Fast Pass questions?

[gzh6464]

Havnt been to WDW in a while and was last there in the age of the paper fast pass. Then were able to run around collect passes as others were used and seemed to be a lot easier system.

Now in the electronic era there are more restrictions on which rides have FP and and how many of specific designated rides can be fastpassed (tiers) and its more difficult to get them.

Planing on being there marathon weekend '19 and staying on site. Not running the marathon but a shorter race....so my window for FP just opened AND i JUMPED ON THE SITE AT 7a (cant believe I have to do this 2 months in advance but them's da rules)....and there are no FP or only late day FP for certain rides....2 MONTHS IN ADVANCE!).... so does this mean that I will be spending hours on line for a several minute ride (doing fewer rides) or over the next 2 months will any FP open? ( specifics nothing available for slinky Dog 1/12 and earliest Avitar FOP 3p).....is it worth rechecking the App frequently and if something opens cancel some things we booked to open slots for us?

 

[erionm]

Most of you questions can be answered here: FastPass+ Frequently Asked Questions

 

[loves to dive]

Just keep trying every once in awhile. We never make ours any further in advance than a week, normally day of since we don't really know where we are going on any given day (we don't make ADRs in advance either, just day of). Slinky Dog and FOP are a little harder to get but it's possible.

 

[Gehrig1B]

How many days/nights are you staying? It is generally understood that Slinky, Flight of Passage, Seven Dwarfs are rarely available even at 60 days. Most should be available at 60+4 days. If you are not able to get any you can try several things.

1) Yes, keeping checking as FP become available all the time... and modify, do not cancel!
2) Rope Drop, Google for best times and strategies
3) Queue at the last minute prior to park closing

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Havnt been to WDW in a while and was last there in the age of the paper fast pass. Then were able to run around collect passes as others were used and seemed to be a lot easier system.

Now in the electronic era there are more restrictions on which rides have FP and and how many of specific designated rides can be fastpassed (tiers) and its more difficult to get them.

Planing on being there marathon weekend '19 and staying on site. Not running the marathon but a shorter race....so my window for FP just opened AND i JUMPED ON THE SITE AT 7a (cant believe I have to do this 2 months in advance but them's da rules)....and there are no FP or only late day FP for certain rides....2 MONTHS IN ADVANCE!).... so does this mean that I will be spending hours on line for a several minute ride (doing fewer rides) or over the next 2 months will any FP open? ( specifics nothing available for slinky Dog 1/12 and earliest Avitar FOP 3p).....is it worth rechecking the App frequently and if something opens cancel some things we booked to open slots for us?

You have to remember the hundreds and hundreds of people making FP ressies that far in advance. My numbers could be way off, may be 1000s if you really think about it, but that's how it goes. Also remember, if you weren't doing it 60 days out, your chances of securing your favorite rides would probably be slim to none. With that, people change their minds frequently and I've read right here on these boards of 7DMT, FOP, and SDD opening for them at 30 days or sometimes the night before their trip. I wasn't too happy about booking my FP in advance when I first found out about the system back in 2015, but later realized how much of a help it really was. Stopped me and my son from being disappointed if the stand bys were super long and then walking over to the old FP system to see none available. Just keep checking and always remember...some people have been in park and refreshed the app to have the FP they want pop right up....FOP and SDD included!

Good luck!

How many days/nights are you staying? It is generally understood that Slinky, Flight of Passage, Seven Dwarfs are rarely available even at 60 days. Most should be available at 60+4 days. If you are not able to get any you can try several things.

1) Yes, keeping checking as FP become available all the time... and modify, do not cancel!
2) Rope Drop, Google for best times and strategies
3) Queue at the last minute prior to park closing

Why does this make a difference? I haven't been since 2015, but I never had a need to modify or cancel a FP. Help me understand why canceling is not the way to get the better FP. Thank you!

 

[mamaofsix]

Only you can decide if it's worth it to spend hours going online and re-checking for fp's opening up. For us, if we can't get the fp at 60 days out, I don't waste my time rechecking constantly. We didn't get a FOP fp this year, so we're simply going to get to AK an hour before rope drop to get on quickly. This way, I'm only "wasting" an hour of our time vs. several hours spent online checking for 2 months straight...

 

[Gehrig1B]

Why does this make a difference? I haven't been since 2015, but I never had a need to modify or cancel a FP. Help me understand why canceling is not the way to get the better FP. Thank you!

When you cancel a FP you lose it before getting another replacement... When you Modify it allows you to look at what your options are and decide what you want to do before making the change.

 

[CAS239]

Only you can decide if it's worth it to spend hours going online and re-checking for fp's opening up. For us, if we can't get the fp at 60 days out, I don't waste my time rechecking constantly. We didn't get a FOP fp this year, so we're simply going to get to AK an hour before rope drop to get on quickly. This way, I'm only "wasting" an hour of our time vs. several hours spent online checking for 2 months straight...

No need to spend hours checking for refreshed FP's. Anytime I check, I might spend 3-4 min a day checking. If you don't get the FP within 5 min, you won't get it checking for 2 or 3 straight hours. I've had plenty of luck securing harder to get FP's

 

[Tiggerlover91]

When you cancel a FP you lose it before getting another replacement... When you Modify it allows you to look at what your options are and decide what you want to do before making the change.

Okay! Gotcha! Modifying means....if I have say Soarin at 11am and I'm looking for FEA around 12 and don't see it, I still have my Soarin FP for 11am! Makes perfect sense!

