The Effect of FP+ on SURPRISE Trips...

[CT Disney]

A few years back (before FP+) we planned the best surprise trip. My two kiddos knew they were going to WDW, but they didn't know that their best friends (and their parents) were coming with us until we all arrived at the airport gate at the same time. It was really awesome to see the looks on all the kids' faces!

I was talking to DH this morning and mentioned that it might be time for another surprise trip next summer! My DH and I were having the best time talking about all the ways we could surprise the kids. Not tell them until the day of?!? Tell them on the last day of school?!? Invite a friend for each of them?!? Maybe we could somehow surprise all four kids?!?

But then we remembered....FP+.

Next summer all the kids will be teenagers. We would stay onsite so we could get 60 days pre-booking. But, I just don't know if I feel comfortable choosing FP+ for all the kids without their input. What do they want to ride and when? Do I feel comfortable just guessing...for four teenagers??

And, what about once we are all in the parks? I'm sure the older teenagers will want to go off on their own for a bit. If they want to modify their FP+ will they need to log into my MDE account even though I won't be there to oversee things? I could just see them unintentionally messing up and/or rearranging all of the FP+ for the whole family.

And to add to the FP+ complexity...My DH, our 2 kids and I would be entering the parks using a combination of main gate CM passes and/or comp passes depending on black out dates. I would have to purchase regular passes for the two additional friends.

FP+ really does seem to add an extra layer of complexity for surprise trips. I love surprise trips and so do the kids. But, the more I think about it...I'm not sure it's worth the hassle.

Has anyone out there planned a successful SURPRISE trip with FP+??

 

[Jennytoon]

I'll let you know in a week! No, seriously, we usually go every two years in August -- this year is our "on year" and because of the length of stay we decided to get APs. Then it turned out I had a conference in Orlando next week, and we realized that for the cost of the extra plane tickets and whatever food we eat while we're there, we could see the last week of F&G and the first weekend of SWW, as long as we were willing to pull the kids out of school. It seemed like a sign from above.

I told my teenager, because she's in high school and needs to make sure she has all the work she'll need while gone. But my younger two (11 and 7, both boys) don't know yet and we don't plan on telling them until we get to the airport. As far as they know right now, they'll be in school next Monday.

OTOH, my situation is very different b/c we're staying off-site and the two younger ones aren't old enough to go off by themselves. I still made all the decisions about what to get without them though -- I didn't even really get input from my daughter who *does* know and who *is* old enough to leave the boys with their dad and wander by herself. I think my perspective, and how I think my kids view / will view it is that if we were trying to surprise with our "main" trip then the lack of input might be an issue, but since our surprise trip is a "bonus" trip, then whatever happens will happen and the unanticipated pleasure of playing hooky and being in WDW when they should be somewhere else will more than make up for whatever touring inefficiencies might result.

 

[Mikie]

I have not done surprise trips, but my first two thoughts were:
1) you can still do a big reveal or surprise - the unveiling is just a lot earlier and not at the airport! Some way to spring it on them a few months out - silver lining is that they can then enjoy the anticipation phase
2) your FPs are only 3 things per day - I bet you could give a pretty educated guess on at least 3 hot-ticket things they'd enjoy. Despite how the advance planning makes some people feel, you definitely don't have to know everything your kids want to do every minute of the day in order to utilize FP.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We have been many times using the new FP+ system and I believe you could still plan a great trip for your teens and keep it a surprise! I would recommend grabbing FP+ reservations for rides and times you think would work. There is normally the option to change them (especially times) if they just don't work for you. As the PP said, remember that FP+ is only for 3 attractions a day and you'll so many more than that via standby, or with extra FP+ reservations from the kiosks. Last year we were there on a busy day yet still able to snag Test Track, Soarin' and Pirates of the Caribbean FP+ reservations the day of, by checking the kiosks. People often move theirs around or cancel so keep your eyes open.

We love, love, love the new system and would not want to go back to the old one. We have been to WDW 6 times since FP+ was started and had a great trip every, single time!!!

Hope you decide to move ahead with your surprise trip....and I hope you're surprised with how well it goes!

A question for others, a what age can someone open their own MDE account? If your teens had their own accounts (if that is possible) it might be easier. There is a bit of a learning curve but it's really not that difficult to navigate, change and update FP+ reservations.

 

[itchin2go]

2) your FPs are only 3 things per day - I bet you could give a pretty educated guess on at least 3 hot-ticket things they'd enjoy. Despite how the advance planning makes some people feel, you definitely don't have to know everything your kids want to do every minute of the day in order to utilize FP.

