I remember being involved in a debate on what time of day to set your FP+ for MK a couple of years ago in this forum. The gist was a) book as early as possible vs. b) book for busiest time of day.
Now, as I say this was awhile ago, and I haven’t been very active here since my last trip in 2016. I was wondering where the general consensus now falls on this?
I continue to book early in the day, but typically an hour or two after the park opens. We use scheduled FPP in the morning and we ride the FPP train in the afternoon and evening. It’s fun to see where they day can take you!
Where I came down on it was to set them as early as possible. That seems counter-intuitive, as that first hour or two has the shortest lines (and would therefore get the least benefit from FP+). However, as a for instance, if it’s 9:55am and the FP+ is for SDMT, that line is already a titan and worthy of the FP+. Burning your first 3 as fast as possible accelerates how soon you can start picking up #4, #5, etc.
Yes, I believe in that philosophy, as long as you can get a FP for a headliner that will get a huge line in the first hour. 7DMT, FoP, TSMM, and possibly FEA (if it wasn’t so far from the entrances). Soarin’ used to fit this description, too, before the third theater.
I think you can add Peter Pan to that list too. Past the first half hour of park open, that’s not a line I’d personally want to stand in.
You are right about that. I should have thought of that since I stay offsite and have little chance at a FP for 7DMT at 30 days out. However, morning PP FPs are often available at that time and that is the first ride that I legitimately have a chance to get a FP at.
I still go with using personalized TPs to determine the best FPP reservations. I’m not a fan of front-loading with the hopes of being able to get a useful FPP reservation after using all the pre-booked ones.
I think both can be done. I’ll front-load my first three before noon using what my personalized TP suggests that I try to get.
I use a hybrid. I try and use a customized TP and my 3 advanced FPP to get the most “bang for my buck” during the first 3 or 4 hours the park is open. Then, I have more “play” in my TP after that and try to use day of FPP to find useful FP.
The main (and perhaps only) deficiency with letting the Touringplans software pick the placement of FPs is that the algorithm works based on the assumption that you will only ever get 3 FPs. It might have you choose FPs for Winnie the Pooh, PP, and Splash in the noon to 2pm range, while having you wait a fairly modest 25 minutes at Space earlier in the day. Now, if it knew for a fact that you’d be able to get a 4th FP for Pooh, would it still have you choose your FPs the same way? I doubt it.