How hard is it to get same-day FP+ for the most popular rides?

[MaxSkywalker]

Am planning a trip to WDW for Oct 9-11 - I haven't been since I was a kid 30 years ago and my wife has never been. We have 3 boys, 11 (thrill seeker), 8 (a bit timid but warming up to faster rides), and 5 (same). We're not interested in any meets with princesses, and honestly they're not all that familiar with Disney characters aside from Pixar (we plan on showing a lot of Disney movies the next few months) so I don't know that they're dying to hit any particular ride (except the Star Wars stuff).

We're only planning on doing one day at MK and one at HS. I think we are going to book a Disney Hotel for the first night, but we're staying at an off-site hotel the rest of the trip (it's free). Would it be better to use the perk of the Disney Hotel for (a) the Extra Magic Hours for HS to get to SWGE?; or (b) for the 60-day window for FP+ at MK?

How difficult would it be to get FP+ for an October weekday for five people (just two for the mountain rides) for the top rides we want to do (7DMT, Splash, Space Mt, BTMR, Buzz, Peter Pan) if we don't have the 60 day window? Or to use it day of? Like I said, I don't think it would kill my kids if we didn't get to do 7DMT, but I think its a ride all of us could do and they would enjoy it.

I think my tentative plan would be to try to hit Buzz and maybe Space Mountain at rope drop, and do FP+ for the mountain rides (with the little kids using it for PP and maybe Winnie the Pooh or something). What do you think?

I don't even want to get into my HS plan yet - sounds like no one really knows what crowds will be like. Thanks for the help, this site is very helpful!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

If you stay onsite 1 night, you get perks for 2 days of parks: arrival and departure day, so you could do both if you like wiith the 60 day advantage.

How hard is kind of variable depending on crowds. You probably won't get FP for 7DMT or P Pan, mostly the rest of the rides you list are possible. At the 30 day, or even 60 day mark, you probably also won't get Slinky Dog Dash. HS FP will be mostly tier 1, so you should be able to get at least 1 tier one FP. (Even at 60 days, nobody can pick more than 1 tier 1 FP.)

If you buy your tickets in advance, and link to MDE, you can book 2 days of FP at 60 days (onsite night) and the rest at 30 days. Most folks report getting 3 good FP most of the year when they book FP at the 30 day mark.

Do keep reading about Fastpass, and how MDE (My Disney Experience) work.

If you and your kids have not been to WDW in many years or ever, then there is a ton for all of you to see that is amazing and doesn't require a FP. More than enough to fill two park days! Many rides don't get super long lines.

What is important though is to make the most of your park day hours to get in many rides. Start early, and stay late if possible. Not to the point of being miserable, but as many as hours as you can happily manage. Crowds are thickest in the mid-day.

 

[MaxSkywalker]

Oh I didn't know that. Does that apply if we don't attend the parks on consecutive days? We were going to hit one park on Wed, my wife has a conference on Thurs, so I was going to take the kids to Cape Canaveral that day, then we would hit the other park Friday. Could we still use the perks?

Also, which would you most recommend avoiding for that Friday (its a holiday weekend) - HS or MK?

 

[JETSDAD]

I'd take advantage of the EEMH at HS if you're doing one night and one day onsite. MK is the easiest park to add FP's so I would just rely on refreshing for FP's there. You will get a mixed response to the question about how difficult it is to get additional FP's. Some will say it's impossible to find anything while others, such as myself, will say that you can find any FP on any day with some refreshing. Most will likely fall in between those 2 extremes.

 

[Davey Jones II]

Your kids will likely go ape for WDW, so I would spend every possible day there, and skip Cape Canaveral.

 

[jjjones325]

Oh I didn't know that. Does that apply if we don't attend the parks on consecutive days? We were going to hit one park on Wed, my wife has a conference on Thurs, so I was going to take the kids to Cape Canaveral that day, then we would hit the other park Friday. Could we still use the perks?

Also, which would you most recommend avoiding for that Friday (its a holiday weekend) - HS or MK?

No, you would get Extra Magic Hours only on your check in and check out days, so based on your current plan, I'd choose the Extra Extra Magic Hours at HS if you think your kids (and you and the wife) want to be up and in the parks by 6 AM.

 

[Kimpossible1]

There is a Halloween party on October 10, and 11 at MK, so the park closes at 6pm for day visitors.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Oh I didn't know that. Does that apply if we don't attend the parks on consecutive days? We were going to hit one park on Wed, my wife has a conference on Thurs, so I was going to take the kids to Cape Canaveral that day, then we would hit the other park Friday. Could we still use the perks?

Also, which would you most recommend avoiding for that Friday (its a holiday weekend) - HS or MK?

unfortunately, the onsite perks only apply specifically for your arrival and departure days.