Only you can decide if it's worth it to spend hours going online and re-checking for fp's opening up. For us, if we can't get the fp at 60 days out, I don't waste my time rechecking constantly. We didn't get a FOP fp this year, so we're simply going to get to AK an hour before rope drop to get on quickly. This way, I'm only "wasting" an hour of our time vs. several hours spent online checking for 2 months straight...

I've never heard of anyone spending several hours online for 2 months straight trying to get that hard to get FP. I've only heard those mentioning checking daily since their 60 day or 30 day window and getting lucky within minutes. It's not a waste of time for them in my opinion if that's something they desire to have. Just as it's not a "waste" of time spending that hour before park open waiting to RD FOP or 7DMT or SDD. Everyone has their own preferences and whatever works best for them is what they should do. I plan to spend those extra few minutes daily online to get those FP I'd like for our June trip. It'll be awhile before we go again, so that's why I'll spend the time securing what I want for our trip in June. Just my humble opinion.

 

[gzh6464]

We will be there 3 days.

So we decided to just book the 3 FP per person perday but as mention in OP did not get our top choices (60 days out) and instead picked other options.

What does modifying mean? How do you modify without canceling a FP giving yourself another opening for an alternate FP if that's the one or time you want?

 

[Gehrig1B]

Do this when attempting to change/find a new Fast Pass. This allows you to search for different options without losing the existing one. If you do find another, the one you are modifying will be replaced then and only then.

If you "Cancel" (see above right) you lose your Fast Pass before securing another.

 

[DisneyBelle27]

I have a very short trip in Dec, 3 nights. My FOP day was only 60+1 and there was nothing available for my party of three at 7am 60 days out. Checked periodically, every couple of days when I would think of it, and managed to get a 9:30am FOP for my whole party right around 35ish days out. You never know what's going to open up, and it doesn't have to be a huge expenditure of time to check here and there before your trip. Definitely worth the little bit of effort!

 

[subtchr]

We are also going for the marathon, staying at WL January 9-13. My FP window opened this past Saturday. I was online right at 7:00 and had no trouble getting exactly what I wanted, at very close to the times I wanted, for 4 people. This is the order I booked:

First - FoP for Jan 11 (Day 3)
Second - Slinky Dog for Jan 12 (Day 4)
Third - FoP for Jan 13 (Day 5)
Fourth - 7DMT for Jan 9 (Day 1)

I had these 4 FP booked in just a couple minutes, then spent no more than 10 minutes filling in the rest of the attractions we wanted, 3 FP total for each of the 5 days.

After all the reports of tech glitches recently, I was very pleasantly surprised. The app was useless -- I had that open, too, in case I needed it as an alternative to the website, but the app wouldn't even refresh my plans at all. I often end up using a browser in the parks, too, since the app is so glitchy.

 

[gzh6464]

I think what happened was this....

We are coming in the friday of marathon weekend and others like subtchr are coming for the entire week (lots doing the Dopey). So its hard to get FP if you havnt committed to the entire week of stay.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

View attachment 364683

Do this when attempting to change/find a new Fast Pass. This allows you to search for different options without losing the existing one. If you do find another, the one you are modifying will be replaced then and only then.

If you "Cancel" (see above right) you lose your Fast Pass before securing another.

Thanks for the screenshot, that REALLY helps to see that!

 

[cassie58]

Just a note that if trying to modify a Tier 2, you will only be able to see those choices, not Tier 1.

 

[mamaofsix]

Okay! Gotcha! Modifying means....if I have say Soarin at 11am and I'm looking for FEA around 12 and don't see it, I still have my Soarin FP for 11am! Makes perfect sense!



I've never heard of anyone spending several hours online for 2 months straight trying to get that hard to get FP. I've only heard those mentioning checking daily since their 60 day or 30 day window and getting lucky within minutes. It's not a waste of time for them in my opinion if that's something they desire to have. Just as it's not a "waste" of time spending that hour before park open waiting to RD FOP or 7DMT or SDD. Everyone has their own preferences and whatever works best for them is what they should do. I plan to spend those extra few minutes daily online to get those FP I'd like for our June trip. It'll be awhile before we go again, so that's why I'll spend the time securing what I want for our trip in June. Just my humble opinion.

By "Several Hours" I meant all of those 5 minute 'quick checks' over the course of 30 or 60 days, which adds up to hours of time spent checking when it is done for a few minutes daily. You're right, it's not a waste of time to many people. It is to me, that's why I prefaced with 'Only you can decide whether it's worth the time.'

 

[Tiggerlover91]

By "Several Hours" I meant all of those 5 minute 'quick checks' over the course of 30 or 60 days, which adds up to hours of time spent checking when it is done for a few minutes daily. You're right, it's not a waste of time to many people. It is to me, that's why I prefaced with 'Only you can decide whether it's worth the time.'

Absolutely! Understood!

 

[Alison S]

This Sunday I was checking around noon and saw afternoon fop available twice. I was looking for Na’vi which I never found!

This was same day. I never had any luck finding anything before the day we were at the park.

 

[subtchr]

I think what happened was this....

We are coming in the friday of marathon weekend and others like subtchr are coming for the entire week (lots doing the Dopey). So its hard to get FP if you havnt committed to the entire week of stay.

We are only Wednesday to Sunday.

And it doesn't matter which day you start your trip, just that you book further into the trip to get the harder to get FP. As you can see from my post, I was able to get FoP for my third and fifth days, Slinky for my fourth, and 7DMT for my arrival day.