rpb718
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2012
- Messages
- 1,572
When you can't get all the ADRs and/or FP+s you wanted at the start, and even if you did but some ADR reservations and/or FP+ times are not the best, there are a few courses of action you can take that can possibly help you find that perfect ADR and/or FP+.
One is to check for ADRs and/or FP+ at the 45 day package cancellation date deadline - or really anytime between 55-40 days before your stay - because folks having longer trips starting before yours can cancel enough days to begin to overlap your dates AND folks having reservations which start a day or so after yours can cancel which could open up later days in your stay.
Another option that mostly affects ADRs is when - at the 60 day mark for Disney resort guests and the 30 day mark for non-resort guests - folks pick their FP+s. Depending on the days and times available for the FP+s being selected, especially ones that are highly sought after, the FP+ times could overlap with the ADR reservation in such a way that both can't be kept. In these cases, a decision needs to be made as to which to keep and there's a 50-50 chance the ADR will be cancelled and become available. Also, depending on FP+ availability folks may even change what parks they originally planned to be in on certain days - which can free up ADRs at the park they were originally going to.
I know what you're saying, between the above 2 items I have you checking practically every day from 60 days to 30 days before your stay. Well, yes - but there's even more items to keep an eye out for...
In addition to the above, there are a variety of external drivers that could open up either ADR or FP+ selections - some more than others.
One is when special events are scheduled to happen during your trip that were not known or finalized until well after the 180 day mark. For example: long after our ADRs and just on the cusp of making our FP+ selections, the schedule of activities and events for F&W was finalized and released for booking. This caused a lot of folks attending during F&W to rearrange their plans due to the dates and times of demonstrations, seminars, shows, etc. they decided to book. In addition, folks may also free up ADRs to attend the special Epcot F&W pairing meals instead. Many also had to juggle around their park days to be in Epcot for certain booked activities, so this had ripple affects across all the parks. It goes without saying that the reorganization of so many schedules just may rattle loose some of those hard to get ADRs and FP+s.
Another variable that mostly affects FP+ is when park hours are changed. For example: the October 2015 hours for the non-MNSSHP nights at MK were expanded in mid-September 2015. Due to the added time, more FP+ were released for rides and the meet-and-greets and a 2nd MSEP was scheduled. This may not help if you're looking for FoF parade or Wishes FP+, but I'm sure a lot of folks initially shut out for A&E and 7DMT were happy.
Yet another variable is ride closures and other rehab work. For MK, certain ride closures won't affect much in terms of attendance, and may actually hinder the ability to get FP+ for the other rides there. But in the other parks, certain ride closures - especially a tier 1 ride - may have visitors thinking twice. Those with hoppers may plan to spend less time in the park and those without hoppers may consider skipping a park altogether if a favorite ride is closed. In either case, there may be turmoil as some folks rearrange their plans and FP+s or ADRs may pop up.
On the other side, if a new ride is scheduled to open in a certain park you can bet a lot of folks will want to be there which may free up FP+ and ADRs connected to the other parks and/or FP+ for other rides in the same park. Well see how this shakes out in 2016 with the planned opening for the new Frozen ride, the move of A&E from MK to Epcot to coincide with that, and a 3rd new Soarin' theater (with a new film) along with the closures/conversions for the 2 existing Soarin' theaters. This could be an end of the tier system for FP+ in Epcot, or Disney could change the existing tier level FP+ system some other way. Only time will tell.
I think others have mentioned that ADRs can pop up all the time as people cancel more that 24 hours in advance to avoid getting a no-show charge, which has worked for a lot of folks. But there are lots of families who would rather have their ADRs all set before their trip so they can spend time at the parks and not online still looking for places to eat during their stay. And don't forget people can cancel or change their FP+ at any time, but it's just a matter of luck to happen upon those.
I'm probably missing something else but that's all I can think of now. In fact, there's probably another thread out here with similar information that I just couldn't find and has moved far down the chain of pages, so if I'm repeating something well known I'm sorry. I was only hoping to list a bunch of my observations and experiences all in one place.
The lesson here, don't forget to check around the package cancellation dates and FP+ selection dates but always keep a wary eye open for any Disney activity that may affect other peoples plans. You'll still to do all the legwork of checking online, and surely you'll need some luck, but if any of the above information helps you be lucky that's enough to make writing this worthwhile.
