Trial Club Level Fastpass+ Purchase Program Planning & Discussion

[prgal0715]

Hi all - I'm making my CL FP+ purchase this Saturday and want to make sure I have my facts straight! If I do the extra FP's for Epcot in the morning and my "regular" FP+ for MK in the evening, can my nighttime spectacular choice be HEA? Or does it have to be Illuminations since the purchased FP's are in that park? TIA! (And sorry if that's a confusing question!)

 

[ADS2508]

Hi all - I'm making my CL FP+ purchase this Saturday and want to make sure I have my facts straight! If I do the extra FP's for Epcot in the morning and my "regular" FP+ for MK in the evening, can my nighttime spectacular choice be HEA? Or does it have to be Illuminations since the purchased FP's are in that park? TIA! (And sorry if that's a confusing question!)

The night time show is not tied to the park your FPs are in. So, yes you can choose HEA.

 

[prgal0715]

The night time show is not tied to the park your FPs are in. So, yes you can choose HEA.

Great - thank you! That's what I thought; just wanted to be extra certain.

 

[travelgirl77]

Hi all - I'm making my CL FP+ purchase this Saturday and want to make sure I have my facts straight! If I do the extra FP's for Epcot in the morning and my "regular" FP+ for MK in the evening, can my nighttime spectacular choice be HEA? Or does it have to be Illuminations since the purchased FP's are in that park? TIA! (And sorry if that's a confusing question!)

I just wanted to echo the sentiment above. I made FPs one day in MK and AK with Fantasmic as the nighttime show. So, it absolutely can be done! Have fun!

 

[hiroMYhero]

Hi all - I'm making my CL FP+ purchase this Saturday and want to make sure I have my facts straight! If I do the extra FP's for Epcot in the morning and my "regular" FP+ for MK in the evening, can my nighttime spectacular choice be HEA? Or does it have to be Illuminations since the purchased FP's are in that park? TIA! (And sorry if that's a confusing question!)

If you switch and do your regular FPs for Epcot, as soon as you use all 3, you can book your 4th regular FP for Epcot or MK.

Park hopping tips, as reported by @Chef Louis, apply to your regular FPs. If you don’t need all 3 for Epcot, you can book the number you need and then book the remaining for MK in addition to your Extra CL FPs.

See the Park Hopping FP tips in the FP FAQ ADDENDUM Sticky.

 

[mmtwinmama]

Successful day yesterday. We rope dropped HS and closed up Epcot.

• FP+ TOT 9:10am
• FP+ Toy Story 10:10
• FP+ Star Tours 11:10
• Pulled FP for Living with land 12:40-stand by was 90 minutes when we got there
• Pulled FP for FEA at 7:20- already had one for later on my extras, only reason I grabbed it.
• Extra FP Soarin 2:00
• Extra FP Test Track 3:00
• Extra FP FEA 5:00- After riding the other FP+ FEA was still active on my MDE
• Pulled FP for Test Track 7:20 and dropped FEA
• Watched Illumatinons from Germany, got there about 20 minutes before 9. Once it started there were about 20 people there, one bench and 2 cocktail tables. Zero wind view was good.

View attachment 313838
The view from railing before the show.
View attachment 313839
This is the area about 15 minutes after illuminations.

Tomorrow is Animal Kingdom and we do have FOP twice, I feel confident that there will be no issues.

Awesome!! Thanks for letting us know. We leave in 10 days and I’ve been worried about my Soarin and FOP doubles. I feel much better now. Have a great time!

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Anyone know if there’s a thread out there with the facts on how the program works, costs, etc just summarized in the first post? Would be really useful.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Anyone know if there’s a thread out there with the facts on how the program works, costs, etc just summarized in the first post? Would be really useful.

@GADisneyDad14 has a complete synopsis post in the FP FAQ Addendum Sticky...I’ve been checking and Editing it and some of his other threads on TSM...he’s off this week.

At the time CL FPs were announced, everything was in the CL Resort thread, a TPAS contentious thread, and this Logistics thread.

