I am trying to figure out which attractions to rope drop, which to get LLSP and LLMP for (like everyone here, I imagine.) It infuriates me that the Fast Pass which was once INCLUDED (not free) in the already hefty admission fee, is now ridiculously expensive and tiered. While I’d love to get LLSP and LLMP for every park every day, for a family of four that is LOT money. I really hate lines and if wait is an hour or more will not do it. We will be using touring plans and will enter in our LLs once we get thes. We are going in early March Does this sound reasonable:
AKL (late entry first day) Try to get LLSP for Avatar FOP, hope Navi River isn’t too long after this, go to shows and walk around
AKL (EE second Day) run to EE and then try for Safaris. Hope other attraction waits aren’t too bad?
MK (EE first day) Try to get LLSP for Tron, use LLMP for the rest of the rides
MK (EE second day) Try to get LLSP for Tatiana’s Bayou, maybe not need LLMP the second day? do the less popular attractions? Praying Thunder Mountain is open in March, but seems unlikely
HS (EE first and only day) try to get LLSP for Rise, would like to do Smugglers Run, Toy Story, and Runaway Railway. RR will be down Do I need LLMP?
Epcot: (EE first day) Try to get LLSP for Guardians, Use LLMP try for Remys and Soaring
In general, my recollections (I know other experts here will correct me if I’m wrong ):
Safari isn’t open until after EE - I think you should be fine but will have to cross the park obviously. Enjoy the shows / trails / train. I like Play Disney Parks for the trails.
MK’s always great for LLMP. Keep in mind that Tiana’s Bayou is LLMP, not LLSP - 7 Dwarves Mine Train is the second LLSP.
Depending on the ages in your party, I’ve read that single rider lines at TT and Remy’s are pretty quick. I think you could get away with one day of LLMP at Epcot if you were able to use them / checked out some of the La Cava tip threads. I definitely recommend the night atmosphere around Journey of Water and the SSE light shows.
DHS might be a wash if you don’t want Slinky and ToT? Definitely worth checking out the TP estimates when not using LLMP there, even though it’s usually recommended second after MK.
I always recommend putting the rides into Touring Plans with and without LLMP to see what the estimated reduction in wait time could be, based on your priorities.
Also, you have a lot of EE days - hopefully you have some rest days interspersed so that you can enjoy the parks at night and fireworks without getting too exhausted.
I’ve only buy LL for DHS and MK. And by buying it, I don’t see the need to rope drop EE. Buying LL lets sleep in a bit and not arrive at the park until 9:00-10:00.
I refuse to pay for LLSP for Rise. I rode it in the first weeks it opened in December 2019 and nothing functions they way it used to. I’ve ridden several times at the end of the night with no more than a 30 minute wait, especially if Fantasmic is showing at the same time. Do you plan to ride ToT or Slinky Dog?
Where are you staying? I’ve had success being at the Pop Skyliner by 7:15 for an 8:30 Epcot opening and have been able to hit Remy, Frozen, Soarin and Spaceship Earth by 10:45. I will always buy LLSP for Guardians. Remy and Test Track also have single rider lines.
AK lines die down in the later afternoon. Have you made a TP? I’ve also had success rope dropping FOP at early entry, then Navi, Safari, Everest single rider.
Thanks for your responses! We are staying at AKL. It’s been a while since we’ve been to WDW and I am used to running around the parks and knocking out attractions. I do have two young adults with me so it’s true EE may not be entirely realistic. My goal is to hit each park EE once and use LL and then have second days at AK, MK, and Epcot be much more relaxed. Although I am never an early riser, there is something so magical about mornings in the parks. We do plan to smell the flowers and have nice lunch breaks.
I am really sad to hear that Rise is not functioning well. We are big SW fans, well at least I am, lol, and I dreamed of going to the Star Wars resort and everything. This is the first time we will be able to experience the new land and it is disappointing to hear that so many aspects of it seem to be less amazing than at first.
Yes, I meant to say LLMP for Tiana’s. I am most confused about which Tier 1 attraction to choose in MK! Welcome suggestions.
I have tried out some touring plans, but it seems that it won’t make sense until we plug in the LLs and know what times they are. That’s why it is confusing for me to know the best way to strategize. I liked the days when the touring plans said “send someone to run and get Fast Passes, while the rest head to other attraction”.
We do plan to do the Fireworks in MK and in Epcot, but probably will not be late in the other parks. We like to have a sit down dinner. But we’ll see. I generally over plan everything, but I have learned to be flexible once there.
Assuming that these are not CL10 days, here some thoughts on when I’d get LLMPs/LLSPs.
LLMP is not essential at AK, especially if you have two days (or even 1.5 days). LLSP for FoP is sufficient (and even that is not essential if you’re willing to brave the (pretty competitive) RD for it during EE.
For day 1 with the late arrival, I would indeed prioritize shows and animal trails, plus with young adults you can likely ride EE using single rider with low wait times (repeatedly, if you enjoy that). NRJ wait times during the day (even on low crowd days) just aren’t worth it for that ride to me, I’d save it for day 2.
