How Do I Know?!

[Wendie]

I'm a little over a week away from booking fast passes for our very first ever trip to Disney. I have a pretty good general idea of what rides my family wants to do, what rides we need to Fast Pass, etc but I'm still confused about one thing -

How on earth do I know what TIME I want to do these things?? If nothing else, how do I know that I can get from Ride A to Ride B in that specific time slot? I have a Touring Plans subscription and realize I can go by their recommendation, but I would assume that being it's our first trip and we're traveling with a nearly five year old, we won't necessarily always want to go from A to B to C because hey, if something catches my son's eye and he wants to stop and look at that or go on it or whatnot, if it's reasonable, it doesn't seem like a very magical time to go "Sorry honey, I have every single second planned out, and we have planned to come back to this in three hours and two minutes...." and have him crying all day about me dragging him and around like a dog on a leash.

So, how do I know if I've planned enough time between Fast Passes or should I be studying park maps or what? HELP!!

 

[Robo]

I'm a little over a week away from booking fast passes for our very first ever trip to Disney. I have a pretty good general idea of what rides my family wants to do, what rides we need to Fast Pass, etc but I'm still confused about one thing -

1. How on earth do I know what TIME I want to do these things??
If nothing else,

2. how do I know that I can get from Ride A to Ride B in that specific time slot?

I have a Touring Plans subscription and realize I can go by their recommendation, but I would assume that being it's our first trip and we're traveling with a nearly five year old, we won't necessarily always want to go from A to B to C because

3. hey, if something catches my son's eye and he wants to stop and look at that or go on it or whatnot, if it's reasonable, it doesn't seem like a very magical time to go

4. "Sorry honey, I have every single second planned out, and we have planned to come back to this in three hours and two minutes...." and have him crying all day about me dragging him and around like a dog on a leash.

5. So, how do I know if I've planned enough time between Fast Passes or should I be studying park maps or what? HELP!!

1. You can just pick one of the sets of pre-selected times. (Just make sure that you'll be IN the park at those times.)

2. FP+ will automatically be spaced a minimum of an hour apart.
Example:
You may enter with FP 1 at 10:40AM to 11:40AM,
You may enter with FP 2 at 11:40AM to 12:40PM,
You may enter with FP3 at 2:05PM to 3:05PM.

3. Yup. FP+ has some negatives, for sure.

4. To be fair, having 3 FP+ is not even close to having "every second planned."

5. See #2.

 

[BlondeAppetit]

I'm a little over a week away from booking fast passes for our very first ever trip to Disney. I have a pretty good general idea of what rides my family wants to do, what rides we need to Fast Pass, etc but I'm still confused about one thing -

How on earth do I know what TIME I want to do these things?? If nothing else, how do I know that I can get from Ride A to Ride B in that specific time slot? I have a Touring Plans subscription and realize I can go by their recommendation, but I would assume that being it's our first trip and we're traveling with a nearly five year old, we won't necessarily always want to go from A to B to C because hey, if something catches my son's eye and he wants to stop and look at that or go on it or whatnot, if it's reasonable, it doesn't seem like a very magical time to go "Sorry honey, I have every single second planned out, and we have planned to come back to this in three hours and two minutes...." and have him crying all day about me dragging him and around like a dog on a leash.

So, how do I know if I've planned enough time between Fast Passes or should I be studying park maps or what? HELP!! :


Okay. Do you have any idea of the FPs that you are interested in? First pick your park days, then pick three rides/events that are popular and you know that you will want to do, then look at a map. Group them by location. If you have multiples days in one park, then group them even tighter. Example : all Fantasyland. Plan them for late morning, mid day, late afternoon. That's when rides are busiest. You know your sons schedule. Will he fall asleep? Like the previous poster stated, each FP is an hour apart. You have a big window.

It is not hard but it takes a little planning.

 

[KimBean]

A lot of it is guess work. If you are planning to get there first thing in the morning then it is good to start them about 10:30-11:00 when thing start getting busier. If you are not getting there the minute it opens but will be there by then this could also be a good plan. Or you could tour all morning have lunch and then schedule your 3 FP's. This is what I did for "most" days.

I have a basic plan for morning. A break for lunch and then FP's after that when it gets pretty busy and warmer and you start getting tired. I plan on just doing my FP's in that time period and having some down time in between since there is an hour allotment. I feel like it would be stressful to try to fit things in between and make it to your next FP time. This could give time to snack, shop, collect pins, rest, etc. Then it's about time to leave park OR we've done a slower pace for awhile and now its time to run around again.

If you have specific questions for parks or days, don't hesitate to ask. There is a wealth of knowledge on these boards. I find I get better answers when my questions are very specific.

 

[Wendie]

1. You can just pick one of the sets of pre-selected times. (Just make sure that you'll be IN the park at those times.)

2. FP+ will automatically be spaced a minimum of an hour apart.
Example:
You may enter with FP 1 at 10:40AM to 11:40AM,
You may enter with FP 2 at 11:40AM to 12:40PM,
You may enter with FP3 at 2:05PM to 3:05PM.

3. Yup. FP+ has some negatives, for sure.

4. To be fair, having 3 FP+ is not even close to having "every second planned."

5. See #2.

Oh, well that totally helps - I didn't know they were spaced an hour apart - I was picturing us trying to race from one ride to the next with 20 minutes in between them and having to cross half the park.

That helps A LOT.

The "every second planned" was in relation to using a touring plan which DOES seem to plan every second which is why it all seemed so overwhelming.

 

[Robo]

The "every second planned" was in relation to using a touring plan which DOES seem to plan every second which is why it all seemed so overwhelming.

Ah, yes.

It that case, I totally agree.

There will be MANY occasions where the actual situations in the park (good and less-than-good) will cause the "perfect timing" of a listed plan to go NOT according to that plan.

 

[keahgirl8]

Try to be calm and enjoy your trip. This is a vacation after all! For the rides I knew would have very long lines (if they were must-dos), I did FP+. The rest I just went with the flow. I also changed some of my FP+ on the fly if it didn't suit me. I'm not saying you can always do that, but honestly, don't stress out about it.

 

[savannie]

It's not that bad, really. I had worries, too, but you generally get an hour for each FP+. Also, you can usually show up 5 minutes before or up to 15 minutes after and still be allowed on. You shouldn't plan for this, obviously, but if something happens...

If you'll get there early and take a break midday (which I highly recommend), I'd make your FP+ selections for late morning (10:30-12:00). You can then eat lunch and grab another FP+ before you leave the park for when you come back.

If you'll get there later, I'd make the FP+ times for late afternoon, which is the busiest time of day. Ride the less popular attractions as soon as you arrive, dawdle at lunch, and enjoy your FP+ rides from 1 to 4 or so. Once your initial times are up, you may be able to grab more for later. You could also take a break for a few hours around dinnertime, then come back that evening for the fireworks show, etc.

If you need any more tips, I've got a couple of posts about it on the blog in my signature. That's way more info than I can post in this little box. Have fun!