How I got the FP+'s that I wanted

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

I figured I would share what I learned researching how to make FP+ reservations.

 

The best first step is to decide which park you want to be in on which day of your vacation.  I studied some different crowd prediction calendars and chose what I hope will be a good itinerary.  

 

I then made a touring plan for each day.  Because I am trying to maximize my return on investment, I made detailed plans hitting a lot of rides and attractions while trying to minimize walking and wait times.  I plan to show up early before rope drop and do some popular rides early in the day when the lines will be short, then use my FP+ during the busier times and finish the evening with more popular rides as  the crowds leave.

 

I created my account in My Disney Express and added my lodging reservation and my ticket info as soon as I got them.  At that point, it would not let me book any FP+ during my stay.

 

At a few minutes after midnight on my 60th day from my arrival day, the system started letting me make my FP+ selections for my trip.  Since I knew that meeting Anna and Elsa was the hardest FP+ to get, I made my MK selections first.  I went to one of the days we wanted to be at MK.  I tried to find 3 FP+ for A&E, but there were none showing.  Then I tried for just 2 and that worked.  I also requested Mine Train and Enchanted Tales with Belle.  Once I had selected 3 FP+, the system offered some different times for me to select from.  I made all three for as late in the day as possible.  I then booked three FP+ for the rest of my group - 2 the same as the others and subbing Haunted Mansion for A&E.  Again, I made them late in the day.

 

Once I had these FP+, I could change the times, or even the attraction or ride selected.  I moved most of mine back to midday.  I was unable to move the A&E FP+, so I left it alone and put the HM for an over-lapping time.

 

Quick note: If you are unable to get everyone in your group the same time reservation, try booking them staggered for an over-lapping time.  You can still all ride together as long as you are all  there within your windows.  For example, some of our group has a FP+ reservation for the Belle at 1:10pm - 2:10pm, and the other part of the group is from 1:20pm to 2:20pm.  We can all show up around 1:30pm and d the attraction together.  I have also read that you will be admitted up to 5 minutes before your reservation and up to 15 minutes after.

 

Once I had my MK days the way i wanted them, I had no trouble booking the rest of our FP+.  I used the same strategy of booking them late in the day and then moving them to where I wanted.  Except for the A&E FP+ (and the corresponding HM FP+ for the rest of the gang), I was able to book all my FP+ within minutes of where I hoped they would be.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Here is some info I found quite helpful.  It was on this page: http://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/making-fastpass-reservations#

 

 

 

How to Make FastPass+ Reservations

FastPass+ is not only the future of trip planning at Walt Disney World, it is the present. For those of you who have grown familiar with FASTPASS since its introduction in 1999, FastPass+ is a similar system although using more current technology. In short, what FastPass+ does is allow you to make a reservation for a ride or show at Disney World from a computer, smart phone, or in-park kiosk. If you would like a more in-depth description, please read our full description of FastPass+. So, how does all of this work?

When Can I Make FastPass+ Reservations?

The answer is…it depends. Disney can’t just make it easy, can they? There are a few different options depending on where you are staying and what type of ticket you have. If you have not purchased park tickets you will not be able to make FastPass+ reservations.

If you are…

• Staying at a Disney World resort: You can make your FastPass+ reservations 60 days in advance in addition to a 10 day grace period. For instance, if your check in day is December 1, you may make FastPass+ reservations for your first day on October 2. The 10 day grace period means that on October 2 you may also make reservations for all days up to December 10, even though they are more than 60 days away.
•  
• Staying at a non-Disney resort: You will be able to make your FastPass+ reservations 30 days in advance.
•  
• An Annual Pass holder: You will be able to make your FastPass+ reservations 30 days in advance.
•  

What You'll Need to Make Fastpass+ Reservations

Set aside at least 30 minutes to complete this process. You’ll also need these things to make Fastpass+ reservations:

