Strategies
- Scheduling FP attractions is never required but always advised, at any time of year and in all crowd conditions.
- The sooner FPs are scheduled, the wider the range of options (preferred attractions and at preferred times) that will be available.
- If staying in a single park for most of the day and arriving at park open, the best time of day to schedule FPs is often late morning to mid-afternoon. This approach balances the competing desires to have useful FPs (when lines are longest) with the ability to get additional FPs (when they may still be available).
- If a guest is interested in getting as many FPs as possible, then they should be scheduled as early in the day as possible. Wait times are usually shorter in the first 2 hours after park open however, making these early FPs not as beneficial as they would be later in the morning or afternoon. The advantage to this approach is that more FPs for headliners may be available after these early FPs are used.
- When park-hopping, the best strategy is often to make FP selections in the second park each day. However, there is no right answer and it is up to each individual to determine which approach fits their touring style best.
- One recommended booking strategy is to schedule the hardest-to-get FPs on each day (Avatar Flight Of Passage, Frozen Ever After, Seven Dwarves Mine Train, etc.) before anything else. For example, schedule only FOP on Day 7, only FEA on Day 6, then return to those days later to fill in your schedule with the easier-to-get FPs.
- Scheduling FPs for a nighttime show such as IllumiNations or Fantasmic! severely impacts the ability to choose additional FPs afterwards. These attractions are often better choices for guests who prefer to arrive late in the day to a park, have multiple days scheduled at the same park, or perceive the usual viewing areas as too crowded. In general they do not save much time and there are many good viewing locations, but they may or may not provide a less-crowded viewing experience. There is consistently a wide range of opinions on their worth and there is no right answer.
- Consider using Single Rider for the three WDW attractions that offer it. A guest must be at least 7yo to use Single Rider.
- A common Epcot question is which attraction to use FP on if interested in riding Frozen Ever After, Soarin', and Test Track on the same day. Usually FEA is the best answer (as it generally sees the longest waits), while using Single Rider for TT and rope drop for Soarin' will help reduce wait times at those attractions. Average standby wait times for Soarin' have lessened somewhat since the addition of a third theater in 2016.
- If attempting to book FPs for a large group without success, consider breaking up into smaller groups and trying to overlap FP return windows. While not ideal, this strategy may allow everyone to still arrive at the same time with a valid FP, just not for an entire 60-minute return window. For instance, a large family with 8 members may have success dividing into 3 smaller groups; with Group A having a 1:00p-2:00p return window, Group B a 1:20p-2:20p return window, and Group C a 1:40p-2:40p return window. In this case, everyone could arrive at the attraction between 1:40p and 2:00p with valid FPs and still ride together.
- Once an FP has been redeemed by tapping a MagicBand or ticket to the first "Mickey head" scan point at the FP queue entrance, the next FP can be immediately moved up using MDX to get through required FPs as quickly as possible. This can be useful when attempting to schedule a second Tier 1 attraction as soon as possible in the same day.
