SO, forced to make peace with FP+, what's the best approach?

[PrestonatorSR]

Ok, if you seen my recent posts, you've had enough of my whining about FP+. Now I need to "move on" and make the most of it.

So, trying to figure out how to make the system work best. We are a party of 4 with DD 24 and DS 17. We are 7 days in July staying at AK. We will try to hit rope drop to the extent its reasonable but we can't handle that pace EVERY day, especially following any late nights the previous night.

We are park hopping, fyi, as well. So, generally speaking, what's a good way to maximize the possibility of getting additional FP beyond the 3 per day? Get all FP by mid morning? And then when do extra FP open up, if they do? What about parks where the 3rd FP (Epcot) seems like a throw away? How would you play this?

I have to make all these decisions by midnight am pretty much feeling overwhelmed beyond belief...

I feel like such a clueless rookie again...

 

[g-dad66]

Something like 10-11, 11-12, and 12-1 wouldn't be a bad plan for your three FP+, giving you the possibilities for 4th/5th FPs that might be actually worth something (especialy at MK and AK).

You shouldn't really need FP before 10 am. Grab FP for the high-demand rides first tonight (like 7 Dwarfs Mine Train and Toy Story Mania), and the rest should be a breeze.

 

[Davey Jones II]

We only had one trip with FP+ ( Oct 2014), and here is what worked for us. We showed up early or RD, and took advantage of the shorter lines at that hour. In the afternoon, we would usually go to a water park, to avoid the hottest, most crowded times, then hop to another theme park. I usually booked FP+ for the headliners at the second park. I booked them for late aft/early evening, to give us the flexibility of going to the water park for a few hours if it was too hot. In July, I would guess that the water park would be your basic strategy for any afternoon.

If you're not interested in water parks, I would book FP+ for early afternoon, whether or not you are hopping to another park that day. That is when they are most needed. After that, you won't get the headliners for your 4th or 5th FP, but they are still useful since most rides will likely have a wait in July.

I would ride the most popular attractions with FP+, and head away from the headliners in the morning. Specifically, don't join the herd rushing to Fantasyland in the MK first thing in the morning. Go to any other land, which will be much quieter, given that most people are going to 7DMT and A&E. And, of course, basic strategy says to avoid the parks that had EMH that day.

 

[bashuck]

I haven't experienced it myself as I have a DD 6, but in July wouldn't MK be open till midnight or so? I imagine as more and more people take advantage of the extra FP booking thru their phone they will schedule their FP for earlier in the day and therefore day of late at night FP will be available. I see that for tonight you can still book PP/BTMR/Space Mountain. If you plan on being in a park from 9am-11pm every night I guess I agree to book them in the 10-1 or 11-2 time periods. On a day you will park hop and ideally take a long lunch break/hit pool or whatever I'd book them for the earliest possible time, and then use them at the end of the time slot so your next window opens sooner to enable booking the extras.

If you are going to Epcot in the morning for example and you only care to FP Soarin', only book that at 9-10, go straight to TT if you do make it to rope drop and then get on Soarin' after and book the extra FP at your afternoon park quickly. You can likely get BTMR or other mid-tier if booked right away for the early afternoon if you want to then book extra less popular rides after or you can get a more popular attraction at 9 or 10pm but therefore not getting to book additional FP until that final FP window starts. Am I wrong in believing lines are short the last hour when the park is open until 11pm or midnight relative to say 6pm?

 

[Davey Jones II]

Yes, if you get in a line just before closing, that should be a pretty short wait. Of course, the posted wait time will be grossly inflated, to discourage people from getting in line at that time.