cokebabies
Super Freak
Hi, we're planning a trip to Disney World. Does anybody know what the best strategy would be for the Fastpass+ system. Should you reserve your 3 fast passes for as early in the day as possible? That way you can get more fast passes at one of the Kiosks for later in the day. The risk here is that the good rides may run out of passes. Plus early in the day, its not as crowded so you don't really need to have fast passes then.
Or should you make your 3 fast pass reservations for the afternoon when it is more crowded? The issue here is you most likely wont be able to get any more fast passes after the original 3 run out in the late afternoon. I appreciate any help any one can give. Thanks!
The answer is... yes.
It really depends on specifics. Are you at the window where you can reserve? And, if so, are some of the rides you want not available for the morning?
My wife and I are morning Disney people. I have to stress - morning Disney for me. I'm very much a night person, but if there's morning hours, wake me up at 6 AM and let's go. I won't be happy about it, but let's go.
So we times our FP+s with morning hours, when available. Like, if Magic Kingdom was morning hours, we'd go to morning hours, hit Peter Pan, and a couple of other Fantasyland rides. Then we'd have FP+s for some long liners (Space Mountain, Mine Train, Splash, usually) starting at 9AM - or 9:15 or whatever the first time is.
We were experts with the old system, so I will admit I was against much of the FP+ system. But except for a small handful of annoyances / hiccups, it went well. The biggest advantage is it removes the arbitrary hour wait between FPs. So if you just used your third FP+, and go to see what's available, you could literally have an immediate FP+ for a ride - usually a B/C ride, like Little Mermaid, Pooh, etc - but still - immediate FP+!
When we went (first week of June), every single day, Magic Kingdom was slammed. This was surely due to a) it's the most popular park, b) new Fantasyland is relatively new, c) Mine Train had just opened. So if we counted on the "early mornings = quiet" rule (which is, usually, not a bad strategy), we'd have been doomed.
So my general advice - If you can swing it, get FP+s as early as possible. Then, add ones for immediately available rides, if you're interested.
The biggest problem - Epcot. The tiered nonsense there really screws you up. Since you have to use your three FP+s before getting another - get a FP+ at Soarin or Test Track, then I'd say Spaceship and Nemo - they're easy to get to quickly. If you have them early, you've got a great shot at getting a FP+ for whichever of the E tickets you didn't already get on.
Protip: If you spend the morning at MK, AK, or DHS, and get to Epcot to find out the E ticket FP+s are gone, don't give up. There are two reliable methods - take a pen and keep tapping the BOTTOM of the button for Test Track or Soarin (for some reason, that's where it's responsive) - it may say it's out, but if you spend like a minute or two, there's a very not bad chance that someone will change their plans and drop their FP+, giving you one. It may be for a few hours from now, but that's still not bad. The other good method is if you're willing to split up parties. Test Track has single rider, but Soarin' doesn't. But one thing Soarin' does have is a very welcoming policy for single people looking to add a FP+. So if you're with a party of 2,3,4, etc - if only one person is dying to get on Soarin' - get a FP+ for only them. Single people have a MUCH better chance of slipping in and getting a FP+ for the ride.