Planning Fast Passes and ADR's

Robdotflake

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jul 4, 2019
Messages
18
My husband and I have our trip booked for June 2 - June 9 2020. The last time I went FP's were available at the rides. There was no scheduling online beforehand. I had a difficult enough time planning and scheduling ADR's then. My question is what is the best way to plan our day? Which park to go to on what day, when and what FP's to reserve and what restaurants to plan. We are staying at POP Century with 8 day park hopper and the dining plan (1 TS, 1QS and 2 snacks)

I am usually a very organized person but this trip has gotten me so overwhelmed.

Thanks in advance
 
I would start out with what hard-to-get FPs do you want? If you want FoP or SDD, put HS and AK days at the end of your trip as those FPs are not usually available at all in the first few days of a trip. MK is the easiest for FPs as it has the most options by far. Once you have a general plan on what parks you will hit on what days, fill in what ADRs you want to go for. If you end up having to switch things around later, don't panic. It's easier to change ADRs than you think (in general except for a few super popular ones).

When it comes to FP booking day, make sure you book SDD first, then FoP. Yes, even if those are late in your trip. 7DMT next then fill in the rest. Of course if Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway FP is offered by then or the Galaxy's Edge rides, those should be bumped to first.
 
You got this! It can be overwhelming. The good news is that you are starting early and have plenty of time to make tentative arrangements and then change those arrangements (if necessary) as you are planning.

With 8 days, you should have no problems finding the FP's you want, particularly at the end of your trip (the last 2-3 days will show lots of availability).

Here's how I plan nowadays:

1. Figure out which attractions I want to do. Plan on going to those parks at the end of my trip to ensure you get FP's for those ride(s). For example, our favorite ride is Flight of Passage, so we always try to do Animal Kingdom on our last day, which gives us lots of FP options.
2. Check park hours, avoid selecting a park if it has evening EMH. Sometimes I opt to start at a park with morning EMH and then hop elsewhere. When park hopping, I like to schedule FP's for my first park and then grab additional FP's for the second park (others will say to do the opposite, just do what you want to do!)
3. Book ADR's based on my tentative FP plan (these reservations will probably change in order to work with the FP schedule I book at 60 days in advance).

Everyone has their way of doing things. Just take one thing at a time and you will have a great trip!
 
The last two days of your trip, June 8 and 9, I feel will be the most crowded. This is because nearly all schools will be out by then. But that's just my take. I think Magic Kingdom on a Saturday is usually more crowded than other days of the week. But I think you should go based on what days you want to go to which parks above all else. It is true the big three, FOP, SDD, and 7DMT, are easier to get the later in the trip you try for them. I always plan my must do dining reservations and then go for the fast passes I can get around them, but I know some people say never sacrifice a wanted FP for a wanted ADR. But I enjoy the ADR's in restaurants I want as much as the FP's for the rides I want!
 

You have some great things going for you: small party of 2, staying on site so you'll have early booking and you have a decently long vacation of 8 park days. You've got this!

I would use google if I were you to find the list of the most difficult to get ADRs. See if any of those interest you. If they do, then plan them toward the end of your trip. Choose easier ADRs to get earlier in the trip. Also note which dining places use two sit down credits, we avoided those when we were on the meal plan.

Regarding where to go on which days - we chose Magic Kingdom on our first day because it was quintessential Disney. On our second day, we wanted to go to the ticketed event Early Morning Magic at HS, and EMM was only offered certain days, so that made it easy for us. Then we kind of just filled them in, knowing we wanted one day at HS, one day at AK, and then the rest at MK. We skipped Epcot.
 
No worries - just a new planning strategy to organize! The good news is you have a nice long trip and could go to each park twice or more with hopping, so you do not have to be rushed, and will be able to get FP for the bigger rides later in the week as PPs talked about above. You can also split FP choices into 2 days, so what you can't get early in week you can get later. Also with only 2 people, it is easier to get both ADRs and FP! You can start by making a spreadsheet type plan(I like to actually write mine out on a paper grid !) and lay out your days, then pick parks you want to do each day. It sounds like you will go to a park for part of the day on arrival/departure days by your number of tickets, and then think about if you want to utilize early EMH (can be good with heat and crowds if you are morning people) and/or late EMH, and as mentioned above, and then decide to go to that park or avoid it. If you go early, you might take a break in the heat of the afternoon to use the pool or rest, and then hop back or to a different park for evening. A sleep in day in the middle is also good if you are doing some early days as well. I also lay out night shows to see on certain days and the MK parade. Once you know where you think you want to be, you can plan ADRs for those parks or nearby resorts.

