Rope Drop with only 1 FP+ can you go straight to 4th FP+

[stairstepmom]

Any links?

I've read where folks were going to try this but haven't read any results yet. We considered doing this on our visit a couple of weeks ago but I was not able to schedule an early morning FP. The change to additional FPs took place a little before our visit so my original plans were set up under the previous FP guidelines (i.e. only 3 FPs and no additionals).

Sorry, it's not a forum but a live chat group, so no links to post. Just reports from some wonderful people, especially a very helpful local who first tested out the possibilities.

 

[mggeary]

I agree that's its a gamble but it might not be a bad one. We would essentially be gambling away 2 FP's that probably aren't even needed for the chance to get more good ones in Epcot or HS. Interesting to see how it works out, I could see us using this strategy in Epcot, we never need FP for anything not named Soarin' or TT.

Also agree, don't fix it.

purty please!!!!

Problem is rides that used tbe walk ons like Spaceship Earth and Figment are no longer so with FP+ and can have 20-30 min waits, making those tier 2 FP+ no longer useless. I still think its worth it to try though. I'll near to hear a few people report success before I cancel my FPs.

 

[DavidNYC]

Agree with others that this is not a loophole at all. In fact, probably exactly as intended. With the new ability to keep getting them one by one, this is now very similar to the old system with only two main differences as I look at it. (1) You can start off with up to 3 pre-booked but (2) they eliminated the 2-hour maximum before you can pull another fastpass - you now have to wait for the current return time to come for any that you're currently holding.

You want to give up some of your ability to pre-book? Go right ahead. You'll be left with whatever happens to be available. Might work great - might not! But you're 100% not exploiting something.

I really don't think there's a huge difference between this and the old fastpass. The main difference has nothing to do with the technology or ride capacity but is all caused by a tremendous increase in the number of people using fastpass more than they previously did.

 

[SplashMo]

For me Epcot has two rides and then countries and food. Still one of my favorite parks.

 

[RalphinSC]

By 11am at Epcot, the only fastpass I'd be interested in are either Maelstrom or Illuminations.

 

[noname70]

Still interested to hear if it works...

 

[Day-Day]

Sorry, it's not a forum but a live chat group, so no links to post. Just reports from some wonderful people, especially a very helpful local who first tested out the possibilities.

Thanks. Sounds interesting.

I don't think we will visit WDW again for at least a year and maybe closer to two years so who knows how the FP system will be working then? I'll try to keep up though.

 

[SplashMo]

I think the issue here is not understanding why the tiers are in place. They are in place to allow everyone to pre-book at least one Tier 1 attraction. If I make two Tier 2s and one Tier 1 in advance, that doesn't in any way "cheat" or get around the one Tier 1 in advance rule. I am then free to delete or change my Tier 2s. How is cancelling/deleting the Tier 2s in advance any worse than letting them expire? If I cancel them immediately, they go back into the pool, and anyone who finds them useful can book them.

At one point in time, you could not cancel unwanted FPs. Disney added that functionality later, so it must have been done intentionally by Disney. To me, that means cancelling unwanted FPs is not a loophole or a way to cheat the system. It is an intentional design element that has been added to FP+. Before the 4th FP, there was almost no incentive to use the cancellation feature, because once cancelled, you can't replace that FP. Now, with the 4th FP, cancelling unwanted lower tier FPs may become a useful feature.

To answer the OP, I have read reports that using this strategy does work. You can have a FP for Soarin only and then book another Tier 1 (or even Soarin again) right away. I will be trying this myself in 10 days, and I will report back.

How did it go? (Not sure if you are back yet)...

 

[famy27]

Please report back if it works. I am always skeptical MDE will be "smart" enough to avoid glitches. Don't want to get stuck not being able to book any extra FPs if I delete FP 2/3.

I promised to report back on this. So, here is my quick update. I will start a more detailed post on all of my additional FP+s once I have a chance to type up my notes.

