Just Back (Dec 3-11). Refreshing for 7 & HS FP Drops

[JETSDAD]

thanks jetsdad for the great tips and explantion however one other question

how do I refresh for the FP is there a button that says refresh--I don't like playing around with changing things unless I know I wont wipe something completely out

thanks again

When you are on the app looking at FP's there is a bar with times across the top. For android you can just hit the same time over and over. For iPhone you have to switch back and forth between times. Clicking on the time will refresh the options. There will be warning before you cancel anything. If you are modifying you can look all you want and then if you select a new FP it will ask if you want to save the new FP over the old one.

 

[JETSDAD]

Something else that I previously mentioned about the HS FP's is that the PM drop also seems to open up a lot of FP's for the same 4-5 time slots for ToT and RnR so if you aren't interested in the TSL rides there are those to look for a well. I have not noticed the same happening for the AM drop.

 

[JETSDAD]

I was nervous that after posting this it wouldn't work and I'd have to retract everything but from this afternoon (looking for 3 people)....

 

[lovethesun12]

Yes (well, as far as I've noticed). Here are a few screenshots from this morning. They typically show up over a couple of minutes rather than all at once like some previous drops (such as FOP last year).


View attachment 369879 View attachment 369880 View attachment 369881 View attachment 369882

Thanks! I'm not really knowledgeable as most on disney since we only go once a year, but "a fast pass drop" must have been what happened to me when I was checking at Epcot last year. I kept refreshing for FEA and all of a sudden soarin', TT, and frozen became available with multiple time slots. Nice to know this happens =)

 

[coasternut22]

I was nervous that after posting this it wouldn't work and I'd have to retract everything but from this afternoon (looking for 3 people)….

So cool!!! Thanks so much for this advice.

BTW, I always get a late fastpass for Test Track on a rainy day, even if I'm not in Epcot or if I'm just in the hotel. Multiple days it has gone down at the end of the night, resulting in anytime fastpasses for all parks the next day. The anytime fastpass excludes Avatar and Toy Story lands, but it does include Mine Train. Got to ride it a couple of times because of this strategy.

 

[lovethattink]

Thank you for sharing @JETSDAD. Great tips!

 

[js]

So cool!!! Thanks so much for this advice.

BTW, I always get a late fastpass for Test Track on a rainy day, even if I'm not in Epcot or if I'm just in the hotel. Multiple days it has gone down at the end of the night, resulting in anytime fastpasses for all parks the next day. The anytime fastpass excludes Avatar and Toy Story lands, but it does include Mine Train. Got to ride it a couple of times because of this strategy.

Thank you for this tip. We usually leave a park for the day early/mid afternoon. I think Im going to try to get a TT FP on my way back to resort or while at resort for later in day or if rain starting and see if it changes for following day.

Thanks.

 

[chris1212]

@JETSDAD Thanks so much for this! I have been doing some tests the past few days and it definitely seems to work! How long has this been working for you? We aren't going until mid-January, so wondering if this will still hold true by then?

My problem is right now we have other FP's booked around 11-12pm. So when searching for SDD this way it will never show up. So do I change all my FP's around so AS2 or TSM is around that time, so it's easy search for? Or do I just clear that time from having any FP's? Or not change my whole day around since there is no guarantee this will work a month from now!

 

[JETSDAD]

@JETSDAD Thanks so much for this! I have been doing some tests the past few days and it definitely seems to work! How long has this been working for you? We aren't going until mid-January, so wondering if this will still hold true by then?

My problem is right now we have other FP's booked around 11-12pm. So when searching for SDD this way it will never show up. So do I change all my FP's around so AS2 or TSM is around that time, so it's easy search for? Or do I just clear that time from having any FP's? Or not change my whole day around since there is no guarantee this will work a month from now!

I've been watching it for 5-6 weeks now and it has worked every time that I watch. I would keep watching leading up to your trip as you just never know when these things will go away. Things could also change over the holidays. If it appears to be working then I would have tier 2 rides set for 9-10 and 10-11. I would also leave 11-12 empty or have my tier 1 scheduled for that block. I took a chance and cancelled my AS2 FP on our HS day in order to allow the chance to add SDD and it worked. If you leave it empty it's easiest but you can also just be sure to modify your existing tier 1 if it is in the same time period or if you have nothing else booked during that time.

 

[JETSDAD]

Could it be? Going to keep an eye on this one but this was definitely out of the ordinary.

 

[iujen94]

I wouldn’t count on these drops to stick around. There have been similar drops in the past, but as soon as drops start getting publicity, Disney tends to take them away.

 

[JETSDAD]

I wouldn’t count on these drops to stick around. There have been similar drops in the past, but as soon as drops start getting publicity, Disney tends to take them away.

