Need advice for the best stratagy for FP+

[Musophile]

I have not been to WDW since the advent of FP+, and I’m looking for some expert advice. I’m trying to formulate a strategy to best utilize my FP+ choices. We are staying on-site, and will be there during a busy time next summer. My question is this, what is the better strategy:

1) Set our three FP+ reservations in the morning, and then try to get a few additional FP’s after those are gone.

2) Set FP+’s for the afternoon, show up at rope-drop, and try to ride as much as we can early before lines get too long (forgetting any chance of getting additional FP’s after our three reserved ones).

I just don’t know realistically what are chances are to get additional FP’s in the afternoon if we have our three FP+ early in the morning. How fast to they run out…especially during busy times? Does anyone have any other strategies that worked for them? Any and all input is appreciated! We are still a ways away from making our FP+, and I'm trying to formulate an informed plan now. Thanks!

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

I too am a newbie when it comes to FP+ (my last visit was Jan 09) and I will watch this thread unfold with interest, as we will be next at WDW in August.
From a personal point of view I think the best strategy is to get the FP+ for the afternoons / evenings and to get to the parks early and use Stand-By. From previous posts on here there appears to be little left in the way of FP+ after your morning FP+ are used which leaves you no option other than to stand in a long line.

 

[sjhym333]

You can go either way but I like heading to the parks early and riding things before it gets busy then using FP+ in the afternoon when attractions are busy. If you get your FP's after 11 or 12 and book them back to back you will still have time to get additional FP's.

 

[armyfamilyof5]

We have annual passes and as we understand it you get 3 FP+'s a day and that's it. How does one go about getting additional fast passes after using your 3 allotted for the day? I would think the best strategy is to go early, ride as much as you can and then use your FP+ selections in the afternoon. Any veterans that know of a way to get more than 3 in a day please post.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

Well, we just got back the end of November, and we, too, didn't know how to use fast passes. I tried to figure out when and where to use them at 60 days out. We stayed onsite and had adr's for most days. I just tried to fit them in with our style of touring. We always go at rope drop and ride for an hour or so. We decided to make fp's for 9, 10 and 11am or close to that. Sometimes they started at 9:15 or 9:30am but you get the idea. Then we could ride what we wanted to again, or just let them go. We always go back after eating our big meal at noon, and rest up for the evening. Then we decide where we want to go and make our additional fp's then. BUT the problem with that is that most of the fp's for the most popular rides are not available in the afternoon, so take that into consideration. We just usually waited in line if we wanted to, or shopped, or went to other shows, etc. It worked well for us, and was not too much different than our normal style of touring. The big change was that some of the standby lines were long, but we were there at Thanksgiving time so that's a really busy time to go. I was glad to have fp's booked for our favorite rides = took some of the stress off and were a bonus after riding at rope drop. Like I said, if you are counting on getting the popular rides in the pm, you might miss out trying to book them in the park then. Oh, we don't have a smart phone,so had to use the kiosks. If you have a smart phone, I think you can do some things on it, but not sure. Someone who uses one should chime in and let you know how that works. Good luck to you. It'll be great because it's Disney

 

[Tuvalu]

We have annual passes and as we understand it you get 3 FP+'s a day and that's it. How does one go about getting additional fast passes after using your 3 allotted for the day? I would think the best strategy is to go early, ride as much as you can and then use your FP+ selections in the afternoon. Any veterans that know of a way to get more than 3 in a day please post.

You visit a kiosk in the park after you have used your initial 3. You can pick another fastpass, and once you have used that one you can return to a kiosk and pick another (and so on.) Of course, not all attractions may have availability when you visit a kiosk.

While you can use a smartphone to book your initial 3 FP+, you must visit a kiosk to make subsequent ones.

 

[armyfamilyof5]

Thanks Tuvalu!

 

[DisneyKiwi]

I haven't been yet but my plan is as follows. The days I am not park hopping I have my fp+ set for mid-morning through to early evening to beat the crowds.
On the days I am park hopping I have gone in two directions 1) if I have an ADR in a park for dinner then my FP+ are in the evening at the park my ADR is at. 2) If my ADR is not in a park then my FP+ are all booked for the morning so that when used up I can park hop and get more at the new location.

