So, full disclosure here - I’m not going for at least a few years, but my obsessiveness has led me to start trying to plan already.
I have access to a timeshare in which I will not be paying for my room. I went this past November and stayed onsite and loved it, but this next time I will go a cheaper route. Anyway, if I am trying to reserve my fastpasses at 30 days, are any not available? 7DMT will be a must for us in the MK, Expedition in AK, and Soarin in EPCOT are ones we will love to have. Obviously, if we can’t we will have to do standby, but I was just wondering what’s available and MyDisneyExperience won’t let me see without a ticket linked to my account.
I have found that 7DMT can be challenging but at just checked for a party of two- February 21st (President’s week ) and I could book all of the FOs you asked about. I only had one option for 7DMT and I am sure that it will be gone in minutes- but it is there. I think the new Pandora and any new HS attractions would be hard to get.
We’ve stayed off site the last couple of years and, while it was a challenge, I was able to get 5 FPP for 7DMT each year, including the year it first opened. The thing is, you have to be ready to book right when your window opens and be flexible on the time. The first time, I got a 7pm time (which was not optimal for us), but I checked back a couple hours later and was able to move it to an early FPP. Again, ideally, I wanted an afternoon one, but I took what I could get. Then next couple of years, however, I was able to get afternoon FPP for it. I had to move a few things around in my plan, but that’s okay. I still got the FPPs.
Now, you said you’re not going for another few years. So much can change in that time. They may develop another system or another track or a new ride, making 7DMT the second most desirable, instead of the first. Look at what a little thing like changing the welcome show has done to RD strategies.
Bide your time. You may want to plan now, but so much is still up in the air even from one year to the next. No point in worrying now.
You’re not alone in your obsessiveness - I started planning my March trip over two years ago. Waiting is hard. But what Ariadne said is right about things changing - lots of changes have been made even since my ADRs and fastpasses were booked. I will attest to the fun of planning for a long time; just prepared for your plans to change dozens of times in the meantime.
You won’t have any trouble reserving Expedition, Soarin’, within the 30 days. You will always have trouble with 7DMT and Frozen, if that is of interest.
I’m an annual passholder and I can only book up to 30 days in advance and have never been able to get 7DMT and I go twice a month.
However, that being said, I’ve been on 7DMT twice in the last six months by going at rope drop and waiting the 30 minutes to get on. Truthfully, now that I’ve been on it, I’d rather get in at rope drop and ride Big Thunder several times walking on rather than wait for the other. But you need to ride it
( 7DMT) at least twice; first, to get the hang of leaning into the turns on the rocking cars, and second, to actually enjoy the ride. Plus, they take a video of your party that is really, really cute!
Go at RD on a weekday and you’ll get a chance to ride, but count on a 30 to 60 minute wait.
We went in November this past year. I rode it twice, one of my daughters rode it 3 times, and one of them rode it once. I really liked it, but my daughter that rode it 3 times is still talking about it.
I know things change, and I will be changing my plans almost assuredly. I will definitely want to do Rivers of Light when I go back and will be doing several other new rides. We didn’t ride Expedition, because my daughters really weren’t big enough for that one quite yet. I think next time they will be. Here’s hoping they will want to do Rockin’ Rollercoaster too!
Honestly, just be nice and go to guest services and tell them that a ride broke down while you were in line. They’ll kick you a fast pass. I’ve never tried it dishonestly, though we walked up to TT last visit and were in line for a minute and they told us all it was down and we could go to guest services and get a fast pass for any ride in the park for that day. We forgot to go get the fast pass, but found ourselves back at Epcot the next night. My wife figured, she’d try and we were glad she did. They kicked us down a fast pass no questions asked. The squeaky wheel gets the grease at the D. Be nice and ask, you hear yes a lot.
Just returned from trip staying off property. We were able to get a 7DMT for 3:25 on 2/5 (super bowl Sunday…it was busy from RD till 2:30 pm when we left) 30 days out at 4am PST. Just make sure you don’t miss a minute of the thirty days. This day was considered a “5” on the crowd calendar and would probably not be available during the busier months.