FP+ when parkhopping, what's your strategy?(Epcot then MK)

[joyfulDisneytears]

If you're spending the morning at Epcot and heading to MK late afternoon, would you make FP+ reservations at Epcot and hope to pick up some 4th+ for MK? Or would you just make all FP+ for MK and tour Epcot without in the morning?

Currently I have 2 days planned with rope drop Epcot, stay until lunch or so, then head to MK and stay to park close (maybe a break back at the room for a rest in between depending on how we're feeling).
And 1 day of PPO BOG on a MNSSHP day (not going to the party), followed by dinner/fireworks that evening at Epcot.

 

[JETSDAD]

Personally I would make FP at Epcot and then add as I go.

 

[DavidNYC]

Definitely MK if you're rope dropping Epcot twice. Not enough worth doing at Epcot in terms of FP. You can only get 1 Tier one so better to rope drop and hit up 2 of the headliners in the first hour and then maybe do a couple 2nd tier and/or World Showcase and head to MK with the FP. I just cannot justify Epcot FP with the current line up of rides there.

 

[FFstreetDoc]

If you are rope dropping EPCOT you can hit Soarin on the way in and hop over to FEA and possibly TT. There is nothing else in the park worth wasting FP'S for. However; If you burn your FP's at EPCOT hoping to grab some at MK after, there will be nothing left worth having. Add to that you can only get one tier 1 FP at EPCOT. You will gain far more time grabbing premiere FP's at MK as wait times in the evening are usually at a peak.

 

[ForMyBoys]

We are avid park hoppers and always get FP for the morning park and then look for FP as they become available for the evening park. We've had great luck with this. Last year we hopped to MK and scored a FP for 5 on Space Mountain. But if you have your heart set on a certain ride at either Epcot or MK I would FP it.

 

[prisjoyce]

We park hop every day of our trips, often rope dropping the first park. I usually plan FP for the second/afternoon park. The exception is for rides like FOP & SDD. Enjoy your trip!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I would FP at MK if I had two RD days at Epcot.

If I did FP at Epcot I would just do ONE FP at whichever tier 1 I wanted to do. With the tiers are in Epcot one FP is sufficient IMO. I would RD, Soarin, single ride TT then FP+ Frozen. Once I tapped into Frozen I would make my FP for MK right then.

Out of our 10 day trip in November we only did FP at Epcot once. There's just not enough to justify 3 FP. We did grab additional FP at Epcot after a morning at AK.

 

[sharonabe]

Since you're doing the same thing for two days, why not do both? Use FP+ at EP one morning and FP+ in MK on the other afternoon. Then come back here and tell us which way you liked better.

 

[Klayfish]

Personally I would make FP at Epcot and then add as I go.

Yep, this. There's no reason to "save" your FP+ for late, especially at MK. There isn't a single attraction at MK that can't be picked up as a 4th, 5th, 10th FP+. May take a little effort for 7DMT, but you'll still get it.

 

[Disneylover99]

Since you're doing the same thing for two days, why not do both? Use FP+ at EP one morning and FP+ in MK on the other afternoon. Then come back here and tell us which way you liked better.

This is what I would do. Book a Mine Train fp and two other popular fp rides for your MK day.

 

[Disneylover99]

Yep, this. There's no reason to "save" your FP+ for late, especially at MK. There isn't a single attraction at MK that can't be picked up as a 4th, 5th, 10th FP+. May take a little effort for 7DMT, but you'll still get it.

I wouldn’t tell somebody that they’ll definitely get a Mine Train fp day of.

 

[joyfulDisneytears]

Since you're doing the same thing for two days, why not do both? Use FP+ at EP one morning and FP+ in MK on the other afternoon. Then come back here and tell us which way you liked better.

This is what I would do. Book a Mine Train fp and two other popular fp rides for your MK day.

This is what I started thinking after I posted this. Best of both worlds. Honestly I may have too much time scheduled at Epcot attraction-wise but we like World Showcase and it will be Food & Wine time so I didn't want to short change it.

