I’m having a little trouble with creating my TP for our visit in October.
In my AK plan TP doesn’t seem to want to deal with any FP+ reservations I make! Every time I put them in and then optimise it tells me that the plan does not use a FP+ for such and such a ride. So then I change the FP+ to something else and try again, but with the same result!
The same is happening with my HS plan (although it will allow my MM FP+!).
Can I really tour two parks in October with minimal waits and only 1 FP+ between them?
At the bottom of the gray box where you are inputting your FPP, there is a hyperlink that says “Advanced Options” Click that. Then you will see a box that says “Force optimize” or something like that. Click that. That will make the software accept the times of your FPP whether or not it is the most efficient time for you to use them.
I’m amazed. I don’t think there would be a situation where one or several FPP wouldn’t be useful even on a CL 1 in any park except DAK. And, Oct has no CL1 days anyway.
It also helps to use the “optimize” button multiple times before adding FP+ reservations. When you optimize, you get the best plan the computer can find within a small amount of time, not necessarily the most optimized plan right away. If you hit optimize until the plan stabilizes (timing of attractions, total amount of weight time, etc. stay the same), the plan is much more likely to accept your FP+ reservations. I’ve linked the thread that talks about this technique if you’d like some more detail: Making Optimized Personalized Touring Plans with FastPass+
Is your CL 1 or 2? I had the same problem creating plans for my AK days with very low CLs on 8/31 and 9/1. I think it’s just a matter of it being 6 of one, half a dozen of the other when you compare FP to standby waits when crowds are that low. For those two days the only things that have more than 4-5 minutes wait (many things have 0) are shows and character M&G. The rides ALL have < 5 minutes, which just reflects the walk from the entrance to the actual ride platform and FP isn’t going to cut that down.
As to whether it’s possible, in 4 days of hopping last year (last 4 weekdays before Labor Day) the only thing we waited in ANY line for was TSMM and Kali River Rapids (and the only reason we had to wait for KRR was because the entire FastPass system went down that day, it was 98°, and the ride broke down for 15 minutes). We only used FP for TSMM, Everest (but it wasn’t really needed, as the wait was 5 minutes), and 7DMT. We rode Splash 3 times in a row without getting off because there was nobody waiting to board. I have photos from MSEP at the Hub where you can see clear spaces all up and down the curb across from us, and we walked into Indiana Jones 4 minutes late and still got the center section!
In short: yes, totally possible if you’re there at the right time!
You might want to play with changing the setting for Reduce Waiting and Reduce Time in Lines. That might help.
If nothing else works, you can always use the Evaluate button to force the order you want.