A Small FP+ Story

[Wags14]

My Fast Pass+ positive story: It was about 7:00, two weeks ago at Magic Kingdom, We were currently on our sixth FP+ for the day, which was great. As we were making our way over to Tomorrowland, because our son wanted to ride Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin we noticed it had a 35 minute wait, (not too long, but we figured we would check the FP+ kiosk) the 35 minute time seemed legit, due to the rain and line length outside.

So we simply went to the kiosk next to Stitch (no wait lines, one near Buzz had lines).

Got a FP+ for 7:05, rode it.
Got off went to the same kiosk, got another FP+ for 7:20, rode it.
Went back to the same kiosk and got another FP+ for 7:35.

So the bottom line is we were able to ride the ride Buzz 3 times with FP+ where previously we would have had to have waited 35 minutes to ride it one time. Or would have had to have waited an hour before getting another Fast Pass per the old system. We were just really flabbergasted at all the people we passed in line for a second time (kind of felt bad ), when all they had to do was go to a kiosk.

Moral of the story, FP+ works if you know how to use it . We enjoyed it and simply never had to wait in line for any lines throughout our entire trip.

Anyways, just a small success story from all the negative ones I keep hearing out there. Good luck!

 

[PMC0849]

So clearly FP+ has changed since I was there in January. We were only allowed 3 per day , and only in one per park.

 

[Wags14]

Your allowed your 3 initial FP+ that you sign up for ahead of time. But after that you can head to any kiosk and sign up for more! I think we used a total of 11 FP+ on that day before the lines died down and there was no more point of using FP+ anymore.

 

[WDWLover#1]

So clearly FP+ has changed since I was there in January. We were only allowed 3 per day , and only in one per park.

Yh the system had a upgrade at about may? Maybe April.

 

[DVCPluto]

Thanks for sharing your success!! I really enjoyed using FP+ in Jan, so I'm very excited to see how the newer system works.

Was it inconvenient to find kiosks? Were there longer waits at the kiosks during peak hours? My concern is that we will spend time waiting at a kiosk to find we can't get a FP we would like... So that time waiting in a kiosk line could have been spent waiting in a ride line. Thoughts?

 

[docdebbi]

we had a similar "pass by the other folks in line" experience. we went to use our FP at tea cups, and the line was short so we didn't use it. walked over to speedway and there was a 45 minute line. while the family got in line, i got on the phone and changed teacups to speedway. called them all out of line.
you should have seen the looks on peoples faces as they walked back out of the line and right into the FP line. Fortunately, looks really can't kill.

 

[WondersOfLife]

......This sounds amazing o_o

 

[doctornick]

Moral of the story, FP+ works if you know how to use it . We enjoyed it and simply never had to wait in line for any lines throughout our entire trip.

Certainly. What FP+ has effectively done is leveled the playing field quite a bit compared to paper FP but it is clear that knowledgeable and aggressive users will benefit from FP+ more than novices.

 

[Rob562]

I helped my parents with their kiosk use, and it was maybe 10 or so minutes in line at most, the week after fourth of July. The bright side is, you can snag whatever you want with availability, and try to grab the earliest time. Then go on your phone, and see what else may be available. We moved stuff so often, it was so easy to grab one for say, Jungle Cruise, switch to The Haunted Mansion, bypass an hour long line, and then do it again.

Key point in bold above...

While you currently are forced to go to a kiosk to make the rolling 4th FP+ selection, it's less known that once you make a selection you can edit it or change its time from the phone app (as long as it's for an attraction in the same park). Though once you use the FP+ you have to go back to a kiosk to make another choice.

-Rob

 

[DVCPluto]

Key point in bold above...

While you currently are forced to go to a kiosk to make the rolling 4th FP+ selection, it's less known that once you make a selection you can edit it or change its time from the phone app (as long as it's for an attraction in the same park). Though once you use the FP+ you have to go back to a kiosk to make another choice.

-Rob

I definitely didn't know this! I'm a bit more enthused about the 4th FP now... So glad you can change I on the go... Now if they make it completely accessible by the app, I'll be ecstatic!!

 

[Wags14]

Was it inconvenient to find kiosks? Were there longer waits at the kiosks during peak hours? My concern is that we will spend time waiting at a kiosk to find we can't get a FP we would like... So that time waiting in a kiosk line could have been spent waiting in a ride line. Thoughts?

It was very convenient. In fact it seemed like they were adding more even more locations while we were there on our trip. Our favorite two spots at MK were down in Jungle Cruise area, absolutely no lines and near Stitch, no lines. Other locations seemed to have more of a wait time than others. Just have to find the right spots. The few minutes you may spend in line at a kiosk is very worth it compared to waiting in a ride line, pays off in the long run, imho.

we had a similar "pass by the other folks in line" experience. we went to use our FP at tea cups, and the line was short so we didn't use it. walked over to speedway and there was a 45 minute line. while the family got in line, i got on the phone and changed teacups to speedway. called them all out of line.
you should have seen the looks on peoples faces as they walked back out of the line and right into the FP line. Fortunately, looks really can't kill.

