If you have small kids and bigger kids, how are you doing your FP+ selections?

[mommy2paisley]

I have avoided thinking about FP+ until I now HAVE to think about it! LOL We can start selecting July 1. I knew what ressies we would make for dining three months before the 180-day mark......but this is a new level of planning that I'm not enjoying!!!

So I'm wondering what families similar to ours are doing for FP+. We have DD who is 8.5 and 50 inches, so she can do pretty much everything. DS who will be 3 a few weeks before we go, may not even get to 36 inches. He's always been small for his age.

So, I want to get the FB+ that my DD will enjoy, and my husband goes on most of those with her. I just can't handle the bigger rides (read, TOT that DD wants to ride 20 times/day!) But I don't want DS to have his thoughts of Disney being waiting around on DH/DD to ride rides.

I was thinking I'd do TSM for DS/me and RRC for DH/DD on the first day, and also TOT for DD. Do you-all do that? If so, does it feel like you're not really "together" on vacation?

I just need someone to blog (is there such a thing) of all the scenarios of different families/singles/whatever using this new FP+!!! LOL

And I'm not sure WHY I'm stressing out about it (except that I'm such a planner for our Disney trips) because we rarely used FP in the past. We always go when it's pretty slow (or slow to us), so don't really see the need for them......but worry if we don't have them, then we'll need them!


UGH!!!! Someone help me figure out a plan!!!!!

 

[DisneyBabies]

That's a pretty big gap in ages! We have a big age gap between #2 and #3, so I can see where it would be an issue.

What we are doing is letting each child choose one FP each (or in the case of the 3 year old, you choosing an appropriate one) and then DH and I alternate choosing one depending on which park we are in. That takes care of our allotment of 3 per day.

There are always rides that one child wants to go on that the other can't or doesn't want to go on, so we don't see a problem splitting up for a ride or two. We make sure we take turns for the rides so the kids don't start in with "But, HE/SHE just got to pick the ride! When do I get to pick?!"

You actually can't do the scenario you laid out for HS because the rides are tiered; of the tiered rides, you can only choose one for FP.
HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS (Tiering)

A - Rock 'n' Roller Coaster (Single Rider also available)
A - Toy Story Midway Mania
A - Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
B - Star Tours
B - The Great Movie Ride
C - American Idol Experience
C - Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage *Priority Access
C - Disney Junior - Live on Stage *Reserved Area (center-front section, poor viewing, pic @ Post #459)
C - Fantasmic *Reserved Area (left-front section)
C - Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular *Priority Access
C - Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show
C - Muppet Vision 3D
C - Voyage of the Little Mermaid *Priority Access

(You should take a look at this thread [thread]3143281[/thread] it has a great explanation of the FP+ system)

There really isn't much you could FP for a 3 year old in HS, so I would focus more on DD. MK will really be the park for the baby. Hope this helps.

 

[sethschroeder]

Think the last poster misread you can do different tier 1 rides for you and DS while DD and DH pick a different ride.

 

[U2_rocks!]

If the family is all linked together on one MDE, can different FPs be picked for different family members? This is something I need to know too.

 

[Crl1817]

I'm in a similar position as dd is four and ds is 11.

My understanding is you can split the group for fast passes though it is a bit of a pain to execute. (I haven't done it yet, I'm basing this on posts here).

I haven't worked out the exact attractions yet, but my general plan is to split us up for one fast pass per day (so for example in MK, dd and I go for A & E and ds and dh go for Space Mountian). We will probably also split up for a ride or two at rope drop. We will eat together and I will use the other FPs for things we can do together. We are also splitting up for most of one day, as I am taking dd to the Perfectly Princess Tea and dh and ds will go to the park of ds' choice and ds will get to decide what to do.

I'd like to be together, but I also don't want to have my 11 stuck doing only the things his little sister can do and likes (she's a chicken so even though she is over the minimum height for a lot of rides, she won't enjoy a bunch of them). I figure if he gets to ride Space Mt. and skip A & E, he can suck up Small World. Conversely, I am definitely not dragging her on things she would be afraid of. So I'm going for compromise.

