Fast Pass, EMH and planning ahead

Guest · 25 Jan 17, 02:18 PM

As we will take our first trip to WDW in the summer, and we want to make the most of our visit, we have been trying to plan out some kind of strategy for the parks, taking into account information in the Busy Day guide, the possibility to book rides using the FP system, and the effect of EMH.

It all seems a bit confusing to me!

Booking rides using FP+, I can see is quite a good idea. But that means planning pretty much day-to-day (and almost to the hour) where we will be and what rides we will be on, leaving very little flexibility. How do you experienced DIBBers usually balance the two?

On the other hand, I read a recommendation that you try not to visit parks on a day they have EMH access, as these are the days the parks are busiest. But are EMH for each park announced a long way in advance?

I know we will have to queue a lot (we have been to DLP), but it looks like you can reduce queuing to some extent with good planning.

klr15 · 25 Jan 17, 04:56 PM

Park hours are usually available a few months before. Check the Florida park hours section for those.

It is recommended that those staying off site avoid parks with EMH. The EMH is a benefit of staying in a Disney world resort so it is good to take advantage of it if you're staying on site. Quite a few people reccomend visiting the park with EMH for a few hours in the morning and then moving to a different, less busier park afterwards. Some people have said that you can get quite a lot of things done during EMH.

You can only book 3 fast passes per day so I don't think it makes the day too restricted. Some queues can be ridiculously long so it's good to have them booked for the rides you don't want to miss.

WhereIBelong · 25 Jan 17, 05:15 PM

What we did for Easter- we knew it would be busy...
We had 2 weeks booked.

We knew from the past that the first week we would be up early and not up for staying too late, so we planned early arrival at the parks, do as many rides as possible, booked our FP+ for 10.15/11.15/12.15... you have an hour window on each. Always book the ones you would be upset to miss.

We then rode our 10.15 as close to 10.15 as possible, went off and did a couple of other small rides, or a show, or brunch, then rode the 11.15 as late as possible (say 12.05) and the 12.15 straight after. Then if any FP+ are available book another - STRAIGHT after joining the FP line on the 12.15 one. Then when you join that line, book another... etc...

We then booked FP+ for late nights in our second week - so up later, go to parks later, FP+ 4.15/5.15/6.15 ... then fireworks, food etc.

We booked FP+ for every day - work out which park you are most likely to visit - even if you don't plan to go every day, then when you firm up plans, cancel any you don't want.

Worked great for us.

LottiesLot · 25 Jan 17, 07:20 PM

Originally Posted by WhereIBelong

What we did for Easter- we knew it would be busy...
We had 2 weeks booked.

We knew from the past that the first week we would be up early and not up for staying too late, so we planned early arrival at the parks, do as many rides as possible, booked our FP+ for 10.15/11.15/12.15... you have an hour window on each. Always book the ones you would be upset to miss.

We then rode our 10.15 as close to 10.15 as possible, went off and did a couple of other small rides, or a show, or brunch, then rode the 11.15 as late as possible (say 12.05) and the 12.15 straight after. Then if any FP+ are available book another - STRAIGHT after joining the FP line on the 12.15 one. Then when you join that line, book another... etc...

We then booked FP+ for late nights in our second week - so up later, go to parks later, FP+ 4.15/5.15/6.15 ... then fireworks, food etc.

We booked FP+ for every day - work out which park you are most likely to visit - even if you don't plan to go every day, then when you firm up plans, cancel any you don't want.

Worked great for us.

That's such a great tip! It sounds like you used the app on your phone to book the extra FP while in the queues?

Guest · 26 Jan 17, 12:49 AM

Originally Posted by WhereIBelong

What we did for Easter- we knew it would be busy...
We had 2 weeks booked.

We knew from the past that the first week we would be up early and not up for staying too late, so we planned early arrival at the parks, do as many rides as possible, booked our FP+ for 10.15/11.15/12.15... you have an hour window on each. Always book the ones you would be upset to miss.

We then rode our 10.15 as close to 10.15 as possible, went off and did a couple of other small rides, or a show, or brunch, then rode the 11.15 as late as possible (say 12.05) and the 12.15 straight after. Then if any FP+ are available book another - STRAIGHT after joining the FP line on the 12.15 one. Then when you join that line, book another... etc...

We then booked FP+ for late nights in our second week - so up later, go to parks later, FP+ 4.15/5.15/6.15 ... then fireworks, food etc.

We booked FP+ for every day - work out which park you are most likely to visit - even if you don't plan to go every day, then when you firm up plans, cancel any you don't want.

Worked great for us.

Brilliant summary, thanks!

Can you book 3 x FP each at 2 different parks on a given day? Is that what you mean by cancelling some?

WhereIBelong · 26 Jan 17, 08:30 AM

Originally Posted by laz

Brilliant summary, thanks!

Can you book 3 x FP each at 2 different parks on a given day? Is that what you mean by cancelling some?

No, only 1 park on a given day (though after you use the 3 FP+ at one park you can go to another park and book one at a time) - what we found was we did not want to go to a park some days -tiredness, or other plans - mini-golf, airboat ride, day at the mall etc.

So we cancelled those days when we knew what we were doing. We also changed which park we had planned to do a couple of times - when it was really busy over Easter you had to do that a couple of days in advance to get any big rides on FP+.

And yep - use the free wifi and app to book the next FP after you check in for the last of your 3, and for every one thereafter. (we were there at Easter so there were lines for FP on the big rides - but we had no access to the app, it was all on machine or by CM, we just asked what was available - slim pickings! - and got the CM to book us on their i-pad thing, now the app is there it will be soooooooo easy)

25 Jan 17, 02:18 PM	#1
	25 Jan 17, 02:18 PM Guest Guest
Guest Guest	Fast Pass, EMH and planning ahead As we will take our first trip to WDW in the summer, and we want to make the most of our visit, we have been trying to plan out some kind of strategy for the parks, taking into account information in the Busy Day guide, the possibility to book rides using the FP system, and the effect of EMH. It all seems a bit confusing to me! Booking rides using FP+, I can see is quite a good idea. But that means planning pretty much day-to-day (and almost to the hour) where we will be and what rides we will be on, leaving very little flexibility. How do you experienced DIBBers usually balance the two? On the other hand, I read a recommendation that you try not to visit parks on a day they have EMH access, as these are the days the parks are busiest. But are EMH for each park announced a long way in advance? I know we will have to queue a lot (we have been to DLP), but it looks like you can reduce queuing to some extent with good planning.

25 Jan 17, 05:15 PM	#3
	25 Jan 17, 05:15 PM WhereIBelong Imagineer
WhereIBelong Imagineer Join Date: Aug 15	What we did for Easter- we knew it would be busy... We had 2 weeks booked. We knew from the past that the first week we would be up early and not up for staying too late, so we planned early arrival at the parks, do as many rides as possible, booked our FP+ for 10.15/11.15/12.15... you have an hour window on each. Always book the ones you would be upset to miss. We then rode our 10.15 as close to 10.15 as possible, went off and did a couple of other small rides, or a show, or brunch, then rode the 11.15 as late as possible (say 12.05) and the 12.15 straight after. Then if any FP+ are available book another - STRAIGHT after joining the FP line on the 12.15 one. Then when you join that line, book another... etc... We then booked FP+ for late nights in our second week - so up later, go to parks later, FP+ 4.15/5.15/6.15 ... then fireworks, food etc. We booked FP+ for every day - work out which park you are most likely to visit - even if you don't plan to go every day, then when you firm up plans, cancel any you don't want. Worked great for us.