Availability of Additional FastPass+ Won’t Much Matter
By Dave Shute
Disney announced yesterday that starting next week, once people have used their initial three FastPass+, they will be able to get additional FastPass+ one at a time via park kiosks.
These additional FastPass+ can be on any FastPass+ ride with available capacity. This means they can be re-rides of rides already done on FastPass+ earlier, and, at the tiered parks, on additional Tier 1 rides.
This can be in the same park, or another park–effectively adding FastPass+ to park-hopping.
We need to see a bit how this will work–I’ll be in the parks the weekend of May 3rd so will have some firsthand experience to report on.
But it’s hard to see that this will much matter.
The rides for which demand is highest will likely rarely be available, so in most cases, most times of the year, the additional FastPass+ will be for great but not headliner rides where, without these changes, standby lines would have been OK anyway.
If the result is more people seeing these rides per hour, then their standby waits will go up, making these additional FastPass+ more valuable. For example, it may end being wise to target 4th and following FastPass+ at the Magic Kingdom to Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion and Pirates. Even before the change, standby waits had already gone up at these with their new reservability on FastPass+; we may see even more of this. Josh has a great discussion of this and the overall change here.
This change also diminishes the value of FastPass+ for evening events. Other than Main Street Electrical parade–where a FastPass+ also positions you well for Celebrate the Magic, and puts you in the right neighborhood for Wishes–these were already low value FastPass+. Under the new policy, it seems that having evening entertainment as one of your three initial FastPass+ will basically shut you out from getting more.
More to come as we all learn more about how this works and what the resultant implications are. In the meantime, the best way to get around the limitations of FastPass+ remains simply throwing vast amounts of money at it.
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19 comments
Why are they making FP+ so complicated? Wouldn’t it have been easier for everyone (including them) just to put FP+ on the rides that already had legacy FP, and leave everything else alone?
One of the advertised benefits of FP is that you can “skip the line.” So, why would it be needed on a ride like Pirates of the Caribbean, which hardly ever had a line before? It doesn’t make much sense that the line skipping mechanism is the reason there’s a line at all.
Sorry, I know you aren’t inside Disney’s collective head on this one, I’m just venting…
Jeff there’s a longer story here, but to allow every guest 3 FP+ per day, they had to add FP+ capacity. In the old model, half of guests didn’t use FP at all, and those who did averaged 1 each…
I saw that you mentioned fastpasses for the MSEP. Do you know if you can stay in that location to watch the celebrate the magic and wishes? Do they keep that section roped off or does the rope get removed after the parade?
Thanks!
Brian, yes, you can stay in that section, as the FP+ area for Wishes is elsewhere. The ropes disappear, but you don’t have to move. However, you should move for Wishes, as you are a little too close to the Castle. After Celebrate the Magic, move closer to Main Street.
This question is regarding your 4th and subsequent fastpass+ at the kiosks: Are you able to get another fastpass+ as soon as you use your last one, or do you have to wait until the window for that fastpass+ closes? For example, if I got one for 2-3pm but use it at 2:15, can I get another as soon as I get off of the ride, or do I have to wait until 3?
Andrea–as soon as you get off!
Background Info: My husband and I are taking our 2 girls (2 and 5) to WDW 10/25-10/29. Tues, Oct. 28 is our 2nd MK day (2 1/2 days at MK total) and we plan to focus on Adventureland and Frontierland. I have FP+ for BTMRR 11:10-12:10, Splash Mtn. 12:20-1:20, and Cinderella/Rapunzel 2:50-3:50. My logic for the spaced out last FP+ was to give us plenty of time to tour those lands and watch the parade without having to book it to our princess FP+. Then, we’d just stop by them when we’re on our way out of the park to rest. However, there are earlier times available.
Here are the questions:
1. Does it make more sense to keep my FP+ as is or move up the princesses to an earlier time in order to have allow time for additional FP+?
2. If you say “move them”, when would you suggest? It may be helpful to mention that a. we’d like to watch the parade and b. we probably won’t be doing Pirates or The Haunted Mansion. So, I don’t know that there are really any rides we’d need that extra FP+ for anyway.
I’d appreciate your input.
Thanks!
Andrea, your FP+ times look fine, for the reasons you note. But are the kids tall enough for BT and Splash?
Our oldest is tall enough and LOVES thrill rides. We plan on using rider swap. I figured we’d just go to the play areas nearby or Tom Sawyer Island with the little one. Would you recommend getting an additional fastpass to use with her while we wait? The only one I saw that is kind of close is Magic Carpets.
Andrea, her “excess” FP+ from the big rides can be used by other family members to re-ride, or you can re-book her (and another adult) into other rides
Well, she’s only 2 so she doesn’t have any fastpasses of her own. But, I could book one for either my husband or myself since we won’t both need one for the rider swap rides.
Hi Dave, what do you think the chances are of getting a FP for Jungle Cruise or Pirates on the Sun before Thanksgiving week at about 5 PM? We are doing an evening there that day, and a full day on Black Friday, and are deciding whether to FP these rides on our full day, or risk that we won’t get a FP on Sun. We are planning to do Adventureland that evening, since we’re eating at Crystal Palace for dinner and will be so close. Thanks!
Jane Pirates is easy to book as FP+ ahead of time–is that what you are asking??
I’m asking if Jungle Cruise and Pirates are generally available for 4th and further FP later in the day during a high crowd time. I found that most of the times I tried for a 4th FP in any park the thing I wanted was already gone–even for relatively unpopular rides.
Jane, at MK on a high crowd day at 5p it’ll be hard to get FP+ for them…
I should add that I’m trying to decide whether to use the FP for that day for AK or MK. The idea is to do AK from early morning until maybe 4 or 5 PM, then transition to MK and stay through the fireworks. There just isn’t much we want to FP at AK b/c we either saw it last time (safari, Lion King) or don’t want to do it (Everest). But there are at least a dozen things at MK we’d like to do. This is our first full day there so we’re going to push hard and then have a down day the next day, with just resort lunch and dinner planned. I would skip AK altogether except my kids are dinosaur obsessed. It’s Sun, Nov 22.
Jane, you can do AK easily without FP+. You just need a good plan. Oddly enough, there’s one in my book 🙂
I bought your book when planning my first trip for last November and was just looking back at it again today! 🙂
I hope it’s even better now, Jane, lol!
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