At 60 days before your arrival- if you have an MDE account, and tickets linked to your account to cover those days, then you can book both your arrival day AND your departure day. (so 61 days from your departure).


Hard to say exactly what will happen for ST in October. The early hours will be quite popular, but I also imagine many folks will wait to go until the 2nd ride opens to see the land. It will still likely be a bit crazy in October though.

As the other poster said, if you can't do consecutive days, I'd probably prioritize the HS early hours.

Tough choice. You might even think about doing HS very early and hopping to MK about 11am on your HS day. And ideally spending 1.5 days in MK. or even .5 day in HS, .5 day in Epcot, then 1 day in MK.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Be sure to stay until closing time as the lines for the headliners can get very short, and you can often get multiple rerides on the headliners.

My fondest Disney memory is chasing my then 3 year old daughter back to the entrance of Space Mountain moments before midnight with her screaming One More Time Daddy all the way.

I’ll bet your 5 and 8 year olds make some lasting memories too.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Your kids will likely go ape for WDW, so I would spend every possible day there, and skip Cape Canaveral.

or do Cape Canaveral another day of your visit.

NASA is also a very memorable experience!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Be sure to stay until closing time as the lines for the headliners can get very short, and you can often get multiple rerides on the headliners.

Sadly, the 2 days he is considering are party days, when MK closes at 6pm. Sometimes MK is a bit slow on party days, at least much of the day (until it gets closer to 6pm).

I suppose another option might be to go to the party one of the nights you are there instead of a regular park day, or in addition to it.

 

[Kimpossible1]

Have you downloaded My Disney Experience App? You can link tickets and book fastpasses through that and also be able to modify and change them around. It sounds like your whole party might not be doing the same thing so you could get FP for some people and not others. It is much easier to get FP for smaller parties. My sister visited this week and we went to all the parks and were able to ride pretty much everything with just refreshing and modifying times and just getting 2 at a time. I even got a same day Flights of Passage by just refreshing. Yesterday we had 4 people in the party but were able to get Frozen at the same time just by getting it for 2 and 2. The second 2 were at a different time but I kept hitting refresh and it eventually popped up. It's a little like a game using FP, just make sure you bring a battery charger. LOL! Good luck

 

[Mambo Junkie]

I agree with the EEMH for DHS. Last year I got MK headliners the day before. We were having dinner and decided to switch the next day for MK instead of DHS. I immediately got 6 fps for SDMT and 5 for Peter Pan. I also got BTMRR or Splash, but gave them up in favor of Winnie the Pooh and Dumbo (we had little ones with us). I was never able to get the 6th Peter Pan that day but the next morning (very early) I got the 6th with a 10 minute overlap time, meaning my party had to wait 10 minutes from their start time until my fp was ready.
ETA: People are always changing their mind - we have done it enough times ourselves.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

I just read about the party dates - if you go to the party you can get in at 4 pm and stay until midnight. While the parties are way more crowded than in the past, you can pretty much accomplish most of your check list. Plus the tickets are cheaper than a full park day. If you do this definitely look for fps (people who realize the park closes early change plans) and you can book 3 fps (starting at around 3:20 up until 5:30. We had 3:15 - 4:15 fps for Space Mountain one year, got in a few minutes before 4 and headed straight for SM. Our next fps were Mine Train from 4:20 - 5:20, then another for 5:20 - 6:00. Then the party starts!

 

[JeninTexas]

I would also vote to skip Cape Canaveral (or do it another day of your trip). I recently booked FPs for 3 at 30 days out and was unable to get SDMT, but I did get Peter Pan, Space, and Splash.

 

[dlavender]

Depending on party size, you can get almost anything except 7DMT

 

[Searc]

Your kids will likely go ape for WDW, so I would spend every possible day there, and skip Cape Canaveral.

I would absolutely NOT skip Cape Canaveral (Kennedy Space Center)! It is amazing.

 

[JETSDAD]

Depending on party size, you can get almost anything except 7DMT

Even 7DMT can be found. Shortly after I replied yesterday I went and looked for 3 people...it took me about 5 minutes to find 7DMT for 3 people for less than an hour later. We add it every MK day at least once. Agreed that it is harder for larger parties, in which case I would recommend splitting the party and looking for overlapping times.

 

[Davey Jones II]

I would absolutely NOT skip Cape Canaveral (Kennedy Space Center)! It is amazing.

Okay, but would you not agree that WDW is much better for kids (and takes many days to tour)?

 

[Searc]

Okay, but would you not agree that WDW is much better for kids (and takes many days to tour)?

No, KSC is worth the time investment. Disney is not the only place to have fun.