New to FP+..help!

I need some help...we haven't been to Disney in 5 years and all this pre FP+ information is confusing and frustrating me. We are going in October and I'm really wondering if I need to pre-plan my days and get fast passes for our family of 5. Is it really necessary to pre-plan your days and get FP? Also, suggestions for which rides are the longest wait times and should get FP+ and how far apart? Maybe I'm overreacting but it just seems like alot of anxiety to try and pre-plan what park we are going to be in and since we park hop alot...I'm thinking it's going to be hard to plan ahead of time. Also never been to MNSSHP, do we need FP for any rides that evening and can you even get them?Can anyone help my anxiety over this and if we don't have FP are we really going to have long waits in the middle of October? All thoughts and advice appreciated!

First, the easy answer - there are no fast passes during the party.

Unfortunately, it is necessary, in most cases, to get fastpasses in advance if you want to ride the most popular rides without standing in very long lines. The pre-planning and sticking to the schedule is not fun though folks have reported being able to adjust times the same day if they need to. You only get three in a day. After that, you could book additional fast passes if any that you are interested in are still available.

Since you said, you like to park hop, you essentially have two strategies you can pursue. Book your fast passes early in the day at the first park you plan to visit (all three initial fast passes must be in the same park), use them, and then hop to another park. Once there, you can visit a kiosk to see if you can get any additional fast passes. The second strategy is to book your fast passes for later in the day - perhaps at the second park you visit. The problem here is that you have even less opportunity to book any additional fast passes. However, with this strategy, you could cover quite a lot of ground if you arrive at park opening at the park of your choice and visit the more popular rides while the crowds are still low. You would then still have your fast passes "in your pocket" for later in the day.

Personally, I dislike being locked in like this but it is the way things are at the moment.

Good luck with your planning!

Breathe. Just Breathe. I promise it will be OK. It all seems completely overwhelming when you're starting to plan (at least it did to me), but once you get into it, it will all come together.

Yes, you do really need FP+. Even at lower crowd times (although I found October to be quite busy when I went). Although it might not work 100%, this is our general plan of attack (and it changed from last year ... we learned quite a few new things!)

We found it best not to get FP+ for the morning. Even thought this often meant we couldn't get additional FP+'s later in the day, it was still quite possible to get a lot done first thing in the morning. Around 11am or so, lines did increase a bit, but it was still very manageable until lunch.

Then, you need to make a decision. You could get your FP+ for around lunch time OR you could get them in your second park, so they are waiting when you arrive, or around dinner time. It can be an idea to plan them around your ADR's, since you'll at least know where you'll be for eating (if you've made ADR's).

The system will force you to book FP+'s no less than 1 hour apart. For example, if you book one ride for 2:15pm - 3:15pm, the next one can't begin before 3:15pm. However, once you use it, you can use the app to move it up (if there is space available).

As for what rides? 7 Dwarves Mine Train, Anna & Elsa M&G, Peter Pan, Splash & Big Thunder and Space Mountain are musts in MK. In Epcot, Soarin/Test Track (although you can only get one of them on a given day), TSMM in DHS and Everest, Dinosaur & Safari are important. You can also FP+ shows, but they aren't as urgent as the rides.

FP+ is absolutely fantastic. YES, you need to book your selections 60 days out if you stay on property. 30 for off property. Once you use it...you (will love it, IF you use it to your advantage.) I believe...make your selections so the last FP is used as early as possible, this will allow for more later int he day. Also, depending on the crowds...you may not need any more. When we went a couple weeks ago...all the major attractions only had no more than 30 min wait...so just wait. Thats not that long and the line almost always moves faster than the time shown. I have used FP+ twice now starting 60 days out. We LOVe IT! :thumbsup: Call Disney, read on here and learn to utilise it to the fullest. Me personally, I never like hopping and FP+ will be best used if you do not hop. Plus, you save money by not hopping. We booked all our selections to be early, from 10 am the first to the last window starting at no later than 230. Then we got a few more..but again, Pirates, H.m. and other popular attractions only had a 15 min wait or so...with Space, Splash and big thunder having 30 min or so. I did get the other 3 selections for Space and Big Thunder. Splash always had as short line after 8 pm. So we rode it for the 3rd 4th and 5th time after 8pm:D but all in all, FP+ is great. Just learn it like you would anything else "new" and I believe far more will love it than not. Its all about understanding how to use it and good planning/strategy. Have a great time:mickey:
Note: just with the old system...get on the attraction as soon as the window opens for your 3rd selection...that will allow you to get more that much faster if needed. If you wit till the window is almost closed....you just lost close to an hour to make another..this is no different than the old paper FP.
Its funny, I am the planner of the family..not my wife. She made the comment to me after our third day..." I really like this FP+ and the bands!!"
Three I would do,
M.k. space, thunder and splash or peter pan.
Epcot, Test track, Soarin and I got SSE...even though it won't be needed. Also, Green side of Mission space....short wait.
Studios, Rock n roller, Tot and then we got the other for Movie ride.
Animal Kingdom. E.E. and Khali and then we got the Safari.

