I know I'm late to the game...

[XYSRUS]

Can I just say I'm not a fan of the Fastpass sysytem. I don't like to plan so far in advance. I like to pick my park the night before! lol Help me accept the change!

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Honestly, I'm not much of a fan, either. Since it seems to be the way of the world right now, though, I am learning strategies to make me hate it less or at least ways to continue enjoying myself even though my regular touring strategy has been changed.

One technique I have used is to have an ADR for dinner. Then, I choose my FP+ reservations for that park in the late afternoon and evening. That way, in the morning, I can decide which park I want to go to and just know I'm going to take a midday break to either hang out at the resort or to hop.

Another thing I have done is work to accept the idea that I'm not going to get to be spontaneous at the parks so I am spontaneous in other ways. I spend a lot less time in the parks since lines are longer and I can't fast pass what I ant when I want anymore. So now, I plan to leisurely head to the park in late morning to early afternoon and wake up in the morning and do whatever I want. I might go have breakfast by the pool, head to Tri-Circle D Ranch, or go resort hopping. If I don't do that in the morning, I will do it in the afternoon or evening.

We aren't going to get our old way back so the way I see it, I can sit around and complain about it (which I have certainly done my share of and actually do still do) or I can try to find a way to work with the system to still have a good time.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Can I just say I'm not a fan of the Fastpass sysytem. I don't like to plan so far in advance. I like to pick my park the night before! lol Help me accept the change!

With exception for specific desired activities, you can wait until the last minute.

There is no obligation to alter your planning.

That said:
Mine train
Some meet and greets (Anna and Elsa, in particular)
Fireworks/illuminations
And parades

Will pretty much be consistently unavailable.
Though, some have popped up as others have cancelled.

Plenty of guests eschew FP+ and have a great time anyway.

 

[ForeverDisney6793]

My daughter and I used to pick a park based on the bus that road up to our resort. Did not do that the last two trips because of the new system.

 

[JimmyV]

With exception for specific desired activities, you can wait until the last minute.

There is no obligation to alter your planning.

That may depend on what was planned. "Availability" and "availability at a desirable time" are not always the same thing. One of the most praised features of FP+ is the ability to pick convenient times and plan your day. But by waiting to the last minute, one is pretty much going to have to take whatever is left, leaving little choice or ability to map out the day. It may be true that FPs can be had the day before. But if all you are seeing are times in the late afternoon, or during dinner time, that may not work out. In fact, that sort of limited availability seems to be what people liked least about FP-. With FP-, if you were in a park in the morning, you were assured of not getting a 6:00 p.m. return time. With a last minute FP+, that might be all that is available to you. That fact may or may not matter. Just pointing out that it is a possibility.

 

[Planogirl]

I don't like so much pre-planning either but the actual choosing of the FP+ is easy and painless.

I saw a lot of different strategies but decided to shoot for late morning and early afternoon. I want to do something at rope drop plus hope to get more FP+ later in the day. Honestly, I don't want to wait at kiosks to add more either but maybe they'll add phone access eventually. That would be a huge improvement IMO.

 

[lustergirl]

I don't mind the new system. Last week I booked my fast passes and got what I wanted. But then again my situation is alot different then others. I don't have any small kids that want to meet and greet. I also don't do any of the coaster rides, I am a wimp lol. If I had smaller kids in tow I would realize that it might be a bit difficult. In about two years I will start taking my grandson when turns that age. My attitude may change then. But basically I am pretty laid back right now and go with the flow. I found myself lucky to get a fast pass for Wishes one time with a preferred viewing.

 

[kaetra]

Planning in advance is the least worst bit for me. The only way I can find to try not to hate it is to lower my expectations of how much we will be able to do at the parks.

Or I could learn to love waiting in line. If only I could get away with taking one of these with me -

 

[powbob]

I'm a local who used to spontaneously go to WDW all of the time. Fastpass+ has changed all of that. I'm an inveterate park hopper having owned FRAP's for years. This along with many other changes in the last few years has resulted in my decision to change over to a Universal AP when my current WDW one expires. Universal is much more conducive to spontaneity than WDW is now.

 

[Cormoran]

I've got FP's booked for the evenings on our upcoming trip. The mornings and early afternoons are going to be spent exploring other Orlando area attractions. I didn't mind booking FP's, but now every time I try accessing my account Stitch comes on to tell me someone ate the page. I am really looking forward to our upcoming vacation, even though I know it is a total paradigm shift. I am paying more and experiencing considerably less since the implementation of FP+. For me, the biggest question I have is will I still think a WDW vacation has value for my family. I honestly don't know.

Don't expect the same type of experience that you had on previous trips. I think the best advice I've read on these boards is to lower your expectations.

 

[luvgoing2disney]

I feel your concern as I was the same in our previous trips. Each day was planned but I was ready to change if weather or something unexpected happened.

But we have our first FP+ trip coming up in 8 days, and the FP+ selection was MUCH easier than I had anticipated. We may have not gotten the exact times we were looking for, but I did not stay up till midnight to make our selection either. I was able to get a lunch at BOG which I did not expect, either.

So right now I am in a waiting period to see just how it plays out. But given my first experience so far, I really can't complain. Now if we get there and we have rainy days which under the old system would have been much easier to change out plans, and find that FP+'s are not available for another park, well I will just have to live with it. The system is not going away, so I have a choice to accept it and make the best of it or let it dampen my spirits. I'm going into it with an open mind and will just see what happens.

