whew - first 15 days of FP+ done - only took us a nerve-racking hour and 40 minutes!!

[disneyholic family]

tick tick tick

fastpass window opening in 13 minutes...

and like all first times, i am NERVOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (yes i'm a fastpass plus virgin)...

wish me luck!!!!

see you on the other side.....

(i'll let you know how the pandora FPs work out)..

 

[chudlyfudly]

Granted I haven't booked fastpasses on FP+ for about 3 years, but I seem to recall that we weren't particularly prompt and we managed to get pretty much everything we wanted...although I will be really interested to know how Pandora works out.

...and congrats on only 60 days to go!

​

 

[carrieconnell]

At 12.10 there were no Fast Passes left for Avitar Flight of Passage for 3rd July. Don't know if it's worth keeping on trying. So disappointed!

 

[tinkerbell1991]

tick tick tick

fastpass window opening in 13 minutes...

and like all first times, i am NERVOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (yes i'm a fastpass plus virgin)...

wish me luck!!!!

see you on the other side.....

(i'll let you know how the pandora FPs work out)..

How did you get on? Manage to get everything you wanted?

 

[disneyholic family]

just finished this minute.....our first 2 weeks....have to do the rest as the window opens over the next few days..

can you believe it? 14 days of FPs took 1 hour and 40 minutes to do... that's insane...and that was with 2 of us working on it.....DS said going to WDW isn't a vacation anymore, it's a job!!!!

and yes, my internet dropped 6 times......and WDW seemed to drop a few times as well..
each time my PC internet dropped, we switched to the iphone app and continued with it...
as soon as the pc internet came back up i switched back to that (as i found it easier to use)...

and yes, certain FPs are VERY hard to get.....mainly flight of passage...

we couldn't get flight of passage on our first day, so we immediately jumped to the next AK day we're there, and got FoP for that day....
and then again for the next AK day...

so we switched our schedule around...

if you have a problem getting flight of passage, go right to your last AK day and try that day first....that's the day you're most likely to succeed in getting it...

.

 

[disneyholic family]

correction - it let us do 15 days...
arrival day, plus an additional 14 days....

we have another 7 days to go which i understand will open day by day for us now...each day i'll add a new day..

.

 

[disneyholic family]

oh and if you have trouble when your window opens, keep refreshing..
on the iphone app, the window didn't open until about 5 minutes after the hour for some reason...
while it opened immediately on my PC....
.

 

[carrieconnell]

correction - it let us do 15 days...
arrival day, plus an additional 14 days....

we have another 7 days to go which i understand will open day by day for us now...each day i'll add a new day..

.

Are you staying onsite?

 

[disneyholic family]

Are you staying onsite?

yes, we're staying at SSR on the UK free dining package...
we'll be there for 21 days, but the system only let us book 15 days at our 60 day window...
i'll have to book each additional day rolling from today...

.

 

[chudlyfudly]

I think the FP+ system has it's benefits, but I do miss the old ticket fastpasses a little bit sometimes, purely because although I like planning my WDW trip in advance I don't particularly like planning what rides I'll want to go on that far in advance.

I'm curious to know something...I'll be travelling from the UK and have the ultimate park ticket for 14 days (I think that's what it's called?) - how would it work if, for example, you were a Florida resident who just decided they wanted to spend the day at Disney last minute so buy a ticket for the day - do they still have access to fastpasses? Are they only able to get fastpasses that are 'left over', similarly to how I could book another fastpass when I'm in the park once I've used my final of the three fastpasses?

 

[disneyholic family]

I think the FP+ system has it's benefits, but I do miss the old ticket fastpasses a little bit sometimes, purely because although I like planning my WDW trip in advance I don't particularly like planning what rides I'll want to go on that far in advance.

I'm curious to know something...I'll be travelling from the UK and have the ultimate park ticket for 14 days (I think that's what it's called?) - how would it work if, for example, you were a Florida resident who just decided they wanted to spend the day at Disney last minute so buy a ticket for the day - do they still have access to fastpasses? Are they only able to get fastpasses that are 'left over', similarly to how I could book another fastpass when I'm in the park once I've used my final of the three fastpasses?

yes i think so...
this is the first time i'm using fp+, but DD did it a few years ago (when it first came out)..
when she booked her trip, it was already past the 60 day mark....probably at about 50, something like that...
the first 10 days she couldn't get any of the hot FPs at all....they were all gone..

in any case, i would assume that florida residents who like to go to WDW usually have annual passes...i don't know how the FP system works for them..

my guess is they tend to rope drop things that they want..

you can rope drop most rides with success...

 

[disneyholic family]

by the way, i really don't like this system at all.....i so miss the old fastpass system....the ability to just spontaneously do whatever you want..
having to choose ADRs 180 days out
and then FPs 60 days out..
and not just FPs, but really having to plan your day minute by minute is extremely stressful to me...
not really how i like to visit WDW...

.

 

[disneyholic family]

i just remembered one that wasn't available at all - Mission Space...
i thought the refurb is in july, but it wasn't available for me at all in august...
has anyone else managed to get a FP for it in august?

 

[chudlyfudly]

by the way, i really don't like this system at all.....i so miss the old fastpass system....the ability to just spontaneously do whatever you want..
having to choose ADRs 180 days out
and then FPs 60 days out..
and not just FPs, but really having to plan your day minute by minute is extremely stressful to me...
not really how i like to visit WDW...

.

