Park Hopper Strategy

[GatorBoyz]

Hello everyone ,
4 years later, we are heading back for our DD 's 10th Birthday.
New to Fast Pass + . I have researched but still have some doubts / questions .

We typically rope drop at a park , head to pool at Beach Club for lunch swim then head back to a different park before or after Supper . I guess what i am trying to decide on , is ....Is it better strategy for us to rope drop , hit our favorites such as SDMT first then the other Mountains in any such order .
Then break and save the Fast-passes for the evening park ?

We are going may 11-18th . Also , where i am have a tough time understanding is , let's say we chose to do a 10am Mine Train , 11 space mtn , and then a 12 Splash . So we get finished riding those , then hop a Rail to the TTC and walk to the resort .
Later that day we head to Epcot for Dinner , and a few rides . When and how do i get the " Fourth " that i am reading about ? Also , is that then "it" for the day .

If anyone can make any sense of this ......Greatly appreciated .
BTW tomorrow is 60 days....Last Minute Tim at it again !

TNT TIM

 

[DynamicDisney]

when I know we are going to hop, I set up our FP+ for the 2nd park. Once you use your 3rd FP, you are then able to go on the My Disney Experience (MDE) app, and can make another FP selection right on there, even if for a different park. Then, once that 4th FP is used, then you can select a 5th, and continue on - depending on what else might be available at the time for the remainder of the day.

 

[Farro]

We plan to use our fast passes up for the must dos in the mornings this time, then take advantage of being able to make new ones. Last time in 2014 we made fast passes for early afternoon so we rope dropped, got a lot of the smaller rides done, and then found ourselves kind of waiting around for our fast passes when we really just wanted to go laze by the pool.

Only exception is when we plan to hit a park purposely at night (MK one night, AK one night, etc.) - then we may or may not rope drop another park in the morning to get big rides done, break, and then go to our night park with our fast passes.

 

[davkata]

Hello everyone ,
4 years later, we are heading back for our DD 's 10th Birthday.
New to Fast Pass + . I have researched but still have some doubts / questions .

We typically rope drop at a park , head to pool at Beach Club for lunch swim then head back to a different park before or after Supper . I guess what i am trying to decide on , is ....Is it better strategy for us to rope drop , hit our favorites such as SDMT first then the other Mountains in any such order .
Then break and save the Fast-passes for the evening park ?

This is exactly what we have done the last 3 years during a very busy President's week (once was also Mardi Gras!). It worked very well and we had little to no waits and rode all the headliners using the RD strategy in the morning EMH park and then FP in a different park later in the day. We often hopped to a 3rd park if there were later hours too. We are going back in May the week after you and plan to use the same strategy again! We love the mid day rest time since we get up early to RD. We either lay by the pool or nap in the room weather depending...Have a great trip!

 

[ThistleMae]

They also have kiosks in the parks to make another FP once you use all three. You can't do 2 at one park and a 3rd at another, they all have to be used at the same park. But once you use them, u can book your next one at whatever park you are at. I do have a question about using the kiosk, say at MK...and you use all 3....can u use the kiosk to book a 4th at another park? I know you could use the app, but wondering about the kiosk.

 

[hiroMYhero]

They also have kiosks in the parks to make another FP once you use all three. You can't do 2 at one park and a 3rd at another, they all have to be used at the same park. But once you use them, u can book your next one at whatever park you are at. I do have a question about using the kiosk, say at MK...and you use all 3....can u use the kiosk to book a 4th at another park? I know you could use the app, but wondering about the kiosk.

You can have 2 FPs in Park#1 and as soon as a guest enters FP line #1, they can use the app and book FP#3 for Park#2.

Please see the FP FAQ ADDENDUM at the top of the FP subforum where this thread is being moved.

 

[GatorBoyz]

You can have 2 FPs in Park#1 and as soon as a guest enters FP line #1, they can use the app and book FP#3 for Park#2.

Please see the FP FAQ ADDENDUM at the top of the FP subforum where this thread is being moved.

Thanks for moving thread. I meant to put it here lol .
The strategy that you mention sounds awesome. So during the Rope Drop days we could hit some favorites and book two early FP . Once i enter the queue for the first ride say , using a 930 mine train FP , i can then book our 3rd FP of the day at a different park , obviously as long as i only had 2 booked for the original park .
Thanks for the patience

 

[hiroMYhero]

Thanks for moving thread. I meant to put it here lol .
The strategy that you mention sounds awesome. So during the Rope Drop days we could hit some favorites and book two early FP . Once i enter the queue for the first ride say , using a 930 mine train FP , i can then book our 3rd FP of the day at a different park , obviously as long as i only had 2 booked for the original park .
Thanks for the patience

Correct on the strategy!

You can also do this:
Book FP#1 for Park#1.
Enter the FP#1 line and book FP#2 for Park#2; book FP#3 for Park#3.

There is Express Busing, for a price, specifically for park hopper guests to use.

*The Express Bus thread is on the main TPAS board.

 

[GatorBoyz]

Correct on the strategy!

You can also do this:
Book FP#1 for Park#1.
Enter the FP#1 line and book FP#2 for Park#2; book FP#3 for Park#3.

There is Express Busing, for a price, specifically for park hopper guests to use.

*The Express Bus thread is on the main TPAS board.

Now the kicker .....from what i have read , and maybe someone can direct me to where , there are a few major rides that are very unlikely to have "same day " FP availability . Such as Frozen , which we would be ok skipping . So to be more specific , using that previously mentioned strategy , and we would be night timing at Epcot , lets say , i assume i can book a tier 1 " Soaring" for instance .
Now i know some of us wold feel naked using a strategy of only booking one or two FP's per day when you are allowed 3 at booking ...( or some may feel jipped ) .
So just wondering if anyone else has had success using this strategy , and if someone else could tell me the rides with no chance of same day passes .
Tim

 

[hiroMYhero]

Frozen FPs will probably be gone by 30 days out.

7DMT is another that you shouldn't count on but people do Cancel FPs all the time and they do pop up "day of."

Some people like to book a Tier 1 for Park#1 and then immediately book a Tier 1 for Park#2. The system allows a Tier 1 in 2 different parks.

If you are rope dropping, then book for Park#2. We don't rope drop and on our last trip we booked Soarin'. Then after we decided we didn't need FP#3 for Epcot, we booked Splash for the last return window of the night.

But, if you want to try for a FP for a 2nd Tier 1 in the same park, that's a different strategy that's also explained in the ADDENDUM Sticky.

There's a lot of info in that Sticky - marciemi has very specific directions posted there.

New Express Transportation: $19/day or $29/week; Schedule: Page 57 - Post #1135

 

[Steel78li]

I always suggest scheduling FP early in the day.... you never know when plans can go up in smoke. Doing them early make them more easily to be part of a plan that you stick to.

 

[ThistleMae]

Huh...I didn't know about express transportation, so thanks for that. But...it seems if you book FP's this way, the day of at a second park or 3rd, it would be unlikely for you to get what you really want at the second or third park?