NO A&E FP for us during a crowd level 1: Update found one thanks to some great people

[AngiTN]

I think it's going to be more difficult to get Anna & Elsa FP for September- December because of the parties. MK closes at 7 on those days, so it limits availability. Maybe they are also cutting back to just one set of characters since it's "low" time. I'm disappointed in people who get a FP for everyday or multiple days they are there, especially if they have large parties. Our trip isn't until December, and I've already planned out our days. There's no need for me to hoard A&E fast passes. It's just a crappy thing to do, IMO. If your kid wants to meet them twice, I get that, but to book for 3 or 4 plus visits is just meh! Of course if I do get a FP, it'll be for a day we aren't going to MK and have an ADR that is tough to move around! Good luck everyone!

Wondering if statistically it would be easier to get a FP for a non party day. Of course those are also the most crowded days at MK during party season.

Yes, it has to be. There are more hours to put FP slots in. On non party days they'll meet till about 30 min before park close. The longer the park is open, the more FP they have to issue. Since they don't issue them during parties ending the FP at 7:00 takes out however many they can issue from 7:00 to 9:00 or 10:00, or whenever it is MK normally closes then.

I'd like to hope they'll continue to rotate the same number of friends through but who knows. Sept and on (except during Holiday weeks) bring on reduced crowds which brings on reduced hours and reduced staffing all the way around. Even fewer cars on the rides. You may have fewer guests there with you but wait longer for things than those there in crowded times. If that makes sense.

 

[mom2rtk]

Yes, it has to be. There are more hours to put FP slots in. On non party days they'll meet till about 30 min before park close. The longer the park is open, the more FP they have to issue. Since they don't issue them during parties ending the FP at 7:00 takes out however many they can issue from 7:00 to 9:00 or 10:00, or whenever it is MK normally closes then.

That depends. Hours might be longer on those days, but crowds will be much heavier too, so you'll have much more competition to get those spots. I'd actually expect it to be consistently easier to get one on party days.

 

[DebbieB]

Keep in mind that MNSSHP starts in September, so from then until late December, the park closes at 7 three or four days a week. That itself really reduces the total number of slots each day.

When they first moved to MK, didn't they close at 5:00 everyday? I don't think there was this much trouble then. I think they have cutback on the number. It will be interesting to see if more popup at 30 days.

 

[mom2rtk]

When they first moved to MK, didn't they close at 5:00 everyday? I don't think there was this much trouble then. I think they have cutback on the number. It will be interesting to see if more popup at 30 days.

We'll never know. Word is that they don't hold any back, but hard to say if that's true.

I actually think it's just that more people know about it now.

 

[939913Noles]

I'm pretty laid back, and one of those folks who think Disney is awesome and can do little wrong by me and my family. Never had any trouble with the company, but this borders on the ridiculous. Having to plan minute by minute months out and be online at midnight (or 6 am for dining) is a little much.

 

[AngiTN]

When they first moved to MK, didn't they close at 5:00 everyday? I don't think there was this much trouble then. I think they have cutback on the number. It will be interesting to see if more popup at 30 days.

You mean this much trouble getting FP for A&E when they first moved to MK and stopped meeting at 5:00? Yes, it was a lot of trouble then. It was very hard to get a FP on day 60 when they met only till 5:00. You had to jump through hoops to get them many times. When the hours increased to 30 min before close it made it much easier to get them. Most who wanted them got them on day 60 and they didn't even have to do it at 12/1 AM and try for the end of the trip. There were even some there for days later. Fewer slots but they could be gotten at 50 days.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

ugggh! I'm so stressed about this, lol. Our window opens tonight... not sure it will matter tho looks like the dates we wanted for A&E are taken

 

[bless7ings]

Sorry, I wasn't explicit. As of this afternoon it was showing the same as last night. Availability for Sept 13th - 18th.

Also, I am going to assume that alot of people are planning on going to MK on Thursday, September 11th EMH, because it was a harder day to get early times for that day.

 

[katt789]

I finally booked fp+ for our Sept trip yesterday (we go the 8-19th) and our first MK day being the 9th there was no availability for A & E at all, nor FoF, but later in the trip there was.

Also remember that more fp+'s are released at 30 days out (right?) and people might cancel/move theirs around so there's still a chance!

Not to mention if you're going during a crowd level 1, the standby wait time might not be that long either!

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

Does anyone know if there are morning times available for the 16th? It is our departure day and the only day we have planned for MK past the 12th. But we need to leave the park after lunch (2-3pm).

