How much time do you spend refreshing?

[ucf_knight]

My BIL had his first visit to AK with his son so I made FP’s for him the day he went. I had a long car ride so I had the time to refresh. I was wondering how much time other people spend. I was able to get him the safari, Everest, FOP, and NRJ all same day. I had 5 hours of screen time on MDE which sounds ridiculous to me so I thought I’d see if anyone else has done this before.

 

[SaintsManiac]

It really depends. I usually refresh while in line or when resting. Probably a minimum of an hour.

 

[Flamingeaux]

Not that much. I try to enjoy my time in the park. If the situation warrants it I will refresh while snacking, breaking or just waiting. When friends are at WDW I do a lot of refreshing for them!! I've snagged a bunch of good ones while at work!!

 

[JETSDAD]

We typically just refresh while in the FP line or during any sort of breaks (snacks, bathroom breaks, etc). Phone is always put away during rides and any sit down meals and mostly when walking around as well (sometimes I'll refresh while walking but I try not to). I don't let the phone take over our vacation but use it as a tool to allow us to do so much more than we otherwise would.

 

[disneygirlsng]

We typically just refresh while in the FP line or during any sort of breaks (snacks, bathroom breaks, etc). Phone is always put away during rides and any sit down meals and mostly when walking around as well (sometimes I'll refresh while walking but I try not to). I don't let the phone take over our vacation but use it as a tool to allow us to do so much more than we otherwise would.

This pretty accurately describes me as well. I almost always have my next FP before I get on the previous ride. For the harder to get rides, it may take me an additional 5-10 min that I do during quick service meals or during a short snack or rest break.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Honestly, my family asks me to refresh! They want FPs and would rather sit on a bench or wall while I snag them.

 

[ucf_knight]

Not that much. I try to enjoy my time in the park. If the situation warrants it I will refresh while snacking, breaking or just waiting. When friends are at WDW I do a lot of refreshing for them!! I've snagged a bunch of good ones while at work!!

That’s kind of how I am but when helping someone if I’m not doing anything else I seem to go overboard. I got the FP’s relatively easily but moving the times around to better times for him was what was taking up a lot of time.

 

[Disneyhanna]

I would say we average around 10 FPs per day, and tend to visit during low/moderate times of year (all relative). So for people who go during peak times (such as school holidays) or with bigger groups (we are a group of only two), I’m sure it’s more difficult to get FPs than in my experience.

It usually takes me under 5 minutes in the early afternoon to refresh for moderately popular rides such as Soarin’, Space Mountain, Safari, etc. When basically everything good in HS was Tier 1 I could get immediate FPs for ToT/RnR for what felt like all day, but that may have changed since Tier 1 recently changed.

I can almost always get FoP, Frozen, 7DMT, etc. with under 10 minutes of straight refreshing. This changes if it’s later in the day such as after dinner time since there is less availability. Slinky seemed to be harder to get, followed by 7DMT. FoP popped up multiple times during my refreshing and Frozen also seems pretty easy to get these days.

I usually refresh right after scanning in while waiting in the FP queue since we often have to wait a bit even with a FP. Otherwise I also refresh on the bus or while waiting for food. I try not to do it when eating since I would rather socialize then and put my phone down.

 

[emchelly77]

my phone always dies! but i try to keep track in the line or when we stop for lunch! I have spoiled the hubby and he doesn't like to wait in line!

 

[jbehr12]

I take as much time as I need to find what I’m looking for... when it comes to SDD or FOP, sometimes it takes minutes but others it’s taken hours. It’s all a gamble.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

I probably spend a couple or hours refreshing (when I want something, so not every day) however, it's while waiting in line or while everyone else is riding something I can't (motion sickness) or while waiting for our dining reservation. We usually do pretty well moving about, so I only look for those with long wait times.

