Really freaked out about Fastpass planning

[acarsme123]

I am really scared I’m not going to get us fast passes for the Pandora stuff. We are staying on-site so we get the 60 day window, and we will be there for a week. But I’m nervous that they only allow you to pick one Pandora thing to use a fastpass on. The other thing is we don’t normally make it into the evening at a park if we get there right at opening. So on Tuesday of our trip we have Tusker House reservations at 9:15am. We also have Boma reservations at 6pm. Obviously it would be too late to go back to AK after Boma cause it looks like it closes at 8pm in March. I thought Disney was going to start keeping AK open later into the night? Whatever happened to that? Anyways I really want to see Pandora at night too, so we need another day to go back there. I thought since Hollywood Studios has so little as far as rides right now, we could hammer that out one day starting in the late afternoon. Have a 3pm lunch. Then head to AK for the rest of the night. My coworker tonight reminded me though that I have to make all initial FastPass picks at the same park. So that means I will use them all at HS and have nothing for when we get to Animal Kingdom for the evening. I know you can pick additional fast passes, but I doubt I’ll score any Pandora stuff, right? I’m just freaking out about strategy the week we are there. I always feel we never get to do everything unless we go from rope drop to park close, and we just don’t have the stamina for that usually.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I think you will probably have to prioritize your plans. In terms of FP+ selection for Pandora rides, beggars can't be choosers, so, when your FP+ window opens, if a Pandora FP+ is available, you may have to alter your ADR plans to accomodate. If you can snag FOP FP+, get those and just do Nav'i stand-by either at RD on that Tuesday (you'd have to switch your TH reservation) or do it stand-by on your DHS/AK day. No matter how you slice it, unless you pre-book Nav'i on one day and FOP on another, you will have to do something standby. Day-of Pandora FP+ have been reported here, but those people got seriously lucky, so I wouldn't count on it.

 

[pitpat]

Try for your FPs and don;t worry about it until you see how you do.

Also, I'd make that breakfast reservation later because you'll be sitting there during the most valuable park touring time of the day. That stops you from rope dropping either Pandora ride, or riding anything else with no wait.

 

[KittyKitty]

When I made our 60 days FP's, I started with the most important FP, Flight of Passage. I also planned our AK day 4 days into my trip. I was able to get a 3pm. I then went to Mine train and booked that. Then backed to AK day and booked the other FP's for the rest of the trip. I saw this as an adventure!

If for some reason you don't get a fast pass for FoP, then you can go standby. 2 hours standby, probably, but you get to see all the cool stuff in line.

Don't be worried nor scared about what to do till you have your FP. Then start planning around it.

Since FP's open at 4am here on the West Coast, I started gradually getting up earlier and earlier before the 60 day.....Yes, I am a planner....Ha!

Have a great time!

 

[Allison]

I always feel we never get to do everything unless we go from rope drop to park close, and we just don’t have the stamina for that usually.

And it is important to know you won't get to do everything going in and know that it is okay. This is all supposed to be fun, right? Just remind yourself it will just fine if you miss something. One attraction does not make or break a vacation.

 

[Anabelletoronto]

I would plan your AK day as late into your trip as possible. Mine was Day 5 but a Saturday and I got a 2pm FP.

 

[PSUGuy]

FWIW I couldn't get a FP+ for FoP at 64 days out but I succeeded at 68 days for our party of 11.

Bill From PA

 

[SaintsManiac]

If FoP is the most important then book it first toward the very end of the trip. If it means that much then you'll need to work around it. AK is our day 6 and I was able to get them for the evening, which is when we wanted them anyway. You're just going to have to be flexible with it.

 

[FutureDisneyEventPlanner]

how many people are in your party? i had five in mine and i made the reservation for one person and then used the modify option to add the rest of my party. this doesn't always work, but i've heard a lot of success stories, including myself. don't stress over it or you'll make yourself crazy!

 

[BigredNole]

Best way to do it is plan your Must-have FPs and work from the last day to first day of the trip. My latest experience at the 60-day mark was that I could get the FoP FPs on day 66. Someone said they were able to get a few days earlier, but that may have been adds. Day 66 was the only day available for as I booked our critical FPs.

 

[nfceagles]

You simply have to prioritize and make some decisions.

1) You could not book FP for HS which likely means skipping TSMM. Or you could do HS in the morning doing TSMM at rope drop and booking a Pandora FP at AK for that evening. Resting during the afternoon.
2) I would skip TH, surely that does not make or break a vacation. Eat something quick in the room and then do Na'vi at AK rope drop and FOP with a FP whenever you can get it. My FP window opened up this morning and I FOP for a party of 7 at 12:45 on the 5th day of our trip.
3) Get FP for one and do the other standby. It will be a long line, but the lines will be full of awesome new stuff you've never seen before. Enjoy the time and take it all in. Skip other things at AK that you've seen before.

