YIKES. It’s (3/12) So busy! Planning and FP are so important.

[davish562]

It took about half an hour or so but I was also getting some stuff done at the office so there were a couple breaks in there.

Awesome! I'm heading down today on flight, will be a good time to keep refreshing!

 

[michelepa]

And before I go home, a quick look at HS...sorry no SDD right now but these would be ok.

View attachment 387978 View attachment 387979

JETSDAD do you have an iPhone or Android some have said Android works better with refresh.

 

[Klayfish]

That happened to us a lot when we were in the parks last week. Sometimes, the incorrect "no availability" message would be replaced by available FP after a few tries, and other times we'd have to go to a kiosk in order to get additional FP (by the way, refresh works on the kiosks, too!)

Regardless, if you're getting that message long before closing time, don't give up!

The kiosks have no better or worse success rate than using your phone. So unless you don't have a phone or don't want to use it, there's nothing special about going to the kiosk...in fact it's pretty inefficient.

I do want to take a second to point out that, as my friend @PrincessWithABlaster likes to correctly remind me of from time to time, not everyone has the same success with refreshing as others. It should just be one tool in your bag of tricks.

Yes, refreshing can be a YMMV thing. However, I'm with JETSDAD that I almost never have issues getting just about anything I want using refresh, even during the busiest week of the year.

 

[michelepa]

That happened to us a lot when we were in the parks last week. Sometimes, the incorrect "no availability" message would be replaced by available FP after a few tries, and other times we'd have to go to a kiosk in order to get additional FP (by the way, refresh works on the kiosks, too!)

Regardless, if you're getting that message long before closing time, don't give up!

The kiosks have no better or worse success rate than using your phone. So unless you don't have a phone or don't want to use it, there's nothing special about going to the kiosk...in fact it's pretty inefficient.

I think what Kevin was saying is if MDE on your phone is on the fritz(what a surprise there!) then don’t forget the kiosks are an option to try and secure a Fastpass and the kiosk even allows you to refresh. That’s good info Kevin since I’ve read there have been such problems over the past couple months. I too have been having problems with the MDE app it freezes often or it just shuts down so I’ve been goung thru desktop version to get into Disney site on my phone.

 

[JETSDAD]

JETSDAD do you have an iPhone or Android some have said Android works better with refresh.

I use Android. I don't think that either works better in the sense of one getting better results but I do like that with Android you don't have to switch between different times. I know we're talking the difference of maybe one second for each refresh but I can just keep my finger in one spot on my phone and get a few extra refreshes per minute. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy one or the other for this purpose alone (ok, I probably would, but I use Android anyways lol).

 

[michelepa]

I use Android. I don't think that either works better in the sense of one getting better results but I do like that with Android you don't have to switch between different times. I know we're talking the difference of maybe one second for each refresh but I can just keep my finger in one spot on my phone and get a few extra refreshes per minute. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy one or the other for this purpose alone (ok, I probably would, but I use Android anyways lol).

I'm crazy but not that crazy. Well maybe I am but with this years park schedule I won't really need refresh but I do want to try using the technique just to see. So yeah I guess I am crazy.

 

[Tink_83]

I use Android. I don't think that either works better in the sense of one getting better results but I do like that with Android you don't have to switch between different times. I know we're talking the difference of maybe one second for each refresh but I can just keep my finger in one spot on my phone and get a few extra refreshes per minute. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy one or the other for this purpose alone (ok, I probably would, but I use Android anyways lol).

It would be interesting to see if someone has tried it on both platforms and done an actual test. Everyone in my group are iPhone users and buying an android phone just for use at Disney seems a little extreme... but I am going over Memorial Day weekend

 

[Klayfish]

It would be interesting to see if someone has tried it on both platforms and done an actual test. Everyone in my group are iPhone users and buying an android phone just for use at Disney seems a little extreme... but I am going over Memorial Day weekend

Never done an experiment, as I'm an anti-Apple person so only have Androids. In fact, I'm also not into high tech phones, so my Android is one of those $25 specials I got from Cricket Wireless. So it's as cheap of a smart phone as you're going to get. It works great for me. I agree with JETSDADs point in that with the Android you can just keep your finger over one spot and tap. It really helps make it a totally "mindless" activity, so I don't have to stare non-stop at my screen. I can just tap and glance when I'm trying to move an existing FP+ time (or sometimes getting a new one).

