Marathon Weekend FP+ Experiences

[Nole95]

I figured since I had seen so many helpful reports on FP+ that I would post something in return based on our experiences this past weekend.

Myself, DW, DD (11) and DS (8) were all down at Disney this past weekend for marathon weekend. I was running both Saturday and Sunday, and DW was only running on Saturday.

Being a big proponent and user of the legacy FP system, I have not been overly excited to see some of the stories on FP+.

I will start off with the pros.

Since we knew we would be getting to the parks late both days, being able to schedule the FP+ for both MK and Epcot for later times was great. On Saturday we had SDMT, BTMR, and Space all booked 60 days in advance for times starting at 10:30am. On Sunday, we had TT, Nemo and Mission Space all booked for times starting at 1:00pm. This was an ideal situation for the type of the trip we were on.

While at MK on Saturday, SDMT went down, and we received an email that we could use that selection for another ride anytime throughout the day, or we could wait and use it on SDMT when it reopened. We waited for SDMT to reopen later in the day and walked right on.

Now for the cons.

They need to allow guests to book the fourth FP+ through the app. MK was packed on Saturday and the lines at the FP+ kiosks were long. I would have needed to stand in line for at least 20 minutes just to see what was available. Based on checking times while my other FP+ were still active, there was not much left available anyway. No reason that guests should have to stand in line just to stand in line again. Makes no sense, and I have to think the technology is already in place.

Yesterday, the Epcot kiosk lines were empty, but by early afternoon, there were no slots left for any of the tier 1 rides. Most of the tier 2 stuff was walk on still, so there were plenty of those available. Essentially, anyone arriving later in the day probably would have been out of luck in getting on both TT and Soarin on the same day. Soarin was not a priority for us yesterday, so this is really just an observation I had.

At MK there were long lines at rides that never have had them before. I have been to MK during Memorial Day weekend multiple times and never seen lines as long as I did on Saturday at Small World, Pirates and Haunted Mansion. In the past, I have always been able to get into all these in no more than 15 minutes. Seems anytime I checked the app, the lines were 30+ minutes. We just decided to wait in the standby line for Pirates and Haunted Mansion. Time in the past that I might have spent eating or doing some more shopping.

Just a few observations I had from this past weekend.

 

[Jrits]

I was at MK on Saturday and I agree with what you wrote but should add that I waited on the FP kiosk line a few times at philharmagic and although it seemed long it moved very quickly bc most were groups if 4-5 people that went to one kiosk together

 

[sndral]

I went into MK Sat. as well to do our afternoon FP+ rides - it was packed, so after our FP+s we hopped to Epcot and spent the late afternoon, had dinner and caught illuminations there. Hopped back over to MK, watched Electric light parade and walked onto everything we wanted after, except 7DMT which had a 30 minute wait when we left at about midnight. It was EMH for MK.

 

[smithcor]

I might have had a better experience because I did the reverse of everyone in this thread. I did the half on Saturday morning and then went to Epcot around noon. We had Spaceship Earth and Soarin FP+ (skipped Mission Space). We probably could have done without FP+ on Spaceship Earth but probably saved about 15-20 minutes there. Soarin was definitely worth it because it had over an hour posted wait time. After Soarin, we walked right up to a kiosk and found out there were no more FP+ for Test Track. The wait was like 90 minutes at that point, so we moved onto World Showcase and got our drinking on. Then on the way out around 8:30, we walked by Test Track, which had about a 50 minute posted wait time. The CM there said it was more like 35 minutes and the actual wait was more like 15 minutes. So that worked out. I didn't find the park crazy crowded, just lots of runners with the same idea of drinking around the world post-race!

MK on Sunday wasn't too bad all day and once the rain cleared out, it ended up being a beautiful day. We basically rode everything with minimal waits. I think the longest wait was Jungle Cruise at about 20 minutes in the standby line.

I was really pleased with FP+ - it really worked well for us!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Posting an OT question:

Could you comment on your experience getting from your hotel to the parks on the half and full marathon days?

 

[Nole95]

Posting an OT question:

Could you comment on your experience getting from your hotel to the parks on the half and full marathon days?

On Saturday we did not leave Port Orleans until about 9:30 for MK. The half marathon runners were long cleared out of MK by then. While we did not have to wait long at all for a bus, there was a lot of traffic on the roads into MK. Probably due to the fact that people driving in probably waited until later than usual to arrive.

On Sunday, my wife took the kids to Epcot and had to wait about 25 minutes for a bus at about 9:30. So travel to Epcot on Sunday was definitely impacted due to traffic.

While running the marathon on Sunday, I could see that World Drive was backed up well past the Hollywood Studios exit, and they had all but one lane closed. That would have remained that way until well past noon if I had to guess.

On marathon weekend, you definitely need to account for extra travel time to all parks because of all the road closures.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

On Saturday we did not leave Port Orleans until about 9:30 for MK. The half marathon runners were long cleared out of MK by then. While we did not have to wait long at all for a bus, there was a lot of traffic on the roads into MK. Probably due to the fact that people driving in probably waited until later than usual to arrive.

On Sunday, my wife took the kids to Epcot and had to wait about 25 minutes for a bus at about 9:30. So travel to Epcot on Sunday was definitely impacted due to traffic.

While running the marathon on Sunday, I could see that World Drive was backed up well past the Hollywood Studios exit, and they had all but one lane closed. That would have remained that way until well past noon if I had to guess.

On marathon weekend, you definitely need to account for extra travel time to all parks because of all the road closures.

Thanks!

I have participated 3 times prior with the most recent being in 2008. Hoping for a half next year.

There were questions on accessibility and I responded to those based on my old experience. Sounds like it is pretty much similar.