That is EXACTLY what I was thinking. Most things will be ridden stand-by. Just because you don't book a FP for something doesn't mean they can't ride it. Follow the FP guidelines - book the HARDEST things. The easier things will be ok to wait in line for.

Unless my daughter was super familiar with the MDE interface, and what COULD happen if they click the wrong thing, I would just have it be a rule that they were not allowed to go into MDE. Again, there are plenty of things to ride standby.

 

[CT Disney]

I'll let you know in a week! No, seriously, we usually go every two years in August -- this year is our "on year" and because of the length of stay we decided to get APs. Then it turned out I had a conference in Orlando next week, and we realized that for the cost of the extra plane tickets and whatever food we eat while we're there, we could see the last week of F&G and the first weekend of SWW, as long as we were willing to pull the kids out of school. It seemed like a sign from above.

I told my teenager, because she's in high school and needs to make sure she has all the work she'll need while gone. But my younger two (11 and 7, both boys) don't know yet and we don't plan on telling them until we get to the airport. As far as they know right now, they'll be in school next Monday.

OTOH, my situation is very different b/c we're staying off-site and the two younger ones aren't old enough to go off by themselves. I still made all the decisions about what to get without them though -- I didn't even really get input from my daughter who *does* know and who *is* old enough to leave the boys with their dad and wander by herself. I think my perspective, and how I think my kids view / will view it is that if we were trying to surprise with our "main" trip then the lack of input might be an issue, but since our surprise trip is a "bonus" trip, then whatever happens will happen and the unanticipated pleasure of playing hooky and being in WDW when they should be somewhere else will more than make up for whatever touring inefficiencies might result.

Bonus trips are the best! I totally get what you are saying about the freedom of bonus trips...you are truly happy just to be away from the regular routine! I hope you have an awesome time and let us know how it goes.

I have not done surprise trips, but my first two thoughts were:
1) you can still do a big reveal or surprise - the unveiling is just a lot earlier and not at the airport! Some way to spring it on them a few months out - silver lining is that they can then enjoy the anticipation phase
2) your FPs are only 3 things per day - I bet you could give a pretty educated guess on at least 3 hot-ticket things they'd enjoy. Despite how the advance planning makes some people feel, you definitely don't have to know everything your kids want to do every minute of the day in order to utilize FP.

Thank you for this Mikie!!

I think I got myself so wrapped up in the idea of how to handle FP+ that I lost sight of the fact that it's such a small part of the trip! We used FP+ for the first time over Christmas week. I know that's the busiest time of year and thus not a great example of everyday use. But, we felt so bound to the choices we had made 60 days prior. In the old days...I loved waking up and picking my park that morning, just based on the weather or what we all felt like doing. I don't really enjoy the down-to-minute planning so FP+ has been a bit of an adjustment. Thanks again for the perspective!!

 

[disneyseniors]

A few years back (before FP+) we planned the best surprise trip. My two kiddos knew they were going to WDW, but they didn't know that their best friends (and their parents) were coming with us until we all arrived at the airport gate at the same time. It was really awesome to see the looks on all the kids' faces!

I was talking to DH this morning and mentioned that it might be time for another surprise trip next summer! My DH and I were having the best time talking about all the ways we could surprise the kids. Not tell them until the day of?!? Tell them on the last day of school?!? Invite a friend for each of them?!? Maybe we could somehow surprise all four kids?!?

But then we remembered....FP+.

Next summer all the kids will be teenagers. We would stay onsite so we could get 60 days pre-booking. But, I just don't know if I feel comfortable choosing FP+ for all the kids without their input. What do they want to ride and when? Do I feel comfortable just guessing...for four teenagers??

And, what about once we are all in the parks? I'm sure the older teenagers will want to go off on their own for a bit. If they want to modify their FP+ will they need to log into my MDE account even though I won't be there to oversee things? I could just see them unintentionally messing up and/or rearranging all of the FP+ for the whole family.

And to add to the FP+ complexity...My DH, our 2 kids and I would be entering the parks using a combination of main gate CM passes and/or comp passes depending on black out dates. I would have to purchase regular passes for the two additional friends.

FP+ really does seem to add an extra layer of complexity for surprise trips. I love surprise trips and so do the kids. But, the more I think about it...I'm not sure it's worth the hassle.

Has anyone out there planned a successful SURPRISE trip with FP+??