 

[k_hase]

I teach in one district, my son goes to school in another. In the district I teach in, our kids are out on May 24th. I finish on May 29th. My son finishes the week after me on May 31st. Those teachers don't finish I believe till June 6th! It's that time I'm year I'm thankful to be teaching in the district I'm in. My son and I will be coming home from Disney on the day those teachers are finished with their post planning! We'll be there on the 2nd.

Then this will blow your head off: My last day this year is June 29. Kids are done on June 27. Graduation ceremonies are on June 30 and July 1. State exams are from June 15 onward. Teachers return in mid-August, kid return is rolling in our district (we have some schools that do more days for a variety of reasons).

 

[Tink_83]

Never done an experiment, as I'm an anti-Apple person so only have Androids. In fact, I'm also not into high tech phones, so my Android is one of those $25 specials I got from Cricket Wireless. So it's as cheap of a smart phone as you're going to get. It works great for me. I agree with JETSDADs point in that with the Android you can just keep your finger over one spot and tap. It really helps make it a totally "mindless" activity, so I don't have to stare non-stop at my screen. I can just tap and glance when I'm trying to move an existing FP+ time (or sometimes getting a new one).

So I’m thinking of taking my husbands old android phone (we just upgraded and I got him to join the dark side with me) anyway - take his phone and strip the phone of unnecessary apps and use WiFi / mobile hot spot with my current phone... at a minimum I could then run the experiment on which platform is better for the MDE app for myself. Since this plan costs me nothing it may be worth the shot...

 

[juuuliebeth]

I'll be at WDW in about two weeks time, and I have to admit, I'm a little nervous. We chose that week because my friend works at a dentist office and it's the time she had off. It will be the two of us, her mother in law, and her 4.5 year old daughter. I have FPs for all the big attractions, plus CRT, BOG, and 'Ohana reservations. (Luckily I'm a planner and my friend is open to anything and hates planning.) Then two DAH events for me and my friend to get things done we can't do with a four year old. I think we'll be fine, but I'm preparing myself mentally for the worst. If I was solo, I wouldn't be worried, but I'm determined for my party to have a good time, and they aren't as seasoned as I am.

I have to say, mindset is half of it. Managing my expectations is key for me to enjoy anything. MK After Hours doesn't seem to be quite what I thought when I purchased the ticket. I've been monitoring that thread for the past few months. But going in knowing that the crowds are larger than they used to be will allow me to just hang back and enjoy it for what it's worth. Nothing at WDW will ever be perfect. But with the right state of mind, I'm still able to enjoy myself 90% of the time. This is why I keep reminding my friend about crowds. I think I'm starting to annoy her, but I'm hoping to build it up to a point where when we get there, it doesn't seem so bad.

 

[scuba]

This is a very interesting thread and I have been lurking to some degree and is accurately describes our one day visit to MK on Monday 3/11. The set up story is we just finished our 3 day cruise on the Disney Dream and had planned a day stay in Orlando to assure us a smooth next day flyout back to Ohio so we had some time to blow. We decided to drive to Orlando and meet our Orlando family at the MK. We spent $122.00 pp and logged on to the App once our tickets were purchased and found a handful of fast passes that included Mansion, Pirates and Small World and we stood by for the mine ride which ended up to be about 2.5 hours. All in all it was a productive day, we had fun but will never return during spring break, we sorta knew perhaps what we were getting ourselves into but it is sad that a family cannot simply decide to go to MK one day. I would expect that in the 21st century the imaginers could come up with a process that could facilitate all who desire to ride the most popular rides without waiting 2.5 hours unless that is the absolute lowest wait a person can expect with the numbers of visitors allowed.

The discussion I had with our Orlando living family suggested Disney has become less interested in the in-state season ticket holders because they are unable to obtain FP and cannot compete with families staying at the resorts....I don't live there so cannot comment one way or the other but they were bound to the same FP process we were as one day visitors.

