Is there only one strategy these days?

[lucifie]

Agree on this! I like to see the opening show at MK at least once per trip, but for the other parks I prefer to arrive right around park opening. By then the crazy rope drop crowds have cleared the gates but wait times at most attractions are still low. Even when we are at MK for the opening show/rope drop, we'll hang back after the show and just make our way in when the crowd lets up a bit. Since we aren't trying to hit the most popular attractions first thing (we use FP+ for those), we still find short waits when we get in slightly after 9:00.

On our last trip we never made RD, despite our best efforts, but the crowds were still pretty low early.

 

[kangamama]

Agree on this! I like to see the opening show at MK at least once per trip, but for the other parks I prefer to arrive right around park opening. By then the crazy rope drop crowds have cleared the gates but wait times at most attractions are still low. Even when we are at MK for the opening show/rope drop, we'll hang back after the show and just make our way in when the crowd lets up a bit. Since we aren't trying to hit the most popular attractions first thing (we use FP+ for those), we still find short waits when we get in slightly after 9:00.

Do you find this to be true even during peak times?

 

[3DisneyFanz]

Do you find this to be true even during peak times?

There is such a mad dash for 7dmt and A&E that if you start in Tomorrowland or Adventureland you can get a bit accomplished. Of course by 10 it's nuts everywhere.

 

[kangamama]

good to know! thank you. I am now, officially, going to really and truly start ignoring all the people who tell me, "you reeeeeeeally need to be at rope drop," even after hearing me say, "trying to get everyone to rope drop will my my family (and vacation) miserable so please don't tell me that I have to be at rope drop!"

 

[3DisneyFanz]

good to know! thank you. I am now, officially, going to really and truly start ignoring all the people who tell me, "you reeeeeeeally need to be at rope drop," even after hearing me say, "trying to get everyone to rope drop will my my family (and vacation) miserable so please don't tell me that I have to be at rope drop!"

Don't take me wrong the earlier you get there the better. If you hit RD and start in Tomorrowland you can probably do everything in the area before the crowd starts spoiling down. You wait an hour and you'll get Space and Buzz with decent waits but after that it's going to start filling quickly.

 

[smiths02]

Yes. This and "lowered expectations" are also often mentioned.

You already mentioned pre rope drop ADRs and extend your trip over more days...
I'll be cynical and say, pay for experiences. And by golly, we've done it/plan to do it, so no rants from me.
So pay for that Fantasmic! dinner package and Wishes dessert party or ferry boat or whatever so you don't have to wait for a good spot and/or use a FP+
Go to every character meal you can, so again, you are not using FP+ for character meet and greets
ETA: I forgot MNSSHP and the Christmas Party since we don't go those times of year

 

[jade1]

We reserve FP+ for evenings when needed most.

Somebody had 3.5 days available and wanted F&G time, and I recommended something along that line:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Stay at an EPCOT resort (even if S&D) to eliminate buses to DHS and EPCOT. Plus you can pop over to EPCOT any time for F&G.

Get a hopper.

Reserve late afternoon or evening FP+ (change of scenery is nice so a different park than AM IMO).

Decide each AM with a clean slate which park to open, and knock out attractions with RD lines. If its EM make sure you indeed are there at RD, if you can't make RD-go to a different park that AM. Check "recommended" parks for AM and PM. Same with PM EMH-if you do not want to stay late-avoid that park.

Take each afternoon off at the resort (April is magnificent), rest or swim or lunch or drink.


Off the top example:

The half day do MK with FP+

Day 1

Open DHS without FP+, break, evening dinner/FP+/Illuminations.

Day 2

Open AK without FP+, break, do MK with FP+/Wishes.

Day 3

Open EPCOT, break, evening DHS with FP+/Fantasmic.

If ROL and Night Safari is open-prob do AK one afternoon with FP+ and stay for that-sounds awesome.

FYI, last March we were near the front at DHS at RD, straight to TSM-then RNR then TOT in less than one hour. Went to EPCOT after that on the boat and it had just opened.

 

[kwdw]

My strategy varies by day! There are hundreds of combinations that work depending on your family unit wants/needs/typical behavior.