With FP+ booking your must-do rides in advance is a necessary evil. If you like to park hop, I would suggest being at one park at opening and getting on as many rides as possible and booking your FP's for early afternoon--mid afternoon at another park. The only exception to this might be for Toy Story Mania at DHS. That standby line gets long insanely fast first thing in the morning, so I would definitely book a FP for that, along with Tower of Terror and Rock n' Rollercoaster or whatever other attraction you want at DHS (since you have to book all three FP's in the same park).

Other strategies to deal with FP+ and long standby lines later in the day is make use of the single rider lines as much as possible. You miss some of the queue (if that matters to you), but they will usually be at least half the wait time of the regular standby line. And although I wouldn't count on it, sometimes you do still get to ride with other members of your party. When my son and went to WDW in March, we used the single rider line for Test Track, RnRC and Expedition Everest and as luck would have it, we were in the same ride vehicle (although not right next to each other) on all three rides.

I will offer one suggestion. Do not book the fastpasses one right after the other. We did this last year and found ourselves walking from one end of the park to the other just to make out fastpass times. Will never do that again (unless the rides are in VERY close proximity of each other). This year, I'm going to make one if the morning, one in the early afternoon and one in the late evening. If we choose to park hop, we are okay without having a fastpass in another park as we will have some for the days planned at those parks. The one ride to make sure you get a FP for is the 7DMT. One note - we love the park hop option. Animal Kingdom isn't a park we spend an entire day and night at so the day we are there, we go to the MK after dinner.

Relax and don't stress. It will all work out!

I am not thrilled with all of this pre-planning either, but we already have to do that because of dining reservations to avoid always eating the fast food. I plan to schedule my FP+ at the same park as my reservation that day.

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Originally Posted by DNS

I am not thrilled with all of this pre-planning either, but we already have to do that because of dining reservations to avoid always eating the fast food. I plan to schedule my FP+ at the same park as my reservation that day.

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You don't have to eat fast food... Leave property and dine at one of the many restaurants in the area... Restaurants which serve better meals, tastier dishes, than in WDW's bland restaurants... oh, and it is cheaper too!!!

Leave the bubble... You won't get hurt... Trust me...

I personally don't like the FP+. I didn't like planning what attractions I would be doing that far ahead. They also tell you after your three FP are done you can get more.....we were not able to get anything else the 5 days we were there because they were all gone by 3 in the afternoon. I also feel attractions that never had a long wait now have long wait times.

With the new system, I feel you are forced into getting them. I would not try to go into a park without them because all the lines are now so long. My tip would be to get them for the attractions that are on the top of your list. Some people say to get them early so that you can get more. That didn't work for us so the next time around I am going to get them later and try sleeping in. :D

We have been to the Halloween Party more times than I can count on my hands, most attractions have a shorter wait time during the party because people are doing other party related things like trick or treating and the parades.

Yes, planning is essential. You will need to coordinate your adr's with your FP+ selections. We were not looking forward to learning this new system after mastering our park plans over many previous visits. At times the FP+ system worked efficiently, however it resulted in missing some rides on this trip-RNRC and Test Track. We were able to obtain extra FP+ at MK in the mid-afternoon.

Regarding park hopping, choose your selections in the park you plan on spending the most time, or in the park where the rides are your priority. For example, go to MK early, hit your favorites, then use your FP+ for Epcot rides in the afternoon, and schedule a dinner adr at an Epcot restaurant.

Wow some great tips! We haven't been in two years and plan on going back next year. I was worried about all the new fastpass + stuff too.Thanks for the pointers!