"Planning" 4th, 5th, 6th, etc fast passes?

[sarahothomas]

Do people generally "plan" their 4th, 5th, 6th fast passes? Or do you just go with the flow? I am trying to create a very general/basic touring plan for our December trip. This is my first trip back to WDW in a long time and my husband's first trip ever. I will of course take advantage of the 60-day FP planning, but should I even bother planning (wishing) for specific FP after I've used my 3rd one?

 

[Roxyfire]

No, but I also leave my afternoon/evening rather open other than swimming or a dining reservation. Going in December you'll have to think about the Christmas party schedules and their impact on not just MK but the other parks. Basically, I just refresh my app and see what comes up, preferably within the hour, at the same park I'm at presently. If you're going with 2 this is a great strategy because people change their minds all the time. I've gotten some crazy good additional FP selections by checking frequently. As far as wishing/planning around them, probably more so prioritizing. For example, HS is a good place to think about this as it's a half day park for most. Think about the rides and shows there, what would you like to go on? For us it's usually RnRC, then ToT, then Star Tours, then Toy Story. I'll snag something like GMR just to have something to do but I have no qualms about swapping it out for something better as I keep searching. Does that make sense?

 

[Shanti]

Do people generally "plan" their 4th, 5th, 6th fast passes? Or do you just go with the flow? I am trying to create a very general/basic touring plan for our December trip. This is my first trip back to WDW in a long time and my husband's first trip ever. I will of course take advantage of the 60-day FP planning, but should I even bother planning (wishing) for specific FP after I've used my 3rd one?

Go with the flow.

 

[CinderellaDream]

We go with the flow and check often to see what's available.

 

[sarahothomas]

No, but I also leave my afternoon/evening rather open other than swimming or a dining reservation. Going in December you'll have to think about the Christmas party schedules and their impact on not just MK but the other parks. Basically, I just refresh my app and see what comes up, preferably within the hour, at the same park I'm at presently. If you're going with 2 this is a great strategy because people change their minds all the time. I've gotten some crazy good additional FP selections by checking frequently. As far as wishing/planning around them, probably more so prioritizing. For example, HS is a good place to think about this as it's a half day park for most. Think about the rides and shows there, what would you like to go on? For us it's usually RnRC, then ToT, then Star Tours, then Toy Story. I'll snag something like GMR just to have something to do but I have no qualms about swapping it out for something better as I keep searching. Does that make sense?

That sounds like a very good strategy. Thanks so much!
I am not normally the type of person to make plans, but I think my past trips have been negatively effected by the fact that we didn't plan at all (not even what park on what day). I want to have a general idea, but leave myself open to changes. And I will definitely need to create a list of my "must-do" rides.

 

[FelisLachesis]

You really can't plan for the extra fastpass. I think of them like leftovers. You're not sure what you're going to find when you open the fridge, like you're not sure what you're going to find when you open MDE. Just find something cool, not too far away, and relatively soon.

 

[anomamatt]

You cannot plan on XYZ being available at a specific time. However, my best advice is to (essentially) memorize the park maps. That way, when you've just ridden Dumbo and you see there is a FP currently available with a window starting in 10 mins for both tea cups and magic carpets, you'll know which to pick.

If you want to maximize the number of attractions you do, the worst thing you can do is to walk back and forth across the park. Knowing the park layouts and what is nearby is crucial in deciding which additional FP you want next.

 

[ELSA711]

Sometimes, but it's really hard to plan. I give myself a few options depending on park and which land my last FP+ was in.
This past trip (June) we didn't plan anything since we left our afternoon and evenings open due to heat. Never were sure if we'd be going back out or not.
When we decided that we wanted to go back out we just decided to wing it and go with which ever park we could handle that evening.

 

[Hootch]

Generally, we look at what is available. We have things we like so the timing and the priority come into play. For example, we were doing the on Tomorrowland Speedway and FPs for four were available in five minutes for Dumbo. It's low priority but it is in the area, it is immediate and it is something we had not done. We like to do Big Thunder at night, but I am not going to reserve a FP for 9:00 PM when it's only 3:00 PM.

 

[Roxyfire]

That sounds like a very good strategy. Thanks so much!
I am not normally the type of person to make plans, but I think my past trips have been negatively effected by the fact that we didn't plan at all (not even what park on what day). I want to have a general idea, but leave myself open to changes. And I will definitely need to create a list of my "must-do" rides.

