When Refreshing for FastPasses

[Scrapmom3]

My mom was a late addition(20 days out late) to our trip last month. We of course had our days well planned out. I was able to get her FP for everyone of our rides during our times by refreshing over those 3 weeks. Including SDD, SDMT and FOP.

Most rides were able to be booked as soon as she got tickets. However the times weren’t close to ours. Just by refreshing a couple times a day I was able to match everything up and grab the good ones.
All this to say, you might get one the night of, but you can still get them weeks before. Could’ve been because it was for a single person and not a family of 5, but just saying availability does change further out than the day before.

This is good news. My fear has been, with booking for a party of 8, that I'm not going to get people slotted within the same or similar time frames so our "family trip" will be spent in different areas of the parks. I wish there was some sort of video game type thing where people could practice getting initial FPs and then practice refreshing!

 

[cakebaker]

This. refresh is a night before and day of strategy. You may see some changes but for the most part, it wont change a lot until the night before and then a lot the day of.

Actually, any time I've needed to change a time or even get a FP at all for a certain ride, I was able to do it within the first 30 days after my 60 day window opened. Every time. I does take time, but I'd check several times a day, spending 15 minutes tops refreshing and eventually, something pops up. Once the 30 day window opens, I rarely try. They're pretty locked in at that point.

I rarely try refreshing in the parks. I don't like being on my phone anymore than I have to. Those pics of people riding something with their phones in their faces are just sad to me. We get what we get before we leave home. We'll get 4th and more in the parks, but usually what's only currently available.

 

[Chrizwald]

This is good news. My fear has been, with booking for a party of 8, that I'm not going to get people slotted within the same or similar time frames so our "family trip" will be spent in different areas of the parks. I wish there was some sort of video game type thing where people could practice getting initial FPs and then practice refreshing!

I had the same exact worries as you. Our first trip was last year, and I just wanted to know so much what getting FP was like.

And there really aren't any good videos on Youtube! It's always just somebody's face and they say "Ok i got my passes!" But, There are a few resources that show what the screens look like and the choices available.

Just have your plan ready. Make sure you know what order you're going to book your FP (Hardest to easiest, regardless of Day or Park) and write it down. I did mine on a PC, as someone said.. you can see more at a time than on a phone screen. Once it lets you in and it's go time, the first one might be a little awkward, but it really isn't a complicated system and surely you will be flying through by the 2nd or 3rd one.

 

[Remy is Up]

Actually, any time I've needed to change a time or even get a FP at all for a certain ride, I was able to do it within the first 30 days after my 60 day window opened. Every time. I does take time, but I'd check several times a day, spending 15 minutes tops refreshing and eventually, something pops up. Once the 30 day window opens, I rarely try. They're pretty locked in at that point.

I rarely try refreshing in the parks. I don't like being on my phone anymore than I have to. Those pics of people riding something with their phones in their faces are just sad to me. We get what we get before we leave home. We'll get 4th and more in the parks, but usually what's only currently available.

To each their own. We never book FPs in advance and generally peek the night before if we already know we are going to one of the parks the next day. Most times its on our drive over to the parks in the morning that we make anything and then we just refresh. We never do it on a ride, we do it standing in a FP line and use system knowledge and refresh to our advantage. So what works for some doesnt work for others and its all good. The less people actually refreshing or knowledgeable of other information, which is already a small percentage anyway, makes it easier on those of us who do.

 

[Matt961]

I had the same exact worries as you. Our first trip was last year, and I just wanted to know so much what getting FP was like.

And there really aren't any good videos on Youtube! It's always just somebody's face and they say "Ok i got my passes!" But, There are a few resources that show what the screens look like and the choices available.

There is a video in this post that shows the screens and how to refresh after you have already made fastpass selections. Under tip #2. https://firsttimedis.com/fastpass/

 

[cakebaker]

To each their own. We never book FPs in advance and generally peek the night before if we already know we are going to one of the parks the next day. Most times its on our drive over to the parks in the morning that we make anything and then we just refresh. We never do it on a ride, we do it standing in a FP line and use system knowledge and refresh to our advantage. So what works for some doesnt work for others and its all good. The less people actually refreshing or knowledgeable of other information, which is already a small percentage anyway, makes it easier on those of us who do.

I'm more than happy to ease the burden on those who refresh in the parks. lol It's just not my thing to do and we find we get all we want with other methods - we always book at 60 days, take advantage of after hours and other premium events and park hop. I agree, what works for one, doesn't work for everyone.

 

[Scrapmom3]

There is a video in this post that shows the screens and how to refresh after you have already made fastpass selections. Under tip #2. https://firsttimedis.com/fastpass/

That is really helpful, thanks! It is so good to have a visual.