What time is best to schedule FP+?

[ekatiel]

I've got about a month until my 60 day window, so I'm starting to research more about FP+. We are rope drop people, so we will likely be there at RD everyday. I can see a couple of strategies that may work, but I'm hoping someone on here who's BTDT can give me some real-world advice on FP+.

Strategy #1: Schedule FP+ for early to mid-afternoon, when all the lines are generally longer-- so one at 1pm, one at 2ish, and one at 3ish.-- The drawback for this strategy would be that by the time you were eligible for a 4th FP, all the "good" selections would be taken. We may be "stuck" with this strategy for a few of our days b/c DH will be in a conference in the mornings 3 of our park days.

Strategy #2: The opposite of #1-- Schedule FP+ early in the morning, so that you are done quickly and can schedule your 4th FP, etc. So, say 9am, 10am, and 11am.-- The drawback for this one is that you miss out on the early morning "golden" hour when lines are naturally short.

Strategy #3: Meet in the middle. Ride standby for about the first two hours and then schedule FP+ for 11am, 12pm, and 1pm. Drawback-- We may run into scheduling problems with lunch.

So, from anyone who's experienced FP+, which of the above strategies has worked best for you? Any other strategies work well for you that I haven't thought of? TIA for any input!

 

[mesaboy2]

The answer is "it depends". I discuss this question in the green link in my signature.

 

[summerskye]

Strategy #2: The opposite of #1-- Schedule FP+ early in the morning, so that you are done quickly and can schedule your 4th FP, etc. So, say 9am, 10am, and 11am.-- The drawback for this one is that you miss out on the early morning "golden" hour when lines are naturally short.

From our experience over Thanksgiving week, I would go with Strategy #2. You can still do rope drop and get lots done. You just slide in your FP+ around your "golden" hour. Our kids love BTMR. On Black Friday, we hit it 7 times plus Splash during the 1st hour. (The last time on BTMR was with FP+) Have fun.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I'm planning on strategy #3 since we do midday breaks at the pool. Get two hours of rope drop rides and then start our FP's at 11. Leave the park around 1ish. Grab QS lunches in between the FP's.

 

[lions1995]

During the Thanksgiving week, I had our scheduled to start an hour after park open and then the 2nd and 3rd as quickly as possible afterward. My thinking was this:

1) a FP that starts at 10, ends at 11. So I really would have 2 hours to hit use the low crowds
2) if we got a late start and did not arrive until later, we could immediately start using thr FPs
3) if the 3rd FP started at 12:00 (12 to 1) and we rode at 12:00, we could grab a 4th FP earlier in the day.
4) if we arrived at one of the FP attractions and it was a walk on, I just moved that FP to another atractions later in the day (kinda like getting my 4th FP without going to a kiosk).I did use this strategy on almost all my early FP selections.

Note, when deciding to NOT use your FP due to short wait times and moving it to another attraction - this may NOT be a good choice if it is a tier 2 attraction and you want to try to get a tier 1 as a 4th FP.

I moved our Mission to Space FP to a much later Sea with Nemo FP. Later I realzied that if I had just used the Mission FP, I might have been able to grab a tier 1 4th FP. So that was kinda a - FAIL - on my behalf.

 

[crazycatlady]

During the Thanksgiving week, I had our scheduled to start an hour after park open and then the 2nd and 3rd as quickly as possible afterward. My thinking was this:

1) a FP that starts at 10, ends at 11. So I really would have 2 hours to hit use the low crowds
2) if we got a late start and did not arrive until later, we could immediately start using thr FPs
3) if the 3rd FP started at 12:00 (12 to 1) and we rode at 12:00, we could grab a 4th FP earlier in the day.
4) if we arrived at one of the FP attractions and it was a walk on, I just moved that FP to another atractions later in the day (kinda like getting my 4th FP without going to a kiosk).I did use this strategy on almost all my early FP selections.

Note, when deciding to NOT use your FP due to short wait times and moving it to another attraction - this may NOT be a good choice if it is a tier 2 attraction and you want to try to get a tier 1 as a 4th FP.

I moved our Mission to Space FP to a much later Sea with Nemo FP. Later I realzied that if I had just used the Mission FP, I might have been able to grab a tier 1 4th FP. So that was kinda a - FAIL - on my behalf.

Wow! Good points! I like your thinking and will use your strategy next year, except for days when we hop to DHS. I think those days I will just ride whatever I can get on the first 2 hours after park opening (whichever park we start in) and save my FPs for DHS.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

we like #1 - but we visit WDW during slower times of the year. Also we park hop and schedule the FP for our afternoon park. I dislike standing in the kiosk lines so we don't tend to go for many FP past the original 3. We do hit RD every day and leave our morning park around lunchtime when it is getting busy.

 

[cuchu2005]

We kinda force ourselves to be at RD because the first few hours are magical. Personally, I would never schedule FPs for that time frame as it would go against the effort and benefit of being there early.

And then, when it starts to feel more crowded there's no alternative to Std By, along with those who think that these vacations are for resting .

We went this last thanksgiving week with strategy #1. Hit rope drop, easily tour the park during the first 3 hours, slow down and grab some lunch, use our fast passes. It is true that when you are done by 3pm there are some crappy choices regarding a 4th FP. But until that moment you get so much done, while you see people standing in endless lines.

Using that strategy we've been able to score a couple of good 4th FPs (eg. Test Track).

I may be wrong as this was my first FP+ experience, but I feel that the whole point of doing rope drop is to be able to do std by without the crazy waits. And when crazy waits come to play, you get to use your FPs.

Anyway you do it, have fun!

Mx

 

[SplashMo]

If you park hop you might choose your FP+ at the second park.

If you rope drop AK then you might schedule FP+ at another park to hop to later. Or of you want to stay the entire day / use your FP+ in AK you might FP+ Kali for 2-3PM where it is hard to get on the ride...

At Epcot you might Rope Drop Soarin and FP+ Test track then burn through your other FP+ by moving them up after you pass the second mickey in line. Or if you are daring show up with just one FP+ for TT and then try for 4th FP+ at a tier one.

For DS TSMM is the ride to FP+ either leave a bit of time to rope drop TSMM first or FP+ in the afternoon if hoping from another park...

MK you can stir clear of 7DMT fro a couple of hours and then FP+ it and actively burn through FP+ by moving them up after passing the second mickey in line. You may get 7 or more FP+ that day...