Help with Planning Fastpasses

[StephC1217]

We are going to WDW (Nov. 25-Dec. 3) and we haven't been in about 6 years so fast passes are VERY different now. usually I do lots and lots of research before going. However, I just recently had a baby which has given me little time and now I am back to work after my maternity leave (in a brand new job no less), giving me even less time to research. We have to book Fastpasses next week so I am looking for quick information this time around if possible!

There will be 6 of us traveling. Me, my husband, my 11 year old son, and the baby who will be about 6 months old....plus my parents.

I know we can take advantage of both Fastpasses and Rider Swap, which will be great for my 11 year old, but trying to figure out the best way to take advantage and more importantly- which rides to book Fastpasses for and when.

Right now, this is our itinerary:
11/26 MK
11/27 EP
11/28 Mickey's Xmas Party
11/29 EP
11/30 AK
12/1 DHS
12/2 MK

We get to park right for opening usually and my 11 year old loves thrill rides (as do my parents) but this is first time going with baby so Any help on when to book fast passes for without having to go through pages and pages of threads would be greatly appreciated!! I just need a basis for how to book next week in case I don't have time to figure out my touring plans before then.

 

[heather13]

I just recently made reservations with the new system after feeling like I had the old system down (even though it was 5 years ago!). I'm not sure how much you know, so sorry if I'm getting too basic at the start. This is what I've gleaned from my research over the past few months trying to learn the new stuff!

Get a My Disney Experience account (basically your Disney account login). You probably already have one if you're staying on property. Log in and make sure your hotel reservations and tickets are in the system. If not, go to "My Reservations and Tickets" to add ticket info for each person.

You're obviously aware that 60 days ahead you can start making reservations for your entire trip. If you want to FP hard to get rides, like FOP, Navi or Frozen Ever After, you'll want to do that first on 9/27. You should be able to jump ahead to 11/30 and make FOP reservation first, then go to the next date of a hard to get FP, then just fill in the blanks to get your 3 each day (or 1 or 2 - I couldn't get anything decent for Epcot other than TT). All parks except MK have tiered systems, meaning you have to choose between rides (like FOP or Navi).

From what I've read it seems to make sense to schedule early FP for MK - then use them and try to get a 4th one. For Epcot and HS it seems to make sense to schedule them later in the day since there won't be much available after noon anyway, except for shows. Since you're visiting MK more than once, you can schedule FP based on areas of the park - like one day do FP for Peter Pan, Belle and 7DMT, then another day do Pirates, BTMR and Jungle River. You can also try to get FP from 4-6 for the night you're doing the party (works for some, not for everyone).

Based on several online articles, get FP for:
MK - 7DMT, Peter Pan, Space Mountain, BTMR, Enchanted Tales w/Belle, Jungle Cruise, Pirates
HS - RNRC or TSM, Tower of Terror, Star Tours
Epcot - Frozen Ever After or Test Track or Soarin
AK - FOP or Navi, KS, EE


Having just made reservations at the 30 day mark, the ones I wasn't easily able to get were FEA, PP and 7DMT (not visiting AK). Even then I was able to get PP and 7DMT a few days later by rechecking. I think you'll be ok - your crowd levels look better than our week. I was panicked about it but it was a fairly easy process. Just make sure you can be at your computer at 7am without disturbance!! Hope my rambling helps a little. I just had coffee with a friend who will be there the same dates as you and she's also worried about FP planning.

 

[HR Mom]

Heather - how long did it take to book your FP? Need to request time off work to get these scheduled when it opens for us in a couple of weeks. Not sure to plan for a couple of hours.

 

[StephC1217]

I just recently made reservations with the new system after feeling like I had the old system down (even though it was 5 years ago!). I'm not sure how much you know, so sorry if I'm getting too basic at the start. This is what I've gleaned from my research over the past few months trying to learn the new stuff!

Get a My Disney Experience account (basically your Disney account login). You probably already have one if you're staying on property. Log in and make sure your hotel reservations and tickets are in the system. If not, go to "My Reservations and Tickets" to add ticket info for each person.

You're obviously aware that 60 days ahead you can start making reservations for your entire trip. If you want to FP hard to get rides, like FOP, Navi or Frozen Ever After, you'll want to do that first on 9/27. You should be able to jump ahead to 11/30 and make FOP reservation first, then go to the next date of a hard to get FP, then just fill in the blanks to get your 3 each day (or 1 or 2 - I couldn't get anything decent for Epcot other than TT). All parks except MK have tiered systems, meaning you have to choose between rides (like FOP or Navi).

From what I've read it seems to make sense to schedule early FP for MK - then use them and try to get a 4th one. For Epcot and HS it seems to make sense to schedule them later in the day since there won't be much available after noon anyway, except for shows. Since you're visiting MK more than once, you can schedule FP based on areas of the park - like one day do FP for Peter Pan, Belle and 7DMT, then another day do Pirates, BTMR and Jungle River. You can also try to get FP from 4-6 for the night you're doing the party (works for some, not for everyone).

Based on several online articles, get FP for:
MK - 7DMT, Peter Pan, Space Mountain, BTMR, Enchanted Tales w/Belle, Jungle Cruise, Pirates
HS - RNRC or TSM, Tower of Terror, Star Tours
Epcot - Frozen Ever After or Test Track or Soarin
AK - FOP or Navi, KS, EE


Having just made reservations at the 30 day mark, the ones I wasn't easily able to get were FEA, PP and 7DMT (not visiting AK). Even then I was able to get PP and 7DMT a few days later by rechecking. I think you'll be ok - your crowd levels look better than our week. I was panicked about it but it was a fairly easy process. Just make sure you can be at your computer at 7am without disturbance!! Hope my rambling helps a little. I just had coffee with a friend who will be there the same dates as you and she's also worried about FP planning.

Thank you so much for all of that help!! That helps immensely!!!

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

We’ve done FP+ 2 different ways. 1st way is booking 3 in the am and rushing to get them done so we can book another and another later in the day. Yes it gets more rides done but will wear you out. 2nd way is book one morning, afternoon and evening and honestly it worked better to take our time and work our way around the park. We did do rider swap on a few since our 3 year old couldn’t ride a few things but taking our time made less stress and more energy. Plus the day goes slower.

 

[heather13]

Heather - how long did it take to book your FP? Need to request time off work to get these scheduled when it opens for us in a couple of weeks. Not sure to plan for a couple of hours.

HR Mom, we're staying offsite so I could only make reservations for one day at a time. It took less than 15 minutes to reserve and refresh multiple times. I'll admit I spent another 15-20 minutes re-refreshing and updating my Touring Plan to see if I had a time that made sense. But I'm a little obsessive
If you're staying onsite and are reserving for a longer period of time, you'd probably need closer to an hour or more.

 

[HR Mom]

We’ve done FP+ 2 different ways. 1st way is booking 3 in the am and rushing to get them done so we can book another and another later in the day. Yes it gets more rides done but will wear you out. 2nd way is book one morning, afternoon and evening and honestly it worked better to take our time and work our way around the park. We did do rider swap on a few since our 3 year old couldn’t ride a few things but taking our time made less stress and more energy. Plus the day goes slower.

Awesome advice! Booking Tuesday for my fast passes and I kept going back and forth. Have an 8 and 5 year old, plus two seniors. Wondered how best to do this