Who now is changing all their fast passes to early morning?

[sunkissed4]

If you're there at RD, it's not even worth it. I don't want to rely on short FP kiosk lines (they were long when we were there) or hope I can get a headliner in the afternoon by wasting my pre-scheduled FP in the mornings when they're not needed.

We were at MK on Sunday and were able to get on 7 rides before we used our first FP at 11 am for Peter Pan.

There were quite a few people using their FP early though and I was surprised. FP at Pirates around 9:30 or JC around 9:45 is silly.

 

[glamdring269]

My plan in October is to treat this much like I would have before FP+ where we would run around pulling paper FP. I haven't figured out exactly how this will work since I haven't seen available FP+ times in October yet but we would basically arrive at RD and mix in FP+ with stand by ride with the plan of being done by lunch time.

So for HS the plan would be to head straight to TSM then to RNR and ToT. Sometime between RD and noon we would have FP+ for TSM, ToT, and ST.

Epcot gets a little tricky though since there is really only one FP+ of choice and the other 2 are throwaway. I assume we would hit RD and head straight to TT and Mission:Space. Ride FP+ on Soarin'.

I do have a question regarding FP+ usage though. If I'm at Epcot I may not even want to use my 3rd FP+. If you schedule and miss your time does it basically use that 3rd FP? The reason I ask is because I may still want to try getting a 4th FP+ at TT or Soarin' (or another park later that afternoon/evening) but may not want to ride Figment in order to have that option. Just curious how that works.

 

[ckelly14]

I have most of my FP+ scheduled from 10-1 as well. I'm only interested in securing extra FP's at MK for the rides I really like that used to be walk-ons. This would include PotC and HM. I plan to hit BTMRR first, hit PotC and HM next. If the lines are already a problem, I try to obtain a fourth FP for those "secondary" rides I was not able to catch in the morning. I think this schedule gives me the most flexibility....

 

[linskypens]

Depending on the day, we changed some and not others.

Our HS day, which is evening EMH, we have TSMM ST, and TOT book for after 6pm. We will also RD at HS that say, so plan on headlining all morning until we cant anymore. We have a midday break planned, then off to AK around 4pm so score as many rides on dinosaur as we can from 4-6pm. Then off to HS for dinner and FP+ the headliners, then draw in animation studio for a couple hours, then ride whatever we can sneak in during Fantasmic(which we arent attending) and EMH.
These FP were originally scheduled in the evening, and we left them there

Our Epcot day is a rope drop a morning only affair, with FP+ for Test Track
Mission space and spaceship earth, with the plan to hit soaring first thing (maybe twice) then the FP+'s. After 12 we are off property for a while, and no idea what we are doing that evening, so leaving the possibility of FP+ in another park for evening.

Our MK start to finish day, I have all morning FP+ for the three mountains at 9 10 and 11..we will hit them repeatedly as much as we can during those hours that we have FP for them, midday break, will secure FP+ for what is available for our 4th right before break, and take what we get after we get back.We used to use evening FP really to ride Buzz over and over, and my guess is that it will be buzz over and over again this time as well. These were all originally evening FP+, moved to morning last week to accommodate the changes in the system

Our other two days are arrival day and departure day, both MK, with FP+ for the three mountains after we arrive in the afternoon, and in the morning before we leave.

 

[Bullseye]

No I'm not changing ours either. Mostly just because I don't feel like messing around with them again and like other posters have mentioned, who knows what's going to left later in the day.

No sooner did I get them booked then the announcement came out. We're going to just rely on getting to the park early,hit some rides, mid day break, then FP+ in the late afternoon through evening.

 

[mullysisters]

I think it's just a personal decision based on what YOU want to accomplish in any given day and how you tour.

I am NOT going to book morning FPs and will continue to book them at the busiest time of day and be happy with my selections. That works for me because I like having a plan and just sticking to it...but I don't focus on things like maximizing the number of rides I can ride while there. I'm okay with only riding something once even if it is a favorite and tend to focus more of my energy on trying NEW things. I am not a rush from ride to ride person...I like meandering around the park, taking time to just sit and soak up the atmosphere, and usually do at least 2 TS meals a day.