For day 2, note that everything except FoP is a walk on (or very near that) during EE. I love starting with NRJ (as long as you arrive 5 min before regular park hours, it’ll still be a walk on or short wait), and then head directly to Safaris which opens around that time and will likely be a short wait too. Then again EE (single rider for shortest wait times) and Kali if you’re interested. If you want to do FoP again, buy an LLSP. You can also rope drop FoP to save the money on LLSP but honestly that’s only worth it if you’re close enough to be at the front for the first flight of the day (roughly first 50 people). If you are, you can still get to NRJ before regular park open and follow the above plan. If you’re still in line for/on FoP at the end of EE, you kind of miss that window of getting to surf ahead of the crowd for the other rides.
For MK, I think it’s worth getting LLMP for one day. LLSPs for Tron (maybe even LLSP for 7DMT) are also worth it, as those lines rarely get below an hour, except right before closing. Then you can focus the LLMP day on attractions with longer wait times (PPF, TBA, SM, JC, HM, WtP, etc.) and ride the many attractions with lower wait times on the day without LLMP. Note Fantasyland attraction wait times also drop significantly in the evenings, so with young adults you can knock out a lot after the families with young kids have gone home.
I would definitely get LLMP for HS, it’s the most difficult park to navigate without. The only single rider lane is MFSR and that one is much more fun to do with your whole party, so we rarely use it. I hate getting LLSP for Rise, it’s by far the most expensive one and for 4 people at >$100 the price tag stings. I’ve once used LLSP there and been led straight into the Stormtrooper room, missing the two (good) pre-shows - I did not want to do that! Note that Rise does also have a single rider lane most of the time, though that one may also skip the pre-shows. Agree with others who have said that you might get lucky with low wait times at Rise in the evening - but depends a bit on whather or not you are planning to do Fantasmic (and if there’s two shows that night)?
Definitely get LLSP for GotG on both days. You could probably get around buying LLMP for both days if you’re willing to rope drop FEA followed by Soarin (or rope drop one each day) and use Remy/TT single rider lanes. Or buy LLMP one day (and prebook either FEA or TT, then try to catch Remy on a drop - I think these are still happening?) If you’re trying to limit the days you’re using LLMP, then I definitely think you can go without it at Epcot for one day (focusing instead on World Showcase touring and attractions at the front of the park with low wait times).
A bonus to the magic here is much shorter lines in that first hour or so…. really good if you are not buying LLMP that day…
You will still love Rise, and… chances are, you will not even notice what’s not working. It will blow your mind. There is a reason it has held premium value as a LLSP for so long (also it breaks down a lot, so the LLSP is a hedge against waiting in line, just to have the ride go down).
Tiana.
Build a plan with the attractions you want to see and optimize it without any LLMP. See what the plan is and what the waits are. Then drop in LLMP one at a time, re-optimize and see how it changes. You will get the feel.
By the way, here is the “generally accepted” priority order for LLMP and LLSP
That was updated in December I believe so, obviously Dinosaur has closed… but based on your liklihood of being able to get additional LLMP on your day in the park, that’s typically the order in which they sell out.
If you haven’t stumbled on this thread, you might check it out
Thanks, this is all incredibly helpful. So…in Epcot, would it make sense to rope drop TT or do single rider lane for TT, and get LL for Soarin, Remy and Planet Earth. We will get Guardians on SP and no one is particularly interested in MS. On second day, is it pointless to race to Frozen if we are not at IG?
Okay, my next question: Is there a strategy to booking the LL when my 7 day time arrives? Should I do Single Passes first? Is there an order of hardest to get? Do I pick one day/park and book LLSP and LLMP for that day and then go to the next one? I actually would prefer my earlier days be loaded with the LL so I can relax on the later days of the trip when I might be tired, but it sounds like I have a better chance booking LL in the last days of my trip? I appreciate any advice. I there is a place this is already addressed let me know. Thanks so much!!!
I would study the availability charts on Thrill Data and figure out which LLs will be hardest for you to get. Then book the hardest day first - both MP and SP in a single pass - then move on to the next hardest day, etc. Generally AK is the easiest park, and EP / HS are the hardest.
Some people try to plan their hardest days… usually EP and HS towards the end of their trip so that you are booking the furthest out first… hopefully availability will be better towards the end of your trip rather than the beginning. But I agree with @Jeff_AZ start with HS and EP first.
edited to add… it looks like you are only planning 1 day at HS… and that you might be going for a week? If so, I would try to put HS at the back end of your trip (maybe day 5, 6 or 7) and start LL booking with that day….
Will it be impossible to get ROTR on day 4? That is the most important one for us. Unfortunately, it never occurred to me that we wouldn’t get the LL if we were on property so I didn’t schedule my days properly. Now our ADRs are booked so it will be a challenge to change.
You should be able to get Rise for day 4 of an onsite stay no problem. When we say you need to be strategic about which day you go to each park, we are really talking about early morning return times for top tier multipass attractions. Slinky Dog Dash, Test Track, Remy, etc. And if you’re ok getting those in the afternoon, you should still be fine on days 1-3 of an onsite stay. Single Pass is usually easy to get.
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