FP+ Advice?

[Mfarquar]

We haven't been to the World since a day trip to HS last year and were able to use paper FastPasses.

Now that paper FastPasses are a thing of the past (ahem, well except for Frozen attractions and maybe Soarin'), I'm wondering how we will do as guests who are not staying on the property in September.

We are considering a 1 day trip to MK, but realize we are at a potential, big disadvantage to those who have been planning and loading FP+ reservations onto their bracelets.

Is there a way to find out what is still available as far as ride reservations go? I hate to buy a $110 ticket x 2 without having an idea of what we're up against. As far as I can tell, we need to buy tickets before we can see anything in the FP+ system. So, it's a bit of a Catch 22 - I don't want to buy if it seems like I'll have a fat chance of getting the FP+ reservations I want (not sure if I want to leave it up to chance for "day of" reservations), BUT I can't know what I'm up against until I financially commit.

Any thoughts or tips? Has anyone noticed if there's still a lot of availability for rides like the 7 Dwarves Mine Train, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain this far out? We're thinking of visiting on a Tuesday, which will hopefully and is usually a less crowded day of the week.

Thoughts?

[SBETigg]

Unless there are changes I haven't heard of, and I've been away all week, there are no paper fastpasses for anything, not Frozen, not Soarin. It's all FP+. And there are always options available.

You can go to a kiosk in park and check out options there on a day of visit, but once you have a reservation tied to tickets, you can use the Disney app to see what FPs you could arrange for any given day of your stay within the time that it becomes available to you (is it 60 days out? I think that's it). I wouldn't let it stop me from planning a trip, even if it was with little advance warning. You will still find options available and plenty to do. Though Soarin and Mine Train go fast, and the longer you wait, the less available they are. But if you go first thing in the morning, stand by is still an option, too.

[Mfarquar]

Good to know!

Word on the street is that Disney is testing out new paper FastPasses as a sort of 2nd tier for attractions like Soarin' and Frozen.

We're well-versed in ride line attack strategy from the pre-FastPass days and other theme parks, but really don't want to spend so much money to be at a clear disadvantage to most other guests. This new system creates more of a challenge to handle the ride queues than in the pre-FastPass days because other guests are able to "get in line" in the summer for September lines. Realistically, we may have trouble to getting to all of our favorites and don't want to just settle for what is available. Without seeing what FP+ reservations are still available before we purchase, we'll potentially have a very different experience than those who have already purchased their tickets for late September prior to 7/29/14. It makes the $220 we'll pay just to get in the door a little hard to swallow.

I just hate not being able to see what's available for rides AND restaurants before laying out the $$$. I really wish there was a way to see what's out there so I can make an informed decision.

[SBETigg]

Good to know!

Word on the street is that Disney is testing out new paper FastPasses as a sort of 2nd tier for attractions like Soarin' and Frozen.

Ah, thanks. I figured I must have missed something. Good to know.

[Mfarquar]

It seems like it should fix some of the issues people have been reporting with FP+, making the guest experience better, but for now - it's so confusing!

[Mfarquar]

Has anyone taken a look at FastPass availability at MK on or around September 30th?

Does it generally look like there is still availability for the most popular rides like Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, etc.?

If anyone recalls and can share their impression, I most greatly appreciate it

[gerald72]

I was there this week. There were still fastpasses available for the same day for most attractions.

[MizMissy]

I do not have any real insight for answering your questions. BUT ... I have to believe that if you arrive at park opening (if you aren't staying on site, just make sure it's not an EMH day), you can still hit several of your must-do rides during the first couple of hours in the morning without much of a wait, then check the fastpasss+ kiosk for available times for rides during the day .... especially if you are traveling in September during a week day.

At least ... I would hope that is still the case. I have not traveled to WDW since FP+ and have actually turned down a couple of trips simply because it seems too much of a hassle.

[Mfarquar]

Exactly, MizMissy. It's seeming like a lot of hassle for a 1 day visit

I agree with your advice - if we decide to go and we buy tickets only to find out the FP+ times for the rides we want are already taken, we'll have to take the olden days approach and keep checking the kiosks (and maybe we can use the ap too?). This is the first time I've visited Disney that I don't feel like I'm on an equal playing field and that all the planning in the world may still not yield the desired results.

At least in say, in July 1998 when there were no FastPasses everyone was in the same boat...

I'm hopeful that maybe someone on Intercot is visiting the same week and has an idea of how availability is looking for the week of September 30th.

I'd have my sister check, but she didn't renew her annual pass this year

[Fangorn]

We will be there that week, arriving on the 30th. At this point, we're still more than 60 days out (63 to be exact) so I can't see availability for that day until Friday).

