What times are best for FP+ choices?

[Tronorail]

Hi there,

This is actually my first post here and it's about FP+. I used to be one of those "power" users of the legacy FastPass system. I really enjoyed this because if we went during a "slow" time (after Easter, but before Star Wars Weekends) and arrived at park opening, we could get a lot done without needing a complicated touring plan. We would maximize FastPass so that we could more leisurely tour the park without a huge plan. It was common to grab a FP and then wait in line for something and then grab another FP once the timeout finished...and then redeem the first pass. We would commonly grab a pass before dinner, if dining in a park, and then use it afterwards.

This wasn't re-inventing the wheel, but it was easy to do and didn't require a lot of thinking. FP+ sort of pulled the rug out from under us. We have a trip coming up (April 28th) and I'm starting to worry that our FP+ selections were poor.

Assuming a rope drop arrival, avoiding EMH, and going during a not-so-crowded time, is it best to schedule FP+ for the mornings or save them for the afternoon (or even evening)?

Thanks!

 

[sissa216]

With the new announcement that you'll soon be able to get more Fastpasses once the first three have been used, I would think that in the future it would be wise (and easy) to do things similar to the way you used to- just without all the running around to collect physical FPs.

However, since we have no time frame yet (that I know of) for when the system is expanding, I would say either mid morning and/or evening. You can get a lot done first thing in the morning, and just as the the majority of people start to come on, your Fastpasses will be ready. I personally save one or two for after lunch as well. We focused some of ours earlier in the day, others later in the day, depending on where and when we planned to eat. We ended up changing so much of our schedule on the go as well; it was very convenient to edit out selections if we changed our minds.

 

[Dwarful]

Welcome to the boards! I was a FP user very similar to what you described. We go in June this year so I rearranged my FP's to start about an hour into the park opening. Hopefully we will get that add on FP that everyone is mentioning.

 

[lebeau]

Supposedly, the new FP system is already being tested. If you go to a kiosk, you can set up 1 new FP at a time after your initial three FPs. So you are still running around after the first 3.

Presumably, the new system makes morning FPs better. Also you can reschedule morning FPs to later in the day if it turns out you don't need them. But you take a risk that there won't be anything you want available later in the day.

So, no one really knows for sure.

 

[Tronorail]

Thanks for the replies. I think I'm going to, at the very least, move our first FP for each day to a later point.

 

[KatMaria]

With no real date on when the 4th fp+ will be integrated, I would at least put the fp to a later time and then do rope drop. Usually opening is pretty quiet, people are slow risers haha The good thing about fp+ is you can always change them, so if one park is really slow and your enjoying it there, you can always change the times for later or to another experience. It is a really great system.

 

[cw1982]

Here's what I'm planning to do (for better or for worse, since we don't know for sure when the new rules will be in full force):

We like to sleep in, so probably won't be in the parks before 10 am, maybe even 11. Since we will be eating a fairly late breakfast each day (compared to what most will probably do), we'll also be eating late lunches and late dinners. So my FP+ times typically start around 11 and either have us finishing them up around 3, with an estimated lunch time of around 2. I figure that, if the new rules are fully rolled out by then, in most parks (probably everywhere but MK) most of the big names will hopefully still be available by then... but if not, it would have been a waste of a FP+ to use them before 11 am anyway, since first thing in the morning is when the lines are smallest.

Again, that's just my plan based on my own theories. I could be way off.

 

[KLinder7]

I like to make them around 1-5pm. If you go to the parks for rope drop the lines aren't bad at all and the last two hours of the park you can basically walk on the rides. Don't think I waited more than 25 minutes for anything this past week.

 

[oliviosis]

I'm wondering the same thing! We leave in about 2 1/2 weeks and right now I have all of our FP+ booked for the afternoon. My plan was to hit our favorites first thing in the morning and then get a second ride in using our FP+. We went Sept 2013 and I booked all FPs in the morning which was silly because there were no waits at that point in the day and then we basically had nothing the rest of the day. I think, I'll keep them booked in the afternoons for now and we'll see how it plays out.

 

[lebeau]

You guys convinced me. I moved mine back to the afternoon for the most part.

 

[sjhym333]

Just like legacy FP you need to be smart about using FP+. I agree that if you are a early riser there is no need to FP+ some attractions for the early part of the morning since the attractions tend to be slower. I like the idea of hitting your favorite attractions early and getting FP's for later in the day when lines are longer.

One of things we have been doing lately (we are AP holders) is choosing a E-Ticket attraction (Space Mtn, TOT, Test Track, etc) then using the remaining 2 FP+ selections for attractions we most likely wouldn't ride (like Peter Pan or Pooh).