The New Elite Commandos

[ScrapYap]

But people have been discussing many strategies on these boards for years, and, for the most part, those strategies still work.

Or variations of them. And of course if their discussion isn't fair game here, then they really do stay secret.

 

[supamaki]

My husband asked me what I was doing one evening (because some of the posts make me laugh out loud) and I told him I was planning our Disney vacation. He said that I have been planning the vacation since summer of '17 (we are going in Spring of '18) and then says... "it's an amusement park, it can't be that serious." He'll thank me later.

I find that it's just as much a part of my vacation as being on vacation. The actual vacation goes by so quick that's before you know it, it's over. Planning and thinking about Disney gets me through the day.

 

[supamaki]

I would guess that the majority of people in the parks aren't moving up their 2nd and 3rd fastpass times once the previous one is used to allow them to complete their first 3 in less than 3 hours, which gets them to being able to book the 4th+ fastpass sooner which will ultimately get you more fastpasses per day than the average guest.

Can you explain how to do this?

 

[Mome Rath]

Can you explain how to do this?

What I think GillianP1301 is referring to is going to a park, and say your first FP is at 9:30am. Because of that, you can't have another FP scheduled until 10:30 because of the hour window that is blocked out when initially booking a FP. So, once you use your first FP at 9:30, that takes that window limitation out of there and you can then modify your existing FP's and search for an earlier time on MDX, so if there is a FP free at 9:45 you can now modify the time of your 2nd FP to 9:45, and then even move your 3rd FP up as well. Once you use your second at 9:45, then you can now move up the 3rd one even more if available. In turn that frees you to start booking your 4th FP, then use it, then book your 5th, etc...

As a side note, you can start searching for different FP times as soon as you "tap" in to the first FP tapstile at the ride, so it's possible to modify your other FP's while you are waiting to get on the first FP ride.

I hope that makes sense and someone corrects me if that wasn't what Gillian was referring to.

 

[Harambe]

LOL! I love your post! I am, unfortunately, someone who has decided to slow it down now that it is just DH and myself. We are even going with regular tickets, not park hoppers, since we can't uber-tour any more. But I am rooting for you if you think you can reclaim the Dis edge!

As far as the "secrets" that Dissers know, gosh, remember hanging the green key chain thingy off your backpack as a sign to other Dissers that you were one "in the know" too! I think it was green?? Any way, too many people walking through the parks with their heads down staring at their phones to see what ride they can do, ADR they can grab, etc., so I don't feel we have the edge any more. And I'm embracing that!

 

[Gussie Granger 1969]

So here's the thing,

Disney World has had a dramatic transformation in the last decade.
Not only have they provides us with so much more to experience but they have changed the way we engage in this experience.

This has made us Disney vets struggle to keep up with the times.

I'm an old school commando park tourer...ok the real old school may take umbrage with that. I started learning the ins and outs of the park about 15 years ago on a large multi-generational family trip.

I was 17. Had cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, grand parents and all of us showed up at the park with absolutely no plan.

The adults did, what I now consider so shameful, the thing where they got to the middle of the park, opened up their maps and asked the question: so what do we do now?

I quickly realized then that Disney is not the park to oh so casually engage with.

I took the younger broods and as the dashing call to action leader, some would say hero, that I was, I rallied us youngins and quickly learned about and mastered the paper fast pass system.

Some would say I saved that trip. That without my valiant efforts that trip would have been unsalvageable.

I don't know about that.
I just did what any person would have done in such a dire situation.

But I decided, after that fateful trip, that never again would I ever embark on a trip to the Kingdom so unprepared.

I then downloaded the first ever podcast that I listened to and discovered both the dis podcast and boards and became an uber plan for subsequent trips.

All this unnecessarily long preamble aside.....

Disney is now a new beast.
The old tricks are not nearly as useful.

My goal is to experience the parks with as little crowds and wait times as possible.

I accomplished this by :
1. Researching quietest time of the year and then pulling my kids out of school to visit then.
2. Researching crowd calendars to visit the quietest park each day of the week.
3. Arriving early before rope drop to beat the lazy people who have the audacity to attempt to relax and sleep in on their vacation.
4. Creating a good tour plan of the park to best efficiently ride each ride and in what order on each day.
5. Mastering Fast Pass.

This worked wonders and I was able to scoff all those mere peasants waiting in their long lines.
But I fear that I too may becoming that same lowly plebian .

Disney has managed to make much of those earlier tricks no longer nearly as useful as they once were.

