon Roll @ Gastons then Dumbo - by 10:20 The bad thing about FP+ on POTC is that they load FP on 1 side & STBY on the other. We went STBY & had to wait while FP boats went empty.

Call me stupid but I thought only fantasyland and tomorrowland were open for the first hour so how did you get on POTC and Jungle Cruise by 9:45? I feel so dumb having been so many times and feeling clueless.

 

[MrInfinity]

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

You could buy Disney World.

Or you could become a world famous rock star.

Perhaps you could marry Donald Trump or Bill Gates.

Aside from that, 30-min wait for all top rides during peak season at mid-day. Um. Yeah.

 

[MrInfinity]

I thought only fantasyland and tomorrowland were open for the first hour so how did you get on POTC and Jungle Cruise by 9:45? I feel so dumb having been so many times and feeling clueless.

When the park opens at 9, the whole park is open. Frontierland is not open during morning EMH when only Tomorrowland and Fantasyland are open. They won't let you past the ropes into Frontierland / Adventureland during this time only.

 

[*disgal*]

When the park opens at 9, the whole park is open. Frontierland is not open during morning EMH when only Tomorrowland and Fantasyland are open. They won't let you past the ropes into Frontierland / Adventureland during this time only.

Yeah I knew that about the EMH but didn't realize the whole thing opened at 9. Maybe because the last, I don't know how many times, we have gone during a busy season and MK opens at 8am with EMH at 7am.

So, am I correct in assuming that in 2 weeks when MK is open at 8am with EMH at 7am, only FL and TL are open and then everything else is open at 9? I'm thinking that's why I didn't remember. It's been a good many year since I've been during a slower time.

 

[magentarhps93]

Yeah, it's looking like we're going to have to change up our touring plans. I don't really think we can do rope drop with our group, but we will probably be doing a lot of late nights.

Also, What do you do if you want to get breakfast at that park? Basically you just go there to eat and can't get on any rides? Some of these meals are expensive, so I imagine people don't want to rush through the meals to get on rides faster. I'm sorry, but this system still seems pretty flawed to me.

Some more information: I'm 20, going to be traveling with DM, DDad, DBF 22 (Disney Best Friend?) and ODBFWACM 22 (Other Disney Best Friend Who's Also a CM). My birthday is June 30th and we will be getting to Orlando and doing Universal on the 29th. MK with an 8:10 ADR for CP and 7:00 BOG (I'ma buy some wine!) on the 30th. Yup, that's fourth of July week but I can't pick my birthday,we'll be there through the 6th. I don't see the point in going to celebrate my 21st birthday and only being 21 for the last part of it! (Also for those of you who mentioned not going in peak, that's really impossible because I'm still in school). If I luck out, we'll be staying at the Polynesian, and then this "break" that everyone's all up in arms about will be a lot easier. But my Dad really likes staying at the log cabins, which always has the worst buses.

 

[MermaidMommy]

Yeah I knew that about the EMH but didn't realize the whole thing opened at 9. Maybe because the last, I don't know how many times, we have gone during a busy season and MK opens at 8am with EMH at 7am. So, am I correct in assuming that in 2 weeks when MK is open at 8am with EMH at 7am, only FL and TL are open and then everything else is open at 9? I'm thinking that's why I didn't remember. It's been a good many year since I've been during a slower time.

No, when MK opens for regular park hours - whether it is 8 or 9 - all the lands will be open at the same time. The only time any of the lands open at different times is during morning EMH, when Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are the only lands open.

So, in your example, FL and TL will open at 7 for EMH, and everything else will open at 8.

 

[MrsDuck]

We've always hit RD and been fine. We toured that way for as long as we can remember so FP+ is really not an issue for us.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

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.

This is what I'm concerned about. With two kids, this is not an option for us. We're going to try attending two EMH mornings and one EMH evening and MNSSHP. Anything else and we'll be too tired.

 

[2Tiggies]

This is what I'm concerned about. With two kids, this is not an option for us. We're going to try attending two EMH morning and one EMH evening and MNSSHP. Anything else and we'll be two tired.

With young children that sounds like a pretty good strategy. Backing early mornings against late nights consecutively can end up rendering a day somewhere along the line as totally useless. If you are morning people, it's better to hit all the early mornings and have a good night's rest. Also, from our experience, the morning EMH are a lot more dependable in getting things done than the evening ones, which can be hit or miss. We've had mixed results with evening EMH from great to a complete waste of time in terms of rides. They only really become useful when you stay really late, past midnight and getting up at 6 am when you got to your resort at 3.30 am that morning .... eventually you end up throwing what could have been a good day out the window.

You have a plan, it looks good. Have fun with it Just be there for the start of the early openings and you're dressed for success