Magic kingdom fast pass help

[richmo]

O goodness the more I keep reading the worse I keep stressing lol. I've read it's better to do fast passes in the afternoon and ride what you can get in at rope drop first. Like what time late afternoon? I was just thinking get the fast pass rides out of the way and then just go with the flow. Which would I be able to get more done in without running my family to death?

This (late FP+'s, ride standby early) was/is a good strategy until the new FP+ rules go into effect and it may still work for some. But, now that they're opening up additional selections once you've used your original three, it doesn't make as much sense to hold them until later in the day. We'll have to see how the best strategies work out, but I would think you'd want to use your 3 FP+'s for the major attractions you really want to hit for fairly early in the day, then, once you've used those, pick up minor attractions with your additional picks. As with the old system, it's pretty likely that the FP's for the big rides will be gone for the day after you use those first 3.

 

[KelleyK75]

Ok so as of right now I got Peter Pan at 1:25 splash at 2:50 and BTMR at 3:55. I was thinking spend the first part of the morning in fantasy lfirst off for my little girl DD 4 and maybe ride haunted mansion idk yet. Then ride Peter Pan (Rhona Kiernanand head over to where splash and BTMR are the after those Make our way over to space mountian and just wait the line out for that one. That a decent plan?

I think the sounds like a good plan. Fantasyland was SO crowded in the afternoons last week, so if you can hit that early, that's probably a good idea. I think a lot of people do try to hit that area early, too, so it will still be a little crowded, but probably not as bad as the afternoons. Most of what we wanted to do was in Fantasyland, so we spent a lot of time there last week.

 

[MistyLRobertson]

I just see doing fantasy land first it will be the easiest since the kids won't tired and they are still in that ahh wow disney world moment lol. what would be the first thing to go to in fantasy land? The must go to thing? I was thinking enchanted tales with belle but then again well get to see belle at akrsus.

 

[Cancun4]

Misty, I think you are wise to start in Fantasyland! There are lots of rides right together and if you get there at rope-drop, you will get a TON seen in those first couple of hours! We were there about a week ago...it was a busy Level 8 day. We arrived 30+ minutes before rope drop, watched the opening number at the gates and went directly to Peter Pan (since I knew lines would grow and we didn't want to FP it). In 3 hours we were able to see Peter Pan, Teacups, Speedway, Dumbo, Barnstormer, Ariel's Under the Sea, Small World, Haunted Mansion and a leisurely lunch at Pecos Bills (in that order). All of that from 9:00-noon!! I cannot say enough about the benefits of getting to the park before it opens. I also like that you are waiting until after lunch for your Magic Kingdom FPs. We walked right on Ariel and Peter Pan and saw people using their FP for those rides. What a waste of a FP!

 

[MistyLRobertson]

Misty, I think you are wise to start in Fantasyland! There are lots of rides right together and if you get there at rope-drop, you will get a TON seen in those first couple of hours! We were there about a week ago...it was a busy Level 8 day. We arrived 30+ minutes before rope drop, watched the opening number at the gates and went directly to Peter Pan (since I knew lines would grow and we didn't want to FP it). In 3 hours we were able to see Peter Pan, Teacups, Speedway, Dumbo, Barnstormer, Ariel's Under the Sea, Small World, Haunted Mansion and a leisurely lunch at Pecos Bills (in that order). All of that from 9:00-noon!! I cannot say enough about the benefits of getting to the park before it opens. I also like that you are waiting until after lunch for your Magic Kingdom FPs. We walked right on Ariel and Peter Pan and saw people using their FP for those rides. What a waste of a FP!

What did you use your fast pass for at magic kingdom?

 

[MistyLRobertson]

Ok sorry got another question. How do people do with rope drop all day at MK? Is it possible? Lol Ill have a stroller for the little one and my oldest has pulled an all day at other theme parks. It just our last day at disney and the BEST park lol. They have to see wishes lol

 

[disneyderns]

We just got back from WDW last week. Crowds were insane - the calendar said 9 but if what we experienced is a 9 I can't even imagine a 10.

Our touring plan was to get to the parks at rope drop - IMHO it's amazing more people don't do this. In every park we were able to complete at least 5 - 6 rides/character greets/shows prior to the crushing crowds that arrived after 11:00. We then ate lunch in the parks and left until the evening.

Magic Kingdom - we hit Buzz Lightyear first, then headed to Fantasyland. We were offsite and were not able to book any FP+ in advance so I had to book there - which I did immediately after my first ride. We picked BTMRR for around 11-12noon, and then Peter Pan and Buzz (again, it's my son's favorite) for the evening after we returned in the evening. Even though crowds were horrible, we never waited for a ride for more than 30 minutes.

Epcot - Road Soarin' immediately, fast passed Nemo (totally unnecessary), Spaceship Earth for 11:30-12:30 (necessary at that time of day to avoid wait) and Test Track for evening. Worked great.

Studios - no FP+ available at all for Toy Story (but still got to ride it twice - once at RD again at end of night. Total wait for both rides 20 minutes) Great Movie Ride for 11:30-12:30 (necessary to avoid waits at high crowd level) Star Tours for evening (good for evening, but not needed in the AM) and Beauty and the Beast (a complete waste) My kids wouldn't do ToT or RnR so otherwise I would have used them there.

