Cruises from NYC to Disney World - Fast Pass +

[lanejudy]

So, if you only pre-book, say, 2 FP+ and then, once there, pull one for Illuminations, you should be able to pull a 4th one once you've used the second? (boy was that confusing!).

No, unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.

I don't know if you are thinking "pull" a FP like the paper tickets out of kiosks, like at the California parks.

The WDW parks are all electronic. You schedule them via the MDE app. And it doesn't matter if you schedule all 3 in advance or all 3 when you first enter the gates that morning, you must use all 3 of the initial FPs before you can get a 4th. (or you can "skip" one by letting the time expire, but it then becomes a lost FP) And you must use the 4th before you can get a 5th. So you could scheduled your first 3 for other rides, then hope to get a 4th for Illuminations that afternoon, but it is subject to availability. I don't follow closely enough to know if those nighttime FP's go quickly or not.

 

[FigmentSpark]

So anyone who books, say, Illuminations as one of the FP+ choices is out of luck in pulling any more FPs once at EPCOT? Since that doesn't happen until nighttime, chances are there won't be any FPs being issued for the remainder of the night.

There are some people who feel that using their FPs up in the morning is the best strategy, because they can get extra through the rest of the day. The problem is that many of the rides with FPs that are available may not necessarily require a FP to get on quickly. If that strategy interests you, you might want to watch the estimated crowd levels and the ride times for your dates (Touring Plans has some great tools for this, but you may have to buy a membership to use them). I will say that the high demand ones - 7DMT, PP, FEA, the new Pandora, TS, some M&Gs are likely not available on the same day. So if you're using a "get rid of these to get more" strategy, make sure you book these first.

Not sure where Illuminations falls for demand, but I think it's a tier one, so I'm not sure people would choose that over a TT or FEA or Soarin' as their 1 pre-booked FP. It might be more prudent to chance that one for a same-day FP, unless you're doing multiple days in EPCOT.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

It's just too confusing to me. OK, I get it, but I really liked it better when everybody just waited in line for the rides they wanted. And didn't have to do all this planning for "what are we doing next....?" I'm a bit more spontaneous than that.

 

[FigmentSpark]

It's just too confusing to me. OK, I get it, but I really liked it better when everybody just waited in line for the rides they wanted. And didn't have to do all this planning for "what are we doing next....?" I'm a bit more spontaneous than that.

I felt like that, too, until I realized I didn't have to run all over the park estimating what the window might be and hoping to get the times I wanted. Personally, I just go for the 3. I use rope drop and the morning to stand in lines that I know will get huge later on, then in the afternoon, I have FPs booked and supplement that with some of the rides that aren't as in-demand. If you're staying after that, sure, look for FPs on the app. As for Illuminations, because it's a tier 1 ride, and you only get one a day (until all 3 are used), people may not choose that first. It may be available throughout the day. Touring Plans, for example, is reporting this right now (2pm EST):


But if that's the most important thing to you, book it, for sure.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I felt like that, too, until I realized I didn't have to run all over the park estimating what the window might be and hoping to get the times I wanted. Personally, I just go for the 3. I use rope drop and the morning to stand in lines that I know will get huge later on, then in the afternoon, I have FPs booked and supplement that with some of the rides that aren't as in-demand. If you're staying after that, sure, look for FPs on the app. As for Illuminations, because it's a tier 1 ride, and you only get one a day (until all 3 are used), people may not choose that first. It may be available throughout the day. Touring Plans, for example, is reporting this right now (2pm EST):
View attachment 237622

But if that's the most important thing to you, book it, for sure.

Well, we actually went for Frozen. We've seen Illuminations, but not been there since Frozen opened. We were just thinking of also getting Illuminations so that we had a fairly good guaranteed viewing spot. We only have one day at EPCOT and I don't really want to spend an hour or two just holding a spot for one thing.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Good choice.

 

[Dug720]

To to be honest, I have never had any issues finding good Illuminations viewing spots. The best place to be is upwind so you don't get smoked out...and not being tied down to the FP+ spot allows you to go elsewhere around the lagoon. More than once I have seen the FP+ area be in the direct smoke line.

My personal favorite place is across from the espresso cart between America and Italy.

 

[Neptune's Fork]

To to be honest, I have never had any issues finding good Illuminations viewing spots. The best place to be is upwind so you don't get smoked out...and not being tied down to the FP+ spot allows you to go elsewhere around the lagoon. More than once I have seen the FP+ area be in the direct smoke line.

My personal favorite place is across from the espresso cart between America and Italy.

Where is that FP spot for Illuminations?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

The best place to be is upwind so you don't get smoked out..

Yeah, well, in my case the wind always shifts and I'm downwind. Always happens to me at campfires or anywhere where smoke is.

 

[Dug720]

Where is that FP spot for Illuminations?

I have never used a FP+ for Illuminations, so I honestly don't know. I'm sorry!

