Coordinating FPs Together Between On and Off Property Parties

[DisneyPrincess5]

My DH and I and my mom and her partner will be going to WDW together in 3/2018. He and I will be staying on property while the two of them will be staying off property as they're bringing their dog. Never done a trip like this before.

To be clear, this means DH and I can make our FP+ reservations 60 days in advance of our trip while the two of them will be making theirs 30 days in advance. They're DVC members and AP holders, but this doesn't hold any significance here, correct?
With that said, this means it may be challenging to coordinate our FPs together as some of the more desired FPs/times may be gone by the time they can make theirs.

We so look forward to doing certain rides together. And we will despite FPs but we'd like to have some good ones to avoid wasting time waiting in lines.
Any tips on how to make this coordinate well? Maybe we should just wait until 30 days in advance to ensure coordinated FPs?

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Could you add them to your hotel reservation? As long as four adults are allowed, and as long as you're not getting a package deal that requires everyone have dining or park tickets, that might work.

I assume if two hotel guests have passes, they still become part of the group of four for the purposes of booking at 60 days out.

 

[dreamfinder]

Well, if you want the biggies then you really would need to book those 60 days out. Otherwise 7DMT and FEA, you will pretty much have to do standby. DVC doesn't mean squat, and AP only gets then 30 days for 7 days at a time. So if you trip is longer than 7 days, they will only be able to book the first 7.

But it's really going to be up to you. Do you and your DH want to get a ride on those hard to get ones? And possibly not be able to go with the rest of your party on those attractions. Or do you want to possibly not get on those rides and would rather spend the time as a group? It's up to you.

 

[Tuvalu]

Could you add them to your hotel reservation? As long as four adults are allowed, and as long as you're not getting a package deal that requires everyone have dining or park tickets, that might work.

I assume if two hotel guests have passes, they still become part of the group of four for the purposes of booking at 60 days out.

Adding extra adults to the reservation would require 2 "additional adult" fees per night ($15-25 depending on resort level.)

 

[dreamfinder]

Could you add them to your hotel reservation? As long as four adults are allowed, and as long as you're not getting a package deal that requires everyone have dining or park tickets, that might work.

They could, but would get charged the per night fee for extra adults. Don't think that's worth being able to book FP+, but that's just me.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

Could you add them to your hotel reservation? As long as four adults are allowed, and as long as you're not getting a package deal that requires everyone have dining or park tickets, that might work.

I assume if two hotel guests have passes, they still become part of the group of four for the purposes of booking at 60 days out.

Adding extra adults to the reservation would require 2 "additional adult" fees per night ($15-25 depending on resort level.)

They could, but would get charged the per night fee for extra adults. Don't think that's worth being able to book FP+, but that's just me.

Thanks for the insight guys. Never thought of that. Nothing is booked yet but he and I will be staying in a DVC studio (its their DVC and they're giving us the room). What if we booked it for 4, then changed it to 2 after FPs?

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

Well, if you want the biggies then you really would need to book those 60 days out. Otherwise 7DMT and FEA, you will pretty much have to do standby. DVC doesn't mean squat, and AP only gets then 30 days for 7 days at a time. So if you trip is longer than 7 days, they will only be able to book the first 7.

But it's really going to be up to you. Do you and your DH want to get a ride on those hard to get ones? And possibly not be able to go with the rest of your party on those attractions. Or do you want to possibly not get on those rides and would rather spend the time as a group? It's up to you.

Great perspective here. Ultimately, our goal is to spend time together doing our favorite rides together. Paramount however is spending time together. We'll have to do a lot of thinking about strategy.

If we cannot book together using the idea others noted above, then we will book the majority of them together at their 30 day mark. If we miss some huge ones, we'll work it out. Likely we will all "run" to them at rope drop to ensure we can ride some together.

Thanks!

 

[dreamfinder]

Thanks for the insight guys. Never thought of that. Nothing is booked yet but he and I will be staying in a DVC studio (its their DVC and they're giving us the room). What if we booked it for 4, then changed it to 2 after FPs?

Well, if it's DVC I believe that the extra adult fee doesn't apply. As long as your guests are within the posted room limits, it's fine. So they could add themselves and just leave it on there. The only catch would be is if you were buying dining, as you would need to pay for that for them as well as all parties need to be on the same dining plan.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

Well, if it's DVC I believe that the extra adult fee doesn't apply. As long as your guests are within the posted room limits, it's fine. So they could add themselves and just leave it on there. The only catch would be is if you were buying dining, as you would need to pay for that for them as well as all parties need to be on the same dining plan.

