How early do you book your first MK FP after rope drop?

[AllieBoo]

We just got back from a week long trip, and I scheduled all of our FP's for 9, 10 and 11 am. We are not rope drop people, but we stayed at the Contemporary and the Beach Club, so since we were within walking distance of MK and EP, we were able to get to the parks shortly before our first FP window closed. I schedule our first three for things like 7DMT, Space, Soarin, etc. As soon as we've scanned our bands at the third ride, I jump on the app and see what ride has the longest wait time in the land that we are currently in, and try to grab one for that. We then work our way around the park riding everything we want to in one land and then moving to the next. Not everything needs a FP, so I only grab ones for rides with wait times of 15 min or more. I've had great success getting 4th and 5th fp's for things like FEA and Soarin. We were able to ride Soarin three times one day. Using this strategy, we never wait more than 10 min for a ride (with the exception of FOP).

 

[hiroMYhero]

So your additional FPs (after your first three) can be at your second park of the day? I wasn't aware of that. Is that a new rule? We've only had one trip so far with FP+.

You don't have to book 3 for Park#1.

If you only book 2, as soon as you enter the FP#1 line, you can book FP#3 for Park#2.

See the FP FAQ Addendum linked in the FP FAQ for more hopping tips.

 

[superman007]

Good strategies. But if you're park hopping, I think it's a must to have your FPs waiting for you at the second park of the day. The only exception might be if you're hopping in order to do some nighttime event, and no headliner rides.

I'm making plans this year to do just this. I'm park hopping between Epcot and AK on two days. Day 1 we're rope dropping AK and using FP 9,10,11:45 (NRJ around lunch). Pool/nap break for little guys then stroll around Epcot world showcase with ADR. Next day rope drop FEA at Epcot and do what we can (soarin and test track aren't priority rides for my family). Break/nap/swim at resort and head to AK for 3, 4, 7:30 FP. I could only get FOP at 7:30 as those are all gone for morning times already 60 days out.

This plan is nice for us because there are few rides in Epcot we have to do, and allowed us to try both tier 1 rides in AK. It's a bit of a risk for FEA, but we'll just have to join the crazy mob for that one..

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I'm making plans this year to do just this. I'm park hopping between Epcot and AK on two days. Day 1 we're rope dropping AK and using FP 9,10,11:45 (NRJ around lunch). Pool/nap break for little guys then stroll around Epcot world showcase with ADR. Next day rope drop FEA at Epcot and do what we can (soarin and test track aren't priority rides for my family). Break/nap/swim at resort and head to AK for 3, 4, 7:30 FP. I could only get FOP at 7:30 as those are all gone for morning times already 60 days out.

This plan is nice for us because there are few rides in Epcot we have to do, and allowed us to try both tier 1 rides in AK. It's a bit of a risk for FEA, but we'll just have to join the crazy mob for that one..

This is what we do and it's always worked well for us since we park hop. We sometimes hit AM EMH so hopping to another park in the evening is important due to the AM park getting overly crowded. Also the last time we went you had to go to a kiosk to get any extra FP+. That was a pain because there was always a long line. Didn't make sense to wait in one long line to avoid another long line.

 

[lauris87]

9, 10, 11am, then get a 4th fast pass for our evening park after a midday break. Or, we rope dropped a park with no fast passes, midday break, then had fast passes for 5, 6, and 7pm at evening park. We did a mix of both strategies last week, and it worked our great. We didn't wait more than 20- 30 minutes for anything, and did all the major headliners. One day this past week we were able to use 6 fast passes at 2 different parks (3 in am, 3 in pm), with a midday break.

 

[anomamatt]

With this method I don't need to wait an hour between FPs, right?

Yep, exactly!

I would go ahead and make Buzz for 10:00 - then as soon as I scan my mb at 7D, I'd 'modify' my Buzz to as early as possible. (And you could even make a 3rd for 11:00 and just modify it after you modified your 2nd FP)

Great addition! I like this idea.

 

[mesaboy2]

So your additional FPs (after your first three) can be at your second park of the day? I wasn't aware of that. Is that a new rule? We've only had one trip so far with FP+.

This and other (hopefully) helpful info can be found in the first few posts of the FP FAQ.

 

[superman007]

This is what we do and it's always worked well for us since we park hop. We sometimes hit AM EMH so hopping to another park in the evening is important due to the AM park getting overly crowded. Also the last time we went you had to go to a kiosk to get any extra FP+. That was a pain because there was always a long line. Didn't make sense to wait in one long line to avoid another long line.

Good to know this plan might work! I'm also using EMH for Epcot on day 2 so hoping there will be less need for FP that morning.

 

[katytrott]

This is such a helpful thread for our planning - thanks everyone!