Give Up Trying for FOP Fast Pass?

[RustySpork]

Update: I have been checking since I posted this thread.

To put how difficult FOP is to get (at least now), we are going Jun 8-18 which gives us 10 days. I checked for FastPass every day we are there at least 40 times/day for the last few days. That's like 400 unique times that I checked and I was only able to get 2 open times for FOP. I didn't care day, time, anything. If it was there, I would have taken it.

I've gotten really good at checking for them quickly. None of my plans were off limits. If I found FOP, that was the new plan. If you're just casually looking, you'd never think you could get in because it's always unavailable.

I was also able to get Na'vi twice, with still a lot of checking, but not as rare. I actually turned down a few times I saw for Na'Vi due to scheduling conflicts. Since checking for FastPass allows you to check both, I guess you could say I tried equally.

Note, you don't have to check more times during a date you're trying because even if you say "morning" or a specific time, it will suggest other times IF available.

It's incredibly difficult despite some people claiming it's simple. It's not simple, and this somewhat validates many of the complaints about FP+ doesn't it? When the only other option is waiting 2-4 hours in a line for the ride it's a pretty crummy situation.

 

[Chef Mickey]

It's incredibly difficult despite some people claiming it's simple. It's not simple, and this somewhat validates many of the complaints about FP+ doesn't it? When the only other option is waiting 2-4 hours in a line for the ride it's a pretty crummy situation.

Yes, totally agree. I'm not sure how anyone could think it's simple to get one, particularly in advance of a trip. I could MAYBE see it being easier if you're checking the day of (more cancellations) but I'd expect those to be like a market system where the opportunitiy is gone almost immediately.

Perhaps my situation is the hardest because I'm going relatively soon and I wanted 2 in advance. Still, with enough effort (and I outlined how much I put in) it's possible.

It's a bad situation when an attraction first opens and people are starved for a new E-Ticket. I think Disney is trying to accommodate everyone by staying open until 1am (this was a good move), but it is unfortunate that if your time is limited, you might just have to wait. I do expect it to die down over time (obviously). 7DMT was like this when it first opened and now it routinely sees wait times under 75 minutes.

To give people some context, I went to DisneySea in Tokyo and ToT was an over 200min wait and several others were in the 280min range.

 

[RustySpork]

Yes, totally agree. I'm not sure how anyone could think it's simple to get one, particularly in advance of a trip. I could MAYBE see it being easier if you're checking the day of (more cancellations) but I'd expect those to be like a market system where the opportunitiy is gone almost immediately.

Perhaps my situation is the hardest because I'm going relatively soon and I wanted 2 in advance. Still, with enough effort (and I outlined how much I put in) it's possible.

It's a bad situation when an attraction first opens and people are starved for a new E-Ticket. I think Disney is trying to accommodate everyone by staying open until 1am (this was a good move), but it is unfortunate that if you're time is limited, you might just have to wait. I do expect it to die down over time (obviously). 7DMT was like this when it first opened and now it routinely sees wait times under 75 minutes.

To give people some context, I went to DisneySea in Tokyo and ToT was an over 200min wait and several others were in the 280min range.

Really, the best option is to plan far in advance and stay onsite so you can reserve at the 60 day mark. Which is really how they designed it to be to maximize resort stays. I think staying open until 1am is a great move as well, but yeah if your time is limited or if you can't plan very far in advance it's pretty difficult. I think there are changes they could make to manage it a lot better, but I'd just be quarterbacking from my armchair over here.

 

[Chef Mickey]

Really, the best option is to plan far in advance and stay onsite so you can reserve at the 60 day mark. Which is really how they designed it to be to maximize resort stays. I think staying open until 1am is a great move as well, but yeah if your time is limited or if you can't plan very far in advance it's pretty difficult. I think there are changes they could make to manage it a lot better, but I'd just be quarterbacking from my armchair over here.

Yeah, let's just be happy they actually put in a new E-Ticket attraction and it seems to be going well. We've waited a long time for a TRUE big boy attraction. 7DMT was supposed to be, but turned out to be a D ticket...solid, but not a game changer. This might be the closest thing we've gotten to a ToT or Splash Mountain since they built those almost 25 years ago.

 

[RustySpork]

Yeah, let's just be happy they actually put in a new E-Ticket attraction and it seems to be going well. We've waited a long time for a TRUE big boy attraction. 7DMT was supposed to be, but turned out to be a D ticket...solid, but not a game changer. This might be the closest thing we've gotten to a ToT or Splash Mountain since they built those almost 25 years ago.

16 years if you count Soarin. I just hope they can open a few more hits over the next 20 years. SWL and TSL are promising.

 

[Chef Mickey]

16 years if you count Soarin. I just hope they can open a few more hits over the next 20 years. SWL and TSL are promising.

I guess you have to count Soarin' as an E-Ticket, but it's a distant third to me when you talk about ToT and Splash Mountain. It's pretty cool, but it's largely just an IMAX movie in an innovative ride system.

Agreed SWL is going to be Pandora on steroids...I have huge hopes for the Star Wars E-Ticket. I'm less hopeful about TSL as it seems to not include plans for an E-Ticket. I'm excited about the expansion because we can always use more space and HS is desperate for anything.

