Considering Club Level FP+ program, critique my plans

[jagafen]

Given the short length of our trip this time, my lack of real time experience with the new FP+ system (I've read everything I can about it and understand it, in print), and all of the newness at HS (and new to us) at AK, DH and I are considering the club level 3 extra FP program during our stay in Late July. I spent some time roughing out our plans for our first 3 days (the days we'd use the program). We'll be on property, landing in Orlando at 7:30 am on Saturday. We'll use the program for our park days Sat (EP/MK), Sun (HS), and Mon (AK). For clarity, OUR FASTPASSES that each guest gets will be bolded, and those from the CL program will be underlined. With the club level program, those CMs will book our regular Fastpasses for us for only those days that we're using the program. Since our trip is so short, and we've planned HS and AK for earlier in our trip, I want to make sure that we're able to get on what we want, as much as we'd like, since for our immediate family, this is our last trip for a while.

My general strategy is to book OUR FASTPASSES earlier in the day, after rope drop. There is an obvious "break" in the middle of the day for securing #4FP+ from the available pool, if any, and for catching shows and doing non-ride things at the parks. My Gameplan, for now, is to use the CL program FPs for the early evening, when presumably, all the FPs are gone for the day.

A bit about us: This is our 5th or so trip, the first since 2012. We're traveling with 2 17 y/o boys (our son, and a friend). They'll be off on their own for the most part. To keep things simple, I'm booking FPs as a group of 4, and then they're free to modify theirs as the day goes on.

I'm planning on being in Epcot between 9:30-10:00 am, given our 7:30 landing, taking DME to Beachclub, then walking over.

Saturday-Epcot Day, MK evening:
10:00 hour Soarin for DH and I, Test track for the boys
11:00 hour Mission Space FP for all
12:30 Lunch (ADR at Via Napoli). Will probably change this to Space 220 once it opens.
1:00 Pixar show for all.

I normally wouldn't FP Pixar, but it's something everyone wants to do, and we're not into any of the character meets. After our 3rd FP is used in Epcot, the gameplan is to FP something over in MK for the evening. The boys will spend as much time as they want in Epcot. After lunch, DH and I will walk the countries, then head back to Beach club via international gateway to unpack (as long as our room is ready by then) and rest/change before heading out again at 4:00 for MK.

MK:
5:00 BMTRR for all
5:35 Dinner ressie for the adults at Jungle Navigation. Boys are doing CS for dinner
6:30 7DMT for all
7:30 Space Mtn for all

MK closes at 10 this night, so if we're able to secure FPs for the later evening earlier in the day, the boys can bounce around doing what they'd like. 7DMT is on DH's list (he mostly wants to check out "new" stuff). I'm just along for the ride.

Sunday HS all Day, evening EMH from 9:00p-11:00p:
9:00 Park open, get Boarding Pass, RD Smuggler
10:00 MMRR (since we'll be able to book this at 90 days roughly, I think it'll be available)
11:00 Star Tours
12:00 RNR
Somewhere in there will be a CS lunch
1:25 Oga's Cantina (mid day heat break)
2:00 Smuggler's
3:25 One teen boy building at Savi's, the other watching
5:30 Dinner at Sci-Fi
6:30 SDD
7:30 TSM
9:00 Park closes, EMH begins. After Toy Story land, we plan to head back over to GE to catch some of the nightmosphere. We'll hang in the park for as long as we feel like staying.

Monday, AK all Day, AM EMH 8-9:
8:00 RD Pandora/FoP
9:00 Navi River Tour ( I usually wouldn't FP something this early, but I want to bump our 3 out of the way)
10:00 EE
11:00 Kali
CS Lunch at some point
3:00 FotLK (struggled with this--> any suggestions? It's the show DH said he'd most like to repeat, if we need to).
4:00 Safari
5:30 Dinner at Y&Y
6:30 FoP We want to be in Pandora during the evening (nightmosphere).

Tuesday will be a full day at HS for the Boys. Secure boarding passes, (I'll book any am/early afternoon Tier 1 that's available), and a half day for DH and I. We have reservations at Victoria and Albert's at 5:30, so we need to shower/get ready/change.

We plan to Rope drop Toy Story Land this time, and knock out this side of the park. FP Tier 1, plus Star tours and RNR before 1:00 (hopefully). DH and I will leave for beach club at 2, and catch a taxi to GF at 5:00. The boys will be on their own.

Wednesday is our transfer day to Universal. We plan on spending the morning in HS, grabbing boarding passes and some lunch, then heading back to Beach club to catch our ride to the hard rock. Tee gameplan is to RD GE on this day, and I"m super crossing my fingers that a morning FP for Smuggler's will be available so we can ride it 2x.

For those that think it's a lot of HS time, it is. DH is a huge SW geek, and he really wants to maximize his time there. MK is nostalgic for us, but nothing is really a "must do". Epcot is more of a strolling park for us, and once we hit our favorites and visit the countries, we're good. AK is tough for us to plan out our mid-day effectively with the CL FP plan. I generally don't FP shows, but there is really nothing that we "need" to do, and at least it's long and in the air conditioning!

Any tweaks/suggestions/error corrections are welcome. This is just my thinking about how to use the CL FP plan. I've been looking for other real-life implementation strategies, but I'm having a hard time coming across anyone else's plans to review. With us going during a busy time in the summer, for a relatively short amount of time, I want to front load our first 3 full days with our MUST DO's. FWIW, our last half day in HS isn't 100% a given, but will probably happen. Just need to talk to the other teen boy before I start setting plans into stone.

Thanks for looking things over and offering your input!

 

[rwdavis2]

I didn't notice a date, but have you balanced the cost of club level and those fast passes vs. a VIP tour?