I'm also in the parks all day...open to close usually...so I don't feel like I will have a problem getting on a bunch of things at rope drop. I travel during September and even though the crowds are not as low as they used to be they are still very manageable. I don't mind waiting in lines for things I want to ride...30 minutes is pretty reasonable and I don't really care if that's a 30 minute wait for POTC, Figment, or Splash Mountain...as long as I enjoy the ride I am waiting for that's all that matters to me.

I found that FP+ actually made my trip less stressful and I enjoyed the time in the parks more. I used it last September when you could double dip...but I didn't get a single regular FP the entire trip and only used the 3 FP+. I don't have a smartphone so I never used the feature of moving FP+ times around...it wasn't necessary for me.

I know my situation and preferences won't match up to most people...but my plan is still to pre-book later in the day when the park is busiest. I think everyone has to figure out for themselves what works best for them based on the way they tour and what their priorities are in the park. I think for people who want to ride the most rides with the shortest waits that booking early FP+ is the better way to go as it sounds like there is still availability for rides later in the day if you do it that way...at least right now. The real test will be on the busiest days of the year...will there still be availability later in the day after you use your initial FP+ options? Only time will tell...

I'll be there in about 28 hours. Happy to do what I can do and just relax

 

[AandJsMommy]

Depends on the park. I didn't change Epcot (left them mid to late afternoon) or AK (originally booked times ranging from 9:40 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.).

I did move two days worth of MK FP's to start in the morning. The earliest is at 10, and we'll probably ride toward the end of that window, and ride other stuff for almost 2 hours.

I might change Hollywood Studios. Haven't decided about that one yet.

We're also not people who care much about repeating the big stuff. This is our first trip, and we probably won't go back for another 5-6 years. We would rather do a wider variety of things than a few things repeatedly.

 

[daizieduck]

Possibly, but I think that's a weak strategy. If you're going early anyway, you're likely wasting the fastpasses on short or non-existent waits. In my opinion, if you're planning to park hop already, just book your FP for the second park. That would be optimal use. If you get to a park and then decide to hop, there's not much you can do except cancel any passes you might have (or use them), and see what's available at the second park. As always, just a bit of planning can help you squeeze a lot out of the trip.

You make some good points. DH and I don't like to get up early and hit the parks running. But at the same time I don't want to wait 80 minutes to ride Soarin' at Epcot at noon so I can use FP for Fantasmic at HS in the evening. Since I have plenty of time before my trip, I am going to have to keep an eye on this thread to get strategy ideas.

 

[lvforvaca]

We are going for 7 days in June. We have changed our MK FPs to all be in the late morning/early afternoon. It doesn't seem to matter much in the other parks. I did move our last fast pass up at AK just a bit, hoping to ride the Safari again before we leave for the day.

 

[richmo]

...I did move our last fast pass up at AK just a bit, hoping to ride the Safari again before we leave for the day.

That does bring up the one ride I do like to schedule for a certain time: Kali. I like to schedule that one not long before I leave the park, in case we get really, really soaked. What we'll have to decide when the time comes is whether to use 3, then hopefully get a decent slot for Kali, or schedule Kali late, which, of course, would pretty much prevent us from getting the 4th FP. At AK, I don't really mind the limit anyway (we tend not to do EE, and if so, go for the single rider line, which is almost always short, so our FP's are KS, Dino and Kali)

 

[2Tiggies]

That does bring up the one ride I do like to schedule for a certain time: Kali. I like to schedule that one not long before I leave the park, in case we get really, really soaked. What we'll have to decide when the time comes is whether to use 3, then hopefully get a decent slot for Kali, or schedule Kali late, which, of course, would pretty much prevent us from getting the 4th FP. At AK, I don't really mind the limit anyway (we tend not to do EE, and if so, go for the single rider line, which is almost always short, so our FP's are KS, Dino and Kali)

We also have Kali for the end of the day at AK for the same reason. Not that it is going to be cold in June but it's not nice being in the humidity in wet clothes.

