Impact of no FP on park?

[_mickey_]

Not expecting to go to Disney anytime soon because of the Rona, I haven't exactly been paying attention to all the changes it has brought to WDW. I've been unexpectedly thrown into the last minute planning of a short trip next month (my sister she needs a break from her children - homeschooling is hard), and I am a bit confounded by some of the restrictions. The biggest being no FP (which for me is devastating - I'm queen of getting any FP I want). How has this impacted the park lines - are they shorter, less stop and go? How should I change my regular plans (usually I'd book FP for the bigger rides and knock out some less popular ones first)?

Also, the new Star Wars ride has a virtual queue, but are there any other rides with virtual queues?

Was there anything else of note I should be made aware of in terms of Covid changes? Any tips or tricks for dealing with the park under these new circumstances would be much appreciated.

I apologize if I am posting in the wrong places, and apologize for being lazy in not searching the forums more in depth before posting (as I said I'm trying to throw a trip together to ensure the sanity of my loved one remains intact)!

 

[yankspy]

as far as COVID, the only thing in place is face coverings on all Disney transportation. As far as the parks, coverings Still required for non vaccinated but vaccinated do not need coverings anywhere.

as far as lines without FP, the population rides have long lines from opening to mid afternoon but continue to drop as the day progresses. For instance, we were there two weeks ago and smugglers run had a 75 minute wait from opening til about 2;00. Then it would drop to 50-60 and get down to about 30-40. Similar times for slinky, test track, etc.

as far as Rise of the resistance, I suggest watching some of the online tutorials on how to actually get a boarding group. If you hesitate for a second you are done. We tried the 7:00 A.M. twice with three different people and we missed both times. Thankfully, I was fast enough at the 1:00 P.M. time frame so we got to experience it. (and it was worth it) as far as I know, it is the only attraction with a virtual que.

I found that with no FP I was using the app much more to keep an eye on wait times. Make sure your phone is fully charged because the app uses a lot of battery. Mobile ordering is also very big now and some locations will only accept mobile orders for QS dining. It was quite useful though. I didn’t have to wait in line for a dole whip.

Hope this helps.

 

[MorphinePrince]

This is our second trip in the No FastPass Era and we've enjoyed it immensely. The wait times for the big attractions have been hovering around the 1 hour mark, occasionally hitting 90 minutes to 2 hours depending on crowds. However, we are here right now and have found that most of the posted wait times are not completely accurate. For example, Flight of Passage was posted at 130 minutes this morning but in actuality we only waited 78 minutes. Then, this evening, the wait time at Splash Mountain was posted at 65 minutes and our actual wait was 25 minutes.

 

[JIMINYCR]

The best advice remains as always... get to the parks early and target those most popular attractions first. FP+ at least gave you the guarantee of snagging a spot at some time on 3 attractions, with shorter waits. ( Not debating if FP+ increases or hurts lines and if its better gone... thats being tossed around on multiple other posts) When we just went without FP+ in place the waits were still lengthy enough to be bothersome and yes the posted wait times were not accurate. Most of the times they were overly inflated. Covid precautions was probably why I never saw any of the CM's with the ride timed monitoring cards they used to give out.
I did miss having my picked first 3 FP+ choices. Later in the day the lines did subside a lot, the most notable ones were SDD, MMRR, EE, SM, Dino and ToT.
The mobile ordering went well but with everyone utilizing it, the problem exists in finding a table or outdoor seating. We got our food on time, but had to really search for a place to enjoy it. In some areas CM's were there to assist.

 

[_mickey_]

Thanks all for the info! Personally it sounds awful without FP+ (at least for me - I literally was able to use up my first 3 FP early and book whatever I wanted right after, rinse and repeat. Never waited in line for more than 45 for ANY ride). Oh well, will do my best to make it work! Fingers crossed I will be able to get in the virtual queue for SR! Will definitely be researching that one more!

One more question - is there increased outdoor seating for eating? Vaccinated but still hesitant to eat/be around people without a mask. Thanks!

 

[JIMINYCR]

No. There’s no increase in tables. As I stated in my reply… there is a problem with lack of seating and tables. It gets frustrating when you are looking for a spot to eat and tables are filled with people through with their eating and they see you searching for a spot but continue just sitting there. I understand people wanting to rest or relax after eating but watching you stand with trays filled with food and drink they could give up their spot. Someone did for them so they could eat.

 

[_mickey_]

One more question! We are due to fly into MCO early in the morning, and anticipate getting to Hollywood Studios by noon. In terms of getting a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance - should I try to get one at 7:00am and hope I get into a group that boards in the afternoon, or should I wait until the 1:00 boarding group sign up? Is it harder to get in the 1:00 than the 7:00 queue? Thanks!

 

[dmw]

I don't think anyone has mentioned... park passes are still required in addition to your park ticket. Disney has the info and availability on their site at https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/e...1a3a8993&utm_source=AWIN&utm_medium=Affiliate

 

[dmw]

One more question! We are due to fly into MCO early in the morning, and anticipate getting to Hollywood Studios by noon. In terms of getting a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance - should I try to get one at 7:00am and hope I get into a group that boards in the afternoon, or should I wait until the 1:00 boarding group sign up? Is it harder to get in the 1:00 than the 7:00 queue? Thanks!

1pm has longer (barely) window for getting into the queue, but you risk downtime pushing out the later BGs or missing out altogether. If you watch this thread (https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads...g-groups-at-disneys-hollywood-studios.962202/) you can see the window times, number of boarding groups each day, etc. Just jump to the last page and follow from there.

 

[CntrlFlPete]

One more question! We are due to fly into MCO early in the morning, and anticipate getting to Hollywood Studios by noon. In terms of getting a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance - should I try to get one at 7:00am and hope I get into a group that boards in the afternoon, or should I wait until the 1:00 boarding group sign up? Is it harder to get in the 1:00 than the 7:00 queue? Thanks!

It is my understanding that once your boarding group is called, you are free to join the queue when you want to (no cutoff time that day).

To me, it meant that if they have called group 20, anyone from group 1 thru group 20 are welcome, the boarding time is just the earliest one can join the queue.

 

[_mickey_]

It is my understanding that once your boarding group is called, you are free to join the queue when you want to (no cutoff time that day).

To me, it meant that if they have called group 20, anyone from group 1 thru group 20 are welcome, the boarding time is just the earliest one can join the queue.

I think "officially" it's you have an hour from when your boarding group is called. According to others however, it seems they still will generally let you in after your window.