1. They have managed to evenly disperse the crowds throughout the year that there very well may no longer be a quiet time of the year. They have done this with discounts, promotions, and ever increasingly longer events (how is the halloween party going on during my early sept trip?).
2. Crowd Calendars are becoming so unreliable that some experts have given up even offering them.
3. Arriving early is probably still the best trick but the rides are getting extended waits earlier and earlier in the day now.
4 and 5. A good touring plan is also still going to be effective but again not nearly as much as it once was. Since all the amateurs and their mothers seem to be tech savvy everyone seems to know how fast pass works and therefore all of the stand by times of attractions have increased significantly. It used to be easy. Get 3 fast passes for high demand rides, then in morning ride the other popular rides you dont have fast passes for, spend the afternoon and evening using those 3 fast passes and riding the less popular rides.
But the less popular rides now have hour waits at times when it used to have none! I'm looking at you Pirates and Small World.

So what are we to do?

Are we going to just accept this new normal where Disney allows for all of its park guests to have the same equal experience?

I've read many a thread now a days where people just say to take it easy. Be less commando and just enjoy your trip.

I have one thing to say to these people:

When was it that your will to live died?

When did you decide to just lay down and give up?

And shame on you!

Darnit WE ARE DISERS!
We are the elite Disney vacationers that will not settle for a trip that does not absolutely include Le Cellulier, Royal Table, and Fast Passes to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Frozen, and both Pandora attractions. And darnit I expect to have all of that on the same day! Otherwise yes my trip will be ruined!
I can rest and sleep when i'm dead darnit!

So I now implore you fellow Disers. What are the tricks of the trade of the new Elites to better tour the parks?

Got a good firework spot? I want to know it.
Got a good

I feel your pain OP. I voiced my exact same opinion about 5 years ago (not as entertaining as you) and got kicked off for being a troll (?).

So here's the thing,

Disney World has had a dramatic transformation in the last decade.
Not only have they provides us with so much more to experience but they have changed the way we engage in this experience.

This has made us Disney vets struggle to keep up with the times.

I'm an old school commando park tourer...ok the real old school may take umbrage with that. I started learning the ins and outs of the park about 15 years ago on a large multi-generational family trip.

I was 17. Had cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, grand parents and all of us showed up at the park with absolutely no plan.

The adults did, what I now consider so shameful, the thing where they got to the middle of the park, opened up their maps and asked the question: so what do we do now?

I quickly realized then that Disney is not the park to oh so casually engage with.

I took the younger broods and as the dashing call to action leader, some would say hero, that I was, I rallied us youngins and quickly learned about and mastered the paper fast pass system.

Some would say I saved that trip. That without my valiant efforts that trip would have been unsalvageable.

I don't know about that.
I just did what any person would have done in such a dire situation.

But I decided, after that fateful trip, that never again would I ever embark on a trip to the Kingdom so unprepared.

I then downloaded the first ever podcast that I listened to and discovered both the dis podcast and boards and became an uber plan for subsequent trips.

All this unnecessarily long preamble aside.....

Disney is now a new beast.
The old tricks are not nearly as useful.

My goal is to experience the parks with as little crowds and wait times as possible.

I accomplished this by :
1. Researching quietest time of the year and then pulling my kids out of school to visit then.
2. Researching crowd calendars to visit the quietest park each day of the week.
3. Arriving early before rope drop to beat the lazy people who have the audacity to attempt to relax and sleep in on their vacation.
4. Creating a good tour plan of the park to best efficiently ride each ride and in what order on each day.
5. Mastering Fast Pass.

This worked wonders and I was able to scoff all those mere peasants waiting in their long lines.
But I fear that I too may becoming that same lowly plebian .

Disney has managed to make much of those earlier tricks no longer nearly as useful as they once were.

1. They have managed to evenly disperse the crowds throughout the year that there very well may no longer be a quiet time of the year. They have done this with discounts, promotions, and ever increasingly longer events (how is the halloween party going on during my early sept trip?).
2. Crowd Calendars are becoming so unreliable that some experts have given up even offering them.
3. Arriving early is probably still the best trick but the rides are getting extended waits earlier and earlier in the day now.
4 and 5. A good touring plan is also still going to be effective but again not nearly as much as it once was. Since all the amateurs and their mothers seem to be tech savvy everyone seems to know how fast pass works and therefore all of the stand by times of attractions have increased significantly. It used to be easy. Get 3 fast passes for high demand rides, then in morning ride the other popular rides you dont have fast passes for, spend the afternoon and evening using those 3 fast passes and riding the less popular rides.
But the less popular rides now have hour waits at times when it used to have none! I'm looking at you Pirates and Small World.

