NOt sure if anyone noticed or tried this with FP+ but...

[Wendybird55]

I have my AP vouchers linked to MDE. My first trip to Disney this year will be in August and my onsite reservations are also linked. When "clicking" around MDE I discovered since I have an AP I can make FP+ selections for this week if I want.

I was just on MDE and, if I wanted could make FP+ reservations for TSM, Star Tours & Little Mermaid. Of course I cancelled the transaction and did not complete it.

BUT...if I wanted I could make those reservations even though I'm not in the park and screw it up for someone else. (which I wouldn't because "why??")

ALSO, I found out that the day of at 8:45am ET during a busy week I could get FP+ reservation for one our or favorite rides which also happens to be a very popular ride - TSM. The FP+ options I could choose from for this ride were early morning, late afternoon or early evening.

So it's making me think that I don't need to be overly concerned with getting FP+ reservations set within my 60-day window unless I have a very specific schedule I want to follow because chances are they will be available to me the day of or night before. So I think the advice of planning your FP+ the night before some Disers gave is very good advice.

 

[akl2004]

I was just there Thurs thru Sunday and did my fastpasses each morning for the day. The only problem I had was getting Space Mtn. on Friday. It was unavailable shortly after park opening. But we had Park Hoppers and went right after rope drop on Saturday and walked on with a 10 minute wait and then jumped over to Epcot where we had our fast passes. I am not sure what the official crowd levels were, but making fast passes the night before or the same morning worked for us. By the way, the lines for the FP Kiosks in all of the parks looked long to me, long like a 30 minute or more wait. Booking FP ahead is definitely a perk for those staying on property.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I think it depends on how many offsite tourists they get to prebook in the future. Once that number starts climbing, flexibility will decrease. It will also depend on the ride. Already Anna and Elsa seems to be hard to get at less than 60 days...I'm sure the Mine Train will be the same.

 

[OtherScott]

I have my AP vouchers linked to MDE. My first trip to Disney this year will be in August and my onsite reservations are also linked. When "clicking" around MDE I discovered since I have an AP I can make FP+ selections for this week if I want.

I was just on MDE and, if I wanted could make FP+ reservations for TSM, Star Tours & Little Mermaid. Of course I cancelled the transaction and did not complete it.

BUT...if I wanted I could make those reservations even though I'm not in the park and screw it up for someone else. (which I wouldn't because "why??")

ALSO, I found out that the day of at 8:45am ET during a busy week I could get FP+ reservation for one our or favorite rides which also happens to be a very popular ride - TSM. The FP+ options I could choose from for this ride were early morning, late afternoon or early evening.

So it's making me think that I don't need to be overly concerned with getting FP+ reservations set within my 60-day window unless I have a very specific schedule I want to follow because chances are they will be available to me the day of or night before. So I think the advice of planning your FP+ the night before some Disers gave is very good advice.

It's almost as if it is working as designed...

 

[morethananyonex]

I have my AP vouchers linked to MDE. My first trip to Disney this year will be in August and my onsite reservations are also linked. When "clicking" around MDE I discovered since I have an AP I can make FP+ selections for this week if I want.

I was just on MDE and, if I wanted could make FP+ reservations for TSM, Star Tours & Little Mermaid. Of course I cancelled the transaction and did not complete it.

BUT...if I wanted I could make those reservations even though I'm not in the park and screw it up for someone else. (which I wouldn't because "why??")

ALSO, I found out that the day of at 8:45am ET during a busy week I could get FP+ reservation for one our or favorite rides which also happens to be a very popular ride - TSM. The FP+ options I could choose from for this ride were early morning, late afternoon or early evening.

So it's making me think that I don't need to be overly concerned with getting FP+ reservations set within my 60-day window unless I have a very specific schedule I want to follow because chances are they will be available to me the day of or night before. So I think the advice of planning your FP+ the night before some Disers gave is very good advice.

How many people were you searching for?

Reports have been all over the place as to what last minute availability looks like, and that's before offsite guests gained the ability to book 30 days in advance. I think before deciding that it's generally safe to wait until last minute, we need to know if Disney is holding back FP+ for day of, and if the number of offsite guests prebooking is "maxed" out, meaning they've reached all the people who are willing to make plans in advance. It would also be nice to know if Disney has been playing with the numbers from day to day.

I wouldn't tell people to hold off until the last minute unless they had no other choice. There's no penalty for booking something and changing it the night before depending what's available. Too many changes going on right now to know much of anything for sure.

 

[Wendybird55]

I was searching for 3 people as that's how many AP holders are in my group.

Our style of visiting Disney is not at scheduled as other son the boards. We have been many times and I do like to do some research and planning in advance, but as my son gets older and enjoys park hopping it's hard to determine where we're going to be each day and when. So advance FP+ is hard for me to determine for every day and from experience I find it easier to make new FP+ reservations then try to change ones previously made while at parks.

There is a day we're having breakfast at H&V and I will definitely book FP+ in advance that day...so we can hopefully get on standby line when park opens then ride FP afterwards - DS enjoys doing that.

Also on a planned MK day I will definitely book early FP+ for 7 Dwarves Mine Train as I think it will be very busy. But as far as being concerned about making sure I have FP+ chosen in advance for all our days, it's been eased a bit. Plus, we've been to Disney many times and have enjoyed riding our favorite rides many, many times. Though we like to ride our favorites, if the lines are too long and FP+ not available at convenient time we're totally OK with skipping it and moving on to the next thing. So as I said, unless you prefer scheduling your days (which I know many people do) you can consider scheduling your FP+ morning of or before if you are a more casual traveler.

I find myself, like I'm sure others do, second guessing myself or getting anxious about some of my Disney plans when I read posts on the boards on how difficult or problematic certain things have been. And with all the hype about FP+, I'm finding it's time to calm down and look at it from what will work for me and my family and not get caught up in the initial panic.

So the posts I've read from others saying they've had good experiences booking FP+ night before or day of and seeing for myself on MDE I can get FP+ day of for a popular ride calms the FP+ situation down for me. But again, everyone should plan their Disney trip as to what suits them best.

 

[LSUfan4444]

.

So it's making me think that I don't need to be overly concerned with getting FP+ reservations set within my 60-day window unless I have a very specific schedule I want to follow because chances are they will be available to me the day of or night before. So I think the advice of planning your FP+ the night before some Disers gave is very good advice.

I've been doing the same thing. I have even been checking in the afternoons and evenings to see what is available at night. I have had pretty good success finding same day FP+ for Enchanted Tales, Peter Pan, Space Mnt all late afternoon and early evenings on non EMH days.