January Fastpass+ Suggestions

[dekraut]

Hi all,

My name is Dekraut, and I am a Disneyholic.

We are planning a Jan 18-23 trip, 2016. I have read through most of the mesaboy FP+ post, but I am wondering if we need to think any differently based on lower crowds at this time of the year.

We have only been to WDW once under the FP+ system, and we are trying to decide how to use FP+ at this time of the year, since we have never been in WDW in January before.

We are doing 6 days in the parks, and have decided on 3 days in MK, and 1 in each of the other parks. We will have hoppers, so we could end up splitting a day or two.

For our MK passes - we'd like Thunder Mountain, Enchanted Tales, Peter Pan, Buzz, Haunted Mansion, Pirates and Under the Sea. My wife thinks we should use one for Meet Ariel at her Grotto since it is my daughter's favorite princess right now, which makes eight. For our ninth, we were considering Wishes, since we missed it last trip (kids were too young to stay up that late) and we really want a great location to watch the show.

A few questions:

1. For most of the ride FP+ times, should we shoot for late morning to early afternoon, especially if we are aiming for rope drop?

2. Would we need a FP+ for meeting Ariel? or could we use that for something else that would benefit us more?

3. Should we use a pre-scheduled FP+ for Wishes?

4. If we scheduled three ride FP+ for early in the day on the day we want to see Wishes, is there any chance that Wishes would be available as a fourth? I wouldn't even ask this for busier times of the year, but wondered in Jan would be different).

5. The only other night show we are planning for this trip is Fantasmic - is it worth burning a FP+ on Fastasmic? or again should we try it as a fourth.

6. I've read that the seating for Fantasmic is right up front and that you can get wet from the show elements - considering we are going in Jan and it may be cold, would it be bad to get a FP+ for this?

Thanks for any help... I'll be over here obsessing about planning if you need me.

 

[Robo]

This kind of information is explained in the FP+ thread found HERE. Read post #1 and #2 for FP+ recommendations and timing advice.

 

[Robo]

I've read that the seating for Fantasmic is right up front and that you can get wet from the show elements - considering we are going in Jan and it may be cold, would it be bad to get a FP+ for this?

Not ALL F! seating for any type of entry is all up front.
All sections- Dining, FP+ and Standby -have up-front seating as well as seating that is not up-front.
-----------------------------

What a FP+ for F! offers is more CHOICE in seating.

If you DO get a F! FP+, you can choose to sit in either the FP section (virtually the entire left half of the theater) or the Standby section (virtually the entire right half of the theater.)
So, whatever section has the better seating at the time you arrive, you can go there.
Without a FP, you can only choose a seat in the Standby section.

There is a very good chance that you can get a FP+ for F! as a 4th or 5th FP of the day because they issue SO MANY of them (enough to cover nearly the entire left half of the seating.) On many nights, it is possible that you can gat a FP+ for F! as you are walking to the theater.

As to when to arrive at the theater, I'd get to there 45-60 minutes before the show-time.
Even with a FP or Dining Pkg. reservation, don't wait too late.

On busy nights, the CMs can stop holding the reserved sections within 20-30 minutes before show-time, and turn over any available seats to waiting walk-in guests.

There is sometimes a "pre-show" (such as it is) that can help pass the last 30 minutes before show time.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Map Below-
Arrows indicate the center of the seating.
Shaded areas:
(First or Only F! performance of the evening)
Cyan= Standby (walk-in) seating
Red= Dining Package Reserved
Blue= FP+ Reserved
Purple= Can be either FP+ or Dining Plan Reserved, depending on needs.

(Second or Third F! performance of the evening)
Cyan= Standby (walk-in) seating
Red, Purple, Blue= FP+ Reserved
(Although much of the outer Blue will likely be used for Standby.)

 

[dekraut]

Wow, that is a great picture with seating for Fantasmic. It explains a lot. I appreciate it.

I did read Mesaboy's post on FP+, but I wasn't sure if the strategies change at all based on lower park crowds. I will reread through it to see if I missed something.

 

[Harambe]

We are planning on going Jan 2017 and it will be our first trip with FP+. We are park hoppers who always do Extra Magic Hour in the morning, then head out to another park in the afternoon, or stay at the EMH park and do the less popular things. With that in mind, I am planning on doing FP+ in the afternoons for the most part, and for F! and hopefully for Rivers of Light in AK. I think we should be able to do a lot during the EMH. We have been in January twice, and although the weekends can be regular heavy crowds, the week days were stellar for low park crowds. Keep checking the weather before you go and pack accordingly if it says it will be cool temps.

 

[mesaboy2]

Wow, that is a great picture with seating for Fantasmic. It explains a lot. I appreciate it.

I did read Mesaboy's post on FP+, but I wasn't sure if the strategies change at all based on lower park crowds. I will reread through it to see if I missed something.

It is meant to be used as a guide in all crowd conditions at all times of year.

 

[Robo]

It is meant to be used as a guide in all crowd conditions at all times of year.

Oh yeah?

OH YEAH?

Well, what about a week from next Thursday?

What about THEN, Mr. Big Shot FP Plus Guy?

 

[mesaboy2]

Oh yeah?

OH YEAH?

Well, what about a week from next Thursday?

What about THEN, Mr. Big Shot FP Plus Guy?

Funny you mention that day--it happens to be the best day of the year to FP Captain EO. I'd explain, but it's a very complicated formula.

 

[rjmaple]

This kind of information is explained in the FP+ thread found HERE. Read post #1 and #2 for FP+ recommendations and timing advice.[/QUOTE

Funny you mention that day--it happens to be the best day of the year to FP Captain EO. I'd explain, but it's a very complicated formula.

Dekraut, Allears reports that Buzz is in rehab during that time period.

 

[rjmaple]

Sorry, I messed up that reply process. Rookie mistake!

 

[dekraut]

Thank you very much. I hadn't seen that one on the list yet. I started looking several months ago, but I don't think it was listed then.

I appreciate you bringing that to my attention. We hit it last time, so we will sub something else in it's place.

Again, many thanks.