 

[AngryEyes]

We did ours for like 10-10:30 as a start and then back to back. Best of both worlds. We get the early touring in, then once lines build, we use our FP+, then we can get extras for the rest of the day. We were able to do 7 a couple different days doing it that way and we left the parks for dinner, so we knocked them out. It's amazing how often you can go to a kiosk and get a FP+ that starts in 5 minutes, walk over there and the standby line is a half hour or 45 minutes.

Not sure that's THE most efficient use, but it makes sense to me and it certainly worked. Christmas may be a completely different ballgame, of course, but either way, we'll be able to schedule some kind of extra FP+ by around noon each day.

 

[YoJDew]

We just got back from a 5-day visit with crowds ranging from medium-low to Get-Me-the-F-Outta-Here-Before-I-Lose-My-Disney-Spirit. There are pros & cons both ways but the FP system may not give you much of a choice. When you book your FPs the system offers you several options based on some algorithm that seems to be designed to make you spend more time fighting with your app and standing in line at FP kiosks than actual time in the park. ANYWAY.... You get a few options which may or may not include the rides you actually want. Then you can tweak it and tailor it to fit your style of touring, but it's never going to be ideal so at some point you'll just want to let it go and take what you've got. If you tweak too much you may end up losing the ones you really want. So, you will end up working AROUND your FP assignments rather than the opposite. But at least you'll (hopefully) be assured of getting into your faves.

Good luck!

 

[YoJDew]

I just re-read that and I didn't mean to sound cranky! We actually had a wonderful time and the advance FPs saved us hours of time in line. And when we did stand in line it wasn't too bad at all. We even managed to hit A&E at rope drop even though we arrived just as the welcome show was starting (because we couldn't get a FP for that at the 60-day mark) and only waited about 20 min.

 

[FrostyNaples]

I have not been to WDW since the advent of FP+, and I’m looking for some expert advice. I’m trying to formulate a strategy to best utilize my FP+ choices. We are staying on-site, and will be there during a busy time next summer. My question is this, what is the better strategy:

1) Set our three FP+ reservations in the morning, and then try to get a few additional FP’s after those are gone.

2) Set FP+’s for the afternoon, show up at rope-drop, and try to ride as much as we can early before lines get too long (forgetting any chance of getting additional FP’s after our three reserved ones).

I just don’t know realistically what are chances are to get additional FP’s in the afternoon if we have our three FP+ early in the morning. How fast to they run out…especially during busy times? Does anyone have any other strategies that worked for them? Any and all input is appreciated! We are still a ways away from making our FP+, and I'm trying to formulate an informed plan now. Thanks!

The issue with this question is that it's not a one size fits all answer.

Everyone utilizes the parks and features differently.

Some like to get their in the morning, we don't. We take advantage of EMH, so we sleep in, late breakfasts, hit the parks by noon, stay out till all hours of the night. FP+'s somewhere in between, Since during EMH the crowds drop a bit, and we can keep the rides rolling.

Plus, some do FP+'s for parades or Fireworks, which strictly prohibits the rolling 4th until used.

Best advice, come up with your own plan of action by way of the items you wish to do of their importance. Let the chips fall as they do.

 

[bayoutinkbelle]

I haven't been on these boards in ages!

I also haven't been at Disney since the switch (other than a one-day trip for a last Maelstrom ride in October; seeing FP+ on Spaceship Earth almost made my head explode). But I've got a trip planned for late next month. I definitely can see how this new system is not a one-size-fits-all for planning.

Before delving too deep into it, I questioned whether adding Park Hopper would even be worth it under this new system. I think it would be, for me. Guess I'll try to snag a few FP+ for more popular rides, then just roll the dice.

And tweak from there.

 

[Musophile]

The issue with this question is that it's not a one size fits all answer.

Everyone utilizes the parks and features differently.

My reason for posting this question was to find out how my family can ride the most headliner rides, with the shortest wait times using the mew FP+ system. If it means being there at the rope-drop every day, then we'll be there. I just didn't know if there was any hope to scheduling more FP, or if they are all gone by afternoon,

Thank you all for your replies...I think we have a much better idea of how to plan our days, especially with Park Hopping. But I certianly have more research to do!