So what are we to do?

Are we going to just accept this new normal where Disney allows for all of its park guests to have the same equal experience?

I've read many a thread now a days where people just say to take it easy. Be less commando and just enjoy your trip.

I have one thing to say to these people:

When was it that your will to live died?

When did you decide to just lay down and give up?

And shame on you!

Darnit WE ARE DISERS!
We are the elite Disney vacationers that will not settle for a trip that does not absolutely include Le Cellulier, Royal Table, and Fast Passes to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Frozen, and both Pandora attractions. And darnit I expect to have all of that on the same day! Otherwise yes my trip will be ruined!
I can rest and sleep when i'm dead darnit!

So I now implore you fellow Disers. What are the tricks of the trade of the new Elites to better tour the parks?

Got a good firework spot? I want to know it.
Got a good touring plan. Stop being greedy. Share this.
Is there a quiet time?

Whatever you got lets start sharing and claim the parks as our own once again.

I enjoyed reading this and feel your pain OP. I too voiced my opinion and had the same complaints about 5 years ago and was kicked off for being a “troll”. I came out of hiding just to comment! I legitimately felt frustrated after learning these “secrets “ only to find they didn’t work anymore and that was 5 years ago! To say barely anyone reads the DIS or Easywdw or wdwprep school, you are naive to think no one goes on these sites. Trust me, for every person who does, they are telling their friends and families the tricks of the trade as well. Heck, I’ve seen Disney themselves recommend rope drop and best way to use fast passes. Rope drop is more crowded each time we visit and good Fastpasses are harder to come by.

I can’t say I have any new tricks that haven’t been mention a thousand times on this board but I do read a lot to keep up with all the changes and events.

I love your honesty OP but I wonder, why was I kicked off when I simply stated the exact same thing?

 

[Louie7080]

Incorrect.
I am absolutely complaining.
Complaining about all these darn tourists who have the audacity to attempt to share the same space and breathing air as as my family.
Is it too much to ask that all others kindly step to the side and allow my family front of the line access at all times?
*sigh*
I fear this will not be the case so i will continue scouring these boards for every little trick i can find.

Funny! Your joking aside, I was thinking shortly after I wrote that, that there isn't anything really bad about complaining how Disney runs their business. Consumers do have legitimate reasons to complain. Maybe others disagree with the complaint, but trying to put down someone else's perspective isn't all that helpful to the discussion.

 

[lvdis]

In addition to the FP+ strategies mentioned above, park hop!!! A typical day for us puts us arriving at Park A approx 30 minutes before rope drop. We'll ride everything we can standby (no shows, rides only) for about 2 hours. Then we hop to Park B where we have our FP+ reservations starting late morning. While in Park B I'll keep trying to more the FP+ earlier and earlier and then get 4th, 5th, 6th, etc. Once we decide we're done getting FP+ in that park we'll talk about what park we want to finish out the day at (usually based on crowd levels or the best FP+ still available). I'll book FP+ and then we'll hop to Park C for the remainder of the day. We usually hop to Park C late afternoon/early evening.

The reason we hop so much is that we LOVE the rides and keep riding them over and over.

I'm just curious, do you drive to the parks or take Disney transportation? Planning my park hopping strategies for our next trip!

 

[Greenfield1984]

What I think GillianP1301 is referring to is going to a park, and say your first FP is at 9:30am. Because of that, you can't have another FP scheduled until 10:30 because of the hour window that is blocked out when initially booking a FP. So, once you use your first FP at 9:30, that takes that window limitation out of there and you can then modify your existing FP's and search for an earlier time on MDX, so if there is a FP free at 9:45 you can now modify the time of your 2nd FP to 9:45, and then even move your 3rd FP up as well. Once you use your second at 9:45, then you can now move up the 3rd one even more if available. In turn that frees you to start booking your 4th FP, then use it, then book your 5th, etc...

As a side note, you can start searching for different FP times as soon as you "tap" in to the first FP tapstile at the ride, so it's possible to modify your other FP's while you are waiting to get on the first FP ride.

I hope that makes sense and someone corrects me if that wasn't what Gillian was referring to.

Exactly right. These are the tricks that can give us the edge and get to our 4th, 5th, 6th fast passes and beyond!

Outside of fast passes now.

Ive also noticed that food at Disney (and really everywhere) has been increasing at a rate far surpassing regular inflation.

To counter this i have my own strategy for reducing food costs.

