Brand new to FP, how do I pick rides for the parks?

[tazmad]

I've never been to Disney World, and, therefore, I've never used Fast Passes. I've been reading up and understand the concept, but I don't know how to figure out the rides that are most worth using up my FP's on.

My husband and 10-year-old son will be at Disney in early- to mid-June, so it will be crowded. We will spend two days at MK, one day at Epcot, one day at HS and one day at AK. My son is scared of high rollercoasters, but is okay with smaller ones and accelerated drop rides like Twilight Tower of Terror (go figure!) We have park hopper tickets, but I'm roughly planning one day at a given park for now, but if we want to change our plans one afternoon or evening and head to a different park, we will.

I've booked the following FPs but I have no idea if they're the best ones, or if I could get to some of these rides fast enough at rope drop to avoid needing a FP. I also tried to avoid booking things later in the afternoon or evening, since I understand that once I use up my day's FP's, I can get more through the app or at the park. So that makes it seem like it's best to use them up early to get more. But maybe I'm wrong on that and there's nothing worth getting secondhand.

I avoided booking anything with an FP for the first hour the park is open or, in the case of extra magic hours, during that time or the hour following. I figure the waits won't be long then, and we can try for some of the busiest stuff at that point.

I did buy a membership online for TouringPlans but I'm having trouble figuring out how to best use that site. It either wants me to use one of their pre-set plans, or help me create an original, but it doesn't give me enough guidance to know how to line up the rides in which order to minimize walking and wait times.

Here is what I have thus far in FP's:

Magic Kingdom day 1: Haunted Mansion at 10-11 am; Peter Pan's Flight at 11:15 am - 12:15 pm; Monsters Inc Laugh Floor at 1:35 pm - 2:35 pm
Magic Kingdom day 2: Big Thunder at 10-11 am; Splash Mountain at 11:20 am - 12:20 pm; Pirates of the Caribbean at 12:45 - 1:45 pm

Epcot day 1 (early magic hours): Test Track at 10:50 am - 11:50 am; Spaceship Earth at 11:50 - 12:50 am; Journey into Imagination at 2:50 - 3:50 pm

Animal Kingdom day 1 (early magic hours): Kali River Rapids at 9:40 am - 10:50 am; Na'vi River Journey at 11:05 - 12:05 pm; Kilimanjaro Safairs at 2:55 pm - 3:55 pm

Hollywood Studios day 1: Star Tours at 10:45 am - 11:45 am; Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at 3:10 pm - 4:10 pm; Fantasmic at 8:20 pm - 8:35 pm for 9 - 9:30 pm showtime

 

[Weather_Lady]

I'd say Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor (MK) is your only unnecessary FP+. Better choices in the same Tomorrowland "neighborhood" would be Space Mountain or Buzz Lightyear. Other than that, I think your choices are good.

On your HS day, be sure to hit Toy Story Midway Mania and/or Rock 'n' Rollercoaster at rope drop. Ditto for Frozen Ever After and Soarin' on your Epcot day, and Flight of Passage on your AK day.

With touringplans, I would suggest building a personalized touring plan and plugging in your FP+. There are slide bars you can use to adjust your preferences ("less waiting vs. less walking," etc.). Once you've input everything and clicked "Optimize," your touring plan will have a list of attractions and wait times, and a map showing the order in which you're touring. If you find you have longer walks then you want based on the map, you can adjust the order of attractions, click "Evaluate," and see what impact it has (if any) on your wait times. Once you get the hang of it, it's a ton of fun to play around with. You can also download the touringplans app for instant access to wait times while in the parks. The app will display your touring plan for the day (if you've made one), and will re-optimize it for you on demand, if you wish, in case there are any unexpected closures, delays, or departures.

 

[tazmad]

I'd say Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor (MK) is your only unnecessary FP+. Better choices in the same Tomorrowland "neighborhood" would be Space Mountain or Buzz Lightyear. Other than that, I think your choices are good.

