Overwhelmed for the first time

[disneynarula]

I am a seasoned WDW traveler but I am blown away from this whole new system. Planning a vacation should not be this much work.

Any thoughts on how to best navigate the new FP system?

[Davy Crockett]

The best advise that I have seen posted is at your 60 day mark go ahead and pick your 3 per park per day which will be shown to you in blocks and will not be the optimal for you or your family, but pick the best of what is offered.

THEN the following day go back in to those choices and you will be able to customize / modify each choice for a better or more suitable time for your families plan. You will be able to see a range of times for each of your FP+ selections and not "bundled" together.

Hope that makes sense...

[DisneyDadfromPittsburgh]

I was in your shoes but after doing it just yesterday it was not as bad as I thought it would be. Yes - some manual work and Yes - some coordinating the FP you want with the daily park schedule you would like to do but once it's all done it was kinda cool to see that you can pick out your FP choices already 60 days out. It also lists your ADR for that day so you can see the whole laid out right on paper.

[yankeesfan123]

One step at a time. Just one step at a time.

Set up your MDE account.

Link your hotel reservation.

Link your tickets.

Make your ADRs.

Make your FP+ selections.

Design your MB.

Just think of it as a bunch of small things and not one huge thing.

[Main Street Jim]

I am a seasoned WDW traveler but I am blown away from this whole new system. Planning a vacation should not be this much work.

Any thoughts on how to best navigate the new FP system?

You're not the only one :/

In 40+ years of going to the parks (for me, anyway), this is our first Disney trip that we've actually had to *plan* out.

Yesterday was our 180-day mark, so we made our dining reservations.

Don't have any "smartphones" or iPhones or anything.

This trip, we're doing the Dining Plan, and we're basing our park days based on where we're eating that day. Since we know our way around the parks, we want to kind of take it easy and enjoy some new dining experiences.

We're booked at:

Be Our Guest for dinner Sunday

Chef Mickey's for breakfast and O'Hana for dinner on Monday

CRT (breakfast) and California Grille (dinner) for Tuesday with fireworks from atop the Contemporary

Plaza restaurant for dinner on Wednesday, with night parade and fireworks at MK

Crystal Palace (breakfast) and '50s Prime Time with friends on Thursday

and, our last day in the parks, Via Napoli and Coral Reef, with Illuminations as our "closer".

Hoping all the planning will be worth it

So now, when we hit our 60-day mark, we have to decide which attractions we want to do using FP+.

[Ian]

Yeah ... go to Disneyland

Kidding. I wish I had some words of wisdom to share, but I really don't. I find it just as annoying and cumbersome as you do.

[disneynarula]

Yeah ... go to Disneyland

Kidding. I wish I had some words of wisdom to

We considered this. We are headed back to the states in between tours. We will be there for six weeks and are driving cross country from North Carolina to Las Vegas with several stops in between. My kids just really wanted to go to WDW.

I had a nightmare last night that I forgot to make ADRs and Fastpass arrangements. In my nightmare my MIL was also with us.

[Bruegge]

We considered this. We are headed back to the states in between tours. We will be there for six weeks and are driving cross country from North Carolina to Las Vegas with several stops in between. My kids just really wanted to go to WDW.

I had a nightmare last night that I forgot to make ADRs and Fastpass arrangements. In my nightmare my MIL was also with us.

OMG That's funny...:

[Aurora]

We considered this. We are headed back to the states in between tours. We will be there for six weeks and are driving cross country from North Carolina to Las Vegas with several stops in between. My kids just really wanted to go to WDW.

I had a nightmare last night that I forgot to make ADRs and Fastpass arrangements. In my nightmare my MIL was also with us.

Wow -- what a fantastic trip! Lucky you! Your comment about the MIL actually made me laugh out loud.

The above suggestions are great. Before you start, make sure you have all the information you need on hand -- eg. hotel reservation numbers (and ticket numbers if separate), guest names, etc. Then make sure you have a little chunk of time -- you'll need at least a half-hour or more using the system the first time and linking your info. Once all your info is in the system, everything gets a lot easier.

We hit a few glitches planning for a recent trip. Other people have no problems at all. If you hit any bumps, you can always call Disney at 407-939-4357 for help.

[FaithTrustPixieDust]

I agree with the OP that even a seasoned WDW traveler now feels overwhelmed with the level of planning that is necessary.

For our upcoming trip, I took some advice that I found here on intercot: Schedule FP+ for later in the day when you definitely don't want to wait in any standby lines. Use mornings to arrive early and try to ride the rides that you don't have FP+ for. (Or to arrive at Park A, and then hop to Park B later for FP+ times.)

I think I figured out the root of my frustration: It's the way they tier the rides, forcing me to choose between some of our faves, such as Test Track and Soarin'. In choosing one, it plants the notion that I may not get around to riding the other (without the 60-90 minute wait). Instead of making me feel excited that I have a FP for Test Track at 2:10pm, I think "Oh no, what if we don't get to ride Soarin!"

The WDW Gamemakers have promoted FP+ as a way to take the stress out of your vacation, but for me it has created a new brand of anxiety.