 

[Good&Plenty]

I refresh in the lines, while my husband keeps an eye on our two elementary age kids. We do lower our bar for what rides I can get us so that I'm not always looking for (better) rides. We just returned this past week, and during casual line refreshing, I was able to find a same day 7DMT (party of 4), SDD (party of 1), and FoP (party of 2).

I also cannot do more than a few coasters a day, so when my husband and kids are on their second or third Space Mountain, I'll wait outside and refresh.

Refreshing is amazing. Aside from rope drop riding, we rode everything with a FP (sure, my kids rode Aladdin about five times in a row, but they loved it, lol).

 

[bryanb]

5 minutes at a time, mostly while waiting in line for other things and occasionally while standing outside of an attraction trying to get a time to go in that was shorter than the wait time. The most I've ever done it was in queue for FOP during the opening month. I'd get tired of refreshing and then give it one more try and another and another. Just before boarding, I was finally able to snag two seats boarding immediately. We were able to ride again immediately after exiting the attraction! Was well worth it.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

More than I want to. I can get moderate rides (JC, Soarin, EE) in 15 min or less but things like FEA, FOP, and BTMR have taken 30 min or more . I’m jealous of people who can get those rides in 10 mins but am pretty resigned to the situation. I pre-book the hardest rides and assume I’ll only ride them once so I rarely spend those 30 mins on the phone. Only for special circumstances.
It’s still nice to get moderate rides though so I’m still glad that refresh works at all.

 

[CanucksRock]

My brother figured out my strategy (get FP for next ride right after tapping in) and started hounding me if I didn’t have my phone out right away We probably only waited in non-FP lines for no more than 1-2 rides / day. (Including the RD one) Bit more of an adventure doing it for 7 people, but I almost always got what we were looking for.

 

[Davekwood]

Most of the time I tap, grab and modify in line. If I don't get what I am looking for, I will refresh while walking, or pull off to the side. My kids (6&10) agree it's better to wait for 5 minutes then 55 minutes in line. My Wife and 10 yr old are into refreshing as well, we have fun doing it, it's like a game to see who can get the best ride available within the next 10 - 15 min. We bring 3 portable power cells for cell phones as well as a brick power cell that is capable of 10 charges. Mostly use that to charge up the portable smaller chargers.

 

[rockinrollercoasters]

Are the times and attractions mutually exclusive? For example if I have Pirates at 8pm but would want to ride it or several other rides earlier if I modify the attraction and Pirates does have an earlier time will that show up in my choices or will it only show up if I specifically modify only the time not the attraction? I don't know if I'm making sense - sorry!

 

[DisneyChris2016]

On our past trips, I have mostly just refreshed while waiting around for the rest of my family, or while on breaks. Generally, we just see what FP+ are readily available and take what we can get, unless there's something we REALLY want. In 2018, I was able to get same day FOP with pretty diligent refreshing back at our townhouse. In 2016, when Frozen was relatively new, I lucked into a same day FP+ that started almost immediately for me and my girls. I felt like I won the lottery! The one thing you have to watch out for is the daze you can enter if you refresh too long trying to get a particular thing. More than once, the exact thing I wanted came up, but before it registered in my brain, I had already tapped to refresh again, and lost it. But I actually find it to be a fun way to pass the time when I'm waiting around. Kind of looking forward to seeing what I can get on our trip this summer...

 

[JETSDAD]

Are the times and attractions mutually exclusive? For example if I have Pirates at 8pm but would want to ride it or several other rides earlier if I modify the attraction and Pirates does have an earlier time will that show up in my choices or will it only show up if I specifically modify only the time not the attraction? I don't know if I'm making sense - sorry!

Using the app now it is one or the other. I prefer to use the mobile site instead as it still functions the same way the app used to where you could see both.

 

[rockinrollercoasters]

Using the app now it is one or the other. I prefer to use the mobile site instead as it still functions the same way the app used to where you could see both.

Oh that's interesting! I will do that too. Thanks for the tips!