Refresh=game changer, crowd calendars=unreliable

[Lynn CC]

We will be there next week & I thought by refresh you meant go back to your hotel room.

Could you explain what the steps are to refresh? I haven’t been since 2004 & DH has never been.

 

[Jrits]

We only went to MK one day and our initial FPs were BTMRR (we walked on once before using the 8:45am FP, could have walked on a couple more times but wanted to keep moving), Haunted Mansion (DD and me)/Toy Story (DH and DS), Mine Train. After that, we got Mine Train again, Space Mountain, Pooh, Peter Pan, Pirates, Jungle Cruise - we had walked on Splash Mountain three times in a row - we love that ride - so didn't FP it but that was easy to get. We also got a multiple experience that worked for everything except Mine Train when we got a FP for Small World and in the two minute walk to the ride, it went down, so we used that for Peter Pan again.

Is it common to receive a multi experience FP with small world?

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Another tip that we learned last week, from personal experience? Do not trust the posted ride wait times in the evening, I mean the last hour park is open (and probably other times as well). Slinky said 210 minutes when we got on it at 8:54 pm. Park closing was 10:30 pm. Actual wait time?? 65 minutes. Left that and saw TS Mania listed at 25. Walked onto the ride. (this was about 10:15-10:20). Navi? I think it said 55 minutes, we waited 6 minutes. Again, park closing 10:30 pm, and this was about 10 pm.

Slinky after dark is better than in the day time.

We also got lucky on opening day of Toy Story, we arrived at 5:30 am, and they opened at 6 am vs. 8 am.

This is done intentionally to discourage late riders. We first read about it in the 1999 Unofficial Guide so it’s nothing new.

 

[Mome Rath]

We will be there next week & I thought by refresh you meant go back to your hotel room.

Could you explain what the steps are to refresh? I haven’t been since 2004 & DH has never been.

You need a smart phone; use your 3 fps as usual then when going for a fourth don't believe it when it says no more fastpass available, instead keep refreshing to see if something pops up. The things hard to get this way are the busy busy rides such as FoP. You can use the MDE app or website in a browser. Some people have better luck with one or the other. Refresh isn't as good if you have a large group of people, the fewer the better.

 

[eileen2664]

So you actually sat there and refreshed up to 90 minutes? That's some serious dedication and you must have a very patient family, I think mine would be complaining about me being on my phone all day.

 

[1911]

another tip for when it rains and rides close is to fast pass the ride via refresh if it still shows as available.when the return time opens it will be converted to an anytime experience that apparently doesn't count towards your 3 or one for that matter.
we were in epcot in may and had a test track fast pass i picked up as an extra.it started raining as we were heading over to get in line and the ride went down so we took cover to wait it out.our fast pass got converted so i started refreshing and test track came up for a time that was 5 minutes away so I booked it and the app let me,fast forward to the return time and it got converted also.I kept this up and was able to get 4 anytime experience fast passes before test track finally showed as closed.
This was already after having our initial 3 and snagging several extras that day.

 

[Iowamomof4]

another tip for when it rains and rides close is to fast pass the ride via refresh if it still shows as available.when the return time opens it will be converted to an anytime experience that apparently doesn't count towards your 3 or one for that matter.
we were in epcot in may and had a test track fast pass i picked up as an extra.it started raining as we were heading over to get in line and the ride went down so we took cover to wait it out.our fast pass got converted so i started refreshing and test track came up for a time that was 5 minutes away so I booked it and the app let me,fast forward to the return time and it got converted also.I kept this up and was able to get 4 anytime experience fast passes before test track finally showed as closed.
This was already after having our initial 3 and snagging several extras that day.

 

[epcotobsessed]

So you actually sat there and refreshed up to 90 minutes? That's some serious dedication and you must have a very patient family, I think mine would be complaining about me being on my phone all day.

While walking around/walking through queues and chatting. It made me a little dizzy but no big deal.

 

[mamamelody2]

another tip for when it rains and rides close is to fast pass the ride via refresh if it still shows as available.when the return time opens it will be converted to an anytime experience that apparently doesn't count towards your 3 or one for that matter.
we were in epcot in may and had a test track fast pass i picked up as an extra.it started raining as we were heading over to get in line and the ride went down so we took cover to wait it out.our fast pass got converted so i started refreshing and test track came up for a time that was 5 minutes away so I booked it and the app let me,fast forward to the return time and it got converted also.I kept this up and was able to get 4 anytime experience fast passes before test track finally showed as closed.
This was already after having our initial 3 and snagging several extras that day.

Wow, score!!

 

[mamamelody2]

Thanks for sharing your experience, OP! Sounds like you had a great trip!