They definitely don't stick around but might as well enjoy them while they last. Last year there was a FOP drop that I read about on here and it helped us to ride multiple times so returning the favour. I also doubt it has to do with publicity and more to do with them accomplishing whatever it is they are attempting to do at the time. Moving traffic, getting people to certain areas around mealtime, etc.

 

[iujen94]

They definitely don't stick around but might as well enjoy them while they last. Last year there was a FOP drop that I read about on here and it helped us to ride multiple times so returning the favour. I also doubt it has to do with publicity and more to do with them accomplishing whatever it is they are attempting to do at the time. Moving traffic, getting people to certain areas around mealtime, etc.

Believe me, as someone with a trip coming up in February, I’d love to be wrong and see them stick around!

 

[JETSDAD]

Believe me, as someone with a trip coming up in February, I’d love to be wrong and see them stick around!

I watched for weeks leading up to our trip and just kept praying that it would last at least until our trip was done....thankfully it did!! lol Now I hope others can take advantage while it lasts.

 

[js]

I watched for weeks leading up to our trip and just kept praying that it would last at least until our trip was done....thankfully it did!! lol Now I hope others can take advantage while it lasts.

This is so nice you are giving us this information! I have sent screenshots to my office email and will be printing out and keeping for our upcoming trip and watch during the day too. Thanks!

 

[anomamatt]

They definitely don't stick around but might as well enjoy them while they last. Last year there was a FOP drop that I read about on here and it helped us to ride multiple times so returning the favour. I also doubt it has to do with publicity and more to do with them accomplishing whatever it is they are attempting to do at the time. Moving traffic, getting people to certain areas around mealtime, etc.

I think it's publicity... Last year there were 10:37am drops of FOP for several months. Then blogs, podcasts, and posts here... and the drops stopped a week later. I assume your watching this for weeks and posting it after your trip is based on a concern about it getting publicity and WDW ending it (and I would and have done the exact same thing).

And I think the reason for WDW to do this is to create "magic" by people finding day-of FPs. It makes the FP system seem like anything is possible when you can get FOP Fps day of.

 

[JETSDAD]

I think it's publicity... Last year there were 10:37am drops of FOP for several months. Then blogs, podcasts, and posts here... and the drops stopped a week later. I assume your watching this for weeks and posting it after your trip is based on a concern about it getting publicity and WDW ending it (and I would and have done the exact same thing).

I did post it prior but not in it's own post. I waited a while originally because I wanted to be sure that it was something that would continue and not just a few days. I then also had private messages confirming what I was seeing after originally posting. To me it seems interesting that both drops bring people to TSL over typical mealtimes (FP's extending over noon and 5). But true, I didn't want to jinx it, whether it be publicity or just bad luck/timing.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/slinky-dog-in-the-evenings.3720883/#post-59985792

 

[Tiggerlover91]

thanks jetsdad for the great tips and explantion however one other question

how do I refresh for the FP is there a button that says refresh--I don't like playing around with changing things unless I know I wont wipe something completely out

thanks again

On an Android phone, to do a refresh I just do a swipe down from the top of the webpage I'm on. But I don't think that would work in this case. Here's what JETSDAD says....I bolded it for you.

Refreshing is using MDE (app or website) to look for FP's especially day of and night before. Day of, if you only look once or twice the odds of seeing something good available for a time that you want is quite low. If you keep refreshing, that is looking over and over by clicking on the same time (Android) or a different time (iPhone) you see different results each time. People are constantly changing their plans and you are looking to grab FP's as other release them. By doing this you can get a lot of FP's in any given day. When I talk about the Hollywood Studios FP drop I am referring to specific times, day of, where Disney is releasing a wave of FP's. This is different than the normal moving around of FP's by people at the parks.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

And I think the reason for WDW to do this is to create "magic" by people finding day-of FPs. It makes the FP system seem like anything is possible when you can get FOP Fps day of.

Possibly. But I think they are also trying to react to the crowds real time. I wouldn't be surprised to see this go away the week of Christmas and then come back in Jan. I would bet they under distribute FPs to protect against the chaos that the ride going down or weather causes, particularly at the biggest rides. If everything is going ok that day, they do the first drop. Ditto for the afternoon.

 

[Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL]

They definitely don't stick around but might as well enjoy them while they last. Last year there was a FOP drop that I read about on here and it helped us to ride multiple times so returning the favour. I also doubt it has to do with publicity and more to do with them accomplishing whatever it is they are attempting to do at the time. Moving traffic, getting people to certain areas around mealtime, etc.

From what I have noticed in the past, the same-day drops coming to an end most certainly have coincided with the publicity they have recieved. The info residing here in this thread might not be enough to make that happen, but I’d be willing to bet that if any podcasters/bloggers read this thread and then amplify the info over their own “airwaves” we’ll see the same-day drops come to an end shortly thereafter.