Planning vs Planning

[YoJDew]

What do you think is best: 1) Choosing your FPs first and then planning the rest of your day around that; or 2) Planning your day and choosing FPs for times that fit into your plan?

Number 2 can be tricky because you have to jump on the FPs for the A-list attractions and then tweak the rest until they fit your plan... But I don't love the idea of letting the FP algorithm plan my day for me. What do you think?

 

[SAV]

I always pick the FP+'s first and then tour the parks around them. Because you aren't guaranteed to get a FP+ that fits your plan, but you can plan around what you get.

But I also don't plan out an exact route around the parks(don't use a touring plan). We know what we want to ride and just kind a go with the flow based on the FP+'s we get.

 

[wendysue]

We also pick FP's first, but we have been known to totally blow off the FP if we are busy doing something else at the time...We just don't feel like being herded from one attraction to another at a certain time if we don't feel like it. Much less stressful, and always seems to work.

 

[SDisney90]

I personally pick out our fast passes, then work around them. I recommend maybe not planning them so close together (if time windows permit to do so) this way you're able to enjoy other park rides/shows.

Example: if I know my FP for Soarin' is at 11 AM I know I can hit test track right in the morning, hit up club cool, check our innoventions and still have time to get to Soarin. After, head to world show case until my next FP selection maybe around 3pm or so.

It's all "strategic" planning for me, you should try to think of what will work for you best and if you will be staying at one park all day, or hopping around.

 

[DisDadWoz]

We've gone enough where we plan our parks/meals first then fit our FP's in after that. It has worked for us very well, but only because we pretty much have a limited list of attractions we want to FP. There are even days when we don't get the full allotment of them. If you haven't been to the parks on many trips I would go with the planning the FP's to make sure you get on everything you want.

 

[math mathson]

We get to park at rope drop. Start planning fast passes about an hour after park opening and get three hours in a row keeping in mine where we are in the park. That way we can try for a fourth and fifth early. We were able to get a fourth for Soarin' one day and Rockn' Roller coaster another day.

 

[JIMINYCR]

For my Nov. trip, I've first picked the parks according to the crowd calendars ( at least getting an idea of numbers as reported now ) , then chose my ADR's to the park (knowing I could lose out on the ADR's I want because of the competition for tables at the 180 day mark ) I'm being forced into being more plan heavy here than ever before. Then in Sept. when my FP+ planning date kicks in, I'll fit in what I want in the parks I'm in hopefully getting the times I want. Praying that it all works....MY HEAD IS SPINNING....

 

[DVCPluto]

Aug will be our 3rd trip using FP+. I've found that planning your park days first (obviously, otherwise you don't know where to get your FP+s), then ADRs, and finally FP+s works well. I even visualize walking through the parks and what we might want to do - in order to space out the FP+s and figure out times. Once I'm given FP+ times, I try to modify them the best I can.

However, the best plan is to be flexible. It could rain, crowds could be lower or higher than you thought, you might get hungry at an off hour... all these factors are out of your control. Go with the flow and modify your FP+s when you can. If you don't use one, it won't ruin your trip.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

I've found that planning your park days first (obviously, otherwise you don't know where to get your FP+s), then ADRs, and finally FP+s works well.

This will be our first trip using FP+ so I'm pleased to hear that this method works - that's how we've (I've) planned the trip

 

[COrunner]

What do you think is best: 1) Choosing your FPs first and then planning the rest of your day around that; or 2) Planning your day and choosing FPs for times that fit into your plan?

Number 2 can be tricky because you have to jump on the FPs for the A-list attractions and then tweak the rest until they fit your plan... But I don't love the idea of letting the FP algorithm plan my day for me. What do you think?

Typically we plan our meals first (character breakfasts, lunch or dinner) which more or less dictates which park we start or end in. From there we check the crowd calendar and we may start off at AK, take a break, then do early dinner in Epcot before the fireworks.