Let me know if I've stated anything in error, or if there's more to be added.
One is to check for ADRs and/or FP+ at the 45 day package cancellation date deadline - or really anytime between 55-40 days before your stay - because folks having longer trips starting before yours can cancel enough days to begin to overlap your dates AND folks having reservations which start a day or so after yours can cancel which could open up later days in your stay.
Another option that mostly affects ADRs is when - at the 60 day mark for Disney resort guests and the 30 day mark for non-resort guests - folks pick their FP+s. Depending on the days and times available for the FP+s being selected, especially ones that are highly sought after, the FP+ times could overlap with the ADR reservation in such a way that both can't be kept. In these cases, a decision needs to be made as to which to keep and there's a 50-50 chance the ADR will be cancelled and become available. Also, depending on FP+ availability folks may even change what parks they originally planned to be in on certain days - which can free up ADRs at the park they were originally going to.
I know what you're saying, between the above 2 items I have you checking practically every day from 60 days to 30 days before your stay. Well, yes - but there's even more items to keep an eye out for...
In addition to the above, there are a variety of external drivers that could open up either ADR or FP+ selections - some more than others.
One is when special events are scheduled to happen during your trip that were not known or finalized until well after the 180 day mark. For example: long after our ADRs and just on the cusp of making our FP+ selections, the schedule of activities and events for F&W was finalized and released for booking. This caused a lot of folks attending during F&W to rearrange their plans due to the dates and times of demonstrations, seminars, shows, etc. they decided to book. In addition, folks may also free up ADRs to attend the special Epcot F&W pairing meals instead. Many also had to juggle around their park days to be in Epcot for certain booked activities, so this had ripple affects across all the parks. It goes without saying that the reorganization of so many schedules just may rattle loose some of those hard to get ADRs and FP+s.
Another variable that mostly affects FP+ is when park hours are changed. For example: the October 2015 hours for the non-MNSSHP nights at MK were expanded in mid-September 2015. Due to the added time, more FP+ were released for rides and the meet-and-greets and a 2nd MSEP was scheduled. This may not help if you're looking for FoF parade or Wishes FP+, but I'm sure a lot of folks initially shut out for A&E and 7DMT were happy.
Yet another variable is ride closures and other rehab work. For MK, certain ride closures won't affect much in terms of attendance, and may actually hinder the ability to get FP+ for the other rides there. But in the other parks, certain ride closures - especially a tier 1 ride - may have visitors thinking twice. Those with hoppers may plan to spend less time in the park and those without hoppers may consider skipping a park altogether if a favorite ride is closed. In either case, there may be turmoil as some folks rearrange their plans and FP+s or ADRs may pop up.
On the other side, if a new ride is scheduled to open in a certain park you can bet a lot of folks will want to be there which may free up FP+ and ADRs connected to the other parks and/or FP+ for other rides in the same park. Well see how this shakes out in 2016 with the planned opening for the new Frozen ride, the move of A&E from MK to Epcot to coincide with that, and a 3rd new Soarin' theater (with a new film) along with the closures/conversions for the 2 existing Soarin' theaters. This could be an end of the tier system for FP+ in Epcot, or Disney could change the existing tier level FP+ system some other way. Only time will tell.
I think others have mentioned that ADRs can pop up all the time as people cancel more that 24 hours in advance to avoid getting a no-show charge, which has worked for a lot of folks. But there are lots of families who would rather have their ADRs all set before their trip so they can spend time at the parks and not online still looking for places to eat during their stay. And don't forget people can cancel or change their FP+ at any time, but it's just a matter of luck to happen upon those.
I'm probably missing something else but that's all I can think of now. In fact, there's probably another thread out here with similar information that I just couldn't find and has moved far down the chain of pages, so if I'm repeating something well known I'm sorry. I was only hoping to list a bunch of my observations and experiences all in one place.
The lesson here, don't forget to check around the package cancellation dates and FP+ selection dates but always keep a wary eye open for any Disney activity that may affect other peoples plans. You'll still to do all the legwork of checking online, and surely you'll need some luck, but if any of the above information helps you be lucky that's enough to make writing this worthwhile.
Let me know if I've stated anything in error, or if there's more to be added.
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