This is also going to be our first trip since the full implementation of FP+, so I'm trying to learn all I can about taking the fullest advantage of it. We went during the initial testing but were able to double-dip with paper FP so it didn't really teach me anything!

 

[joyfulDisneytears]

I would FP at MK if I had two RD days at Epcot.

If I did FP at Epcot I would just do ONE FP at whichever tier 1 I wanted to do. With the tiers are in Epcot one FP is sufficient IMO. I would RD, Soarin, single ride TT then FP+ Frozen. Once I tapped into Frozen I would make my FP for MK right then.

Out of our 10 day trip in November we only did FP at Epcot once. There's just not enough to justify 3 FP. We did grab additional FP at Epcot after a morning at AK.

I didn't realize you could do that! So am I understanding correctly that you just can't book another Tier 1 in the same park if you have not used (or let time expire on) 2 Tier 2's? But you can book just one FP+ for one park and then move on to another park?

Also I know MK doesn't have tiers but what if I wanted to go to say Epcot and FP+ FEA & then search for a SDD at HS? Can you do that or no? (Not planning on a scenario like this as of now but it's nice to understand my options!)

 

[Rach3975]

I didn't realize you could do that! So am I understanding correctly that you just can't book another Tier 1 in the same park if you have not used (or let time expire on) 2 Tier 2's? But you can book just one FP+ for one park and then move on to another park?

Also I know MK doesn't have tiers but what if I wanted to go to say Epcot and FP+ FEA & then search for a SDD at HS? Can you do that or no? (Not planning on a scenario like this as of now but it's nice to understand my options!)

We're getting park hoppers for the first time for our November trip, so I've been reading up on this lately. Here's the link that explains it all. But yes, as I understand it, if you don't book all your FPs in 1 park, then as soon as you tap into your 1st FP of the day you'll have the option of booking the remaining FPs for park #2, including a Tier 1. I believe it also works if you book 3 in advance for park 1 but then modify some for park 2 after you tap into your first FP (but don't take my word for that!) We have 2 days when we're going to hit MK and either AK or HS. I'm thinking I'm going to use this strategy then. In tiered parks I always feel like we're "wasting" FPs on attractions that don't need them, so why not save them and take my chances on getting something better at our second park?

 

[joyfulDisneytears]

We're getting park hoppers for the first time for our November trip, so I've been reading up on this lately. Here's the link that explains it all. But yes, as I understand it, if you don't book all your FPs in 1 park, then as soon as you tap into your 1st FP of the day you'll have the option of booking the remaining FPs for park #2, including a Tier 1. I believe it also works if you book 3 in advance for park 1 but then modify some for park 2 after you tap into your first FP (but don't take my word for that!) We have 2 days when we're going to hit MK and either AK or HS. I'm thinking I'm going to use this strategy then. In tiered parks I always feel like we're "wasting" FPs on attractions that don't need them, so why not save them and take my chances on getting something better at our second park?

Very nice, thank you! I looked at that thread before but it was during my initial attempt to understand the state of FP+ so I was a little overwhelmed and didn't see the pertinent part!

 

[shocker]

It's always the same...3 FP's booked at my first park of the day, as soon as I tap in for 3rd FP I start my search for a 4th in the park I'm in, looking only for something soon or on way to exit etc, sometimes there's time to get a 5th FP in this park same as above. As soon as its slim pickin' in first park or getting late & I want to leave, I start search in park #2, I look for something near my projected arrival time for park #2. Grab the best of what I see available & just like in the morning MODIFY, MODIFY, MODIFY. There is so much FP swapping day of that I can usually get a hard to get FP for the evening (6-7pm) around 2pm & its usually my 6th for the day. Happy planning!

 

[Belleandtinker]

Rope drop EPCOT and Fast Pass MK.

Besides Soarin' (which I personally can skip), there really never a long line at rope drop.

Plus I enjoy several MK rides at night and don't want to wait too long for them.

 

[gharter]

I think it really depends where the rides are that you really don't want to miss.
Generally, I would put the FPs at the second park if I am doing RD for the first park.