 

[zemmer]

Can you have a regular fp and a club level fp for the same attraction? If so, I would rope drop Navi and get the fp for FoP. If not, your plan looks good to me.

 

[jagafen]

I didn't notice a date, but have you balanced the cost of club level and those fast passes vs. a VIP tour?

No, I haven't looked into that specifically, but I can. Are you suggesting dropping all 3 days of CL passes for one VIP tour (presumably, in HS?).


ETA: Pricing: Ranging from $425 to $750 per hour, depending on the season (valid park admission is required for each park that is included in the price of this tour). $425/hr puts it out of our budget. DH is willing to spend a little extra $$ if it'll ease the flow of the trip, but this would be a very hard sell. Even the Park Specific VIP tours are $250/pp, and are seemingly short (a few hours, guesstimation). That's $1k for our party, less than the $600 3 day's worth of CL FPs would cost.

ETA#2: The cost of club level was roughly $700 more than our original reservation (Standard view BC), plus we added a night--booked with a promo. I see what you're saying about the VIP tours/we're in for $1300 in in additional upgrade "costs". But I think bang for the buck, CL and the CL FP program will net us more, over a wider span of parks, than a VIP tour. But thanks for helping me to think outside the box!

Can you have a regular fp and a club level fp for the same attraction? If so, I would rope drop Navi and get the fp for FoP. If not, your plan looks good to me.

My understanding is no, even with the program. You can have FPs for multiple Tier 1s, but not multiple FPs for the same ride on any given day. I figured Navi would be the easier of the two for them to book for us at 90 days out, given that we want the CL FP to go to FoP.

 

[TwinkleKS]

I understand the VIP tour would be a lot more than what you are looking at with CL FP+. I have actually done both and just want to throw out that the VIP tour would allow you to ride all of the rides you have planned in one day. They won't suggest "wasting time" on shows like FOTLK, but you would be able to ride all of the mentioned rides at all four parks in one day. Leaving you the other two days for regular FP and shows.

It has been a little over a year since I have done the CL, so I am not sure what has changed, but in the past they were able to book all of the FP for us during the phone call, even the non CL ones. You will also still be able to go for your 4th FP, etc. after you use your regular ones - just make sure you don't have overlapping times with the CL ones. We enjoyed using the CL FP option the trip that we used it.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I mean this respectfully OP, but it took me a long time to read/process your post.

If I’m reading everything correctly, it seems you have a good grasp of the program and how it best fits your needs and touring style.

There are different schools of thought on this - but I personally prefer to book the Extra CLFPs first, then the regular ones second. The rationale for us is that Extra CLFPs can’t be changed without a phone call and we’re pretty good at following a schedule for at least the first three. After that, eh, we start to wing things a bit more. I liked having the regular FPs last so I could change them myself on the fly.

BUT - many people do the opposite and, as you suggest, like to burn through their regular three early and then refresh for others after that, meanwhile still having those Extra CLFPs in your plans for later that day.

Summer weather could derail you any day, but that’s sort of a given that time of year.

Good luck!

 

[jagafen]

I understand the VIP tour would be a lot more than what you are looking at with CL FP+. I have actually done both and just want to throw out that the VIP tour would allow you to ride all of the rides you have planned in one day. They won't suggest "wasting time" on shows like FOTLK, but you would be able to ride all of the mentioned rides at all four parks in one day. Leaving you the other two days for regular FP and shows.

It has been a little over a year since I have done the CL, so I am not sure what has changed, but in the past they were able to book all of the FP for us during the phone call, even the non CL ones. You will also still be able to go for your 4th FP, etc. after you use your regular ones - just make sure you don't have overlapping times with the CL ones. We enjoyed using the CL FP option the trip that we used it.

I appreciate your perspective. We did a 2 park VIP tour at Universal a few years back (DH's father's day present/surprise), and we were able to get in all the majors in both parks. The pace was quick though! I'll definitely double check on the non CLFP day FP reservations (hope that made sense). It is my understanding that for those days that we're not using the program, we need to wait until our 60 day mark to book those on our own.

I mean this respectfully OP, but it took me a long time to read/process your post.

If I’m reading everything correctly, it seems you have a good grasp of the program and how it best fits your needs and touring style.

There are different schools of thought on this - but I personally prefer to book the Extra CLFPs first, then the regular ones second. The rationale for us is that Extra CLFPs can’t be changed without a phone call and we’re pretty good at following a schedule for at least the first three. After that, eh, we start to wing things a bit more. I liked having the regular FPs last so I could change them myself on the fly.

BUT - many people do the opposite and, as you suggest, like to burn through their regular three early and then refresh for others after that, meanwhile still having those Extra CLFPs in your plans for later that day.

Summer weather could derail you any day, but that’s sort of a given that time of year.

Good luck!

That's because my brain prefers my layout, and yours another! You should have seen me on Sunday with papers, colored pens (my brain likes variety), a laptop, and various hardcopy planning sheets and guides. Intermittently talking to myself (DH knows to ignore most of what I say when I"m like this, unless I'm making eye contact with him and asking him a direct question) and shuffling through resources, trying to make 3 other people happy with all the options! Thanks for your input on your touring style. Nothing is set in stone yet, and I'm interested in different perspectives. Our touring style is based upon the olden days when paper FPs were accepted WELL past their expiration. We'd gather FPs early in the day as often as we could get them, take a mid day break (DS was much younger then), then come back to the parks for/after dinner, and use all our banked FPs in the evening until we decided to head back to the hotel.

As for the weather, Summer is the only time we're able to go to FL. We can deal with the heat and the rain, as for the rest, I"ll just pretend that you didn't just jinx us with your untimely comment