First is staying offsite where you rent a condo or house for way less then staying onsite and itll be way bigger accomodations and has full food prep setup.

So i. Often prepare one meal of the day and snacks and bring them into the parks.

Ill also only order 3 adult meals in park and share it amongst us 5.

Disney portions are huge. And with the snacks during the day having 2 or 3 adult size meals is enough for the wife and i and 3 kids.

 

[mousefan73]

my tip but I realize not everyone can this


plan longer WDW trips. we usually do at least 7 park days with hoppers. also we have the luxury of doing this for the past 5 years. we take it slow. get all our FPs. last year we did FOP 4x with FP. we spread things out and sometjmes only spend a few hours in a park riding non headliners. just being there is fun. one year we just sat on the Train for 1 hour and went in a circle. was fun and relaxing

 

[Davey Jones II]

Yeah, we usually spend about ten days at WDW. That certainly helps fit (almost) everything in, and you feel less rushed. I guess we could do everything, but we also want to do our faves multiple times.

 

[Harambe]

Yeah, we usually spend about ten days at WDW. That certainly helps fit (almost) everything in, and you feel less rushed. I guess we could do everything, but we also want to do our faves multiple times.

Funny, we have decided that 10 days is now too much time at WDW. We always did the 10 day trips, since those last few days of tickets were only a few dollars more (comparing a 7 day ticket to a 10 day ticket). But now that we don't have the little ones any more, we found that we could do more without a desire to repeat days. So next trip is 8days/7nights. And that is with one non-park day built in.

 

[BandtheBoys]

LOVE your post!! We are commandos. We've gone 6 times over the last 10 years (and will be going in Sept.) and have consulted the disboards every trip as well as touring plan sites, crowd calendars, restaurant sites etc. and still plan to employ all the "old" tricks i.e. rope drop, avoiding parks on extra magic days and Halloween parties, as well as employing "new" tricks like maxing out FP once we've used the first ones - guess we evolve with the new things Disney throws at us (luckily we go during the "slow" time first few weeks of Sept.)......going to try a new thing this year - a four park challenge day. Our challenge is to get a snack, pressed penny, one ride and one photo at each of the parks in one day, now that's commando!! No time to dawdle or smell the roses, gotta hop people!!

 

[Greenfield1984]

my tip but I realize not everyone can this


plan longer WDW trips. we usually do at least 7 park days with hoppers. also we have the luxury of doing this for the past 5 years. we take it slow. get all our FPs. last year we did FOP 4x with FP. we spread things out and sometjmes only spend a few hours in a park riding non headliners. just being there is fun. one year we just sat on the Train for 1 hour and went in a circle. was fun and relaxing

Excelent tip. I had just given the same advice on another thread as well.

Extending your stay can make a huge difference. The extra days at the parks means you can spread all of the attractions over more days and therefore utilize more fast passes.

If it seems too expensive then i'd suggest staying offsite and driving down to save on airfare. Then you have your vehicle so you don't have to worry about renting a car either.

 

[Feralpeg]

My first trip to Disneyland, in 1976, I was greeted at the gate by The Big Bad Wolf. He was just walking around. No handler. No line. It was great!

By the time I had a daughter who was old enough to visit Walt Disney Worlds (1993), things had changed somewhat. We'd still see Mickey and Minnie just walking around. They'd have a handler, but my daughter could walk up to them, hold out her autograph book and get a hug. I can't tell you the last time I saw a character just walking around a park. Now, I see character spots with long lines of people waiting to meet and greet. No spontaneity there.

I did, what I thought was a lot, of planning for our Disney trips. I planned which parks we'd visit each day. How we'd make our way around each park. Where we'd eat (no ADRs were necessary). We'd wait in lines, but not for a long period of time. I think the longest was always Peter Pan, and even that, was less that an hour wait. Things have changed a lot.

We moved to the Orlando area in 2004. At that time, we'd often pop over to a park unexpectedly to ride a few rides or get a meal. I could run to Downtown Disney and always find parking directly in front of World of Disney (this was harder at night during the Christmas season). I could run into a store or hit the Earl of Sandwich and be out in no time. It was great.

Now, even though I live five minutes from Disney property, I don't go all that often. You just can do anything without a lot of advance planning. Since I'm local, I don't know what I am going to be doing 180 days out. It has become almost impossible to make a spontaneous trip to a park and expect to get into a sit down restaurant or get a fastpass to a popular ride. Now, most of my trips involve just strolling around. I will hit a ride if the line isn't too incredibly long, but the only ride I seem to ride on a consistent basis is People Mover.

