Thoughts....

[Disney Daddy]

What do you all think? With the recent announcement of the modifications to the FastPass+ system, I am sort at a crossroad. As I understand it, once you use all 3 of your advance FastPass+ reservations, you will be able to book a 4th, and so on.

Right now, I have all of our FastPass+ reservations booked (except for 7DMT); however, I have them spaced all throughout the day; with some as late as 7pm or 8pm. We don't have any inclination as to when this new policy will go into effect either. We will be at DW May 27-June 3.

I am wondering if I should roll the dice and redo all of my FastPass+ reservations and schedule them back-to-back early in the morning. Doing so will allow me to use my 3 advance reservations and then continue to use FastPass+ for the remainder of the day.

The conundrum would be, if this new policy is not in effect by the time we arrive at DW, we will not be able to use the FastPass+ system past the morning hours.

What are you all's thoughts on this?

 

[Weather_Lady]

It's a gamble! We're facing this issue in our planning, too. My FP+ are generally in the late afternoon or evening (between 4pm and 8pm), and we've decided to keep them as they are. First off, we take a big afternoon break from about 1-4, and have our morning structured to take advantage of rope drop and then move into "anytime attractions" after 10am, so we really don't need FP+ any earlier in the day. Our plan is, if we use all 3 and can get a 4th, great, but we're not going to depend on that for any headliners. (Plus, my personal suspicion is that the only FP+ that will be offered as a 4th or 5th, etc. choice will be those that are already left in the FP+ inventory for that day -- the "leftovers," if you will. That means that the super-headliners may already be gone partway through the day, anyway. But that's just my theory.)

Not only that, but there is a certain symmetry to hitting headliners at rope drop, going at a more relaxed pace for much of the day, and then finishing off the evening with another set of headliners (this time with FP+). It gives us a nice "arc of excitement" throughout the day.

 

[habuma]

Speaking for myself, I've not changed anything based on this new policy. I'm not saying that I won't...but so far, I'm not counting on it. That said, *most* of my FP+ selections are early-ish in the day already, so I might still be able to take advantage of the new policy if it's in effect for my trip.

Generally speaking, if you show up at rope drop, you shouldn't need too many FP+'s for almost anything (TSMM, notwithstanding). Experience as well as my own attempt to track wait times has shown that to be true. Just ride what you can in standby and save the FP+'s for mid-day and hope for the revolving 4th FP+ for the latter part of the day.

My thinking: With only 3 FP+'s per day and the chance of getting a revolving 4th for major rides being low, you're going to stand in a few standby lines anyway. The trick is using short lines to your advantage early, use FP+ for long mid-day lines, and either take it easy or accept the longer standby lines later in the day. If the 4th FP policy is in effect, then bonus.

 

[brokedad]

I personally would not hold my breath on that part of the system to be up and running that early.Its starting to seem to me like a lot of people on these forums have to be so structured that maybe are missing the whole part of vacation, it's nice to have good plans but draw the line and just enjoy everything else that's there, not only the rides.

 

[cw1982]

Here's my plan:

Since DH and I are not the type to likely be at any of the parks at RD, (except for AK to take full advantage of the Safari ride when the animals are more likely to be out), all of our FP+ selections start at 11:00 or 11:30 and span into early afternoon. I figure, even if we do decide to be at any of the parks at opening, we won't need FP+ before then anyway since the lines don't get too bad until then. If the extra FP+'s are available by the time we get down there and there is anything worth snatching up once we get through our first three, which will be some time around 2 or 3 pm, then great; we'll get them.

I've read on here that, in that case, we'd be most likely to be stuck with later times for the extra FP+'s. I'm actually good with that, though, if it means we get to ride our favorites again a little later (assuming they let you use them for the same ride you already used one for... so many variables and uncertainties here!)

If the changes are not in place by the time we get down there June 1, at least we will get to use our first three at the times I wanted each day, so no big deal. Then we can do later lunches after our FP+'s, which is what we generally prefer anyway, and on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of our trip we have dinner ADR's at locations that will require park hopping, so unless we end up riding any headliners before or after dinner at those locations, the extra FP+'s will only come in handy for us on Sunday and Monday, if at all.

Keep in mind, though, that DH and I are going as a couple who does not have kids yet, so we don't have to factor in things like nap times, character meetups, etc. We'll be able to go pretty much at our own pace for the most part, which is what I want (even though you wouldn't know it to see how much I'm on here working on my plans LOL)