Just got back-a quick observation abdout Fastpass

[wendy1974]

I know it's been a hot topic since Fastpass + was fully initiated and this was my first trip since the testing phase when the legacy FP and Magic Bands were both still being used. Here are some of my observations from MK on Monday afternoon before Christmas party and Tuesday:

- Stand by lines for rides like POTC, HM and IASW were a minimum 30 min wait and got up to 50 min often.

-I did FP + and for SM and 7DMT it was still a 25 min wait

- There were large crowds of people just standing around in the areas of several FP+ lines waiting for their times which in turn made the areas extremely crowded and hard to walk through.

I was there the Monday before and on Veterans Day so I don't know if this was just because of that or if it's becoming the norm now with FP+. I hope it's the former and not the latter. One thing is for certain, I would not go back at this time of year again (Jersey week/Veterans Day). I went on Thanksgiving week in 1999 and it was less of a cluster than this was).

 

[wisblue]

What times were you in the MK on Tuesday?

It was definitely not the way you described when we were at the MK last Thursday when we arrived for an 8 AM EMH and left about 2 PM to go to Epcot and F&W.

We ate lunch at Pinocchio's and had a table where we could see the boarding area at IASW and at that time (around 11:30) the standby line never went much farther back than the second FP checkpoint and very few people came through the FP line.

I'm sure the lines got longer than that in the middle of the afternoon, but that has always been the peak time of day.

Just before lunch we used a FP at Space Mountain (the ride was down when we went there during EMH) and we walked nonstop to the second checkpoint and were on the ride within 5 minutes after entering the building.

Touring Plans says that last Thursday and last Monday were both level 6 crowd days, and that Tuesday was a level 8. So, a larger crowd on Tuesday probably was a factor.

Longer average standby wait times at POC, HM, and IASW do seem to have become the norm, making them attractive targets for guests who use their advance FPs early and then start picking up additional ones.

 

[pachuta24]

I agree with the standby wait times on POTC and HM, but we never waited more than 5 minutes with a Fastpass to board SM or 7DMT and we were there from 11/1-11/11, including riding both on Veteran's Day.

 

[wendy1974]

I got to MK at 4 on Tuesday because I had a Christmas party ticket.

I was at 7DMT at 1:30 for my Fastpass. Looked at my watch when I got in line and was 25 min before getting to ride.

 

[wendy1974]

Ride wasn't down either. The FP line was constantly moving, just long.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

We are here now. We have been here many times this time of year as it is our anniversary and we visit during this timeframe. This is not 1999 for sure! This is the busiest we have seen it this time of year. We, too, have waited quite a while in the FP + lines, some for quite a while.

 

[DebbieB]

When I was at MK on October 19 & 23, 7DMT FP+ was only about a 5 min wait. I think they released more FP+ into the system for November a couple of weeks ago, that may account for the additional wait time.

POC, HM, IASW were about 10 to 15 min standby.

 

[wendy1974]

When I was at MK on October 19 & 23, 7DMT FP+ was only about a 5 min wait. I think they released more FP+ into the system for November a couple of weeks ago, that may account for the additional wait time. POC, HM, IASW were about 10 to 15 min standby.

I'm hoping the crazy crowds were just a combination of Jersey week, Veterans Day and then Wine and Dine Half.

 

[Jennasis]

We were at MK on 9/23...our FP+ wait for 7DMT was about 20 minutes. On 9/28 it was down to about 7-8 minutes.

 

[wendy1974]

One of the things that really stood out to me were the large crowds of people just standing around the FP entrance waiting for their time.

 

[BABYJOSIE98]

We just got back last Wednesday and FP + worked great for us...
We never waited more than 15 min for anything except Rapunzel for 30 min and we just had to meet her!!

The MK was very busy on Sunday Nov 2nd, but we managed very well. I had FP + for Peter pan at 10ish and then Space Mountain at 11:20. Then 7DMT at 5:20. We were able to do Belle Enchanted tales, HM and people mover, Monster laugh floor in between with little waits.

Used FP for our BOG lunch at 2pm and even with the FP the line was a bit long to order, but seated and food came right away.

after 7DMT FP at 6pm we were able to walk right up to the kiosk with no wait and get another for POC and walked on it and then come right off and walked up to the kiosk by Jungle cruise and got another for it and walked right on 5 min later. So we really loved the FP+. Worked great for us!

After that it was time for our Wishes Dessert party! What a great day!

It was very busy though , but I did notice waits times were always less than what was posted.

Epcot on Tuesday Nov 4th was Extra magic morning and it was very busy starting out. Stand by at 8:30 for Test track was 45 min so we just jumped in the single rider line and walked right on!! Perfect!

Then went to Living with the land with no wait and used our FP + for Soarin. Then did the living seas and our Nemo FP+.

After that headed to WS for Food and wine and while busy we never waited much in line for the food booth. Another fantastic day!

Had a dinner at Via Napoli and grabbed a nice spot for Illuminations!

I love Disney and thought it was just as Magical as ever!!!

 

[wisblue]

easywdw posted this chart of posted wait times for the MK on Friday, November 7 (starting at 2 PM), the day of the first Christmas party (which was sold out).

http://www.easywdw.com/reports12/mvmcpwaits.jpg

According to this chart, on that day the posted wait time for IASW never exceeded 25 minutes and was less than that for most of the afternoon and evening. POTC had a couple of spikes (like after the FOF parade) but was 30 minutes or less for most of the afternoon and evening and HM was similar.