This strategy worked perfectly for us. I booked three FP+s for EP at my 60-day window, and a few weeks later, I cancelled my two Tier 2s, leaving me with Soarin from 10:00 to 11:00. My DDs decided to sleep in that morning, so we redeemed our Soarin' FP at 10:55. By the time we got to the kiosk, it was about 11:20. The kiosk offered us every available ride, both Tier 1 and Tier 2. We could have selected TT at 1:55, but we had a 2:00 ADR, so we grabbed TT for 5:00 pm and made a leisurely trip back through WS after our ADR.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Only on property guests get a 4th FP right? But it CAN be Tier 1 too? So you can get 2 Tier 1s in a day???

 

[cel_disney]

Only on property guests get a 4th FP right? But it CAN be Tier 1 too? So you can get 2 Tier 1s in a day???

As stated in this thread a few times - you can pre-select 1, but you can get additional tier 1s day of in the park after using that one.

Book Soarin from 9-10, cancel on MDE your 10 and 11 FPs, and at 10:10 make a FP for TT.

It's not without risk - on busy days there may not be other choices or suitable times available. So, if you wanted to use all 3 FP first and then go to a kiosk for your fourth you can still get a tier 1 if available.

 

[cel_disney]

Here is my dilemma :
I want to ride TSMM, TofT, RNRC, see Dis JR show and see B&TB before 1pm
Here is my tentative fix:
Reserve TSMM for 9am, ToT for 10am, Great Movie Ride at 11
I will ride TSMM at 9, see DisJr show at 9:40, ride TOT in the 10-11 window, see B&TB at 11:30, letting the GMR FP+ expire.
My question is, What time can I try to reserve my 4th for RNRC? Can I do it at 11:05 (right after the window opens), or do I have to wait until 12:00 when it expires?

We are leaving the park at 1pm and I am afraid to wait until12:00 to try and get that 4th pass.

Alternatively, does anyone have any other suggestions?

I was thinking more about this post - are you thinking that when you finish beauty and the beast and get your 4th FP it will be usable before 1pm and be for RnRC? I don't think that's likely...

I think you should try to get folks into single rider line or standby after beauty for RnRC to be done with it by 1...there is always a small chance it's open - but I wouldn't count on it...

Alternatively - you could cancel your GMR FP before going to the park, and then after using your first two you will be able to book a day of FP as soon as the first two are complete. That might give you more choices to get one in your time slot.

 

[SplashMo]

I promised to report back on this. So, here is my quick update. I will start a more detailed post on all of my additional FP+s once I have a chance to type up my notes.

This strategy worked perfectly for us. I booked three FP+s for EP at my 60-day window, and a few weeks later, I cancelled my two Tier 2s, leaving me with Soarin from 10:00 to 11:00. My DDs decided to sleep in that morning, so we redeemed our Soarin' FP at 10:55. By the time we got to the kiosk, it was about 11:20. The kiosk offered us every available ride, both Tier 1 and Tier 2. We could have selected TT at 1:55, but we had a 2:00 ADR, so we grabbed TT for 5:00 pm and made a leisurely trip back through WS after our ADR.

Thank You! Sounds like it worked great!

 

[Disney Frenhines]

I'm confused by this post. Just book three, then if you don't use one, two or all of them then cancel before going to the other park by using the app, then book more FP+s when you get there why the song and dance? The FP+ system is incredibly easy once you have linked your reservations to your MDE account, I don't know people are out to make it more complicated or difficult than it is. It's like the people treat going to WDW as some kind of military exercise, its not! It's a vacation! Maps out, forever scanning the Froemmers (there are other guide books available lol) ticking everything off the list, yikes! I like to play it by ear and found FP+ an asset, not a hinderance

 

[Day-Day]

I promised to report back on this. So, here is my quick update. I will start a more detailed post on all of my additional FP+s once I have a chance to type up my notes.

This strategy worked perfectly for us. I booked three FP+s for EP at my 60-day window, and a few weeks later, I cancelled my two Tier 2s, leaving me with Soarin from 10:00 to 11:00. My DDs decided to sleep in that morning, so we redeemed our Soarin' FP at 10:55. By the time we got to the kiosk, it was about 11:20. The kiosk offered us every available ride, both Tier 1 and Tier 2. We could have selected TT at 1:55, but we had a 2:00 ADR, so we grabbed TT for 5:00 pm and made a leisurely trip back through WS after our ADR.