As long as you realize standby wait times for most rides are going to be fairly long mid-day - you can plan your day however you want.

I've used my FP's at all times of day - first thing, last thing, morning, afternoon, or spread out throughout the day. I've arrived at a huge variety of times and had a great time.

 

[MrInfinity]

Ok. So I know that's hyperbolic, of course. But I've been using the DIS to plan trips since 2007 & the boards seem so quiet these days JUST as I'm approaching my time to make FP+ reservations!!!

There are lots of different strategies -- they're about as diverse as the people going! I think if you're noticing a lack of "strategy discussion" regarding FastPass+ then it's most likely because the system is pretty cut and dried... it's not hard to use, yet cannot be strategically overused to get more than the next guest. Think about how many times someone asks... "Should I use my FastPasses early to maybe get more, or save them for midday when it's busiest"... and the answer is almost always... "It depends on you!" There is no optimal choice. I've used them early, midday, and late, and they all work fine. But you're talking more about personal touring preferences and not strategy.

It almost seems like the only strategy these days is to arrive at RD & ride as much as possible til 11:30/12, have three consecutive FP+, and then go back to the resort and people watch, swim, or drink.

I still see lots of strategies. We got back from our trip about a month ago and didn't employ only ^that strategy, and rode stuff all day long. I would say that used to be the best strategy before FP+, because the earlier you got to the parks, the more FP- tickets you'd get. But with FP+ the requirement to be there at rope drop is removed from the decision. Now we have days when we go in at EMH / rope drop, and then days when we go in at 10 or 12. There is not as much pressure to be there early because you don't need to beat other guests to the FP kiosks -- you've already lined them up.

AND take longer trips to get to do as much as you used to do in shorter ones.

That hasn't been for us. I'd say we're getting more done per day, now, than we used to. It has to do with the middle of your day being more productive now. Or maybe it just seems like that cuz in your earlier trips you have so much to do, on later trips you've kinda seen it all so it's not as pressured.

As someone who only has 5 park days over one week, please tell me there's more hope than this.

Heh when are you going? You'll have fun. I'm sure you know it's not as dismal as it can seem out here. Get SDMT FPs on both of your MK days... you get thru the line in about 5 minutes in the middle of the day! And avoid Fantasyland at park open. Go somewhere else, like Frontierland or Tomorrowland. You can ride whatever there with no lines for the first hour. Plan your park days to create a path that takes you once around the park. Line up your ADRs and FastPasses so you aren't backtracking or doing extra walking.

We were a party of 10 as well. This makes changing stuff around difficult, because 10 of anything hardly ever opens up. 3's, 4's and 5's all the time, but 10 in a group, no. So lock in your ADRs and FastPasses and plan to stick w them.

And last, I'd say despite the need for a good strategy, don't put too much pressure on being all strategic all the time. When you get there and get into the swing of things, everything seems to work out. Lines were not long everywhere, and a little bit of just being aware and going where you want when you want is good, especially with a large party!

 

[mdoc]

We find that rope drop is the only strategy that works for us. We go at crowded times (Christmas, Easter) and don't have much patience for lines. We're not parade fans and have seen all the nighttime shows multiple times. So we start early, accomplish a lot before it gets too packed, do FPs, shopping and less popular attractions in the afternoons and leave in the early evening. We've NEVER gotten an additional FP for an attraction that we wanted at a time when we planned to still be in the parks, so we plan on our 3 scheduled FPs and no more.

Honestly, I MUCH preferred the old FP system, and enjoyed my WDW vacations much more before FP+.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

Keep in mind to take a lot of things with a grain of salt. There are a lot of work arounds that people won't discuss they used when telling you how things worked for them. Your families preference of rides and willingness to wait/bypass may not be the same as everyone else's and some "tricks" might not be feasible for your group either. The only thing that is consistent is the earlier you arrive the better off you are. In a world where TTA has lines stretching to CoP the only sure fire strategy to avoid lines is just skipping attractions.