 

[hiroMYhero]

Here’s the post from the FP FAQ ADDENDUM:

Club Level Extra FP & Reserved Viewing Area Trial Program Summary
Credit to: @GADisneyDad14

Basic Overview

• $50 per person, per day, plus tax - 3 day minimum

• Available 3/13/2018 and beyond

• Includes three “Extra FPs” per day (in addition to your three ‘regular’ FPs)

• Includes one reserved viewing area selection per night; choices are MK/HEA, Epcot/Illuminations, HS/Fantasmic!, AK/ROL

• Extra FPs, regular FPs and nighttime viewing selections are bookable 90 days from your check-out date (yes, your check-out date, not check-in date)

• The minimum three days do not need to be consecutive

• Not everyone in your party must purchase this program, you can choose the individuals

• The program requires a minimum two or three night CL or other eligible room category reservation (note: more info is needed to confirm if it’s really a two or three night minimum resort stay)

• You are charged at the time of booking

• There is currently no announced end date to this trial program, but like any Disney trial it could end at any time

Booking Info for the Extra FPs & Nighttime Viewing

• Bookable 90 days from your check-out date

• Booked via phone with Disney SignatureServices (DSS)

• You select the Extra FPs and nighttime viewing choices at the time of booking

• The three Extra FPs and nighttime viewing selection can be modified via DSS later via phone, including the day of via phone (they give you an after-hours line to call as well since DSS closes at 5pm)

• You cannot modify the three Extra FPs or nighttime viewing selections yourself in MDX, this can only be done by calling DSS

• The three Extra FPs can be in any tier and any park

How this Works with the “Regular” Three FPs

• Your regular three FPs can ALSO be booked via DSS at the 90-day before check-out mark (it’s not required, but is available at your discretion)

• Once booked, you can immediately modify your three regular FPs yourself in MDX (but the three Extra FPs cannot be modified without calling DSS)

• You can modify your three regular FPs to repeat a ride you have booked via an Extra FP

• You cannot modify a regular FP to overlap a time window where you have an Extra FP booked

Reserved Nighttime Viewing Locations

• MK/HEA - Plaza Garden West (this is the fake grass/garden area in front of Casey's, the opposite garden from where they do the Plaza Garden dessert party)

• Epcot/Illuminations - Germany, on the water near the glass blowing cart

• HS/Fantasmic! - Near the dessert & VIP viewing experience area

• AK/ROL - Enter via the FP area, close to the water in that general FP area

Cancellation Info / Reservation Changes

• There is a 2 day cancellation period

• If you book this and then cancel a CL (or otherwise eligible) reservation after booking or modify it to a non-eligible room, the package will be cancelled and you'll receive a refund

Trial Program Caveat

• The DSS CMs I’ve spoken too stressed this is a trial program

• This is a pretty nuanced offering with a lot of manual entry required by DSS CMs and involves the dark underbelly of MDX

• With something so nuanced and involving many different departments, I suspect details will continue to be fluid as we go along, so all of the above is subject to change

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Here’s the post from the FP FAQ ADDENDUM:

Thank you!!!!

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Here’s the post from the FP FAQ ADDENDUM:

Just to confirm, is this stilll known to be the case with the REGULAR FPs as well, bookable at 90 days? I thought those we had to go back in and do ourselves at 60 days.

“Extra FPs, regular FPs and nighttime viewing selections are bookable 90 days from your check-out date”​

 

[JJ2017]

Just to confirm, is this stilll known to be the case with the REGULAR FPs as well, bookable at 90 days? I thought those we had to go back in and do ourselves at 60 days.

“Extra FPs, regular FPs and nighttime viewing selections are bookable 90 days from your check-out date”​

I talked to DSS yesterday and they told me they will book the regular FPs at the 90 days as well (on the days you purchase the extra FPs)

 

[hiroMYhero]

Just to confirm, is this stilll known to be the case with the REGULAR FPs as well, bookable at 90 days? I thought those we had to go back in and do ourselves at 60 days.

“Extra FPs, regular FPs and nighttime viewing selections are bookable 90 days from your check-out date”​

90 for the regular FPs and then Modify if needed. Some CL Guests have reported the DSS CM will book regular FPs for the “non-Extra” park days...but those have been rare Reports.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I talked to DSS yesterday and they told me they will book the regular FPs at the 90 days as well (on the days you purchase the extra FPs)

90 for the regular FPs and then Modify if needed. Some CL Guests have reported the DSS CM will book regular FPs for the “non-Extra” park days...but those have been rare Reports.

Thank you both so much!!

So the regular FPs are bookable through DSS at 90 days... I assume ONLY through DSS and not online via MDE ourselves, but that we can modify the regular ones on MDE starting at 60 days from check-in??

 

[hiroMYhero]

Thank you both so much!!

So the regular FPs are bookable through DSS at 90 days... I assume ONLY through DSS and not online via MDE ourselves, but that we can modify the regular ones on MDE starting at 60 days from check-in??

Carolyn, you can Modify those regular FPs as soon as you hang up the phone! This is a major perk and you can double up your highest priority rides.

 

[prgal0715]

Thank you both so much!!

