it's been a while, off site strategies

[Ronda93]

I have lots of park experience, but it's been five years since I was at WDW. Prior to that I'd been 20 times. I can dash for rides without a map, but need some updating ; )

I'm taking my nephew the first weekend in November. It's Wine and Dine half marathon, but no racing for us. We are staying off site (BCR).

I've never used FP+.

I've noted the EMH days and we'll avoid those.

We are early risers and can rope drop. I've seen suggestions to RD rides for the first hour or two, setting FPs for late morning. I expect that's a good plan for Epcot and MK.

With the 30 day FP window, as a party of two, what are our odds? What are your suggestions?

I've got the MDX app, but no tix attached yet. I plan to add them in the next few weeks and practice getting FPs.

What should I expect for availability? I'm reading about refreshing. Is it a bug in the app, or are things that fluid?

What attractions can be RDd? Which ones are a FP must have?

 

[pitpat]

You shouldn't have a problem getting FPs for most rides. Flight of Passage, Slinky Dog, maybe 7DMT would be the more difficult ones, but can be done if you rope drop.

Refreshing to get more same day FPs works great, especially for two people.

For FP priorities and general information that will help you, I always recommend https://www.easywdw.com/easy/cheat-...t-sheets-maps-touring-plans-and-wait-times-4/

 

[Tomh]

We usually set our first FP+ of the day for either 9:30 - 10:30, or 10:00 - 11:00. That way, when we finish our 3rd of the day, we still have time to get a 4th, and maybe a 5th after that. The first hour, the lines move pretty quickly. After that, things start to slow down, so that is a good time to start using FP.

At 30 days out, you should be able to get most rides. The big ones might be tricky, FOP, the stuff in Toy Story Land, but everything else should be possible.

Refreshing comes in largely the day you are in the park, when you are looking for your 3rd or 4th etc. Just keep searching for a new time, and typically, you will eventually find the ride you want, and at a close time. This means instead of waiting an hour and a half, you wind up going on the ride in 15 minutes, and then can get another FP. It can be a very effective way to get a lot of rides. This works best for 1 or 2 people, as there tends to be much better availability for just 2 FP than there does for a group of 4 or 5.

 

[Wild4Walt]

Plan to book the hardest Fps 1st ( vs. 1st day in parks, 2nd day in parks, etc ).

We just did our FPs a few weeks ago and I found Slinky Dog was the hardest one to get. We found one but for day 6 of our trip.
Flight of Pandora at AK is another harder one to get. I was able to get that one on our 3rd day of the trip.
Frozen Ever After is another one that was tough but for our dates it wasn't too bad. I was able to get one for day 2 of the trip.

The more flexible you can be the better, so I'd start with the hardest FPs and then fill in your days with the other parks that have easier to get FPs.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We stayed offsite for the first time in June, and ended up changing our dates due to an emergency, so I booked our FP at 12 days out. Being offsite, you can only make FP one day at a time at 30 days out, you can't make them for your entire trip at 30 days from the first day. We were able to get FP for everything we wanted except Peter Pan, we had to do that one at RD. When I booked ours, I noticed that not everything was showing as available when I first logged in. If it seems that you only have a couple of choices, refresh the page or select another time--I found it easier to book them on the computer instead of the app.

Flight of Passage (FoP), Slinky Dog and maybe Frozen Ever After (Epcot) will be the hardest ones. If they are available when you book, take whatever time you can get and try to modify them later. If they aren't available, keep checking, even the day of. Also, watch for November park hours to be extended/updated around the 15th-17th of October. If normal hours are extended for a park, additional FP will become available at some point in the next 1-4 days. There has usually been a post here and on other boards that additional FP opened up.