Posted wait times like those described by the OP do not seem to be happening every day.

 

[wendy1974]

Yeah, like I said, the wait times on Tuesday, Veterans Day were at MK and maybe it was a combination of day guests with everything else I mentioned above. But I was posting this to say, I wonder if it was just a perfect storm of things that caused it to be this way. Monday, Nov 10th the Christmas party was sold out and therefore I had an evening and day at MK that had big wait times and huge crowds.

 

[tinkerbella16]

We just got here yesterday and so far its been great as far as FP+ goes. Every ride we had a fp for in Epcot, we walked right on yesterday. Epcot was very quiet yesterday and the weather was great so it made for a perfect first day.

This morning we went to MK. Our first fp was for 7dmt and we walked right on, literally. The standby was already at 70 minutes before 10am. Walked right on Splash and BTMR with fps. We did other things with little waits like Pirates and HM. Once it hits noon, the park really got crowded and wait times went up but we left after lunch anyway to relax at the resort. I had some problems at BOG lunch where I sat and waited for my food and it didn't come until the rest of my party were done eating... They ended up giving me a fastpass to use for anything for all of us which was nice.

I have heard that MK was completely packed on Mon and Tues so it probably was indeed because of the holiday.

 

[wisblue]

We just got here yesterday and so far its been great as far as FP+ goes. Every ride we had a fp for in Epcot, we walked right on yesterday. Epcot was very quiet yesterday and the weather was great so it made for a perfect first day.

This morning we went to MK. Our first fp was for 7dmt and we walked right on, literally. The standby was already at 70 minutes before 10am. Walked right on Splash and BTMR with fps. We did other things with little waits like Pirates and HM. Once it hits noon, the park really got crowded and wait times went up but we left after lunch anyway to relax at the resort. I had some problems at BOG lunch where I sat and waited for my food and it didn't come until the rest of my party were done eating... They ended up giving me a fastpass to use for anything for all of us which was nice.

I have heard that MK was completely packed on Mon and Tues so it probably was indeed because of the holiday.

The wait times at MK definitely look manageable today. As of 3:40 PM :

IASW Posted 10/Actual 4
HM 20/10
POC 30/16
Space 25/15
Splash 25/14
JC 35/17
BTMRR 20/10
PP 40/26

Of course, 7DMT still has a long wait at 70/52, but that is the only ride with an actual wait time of over 30 minutes.

Touring Plans is predicting crowds at level 3 and 4 until the Sunday before Thanksgiving so those visiting in the next 10 days should be seeing reasonable wait times.

 

[Angel Ariel]

One of the things that really stood out to me were the large crowds of people just standing around the FP entrance waiting for their time.

interesting..we didn't really notice this much. We were also in MK on Monday 11/10 - arrived at 8:40am as they were starting the rope drop show.

We did have a bit of a FP+ line wait at 7DMT, but no more than 10 mins. Our window was 1:35-2:35, and I think we got there right around 2:15/2:20ish. We rode it back to back w/FP+ (had an "anywhere" FP+ from Guest Services) in about 25 min. I remember because we went to find a spot in Frontierland for FOF right after that, but couldn't get there...asked a CM what was the best way to get there, and they told us the parade had already started in Frontierland (even though it was only 2:45) because they were worried about rain. We ended up finding a *perfect* spot in the Hub instead, so it worked out

 

[TillyMarigold]

I hope it's the former and not the latter. One thing is for certain, I would not go back at this time of year again (Jersey week/Veterans Day). I went on Thanksgiving week in 1999 and it was less of a cluster than this was).

Quick note--this week was NOT Jersey week. Jersey week is the week containing election day--this year it was November 3-7.

 

[fairy god aunt]

We were in MK Nov. 5, 6 and 11th. We rode 7dmt with Fastpass plus and were literally on in less than 5 minutes. It was amazing. With Anna and Elsa, we only waited for one family in front of us. In fact, the only significant wait we had with our FP+ was at Peter Pan and that was probably around 10 minutes. I did notice some normally short wait rides now have higher wait times but it was more than made up for with how much faster FP+ was.

 

[goofy4tink]

I'm hoping the crazy crowds were just a combination of Jersey week, Veterans Day and then Wine and Dine Half.

I got there a week ago, and got home yesterday! The crowds were certainly high! Veterans Day and Food and Wine Half, as well as the last weekend of Food and Wine, made the crowds nasty!

I never waited more than 5 or so mins for my FP+ though. The worst was Tuesday night....MK was supposed to close at 10pm, but they announced it was remaining open until midnight! Dear God...that park was jammed. I left during the fireworks...and I had planned on staying until the park closed.

 

[Bree]

We were in MK on Veteran's Day. I thought it would be busy since there was no school for a lot of FL, but I was shocked at the crowds. Lines for all the restaurants were crazy long and were winding through the streets and it seems that the CMs just couldn't keep up with the restrooms. We too experienced the large groups of people blocking the FP+ entrances because they were waiting for their time to enter. We did our FP+ rides then left and had a late lunch at the Contemporary then headed home.