I feel your pain, CTDisney! Last November we scheduled a family trip with my daughter, sil, and 2 teenaged boys and one 10 year old girl, plus us, gramma and grampa! It all sounded so lovely. My oldest grandson would be graduating this spring, so our "last" trip before college, etc. Well, we had several difficulties with fp+ before and during the trip. First off, I scheduled my fp's for myself and hubby before my daughter scheduled theirs. She tried to link all of us and somehow cancelled out my husbands fp's. I mean ALL of them. Mine were okay. We tried to fix it online, but the connections did not address our problem. We ended up calling IT several times, the last on the phone for 1 hour coordinating all of our fp's again, and recovering my husbands! The Disney IT people were great, by the way
Then we all arrived at Disney Well, the teenagers naturally wanted to go and do something else when the time came for their preplanned fp's! So, they either ditched the fp's or adjusted their plans. I can tell you right now, it sounds great to preschedule fp's, but in reality? The grandkids had minds of their own and wanted to just do things like before fp and go where they wanted when they wanted. Gee, doesn't that sound like what a vacation should be like???? It is literally impossible to schedule what the teenagers want to do that far out, at least for us!! Then the pesky weather entered the equation. It rained like crazy one entire day, which cancelled all our outdoor fp's and were unable to get others that we wanted. Also, the day prescheduled for the water park was COLD, so it was rescheduled to another really warm and sunny day. However, that didn't fit in with the preordained fp's either! It is impossible, IMHO, to preschedule that far in advance with the weather, illness, any number of normal events for us humans, with any real hope of that happening.
I know there are those smartphones and the manipulating with them, but I go on vacation Not to use those. I don't even take a phone with me, and yes, it is my choice to do so. Apparently it was the kids/grandkids too. What they did do on their phones seemed like just too much organizing for them. It is my daughters last at Disney for a long, long time because of all the changes that have made their vacation "less than".
Did we have a good time? Yes, we were at Disney and with family. But you are right, the hassle of organizing a family, let alone friends, is almost as difficult as organizing the invasion of Grenada

 

[7KLucky]

A few years back (before FP+) we planned the best surprise trip. My two kiddos knew they were going to WDW, but they didn't know that their best friends (and their parents) were coming with us until we all arrived at the airport gate at the same time. It was really awesome to see the looks on all the kids' faces!

I was talking to DH this morning and mentioned that it might be time for another surprise trip next summer! My DH and I were having the best time talking about all the ways we could surprise the kids. Not tell them until the day of?!? Tell them on the last day of school?!? Invite a friend for each of them?!? Maybe we could somehow surprise all four kids?!?

But then we remembered....FP+.

Next summer all the kids will be teenagers. We would stay onsite so we could get 60 days pre-booking. But, I just don't know if I feel comfortable choosing FP+ for all the kids without their input. What do they want to ride and when? Do I feel comfortable just guessing...for four teenagers??

And, what about once we are all in the parks? I'm sure the older teenagers will want to go off on their own for a bit. If they want to modify their FP+ will they need to log into my MDE account even though I won't be there to oversee things? I could just see them unintentionally messing up and/or rearranging all of the FP+ for the whole family.

And to add to the FP+ complexity...My DH, our 2 kids and I would be entering the parks using a combination of main gate CM passes and/or comp passes depending on black out dates. I would have to purchase regular passes for the two additional friends.

FP+ really does seem to add an extra layer of complexity for surprise trips. I love surprise trips and so do the kids. But, the more I think about it...I'm not sure it's worth the hassle.

Has anyone out there planned a successful SURPRISE trip with FP+??

I'm taking 4 teenagers with me this time and I could easily make it a surprise. I know what their favorite rides are and short of A&E it is most of the thriller ride items. The surprise isn't WHAT you do each day, its that you are THERE! Happy planning. We are doing this for our oldest graduation present per his begging request. At 18 he loves Disney as much as he did when he was 4. 60 days and counting!

 

[CT Disney]

Unless my daughter was super familiar with the MDE interface, and what COULD happen if they click the wrong thing, I would just have it be a rule that they were not allowed to go into MDE. Again, there are plenty of things to ride standby.

The thought of giving my kids free reign inside my MDE account makes me shudder.

Plus we have the added complexity of getting into the parks using CM media. We can't attach specific names to my DH's main gate guest passes, so on the days we use those we are simply "Guest 1", "Guest 2" and "Guest 3" and we can't use our magic bands. But...on the days we use comp passes it's all different. We can attached our specific names to those and use our magic bands. So, every single morning I look at my DH and ask, "Who are we today?" It gets really confusing when you need to modify FP+ because you need to know if you are a "guest" that day or just yourself!

 

[maclondon]

there are about 3 things you need to book at 60 days

7DMT (and you can book that at 30 - i just did - for two dates)
A&E - not likely an issue if you have teens
The afternoon parade in MK seems to go quickly too.