 

[Dug720]

Yeah, well, in my case the wind always shifts and I'm downwind. Always happens to me at campfires or anywhere where smoke is.

Awww!!

 

[cruiser21]

I just got back from 1 week at WDW. If you don't have a fast pass you're waiting an hour at least. Even for things like it's a bugs life had a 45 minute wait. All the rides that used to have short lines have 60+ waits. 3 hour wait for tower of terror in May for goodness sake. This is due to everyone using FP. I'm not a fan of it. I think it's ruined Disneyworld. We used to show up at rope drop, ride things multiple times, and getfast passes for later in the day. We rode everything we wanted with FPs, but did not ride anything twice.
Disneyland doesn't do this. They do things the old way. Toy story at DL has never had a fast pass and the ride stays at around 30 minutes during average crowd days.
We had a great time. It is Disneyworld after all, but I can't say Im a fan of the new system. Before we got there I considered upgrading my tickets to APs, but after seeing the lines I squashed that idea. We will go back in a few years after all the new stuff opens, but in the mean time if I need a theme park fix I'll go to Universal or DL. I just don't think a vacation should require planning out every hour of your day. I know some people love that, but it's not for me.

 

[Case1096]

The ones from the ship aren't as different as people make them out to be. I was on one of these cruises last year... Basically, you get given a one-day hopper, same old ticket that you would get at the parks themselves. The same rules apply, including for FastPasses. You can link it to the MDE app or visit a kiosk and make your 3 reservations, then add subsequent ones once they've been used.

The ONLY difference is the DCL tickets also get 3 VIP FastPasses loaded, that simply allow you to join the queue of any 3 FastPass attractions without having to reserve in advance. They can be used at more than one park, but you only get the total of 3 for the entire day. All you do is tap your card at the FP+ entrance of whatever attraction you wish and you're then good to join the queue. Like I said - once you use your 3, you DO NOT get more.

In short:
- FastPass+ can be used like with a normal ticket, can add more once you have used your current ones.
- Pre-loaded VIP/anytime FastPasses are limited to a total of 3 for the whole day.

I recall this talk about Annual Passes coming up in the social media group for my cruise. I recall people weren't sure beforehand if the tickets we would receive could be linked to MDE and were going to use their Annual Pass tickets to be able to reserve additional FastPasses just in case.

Great explanation for how this works. From what you are saying, does this mean you are eligible for 6 FP+ once you get your ticket? 3 from the VIP FastPass and 3 you can reserve on the App?

 

[ivanp91]

Great explanation for how this works. From what you are saying, does this mean you are eligible for 6 FP+ once you get your ticket? 3 from the VIP FastPass and 3 you can reserve on the App?

Yep, that's what I did and it worked great

 

[MaleficentRN]

Yep, that's what I did and it worked great

When do they give you the park tickets? Would I be able to log onto MDE while on the ship, link it and make my 3 regular FP+ choices before we arrive at Port Canaveral?

 

[vaidas]

In short:
- FastPass+ can be used like with a normal ticket, can add more once you have used your current ones.
- Pre-loaded VIP/anytime FastPasses are limited to a total of 3 for the whole day.

when did you find out how many FPs and were you able to add it to the app to make fp selections before your trip?

 

[FigmentSpark]

Just to be clear for anyone thinking they'll use their annual pass for FPP and the VIPs - if you're going to do that, remember to use the Annual pass to enter the park. I don't know if the system can tell if you are in the park with two tickets or not (maybe with finger prints?), but they are cracking down on FPP cheating as of today.

http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/mymag...rcing-fastpass-usage-terms-and-conditions.htm

 

[schmass]

Just to be clear for anyone thinking they'll use their annual pass for FPP and the VIPs - if you're going to do that, remember to use the Annual pass to enter the park. I don't know if the system can tell if you are in the park with two tickets or not (maybe with finger prints?), but they are cracking down on FPP cheating as of today.

http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/mymag...rcing-fastpass-usage-terms-and-conditions.htm

We just got APs in May and I was planning on booking 3 FPs with that. Is my best bet then, to enter one park with my AP, use those FPs, and then hop to another park and enter with the cruise ticket to use the VIP FPs?

 

[Quellman]

We just got APs in May and I was planning on booking 3 FPs with that. Is my best bet then, to enter one park with my AP, use those FPs, and then hop to another park and enter with the cruise ticket to use the VIP FPs?

Makes sense to me. You could also do this strategy.
Walk into park one with your AP and scan your normal finger. Then immediately exit and re-enter (a different line if it pleases you) and then scan in with your DCL ticket and a DIFFERENT finger. Your ticket media are both active, so you could in theory have two sets of 3 FP for the same park. Great in parks with tiered options.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I would guess that would be the best way. My only question is whether they are tracking people by the tickets or by the fingerprints. Do you have to add your fingerprint when you use the VIP ticket? I suppose you could use a different finger to be safe.