What I can see is availability for the next 30 days - out to August 28. For Tuesday, August 26th, there are FP+ available for everything EXCEPT 7 Dwarfs Mine Train and the Anna & Elsa Meet and Greet. This is also the same thing I'm seeing for tomorrow. Even for today it shows the same thing, except all the FP+ for Wishes are gone as well.

I suspect this situation will be the same for September 30 when you're able to make FP+ at the 30 day mark (Aug 31?)

Hope this helps some.

Steve

[kakn7294]

Although this might well be different for the day you're talking about, as a reference, the entire last week of June, there was no availability for 7DMT or Anna & Elsa meet and greet. All other attractions still had times available throughout the day.

[Mfarquar]

Thanks so much for all of your input! This is VERY helpful and gives us a great frame of reference.

I think our game plan would need to be:

1) Buy tickets as soon as possible so we can jump in on the 60 day out reservations.

2) Make advance FP+ reservation for either Splash Mountain or Space Mountain and then be strategic about the regular line for the non-FP+ ride.

3) Arrive before park opening and make a beeline for the Seven Dwarves straight away and hope for no ride malfunctions.

4) Maybe try BOG for lunch by lining up at 11:30am.

5) I'm thinking we'd be fine without a FP for Wishes - never had trouble snagging a nice spot in September only about 30 minutes beforehand. Unless the FP+ viewing area is gigantic?

Thanks again for ALL of your help! I'm starting to feel better about knowing what I'm up against with availability

[Fangorn]

1) Buy tickets as soon as possible so we can jump in on the 60 day out reservations.

Remember, if you you're not staying on propery, then the FP+ window opens at 30 days, not 60.

But even so, your plan is a sound one.

Have fun!

Steve

[Mfarquar]

Yes forgot about that - thanks for the reminder! I think I shall purchase my one-day tickets on day 31 if we decide to go - that is, if I can get an email option - otherwise I'll need to account for shipping!

[Fangorn]

I bought mine through the Disney site (after logging in with my MDE account credentials). The tickets immediately showed up on MDE, even though the physical media didn't arrive until a couple of weeks later.

Steve

[Mfarquar]

Thanks, Steve! That's also great to know!

Thanks to everyone who has weighed in with what they've experienced and what they've recently seen available online!

[Fangorn]

Following up on my previous comments in this thread:

Today (Aug 1) is exactly 60 days from the start of our on-property reservation.

Last night at 10:14pm - that's Pacific time so it was 1:14pm Eastern - I opened up MDE just to see what happened.

My FP+ window was now open through October 14 (the day we check out) and I was able to make reservations for everything, including A&E if I had really wanted to.

So, yesterday, when I was more than 60 days away from my check-in date, I could only see FP+ 30 days into the future. When the clock struck midnight and I was less than 60 days out, I am now able to see everything from today until my check-out date.

Steve

[Mfarquar]

We ended up purchasing 1 day MK tickets and I was able to make FastPass reservations for what we were interested in, thankfully.

As expected, we could not get FP+ for the Seven Dwarves Mine Train as expected (or Wishes for that matter), BUT we were able to get Splash Mountain, Space Mountain and Peter Pan.

We couldn't get anything for the morning and our FP+ are for awkward times that will cause us to cover a lot of ground at the middle/end of the day (a/k/a a ton of walking in the least direct way possible) but at least we were able to get something! It kind of makes me sad that I have to be happy that we got "something" - definitely a different experience for a 1 day visitor than it was a year ago at this time (even during the FP+ beta phase). Those who do not stay onsite and also want to plan way ahead just simply have a different experience.

However, we're still excited to go and are hoping for the best! It will definitely help we are going on a slow MK day during a slower time of year.

[Mfarquar]

Also, I should mention, I made our FP+ reservations 29 days out because of a medical emergency in my family. I think I would have had better choices if I had hit it up at 30 days. It's unfortunate that something that happens 30 days before your Disney vacation (when you have already significantly planned - bought tickets, booked a plane, booked a hotel well in advance) can have such an affect on your in-park experience. We have traveled all over the world and having a busy/stressful/scary day 30 days before we left never affected our trip the next month. Now a blizzard on the day you're scheduled to leave for a vacation - that's a different story

[DonaldDuck1117]

If your fast past times are all funky you can go back in and change the times individually. You are not stuck with the original times given. For whatever reason the first time you book fast passes for a day you have to accept the predetermined times of the 4 group offerings. But after you have accepted a grouping you can go back in and change the times to ones that work better for you.