I'm going in two weeks and have been swapping and moving FP+ selections without any issues.

 

[maclondon]

look at memorial day - thats a kinda busy day right - its 19 days away

pretty much everything is available

http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/fastpass_plus_availability.php

 

[MakiraMarlena]

they're teenagers. Surprise them at 70 days out and let them pick the rides they want. or do it later and change them around, unless you want Anna and Elsa. Same with ADRs unless you want Be Our Guest.

 

[CT Disney]

I feel your pain, CTDisney! Last November we scheduled a family trip with my daughter, sil, and 2 teenaged boys and one 10 year old girl, plus us, gramma and grampa! It all sounded so lovely. My oldest grandson would be graduating this spring, so our "last" trip before college, etc. Well, we had several difficulties with fp+ before and during the trip. First off, I scheduled my fp's for myself and hubby before my daughter scheduled theirs. She tried to link all of us and somehow cancelled out my husbands fp's. I mean ALL of them. Mine were okay. We tried to fix it online, but the connections did not address our problem. We ended up calling IT several times, the last on the phone for 1 hour coordinating all of our fp's again, and recovering my husbands! The Disney IT people were great, by the way
Then we all arrived at Disney Well, the teenagers naturally wanted to go and do something else when the time came for their preplanned fp's! So, they either ditched the fp's or adjusted their plans. I can tell you right now, it sounds great to preschedule fp's, but in reality? The grandkids had minds of their own and wanted to just do things like before fp and go where they wanted when they wanted. Gee, doesn't that sound like what a vacation should be like???? It is literally impossible to schedule what the teenagers want to do that far out, at least for us!! Then the pesky weather entered the equation. It rained like crazy one entire day, which cancelled all our outdoor fp's and were unable to get others that we wanted. Also, the day prescheduled for the water park was COLD, so it was rescheduled to another really warm and sunny day. However, that didn't fit in with the preordained fp's either! It is impossible, IMHO, to preschedule that far in advance with the weather, illness, any number of normal events for us humans, with any real hope of that happening.
I know there are those smartphones and the manipulating with them, but I go on vacation Not to use those. I don't even take a phone with me, and yes, it is my choice to do so. Apparently it was the kids/grandkids too. What they did do on their phones seemed like just too much organizing for them. It is my daughters last at Disney for a long, long time because of all the changes that have made their vacation "less than".
Did we have a good time? Yes, we were at Disney and with family. But you are right, the hassle of organizing a family, let alone friends, is almost as difficult as organizing the invasion of Grenada

That sounds hectic! I think the complexities of FP+ really become apparent when you add in friends and extended family. It is so tough to plan for so many people!

I'm taking 4 teenagers with me this time and I could easily make it a surprise. I know what their favorite rides are and short of A&E it is most of the thriller ride items. The surprise isn't WHAT you do each day, its that you are THERE! Happy planning. We are doing this for our oldest graduation present per his begging request. At 18 he loves Disney as much as he did when he was 4. 60 days and counting!

Sounds like a spectacular graduation gift. I hope you have the best time!

there are about 3 things you need to book at 60 days

7DMT (and you can book that at 30 - i just did - for two dates)
A&E - not likely an issue if you have teens
The afternoon parade in MK seems to go quickly too.

I'm going in two weeks and have been swapping and moving FP+ selections without any issues.

Thanks for the reassurance! The last time we used FP+ was during Christmas week so I think my perspective is a little skewed. Everything was booked solid very early

Overall, it's the thought of juggling family and non-family members that is an overwhelming thought. Especially when we will be entering the parks with different types of media each day and probably splitting up for some days. But, you are all right...I should focus on the BEING there versus the PLANNING (if possible!)

 

[Monykalyn]

Love surprise trips-my youngest 2 still have no idea we are going in 26 days! Did have to tell the oldest as she will miss some band camp.
I bet you know what your kids like the most-just schedule those for later in afternoon and let the kids do what they want in am (standby, sleep, pool etc)
Or as PP said-spring it on them 70 days out so they can get in on planning. Last year was really the first year our kids remembered &/or first time going so this I just planned new and fun stuff I thought they would like.

One thing I did discover is touring is far different with preteen/teen vs younger kids. This year is no commando-will do early parks, then break/swim, then evening FP+ hopping to another park. The teen/preteens seem to need more down time. First time staying onsite as well so I plan to let them sleep in if they want and just meet us for lunch ADRs. It is kinda nice to have a bit more freedom with older kids!

And FWIW-I didn't get dining or FP+ until about 3 weeks out last year for our late June trip-even got SDMT and A&E (although admittedly I don't think as many people were using or knew about FP+)

Have fun planning!