One year ago I wrote this about FP+

[lugnut33]

One year ago we went to WDW and while on vacation I wrote this about FP+. At the time FP+ had just been implemented resort wide. It still pretty much holds true:

My recommendations for a great Disney World trip once FP- is gone:

Vacation at a slow time of year like September and first part of November. Be very selective about the time you vacation. Pull kids out of school to get the most bang for your buck.

Stay for 7 days minimum. Plan on going to MK for 3 days, EP 2 days, DHS, 2 days, and AK 1 day. Due to the limit on the number of FP+ one can get, extended vacations will allow you to use FP+ on all the main attractions.

Don't worry about park hopping unless you're interested in seeing the lesser known attractions.

Do not change your schedule the day of unless you are OK with losing your headlining FP+ appointments.

At non busy times you will want to be at the parks at least a half hour before opening..at busy times get there an hour or two ahead. This way you can see the most attractions in a day, and perhaps even ride the headliners more than once. This will become more vital as FP+ becomes more established.

It's still ok to leave for an afternoon break, just make sure you get back in time for your FP+ appointments if you planned them for the afternoon.

Be prepared for huge lines to get into FP lines. That means bring ponchos.

Work with your kids on proper magic band placement to help keep the FP+ line moving.

Schedule your FP+ rides in the afternoons or evenings when the park is most crowded. You are better off using your FP+ selections at that time instead of waiting in huge lines for all non FP+ attractions.

If it's ever offered go ahead and purchase the unlimited FP no matter how much it costs.

 

[Networth]

Only thing I would change is making your FP+ in later afternoon/evening. We have found making them from 9am-1pm a much better fit. RD hit a headline or two, than use our 3 FPs while we in the the park. Grab lunch and leave around 1. We will grab a 4FP for something prior to leaving (POTC, F!, HM). We than go back to the park in the evening and ride the 2nd and 3rd tier of rides. Everything else your pretty spot on.

 

[Bete]

I agree with most of what you said.

There are reports that free dining has actually leveled out the advantage of going in Sept. and Nov.; so, there really is not a so-called good time to go anymore.

We will be using Disney as a part-time park, now. We may go for a week to get more FP+ but we won't be at Disney all day. We will book our FP+ for late afternoons and/or evenings mostly and go to other parks like SeaWorld, Universal and so forth for the day. We will do our dining elsewhere, too; unless we have Disney free dining.

After a few trips under the new FP system I feel this will be our best strategy. For us, there are not too many rides where waiting past an half hour is worth it for us.

I do feel I have less value now at Disney and still paying the same prices for a partial day there instead of a full day there. Because value is lessened for us we will not go to Disney as often.

I am confident in 3 to 5 years Disney will feel the impact of this decision and we will see another form of FP.

 

[robinb]

I agree with everything except your view on park hopping. I think FP+ makes hopping even more important. Make rope drop at one park and then end up at another park for your FP+. We'll see how that works for me next month.

 

[magicbob]

Only thing I would change is making your FP+ in later afternoon/evening. We have found making them from 9am-1pm a much better fit. RD hit a headline or two, than use our 3 FPs while we in the the park. Grab lunch and leave around 1. We will grab a 4FP for something prior to leaving (POTC, F!, HM). We than go back to the park in the evening and ride the 2nd and 3rd tier of rides. Everything else your pretty spot on.

I'm pretty sure the original advice was given before the advent of 4th FP+ being an option. There's still a fair amount of debate concerning whether it's more advantageous to schedule FP+ earlier in order to qualify for a 4th and subsequent FP+s. Some maintain that it's best to schedule as early as possible, while others have suggested that the availability of desirable FP+ on the day of are not plentiful enough to warrant this strategy.

I agree with everything except your view on park hopping. I think FP+ makes hopping even more important. Make rope drop at one park and then end up at another park for your FP+. We'll see how that works for me next month.

I think if you are park hopping, it is still a valid strategy to schedule FP+ for the afternoon/evening at the park you hop to. Take advantage of RD at park #1 for reduced waits and go to park #2 with some reservations already in your back pocket. This is especially useful if you wish to hop to EPCOT for dinner and you can ride Soarin' in the late afternoon with less wait. But I think this strategy depends on which park you're hopping to, which parking you're hopping from, etc.

Especially at MK, I like the idea of going to RD and hitting headliners early with minimal waits, having FP+ scheduled for 11am-2pm when crowds are picking up, getting a 4th FP+ before leaving the park (as suggested by PP) to take a break at the resort, then return to the park in the evening to use the 4th and subsequent FP+s.

