I used the board for researching FP+ as it was completely new to me, so I thought I would share my experience from last week. We just got back from an off-site visit to WDW (Feb 3rd-7th). We have two kids (boys) 6 and 3, and 4 grandparents along for the trip.
With the two young kids, we had no issues and were happy with the new system as long as you get to the park near opening. I used the old system last year and I was the one running to each FP ride procuring the FP, so I liked this better for us. But, I can see how the new system would be frustrating for families with older kids who are tenacious FP'ers that are going to ride a lot more under the old system.
So, last Tuesday we went to MK (7 paid tickets for my party): arrived at 9:15AM (MK opened at 9) and I went straight to the Town Square theater. Had my FPs by 9:35. I requested thunder mountain (4 FP, got ~10:30am), winnie the pooh (3 FP, 11:30am) space mountain (7 FP,~12:30pm) and peter pan (7FP, ~1:30pm). This worked fine for us. No real wait (10min or less) in the FP+ lanes.
However, we went back to the MK on Friday and could only get there by 10:30am or so (MK opened at 9). Again, I went straight to the theater and had Fastpasses by 10:55am or so (line was longer). This time, I wanted to get thunder mountain (soonest was 2:30pm), Goofys barnstormer (soonest was 3:30pm) and the Speedway (soonest was 4:30pm, yes even the speedway was booked before 4:30). So, I took those times. We had no more than 5 minute waits for the FP lanes on any of those rides. Yes, it was a Friday with a larger crowd level, but, I think it helps show the need to get there early if you are off-site.
We did Epcot last Thursday entering through the world showcase at 9:00am (Future World open at 9) because of a breakfast reservation we had at BC. There were 4 FP+ guys right there, so I secured Soarin (7FP, 10:30), Mission Space (7FP, 12:20), and Spaceship Earth (7FP, 2:00) with no issues. This worked really well for us at Epcot, too. The Spaceship earth FP was a waste, which I knew would be. No real waits in the FP lane for any ride.
The FP+ cast members can email you your FP+ reservations after you make them, which definitely helps so you remember your times. I didnt have time to mess with the Disney Experience app to register the tickets beforehand.
With the two young kids, we had no issues and were happy with the new system as long as you get to the park near opening. I used the old system last year and I was the one running to each FP ride procuring the FP, so I liked this better for us. But, I can see how the new system would be frustrating for families with older kids who are tenacious FP'ers that are going to ride a lot more under the old system.
So, last Tuesday we went to MK (7 paid tickets for my party): arrived at 9:15AM (MK opened at 9) and I went straight to the Town Square theater. Had my FPs by 9:35. I requested thunder mountain (4 FP, got ~10:30am), winnie the pooh (3 FP, 11:30am) space mountain (7 FP,~12:30pm) and peter pan (7FP, ~1:30pm). This worked fine for us. No real wait (10min or less) in the FP+ lanes.
However, we went back to the MK on Friday and could only get there by 10:30am or so (MK opened at 9). Again, I went straight to the theater and had Fastpasses by 10:55am or so (line was longer). This time, I wanted to get thunder mountain (soonest was 2:30pm), Goofys barnstormer (soonest was 3:30pm) and the Speedway (soonest was 4:30pm, yes even the speedway was booked before 4:30). So, I took those times. We had no more than 5 minute waits for the FP lanes on any of those rides. Yes, it was a Friday with a larger crowd level, but, I think it helps show the need to get there early if you are off-site.
We did Epcot last Thursday entering through the world showcase at 9:00am (Future World open at 9) because of a breakfast reservation we had at BC. There were 4 FP+ guys right there, so I secured Soarin (7FP, 10:30), Mission Space (7FP, 12:20), and Spaceship Earth (7FP, 2:00) with no issues. This worked really well for us at Epcot, too. The Spaceship earth FP was a waste, which I knew would be. No real waits in the FP lane for any ride.
The FP+ cast members can email you your FP+ reservations after you make them, which definitely helps so you remember your times. I didnt have time to mess with the Disney Experience app to register the tickets beforehand.