Thank You! Sounds like it worked great!

YES! Good to know; thanks famy27 for reporting back.

 

[Cloudless Nights]

I'm confused by this post. Just book three, then if you don't use one, two or all of them then cancel before going to the other park by using the app, then book more FP+s when you get there why the song and dance? The FP+ system is incredibly easy once you have linked your reservations to your MDE account, I don't know people are out to make it more complicated or difficult than it is. It's like the people treat going to WDW as some kind of military exercise, its not! It's a vacation! Maps out, forever scanning the Froemmers (there are other guide books available lol) ticking everything off the list, yikes! I like to play it by ear and found FP+ an asset, not a hinderance

The main concern I have is the tiered system for FP+ at Epcot. The only rides/attractions that we have interest in using FP+ for there are Soarin' and TT. If I can cancel two unnecessary FP+ later on before my trip (i.e. for Spaceship Earth and Maelstrom) so I can get a "4th" FP+ for another tier 1 ride than the one we had already rode, I'm going to do that.

I will use the 3 FP+ I have scheduled at all the other parks, then I will go to a kiosk and get another.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

As stated in this thread a few times - you can pre-select 1, but you can get additional tier 1s day of in the park after using that one.

Book Soarin from 9-10, cancel on MDE your 10 and 11 FPs, and at 10:10 make a FP for TT.

It's not without risk - on busy days there may not be other choices or suitable times available. So, if you wanted to use all 3 FP first and then go to a kiosk for your fourth you can still get a tier 1 if available.

Gotcha. I was under the impression the 4th FP was only available for on property guests, is that still the case?

We were there on May 4 and our RnRc broke down and they gave us the paper one to come back. We should have switched immediately to TSMM and seen what we could have gotten for that. Would that have worked or no, considering we had already checked in at the FP gate? Again, this was for non-property guest tickets... Just trying to see if there would have been any way for us to salvage not waiting in line for 80 min at TSMM, although it is water under the bridge at this point. Maybe ignorance is bliss...

 

[Praying Colonel]

I'm confused by this post. Just book three, then if you don't use one, two or all of them then cancel before going to the other park by using the app, then book more FP+s when you get there why the song and dance? The FP+ system is incredibly easy once you have linked your reservations to your MDE account, I don't know people are out to make it more complicated or difficult than it is. It's like the people treat going to WDW as some kind of military exercise, its not! It's a vacation! Maps out, forever scanning the Froemmers (there are other guide books available lol) ticking everything off the list, yikes! I like to play it by ear and found FP+ an asset, not a hinderance

That's great for you--glad it's helping. But for many, the tiering is a hindrance and this is one way to deal with that.

 

[KeroKero]

I've only been to the parks once since the intro of FP+, so I'm looking forward to putting to use what I'm learning on the boards to help with being able to maximize our FP+ times and selections.

We loved original FP because we really knew how to work the system. We wouldn't call it cheating, cause we were doing nothing wrong, but for attractions that we love we would get FP's over and over and over again, until they were out for the day so we could enjoy what we love. We would do TSMM, 4-6 times a day with a mix of SB and FP, this unfortunately seems very unlikely now.

The only thing I don't like about FP+ is having to hold FP's for attractions I don't even really want just cause I'm supposed to be holding 3 FP's. Seems silly to hold up space unnecessarily.

 

[VBelle68]

I was thinking more about this post - are you thinking that when you finish beauty and the beast and get your 4th FP it will be usable before 1pm and be for RnRC? I don't think that's likely...

I think you should try to get folks into single rider line or standby after beauty for RnRC to be done with it by 1...there is always a small chance it's open - but I wouldn't count on it...

Alternatively - you could cancel your GMR FP before going to the park, and then after using your first two you will be able to book a day of FP as soon as the first two are complete. That might give you more choices to get one in your time slot.

Thanks for the response. I am trying to leave by 1pm. Here is what I came up with.
FP+ at 9 for TSMM
FP+ for Little Mermaid at 10:20- 10:40
FP+ for ToT at 10:40

This lets me attempt a 4th FP for RNRC at 12:30 by 10:45.

Here's to hoping! And I like your suggestion of single rider line, too.