I can say that there really are no down times anymore. The crowds always seem heavy. The week after the last hurricane wasn't bad! lol. I really miss the Disney World that was when I first moved to the area.

 

[Davey Jones II]

Funny, we have decided that 10 days is now too much time at WDW. We always did the 10 day trips, since those last few days of tickets were only a few dollars more (comparing a 7 day ticket to a 10 day ticket). But now that we don't have the little ones any more, we found that we could do more without a desire to repeat days. So next trip is 8days/7nights. And that is with one non-park day built in.

How often do you visit? Our Orlando trips are usually once every two years, and there's always something new in the parks.

 

[Greenfield1984]

How often do you visit? Our Orlando trips are usually once every two years, and there's always something new in the parks.

I think the key there is no little ones now.
With the little ones we want to make sure they see everything.

But once they are on their own my touring will definitely change. Be way more leisurely

 

[MisterPat]

Zig when everyone else zags.

We RD lesser rides and book morning FP+ for headliners at MK. I recommend something like this:

RD Peter Pan (I know - not a lesser ride per wait time, but not as much of a RD ride as 7DMT or Space)
iasw
BTMRR (as soon as that area opens at 9:00...essentially a second rope drop)
SPLASH (weather permitting...we visit a lot in July)
JC (wait times usually dictate that you bypass POTC to ride JC first)
POTC
FP+ HM (9:45-10:45)
FP+ 7DMT (10:45-11:45)
FP+ SPACE (11:45-12:45)

By noon, you have accomplished a lot, so continue to add some FP+ as available, such as:
Add FP+ for SPEEDWAY
Add FP+ for BUZZ
Add FP+ for POOH

Of course you make these based on earliest available, as you can only book one at a time.

This allows you to spend your afternoon and evening hours playing the wait time game with attractions and avoiding any waits longer than 30 minutes.

One other tidbit that is assumed in my planning above, and it's often overlooked: Don't leave any outdoor attractions until after 2:00 if you travel in summer. There's nothing more disappointing than having a storm close down the few rides you still want to experience. Indoor "minor" experiences (COP, MP, ETR, CBJ, TTA, HOP) are great for those stormy times.

Save things like Under the Sea, Barnstormer, Dumbo, and Laugh Floor (Jungle Cruise if you passed it up in the morning) for late at night, as they will be walk ons, especially if there has been a storm and families with the littlest ones will have left by then.

 

[Mome Rath]

Perhaps starting to use mobile ordering would fall into the new Commando schema...

 

[Greenfield1984]

Zig when everyone else zags.

We RD lesser rides and book morning FP+ for headliners at MK. I recommend something like this:

RD Peter Pan (I know - not a lesser ride per wait time, but not as much of a RD ride as 7DMT or Space)
iasw
BTMRR (as soon as that area opens at 9:00...essentially a second rope drop)
SPLASH (weather permitting...we visit a lot in July)
JC (wait times usually dictate that you bypass POTC to ride JC first)
POTC
FP+ HM (9:45-10:45)
FP+ 7DMT (10:45-11:45)
FP+ SPACE (11:45-12:45)

By noon, you have accomplished a lot, so continue to add some FP+ as available, such as:
Add FP+ for SPEEDWAY
Add FP+ for BUZZ
Add FP+ for POOH

Of course you make these based on earliest available, as you can only book one at a time.

This allows you to spend your afternoon and evening hours playing the wait time game with attractions and avoiding any waits longer than 30 minutes.

One other tidbit that is assumed in my planning above, and it's often overlooked: Don't leave any outdoor attractions until after 2:00 if you travel in summer. There's nothing more disappointing than having a storm close down the few rides you still want to experience. Indoor "minor" experiences (COP, MP, ETR, CBJ, TTA, HOP) are great for those stormy times.

Save things like Under the Sea, Barnstormer, Dumbo, and Laugh Floor (Jungle Cruise if you passed it up in the morning) for late at night, as they will be walk ons, especially if there has been a storm and families with the littlest ones will have left by then.

Good info here. Especially for my first sept trip it would be wise to get all those outdoor rides before the typical afternoon shower.

As for zip when others zag im switching up my mk tour plan this time. Usually i bang out fantasyland first. This time doing tomorrowland first.

Likewise in ak im going to skip pandora in morning and hit the safari and continue clockwise with the crowds nipping at my back.

Perhaps starting to use mobile ordering would fall into the new Commando schema...

Yes absolutely. Good call. No more food lines for us. They havnt added that for snacks have they?