It's been awhile...

[626]

We used to go to WDW a few times a year but due to circumstances beyond our control have not been back since 2008. We are finally returning next week. My son has not been since he was 7 months old. He is 7 years old now and I can't wait to share my favorite place on Earth with him.

Much has changed in my absence. I am concerned particularly with the FastPass situation. Used to be you could do things like grab a FastPass for RnRC, go wait in line for ToT and by the time you were done head over and ride RnRC with your FastPass. Now with this whole FastPass+ thing can you even get a FastPass for those rides the same day? Or have they all been reserved out months before? I do have some FastPass+ reservations already but for a ride that has no more reservations available now does that mean there will be no FastPasses available in the park for that attraction? Or does Disney keep some open for people to make the day they are there?

Also I heard they were trying out cell phone charging stations at the Magic Kingdom. Is this still going on? Do they have charging stations at the parks too? Is it free?

 

[Victoria]

The cell phone charging station test has been ended. As for rides that are essentially sold out online, the odds of getting a same day FP are next to nothing. This is especially true if you are talking about something like Toy Story or 7 Dwarfs Mine Train. These attractions are the hardest to get into and you will likely have to do the stand by line if you can't get a FP+.

The best thing you can do is book all the FP you possibly can from home. You can always edit them later, even once you are on property. Also, once you have used all your FP for one day (or they expire) you can make an additional FP for a 4th attraction.

 

[SAV]

You didn't mention when you are going, so if it is Thanksgiving Week or Christmas week, then all bets are off and the advice below may not be accurate.

Normally, you can still get FP+'s for TOT and RNRC day of. I did it this past June rather easily. The tiering in place at DHS helps that situation. TSMM is a different story. Odds are slim that you will be able to get a FP+ for that on day of, so my suggestion is to get one for TSMM as early as you can, get TOT as early as you can, get the third one as early as you can and then get your 4th floater for RNRC once you use up the initial 3. At that point, the tiering is no longer active and you can book anything. It's not a guarantee you will get it, but the odds are good that you will.

As for other rides/attractions. A&E and 7DMT are very tough to get. You will need to just keep checking back if you don't have them booked and want to get one for either of those.

As mentioned, you should book up your FP+'s as soon as you can and then just check back every so often to see if a desired one has opened up or if a better time has opened up. Many people are doing this, so Availability and open times are constantly changing. I'd check the night before as well as throughout the day you are at a park to see if you can make any changes that benefit you.