 

[MOpGrad2013]

We just got back. 2 adults, 2 teens and 1 preschooler. If you are willing to split up, you will be fine.

In DHS, DH went with the teens on RnRC while I went with DS3 on TSMM. We had times and places for us to meet up.

When selecting in MDE, you can choose FP for just one person and then try the copy feature. I say try because sometimes it only has opening for 1 when you first reserve. I found it easiest to choose for DH and the teens at once. Then I chose for myself and the little guy.

After every one has their selections, you can work on tweaking times if needed. We tweaked it so we were on Star Tours together--times were overlapping. 3pm and 3:15p. Just go at the later time.

Once you start planning the "must do" for each person, you will be able to see what your priority and then click the magic buttons. It's pretty simple to do (I am not tech savvy or patient). And if you are still throwing your hands in the air, you can use some time and have the Help Line assist you in setting them.

 

[shafke]

Here is what you should do.

Book FP for RnR for 2
Book FP for Toy story for the other 2 at the same time.
When time for FP everyone goes over to RnR. Since DS is too short to ride you get a rider swap FP and then head over to Toy Story. DD can then ride twice on RnR.

With ToT here is what I would do...
Book 4 Fp+... DH goes on with DD and you get rider swap FP.
DD and DH then go back on with your FP and get another rider swap.
The swap FP are good for the day (sometimes they will have an expiration of later in the week) so DD can get 4 rides on ToT.

You can do this at any ride where there are height restrictions.

 

[MOpGrad2013]

If the family is all linked together on one MDE, can different FPs be picked for different family members? This is something I need to know too.

Oh yes! We only have one MDE. As long as each person has valid admission, you can set them all.

The only odd glitch in the system--you may not be able to see all the FP+ on the vacation itinerary page, but it will be seen on the "my plans for this day" page. It will also show any time overlaps.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

MY DS is 3 and hovering around 37.5 (C'mon growth spurt!We want 7DMT) and we will also be with my Mom and DW who are not thrill seekers. My Dad and I love all the intense rides, and we are going at a very low projected crowd time. What we are doing is booking the thrill rides on my Mom and wife's bands then will switch at the park so my Dad and I never wait lengthy standby times nor should my lil' guy because aside from TSMM there aren't long anticipate standby times for any of his attractions.

MK:
Dad and I FP+

BTMRR
7DMT
Space Mountain

Mom, Wife, DS FP+
Splash Mountain (To be given to Dad and I, while they are riding SB on PotC)
7DMT (If he is tall enough he'll love this)
Buzz

This doesn't really work with DHS though because we all need to FP+ TSMM so that eliminates our ability to grab RoRC as well.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

Here is what you should do.

Book FP for RnR for 2
Book FP for Toy story for the other 2 at the same time.
When time for FP everyone goes over to RnR. Since DS is too short to ride you get a rider swap FP and then head over to Toy Story. DD can then ride twice on RnR.

With ToT here is what I would do...
Book 4 Fp+... DH goes on with DD and you get rider swap FP.
DD and DH then go back on with your FP and get another rider swap.
The swap FP are good for the day (sometimes they will have an expiration of later in the week) so DD can get 4 rides on ToT.

You can do this at any ride where there are height restrictions.

I agree with most of this, except you cant get FP for both RNCC & TOT on the same day. (well they could if they can pull the 4th FP) They could do this if they have two days at DHS, or you have do the rider swap with the standby line too

 

[fairestoneofall]

my kids are 12, 9 and (just turned) 3. on our last trip, we just split up things that the older kids can do versus things that the younger one can do.

at Epcot, we did Test Track stand-by and got a rider swap. so, yes, youngest DS had to wait, but he was okay. when everyone else rode Soarin', my oldest DD and i took the youngest DS to meet Mickey. at MK, we all ride Peter Pan. we had FPs for Big Thunder, but youngest DS had fallen asleep at that point, so he didn't feel he was missing anything. and we just usually swap and some of us ride while some wait with the youngest and then the others ride. it normally doesn't take that long.

we did have FPs for Space Mountain, which my ILs don't ride. so, they had FPs for Buzz, which my youngest loves. so, that's what we did.

so sometimes we split and sometimes we just wait it out. with FPs, your wait usually isn't crazy long and the youngest doesn't mind a little break.

