Spontaneous Trip, Busy time, MB, FP+ Incredible!!

[kaybird]

Yes, you read right! My DH called me at 3 pm Dec 30th, said pack a bag, and by 4 we were headed on the 24 hour drive to WDW for New Years eve! Called for a room from Atlanta 6:30. Crazy crowded all week, made my FP+ the night before each day, and we had a FABULOUS time!!! Park hopped 2-3 parks each day, bands worked great (Got them at check in) and made 2 changes to FP+ on the fly. 6 nights 7 days, VERY HAPPY!!!

 

[kaybird]

I am bumping this for only one reason. I love the DISboards, and feel it is important for everyone to share experiences. I posted this upon our return of a great trip, and our excellent experiences with FP+ without preplanning, on what was arguably one of the most crowded times of the year. You will notice that there were 0 responses. I do not like to see only negative experiences garnering all the attention. There is a LOT of great news out there, and if I need to double post to get it noticed, so be it!

 

[MelissathePooh]

It looks like you went pre - legacy fp demise at MK. We had a completely opposite experience. App did not work. Lines were horrible for everyone and everything. When all four parks go to no legacy fp - I don't even want to go back. We have 2 trips planned for SWW and F&W - I dread trying to maneuver everything with 2 other families. We are AP and DVC and very unhappy about the way this has been implemented.

 

[nansmama]

I'm glad you had a great vacation! That sounds fun. We've had good experiences with MB and FP+ as well.

 

[wiigirl]

I'm glad you had a great vacation! That sounds fun. We've had good experiences with MB and FP+ as well.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

How awesome! I love spontaneous trips! They're so exciting!

I've also had great experiences with MBs and FP+. Friends of mine are down there now and also having good times using them.

 

[bcrook]

I am bumping this for only one reason. I love the DISboards, and feel it is important for everyone to share experiences. I posted this upon our return of a great trip, and our excellent experiences with FP+ without preplanning, on what was arguably one of the most crowded times of the year. You will notice that there were 0 responses. I do not like to see only negative experiences garnering all the attention. There is a LOT of great news out there, and if I need to double post to get it noticed, so be it!

It is difficult to respond to this post while planning for upcoming trips.

I am honestly asking, do you think your scenario would be as positive for me if I am staying at Bonnet Creek in July? What about last week of March?

What is your view on all off site and AP dealing with kiosks? Those lines look long and frustrating.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

It is difficult to respond to this post while planning for upcoming trips.

I am honestly asking, do you think your scenario would be as positive for me if I am staying at Bonnet Creek in July? What about last week of March?

What is your view on all off site and AP dealing with kiosks? Those lines look long and frustrating.

Not the OP, but I also posted about a spontaneous trip in January of this year. I would not plan on staying off-site until we all know exactly how this will play out. Also, I would not go during peak season (but that has nothing to do with FP+).

I could be wrong, but it looks more and more like pre-booking FP+ may be a perk for those staying on-site. If so, it is just something else to consider when making vacation decisions.

 

[Planogirl]

I'm glad that you had fun. It looks hopeful that people traveling under the same circumstances might just be OK.

 

[kaybird]

It is difficult to respond to this post while planning for upcoming trips.

I am honestly asking, do you think your scenario would be as positive for me if I am staying at Bonnet Creek in July? What about last week of March?

What is your view on all off site and AP dealing with kiosks? Those lines look long and frustrating.

The rolling out of FP+ for non-resort guests is going to happen. As far as the kiosks, the only ones that were completely backed up were at the entrances. CM's would beg people to go on to the next ones, but people being who they are think they know better.

AP worked fine, and there is no reason I couldn't book now for a trip in March.
We will be going over the 4th in July, and will likely stay off property.

My biggest reason for the post was the answer to all the negative comments about not being able to have fun during either a spontaneous trip, or a crowded time. This was both. I will tell you for certain that without FP+, we would most certainly not have been able to ride Soarin' or TSMM.

 

[kaybird]

It looks like you went pre - legacy fp demise at MK. We had a completely opposite experience. App did not work. Lines were horrible for everyone and everything. When all four parks go to no legacy fp - I don't even want to go back. We have 2 trips planned for SWW and F&W - I dread trying to maneuver everything with 2 other families. We are AP and DVC and very unhappy about the way this has been implemented.

This is a good point, we were there before MK lost legacy FP+, however, we did not pull a single FP for MK. Our regular MK plan held true, arrive early, ride everything, and hop to another park in the afternoon. I realize it won't work for everyone, but as HUGE FP- fans, I want to reiterate, it is not all gloom and doom.

 

[aaarcher86]

It is difficult to respond to this post while planning for upcoming trips.

I am honestly asking, do you think your scenario would be as positive for me if I am staying at Bonnet Creek in July? What about last week of March?

What is your view on all off site and AP dealing with kiosks? Those lines look long and frustrating.

Not the OP, but I'd be incredibly less enthusiastic if I were staying off site... and that might be the point (not saying it's a good one).

I'd be frustrated and upset that my day is started off waiting at a kiosk. BUT, I think this should be taken for what it is... the perspective of someone onsite. My next trip is onsite and I'm very excited about using FP+ for it.

 

[kaybird]

Not the OP, but I'd be incredibly less enthusiastic if I were staying off site... and that might be the point (not saying it's a good one).

I'd be frustrated and upset that my day is started off waiting at a kiosk. BUT, I think this should be taken for what it is... the perspective of someone onsite. My next trip is onsite and I'm very excited about using FP+ for it.

I'm not sure how it takes more time than running through the parks going after FP-, our offsite friends this week remarked on being able to pull the 3 FP+ making more time to ride during the precious early hours.

