Will we need Fastpasses on a slow day in February?

I've always done it with parties of 2, because I'm always travelling just me and my husband or me and my mom, so it may be harder/riskier with a larger group. But the way I've done it is I've picked a start spot, I recommend either going "against traffic" (i.e. in magic kingdom head left around the loop, for whatever reason people tend to go right around the loop), or starting with your absolutely do not miss ride, to ensure that you for sure get it. Grab three fastpasses tight together time wise and location wise, the most important is the first one.
If you can, while in line for the first ride open MDE and start refreshing the FP+ page, looking for an opening as close to the ride you're on and as close to the current time as possible and grab it when it pops up. Sometimes this can take a bit of refreshing, and I kept doing that idly while in the line, sometimes finding a better ride or closer time slot. You can replace the other two placeholder FP if needed to get the time/ride you want. Keep doing this until you've done everything you can/want to do.
It's easier in MK and AK, a bit more challenging in EPCOT because of the lower number of rides, and most difficult in HS because it's not really a linear loop like in the MK/AK. If you start super early in the day you can get the big rides done early in the day, go have a nap/pool time, come back for some shows/non-FP rides or missed attractions and the fireworks at night. I find it the least stressful way for me to get the most done, as my DH puts it I tend to go into "park comando mode" where I feel the need to see and do everything.

I like this! I'm not a commando style, but I DO want to ride ALL my favorites, son's favorites etc. As of now, it is just going to be me and my son. Hubby hasn't decided if he will go or not. Harder for him to take 4 days off than myself. I'm a teacher, so I have the summers off! :tongue: This is DEFINITELY something I will give a try while in MK for sure. AK, there aren't as many rides there we are interested in and EPCOT, I've got our top 5 already worked out. :flower1: Not visiting HS, so need to try it there. THANK YOU AGAIN! :thanks:
 
Even in slow times, i would get FPs for the rides/attractions that you know you want to do.
In off times, the crowds may be less, but its been reported that Disney also decreases staffing during that time, so actual wait times may not be much less.
 
We were at WDW 26 Nov to 6 Dec and some of these days were low crowds (1/10). I counted on using refresh of MDE to acquire FP+‘s but the following rides never had fast passes open up on MDE and each had usual standby times of more than an hour and up to two hours-
7DMT
FoP
Naavi River
Slinky Dog
Peter Pan
Test Track

I definitely recommend FP’s for at least these attractions. The strategy of refreshing MDE while in the park no longer works for the premier rides in any of the parks.
 
Based on my year round weekly observations, there are still slower times at WDW, but always get FPs.
 


Always get some kind of FP+ even to give your day some structure if a plan goes awry. If you want to ride something, you walk over there, it's down, if you have SOMETHING scheduled in FP+, you will have a Plan B so you aren't needlessly meandering around trying to figure out what to do with your time.
 
We were at WDW 26 Nov to 6 Dec and some of these days were low crowds (1/10). I counted on using refresh of MDE to acquire FP+‘s but the following rides never had fast passes open up on MDE and each had usual standby times of more than an hour and up to two hours-
7DMT
FoP
Naavi River
Slinky Dog
Peter Pan
Test Track

I definitely recommend FP’s for at least these attractions. The strategy of refreshing MDE while in the park no longer works for the premier rides in any of the parks.

It's harder but it CAN work. I just wouldn't count on it as a guarantee. On 12/5 I was able to get a FoP fp for my party of 3 as our 5th fp that day in AK (I believe it was for around 2pm). However, I never saw Na'vi pop up, and once we then hopped over to HS I was never able to find us a SDD fp. On 12/6 I was also able to move our pre-booked 7DMT fp earlier, although it was a party day so crowds were good. And, on 12/4 I was able to get us a fp for Test Track as our 4th fp of the day.
 


We are going to Florida in February and will spend two days at the parks. Both days are listed as level 1 out of 10 on the crowd calendar. Will we need fastpasses on a level 1 day?
There are no slow times at WDW. If there are then they will tend to staff and run rides at lower capacity (ex less trains on a roller coaster). We just went the week after thanksgiving so technically a slow time with crowd levels of 1-3 and we felt that the lines were just as long and the parks felt just as crowded as when we went in April with crowds of 5-7. So yes book FP for the rides that you must do because those hard to get FP rides (FOP, 7DMT, SDD) will not have any day of FP and will still have long waits even on "slow days". If it is truly a slower day you should be able to snag a 4th and 5th FP for other easier to get rides. The FP are a great way to save time so if you can get them why not and if your plans change slightly while you are there you can either miss that FP or try to change it to something else.
 
The strategy of refreshing MDE while in the park no longer works for the premier rides in any of the parks.

I don’t believe this to be true at all. I don’t have any active tickets to check with, but I’ll bet if @JETSDAD comes along he could refresh up some FPs on several of those top headliners on a busy day like today within just a few minutes.
 
