super weird....tons of FP available during Spring Break

[hllb]

My Fastpass reservation day is this Tuesday. I'm going on Easter week--obviously predicted to be insanely crowded. However, my dining reservations were a breeze and I got some coveted reservations. Be Our Guest dinner, Ohana, 1900 Park Fare Easter Brunch, Chef Mickey's dinner and more with virtually no problem. That was next to impossible on the same week 3 years ago. I'm not sure what's up with spring break this year but I'm hopeful to have the same luck with fastpasses.

Apparently everyone came in January, which is very, very busy when it shouldn't have been...

 

[DaisyNY]

I also didn't experience any problem obtaining FP's for our March 11-17 trip...Most days are 9/10 days according to Touring Plans. I was also a bit worried because the additional Disney Spring Area Hotels were able to start booking on the same morning as I...Clear sailing...waiting now to see if they extend March hours...

 

[Haley R]

Apparently everyone came in January, which is very, very busy when it shouldn't have been...

I hope this isn’t the case for the end of February/first weekend in March. I had a tough time getting a FP for fop on day 60+3. And when I say tough I mean I was in at exactly 7 am and the earliest I could get was 5:40 pm and after I took it there was nothing left. We’ve always gone that first weekend in March and had no problems. Idk if that changed this year or what.

 

[Fern]

Spring break weeks are all over the place- I am in MA, and out break isn't until the week of April 14th.

For data, our trip is the first week of March, and I couldn't get FOP for the dates we're there.

 

[hibareli]

We check in the Sunday (25th) before Easter and check-out the Thursday (5th) after Easter. Today was our FP day and I logged on at 7am expecting to have not very many choices for FoP but there were a lot of times left! I got every FP that we wanted for the times and days we were hoping. Our AK day is Thursday the 29th. We also got last minute breakfast reservations for 'Ohana and an 8am reservation for Crystal Palace but we decided to drop that one since we decided to switch our days around. It's our first time going over Easter so we're preparing for insane crowds!

 

[AFwifelife]

I do really think that since the "secret" of the slow times came out, more people are making the decision to visit on those slow days. So now everything is reversed. We went during 4th of July two years ago. It wasn't dead but we were able to everything we wanted with not much waiting.

 

[MermaidMommy]

Josh tweeted a few days ago that there is a ton of FOP and Navi availability starting on February 4. I wonder if Disney has been tinkering with the FP/standby ratio again.

 

[anicholson75]

I also didn't experience any problem obtaining FP's for our March 11-17 trip...Most days are 9/10 days according to Touring Plans. I was also a bit worried because the additional Disney Spring Area Hotels were able to start booking on the same morning as I...Clear sailing...waiting now to see if they extend March hours...

Me too, we're there 3/10-16. There was only one FoP time during our whole trip, luckily I got it!

 

[hllb]

Josh tweeted a few days ago that there is a ton of FOP and Navi availability starting on February 4. I wonder if Disney has been tinkering with the FP/standby ratio again.

That is true. I saw a recent post here about that. They did a release of FPs again.

 

[WDWGeek1971]

But I had zero problem getting every single FP I wanted and there were loads of 7DMT and anything else I could have possibly needed, all throughout the days.

I think that maybe not as many people as we, the informed, even know you can book fast passes in advance. For example, I just booked a quick weekend trip for Feb 2-4, mind you, that is 9 days out, and I could book pretty much anything, so long as I wasn't picky about the time. Of course, Flights of Passage and Frozen had no availability, but it is just 9 days out!

 

[Donalyn]

Here is hoping that this pixie dust holds for the week after Easter! My window opens in 10 days.

The spring break thing is such a crap shoot. Around my neck of the woods, spring breaks start end of February and end mid-April. For some schools, they are the same week (or weeks) each year (as ours is), for a few they float to hit around Easter. This is done for flights out (lots of people want to escape the great white north by March).

Still thinking that the hours the weeks around Easter are very strange. Not sure why they have updated AK hours, but not any of the other parks. Very odd that AK would be the last park to close for many of those days.

 

[abja09]

I can book my fastpasses Sunday for our trip March 29 - April 6 so thanks for the good news! I hope to get as lucky with fp as I did with dining reservations.

 

[10CJ]

I also hope this holds for the week after. I book FPs in a few days. I do wish I would know if MK hours are going to be updated. I am assuming they are, but for now feel like I have to plan as if they are not.

 

[Jessirip]

Oh boy, thank you for sharing. Our FP day is Tuesday and I was confident for FOP at day 66 but now feel better that we will get a time that works. We also have had luck for ADRs Easter week.

Still, coffee in hand, computer on and app ready if website is wonky at 7am EST on the dot. I actually took the day off work to enjoy FP day. Priorities.

 

[ChristineOH]

I booked my FP this morning for five people for Monday, March 26 to Friday, March 30. I could book FoP on day 2 and 4 in the afternoon and later. (I didn't look day 3.) It wasn't until day 5 (Friday, 3/30) that I could find a morning FoP FP.

The earliest I could book 7DMT on day 3 was at 1:05. That is a Wednesday, and it's usually more crowded due to EMH that night. Looking now, I could get one on day 1, also in the afternoon.

I didn't look at FoP for our arrival day (Monday, 3/26) until later today... as an afterthought. There are 3 FP (and not 4!) available at 8:10 pm. That seems like a fluke where someone cancelled.

 

[ScrampShopper]

I was surprised at FP+ availability when I booked all of mine at 7AM 60 days on the dot, and had no trouble getting anything at the times I wanted. FoP was available for any time on all 4 days that I looked for. Then a week later, I added 2 people to my party, and got everything except FoP for anytime I wanted going from 4 to 6 people. I did find that I didn't have a lot of choices in resorts and rooms, but that just may be that I need 9 nights, spanning 2 weekends. Most surprising was that I booked a HEA dessert party earlier this week for March 14th, and had no trouble getting it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that spring break turns out to be more manageable than expected.

 

[TheSixOfUs]

I got all the ones I wanted for late March, but I was there right at 7:00 a.m. on the first day I was eligible.

 

[Jessirip]

Anyone booked for Easter Sunday yet? Just curious, that is our day 61.

 

[hibareli]

Anyone booked for Easter Sunday yet? Just curious, that is our day 61.

I booked for Easter Sunday a few days ago. We're going to Epcot that day! I just went and checked all the parks for that day and there is some good availability! Even FoP has morning, afternoon, and evening slots available. I could get a FP for pretty much any ride for any park for that day, as of this moment.

 

[Jessirip]

I booked for Easter Sunday a few days ago. We're going to Epcot that day! I just went and checked all the parks for that day and there is some good availability! Even FoP has morning, afternoon, and evening slots available. I could get a FP for pretty much any ride for any park for that day, as of this moment.

Wow! Thanks SO much for checking. Geez I hope this holds true for the week after Easter. Thanks again!