I've found that super planning everything is about as detrimental as not planning. Other points are good here as well, memorize those park maps. Decide what time you think you want to get to each park. Try to get there for rope drop at least a couple days if you can manage it as that helps a lot. Otherwise, make those FPs early enough to get more, but not too early as to waste them. This timing will really vary based on the year so the main FP+ thread can help you in timing them.

 

[lchuck]

I would jump in and say that you can absolutely plan on certain rides being available as 4th, 5th, 6th, etc. There is no reason to ever wait in a line for rides like it's a Small World, Magic Carpets, Mad Tea Party, etc. Those rides are ALWAYS available with a quick refresh or 2, so when you make your plan, just know that you will be invariably running later than it says you will be and those extra FP+ will make up the difference. Maybe someday when literally every guest in the park starts to use the FP+ system that will change, but until that day many rides are a guarantee to be available.

 

[Indio]

One trick we learned this trip - when looking for FP+ beyond the 1st 3, if the ride you want doesn't show up, put in a specific time - like 3:30. We had the options change when we'd enter a specific time - and we were booking for 12 so you can find some good ones! On our last day, we used our 1st 3 passes at Epcot, then went to Magic Kingdom. We got 6 more FP throughout the day/evening. Our time for Jungle Cruise was rained out so we got an email giving us "anywhere" passes - they were good on any ride so we used them on Space Mountain. If it's raining, be sure to check your email if your ride is closed during your window!

 

[marcyleecorgan]

I have a list of Plan B and C to FP+ if nothing is available for my family's favorite rides by the time we use the first 3... but like anomamatt says, you really HAVE to memorize that map to know where to go in the quickest time possible.

 

[jsmla]

I'm kinda, sorta compiling a mental list of which attractions tend to have FPs available later in the day by doing dummy bookings for the times/parks I anticipate wanting in September. So far I'm surprised at what I'm seeing-possible 4th FPs for rides like Soarin' and TSMM. I usually check 11:00-12:00(ish).

 

[Minnesota!]

I am just loosely planning (hoping, maybe?) for a ROL FP available for my 4th on my first park day. I have a ROL dinner package later in the week that I really want to cancel, but I am not all about standing in standby, in August, waiting for a show that has been panned..

 

[Klayfish]

One trick we learned this trip - when looking for FP+ beyond the 1st 3, if the ride you want doesn't show up, put in a specific time - like 3:30. We had the options change when we'd enter a specific time - and we were booking for 12 so you can find some good ones! On our last day, we used our 1st 3 passes at Epcot, then went to Magic Kingdom. We got 6 more FP throughout the day/evening. Our time for Jungle Cruise was rained out so we got an email giving us "anywhere" passes - they were good on any ride so we used them on Space Mountain. If it's raining, be sure to check your email if your ride is closed during your window!

Yep, you can try doing that.

We're here now, and we also are go with the flow people anyway. When it comes to 4th or more FP+, we go with what's available. There are certain rides that are generally easier to get than others, and certain rides that may be easy to get on without a FP+ anyway. Even popular rides often get short lines near park closing, so if you know you'll be in the park late, you can use that strategy too and not worry about FP+ for that ride. We've only been here a few days, and a few examples for us already:

Yesterday, we were in Epcot for the morning. Had FP+ starting around 9:30am. First was TT. We had used all 3 of them well before lunch. So while we were eating, I was playing around with MDE some. I booked Living w/the Land because we were eating right there anyway. The line was 30 minutes long (I'd never seen that before, but whatever), so since we were there, why not. However, I played around a little more while we were eating, by selecting a specific time and suddenly TT showed up for 1:15pm. Guess maybe someone dropped theirs, who knows. Woohoo!!

Saturday night, the kids were with the babysitter (walking around HS). DW and I went to the Boardwalk, rented a surrey bike (awesome fun BTW) and then went back to HS. Went to ride TSMM at 9:10pm (park closed at 9:30pm). We were second in line, waited 30 seconds. Got off, circled around and got right back on. This time we were literally the only people in line.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

We don't plan those at all. Just see what's available once we're there.

 

[RangerPooh]

We are go with the flow types based on availability and that park that we are at or considering switching to.

 

[Ambehnke]

We just pick up whatever is available when we're ready to ride.