Fast pass selection thoughts?

[waltdisfam4]

I will be making my fast pass selections tomorrow so I am wondering what everyone thinks about the best time for the first fast pass of the day? Do you prefer to make your first fast pass from 9:00-10:00 or do you prefer to make your first fast pass at 10 o’clock? Or even 11 o’clock so you allow yourself more time to walk on some rides after rope drop before the park gets busy ? Does this vary from one park to the other? Any tips you have would be appreciated !

 

[Klayfish]

You'll find all kinds of schools of thought on this, it's debated pretty often. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer.

Our personal opinion is that we make it for the moment we walk into the park. In fact, we make the window start well before we walk into the park. We're not rope drop people, we may show up at 9:30 if the park opens at 9:00am. Therefore, we'll make our first FP+ from 9:00am to 10:00am. So when we show up, we head straight for FP+ number one. By time we get off, it's time for FP+ number two, which we'd set from 10:00am to 11:00am. From there, we're off to the races using almost exclusively FP+ for everything. But that's just what works for us, YMMV.

 

[FCDub]

Check out the FAQ for some strategies, too: https://www.disboards.com/threads/fastpass-frequently-asked-questions.3491680/#post-55337511

 

[CAS239]

As AP's, we park hop daily.

We rope drop first park, take a break, then head to second park with FP's for there starting around 3ish.

I don't see any point in scheduling FP's earlier than about 11am as everything is still a short wait. I prefer to have key fps later when lines are longer and the hard to get FP's are gone

 

[Jessicadhx]

If I was going into the park for opening, say 9am, (or earlier) I would always make my fast passes for around 10am/11am/12pm purely because as you said, when the park is quieter you may be able to walk on some of the rides you haven't fastpassed, without having to run for the 'bigger' rides which is likely those you have fast passed. And then of course after you have used your three pre-booked fastpasses you can book extra ones as you go, which I always like to do for the park I'm planning on going to in the evening

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We do RD at the first park, midday break by the pool and then PM park with FP+ in hand, usually starting around 4-5 pm depending on park hours.

 

[Gwade4]

This is always one of my great debates on every trip. Typically, I make our fastpasses for later afternoon and evening. We always arrive at rope drop, so it's always felt like a bit of a waste to use them before lunch when lines are typically fairly short. I am considering the other strategy on our next trip which would be to use up all three FP as early as possible so we can make 4th, 5th, 6th, selections, etc.

In your scenario, I'd probably try to make them for 10, 11, 12, so I could then book "extras" the rest of the day.

 

[Alesia]

I make mine starting at 11. They aren't necessary before that.

 

[HydroGuy]

If I was going into the park for opening, say 9am, (or earlier) I would always make my fast passes for around 10am/11am/12pm purely because as you said, when the park is quieter you may be able to walk on some of the rides you haven't fastpassed, without having to run for the 'bigger' rides which is likely those you have fast passed. And then of course after you have used your three pre-booked fastpasses you can book extra ones as you go, which I always like to do for the park I'm planning on going to in the evening

My plan exactly. Usually.

For Epcot in particular, and especially if our trip involves two days at Epcot, I often do the 9/10/11AM approach because I do not want all the FPs. Usually the 10AM will be for a ride we really want to do. The 9AM will be for something like SSE which we do not ride that day (because we did it on day #1) but scan our MBs on the way in before we move on. Then we ride the 10AM which is maybe something like Soarin. As soon as we scan the MB at the 10AM and before we get on that ride we try to move up the 11AM FP. If we can do that then as soon as we exit FP #2 we either ride FP #3 or we just scan in and skip and then we can try for FP #4 for another Tier 1. This tip is discussed in the PP link by @FCDub.

 

[mumumouse]

I will be making my fast pass selections tomorrow so I am wondering what everyone thinks about the best time for the first fast pass of the day? Do you prefer to make your first fast pass from 9:00-10:00 or do you prefer to make your first fast pass at 10 o’clock? Or even 11 o’clock so you allow yourself more time to walk on some rides after rope drop before the park gets busy ? Does this vary from one park to the other? Any tips you have would be appreciated !

This is a very important question!
We usually do mid morning. We do not do rope drop. I think the only time we did was at DL when time change worked for us. There is nothing worse than feeling rushed on vacation. We eat breakfast at our resort (Pop) and then when we head to the parks, we allow travel time (bus) & time to enter the park. At MK for example, you want to soak it in, maybe catch a few autographs, then head toward your first FP (usually PP). Sometimes I even schedule my 3rd FP for after a later lunch. I know, not the most efficient use of FO, but we are in no hurry! So 10:30ish is probably my earliest. And don’t worry, you can always go back and modify your times. It’s better if you do this before the FP window has opened.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

My plan exactly. Usually.

For Epcot in particular, and especially if our trip involves two days at Epcot, I often do the 9/10/11AM approach because I do not want all the FPs. Usually the 10AM will be for a ride we really want to do. The 9AM will be for something like SSE which we do not ride that day (because we did it on day #1) but scan our MBs on the way in before we move on. Then we ride the 10AM which is maybe something like Soarin. As soon as we scan the MB at the 10AM and before we get on that ride we try to move up the 11AM FP. If we can do that then as soon as we exit FP #2 we either ride FP #3 or we just scan in and skip and then we can try for FP #4 for another Tier 1. This tip is discussed in the PP link by @FCDub.