With FPs, we usually make them late morning-early afternoon, like 11, 12, 1(if available of course!) We rope drop(RD), take advantage of first few hours when lines are shorter, sometimes do a late brft at Crystal Palace or Tusker House, then start FPs as lines get longer. Then after you check in for your third, you can make a fourth while there is still some possibly available, and then 5th, etc. If you are leaving for a break, you can make one for the evening in same park or one you are hopping to later. Alternately, you can do the same thing if going to park late morning, can start with FPs, then try for more, with break for late lunch or dinner. If going to one park early then hopping to second park for reat of day, many people do not make FP for first park since they will do a few rides there first thing with shorter lines, then make FPs for afternoon in 2nd park when they arrive.

At MK, 7DMT and Peter Pan(believe it or not) are usually an hour+ as day goes on, so you want to RD them or get FP, followed by the Mts(Space, Splash, and Big Thunder). Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Buzz, etc can often be gotten as 4th FP. The nice thing is you will be able to check wait times on your app, so will be able to see what you want to do next or try for a 4th FP for as day goes on. At Epcot you can only choose one ride in Tier 1(Test Track, Soarin, or Frozen) and two in Tier 2(Spaceship Earth, Nemo, Mission Space,etc). Most people will choose Frozen or Soarin, and do something at RD, as well as TT has single rider line you can get in as another option. With two days possibly at each park you could split yours up as well. Since Frozen is in World Showcase, you may want that in the afternoon/evening if touring that part later since the rest does not open till 11. At HS, it remains to be seen what will be in Tier 1 by then since it has been changed recently for opening of Star Wars land, and if they add FPs for Star Wars ride. Slinky Dog Dash is currently hardest to get, but all big rides are now in Tier 1, so can only get 1 to start with, and 2 from Tier 2(now basically just shows). Hopefully it will be better by then! At AK, Tier1 has Pandora rides, either Flight of Passage(hardest to get) or Navi River, then rest is in Tier 2. So later in the week you could probably get FoP, and then grab Navi for your first AK day(if doing 2).

When you get on to do these at 7am on your 60 day mark, you will want to order them by hardest to get first, skipping around between days, not going in chronological order or doing all 3 for a day at once. It moves fast, so you want to grab hardest first when you think you have best chance, like later days. So if going to MK on day 5, AK on day 6, and HS on day 7 for example, you you would go to day 7, pick HS, and grab SDD. Then jump to day 6, AK and get FoP, and MK day 5 and get 7DMT. Then grab Epcot Tier 1, then back to Tier 1s for first days, then fill in Tier 2s, etc.

While it sounds crazy, it can work well if you have it organized, and know your plan. Also as structured as it makes it, you can still modify everything as you go, even FPs day of, and things may pop up if you don't get what you want, and can change ADRs till night before, so still more flexible than you'd think! And of course you have joined the great Disboards, so plenty of answers here as you come up with more questions! Have fun planning! :earsgirl:
 
Thank you so much everyone for all of your wonderful ideas and advice. Now I have somewhere to start...
 
Thank you so much everyone for all of your wonderful ideas and advice. Now I have somewhere to start...
 
Start with what days you want to do what parks and then go from there. Few rules I usually adhere to for my planning:
  • Start and end each trip with an MK day (travel days not included)
  • Never do the same park back to back.
  • Always plan in resort days/off days.
  • I have three young kids, so I never want to do 3 park days in a row, or close three parks in three days (i.e. a half day but the latter half).
  • Plan where you can take breaks and relax.
Once you have your cadence set for your time there, then start filling it up with places you want to eat at each area. Make a list of restaurants you'd like to try. Do some research on how fast they tend to fill up at the 180 day mark. There are a lot of tools that will ping you with an email or SMS msg when a time is available to book (like touringplans.com).

Always have contingency plans, never let a single experience denote your enjoyment for the day. You will be disappointed.

At 60 days, book your FPs. Find out which ones are the most popular and match them to the rides you most want to do. Book all your FPs early in the day so you can get to booking your 4th, 5th etc fastpass that day faster. (Once you use your three fastpasses you can then book 1 at a time for the rest of the day). Look up "refreshing".

It's a lot to think about, but build each day, one day at a time. And it's relatively simple.
 
Excessive amounts of planning won't make the parks any less crowded and you will waste a lot of pre-vacation time organizing everything. If you generally know which parks you plan to do on which day, you can organize your FastPasses. Dinner reservations can be cancelled the day prior, so you will often find places open up that previously appeared booked. We usually have no idea where we want to eat that far in advance, so we don't get too wrapped up in those plans.

When you make FastPasses, look at the park layout so you aren't spending tons of time zig-zagging all over the place just to get to the next reservation. You can only pre-reserve 3 each day, so try to pick the highest demand rides that are also a reasonable distance apart.
 
I wouldn't stress out about ADRs like a lot of people do. You can get the places you like all the way leading up to the day of. There are a few exceptions, but most places open up over time.
 












Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Walt Disney World!

Save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels when you stay 5 consecutive nights or longer in late summer and early fall. Plus, enjoy other savings for shorter stays.This offer is valid for stays most nights from August 1 to October 11, 2025.
CLICK HERE













DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest

Back
Top