I can't wait to try my luck refreshing for FPs for a party of 4 in 54 days!

 

[Jrits]

another tip for when it rains and rides close is to fast pass the ride via refresh if it still shows as available.when the return time opens it will be converted to an anytime experience that apparently doesn't count towards your 3 or one for that matter.
we were in epcot in may and had a test track fast pass i picked up as an extra.it started raining as we were heading over to get in line and the ride went down so we took cover to wait it out.our fast pass got converted so i started refreshing and test track came up for a time that was 5 minutes away so I booked it and the app let me,fast forward to the return time and it got converted also.I kept this up and was able to get 4 anytime experience fast passes before test track finally showed as closed.
This was already after having our initial 3 and snagging several extras that day.

Does this work if a ride goes down not due to rain?

 

[tlmadden73]

Seems way too much time on your phone --- I think my family would find it annoying I am spending so much time refreshing instead of enjoying our surroundings. Maybe on a solo or adult-only trip or something where rides are more frequent and more important.

Why does this strategy work? Are you basically catching the right timing of people who cancel/change their FPs throughout the day?

 

[Mrspeaks]

another tip for when it rains and rides close is to fast pass the ride via refresh if it still shows as available.when the return time opens it will be converted to an anytime experience that apparently doesn't count towards your 3 or one for that matter.
we were in epcot in may and had a test track fast pass i picked up as an extra.it started raining as we were heading over to get in line and the ride went down so we took cover to wait it out.our fast pass got converted so i started refreshing and test track came up for a time that was 5 minutes away so I booked it and the app let me,fast forward to the return time and it got converted also.I kept this up and was able to get 4 anytime experience fast passes before test track finally showed as closed.
This was already after having our initial 3 and snagging several extras that day.

I’m not sure I quite understand. Is it an anytime for that ride or any ride?

 

[epcotobsessed]

Seems way too much time on your phone --- I think my family would find it annoying I am spending so much time refreshing instead of enjoying our surroundings. Maybe on a solo or adult-only trip or something where rides are more frequent and more important.

Why does this strategy work? Are you basically catching the right timing of people who cancel/change their FPs throughout the day?

With the exception of FOP, it was very little time on my phone. We would tap in for a FP, I would immediately look for another one, and would usually find and choose one in 1-2 minutes, during which we were moving through the queue. I sat maybe two times the entire trip looking for FPs when I was having trouble, and never for more than a few minutes each time. The 90 minutes were immediately after I got off FOP, which was the most amazing ride I had been on in my life, and a lot of that was while we were waiting for the bus and then on the bus back to the hotel. During that time, I saw every other AK FP come up, dozens of times, so it would have been much less than 90 minutes for any other FP. I can see why some people wouldn't want to do this at all, but it worked great for us.

 

[epcotobsessed]

And yes, I think it's because you "catch" the time when people cancel FPs or when Disney adds more (the latter is just what I've heard - I don't know if it's true).

 

[SaintsManiac]

Seems way too much time on your phone --- I think my family would find it annoying I am spending so much time refreshing instead of enjoying our surroundings. Maybe on a solo or adult-only trip or something where rides are more frequent and more important.

Why does this strategy work? Are you basically catching the right timing of people who cancel/change their FPs throughout the day?

I refresh when waiting in line or when we are taking turns riding things my daughter won't.

Things change all the time. FP is the most fluid thing at Disney. You don't have to be on your phone the entire time to take advantage.

 

[awilliams4]

Thanks for posting your experience. What crowd calendar were you using?

 

[AngiTN]

How many people in your party? We’re a party of 2 going next week and are so excited to test refresh strategy!

We are a part of 2, here right now, can get anything. But that's the norm honestly. 2 never struggle

 

[AngiTN]

So you actually sat there and refreshed up to 90 minutes? That's some serious dedication and you must have a very patient family, I think mine would be complaining about me being on my phone all day.

You vastly misunderstand the amount of time it takes to refresh. I'm never on my phone all day and the times I'm on my phone are when I'm walking from place to place it waiting in a line.

Does this work if a ride goes down not due to rain?

Yes. But harder to predict of course.

 

[AngiTN]

the (un)reliability of the crowd calendar. Perhaps it was because it was a holiday week, and/or because TSL opened while we were there, but the crowd calendars I used in my planning turned out to be almost entirely inaccurate. .

The main reason for the total breakdown in crowd prediction is the total breakdown by Disney to set hours in advance. They will change. They have gotten to where they adjust the opening and closing times as late as a week out from your travel dates (and sometimes even closer). For that reason people done make set plans we'll in advance. And it also allows people to adjust FP because when they add hours they also add FP.

The whole park hours mess is a main reason Josh (easywdw) quit doing crowd calendars.