I feel like a newbie!!!

[3sweetpeas]

Hi Everyone!

This is my first trip in two years and I've been really busy and am so clueless about fastpass +.

Should I book my 3 FP in the morning or afternoon? The website is telling me my best option is night but then I couldn't get any more all day. Why would that be better than morning?

I started with Magic Kingdom and chose SpaceM, BTM and Splash Mountain. I feel like a newbie not a regular right now! lol!

We are going Dec 7th and just booked so I'm already at a severe disadvantage.
Because of that, I'm not sure how I feel about this.

Thanks for any input!

 

[kellypooh]

I'm interested in what people have to say about this, too....I haven't been to Disney World since 2009. I loved the regular fastpass but the fastpass+ thing has me

 

[nuzmom]

There's a pretty sizable thread by mesaboy2 on FP+. The first post has tons of FAQ and details. Hopefully, he'll be along shortly with the link in his signature, but in the meantime, I think this link will work http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3326057

I went with booking 3 in the mid to late morning. How late depends upon how busy I think the park will be that day. Basically, I want to ride a few at rope drop and then use the FP+ when it starts to get busy. Then, hopefully, we can snag extras as we tour in the afternoon/evening.

For Dec 7th, I would expect pretty light crowds, so around mid-day may be a good choice for you. Personally, I would try to book my 3 between 11am and 4pm. Then I would snag a 4th before eating dinner, to be used after eating. After using eating and using 4th, get a 5th. Ride stand by until it's time or use it immediately (depending on what it is). As the evening goes on, the lines should shorten.

When booking, Disney isn't tell you the best option for YOU. Just giving their "best" option. Just book it and then move them around best you can. For a few things, times may be limited.

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

Hi Everyone!

This is my first trip in two years and I've been really busy and am so clueless about fastpass +.

Should I book my 3 FP in the morning or afternoon? The website is telling me my best option is night but then I couldn't get any more all day. Why would that be better than morning?

I started with Magic Kingdom and chose SpaceM, BTM and Splash Mountain. I feel like a newbie not a regular right now! lol!

We are going Dec 7th and just booked so I'm already at a severe disadvantage.
Because of that, I'm not sure how I feel about this.

Thanks for any input!

I would do it late morning/early afternoon. No need to do it 9-11 as the crowds should be lighter. But once you use the 3 you can get more so I'd schedule them for late morning/early afternoon when the crowds start arriving. Then you can get more (not to most tier 1 rides)

 

[JimmyV]

One of the reasons for booking late in the day is that the "additional FPs" can sometimes be illusory. By booking early in the day, you risk using FPs at a time when the lines are short in hopes of getting more FPs, only to find out that nothing good is left. I have a very savvy Disney relative who just returned and he gave me his full download. In essence, what he said was that Rope Drop is still the best line beating strategy, and that early FPs were a waste since he couldn't get decent availability after that. So after a couple of days, he swapped all his FPs for the afternoon and early evening and depended on old, tried and true line-beating strategies from RD until lunch.

Of course, there are also reports here where people went at slower times and were able to use a dozen FPs throughout the day because availability was wide open. A lot of the best strategies are time dependent.

 

[flatlandcycle]

Isn't this a Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) night? Regular ticket holders get kicked out at 7 p.m. The party ticket holders can book FP+ during the 4-7pm time period, so they are taking FP+ slots. The system shouldn't let you book FP+ when you cannot be in the park, after 7 p.m.

The crowd level usually isn't bad in MK before the MVMCP. I would expect FP+ availability.

Something seems off here.

 

[lustergirl]

I know the feeling. I havent been in awhile as well.

 

[Tondee]

Depends on the crowds. If crowded I would schedule them in the afternoon and make sure to do rope drop. I did it both ways and trying to add times was a pain. One time, I sent the family into the tikki room while standing in the LONG line to schedule another fast pass. I was sad to miss the tikki room.

 

[Mikie]

Strategies abound, but I was never one to try to accumulate as many FPs as possible. I get to the parks at rope drop (or very shortly after) take advantage of the short lines for the first 90-120 minutes and start scheduling my FPs at 10:30, 11:00 or later. I didn't want to be checking my watch often, so I tried to bunch my FPs by location as well as before and after lunch, so that I would do a FPS, eat, do my next 2FPs back to back. I would be done with FPs by about 2:00pm and able to look for additional if I wanted - however, I usually still had shows to do, or rides with short waits anyway, or parades to watch and didn't choose to stand in line for a kiosk to see what's left. Lines shorten again in the evening and I was back to picking rides with tolerable waits. This was during "moderate" crowds.

 

[ZoZo]

One of the reasons for booking late in the day is that the "additional FPs" can sometimes be illusory. By booking early in the day, you risk using FPs at a time when the lines are short in hopes of getting more FPs, only to find out that nothing good is left. I have a very savvy Disney relative who just returned and he gave me his full download. In essence, what he said was that Rope Drop is still the best line beating strategy, and that early FPs were a waste since he couldn't get decent availability after that. So after a couple of days, he swapped all his FPs for the afternoon and early evening and depended on old, tried and true line-beating strategies from RD until lunch.

Of course, there are also reports here where people went at slower times and were able to use a dozen FPs throughout the day because availability was wide open. A lot of the best strategies are time dependent.

This would be my worry - that you'd be hoping to get more FPs after using the original three, but you wouldn't be able to get any for the more popular rides. Especially at parks like Epcot, AK, and DHS, where there are a small number of headliner rides that would be out of FPs early. With MK, at least you have other options for more "minor" rides and attractions for FPs, since there are so many options. But with the other three parks, it seems like you wouldn't be likely to be able to get late-day FPs on a last-minute basis. And having to wait in line at a kiosk for FPs can be a pain!

I say use the strategy recommended here - go to parks at rope drop, ride standby for a couple of hours while the lines are shorter, then have your FPs scheduled for late morning/early afternoon. Then see what you can get after that (but don't count on getting anything on the most popular rides, unless you're going at a truly slow time of year).

This also helps me reconfirm the idea of using a FP+ for parades and fireworks. I used to think "what a waste, if you could use your FPs early and get more!" But now I think I might try that sometime. Folks seem to be reporting that the parade/fireworks FPs are great!

 

[Kathryn777]

We went in a similar crowd time and found we needed them from 11 on. Try and split up your group and get overlapping times as singles and you'll likely find the times you want