On your HS day, be sure to hit Toy Story Midway Mania and/or Rock 'n' Rollercoaster at rope drop. Ditto for Frozen Ever After and Soarin' on your Epcot day, and Flight of Passage on your AK day.

With touringplans, I would suggest building a personalized touring plan and plugging in your FP+. There are slide bars you can use to adjust your preferences ("less waiting vs. less walking," etc.). Once you've input everything and clicked "Optimize," your touring plan will have a list of attractions and wait times, and a map showing the order in which you're touring. If you find you have longer walks then you want based on the map, you can adjust the order of attractions, click "Evaluate," and see what impact it has (if any) on your wait times. Once you get the hang of it, it's a ton of fun to play around with. You can also download the touringplans app for instant access to wait times while in the parks. The app will display your touring plan for the day (if you've made one), and will re-optimize it for you on demand, if you wish, in case there are any unexpected closures, delays, or departures.

oh, thank you! This is very helpful!!!

 

[nickys]

oh, thank you! This is very helpful!!!

Touring plans also has an active forum. Lots of useful advice available if you ask.

You can also publish your plans and ask people to help, which is actually way more help than asking hypothetically. It's easier for people to see what you mean and easier to reply to.

First steps then:

1. If there is a plan that kind of looks what you want, copy it and edit the basics.

2. Otherwise just create your own and add what you want.

3. Then follow @Weather_Lady 's steps above.

4. At any time go to the forums, start a thread and ask for help!

 

[JillC LI]

I agree - drop Laugh Floor and add 7 Dwarves Mine Train. It's a family friendly coaster that is relatively new so it gets long lines.

 

[Giants14]

Can I pick someone's brain about FP+ for the firework shows.

Is this a simply a better seat or viewing area particularly Epcot and Fantasmic? the latter has a massive viewing area so not worth it imo but it a seated area in Epcot? or just a spot along the lagoon?

 

[AndyS2992]

The best FPs for each park are:
Magic Kingdom:
Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain
Seven Dearfs Mine Train
Peter Pan’s Flight
Epcot:
Test Track
Soarin
Frozen
Hollywood Studios
Tower of Terror
Rock n Rollercoaster
Toy Story Mania (when available)
New Slinky Coaster
Animal Kingdom
Everest
Flight of Passage
Na’vi River Journey
Kilimanjaro Safaris

Everything else is unecessary but obviously every family is different so you’ll need to look at what rides better meet your needs. Very little kids will prefer Pooh over Space Mountain for example even though Space Mountain is the better attraction and so on.

 

[Coaster Lover]

Can I pick someone's brain about FP+ for the firework shows.

Is this a simply a better seat or viewing area particularly Epcot and Fantasmic? the latter has a massive viewing area so not worth it imo but it a seated area in Epcot? or just a spot along the lagoon?

Fantasmic FP viewing area can actually be pretty bad depending on when you get to the arena and if you consider the fact that holding a Fantasmic FP (if you prebook it before your trip) will prevent you from getting a forth FP until after the show, I'd HIGHLY recommend against getting a FP for Fantasmic. On the other hand, the Dining Package Seating for Fantasmic is FANTASTIC and you don't lock out that 4th FP. If you can swing it, get the dining package for Fantasmic... very much worth it.

EPCOT FP for Illuminations is nice and dead center, the viewing area never gets too crowded so you can often sit to enjoy the show (granted, there are not actual seats, you would still be sitting on the ground), and it's at the front of the lagoon which makes it that much faster/easier to leave the park when the show is over. Having said that, there are PLENTY of other areas around the lagoon to get a good view without locking up a FP. If there are FPs for Illumination available a few hours before the show (and no other available FPs for anything else you may want to get a quick ride on), then go for it. But if not, it's no big loss. Certainly do not prebook FPs for Illuminations before your trip.

Rivers of Light would be the only FP for a night time show that I might consider pre-booking. It's a really good viewing area and the stand-by area can sometimes be difficult to get in. A dinner package is a good option for RoL (for the same reason it is for Fantasmic).