It certainly makes things more regimented than I would otherwise like. I think perhaps when you're actually there it takes the pressure off getting fastpasses quickly at park opening for popular rides, but without a doubt it makes things more stressful in the lead-up to it and it definitely makes it harder to be flexible when you get there.

 

[jo-jo]

by the way, i really don't like this system at all.....i so miss the old fastpass system....the ability to just spontaneously do whatever you want..
having to choose ADRs 180 days out
and then FPs 60 days out..
and not just FPs, but really having to plan your day minute by minute is extremely stressful to me...
not really how i like to visit WDW...

.

Yes, and still with all the planning, there is still a lot of waiting to do while you are there.

I'm a wreck by the time I get done with FP planning. Last trip, my DD ended up doing the basics for me. We were traveling with our DS and family. I told DD what rides, what days, what time and she took it from there. After, I went back in and moved a few in order allow for swimming time or late morning at resort.

 

[Jon84]

Funny thing is you spend all the time doing them, but we always end up changing them on the day lol

For example, you know you have a HM FP but walk past when it's 5 mins, so jump on and switch the HM FP for something else

 

[Jon84]

by the way, i really don't like this system at all.....i so miss the old fastpass system....the ability to just spontaneously do whatever you want..
having to choose ADRs 180 days out
and then FPs 60 days out..
and not just FPs, but really having to plan your day minute by minute is extremely stressful to me...
not really how i like to visit WDW...

.

I know in the heat I'd much rather not be criss-crossing the parks collecting FPs!

We used to plan to the minite, with FP and dining, but in our last two trips we've been able to be alot more relaxed and flexible, only booking hard to get ADRs and FPs. For example one morning we just have Frozen Ever After, and a dinner in Epcot, and thats it

 

[disneyholic family]

just finished adding day 16...
took me exactly one minute to complete!!
pretty easy when you're booking a day no one has booked yet...

 

[disneyholic family]

It certainly makes things more regimented than I would otherwise like. I think perhaps when you're actually there it takes the pressure off getting fastpasses quickly at park opening for popular rides, but without a doubt it makes things more stressful in the lead-up to it and it definitely makes it harder to be flexible when you get there.

i put everything into an excel...
each day on a different sheet...
i inserted ADR times and then DD and i worked on it...
we scheduled in our planned "rope drop" rides...
and the 3 FPs each day..
we didn't schedule the things that i assume we'll do in between...
we're going to have to be flexible as our group of 8 includes 2 toddlers, one in diapers the other just toilet trained...so there will certainly be lots of diaper/bathroom/accident breaks along the way....
we already said that we'll just have to be flexible..
but all this scheduling, especially the ADRs with the credit card guarantee, makes it much more difficult...

Yes, and still with all the planning, there is still a lot of waiting to do while you are there.

I'm a wreck by the time I get done with FP planning. Last trip, my DD ended up doing the basics for me. We were traveling with our DS and family. I told DD what rides, what days, what time and she took it from there. After, I went back in and moved a few in order allow for swimming time or late morning at resort.

DD and i planned it together...
DS and DSIL wanted to be involved, but when it came down to it, neither of them had the patience to sit through all the planning required...
DS managed one session that covered two days (of 21)..
and DSIL didn't even manage that...he turned his iphone onto a football game and zoned out...
DDIL only wanted to be involved in the shirt design, so that was fine (the shirt "committee" consists of DD, DDIL and me)..

Funny thing is you spend all the time doing them, but we always end up changing them on the day lol

For example, you know you have a HM FP but walk past when it's 5 mins, so jump on and switch the HM FP for something else

i've never been there for FP+ yet, but DD said that same thing...
i helped her before her last trip (with DSIL) and then they ended up changing most of their FPs when they were there..
but they were there in early november, not in the super summer crowds..

I know in the heat I'd much rather not be criss-crossing the parks collecting FPs!

We used to plan to the minite, with FP and dining, but in our last two trips we've been able to be alot more relaxed and flexible, only booking hard to get ADRs and FPs. For example one morning we just have Frozen Ever After, and a dinner in Epcot, and thats it

i would be happy to be relaxed if it were just DH and me....
but having the entire family dependent on me for a good time, so to speak, is a bit daunting..
but with the two toddlers, we're all going to have to be relaxed and go with the flow, wherever it takes us..

as for hard FPs, that's what we're doing...going for the hard ones...
the only one i couldn't get was FOP on our first day at AK..
so DD changed the schedule..
instead of doing FoP on our first day at AK, we'll do navi river journey that day - since they're both top tier so you can only get one FP..
and then on our second visit to AK, i did manage to get us the FP for FoP...
so that's good...

.

 

[Jon84]

i would be happy to be relaxed if it were just DH and me....
but having the entire family dependent on me for a good time, so to speak, is a bit daunting..
but with the two toddlers, we're all going to have to be relaxed and go with the flow, wherever it takes us..

as for hard ADRs, that's what we're doing...going for the hard ones...
the only one i couldn't get was FOP on our first day at AK..
so DD changed the schedule..
instead of doing FoP on our first day at AK, we'll do navi river journey that day - since they're both top tier so you can only get one FP..
and then on our second visit to AK, i did manage to get us the FP for FoP...
so that's good...

.

I think you can only do a certain amount of planning.

As long as everyone in the party knows how much you've done in advance for them, you should be able to get there, stop being the tour guide/planner and enjoy yourself, it's your vacation too!


We got lucky on our FPs, worked from the end of the trip forwards, in difficulty order. - Got Illuminations on 4th July, both Avatar, 7DMT, ROL, etc etc