We are headed to WDW for the first time in September. Our fast pass day isn’t until next week but I would love to have everything “figured out” before hand. When picking FP do you guys usually get the FP for the times that your touring plan tells you to even if they are in the afternoon. Or do you go for all early times so that you are able to get more throughout the day?
There are different strategies. I try to schedule the 3 FPs starting at 9:30 am, 10:30 am and 11:30 am. We ride standby from park opening until 10:15ish (while the crowds are typically lower) and then head over to our first FP.
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You didn’t ask this, but when you book FP, make sure you try to book the toughest FP first (SDD, then FOP, then 7DMT) instead of going in order by days. Also, try to schedule HS and AK for later days in your trip as this will increase your chances of obtaining FP for SDD and FOP.
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You have stumbled onto the eternal unanswerable question of FP planning.
Here’s my take:
a) book them as early as possible (right at opening) and try to use them as soon as possible (probably not for the very first ride of the day, since there won’t be any wait, but maybe the second and probably the third). The theory is the sooner you use your pre-booked FP’s, the sooner you can start getting day-of FP’s and the better the selection will be.
b) book them mid morning trough afternoon when they will make the most difference since lines aren’t that long early in the early morning anyway. Don’t worry too much about day-of FP’s.
I definitely think (a) (if park opens at 9:00, tap in first FP at 9:55, tap second in at 10:05, modify 3rd to “as soon as possible.” When you tap in for it, immediately start harvesting day-of FP’s) works in MK, especially on a busy day, but this will depend on how much you’re willing to base your ride choices on available day-of FP’s and how much time you’re willing to spend on your phone booking and modifying FP’s for the rest of the day. If it’s a park where day-of FP’s aren’t as important (Epcot) or if you have a pretty specific plan, I’d definitely do (b).
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I agree with the previous posts. My only addition is if I can only get a FPP for a “must-do” attraction at midday I’ll grab it. I’d rather miss out on getting my 7th or 8th FPP for the day overall to ensure that I get to ride a “must-do” with a minimum queue.
I’d love to get a 9a / 10a /11a FPP then start grabbing more, but if I can be guaranteed a hard to get FPP at 2pm then that’s what I’ll do.
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Just remember that if you book an additional FP for later in the day, you can’t book any more FP’s until you use that one. That’s why I typically do my priority rides in the first hour with scheduled FP’s for the next priorities in the subsequent hours. By 11-12 AM, you are done with most of your priorities, and you can look for additional FP’s for lower priority attractions that should be readily available in the near future.