 

[Laurenanne]

Don't expect the same type of experience that you had on previous trips. I think the best advice I've read on these boards is to lower your expectations.

I think it is sad that the best advice that can be given is to lower your expectations. True, but sad.

 

[Laketravis]

With exception for specific desired activities, you can wait until the last minute.

There is no obligation to alter your planning.

That said:
Mine train
Some meet and greets (Anna and Elsa, in particular)
Fireworks/illuminations
And parades

Will pretty much be consistently unavailable.
Though, some have popped up as others have cancelled.

Plenty of guests eschew FP+ and have a great time anyway.

Is op asking about just MK or any park? I've noticed attractions in other parks where all FP's have been exhausted well before "the last minute".

For instance, I just checked HS for tomorrow and FP's are all gone for TSMM, ToT, and Frozen Sing-a-Long.


.

 

[Cormoran]

Is op asking about just MK or any park? I've noticed attractions in other parks where all FP's have been exhausted well before "the last minute".

For instance, I just checked HS for tomorrow and FP's are all gone for TSMM, ToT, and Frozen Sing-a-Long.


.

I think MK is used as the shining example of both FP+ availability and functionality. But the truth is in the tiered parks, there is no SDFP availability unless of course you want to ride Figment.

 

[JoshuaShaw]

Magic Kingdom has an unfair advantage over the other parks by having more than five rides.

 

[Mickey&Mouse]

Can I just say I'm not a fan of the Fastpass sysytem. I don't like to plan so far in advance. I like to pick my park the night before! lol Help me accept the change!

Totally with you on this. I'm a planner, but the level of planning for the new system is....well, not enjoyable. Oh well. I'll reserve final judgement for May when we actually get to use it, but the planning- Holy Cow!!

Don't expect the same type of experience that you had on previous trips. I think the best advice I've read on these boards is to lower your expectations.

I think it is sad that the best advice that can be given is to lower your expectations. True, but sad.

This seems to be the smartest way to approach WDW right now unfortunately.

 

[Shaden]

I don't think you are one of the "small vocal minority" of people who doesn't like FP+, so I am pretty sure you aren't in fact allowed to say you don't like it. There are only a handful of people on these boards that don't like it, the vast majority of people like it, so you must be lying.

In all seriousness, I very much understand how you feel. We too like to play things very much on the fly, like a PP said one of our favourite things to do used to be to jump on the first bus that showed up in the morning when we made it down to the stop .... but that seems to be out the window at this point.

 

[Eeyore's Wife]

Plan a trip to Disneyland instead! They still use the traditional Fastpass system! The expansions at California Adventure are finally done and such a joy! Staying off property there can be far closer to the parks than almost all the on-property locations at Disney World. No DDP, and food quality, but not variety, is much better. It is "Walt's Park" and during much of the year has far more tolerable weather than is found in Florida.

Grab a room at the Candy Cane Inn for a nice continental breakfast each morning and a dedicated shuttle or quick 10 minute walk to the park. You can also stay at the Howard Johnson's which was designed by the same architect as the Disneyland Hotel, and has a lot of the same feel. The HoJo water park includes water slides enjoyable by all, even the non-swimmer thanks to their innovative design, and an amazing view into Tomorrowland along with a wonderful tot splash spot. At HoJo you can watch the fireworks from the hot tub or from a theme park view room. They also have family suites in a pirate theme with two bathrooms, King Sized bed and bunks!

 

[MrInfinity]

I think it is sad that the best advice that can be given is to lower your expectations. True, but sad.

That's your advice? To "help me accept the change"? Just lower your expectations? That's sad. For you I mean.

OP, have fun on your trip. You can lower your expectations if you want - or just go have fun. If you like to pick your park the night before, do you hop? If so, pick afternoon Fast Passes. Then you can still pick the park you want in the morning. Rope drop and late nights always were, and still are your best friend. Use your Fast Passes in the middle of the day, when lines are the longest. There are many benefits, one of which is being able to pick your return times instead of pulling tickets in the park... this lets you fit your rides into your day, minimize walking, and save some time over just taking what you get. FP+ helped us to slow down and not run around as much, while still riding about the same total number of things.

If the planning in advance bothers you, you'll find tons of advice out here. It's usually more helpful than "lower your expectations". When do you go? Have you gone before in FP+ times? You really can't go wrong picking your FPs between 11 and 5, or 5 and 9 if you're hopping somewhere at night. As always, avoid the crowds. If they're going to the Fantasyland in the morning, head toward Tomorrowland or Frontierland.

If you're staying onsite, one of your biggest perks is access to book the SDMT and A&E before everyone else. These are huge time savers.

 

[cakebaker]

Telling you to lower your expectations won't go very far in helping you to continue to have a great vacation at WDW. The previous poster gave you some great tips to maximize fp+. Will it be different from vacations using paper fp? Probably...it is for us, but in a very good way. Different is not always bad.

My advice is listen to those who have found ways to make fp+ work for them. You really won't gain much by paying attention to people who tell you all is lost and you just can't have as good a time as you used to. If you still want to go to WDW, being told to lower your expectations or someone telling you they've given up and aren't going back isn't really helping you-which is what you asked in your post.