• A valid admission ticket or purchase confirmation number for everyone in your group
• A computer, tablet, or smartphone with Internet access
• An email account that you can access easily while traveling
• An account on Disney’s MyDisneyExperience.com (MDE) website
• A schedule of the parks you’ll visit on each day of your trip, including arrival and departure times, plus the times of any mid-day breaks you plan to take
• The dates, times, and confirmation numbers of any dining or recreation reservations already made

 

Other information you may want to collect before you begin:

• Your Disney hotel reservation number, if you’re staying on-site

 

If you’re coordinating travel plans with friends or family outside of your home, you’ll also find it useful to have this information:

• The names and (optional) email addresses of the people you’re traveling with
• The schedule of the parks these folks are visiting on each day of their trip, including arrival, departure, and break times
• The dates and times of any dining or recreation reservations these folks have

 

The only way to make Fastpass+ reservations before your trip is to use the MDE website or app; you can’t call someone on the phone, the way you would a restaurant reservation. We think it’s easier to use the website, so we’ll describe that here; the steps on the app are similar.

Email Access

The MDE website uses your email address to identify you. If you need an email account, Google’s Gmail is a good choice, and most new smartphones come equipped out of the box to work with it. Write down your email address and its password, and keep these in a safe place with you while traveling. Also, make sure that you can easily access this email account while you’re in the parks. If you forget your MDE username or password, the process for resetting those will be done through this new email address.

Managing FastPass+ Reservations Online

How do I Make FastPass+ Reservations Online?

FastPass+ reservations can be made from home using either an internet-accessible computer or a smartphone. Unless you are very comfortable with the My Disney Experience smartphone app, we suggest you make your reservations on a computer via the Walt Disney World Website. To do that takes a few steps, but is very easy to do.

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

1. Navigate your web browser to Disneyworld.disney.go.com. Click on “Sign in or Create Account” on the top right and either sign in or follow the on-screen instructions in order to create an account.
2.  
3. Next you will need to link your Walt Disney World tickets to your Disney account. From the main page, hover the mouse over “MyDisneyExperience” at the top right and click on “My Reservations and Tickets,” as pictured in photo 1.
4. On the next screen, scroll down until you see the header “Tickets and Passes.” If your tickets are already listed there, go back to the main page and skip ahead to the next step. If not, click on “Link Tickets.” If you have a Magic Band you can type the 12 digit number from the inside of it in the box on the left of the next screen. Otherwise, scroll through the various types of tickets shown on the screen to find the one that looks like yours and type the highlighted ID Number into the box. Click Next.
5.  
6. Now we are finally ready to make some FastPass+ reservations! From the main page, hover over “MyDisneyExperience” at the top right and click on “FastPass+.” The next screen will ask you to select a day that you would like to choose FastPasses for (as seen in Photo 2). You will only be able to select days that you are eligible for FastPasses. Clicking the calendar icon (indicated by the arrow in the photo) will allow you to select a specific day. Once you click “Select” on a day, the oval will turn green. Click Next.
7. On the following screen you are asked to select who the selected FastPasses will be for. Note that only those who have tickets assigned to them will be eligible. Clicking next takes you to a screen from which you can select the park you want the FastPasses for. As of this writing you may only select FastPasses for one park per day ahead of time. A more recent change allows you to add additional FastPasses at a second park once your initial allotment is gone, but those must be done via the in-park kiosks (see below).
8.  
9. Finally, it’s time to start selecting actual FastPasses! As shown in photo 3, the selection screen is split into two sides with the rides, shows, and character meetings on the left and a map on the right. Scrolling through the list on the left will show you all of your options. Clicking on the “Select” checkmark (the arrow in the photo) will select that FastPass+ for you. If there is no “Select” checkmark, that FastPass+ is not available for that day. As you select your FastPasses, the checkmarks will turn green and the map will move to show you where that particular attraction is. You are allowed to select 3 FastPass+ reservations in any one day and a weird quirk is that you must select 3. If you only select 1 or 2, Disney will automatically assign you a third, so you are better off just picking 3. Once you have chosen your 3, click Next.
10. The next screen, shown in photo 4, gives you four options of FastPass+ times for the attractions you selected. In general, the options will give you a range from all morning times, to all afternoon times, to times spread throughout the day. By clicking on the tabs at the top (indicated by the red lines in the photo) you can see the different options. When you see one you like best, click Next. (the times and attractions can be changed after you make them, so don’t fuss too much about the times for all 3)
11. Congratulations! You have now confirmed your FastPass+ reservations! If you would like to make more reservations for a different day, click “Plan Another Day” and go back to Step 6. Otherwise, click Next.
12.  