So the regular FPs are bookable through DSS at 90 days... I assume ONLY through DSS and not online via MDE ourselves, but that we can modify the regular ones on MDE starting at 60 days from check-in??

If I'm understanding your question correctly, yes, you can immediately modify the three "regular" FP's via MDX once booked by DSS.

 

[prgal0715]

Carolyn, you can Modify those regular FPs as soon as you hang up the phone! This is a major perk and you can double up your highest priority rides.

I cannot wait to get my booking done Saturday morning!!!

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Carolyn, you can Modify those regular FPs as soon as you hang up the phone! This is a major perk and you can double up your highest priority rides.

If I'm understanding your question correctly, yes, you can immediately modify the three "regular" FP's via MDX once booked by DSS.

Wow — awesome — thanks!!

You can see how skeptical I am of something good!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Hi -- cross posting over her at the suggestion of GADisneyDad14 to ask about Swan and Dolphin. Has anyone been able to identify a list of which rooms at swan and dolphin qualify for this benefit? There seem to be an awful lot of room categories at those two resorts.

Just back from the Dolphin paired with the new FP. Here's the gist:

Overall, we loved the new program! On prior trips we've stayed CL, so I can compare the two pretty well. We stayed in a suite and ate at the Fresh Mediterranean Restaurant buffet, plus a few stops into Picabu.

The extra fastpasses were super helpful over Easter week! We also enjoyed the HEA seating more than we thought. Maybe it will get more crowded over time, but we mostly had the seating area to ourselves. Partly I think it wasn't crowded because the program is new, and partly I think folks just didn't last that late. (MK opened at 8am.) In our case, our first FP started at 8am, and our last FP ended about 3:15pm each day. That = pretty solid stretch!

In our case, we booked 2 days of the new program at MK, and one at AK. By my estimate, MK has the most FP attractions.

It also happened that all three days, one FP attraction went down for a very short time during our FP window, which worked in our favor. If a FP attraction goes down during your FP window, it is automatically replaced by an anytime FP for almost any attraction in MK (except 7D).

Ideally, I think that's how the new FP program should be structured: you get 5 pre-picked FP, and one anytime/any attraction FP! One day, we were able to use the extra FP to re-ride Space Mt, and the other it was just handy to have any anytime FP. With so many FP, your day is a bit locked down.

I should add, our arrival flight was delayed 3 hours. We were supposed to land by 6:30pm, but we didn't land until 9:30pm. That pretty much ruined our arrival evening. It was after 10pm when we finally got our dinner that night, which put our trip off to a rough start!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Still, the standby lines were pretty crazy! Multiple times we had a FP for an attraction when the posted standby wait was over 3hours. I'd never wait 3 hours for an attraction, and normally - when we see the parks are THAT crowded- we'd just take a break, then return later. Our FP kept us in the park longer. Ours were structured approximately one per hour from 8am until 3:15pm each day. If we hadn't had FP until 3:15pm though, we probably would have left the parks by 2pm each day, napped, then returned to take better advantage of the late night hours. We managed afternoon breaks, but left about 4pm and returned for 9pm fireworks. RE-entering MK at 8:30 gave us JUST enough time, because the park was SO crowded. It was a madhouse trying to get around the Main St./ MK hub area. Several CM's told us we couldn't walk to the area by Casey's: we had to insist that we had reserved seating to get past them. Even when we said we had reserved seating, some of the crowd control CM's didn't appear to know what we were ware talking about.

DO make sure you know approximately where the MK reserved seating for HEA is located- it is over by Casey's!

The buffet at Fresh was pretty good. It was actually somewhat similar to CL. You have a choice of continental/cold buffet, which is approx. = to most WDW CL offerings. Full/ hot buffet includes eggs to order, MICKEY waffles, MICKEY pancakes, 4 breakfast meats, hot potatoes, etc. I think full buffet was $26/adult+$16/kids. I think the cold buffet was $18/$8. Two mornings we arrived about 7am, and the place was empty. The third day - also Easter weekend- we arrived more like 10am, and the place was full. We would have dined at Garden Grove the last morning, but it had a wait. Fresh was full, but we were seated right away.

The Dolphin is very nice. The Dolphin has concierge staff, but we didn't really need to go to them for anything, so we didn't ever actually talk to them. Maybe they'd have given us additional information or a print out.

My other suggestion- We were overall quite happy that we didn't have any ADR's this trip. I could see maybe making a few, but the 6 FP already locked us into a pretty solid schedule most of the day. We were free to eat when we wanted and our meals were relatively quick! If you are pairing this service with ADR's, I suggest leaving a fat time buffer.

Happy to answer any questions!