 

[wildviper]

We usually go during peak times which means high crowd levels but also extended hours! We have never made a rope drop, and don't plan to on any of the next three trips we already have booked (AP's expire in July ). We sleep in, get a good breakfast then hit the parks about noon. We schedule most of our FP+ for mid day, interspersed with attractions that always have short lines. We rarely miss a parade or fireworks and shut down the park almost every night....

I'm with you on this strategy! It's a vacation. The last thing I want to do is wake up to a buzzing alarm. We followed a similar schedule. It's been a long 4 year hiatus (gasp!) since our last visit so I'm sure we'll have to get up to speed with some of the changes. However, our oldest DD worked there for a summer a few years ago and has a close friend who now works behind the scenes. So we are hoping to lean on that experience going forward. Also, now that our girls are done with college we are planning our first trip during non-peak times.

 

[jsrj21]

My family and I have been to WDW at least 13 times since my son was 5 [he's now 20] and we have never been to RD. Closest we came was last August when we got to AK at about 8:10am. EMH was from 8-9am and we wanted to go on an early safari....we ended going on 4 back-to-back safari's. It was so much fun. I think that you need to make your trip just that....your trip. If you're not a RD person, then don't be. My family and I had a style up to the FP+ system rolled out. Now we have to be more "scheduled" but I think we haven't deviated that much from what we enjoy doing, and how we enjoy doing it.

I read the boards as much as the next guy but its never really swayed my plans per se....maybe just the way I go about them. For example, we didn't drive to Disney Springs because of the traffic nightmares. We would just hop on a bus to anywhere and from there, jump on another to Disney Springs. One day we took a bus to Old Key West and took the boat to Disney Springs....turned out to be a beautiful ride and we got a good look at the resort. Have fun and make the best of it!

 

[MrInfinity]

In a world where TTA has lines stretching to CoP the only sure fire strategy to avoid lines is just skipping attractions.

FWIW, the TTA line was short or nonexistent the holiday weekend (moderate to busy) time we were there. 3 MK days. Always a walk-on. I am not saying you've never seen the line out to the CoP, just that it is certainly not always that way as it was short in December.

 

[Ava]

Do you find this to be true even during peak times?

Our last two trips have been in Aug/Sept, so moderate crowd times. I haven't been during a true peak time since summer trips as a child, so I really can't comment on how it is in those crowds.

There is such a mad dash for 7dmt and A&E that if you start in Tomorrowland or Adventureland you can get a bit accomplished. Of course by 10 it's nuts everywhere.

Yes, currently so much of the rope drop crowd is rushing to those two attractions that if you go to Tomorrowland or Adventure/Frontierland first, you can get a lot done in the first 1-2 hours. Then use FP+ either for Fantasyland rides or to re-ride headliners in the other lands. With the exception of 7DMT, you can get pretty much all the Fantasyland rides that offer it as a 4th FP+. I really like the cheatsheets/maps at easyWDW to see which are the 1st/2nd/3rd priority attractions and the best order to visit them.

Of course as new attractions open, the strategies change. It will be interesting to see what happens when the Frozen ride and new A&E meet open at Epcot. Obviously those will become the new hard-to-get FP+ and the rope drop craziness will shift to Epcot.

 

[TPrice]

Just remember: "The best laid plans..."

My wife and kids are early risers (which makes me an early riser by default!), so RD was usually the start of our days. What we found early on in our trip was the mobile app and FP+ actually allowed us to be more flexible with our day. We would usually ride a handful of rides right after RD then we would re-group and use the Wait Times feature to plan the next hour or so. If we needed to, we would use the time waiting in line to change FP+ or food reservations to accommodate what we were up to at that time of the day. When the park got more crowded, that was when we would usually stroll and take in the sights or find the 10 minute wait rides and do those even if it wasn't on the itinerary.

I guess all of that to say: have a plan, but also plan to change the plan! The app and FP+ makes it so easy to re-route your day and get the most out of your time no matter how crowded it gets. Plus, if you know going in it's going to be a challenge, it makes it easier to handle.

Like I told my kids: "It's Disney. You aren't allowed to be mad, upset or sad!"