 

[Chezman1399]

I map out a park schedule for all the parks about a week before fastpasses. I then put our ADRs on the schedule, so I'll know what park we're most likely to be in. Finally, I'll figure out what days are open and try to put any tough to get fastpasses on those days.

I'm not quite there for our next trip, but we are planning the trip around Food and Wine with the idea that we'll be at Epcot Mon to Thursday so we can take full advantage of the Food and Wine Premium package. So, that gives me a target for where I'll be what day. As far as times go I try to get them as close to a reasonable park entry time, for us that's closer to 10 or 11, so we can possibly take advantage of extra FPs or park hopping later in the day, the exception to that time rule is if I know we'll be at a certain park all day.

 

[Mukta]

I always make my schedule first and then pick my FPP around that schedule, but I don't ride the popular rides.

 

[DizneyPryncess]

When park hours come out, we loosely plan which days we want to be in which parks. Then we plug in our dream ADR's into those days. When 180 days is up, we make ADR's and adjust park days around what we were able to get & when. Then I look into FP+ after all of that, since the booking window is the latest. I make them in the morning, because that's when I know DD is going to be awake & happy in the park. Nap time is always hit or miss. I can always aim for a 4th FP for later in the day if/when we return to a park. This method worked great last time, and it's the plan again for the fall.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Since ADRs come at 180 days and FP+ not until 60 (when we're onsite), and because we like to do parks in a relatively predictable order (always beginning and ending with MK, avoiding the park with morning EMH, etc.) we plan the touring schedule first. Then we plan our ADRs (saving the toughest ones for near the end of the week, for better chances at availability), and make them as soon as possible. Once those are in place, we then plan our FP+ around our park touring/ADR plans. So far (knock on wood), we've never been shut out of a desired ADR or FP+.

 

[VTdisneytravel]

I ended up planning then re-planning, then re-doing the plan again, then driving my family nuts with planning some more, for weeks on end.... because I couldn't get my ADR's and FP to work correctly.

What saved me was buying the Unofficial Guide to Disney World book with the Touring Plans app. This will allow you to make customized touring plans, which include the rides/fast passes, restaurants/snack stops, bathroom breaks, parades, shows, AND allow you to see what your waiting times & walking times will be. They even have a little map of the park in the touring plan, which shows you each stop numbered 1, 2, 3, 4 that your planning to make (if visual works better for you).

The mistakes I made prior to getting this app was that I was planning on a FP's on one end of the park, then my next on the other side of the park, then dinner at a resort, etc. and the math I was doing in my head for walking/transportation/waiting lines were WAY off.

Also, this app tells you how long the rides/parades/shows are... which I would have never thought of... so you can plan on that too.

Another mistake I made prior to getting this app was that I was planning on FP's for rides during times where I wouldn't need one (for example, the waiting times for a lot of the kid rides are only 4-5 minutes in the morning without fast pass). So it allows you to pick FP times that are more useful.

I wish you the best!!!

 

[lyssehm]

I normally go in the "off-season" and only really plan my ADRs. However, this time I am taking my grandmother, a teenager, a tween, and my six year old daughter the week after the 4th of July. Since two of the girls are likely to never get a chance to go back, I basically mapped out the entire day for each park. I included estimated wait times and a little wiggle room. I made all of our FP picks first, but then modified them as I made my plan of attack for the parks. The only day I found really difficult was our MK day (Unfortunately, we'll only be getting one day instead of two.) I'd say, schedule those in-demand FPs first, but maybe be more flexible with the others.

 

[disneygirl76]

What do you think is best: 1) Choosing your FPs first and then planning the rest of your day around that; or 2) Planning your day and choosing FPs for times that fit into your plan?

Number 2 can be tricky because you have to jump on the FPs for the A-list attractions and then tweak the rest until they fit your plan... But I don't love the idea of letting the FP algorithm plan my day for me. What do you think?

I am number 2. I plan my days and dining and then plan fast passes around that. It has worked the best for me over all.