 

[RustySpork]

I guess you have to count Soarin' as an E-Ticket, but it's a distant third to me when you talk about ToT and Splash Mountain. It's pretty cool, but it's largely just an IMAX movie in an innovative ride system.

Agreed SWL is going to be Pandora on steroids...I have huge hopes for the Star Wars E-Ticket. I'm less hopeful about TSL as it seems to not include plans for an E-Ticket. I'm excited about the expansion because we can always use more space and HS is desperate for anything.

I don't care what anyone says, HS is in the worst shape it has ever been in. It makes me sad that they've gutted it the way they have. I know it is necessary, but I'm not even sure it's a half day park right now. Can't wait to see the work completed.

 

[Bender123]

I don't care what anyone says, HS is in the worst shape it has ever been in. It makes me sad that they've gutted it the way they have. I know it is necessary, but I'm not even sure it's a half day park right now. Can't wait to see the work completed.

Did fastpasses at the 60 day mark for a July trip and I looked at my plans to realize three fastpasses basically equal all the rides you need in that park. We got TSMM, ToT and Star Tours all before 11AM. Based on an AM EMH, we figured we can get RnR in and ToT before park open and the only wait will be for GMR.

After that, its a trip to Muppets and then an afternoon at Epcot. There are some shows, but outside meeting star wars characters, we are pretty much done for the day.

 

[Chef Mickey]

I don't care what anyone says, HS is in the worst shape it has ever been in. It makes me sad that they've gutted it the way they have. I know it is necessary, but I'm not even sure it's a half day park right now. Can't wait to see the work completed.

Agreed on being gutted. I'm nostalgic on HS though. We still love the Beauty and the Beast stage show and Great Movie ride. We enjoy eating at 50s Prime and seeing Fantasmic. We are also Star Wars fans, so the meet and greets along with the Fireworks and ride give us enough to do.

It's a shell of its former self for sure, but we'll still spend a day there doing everything and come back for the fireworks and/or Fantasmic.

 

[disneygeek90]

Yes, totally agree. I'm not sure how anyone could think it's simple to get one, particularly in advance of a trip. I could MAYBE see it being easier if you're checking the day of (more cancellations) but I'd expect those to be like a market system where the opportunitiy is gone almost immediately.

Perhaps my situation is the hardest because I'm going relatively soon and I wanted 2 in advance. Still, with enough effort (and I outlined how much I put in) it's possible.

It's a bad situation when an attraction first opens and people are starved for a new E-Ticket. I think Disney is trying to accommodate everyone by staying open until 1am (this was a good move), but it is unfortunate that if your time is limited, you might just have to wait. I do expect it to die down over time (obviously). 7DMT was like this when it first opened and now it routinely sees wait times under 75 minutes.

To give people some context, I went to DisneySea in Tokyo and ToT was an over 200min wait and several others were in the 280min range.

I just did a quick search for any time, any day within the next 30 days for FoP, and nothing. There were various amounts of NRJ available. I don't think I have the persistence to try all 30 days, 40 times a day.

 

[Chef Mickey]

I just did a quick search for any time, any day within the next 30 days for FoP, and nothing. There were various amounts of NRJ available. I don't think I have the persistence to try all 30 days, 40 times a day.

Yeah, to get it, you need the persistence. I tried and tried to get it.

The reason I never have trouble getting anything reserved is because I'm persistent. It is a pain, but I've said before that the idea you have to book a trip 180 days in advance in nonsense. I've gotten Ohana or name the restaurant at prime times because I've checked until I get it. Checking 1 or 10 times isn't going to cut it...but it's that one time that you get the cancellation to make it worth it. Working on a computer all day, it really takes little time to spend 1 minutes every 30 minutes or an hour to check.

The most recent trip, we booked like 11 days before depature date and I got Ohana, FOP, Na'vi, Frozen, and 7DMT. The only one that took significant effort was FOP, but it was doable.

 

[Boardwalk Mermaid]

I just returned from a ten day stay at Boardwalk, so I thought I'd add my experience to this conversation. First off, I had no problem getting Fastpasses for both new attractions at 60 days out (on different days because of the tiers). I saw everyone's posts here on opening day detailing the crowds so we decided to skip going over to AK during regular hours and instead just try the extended hours for resort guests. Since we decided not to use our FPs, I cancelled them so that someone else could enjoy them. I mention this because it backs up the idea that you should keep checking back if you really want a particular FP (or ADR for that matter). We had a fabulous time in Pandora during the extra evening hours. We arrived just before 11pm and were able to ride both new attractions with wait times that were just long enough to enjoy the queues. We rode the river ride again around 12:30am with no wait at all and were offered an additional ride at the end without getting out of the boat. We were not rushed to leave at 1am. I lost track of the time and realized it was 1:50 and no one had asked us to leave. Buses were plentiful with only a few minutes wait on both legs of the trip.

 

[BigRedDad]

Because I did not want to get in this mess, I booked a throwaway campsite for a night. This gave me the 60-day window and I was able to get the FPs. I was skeptical at first that this would be more of a mix of Soarin and Star Tours. People are saying this is the best attraction at WDW. I am glad I got the FP. We will rope drop it one morning at 8AM and use our 8:30AM FP to get 2 trips on it right away.