 

[shafke]

I agree with most of this, except you cant get FP for both RNCC & TOT on the same day. (well they could if they can pull the 4th FP) They could do this if they have two days at DHS, or you have do the rider swap with the standby line too

RnR is Tier1, ToT is Tier 2. So these can both be booked on the same day.

 

[jcemom]

It obviously takes a bit of planning but it can be done. It's MUCH easier if you're willing to split up. Just figure out what DS can't do and what you will do with him while DH and DD do those things. I would not spend my time just standing around waiting. That's never fun. I would look at the FP in terms of how many you have to spend "pooled" rather than sets of four, for the most part. So you will have four total tier 1 FP, and 8 tier 2 FP. At non-tiered parks you will have 12 FP.

DHS: Use tier 1 FP for TSM. At rope drop DH and DD go straight to RnRC and ToT, while you take DS to meet characters in front of the hat. You all meet up afterwards and head to TSM with FP and continue on with your day from there...Little Mermaid? HISTK playground? MuppetVision? etc.

or

You all go straight to TSM at rope drop and ride standby. Afterwards you take DS to Disney Junior show while DH and DD ride RnRC and ToT with FP. In this scenario, you could get a full set of RnRC FP, give DH and DD all four magicbands, and they could ride RnRC twice. Or split your tier 1s, get two for RnRC for DH and DD, and two for TSM so you and DS get to ride that a second time.

AK: At whichever point in your day you get to Dinoland, you take DS to the Boneyard playground while DH and DD hit the "big kid" rides (Primeval Whirl, Dinosaur, Everest). You can also take him on Triceratop Spin. At his age my DD would happily ride that multiple times. I would get two FP for Dinosaur, two for P Whirl (unless you're in Dinoland early or late enough in the day that you won't need them) and four for Everest so they can ride Everest twice. If you hit the Safari at rope drop you won't need FP there. Kali is another ride you will want to FP if your DD likes getting wet (you and DS could linger on the Maharaja Trek while they ride or you can just let him play in the fountains nearby.

Epcot: Not much the little ones need FP for here. You can split your tier 1 FP here, get two for Test Track and two for Soarin. That will make your day easier as you won't have to rush to one of them at rope drop. While your DH and DD ride Test Track and Mission Space you can let DS play in the exit area at M:Space or in the pop jet fountains outside. While DH and DD ride Soarin you can take DS on Figment, let him play in the Seas Pavilion, or take him into Innoventions to the Where's the Fire? exhibit. Pretty much everything else you can do together, I think.

 

[Mel2421]

I figured out some. Like A & E I am thinking means Anna and Elsa? Thanks!

 

[jcemom]

I figured out some. Like A & E I am thinking means Anna and Elsa? Thanks!

TSM = Toy Story Mania
RnRC = Rock n Roller Coaster
ToT = Tower of Terror
HISTK = Honey I Shrunk the Kids

BTMRR = Big Thunder Mt Railroad
7DMT = Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

 

[mommy2paisley]

Thank you to everyone who gave input!!! I can kind of wrap my head around our planning now that I have read your advice!


One more question. We are checking in at Pop for one night once we get to the world. Our package will start the next day (Sunday) at Pop. Will we be able to make our FP selections on the date they gave us for the one-night stay for the entire trip or will I have to wait another day? Clear as mud? We check in on August 30 and they said we can select FP on July 1. We got another in the mail for our package that starts August 31 and it says July 2. Just wondering if I'll have to wait until July 2 or can do it all on July 1?