Just starting to set some TPs for our forthcoming trip and playing with how LLs interact. The problem I’m having is that Lines is trying to minimise waits - so it often pushes the first LL of the day to the end of its window to minimise standby waits first thing.
eg let’s say I use Merlock to get PP at 8am, Lines wants me to ride at 9 because - overall - it’s a lower wait by pushing the standby attractions first.
Whereas actually I want to tap in to PP at 8 so I can pick the next LL. Is there any way to force Lines to use the start of the window? Or is it going to be a case of marking it done on the day and reoptimising? Or maybe leaving it out entirely??
It is possible that doing so saves you more time than you would save at getting the next LL earlier. Hard to know though. But tapping into PPF right at 8 will potentially put you behind the crowds for other rides.
As @motherofdaughtersthree suggest, try instead ordering them how you want and evaluate instead of optimize to see how the wait times differ.
I made TPs for friends at WDW the week of July 4. We basically considered each plan we made a “list” of what they hoped to accomplish each day as we couldn’t predict LL times. At 7AM, I’d add in the LL time they got and told them which rides to rope drop. After they hit those 1 or 2 rides at rope drop, I would optimize with the LL time and then tell them what to do next. As LL times are so up in the air until you get there, I found it best just to make a plan with what you hoped to do that day and not obsess about it since the plan would change throughout the day as they got each LL. Especially since TPs assume you aren’t at the front of RD, you may not have the best rides to RD as the first two attractions.
Basically, I’d recommend making a TP with what you want to ride, where you want to eat, and then the times you plan to be there. In the notes, write what you will RD and the order that you will book your LLs based on demand. After you are in the park and have done your first two rides, optimize the plan using your LL time. Optimize again after each LL you get and/or after every couple of attractions.
The plans I made for them before they left didn’t look like they would get to every attraction we had planned; however, once they rope dropped, and added LLs throughout the day, they were able to accomplish those attractions plus more.
Thanks all - yes, did consider evaluating - but that obviously fixes everything. But @JenniferB1975 makes a good point about RD and TP assuming you start at the main entrance so it’s already imperfect. Having a rough objective and updating as you go I think sounds best and was where I was leaning to.
I would much prefer to plan in advance, rather than continually optimising and ticking off during the day, but with Genie+ we are where we are!!
I remember even with the old FPs after you used your initial three, you were getting them one at a time, at a time you didn’t have penciled in on your TP so my plan was short and needed to be redone anyway.
That is still sort of the same. My TPs were always great in the mornings but after that, we just went from FP to FP after those initial three and threw the plan out the window.
The one benefit of the LLs is that you can have more than one an hour stacked. Friends had LLs starting at 5:00, 5:10, 5:30, 6:15 and so on. You could got from LL to LL attractions without having to find something else to to in between. FP’s couldn’t overlap so…silver lining?
@JenniferB1975 is right on. I was in the front of the pack rope dropping and using Merlock & TP. It usually made sense to rope drop a big attraction I wouldn’t want to pay or wait for at any other point in the day and then ride 1-2 smaller attractions without a LL before using that first LL of the day. I found it really helpful in my planning to use Thrill Ride data to estimate when I’d be able to get the second LL, and I planned those LLs with the priority list.
Good points! We only do half days (mornings) in the parks and then chill for the rest of the day - so slightly different challenges around LLs (and never booked extra FPs as a result!) - we’re going second half of August when it’s fairly quiet so I expect I’ll be able to pick up quite a few LLs for the lower-level attractions for more or less instant access (even browsing today many of the return times weren’t that far ahead). And the headliners I can spread out over the two weeks.