 

[Hummingbird]

This is a very interesting thread and I have been lurking to some degree and is accurately describes our one day visit to MK on Monday 3/11. The set up story is we just finished our 3 day cruise on the Disney Dream and had planned a day stay in Orlando to assure us a smooth next day flyout back to Ohio so we had some time to blow. We decided to drive to Orlando and meet our Orlando family at the MK. We spent $122.00 pp and logged on to the App once our tickets were purchased and found a handful of fast passes that included Mansion, Pirates and Small World and we stood by for the mine ride which ended up to be about 2.5 hours. All in all it was a productive day, we had fun but will never return during spring break, we sorta knew perhaps what we were getting ourselves into but it is sad that a family cannot simply decide to go to MK one day. I would expect that in the 21st century the imaginers could come up with a process that could facilitate all who desire to ride the most popular rides without waiting 2.5 hours unless that is the absolute lowest wait a person can expect with the numbers of visitors allowed.

The discussion I had with our Orlando living family suggested Disney has become less interested in the in-state season ticket holders because they are unable to obtain FP and cannot compete with families staying at the resorts....I don't live there so cannot comment one way or the other but they were bound to the same FP process we were as one day visitors.

This is honestly how I feel at this point and I probably won't be renewing my AP after having been an AP holder for about 9 years consecutively. I popped over Monday 3/11 to MK with my grandson (10 mos) and we rode 2 rides 6 hours. The days of deciding day of or even a couple of days out to take a day trip are long gone. It's actually really tarnished the Disney experience for me.
I am an uber planner myself. Up until last year I always took my family to WDW for 2 weeks over the July 4th holiday and then again for 2 weeks Xmas/New Years (stayed onsite) so Im use to doing alot of planning, but even I, the woman who has binders and spreadsheets saved from past trips, feel like the amount of planning nes. now is completely ridiculous. WDW trips border on having to do as much if not more planning than I've ever done for even international trips.

 

[scuba]

This is honestly how I feel at this point and I probably won't be renewing my AP after having been an AP holder for about 9 years consecutively. I popped over Monday 3/11 to MK with my grandson (10 mos) and we rode 2 rides 6 hours. The days of deciding day of or even a couple of days out to take a day trip are long gone. It's actually really tarnished the Disney experience for me.
I am an uber planner myself. Up until last year I always took my family to WDW for 2 weeks over the July 4th holiday and then again for 2 weeks Xmas/New Years (stayed onsite) so Im use to doing alot of planning, but even I, the woman who has binders and spreadsheets saved from past trips, feel like the amount of planning nes. now is completely ridiculous. WDW trips border on having to do as much if not more planning than I've ever done for even international trips.

I agree, we are tactical planners while on multi-day vacations at Disney and travel during off seasons. I understand how in state residents can feel under appreciated. It is sad that someone can not simply get up one morning and gather the kids and go to Disney.....

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

I was watching old videos from our first Christmas trip. I remember hearing how crowded Christmas was so I remember being nervous for our first trip. Looking back... Magic Kingdom was (comparatively) not that crowded in 2009. I was shocked. At the time it was crowded, but vs. now... it was nothing.

 

[ScoutsMom21]

I'll be at WDW in about two weeks time, and I have to admit, I'm a little nervous. We chose that week because my friend works at a dentist office and it's the time she had off. It will be the two of us, her mother in law, and her 4.5 year old daughter. I have FPs for all the big attractions, plus CRT, BOG, and 'Ohana reservations. (Luckily I'm a planner and my friend is open to anything and hates planning.) Then two DAH events for me and my friend to get things done we can't do with a four year old. I think we'll be fine, but I'm preparing myself mentally for the worst. If I was solo, I wouldn't be worried, but I'm determined for my party to have a good time, and they aren't as seasoned as I am.

I have to say, mindset is half of it. Managing my expectations is key for me to enjoy anything. MK After Hours doesn't seem to be quite what I thought when I purchased the ticket. I've been monitoring that thread for the past few months. But going in knowing that the crowds are larger than they used to be will allow me to just hang back and enjoy it for what it's worth. Nothing at WDW will ever be perfect. But with the right state of mind, I'm still able to enjoy myself 90% of the time. This is why I keep reminding my friend about crowds. I think I'm starting to annoy her, but I'm hoping to build it up to a point where when we get there, it doesn't seem so bad.