 

[bladiator]

I changed a lot of my FPs for early morning, but then changed them all back to late morning just because if I'm going to be there early morning anyway, RD should keep the ride lines to a minimum. The only exception to this was Epcot on my 2nd day there, because I figure if I miss the poop tier rides but they all expire by 11am, then I can start doing Soarin' again without having to actually be there early.

 

[tndisneyfan]

We thought about it but just decided to leave ours "as is". DS has decided he wants to sleep in this trip, so DH and I are going to be doing RD and DS joining us later. Most of our FPs are for evenings so we can do all the bigger rides together. I'm sure it would be waaaay to complicted to try to change them with DS sleeping in. We're just going to go with what we have and hope for the best.

 

[blessedby3]

I have been so torn on what to do. I did have them all booked for afternoon…then they came out with the 4th, 5th, etc FP+.
I ended up changing them to morning ones, hoping to be able to get more FP's for the afternoons. Who knows We have a 10 day ticket, so if I see our plan is not working out…I will try and adjust them if I can.
I have always gone at rope drop and gotten tons done. I was afraid that if people were booking early morning FP, then the standby lines would be much longer and thus I wouldn't get the amount done that we used to.
I am almost dreading this trip and I never have before. So much uncertainty about everything.
Not to mention that we will be there during crowd levels of 8 and mainly 9 for our June 7-21 trip
Praying for the best

 

[Disneychick75]

We're leaving ours as is. This will be our 9 month old grandbaby's first Disney trip so we're taking it easy. Most of our FPs start mid to late morning after character breakfasts. My husband and I have MK rides scheduled rides for our MBs that we're allowing our grandbaby's parents to use so they can have the pleasure of all of his first rides. We're so excited. The baby loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Jake and the Neverland Pirates. We're hoping the love will extend to seeing them in person.

 

[Gryhndmom]

I have been so torn on what to do. I did have them all booked for afternoon…then they came out with the 4th, 5th, etc FP+.
I ended up changing them to morning ones, hoping to be able to get more FP's for the afternoons. Who knows We have a 10 day ticket, so if I see our plan is not working out…I will try and adjust them if I can.
I have always gone at rope drop and gotten tons done. I was afraid that if people were booking early morning FP, then the standby lines would be much longer and thus I wouldn't get the amount done that we used to.
I am almost dreading this trip and I never have before. So much uncertainty about everything.
Not to mention that we will be there during crowd levels of 8 and mainly 9 for our June 7-21 trip
Praying for the best

And just think...WDW could change the rules again ! I did find it a little frustrating this past week that I could not plan my 4th FP until the last of the first 3 were exhausted! At HS with RD most folks were running to TSM like they were qualifying for the NYC marathon! What I don't like right now is that it seems like we have to plan our disney vacations like the invasion of Normandy! I am a big planner but I think for our return trip in Oct I will make fp's+ reservations and then try not to worry.

 

[wendybeth75]

I did this for 2 days of our upcoming trip. We have a long trip in October and our typical strategy is RD at the EMH park, stay 2-4 hours until it gets crowded then either nap, swim or go to the the easy wdw Recommended park of the day where we use our FP+ and have supper. I have not yet decided how this may affect our strategy on our longer trip. A lot of it is going to depend on whether there are any FP+ "worth having" once we can use the first 3.

 

[Belleandtinker]

Our family discussed the more FPs available after the first 3. Our fear is we'll need a FP for the kiosk to get another FP. When we were there for the test in October the kiosks were backed. If we can get extra via our iPhones then yes, but if we have to wait in long line no thanks.

 

[Day-Day]

I may do one of our MK days using early FPs. Morning standby may be longer than in the past now that folks select morning FP. Recent reports indicate that kiosks lines are not bad. If SB is short we can reschedule FP.

I looked at TSM, Test Track and Soarin for morning FPs and they are not available. We would like to get extra FPs for tier 1 or repeat a tier 1.

 

[Rebekkap]

The kiosks have not been backed up at all today or yesterday - the longest I've waited is about three minutes, and mostly I've walked straight up and been able to book straight away.

I suspect the long kiosk lines were a function of off site guests not being able to pre-book, and as they now can, the lines are short or non existent.