So confused!

[Starkeeper99]

So it’s been about six years since our last trip and the strategy we used before was to ride a few of the big rides right at rope drop then utilize the fast passes (old style when you made the mad dash to get them inside the park and you could use them late)
So here’s my dilemma and where I am confused-
We are traveling Christmas week and I know parks are going to be jammed packed!! I am trying to figure out the whole new fast pass system and how do utilize the best strategy to wait in lines as little as possible - Am I still to follow the rule of thumb to ride some of the big ones right at rope drop and make my fast passes for return time of late morning? Or am I to use fast passes right away so I can try to attempt to get more it sounds like they now run out pretty quick especially at Christmas! Also is it is still a good rule of thumb to get to the parks about 45 minutes before opening? Or should I plan on them doing a soft opening and if so how soon before published park time should I arrive Christmas week?
Are we crazy for going Christmas week !!?
Please don’t answer then because we’re going anyway

 

[dprincessmom]

That's kind of what I typically do for FP+. Start stacking them 10:30, 11:30: 12:30 - typically we get the Mountains at Magic Kingdom, so we are hitting some of the "lesser" rides at Rope Drop. Adventure land and then over into Liberty Square and Frointerland.
Are you crazy for Christmas week? No BUT you need to make certain your party understands it will be croweded, the lines will be crazy, but you will be there having a great time.

I would shoot for being at the gates 60 minutes prior to opening. During that week, the parks have historically opened early, so take advantage of that for the most rides.

 

[only hope]

We always start fp by 10:00 at the latest. Book them back to back. Since you are going at a crazy busy time, I would book the first one as close to 9 as possible as the park will be busy by 10:00. Btw, fp’s are automatically valid 5mn early and 15mn late, but according to the fp system clock which can differ by a few minutes from the real time. So, especially at MK, the best strategy is to limit backtracking (especially on busy days as it takes so long to get anywhere), rd a headliner ride you didn’t get a fp for and then do other things with short waits nearby. At least at MK, don’t make your prebooked fp on opposite ends of the park. It’s better to have them near each other or at least in adjacent lands to limit or eliminate backtracking. Use your first fp towards the end of the window which will be right about when most waits go above 20mn. By the time you get off it’ll be time for your 2nd fp. As soon as you tap in at the entrance, attempt to modify your 3rd fp to start immediately, unless you plan on eating lunch, doing a show, etc. until it’s time for your 3rd fp. After you use your first three just keep booking fp for something nearby til you’re ready to move into a new land. Learn about the refreshing method on the sticky- this is how you get fp starting within 5-15mn and hard to get fp. Aside from Slinky, 7 Dwarfs, and Flight of Passage it‘s usually possible to get a fp for everything with persistence. Even those three do show up, it’s just a lot harder to get. Don’t bother waiting in long lines; just get a Fp. For the three I just mentioned, either be at the gate at least an hour before open so you’re one of the first in line or go right before park closing for the shortest wait if you don’t get a fp.

Don’t get freaked out if the line to tap in for a fp is long. They often back up due to people trying to go too early and too late and a cm having to explain to them why they can’t get in line. That’s not an indication that the entire fp line is long. Even if a fp line is long, it rarely takes more than 10-15mn. The usual exception is when a ride has been down and everybody flocks to it shortly after it reopens.

 

[Starkeeper99]

We always start fp by 10:00 at the latest. Book them back to back. Since you are going at a crazy busy time, I would book the first one as close to 9 as possible as the park will be busy by 10:00. Btw, fp’s are automatically valid 5mn early and 15mn late, but according to the fp system clock which can differ by a few minutes from the real time. So, especially at MK, the best strategy is to limit backtracking (especially on busy days as it takes so long to get anywhere), rd a headliner ride you didn’t get a fp for and then do other things with short waits nearby. At least at MK, don’t make your prebooked fp on opposite ends of the park. It’s better to have them near each other or at least in adjacent lands to limit or eliminate backtracking. Use your first fp towards the end of the window which will be right about when most waits go above 20mn. By the time you get off it’ll be time for your 2nd fp. As soon as you tap in at the entrance, attempt to modify your 3rd fp to start immediately, unless you plan on eating lunch, doing a show, etc. until it’s time for your 3rd fp. After you use your first three just keep booking fp for something nearby til you’re ready to move into a new land. Learn about the refreshing method on the sticky- this is how you get fp starting within 5-15mn and hard to get fp. Aside from Slinky, 7 Dwarfs, and Flight of Passage it‘s usually possible to get a fp for everything with persistence. Even those three do show up, it’s just a lot harder to get. Don’t bother waiting in long lines; just get a Fp. For the three I just mentioned, either be at the gate at least an hour before open so you’re one of the first in line or go right before park closing for the shortest wait if you don’t get a fp.

Don’t get freaked out if the line to tap in for a fp is long. They often back up due to people trying to go too early and too late and a cm having to explain to them why they can’t get in line. That’s not an indication that the entire fp line is long. Even if a fp line is long, it rarely takes more than 10-15mn. The usual exception is when a ride has been down and everybody flocks to it shortly after it reopens.