I'm mentally right there with you! We'll be there in 27 days and we've done everything we can - from planning which days we'll go to which parks based on traffic patterns on touring plans to making sure we logged in as soon as possible to get FP's to our top 3 rides in each park. We're going for my daughter's 10th birthday and I've already started expectation setting with her that she might not be able to ride Space Mountain or Everest multiple times...BUT we do have FP's so she'll ride her favorites at least once and that's better than not being there at all.

If we can't get additional FP's later in the day, well, we've got decent restaurant reservations and the pool at AKL (where we're staying) is awesome so we'll make good use of it. I keep telling the family that we all just need to be grateful and happy that we're there. But still...in the back of my mind, I so relate to your concerns. *fingers crossed*

 

[ScoutsMom21]

Never done an experiment, as I'm an anti-Apple person so only have Androids. In fact, I'm also not into high tech phones, so my Android is one of those $25 specials I got from Cricket Wireless. So it's as cheap of a smart phone as you're going to get. It works great for me. I agree with JETSDADs point in that with the Android you can just keep your finger over one spot and tap. It really helps make it a totally "mindless" activity, so I don't have to stare non-stop at my screen. I can just tap and glance when I'm trying to move an existing FP+ time (or sometimes getting a new one).

My husband & I both have Androids (Samsung Galaxy's) for our personal mobiles. But we also both have iPhones for our corporate mobiles - and I always carry both of my phones in my bag. I don't recall ever having to switch to the iPhone from the Android while in the parks. But we'll be there in 27 days and I'll play around with both phones and let you guys know if I noticed any difference. The phones are different carriers (TMobile for the Androids, AT&T for the iPhones) too. Now I'm curious to see if there will be any noticeable difference.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Then this will blow your head off: My last day this year is June 29. Kids are done on June 27. Graduation ceremonies are on June 30 and July 1. State exams are from June 15 onward. Teachers return in mid-August, kid return is rolling in our district (we have some schools that do more days for a variety of reasons).

 

[Tiggerlover91]

They sort of did, without the being able to book from the phone, the new system is a complete failure and causes a lot of stress. So let's merge the two together (which Maxpass does extrodinarily well at Disneyland).

Complete failure....that's your opinion, I don't think it is. Causes stress, it most certainly does. But what causes MORE stress....standing in a 120 or 240 minute line and not understanding why the people in the "other" line are moving faster than you. "They must have paid for that?" you hear.... no...not yet, but that's coming. And guess what, I most certainly WILL pay for extra FPs if it works the way I read. You still get your initial 3 and any others so long as said FPs are available and you're not re-riding. If you re-ride or want one that is "not available" ....here....you can pay for that FP per person. Okay! No problem! I'm not a yearly visitor, so paying for the FP on my next visit, which may be another 4 years from now, isn't going to bother me. I lucked out this June and understand the new system won't go in effect till probably closer to the opening of SWGE.

The FP system has a lot of work that needs to be done, but overall it prevents those of us who use it from standing in obnoxious lines and wasting precious park time. I may be a FL resident and get awesome deals on tickets, but that doesn't mean I want to spend 2 hours in ANY line. I don't care HOW GOOD the ride is.

 

[webcreatrix]

ALL OF TEXAS has Spring break this week, colleges, public, private and charter schools. There are few exceptions and Texas is a big state.

If anyone wants some data to back up the crowds, here is the spring breaks by week for colleges/universities in the US for 2019. Based on the data, this is the craziest spring break week to be there. Who knows what it will be like when all the public schools go on break (maybe some are on break now who knows?).

Row Labels Count of colleges on Break
02/09/2019 to 02/17/2019 2
02/16/2019 to 02/24/2019 7
02/23/2019 to 03/03/2019 10
03/02/2019 to 03/10/2019 183
03/09/2019 to 03/17/2019 407
03/16/2019 to 03/24/2019 216
03/23/2019 to 03/31/2019 95
03/30/2019 to 04/07/2019 24
04/06/2019 to 04/14/2019 6
04/13/2019 to 04/21/2019 12
(blank) 23
Grand Total 985