How do I See What FastPass+ Reservations I Have?

Compared to all the steps you just went through to make your FastPass+ reservations, checking them is easy. From the main screen, hover over “MyDisneyExperience” and click “My Reservations and Tickets,” as you did when you assigned your tickets.

Now, when you scroll down to the FastPass+ section you will see all of your FastPass+ reservations.

Making Changes to FastPass+ Reservations Online

Changing your FastPass+ reservation is actually quite easy and often allows you to customize the times to your liking. One thing you should be aware of is that Disney does not allow you to overlap your FastPass+ times, so keep that in mind when lining up those passes.

Photo 5

Photo 6

1. Hover over the “MyDisneyExperience” header in the top right of the Disney homepage and click on “My Itinerary.” On the following screen, use the arrows or the calendar to select the day that you would like to change.
2.  
3. Click “View Details” on any of the existing FastPass+ reservations, as shown in photo 5. Then select “Modify FastPass+.”
4. Select either “Change experience” if you would like to pick a different attraction or click “Select New Time” and pick a new time from the drop down menu as shown in Photo 6.

Once you click “Update” the changes are all made. Repeating this process for all of your days will get the FastPass+ reservations just where you want them. Sadly, like everything with FastPass+, this requires a little elbow grease on your part, but it’s better to do a little work now than suffer a lot of aggravation on your vacation.

 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Great info, Marty!  

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Thanks for the info. Sounds like a solid plan.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Great info to share, Marty.  Thanks!!

[Travisma 1,317]

Remember the good old days when you you just went to a ride, got in line, and waited?

And for dinner you called that morning or maybe a day or two in advance, or you just showed up and got in.

Now you have to plan 6 months in advance for everything.

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

Remember the good old days when you you just went to a ride, got in line, and waited?

And for dinner you called that morning or maybe a day or two in advance, or you just showed up and got in.

Now you have to plan 6 months in advance for everything.

Yes, I'm afraid the new way smb.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great job, Marty, and thanks for sharing.

 

I have not yet planned a trip 60 days in advance, and don't anticipate doing so, but you have given very sound advice for anyone planning a big trip to WDW.

 

For those who can't or won't plan their trips that far in advance, it isn't hard to get FP+ reservations closer to the time of your trip- but for now the FP+'s for A&E and the Mine Train are pretty much unavailable by the 30 day mark.  There are ways to finagle FP+'s for these attractions even the day before a visit, but if you're a resort guest, you should take advantage of the 60 day booking window when you can.

 

TCD

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

For those who can't or won't plan their trips that far in advance, it isn't hard to get FP+ reservations closer to the time of your trip- but for now the FP+'s for A&E and the Mine Train are pretty much unavailable by the 30 day mark.  There are ways to finagle FP+'s for these attractions even the day before a visit, but if you're a resort guest, you should take advantage of the 60 day booking window when you can.

 

Good advice!

 

When we threw our last-minute trip for the DisneySide event together, I was able to make FP+ reservations less than a week out for TSM and ToT (Mine Train wasn't open yet).  I even had 3 time options for TSM available and rescheduled it once just a couple of days before we arrived.

 

I think the "hot new attractions" are always going to be tough to get, regardless of whatever system is in place.