Thanks for the post!! I think I am just freaking out trying to learn the “new” system to minimize waits on top of trying to do it for the first time at one of the busiest times of the year!!
How early before published open times should we get to the park? Reading about some rides going before open

 

[Starkeeper99]

Thanks for the post!! I think I am just freaking out trying to learn the “new” system to minimize waits on top of trying to do it for the first time at one of the busiest times of the year!!
How early before published open times should we get to the park? Reading about some rides going before open

 

[Alesia]

Thanks for the post!! I think I am just freaking out trying to learn the “new” system to minimize waits on top of trying to do it for the first time at one of the busiest times of the year!!
How early before published open times should we get to the park? Reading about some rides going before open

I would get there 45 minutes to an hour before

 

[Pluto0914]

I’ve never been during Christmas to actually know how crazy busy it is but I think you’re pretty safe to get there early (like others said 45-60 mins early) and hit up one big ride and then maybe another smaller ride before using your FP. That’s what we do and it’s worked for our last three trips. No matter what, I’m sure you’ll have fun!

 

[only hope]

It depends on the park and what your goal is. If your goal is to ride Flight of Passage, 7DMT, Slinky, or likely anything in Galaxy’s Edge with a short wait once the ride starts, then you need to be past bag check about an hour before park open, maybe a bit sooner with it being the busiest week of the year, and definitely sooner for FOP. FOP routinely starts operating 10-15mn before open; could be earlier when you’re there. You’ve got time to watch what happens with Galaxy’s Edge. Who knows, maybe Slinky Dog will be easier to ride.

Rope dropping Peter Pan and Navi you can get there a bit later but you still want to be towards the front of the crowd. Anything else you’ll want to be waiting at where ever the hold is for that park in the spot in the direction you want to go before they let people scatter. They start letting people on Main Street about an hour before open. At HS they let you to the end of the street typically about 20mn early though it may be sooner when you’re there. Again, because it’s a crowded week, if there’s a large crowd and they are ready to open, they probably will open early. Sometimes the rides won’t start too early but the lines for the rides are open. If your goal is to rd a popular attraction it’s better to be there 15mn too early and have a short wait at your first attraction during actual park time than to arrive 5mn too late to discover a line already 45+ minutes by the time you join it.

Get familiar with the app beforehand. Learn how to use mobile ordering for food too as that will likely save you a lot of time.

 

[Disneylover99]

Lots of good advice already. Just pay attention to park opening times if you want to rope drop Christmas week. As an example, MK opened at 6am Christmas Day. It was already a zoo well before opening. Get there super early if you want to rope drop.

We prefer to go to the MK early afternoon to closing. Last year we found it easy to get additional fp’s there.

 

[Starkeeper99]

It depends on the park and what your goal is. If your goal is to ride Flight of Passage, 7DMT, Slinky, or likely anything in Galaxy’s Edge with a short wait once the ride starts, then you need to be past bag check about an hour before park open, maybe a bit sooner with it being the busiest week of the year, and definitely sooner for FOP. FOP routinely starts operating 10-15mn before open; could be earlier when you’re there. You’ve got time to watch what happens with Galaxy’s Edge. Who knows, maybe Slinky Dog will be easier to ride.

Rope dropping Peter Pan and Navi you can get there a bit later but you still want to be towards the front of the crowd. Anything else you’ll want to be waiting at where ever the hold is for that park in the spot in the direction you want to go before they let people scatter. They start letting people on Main Street about an hour before open. At HS they let you to the end of the street typically about 20mn early though it may be sooner when you’re there. Again, because it’s a crowded week, if there’s a large crowd and they are ready to open, they probably will open early. Sometimes the rides won’t start too early but the lines for the rides are open. If your goal is to rd a popular attraction it’s better to be there 15mn too early and have a short wait at your first attraction during actual park time than to arrive 5mn too late to discover a line already 45+ minutes by the time you join it.

Get familiar with the app beforehand. Learn how to use mobile ordering for food too as that will likely save you a lot of time.

Thanks! This is what i was thinking for AK on Christmas AM- I was thinking it might be the least crowded- We will be waiting 1.5 hours before park open past bag check -

I was looking at 2
Options-

#1
FOP
Dinosaur
PW
EE with first fp+
KS
ITTBAB
KRR with 2nd fp+
Up
NRJ with 3rd fp+
break
ROL
(I can skip Dinosaur and PW and go right to EE)
Or option #2
FOP
NRJ fp1
KS
KRR 2 Fp+
EE 3 Fp+
Up
ITTBAB
Break
ROL

 

[GoofyDad_4427]

In my opinion I'd skip NRJ and try to use that fast pass for FoP so you can ride it twice.

 

[mco65]

I think your right on about rope dropping the big rides. We do that and it works fairly well. During Christmas week, you might be only able to get one big ride in at Rope drop before the masses hit...

FP are going to be tougher to get the times you want.. especially if your hoping to get the bigger more popular rides. As an example, if you want to FP FOP, they likely wont be available during the time you want and you will have to settle for morning etc..