 

[mom2rtk]

Sorry, I wasn't explicit. As of this afternoon it was showing the same as last night. Availability for Sept 13th - 18th.

Also, I am going to assume that alot of people are planning on going to MK on Thursday, September 11th EMH, because it was a harder day to get early times for that day.

I'm not surprised at all. I think a few more hours of park time will not make up for the much larger traffic they will have in the park that day.

 

[juliebug]

we are going sept 4th-13th and i was was able to get fp+ for anna and elsa only on Sept 12th. My fp+ time opened up on July6th and i was on at midnight to get them its hard and i only got them because i have a 10 day onsite trip.

 

[over50visits]

You should probably keep checking. There was a thread earlier today saying that others couldn't get FP for A&E for their entire trips either. Maybe a glitch in the system, or maybe A&E FP hasn't been released yet?

I hope people aren't booking them for the whole trip because they aren't sure which day they want it. That is dishonest, and inconsiderate of other guests.

If true, reminds me of when people booked multiple ADRs for the same meal. Disney fixed that by having a credit card deposit. Maybe they'll have one for the A&E meet?

Here's hoping that's only a rumor and not true.

 

[Cloudless Nights]

A few people on these boards have admitted they've booked this FP+ for multiple days, but for reasons like inclement weather, etc., not just they don't know what day they want. Still, I agree it's a little bit unfair to parties who can't even get one day because people have multiple.

I was able to get my choice of times on my 9th day of our trip in August (although I didn't even try for any days before that).

 

[Sparkly]

I'm pretty laid back, and one of those folks who think Disney is awesome and can do little wrong by me and my family. Never had any trouble with the company, but this borders on the ridiculous. Having to plan minute by minute months out and be online at midnight (or 6 am for dining) is a little much.

You don't HAVE to have A&E FPs. You don't need to add that stress if you don't want to.

 

[mom2rtk]

You don't HAVE to have A&E FPs. You don't need to add that stress if you don't want to.

But maybe they are Frozen fans?

In the old days all you had to do was show up at rope drop and you could do pretty much anything with a minimal wait. Part of the reason that wait is so long is because half the capacity is gone before you arrive every morning.

 

[Sparkly]

But maybe they are Frozen fans?

In the old days all you had to do was show up at rope drop and you could do pretty much anything with a minimal wait. Part of the reason that wait is so long is because half the capacity is gone before you arrive every morning.

So am I, but I'm not really stressing about it. if I get a FP that's great! But I'm not going to worry myself sick about getting a FP.

I don't think any rides/attractions are worth the getting up at midnight frankly. We didn't make ours super early!

So maybe Disney need to adjust the amount of FP holders to standby? Wasn't that a problem with FP- too?

 

[mom2rtk]

So am I, but I'm not really stressing about it. if I get a FP that's great! But I'm not going to worry myself sick about getting a FP.

I don't think any rides/attractions are worth the getting up at midnight frankly. We didn't make ours super early!

So maybe Disney need to adjust the amount of FP holders to standby? Wasn't that a problem with FP- too?

The problem is that there are 2 rope drops now. One 60 days prior, and one the day of. So two opportunities to be frustrated and disappointed. Shifting more to standby will only increase the disappointment at 60 days out. Shifting more to FP will increase the disappointment same day.

It used to be that you could do ANY attraction you wanted on a given day just by showing up for rope drop, especially if there was FP involved. That's just not the case here.

I'm glad you can take it or leave it. Some people feel differently about it.

 

[dsdeleon]

I was the one person who spoke about the ones booking multiple FP+ over the course of a long stay. FTR, we went when the rain was well above our ankles once (the drainage is terrible at PFTH) but did go multiple times. When are multiple days of hard to book FP+s against the rules and inconsiderate? Where is the line? Can 2 over a 10 day trip be considered fair? Can 5 if they are still always used? Is it only if the guest are young enough or big enough Frozen fans?

My whole point was Disney is the one causing the 'economic hoarding' issue here of uneven distribution based on keeping the resources so scarce and people in a frenzy to book anything they can get and then possibly overbook. They invented FP+ and need to come up with a more efficient/intelligent queueing strategy, not other guests.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

For those who are trying, are you searching for your entire party at once, or just one person at a time? I didn't have luck with good slots when I searched for 4, but when I just searched for 1, I got the morning slots I wanted. Copying from one person to another didn't work...I had to book 4 overlapping slots for each person in my party individually.

Hope this helps someone!