Are you a FP pro or do you even bother?

[Jessica Meier]

I must admit, I am not a big user of the FP system. I will grab one if I want to ride something as we are passing by or I may go straight there (in the case of Epcot and Soarin) when we arrive at opening of the park. But I am definitely not a pro at it. I tend to ride a ride once and when I have I don't usually go back that same day. Just curious as to what my friends are like when they are in the parks.

 

[ddbowdoin]

I guess it really depends on the time of year as well and just how busy the parks are.

May 2010 - awesome, awesome, awesome time of year... before all the kids get out of school, we had very little need for FP's.
March 2011 - We got lucky, we went down a week before 'spring break' and again, really no need for FP. We used the service but only to max out rides per day of our favorites attractions. These two trips set the precedent for the time of year we like and how busy we like it to be.
July 2012 - nightmare, all around. It was our Disneymoon so we had time on our side, a whole 12 days! But FP was a must. We still had fun but it was just a different experience. With the heat and the hoards of people we ended up spending some days just playing SOTMK all day (so much we completed an entire deck). We also had a few days where we went in, had lunch... rode about 5 attractions and went back to the resort. For me, that was CRAZY as our previous trips were open to close, ride everything, see every show and come home exhausted... wake up early the next day and do it all over again.
March 2013 - Our second trip of the year didn't have any luck as well, we flew down during the 1st week of 'spring break' and the first two days (of seven) were AWESOME. We saw 20-30 minute waits for E tickets, again using the method of grabbing FP's and then hopping in the standbye line. After the first two days the place erupted, nothing was really under 60 minutes. 40 minutes for POTC, 25 for Small World, etc etc etc.

So I really think FP and your strategy / method really depends on the time of year

 

[Jessica Meier]

I guess maybe we have been lucky. Our first trip we went down Christmas Day and stayed until New Year's Eve. My husband and I hit every early morning hours and rode everything we wanted before noon. I have never seen the parks so quiet. Last trip we went during the second week of September. Pretty quiet and really no need for FP. We didn't ride a ton of the FP rides anywho b/c our daughter was 3 and really not into a lot of that. The only FP I remember doing was Toy Story at HS. We got a FP at about 10am and it wasn't until 3pm. It was fun, but not that fun people. This trip I am hoping my daughter will want to try more. If not, we can always do single rider or the grandparents will probably not ride as often as my husband and I.

 

[mickey2008.1]

We are like a fat kid all over a cupcake with these things. Get One now, wait an hour, get another, return here, go there. We do standby to see the qeues, but once we have, it's time for FP.. We usually use FP for the main attractions, space mtn, soarin, tot, rnr, ee,, btmrr, tsmm. We go during the slow season of september, so waits are not that bad, but hey, if fp's are there, why not? And with four kids, they want to ride the main attractions.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Definitely a FP user and plan my park moves accordingly. I know exactly which ones I want to grab as I enter the parks and which ones I want throughout the day. I know some guests aren't fans of the system but it's worked well for me... it's allowed me to make the most of my day and when the park haven't been total chaos and FP run out early, it's allowed me to ride multiple times on my favorites. Hope the new system or future plans dont screw up the effective use of FP's.

 

[nc_disneyfreak]

Im a casual user at best....Going into Hollywood Studios, Ill make a bee line straight to Toy Story while the rest of the fam is heading towards Tower.....then in magic kingdom, ill grab some for peter pan, then wait in line for small world or pooh....soarin of course, space mtn at night etc....

 

[Sparkle81]

I've always been a casual user, but this thread has opened my eyes. I might need to plan a strategy now!

 

[BoarderPhreak]

When there's an advantage - I'll use them. That includes being near something with an FP I want. I won't run across the park to get one, run back to hit a ride and then go all the way back to use the FP, for example.

However, big ticket rides like say TT or Soarin' - I'll get an FP to one and hit the other. If you don't, you just won't see one or both of them for the rest of the day short of a ridiculous wait. And for me, that means anything over 20m.

 

[Hot Lava]

I've always been a casual user, but this thread has opened my eyes. I might need to plan a strategy now!

touringplans has customizable plans with a subscription. there are also a bunch of standard ones in their Unofficial Guide.

 

[bgraham34]

I actually use FP less now because I can't seem to commit to the 1 Hour time Window. On my last trip I think I missed 5 attractions because of it.

 

[Weather_Lady]

If visiting during peak seasons, we use a combination of aggressive Fastpassing and early arrivals to get everything done.

When visiting during less crowded times, we only use them later in the day, when the crowds have started to build, or for Toy Story Midway Mania, which we like to do twice, and which has wait times that go up lighting-fast no matter how early you get there for the "first run."