Even though i always have booked PM FP+ for our evening park i am planning on doing this for our Epcot morning day.

 

[belledreamer]

I think a lot would depend on when you're going but since we don't park hop, we typically make ours in the morning, ride twice on some occasions if standby isn't long and then make other FP+ while in the park.

 

[waltdisfam4]

You'll find all kinds of schools of thought on this, it's debated pretty often. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer.

Our personal opinion is that we make it for the moment we walk into the park. In fact, we make the window start well before we walk into the park. We're not rope drop people, we may show up at 9:30 if the park opens at 9:00am. Therefore, we'll make our first FP+ from 9:00am to 10:00am. So when we show up, we head straight for FP+ number one. By time we get off, it's time for FP+ number two, which we'd set from 10:00am to 11:00am. From there, we're off to the races using almost exclusively FP+ for everything. But that's just what works for us, YMMV.

Thanks! Do you have pretty good success securing 4th, 5th...and more FP's since you finish using your first three up so quickly? I am thinking this is the best approach for my family also. If we hop parks it won't be until dinner time on any given day.

 

[waltdisfam4]

Check out the FAQ for some strategies, too: https://www.disboards.com/threads/fastpass-frequently-asked-questions.3491680/#post-55337511

Thank you!!!

 

[waltdisfam4]

As AP's, we park hop daily.

We rope drop first park, take a break, then head to second park with FP's for there starting around 3ish.

I don't see any point in scheduling FP's earlier than about 11am as everything is still a short wait. I prefer to have key fps later when lines are longer and the hard to get FP's are gone

Argh...another good point in favor of a different approach! This is a tricky decision...pros and cons to both schools of thought. lol

 

[waltdisfam4]

My plan exactly. Usually.

For Epcot in particular, and especially if our trip involves two days at Epcot, I often do the 9/10/11AM approach because I do not want all the FPs. Usually the 10AM will be for a ride we really want to do. The 9AM will be for something like SSE which we do not ride that day (because we did it on day #1) but scan our MBs on the way in before we move on. Then we ride the 10AM which is maybe something like Soarin. As soon as we scan the MB at the 10AM and before we get on that ride we try to move up the 11AM FP. If we can do that then as soon as we exit FP #2 we either ride FP #3 or we just scan in and skip and then we can try for FP #4 for another Tier 1. This tip is discussed in the PP link by @FCDub.

I love this info! I didn't realize that I could edit my 3rd fast pass time (if an earlier time is available) after riding my 2nd FP ride?! So, if I ride my 2nd 10:00 ride and we are off the ride by 10:15, I can see if my 3rd 11:00 FP can be moved up to 10:30ish? Am I understanding this correctly?

 

[waltdisfam4]

This is a very important question!
We usually do mid morning. We do not do rope drop. I think the only time we did was at DL when time change worked for us. There is nothing worse than feeling rushed on vacation. We eat breakfast at our resort (Pop) and then when we head to the parks, we allow travel time (bus) & time to enter the park. At MK for example, you want to soak it in, maybe catch a few autographs, then head toward your first FP (usually PP). Sometimes I even schedule my 3rd FP for after a later lunch. I know, not the most efficient use of FO, but we are in no hurry! So 10:30ish is probably my earliest. And don’t worry, you can always go back and modify your times. It’s better if you do this before the FP window has opened.

I can see us arriving around 9:45 so maybe 10-11 ish might be better for my first FP of the day! Thanks!

 

[waltdisfam4]

I think a lot would depend on when you're going but since we don't park hop, we typically make ours in the morning, ride twice on some occasions if standby isn't long and then make other FP+ while in the park.

Thanks, @belledreamer . I am thinking of making the first FP's in the 10:00 range...then the 3rd after lunch? I appreciate the help - again

 

[JenLovesMM]

My son is not big on rides, he likes some that need FP+ but not all the major headliners. For him and I on those days, I book some throwaway FP+ at 9-10am or so to let them expire so that we can use the ones we want and them move on to 4th, 5th for rides he wants to redo. The one park I usually try to get all 3 FP+ earlier in the day for is EPCOT so that we can do Future World in the morning then head into the world showcase and not have to criss-cross the park for FP+. On the other hand in MK, I try not to book them in the morning so we can have them for when the park gets busier.

 

[ScrampShopper]

As AP's, we park hop daily.

We rope drop first park, take a break, then head to second park with FP's for there starting around 3ish.

I don't see any point in scheduling FP's earlier than about 11am as everything is still a short wait. I prefer to have key fps later when lines are longer and the hard to get FP's are gone

I've always done it similar, but I'm changing my plans this time around. I've booked all my fast passes starting as close to 9AM as possible, and plan to be able to book multiple additional fast passes for the rest of the day. I'm confident this strategy will work out for me because I spent some time during the Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year weeks checking out availability for fast passes throughout the day, and could get anything pretty easily except FoP, SDMT, and FEA. Booking during the first hour still allows me almost an hour at rope drop to do some rides before using the 1st FP+, assuming we make it to rope drop!!