I'm interested to see how these strategies pan out over time. It's probably still too early to tell if one is demonstrably better than the other (and, of course, what is better for some may be worse for others depending on touring style, etc.).

 

[ArwenMarie]

I agree.

I would add...Make sure you are ok with doing a lot of planning AND with things falling apart once you get there for whatever reason. Be ok with the fact that you will not necessarily be able to adjust plans to your exact taste once there. In other words, if you are willing to plan and to be very flexible and easygoing once you are there, you are in good shape.

The length of vacation as you mentioned helps with this too.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Just to add a year later anyone offsite ( locals or vacationers wanting more space for their money ) are still at a disadvantage. Ahhh in a perfect world but there are enough of those threads around.

 

[ChicagoMom]

I think you were pretty much spot on. We spent extra days in the parks during our last trip to get more FP+ to ensure we were able to ride what we wanted. But I do disagree a little bit about 2 days at DHS. I know about the tiering thing there but as long as you have a FP+ for TSMM, you should be fine with riding RnR and ToT if you follow the advice about going at a slower time and RD. Personally I hate the idea of wasting an additional day at DHS simply to get FP+ for the 3 headliners.

 

[LSUfan4444]

I agree with everything except your view on park hopping. I think FP+ makes hopping even more important. Make rope drop at one park and then end up at another park for your FP+. We'll see how that works for me next month.

I agree 100%...this is what I said last December:

People might get sick of me saying it, but the people who have the biggest issues with FP+ will be those who went during high crowd time, didn't like to plan, didn't really hit rope drop and were very FP- dependent to begin with.

Like you, I am a rope dropper, who travels during low crowd seasons, plans well in advance (ADRs, parks on which day etc) and never really used that many FP- anyway (maybe 1 or 2 a day, but often none).

We still plan on hitting RD at one park and using out FP+ for later in the day when lines will get longer.

 

[wisblue]

I have the following comments on some of your points:

Stay for 7 days minimum. Plan on going to MK for 3 days, EP 2 days, DHS, 2 days, and AK 1 day. Due to the limit on the number of FP+ one can get, extended vacations will allow you to use FP+ on all the main attractions.

Although longer trips are nice, and you can always see and do more things on a longer trip, you shouldn't need 7 days to do all of the major attractions, unless you are completely unwilling to arrive at a park at opening and will only do major attractions with a FP.

Especially at DHS, Epcot, and DAK it is no problem doing the four biggest headlining attractions in relatively short order at opening, even without FPs, and it's that much easier if you use your FPs. It's even better if you can take advantage of AM EMH and/or single rider lines at RNRC, Test Track, and EE.

Don't worry about park hopping unless you're interested in seeing the lesser known attractions.

This is probably true if you plan to use your FPs at the first park of the day. But, hopping is a perfect way to do a number of major attractions at one park in the morning and 3 more at a second park using FPs in the late afternoon or early evening.


At non busy times you will want to be at the parks at least a half hour before opening..at busy times get there an hour or two ahead. This way you can see the most attractions in a day, and perhaps even ride the headliners more than once. This will become more vital as FP+ becomes more established.

Getting to a park a half hour before opening is always good if you want to do a few top attractions with short waits without using FPs. But, it is important to keep in mind that the actual park opening is often 10-15 minutes before the officially posted opening, especially at busy times. So, arriving 45 minutes before stated opening can be helpful. But, getting there any earlier than that is unlikely to help . Even at the busiest times of year, if you get there an hour early you will probably be able to count the people there ahead of you, and anyone who got there 2 hours early will be right ahead of you in line.

Be prepared for huge lines to get into FP lines. That means bring ponchos.

I guess it's not a bad idea to be prepared for anything, but my actual experience going through a few dozen FP+ lines along with reports on this board tell me that "huge" lines at FP+ terminals are much more the exception than the rule.

Work with your kids on proper magic band placement to help keep the FP+ line moving.

Just as important, if not more important, is working with the kids and the adults in your party to USE BOTH SIDES OF THE LINE. I often see a family of four or more line up in single file at one touch point while the other one sits empty and nobody else in the line is aware enough to move to the other side.

 

[Baptist]

I agree with everything except your view on park hopping. I think FP+ makes hopping even more important. Make rope drop at one park and then end up at another park for your FP+. We'll see how that works for me next month.

I completely agree with this statement. Park hopping and FP+ work very well together. You no longer have to be in a park to get a FP.