In your opinion, does FP impact standby times during slow seasons?

[Sweet Pea Reed]

Hi everyone. My last trip to WDW was in February of 2013, and I'm getting ready to plan a trip for February 2017. Last trip, we used FP for usually one ride in each park. We stayed seven days in the parks, and did rope drop most every day. I can remember then that rides like the Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, Figment, Seas with Nemo and the Voyage of the Little Mermaid were short waits. Most standby times were nearly walk-ons, others maybe 10 minutes. But now, with the new FP system and the tiers, my question is, is there a perception that wait times are longer in the rides I've mentioned above? I'd personally prefer to use maybe 1 or 2 FPs a day, since I'm not keen on so much planning. However, if folks are finding that standby times for those rides are longer, I might have to bite the bullet. Thanks for input!

 

[Sweet Pea Reed]

Hi everyone. I posted this question in the FP section, but haven't yet received anyone's opinion about my question: With the tier system, are standby lines impacted, especially during the "slower" times of year?

And here's why I'm asking for thoughts. DH and I have planned a trip for February 2017, and with shorter park hours during that time of year, we tend not to park hop. ADR window is coming up in two weeks, so we'll plan park days based on dining reservations.

When we went in February 2013, rides like Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Little Mermaid, Figment and Spaceship earth were mostly walk-ons, or maybe a 10 minute wait. With the new tier system, are waits at B and C tier rides impacted at all? I'm not keen on booking FPs beyond the bigger 2 or max 3 attractions in each park. I'd rather just book FP for the major attractions and not to have to worry about doing so for the lower tiers. We like to go with the flow.

However, if standby lines for those lower tier attractions are longer, then I guess I'll have to change my thinking.

Thoughts are appreciated!

Thank you.

 

[hiroMYhero]

The best strategy is to book FPs for your high priority rides. You don't have to use them but you'll have them as a back-up if Standby lines are long.

When in the park, you can Modify FP times and # in the party. If you don't want to use them, you can Cancel or allow them to expire. If you Cancel, others will have a chance at picking up those FPs. Expired FPs allow the Standby line to move a little faster.

 

[smiths02]

We went February of this year and found most rides easy to get on. We walked on Pirates several times, for instance. It was also easy to change any FP save 7DMT, Peter Pan, TSMM, (I imagine Soarin', FEA, and Test Track would also be hard to change but Soarin' and Test Track weren't open for us).

 

[smiths02]

Hi everyone. I posted this question in the FP section, but haven't yet received anyone's opinion about my question: With the tier system, are standby lines impacted, especially during the "slower" times of year?

And here's why I'm asking for thoughts. DH and I have planned a trip for February 2017, and with shorter park hours during that time of year, we tend not to park hop. ADR window is coming up in two weeks, so we'll plan park days based on dining reservations.

When we went in February 2013, rides like Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Little Mermaid, Figment and Spaceship earth were mostly walk-ons, or maybe a 10 minute wait. With the new tier system, are waits at B and C tier rides impacted at all? I'm not keen on booking FPs beyond the bigger 2 or max 3 attractions in each park. I'd rather just book FP for the major attractions and not to have to worry about doing so for the lower tiers. We like to go with the flow.

However, if standby lines for those lower tier attractions are longer, then I guess I'll have to change my thinking.

Thoughts are appreciated!

Thank you.

I think they are impacted. But if the wait was 5 minutes before and this time it is 10 minutes...it's DOUBLE, but in reality it's not that big of a deal.

Like I said, we also changed a lot, so for instance...we planned an MK day...I wasn't sure if we would sleep in or what, so FP+ started at 10am...well we got there at 9:20 (after rope drop!) but were able to walk on Big Thunder Mountain and then walk on again so we changed the later Thunder Mountain for Jungle Cruise.

 

[Shanti]

Hi everyone. I posted this question in the FP section, but haven't yet received anyone's opinion about my question: With the tier system, are standby lines impacted, especially during the "slower" times of year?

And here's why I'm asking for thoughts. DH and I have planned a trip for February 2017, and with shorter park hours during that time of year, we tend not to park hop. ADR window is coming up in two weeks, so we'll plan park days based on dining reservations.

When we went in February 2013, rides like Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Little Mermaid, Figment and Spaceship earth were mostly walk-ons, or maybe a 10 minute wait. With the new tier system, are waits at B and C tier rides impacted at all? I'm not keen on booking FPs beyond the bigger 2 or max 3 attractions in each park. I'd rather just book FP for the major attractions and not to have to worry about doing so for the lower tiers. We like to go with the flow.

However, if standby lines for those lower tier attractions are longer, then I guess I'll have to change my thinking.

Thoughts are appreciated!

Thank you.

You should expect waits for every ride, even during February 2017 "slow" season (which won't resemble 2013's slow season much, btw). Not extreme waits for minor rides, but no walk ons after rope drop. You can easily wait 20 minutes for Small World or Spaceship Earth mid-day in February, for example. That's why the SDFP method is so helpful, why rope drop is still important, and why Extra Magic Hours are so valuable (no FPs at all during those).