I don’t believe this to be true at all. I don’t have any active tickets to check with, but I’ll bet if @JETSDAD comes along he could refresh up some FPs on several of those top headliners on a busy day like today within just a few minutes.

I'm new to this but thought I'd try, and got Soarin and Na'vi, each for 2-3PMish, within a couple mins. No luck with FoP/SDD, but I didn't try for that long!
 
Not necessarily addressing OP here, but I wanted to make sure it's clear that FastPass is a free service that's included with your admission. This is different than other theme park programs (like Universal Express) where it might indeed not be worth it on a slow day.

The reason I mention this is that in my visits to WDW, I have overheard more than one conversation like: "what is that line for?", "we didn't upgrade to the Fastpass ticket" or "how much more do they charge for that?" There's no penalty if you book FP and change your mind, so it never hurts to reserve some rides.
 
I don’t believe this to be true at all. I don’t have any active tickets to check with, but I’ll bet if @JETSDAD comes along he could refresh up some FPs on several of those top headliners on a busy day like today within just a few minutes.

I'd love to but my Gold AP is blacked out for a couple of weeks. I had been watching up until the blackout and have done so on some of the busiest days and still been able to get top attractions at all the parks. I posted about doing so with 7 people earlier this month so yes, it does still work.
 
AP holder. Tried refresh for 5 minutes at each park for same day FPs. Could not get following
MK: HM, JC, PP, SDMT, Space.
AK: FoP.
HS: Alien Saucer, F!, SDD.
EP: FEA, MS, TT.

But only tried for 5 minutes per park, at 2:10-2:30 PM on 12/21/18.
Not bad!
 
Absolutely yes! Two visits ago we were there on supposed 1 level crowd days. Then a storm brewed, and Heavy rains were predicted for the following days. So our beautiful level 1 day turned into a very crowded day! Like others said, I plan my FP’s as of it will be crowded, and then we are able to keep a relaxing pace and enjoy ourselves!
 
If crowds are expected to be low, Disney knows that as well as the folks who publish the crowd calendars, and Disney can adjust staffing levels, number of ride vehicles (e.g. how many trains are running at BTMRR), number of FP, etc. so that standby lines are just as long as on more crowded days. So as others have said, why not get FP? If it turns out that you don't need them, lovely!
I agree, and furthermore I think they are just beginning to figure out how to manage the CMs to create a crowd level 5 or over experience every single day. Think of all that data they get with magic bands. And since they can do this almost in real time, there is no way the crowd calendars will be able to keep up.

I would never believe a CL of 1. I don't think they exist anymore. If they do, Disney will cut staffing levels to make it feel like a 5, and then start plotting an event to bring in so it never happens again!
 
AP holder. Tried refresh for 5 minutes at each park for same day FPs. Could not get following
MK: HM, JC, PP, SDMT, Space.
AK: FoP.
HS: Alien Saucer, F!, SDD.
EP: FEA, MS, TT.

But only tried for 5 minutes per park, at 2:10-2:30 PM on 12/21/18.
Not bad!

That fits my experience for the most part. Five minutes would not be nearly persistent enough for me to get most of those rides. I am surprised that you couldn't get JC or HM though.

Refresh still works but I would not count on it for the biggest headliners or make or break rides for your party. Too variable. OP, make FPs, the only way it can possibly hurt you to get them is the 15 min you lose out of your prebooking day.
 
Not necessarily addressing OP here, but I wanted to make sure it's clear that FastPass is a free service that's included with your admission. This is different than other theme park programs (like Universal Express) where it might indeed not be worth it on a slow day.

Very true, but I still vastly prefer Universal’s fastpass system: pay a bit more to stay on property and get access to the express lines all day. No advance bookings, no advance planning, none of the brain damage that seems to consume a significant portion of all threads on this board!!

Now obviously Disney has a ton more resorts, so it would be tough to follow the same model, but they could at least do unlimited FP for the premium resorts. And keep the existing system for everyone else.

Even if you’re a “planner” who enjoys planning trips as much as going on them - and that’s me to a t - you can’t possibly enjoy the complexity of the current system. Uggggggg.
 
Very true, but I still vastly prefer Universal’s fastpass system: pay a bit more to stay on property and get access to the express lines all day. No advance bookings, no advance planning, none of the brain damage that seems to consume a significant portion of all threads on this board!!

Now obviously Disney has a ton more resorts, so it would be tough to follow the same model, but they could at least do unlimited FP for the premium resorts. And keep the existing system for everyone else.

Even if you’re a “planner” who enjoys planning trips as much as going on them - and that’s me to a t - you can’t possibly enjoy the complexity of the current system. Uggggggg.

While I love express pass, I don't think it could work at Disney. There are only 3 deluxe resorts at Uni. There have to be 8 or 10 at Disney. There are too many more people. They would have to limit it by making it very expensive. Much more so than EP.
 

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