 

[Lesley Wake]

I understand your worry and anxiety around Fastpass-I was literally having nightmares about it!

For FoP, like people said, if it's available you need to grab it. If for some reason you can't get it, you can do standby-while it's a long line, it is very interesting so doesn't feel as bad! I would say if the line is 90 minutes or less, go for it!

For NRJ, I was able to get 2 different same-day FPs for it, one at 3 and another at 7. Remember to keep hitting refresh-refresh-refresh! At least because of the tiering if one becomes available it will show at the top of the list so you don't need to scroll down!

I also agree that you may need to rethink some of your ADRs and your touring style. While I loved Boma for brunch, doing it at 6pm is really going to cut off any opportunity for evening park enjoyment. Would you be able to move it earlier or later? I did our Tusker House dinner at 4:30 which I was worried was too early but it turned out great because there was no wait and no crowds-by the time we got out at 5:30 there were lots of people waiting!

As for Disney keeping AK open later, it sucks that they didn't continue doing that after summer was over! Especially because it appears October is so much more crowded than the summer! Really now there is so much to see in AK at night you can't do it properly in one night with the limited hours!

 

[Elle23]

Standby never killed anyone.

We wait for so many things at Disney. If we are unable to get FPs for FOP, we will just do standby. Glad it’s still an option.

 

[mickeysgirl17]

I was able to get a FOP fastpass at 66 days out at 9am and there were even more options. I guess i was lucky.

 

[BigredNole]

This is the problem with Disney now. They cause so much anxiety and you have to plan everything out to the minute. First you have to plan ADRs, then plan FPs around ADRs, then rearrange everything around shows etc. All of this planning sucks now. Needs to go back to spontaneity. You want FP for FoP, go to the kiosk by the ride and get it. You want to eat at La Callier's, call at 7AM that morning to get it.

 

[acarsme123]

I agree. It is really stressful. While i am glad I planned so much last trip, and it certainly helped things go smoothly once we were there, I wish I could be one of those “go with the flow” families and just have no plans. No ADRs. Just eat quick service somewhere wherever we happen to be at the time.

I love the FastPass system but I think some elements of it need to be rethinked. Especially once all these new attractions open by 2021 I can’t help but wonder if Disney should increase the initial FastPass allotment to 4. And I don’t understand this limitation of having to pick all three initial ones at the same park especially if you purchased the Park Hopper option. I always get the park hopper, but we never really used it once last trip. We will use it on this one for sure due to our dining picks and some other park strategies, but I would feel better about getting the park hopper if I could split up FastPass picks.

 

[Sparkly]

This is the problem with Disney now. They cause so much anxiety and you have to plan everything out to the minute. First you have to plan ADRs, then plan FPs around ADRs, then rearrange everything around shows etc. All of this planning sucks now. Needs to go back to spontaneity. You want FP for FoP, go to the kiosk by the ride and get it. You want to eat at La Callier's, call at 7AM that morning to get it.

Not entirely. We've never had trouble planning stuff and haven't needed to rearrange stuff either.

 

[Ava]

You’ll never be able to do everything in one trip, so you just have to prioritize. If riding FOP is a top “must do” for your family, book that FP+ first, take whatever time you can get, then arrange the rest of your plans around it. That may mean moving or canceling one of your ADRs that day, or skipping other things in the park.

When I booked FP for our summer trip, I got FOP at 5:20pm on day 64. I tried many times to move it earlier but could never find another time so we made it work. We didn’t make it all the way to nighttime to see any of the after dark stuff, didn’t ride the Safari at sunset like I’d planned, and I’ve still never seen the Nemo show, but we had a great day at AK anyway.

Point being, things will never go exactly as you plan them at Disney World. You will have a much better trip if you let go of the idea that you have to do everything and just enjoy the things you are able to do.

 

[acarsme123]

good point, I'm trying to relax and calm down about it....just hard to do. I don't remember having this much anxiety with our trip two years ago. I think it's the Pandora stuff that's doing it for me this time, plus trying to change halfway through our trip from a rope drop arrival, to a later in the day but getting to stay into the night arrival.

 

[acarsme123]

We are going to have a full day at Animal Kingdom on Tuesday of our trip. And then we are going to eat Beaches and Cream around 3pm on Friday and then head back to Animal Kingdom. Even if we don't get any of the Pandora stuff in on Tuesday, I will at least do the standby line for it on Friday. I really just wanted to see the place at night mostly, but being able to get the rides in as well would be good too.