 

[kalliyan1]

Yes, you read right! My DH called me at 3 pm Dec 30th, said pack a bag, and by 4 we were headed on the 24 hour drive to WDW for New Years eve! Called for a room from Atlanta 6:30. Crazy crowded all week, made my FP+ the night before each day, and we had a FABULOUS time!!! Park hopped 2-3 parks each day, bands worked great (Got them at check in) and made 2 changes to FP+ on the fly. 6 nights 7 days, VERY HAPPY!!!

What were some of the wait times posted for the HL rides(space mountain, Soarin, Test Track)? How many rides were you able to ride using 3 FP+ and standby vs. Legacy FP usage?

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

Yes, you read right! My DH called me at 3 pm Dec 30th, said pack a bag, and by 4 we were headed on the 24 hour drive to WDW for New Years eve! Called for a room from Atlanta 6:30. Crazy crowded all week, made my FP+ the night before each day, and we had a FABULOUS time!!! Park hopped 2-3 parks each day, bands worked great (Got them at check in) and made 2 changes to FP+ on the fly. 6 nights 7 days, VERY HAPPY!!!

~Thanks so much for your review! I'm so glad you had a fabulous time!!! This makes me want to book a Disney World vacation for next Christmas and New Years Eve right now!!!

 

[aaarcher86]

I'm not sure how it takes more time than running through the parks going after FP-, our offsite friends this week remarked on being able to pull the 3 FP+ making more time to ride during the precious early hours.

I suppose that's true. I hadn't really thought about it that way since we typically go during slow times and don't really pull many FP as it is.

I guess it depends how quickly those lines are moving.

 

[kaybird]

What were some of the wait times posted for the HL rides(space mountain, Soarin, Test Track)? How many rides were you able to ride using 3 FP+ and standby vs. Legacy FP usage?

We were in the parks from 6 p.m. New Year's Eve until Tuesday morning around 10:00 a.m. We rode all the rides in all the parks except Stitch (still miss Alien Encounter) and Kali (just too cold for me). We rode EE, ToT, Star Tours, RnR, TsMM, TT, and Mission Space multiple time.s Stand bys ranged from walk on the 2+ hours, we never waited more than 15-20 minutes anywhere.

Our plans basically followed legacy FP, except for having to divert to other parts of the parks to grab FP. We have been during crowded times before, and could not believe how relaxed this trip was.

 

[Tropical Wilds]

For what it's worth, we went during Wine and Dine weekend for a 3 day trip, and the only reason we were able to do everything we did was because of the FP+ system. We did the Expo, rolled into AK at like 11am, changed our FP+ times from later in the afternoon to late morning (we arrived earlier than we thought), and we did our core rides before rolling to EPCOT and enjoying the afternoon there.

We did rope drop at MK and with the 3 FP+ we had, we didn't have to run all over the earth to get the paper FP or wait for times to open up. We walked on to everything at Fantasyland and HM, then we did Splash, Space, and Thunder and were back at the hotel for our pre-race nap at 2pm. The last day, we walked onto Soarin, then did the FP+ for it later and didn't even use the FP+ for Nemo or Spaceship Earth we had.

I was prepared to hate it and rely only on paper passes, but honestly, we pulled one paper pass and didn't even use it.

My sister went Thanksgiving week and also planned on hating the FP+, but she had a similar experience.

We're going for PHM and I'm nervous about using no paper passes, but I'm fairly confident it'll work out... Just having that safety net of paper passes gone, it's nerve wracking. I just wish we could, if we bought PH's, get passes for multiple parks. Right now I see little value in having a PH, though that said, I guess when we do, we only really pull passes for one park and not all we visit... All the headliner FP slots are long gone by the time we hit the second park, unless we get randomly blessed by somebody.

 

[kaybird]

For what it's worth, we went during Wine and Dine weekend for a 3 day trip, and the only reason we were able to do everything we did was because of the FP+ system. We did the Expo, rolled into AK at like 11am, changed our FP+ times from later in the afternoon to late morning (we arrived earlier than we thought), and we did our core rides before rolling to EPCOT and enjoying the afternoon there.

We did rope drop at MK and with the 3 FP+ we had, we didn't have to run all over the earth to get the paper FP or wait for times to open up. We walked on to everything at Fantasyland and HM, then we did Splash, Space, and Thunder and were back at the hotel for our pre-race nap at 2pm. The last day, we walked onto Soarin, then did the FP+ for it later and didn't even use the FP+ for Nemo or Spaceship Earth we had.

I was prepared to hate it and rely only on paper passes, but honestly, we pulled one paper pass and didn't even use it.

My sister went Thanksgiving week and also planned on hating the FP+, but she had a similar experience.

We're going for PHM and I'm nervous about using no paper passes, but I'm fairly confident it'll work out... Just having that safety net of paper passes gone, it's nerve wracking. I just wish we could, if we bought PH's, get passes for multiple parks. Right now I see little value in having a PH, though that said, I guess when we do, we only really pull passes for one park and not all we visit... All the headliner FP slots are long gone by the time we hit the second park, unless we get randomly blessed by somebody.

That was exactly why we loved park hopping with FP+. The last two visits, TSMM and Soarin were long gone by the time we went to pull FP-. This way, we did the headliners in one park, then hopped for the afternoon and used our FP+ at that park. One day we did 3 parks!

 

[BuckeyeBama]

That was exactly why we loved park hopping with FP+. The last two visits, TSMM and Soarin were long gone by the time we went to pull FP-. This way, we did the headliners in one park, then hopped for the afternoon and used our FP+ at that park. One day we did 3 parks!

Another way to leverage FP+ in park hopping: early risers can head to rope drop at one park while having afternoon/evening FP+ reservations at another park. You leverage the short standby lines in the early morning at your first park, then have lunch and hop to your second park knowing that you will get to ride your favorite attractions without long waits.