Trip Planned peak time (Easter), need help with FP+!

[bakerjay]

My family and I are doing a three days at the parks 3/29, 3/30, 3/31 (Sun, Mon & Tues, this is the week leading up to Easter). We have not been since fastpass+ has been in place and I finally understand how it all works, thanks to this board, but am lost on a plan of attack!

We are staying at the Contemporary so I know I can make FP+ reservations 60 days out, which is great, but I would love it if someone could guide me on the best way to tackle our visit given it's peak timing.

First, we are checking in 3/28 but not going to any parks until the 29th. Do advanced FP+ reservations start with the resort check-in date or the first date we plan to go to the parks? Second, my kids are 8 and 12. My daughter (8) is not into princesses and could care less about Frozen, which I know works in our favor. My daughter will tolerate some "thrill" rides, ie Splash Mtn but would never step foot on Space Mtn, Everest, etc. Ugh.

Our schedule, according to our meal reservations at this point anyway, is:

3/29: MK morning, hop to Epcot late afternoon evening
3/30: Epcot morning, hop to MK late afternoon evening
3/31: HS morning, hop to AK 4pm or later (it's open til 8pm that night)

Which FP+ res should I make for each day? We are definitely early risers and will be at each park before rope drop...we have no interest in using any of them for meet & greet or shows or parades.

Thanks in advance!

 

[siskaren]

I would highly recommend reading the first post in this thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3326057

 

[MrInfinity]

My family and I are doing a three days at the parks 3/29, 3/30, 3/31 (Sun, Mon & Tues, this is the week leading up to Easter). We have not been since fastpass+ has been in place and I finally understand how it all works, thanks to this board, but am lost on a plan of attack!

Wow. Plan for the parks to be mobbed.

We are staying at the Contemporary so I know I can make FP+ reservations 60 days out, which is great, but I would love it if someone could guide me on the best way to tackle our visit given it's peak timing.

Awesome choice! This will help massively with the getting around aspect, since you're walking distance to one park, and a monorail ride to another.

First, we are checking in 3/28 but not going to any parks until the 29th.

Can you go on arrival evening too? That would be 3 more FP's to the MK even if you only go for a few hours.

Do advanced FP+ reservations start with the resort check-in date or the first date we plan to go to the parks?

60 days before your check-in date. Which will be 61 days before your first park day.

Second, my kids are 8 and 12. My daughter (8) is not into princesses and could care less about Frozen, which I know works in our favor. My daughter will tolerate some "thrill" rides, ie Splash Mtn but would never step foot on Space Mtn, Everest, etc. Ugh.

So look for Fast Passes to things they like... Peter Pan, Jungle Cruise, Toy Story Mania, etc.

3/29: MK morning, hop to Epcot late afternoon evening
3/30: Epcot morning, hop to MK late afternoon evening
3/31: HS morning, hop to AK 4pm or later (it's open til 8pm that night)

I have to say that's a lot of hopping. Every day two different parks? What you do have going for you is the transportation and walking distance to the parks. If it were me, I would take..

3/29 - FP's for Epcot.
3/30 - FP's for MK
3/31 - FPs for HS, and just deal w the AK.

I think I'd tweak the days a little bit. I would look for the split you have... 1 full day MK, 1 full day EC, and 1/2 day HS and AK... but I'd try to arrange them to have a bit less hopping, just cuz you're so short on time already.

Which FP+ res should I make for each day? We are definitely early risers and will be at each park before rope drop...we have no interest in using any of them for meet & greet or shows or parades.

Epcot... Soarin, MS, SE
MK... Splash, Jungle, Peter Pan
HS... Star Tours, TSMM (or RR), ToT

That's what I'd do.

 

[bakerjay]

I would highly recommend reading the first post in this thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3326057

I did read it, I should have mentioned that. It's where I obtained most of my information on how FP+ works. I just really wanted someone to tell me what to do based on experience so I could form a bit more of a strategy. I'm a planner and it was making me crazy that I could not make up my mind since I hadn't experienced the new system (or the new Fantasyland) firsthand.

 

[bakerjay]

Wow. Plan for the parks to be mobbed.



Awesome choice! This will help massively with the getting around aspect, since you're walking distance to one park, and a monorail ride to another.



Can you go on arrival evening too? That would be 3 more FP's to the MK even if you only go for a few hours.



60 days before your check-in date. Which will be 61 days before your first park day.




So look for Fast Passes to things they like... Peter Pan, Jungle Cruise, Toy Story Mania, etc.



I have to say that's a lot of hopping. Every day two different parks? What you do have going for you is the transportation and walking distance to the parks. If it were me, I would take..

3/29 - FP's for Epcot.
3/30 - FP's for MK
3/31 - FPs for HS, and just deal w the AK.

I think I'd tweak the days a little bit. I would look for the split you have... 1 full day MK, 1 full day EC, and 1/2 day HS and AK... but I'd try to arrange them to have a bit less hopping, just cuz you're so short on time already.



Epcot... Soarin, MS, SE
MK... Splash, Jungle, Peter Pan
HS... Star Tours, TSMM (or RR), ToT

That's what I'd do.

Oh my goodness, thank you, thank you for taking the time out to do this! Sadly enough, I had us planning to hop so much because I paid for the darn hoppers! With only three days, I really wanted to use them. You make some good points though...I might have to do some re-jigging of my plans though I worry that I will lose out on some of my dining ressies though, since I made those a fair bit ago.

 

[davkata]

I don't consider 2 parks in one day to be a lot of hopping. Isn't that the point of hoppers? I consider it a must for a short stay if you are willing and want to maximize your park strategy. We typically RD one park, leave by late am/lunch, have pool/rest time at resort, hop to another park later in the day and then hit MK to end our night as it is usually open until midnight or 1 am when we go during President's week. If you are utilizing RD or EMH am hours, I would suggest you book your FP+ for the second park later in the day. I will admit we need a vacation from our vacation when we are done, but for the prices you pay to go to Disney (and we go value resorts) I like to get the most bang for our buck. Since our tickets cost more than the resort, well, the most time is spent at the parks! For us this works, I get it may not for others...