Animal Kingdom - Safari - (unused as there was no wait at park open and so many animals were out) Tough to be a bug (10:55 crowds were already bad at this point so it was helpful) Dinosaur - (12:00 for a second ride was very necessary at this time)

Two other bits of advice for what they are worth...
1. Standby times toward the end of the night seemed to be inflated. For example: Toy Story displayed a standby time of 40 minutes at 9:25. No one was standing in the outside queue so we said what the heck let's try it. We got on the ride 15 minutes later. There was virtually no one in the queue.

2. Download the My Disney Experience app before you go and monitor wait times. I admit I'm a bit of an obsessive planner, but I checked wait times periodically the whole week before so I could sort of see when times got long and when times went down.

Have fun on your trip! I'm in the grieving stage of a post-WDW trip .

 

[Manders77]

Ok sorry got another question. How do people do with rope drop all day at MK? Is it possible? Lol Ill have a stroller for the little one and my oldest has pulled an all day at other theme parks. It just our last day at disney and the BEST park lol. They have to see wishes lol

it depends on family. My son was not a stroller sleeper had to leave park to nap. My brother pushed his kids all day ages 7 & 10 and by dinner they were misbehaving cranky and complete PITA. We do early morning character breakfast then stay till lunch. Go back for naps and return after dinner.

 

[KelleyK75]

I just see doing fantasy land first it will be the easiest since the kids won't tired and they are still in that ahh wow disney world moment lol. what would be the first thing to go to in fantasy land? The must go to thing? I was thinking enchanted tales with belle but then again well get to see belle at akrsus.

Yes I think that's best with small kids. I could be wrong but I think Peter Pans Flight gets the longest lines, so you might want to try that first. I didn't do the Enchanted Tales with Belle ( because we did Akershus, too) but someone told me this is more kids playing parts in a mini "play" with Belle. I am sure someone can elaborate on this more. I didn't think my nephews would be interested in this, so we didn't do it. But I heard this gets really busy too so that might be a good first choice.

 

[KelleyK75]

Ok sorry got another question. How do people do with rope drop all day at MK? Is it possible? Lol Ill have a stroller for the little one and my oldest has pulled an all day at other theme parks. It just our last day at disney and the BEST park lol. They have to see wishes lol

Personally, we weren't able to make it all day. Most parks we got to for an early before the park opens ADR, and by about 6:00 everyone was exhausted. Now that may just be us, and personally if it were just me, I'd keep going. But the 6&4 year olds needed some down time and my Mom who is 60 was really tired. So we just couldn't do it. Most families I think can, and I wish ours could be like that.

 

[Cancun4]

What did you use your fast pass for at magic kingdom?

We used our FPs on BTMR, priority seating for the 3:00 parade, and Space Mtn. Splash was closed, or we would have done that instead of the parade.

To answer your other question about managing rope-drop to Wishes with children....we usually have more than one day in MK, so we do one rope drop, and one night time. But, several times we have only had one day to see it all. My youngest would nap in her stroller (even though she usually did not at home), and we would be sure to sit and have long meals to relax. It was not ideal, but for one day, we made it work. The kids were just so excited, anyway. Many people say they go back to the hotel for a nap or to swim. Napping is good, but, for me, swimming with toddlers and preschoolers is not relaxing in the least. Just do what is best for your family and don't feel like you have to see everything...it will be a good excuse to plan another trip down!

 

[MistyLRobertson]

Where is the parade route? The festival of fantasy parade at 3:00pm

 

[PEC]

A couple of options here. If you go in the morning (RD) you can use your FP+ in the morning, catch other rides in between and take the Afternoon off relaxing. That way you avoid the big crowds.
Another option is sleep in late in the morning, go in the afternoon after a good night sleep and rest, and use your FP+ during the busy times.

I guess my point is, with a 4 yo you will need some rest time or they will get burned out and cranky pretty quick.

 

[MistyLRobertson]

I got my fast passes scheduled for afternoon that day but I was going to rope drop to head to fantasy land before afternoon crowds. My fast passes are all before 3. I plan on bringing a stroller and was hoping after 3 just take it easy walk her around and let her nap in the stroller.

 

[KelleyK75]

Where is the parade route? The festival of fantasy parade at 3:00pm

Starts in Frontierland, comes across Liberty Square bridge, then in front of the castle and down Main Street. I personally like being somewhere near the Castle to get it in the backdrop of my pictures, but that's a busy spot. Main Street is busy too. I think the best bet is probably Frontierland but I haven't ever stood in that spot. The upside to being there also is you are finished with the parade before everyone else, so you can start making your way to your next ride, etc.

 

[KelleyK75]

I got my fast passes scheduled for afternoon that day but I was going to rope drop to head to fantasy land before afternoon crowds. My fast passes are all before 3. I plan on bringing a stroller and was hoping after 3 just take it easy walk her around and let her nap in the stroller.

I think most of the time it's the adults that tire out before the kids. With my nephews, they would get a little whiny around 6:00 or so, but if we would have done another ride or get an ice cream they probably would have been fine. It was the adults that didn't want to wait another 3-4 hours for the electrical parade or Wishes. I wish we would have, but we'll do it the next time. When you get to the park around 9am and don't leave until after Wishes, that's a really long day.