[LittleRoosMommy]

I couldn't agree more! I'm so frustrated with trying to figure out what to FP and what to wait for it's driving me insane! We are going to be there for Spring Break this year, luckily ours is the week after Easter, hoping this helps, and I'm completely stressed out! So much so that DH wants to cancel the trip and see if they get rid of FP+. I think he's as frustrated as I am about the tiers and only being able to choose certain rides.

I still don't see how this is going to be better in the long run. I just spoke with a friend who was there a few weeks ago. They had no crowds, but said the lines were at times crazy long b/c of the FP+.

I actually stopped making FP+ for the last part of our trip because we tend to hit all the parks once and then go where the girls want at the end of the week. Hoping this isn't going to be a nightmare... Oh well! Hoping for the best!!

[disneynarula]

Ugh...if this doesn't go well it may be our last trip. Especially since our kids are moving into the adult price range and they will all be over three when we go again, this is getting too expensive.

What does Disney hope to gain from this? There are changes that I have not liked in the past but can see why other people might like them (horizons vs. mission space) (test track vs. world of motion) but I just don't see the appeal in this at all.

I already know I am going to have to get card keys instead of the bands because my kids won't wear them and my husband does not want to be "low jacked" by Disney. At least with the card keys they can slip in my purse easily.

[yankeesfan123]

I have talked to many "non-crazed" disney fans and they absolutely love it. They think it's the best thing ever.

Die hard disney fans are important, but are the minority. However, they are vocal.

Most "normal" people I've talked to in real life have had similar reactions to that of Shane Gamble on the last intercot podcast.

[LittleRoosMommy]

I just spoke to friends who went last month for their first visit. I asked her opinion since it was their first trip on the FP+. She absolutely HATED it! She said it was extremely frustrating to try to change the FP+ in the parks. The system seemed to get overloaded, the Wifi would stop working, the CM in the parks were not helpful and seemed frustrated as well. She said that she had more luck with CM in her Resort (BC) being helpful. At one point, she attempted to change one FP and ended up having to change all 3! Then when she tried to get the 2 original ones back it was too late in the day/evening for them, as she has very young kids. She was given an extra FP from the hotel when she voiced her frustrations. She said they also got an offer for an "extra" FP for BOG at lunch. This was for resort guests only. Her overall impression was that it was not good at all. She said they had a good time, but that it was way too much work!

[Janmac]

I'm thinking our FP+ plan would be to not do it.

On our last several trips the only FP we got was for Toy Story Mania and that was the park opening one person fast walk with everyone else's park tickets.

Jan

[iheartdisney]

I'm thinking our FP+ plan would be to not do it.

Jan

I've actually considered this for our upcoming trip. It seems like such a hassle. And then, I've heard the nightmare stories of incredibly long lines when the parks, in general, didn't seem crowded at all.

Would love to hear from more people who have actually scheduled ahead with FP+ and then implemented their plan. Most of what I've heard is from "a friend of a friend."

[Main Street Jim]

LOL...

What *did* we all do before even the "regular" FastPass system came out in 1998? We waited in line.

Why, all of a sudden (or, really, more like it's festered over the last fifteen years), are we not able to just *patiently* wait in *ANY* type of line, especially those of us who've been going to the parks for years?

Waiting an hour or so for us in line is no huge deal, because we've "been there, done that". I think that most frequent visitors to Walt Disney World have gotten...well...*spoiled*...with FastPass. And they all "paid their admission, so they should get what they *want*" (I heard this all the time working in Attractions...LOL).

[VWL Mom]

Would love to hear from more people who have actually scheduled ahead with FP+ and then implemented their plan. Most of what I've heard is from "a friend of a friend."

We were down over marathon weekend. We made all our FP+ for afternoons and were fine with it. I did make a change while in the park but used my 3G instead of WiFi and had no problems at all. One of our rides did go down during the scheduled time and they sent an email saying we could either change it or use sit later in the day.

LOL...

What *did* we all do before even the "regular" FastPass system came out in 1998? We waited in line.

How well I remember those days. We were traveling with two little ones (one having special needs) and survived. We moved at a slower pace but enjoyed our time together. We moved on kid time and never tried to cram everything into one day.

[Main Street Jim]

We moved at a slower pace but enjoyed our time together. We moved on kid time and never tried to cram everything into one day.

I was thinking more along the lines of having only one park - Magic Kingdom. "Back in the day", we'd visit for just a day trip, three or four times a year. I guess knowing we'd be back soon, we never really "rushed around" trying to do "everything in the park" in one trip.

[disneynarula]

LOL...

What *did* we all do before even the "regular" FastPass system came out in 1998? We waited in line.

Why, all of a sudden (or, really, more like it's festered over the last fifteen years), are we not able to just *patiently* wait in *ANY* type of line, especially those of us who've been going to the parks for years?

Waiting an hour or so for us in line is no huge deal, because we've "been there, done that". I

y World have gotten...well...*spoiled*...with FastPass. And they all "paid their admission, so they should get what they *want*" (I heard this all the time working in Attractions...LOL).

I don't mind waiting in lines. I have been going to Disney long before FastPass. However...it seems that the new system is creating longer standby lines. I have long been a believer that Fastpass creates longer lines when the park crowds are low.