None of us will be getting the dining plan so no worries there.

So let's say we book the studio for 4 people, then take them two off and leave it at DH and I, will their FPs remain on their MDE despite them being off the roo,? Or all 4 on mine or something?

 

[JaxFLBear]

So let's say we book the studio for 4 people, then take them two off and leave it at DH and I, will their FPs remain on their MDE despite them being off the roo,? Or all 4 on mine or something?

Leave them on the reservation. You will also be able to get free MagicBands for them since they are on the reservation.

If they have their own MDE account(s), you will want to link them to your family & friends list prior to linking the room reservation.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Yeah, just leaving them on in this scenario seems easiest. I don't think it's even cheating the system in this case, as they technically are paying for that room and accompanying benefits.

Definitely don't fret about Fastpasses too much. People seem overly worried sometimes that they might be stuck in standby for Seven Dwarfs or Frozen. Standing in a few long lines isn't going to kill anyone, and it's not like you won't get *other* fastpasses.

 

[mollyrozi]

If you make fastpasses and they're on your friends and family, you can make them for them at 60 days out, even if they're not on your reservations. I did this in Feb. of 2015 & just last month, and it's always worked for me, even for a separate trip after my stay at Disney ended. They won't be able to make their own, but they can change the fastpasses that you made them more than 30 days out if you want.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

If you make fastpasses and they're on your friends and family, you can make them for them at 60 days out, even if they're not on your reservations. I did this in Feb. of 2015 & just last month, and it's always worked for me, even for a separate trip after my stay at Disney ended. They won't be able to make their own, but they can change the fastpasses that you made them more than 30 days out if you want.

Oooo I'm listening. So we add them to our MDE account you mean?

 

[mollyrozi]

Oooo I'm listening. So we add them to our MDE account you mean?

Hopefully I've not just gotten a convenient glitch twice, haha, but I'm pretty sure as long as the person making the fastpasses has a reservation, they can make them for anyone on their MDE account? So yeah, add them to "friends & family" and make sure you have permission to edit/make plans for them, and you should be ace. Or at least I have been!

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

Hopefully I've not just gotten a convenient glitch twice, haha, but I'm pretty sure as long as the person making the fastpasses has a reservation, they can make them for anyone on their MDE account? So yeah, add them to "friends & family" and make sure you have permission to edit/make plans for them, and you should be ace. Or at least I have been!

Wow great to know. I will investigate doing that when the time comes. Thank you!!!

 

[dreamfinder]

Hopefully I've not just gotten a convenient glitch twice, haha, but I'm pretty sure as long as the person making the fastpasses has a reservation, they can make them for anyone on their MDE account? So yeah, add them to "friends & family" and make sure you have permission to edit/make plans for them, and you should be ace. Or at least I have been!

Believe you just got a glitch. I'm fairly certain that the 60 day window is only supposed to apply to guests who are actually on the booking. After the 30 day window passes, then you would be correct and you can make/modify plans for any friends & family who have granted you that right. But from 60-31 days, it's resort guests only.

OP, your best bet is just to add them to the DVC booking, and leave them there. The only real downside I can think of is that they could go into your room without you knowing, but since they are family and are letting you use their DVC, I don't think you would be terribly concerned about that.

 

[Tuvalu]

Believe you just got a glitch. I'm fairly certain that the 60 day window is only supposed to apply to guests who are actually on the booking. After the 30 day window passes, then you would be correct and you can make/modify plans for any friends & family who have granted you that right. But from 60-31 days, it's resort guests only.

OP, your best bet is just to add them to the DVC booking, and leave them there. The only real downside I can think of is that they could go into your room without you knowing, but since they are family and are letting you use their DVC, I don't think you would be terribly concerned about that.

I was inclined to agree with you @dreamfinder until I tried it for myself. My husband and I will be resort guests in 51 days. My daughter (who has an AP) is not joining us and is not listed on our reservation, but is linked to my MDE account. I was able to make FP reservations for her for the days of our stay (which I cancelled.)

Then I tried to make a FP for myself 35 days from today with my AP, when I do not have a resort reservation. Again, I was successful (and I immediately cancelled it.)

@DisneyPrincess5, I would still be inclined to add your folks to your DVC reservation like @dreamfinder suggested just to be safe, but it currently seems you should have no issues booking for them at 60 days.