 

[Ksquared]

We went Christmas of 2017 but had also been there in 2015. The only day we did not go to a park was Christmas Day, we opted to sleep in, have a nice breakfast, walk around Disney Springs, go swimming and have a great dinner. But we were at Magic Kingdom on Christmas Eve until close (right at midnight) and that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
I think a key to that time of year is definitely park hoppers. We did allot of rope drops, then started with our fast passes and then tried to get more as day wore on. Also, if we were at dinner and found a FP for later that night at a ride we wanted to do, we would just hop over, even if it was for 1 or 2 rides - flexibility is key. Keep checking the app. We had family members who wanted to change their FP to match ours and with refreshing, we were able to make things work getting overlapping times.

The weather can be all over the place. We swam 3 days and then had to buy sweatshirts for other days. Sometimes cooler weather will draw people away from the parks at night so that might be a good time to get something done that was crowded during the day.

As long as you go into it knowing there will be crowds and not being too disappointed if you can't get to everything it's a really fun time to go.

 

[Liljo22]

Given the tiering in DHS & EPCOT, I would setup FP as soon as possible for Tier 2 rides even if you do not plan on riding. You can let them expire and it will get you to your 4th quicker which means more tier ones possibly.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Oh gosh, Ive been over the major holidays including Christmas week, many times. We NEVER arrive an hour before the park opens! To me, that' s a complete waste of time.

On holiday weeks, you'll get park hours that go from crazy early to crazy late, You can't be in the parks for 17hours everyday. IME the PM hours tend to be more useful than the AM.
We generally aim to be at the parks NEAR rope drop time- within 15minutes of RD. Maybe consider a little earlier for the new Star Wars, but that's about it. Admittedly, we have actually arrived before RD some times, but we've always found it just awful. It is FAR less stressful, IMO to arrive just after the holding pen has been released. Many of the folks who arrive before RD are crazy-caffeinated and hell-bent on being FIRST at all costs. Ugh! to me, that's just an ugly way to start the day. MUCH more relaxing to arrive just AFTER they've been let loose- and you still get 90% of the RD benefit, except at the new Star Wars.

Second, If you don't have the endurance to go from near-RD to park closing, then take an afternoon break/nap. But PM hours will give you lots of bang for the buck, especially if it gets cold any of your nights.

Third- don't spend all afternoon in long lines. Afternoon is the time to hit rides like Philarmagic. Early AM, latePM and FP are how we cover the e-rides. Over the holidays- we do all the headliners, but also slightly bend our normal ride ratios a little towards attractions with shorter wait times. (instead or re-rides.) BUT if you see the short wait at a headliner- take advantage of the short wait! So even over major holidays, we rarely wait even 30minutes for anything.

If you haven't been to WDw in some years, then you haven't seen ANYTHING in some years. WDW isn't JUST the e-rides, it also has many super shorter wait attractions. Don't skip those.

Next, DO NOT go to MK on the actual holiday! If you are planning a non-park day- make it the holiday day. If not, go to a different park that day. But the holiday is a great time to see all the decorations at the resorts, eat a nice meal, hang out as a family, etc. One good strategy is to see the fireworks from a location outside the parks that day, but expect to pay a premium if you want to dine at Cali Grill that night!

It also bears mentioning....Universal is also fun that time of year, and slightly less busy.

 

[mamamelody2]

Just making sure: You're onsite so you can take advantage of EMH, correct? If not, this whole thing won't work as it appears AK has 8 AM EMH on Christmas Day. (I wouldn't be at all surprised if that gets bumped to 7 AM). ANYWAY, moving on...
I would not waste a FP on NRJ. I mean, I like NRJ a lot, but it's not even close to the same level as FoP. If you can really get there 90 minutes early, you will be at the front of the pack and ride FoP right away. Then, I'd ride NRJ standby. Then, have a FP for FoP and ride it again. Next, FP KS. I would not be willing to ride KRR if it's cold which there's a decent chance of that, so wouldn't use a FP for it. I would do 3rd FP for EE. It's usually easy to get a 4th FP for Dinosaur. We really love FoP, so if we could ride it again right before close after ROL, I'd do that. FoP three times in one day is NOT too much. LOL.

 

[Starkeeper99]

Just making sure: You're onsite so you can take advantage of EMH, correct? If not, this whole thing won't work as it appears AK has 8 AM EMH on Christmas Day. (I wouldn't be at all surprised if that gets bumped to 7 AM). ANYWAY, moving on...
I would not waste a FP on NRJ. I mean, I like NRJ a lot, but it's not even close to the same level as FoP. If you can really get there 90 minutes early, you will be at the front of the pack and ride FoP right away. Then, I'd ride NRJ standby. Then, have a FP for FoP and ride it again. Next, FP KS. I would not be willing to ride KRR if it's cold which there's a decent chance of that, so wouldn't use a FP for it. I would do 3rd FP for EE. It's usually easy to get a 4th FP for Dinosaur. We really love FoP, so if we could ride it again right before close after ROL, I'd do that. FoP three times in one day is NOT too much. LOL.

Thanks and yes we are onsite. And your right about KRR I forgot about the weather! Planning is half the fun however not beeping there for a wile and the new FP system is stressing me out a bit!