Yup, the looks you get as you pass people in line for a 2nd and 3rd time is amazing lol.

The cell phone is a great tool to have, certainly use it. Great tip! Just pick something at the kiosk, then you can move it around and change it to your liking and adjust as you go, if needed with your cell phone.

 

[ChrissyBethS]

Newbie here. Arriving in 19 days. Just to clarify, I will have to go to a kiosk for a 4th and then 5th and so forth FP+? I understand book ANYTHING and then change it to something you want, but each time you will have to return to a kiosk?

We have one 5 year old girl, are staying in the parks for 6 days (3 MK, 1 each other park). Our plan is to be in the parks in the morning/early afternoon, pool in the afternoon, dinner, and hopefully something after dinner. If I want to try to FP+ an evening attraction/event (Fantasmic!, Main Street Electrical Parade) I will try to do that as our "last" FP+ of the day, yes? Any advice is appreciated.

 

[DVCPluto]

I doubt they will go all phone, because it would harm those who don't have a smartphone.
But for those of us that do? Why yes, FP+ is a gem.

The best way I've explained this to family is this:
It's about 7:30 pm on July 6th. The line for Peter Pann is 55+ minutes. Other lines in the area are 15-20.

I can wait in the line for 55 minutes and ride Peter Pan at around 8:25.

OR. I can book a FP+ for 8:25-9:25, ride Pan at the exact same time, but ride Barnstormer (15 min wait) and Dumbo (15 minutes), maybe grab a churro, and come back at 8:25 to ride Pan.

Now I rode three rides in the same time the idiots (sorry, sorry, unknowing fools) stood in line for Peter Pan.

With legacy? That would never happen. If at 8 pm the line for pan is 55 minutes and you don't have a FP? Congrats. You're waiting an hour for the ride.

Wow... FP+ was still available for PP at 8pm?? Wow, just wow.

It was very convenient. In fact it seemed like they were adding more even more locations while we were there on our trip. Our favorite two spots at MK were down in Jungle Cruise area, absolutely no lines and near Stitch, no lines. Other locations seemed to have more of a wait time than others. Just have to find the right spots. The few minutes you may spend in line at a kiosk is very worth it compared to waiting in a ride line, pays off in the long run, imho.
Yup, the looks you get as you pass people in line for a 2nd and 3rd time is amazing lol.
The cell phone is a great tool to have, certainly use it. Great tip! Just pick something at the kiosk, then you can move it around and change it to your liking and adjust as you go, if needed with your cell phone.

So glad to have these tips!!

 

[Wags14]

Newbie here. Arriving in 19 days. Just to clarify, I will have to go to a kiosk for a 4th and then 5th and so forth FP+? I understand book ANYTHING and then change it to something you want, but each time you will have to return to a kiosk?

We have one 5 year old girl, are staying in the parks for 6 days (3 MK, 1 each other park). Our plan is to be in the parks in the morning/early afternoon, pool in the afternoon, dinner, and hopefully something after dinner. If I want to try to FP+ an evening attraction/event (Fantasmic!, Main Street Electrical Parade) I will try to do that as our "last" FP+ of the day, yes? Any advice is appreciated.

Yes, after your initial 3 that you pre-sign up for you have to go to a kiosk and sign up for an attraction hence forward. Upon selecting your attraction you can then adjust it (change the attraction, time, etc.) via your cell phone with the app.

As far as getting Fantasmic, I did find i available for the third one early in the morning but after that it was gobbled up rather quickly. Maybe, using it with a nice long pool break and then come back for Fantasmic, etc. would work. But I did notice Fantasmic and the earlier MSEP went fast. The late edition of MSEP was available a bit later throughout the day for us. Of course this is all depending on the time of year and crowd levels, etc.

 

[Kingoglow]

Did you notice much of a lag time between booking your 4th+ FP at the kiosk and when that FP showed up in your MDE phone app and being able to change the attraction/time? Did the 4 FP show up in your app near instantly?

 

[Wags14]

Did you notice much of a lag time between booking your 4th+ FP at the kiosk and when that FP showed up in your MDE phone app and being able to change the attraction/time? Did the 4 FP show up in your app near instantly?

Ya a few minutes....

But, what I did notice, maybe a little trick that helped. Was for an iphone, was killing the app entirely and reloading it all over again, it seemed to somehow register that new FP+ a lot quicker.

So what I ended up doing after the kiosk was double tap on home for iphone and close the running app, this seemed to start the app all over again and sort of re-kick start it up again and seemed to be much more quicker for me to get that new FP+ loaded onto my app. Worked like a charm.

 

[Rob562]

Ya a few minutes....

But, what I did notice, maybe a little trick that helped. Was for an iphone, was killing the app entirely and reloading it all over again, it seemed to somehow register that new FP+ a lot quicker.

So what I ended up doing after the kiosk was double tap on home for iphone and close the running app, this seemed to start the app all over again and sort of re-kick start it up again and seemed to be much more quicker for me to get that new FP+ loaded onto my app. Worked like a charm.

In the Android app you can pull the main itinerary screen down and it refreshes the data. I presume the iPhone app works the same way.

-Rob