Question regarding experience without FP

[ww52]

Curious for anyone who has visited recently (especially the days in March when all parks reached whatever capacity limit was set) -

What do you think about NOT having the Fast Pass option?

One thing I will never forget about our 2018 trip was getting up early when we hit our day to try and secure FPs and feeling disappointed; and the trip was I think 3 months away still. Not a great feeling given all the money we were spending.

Then we checked periodically and made adjustments - but the main adjustments were in the park as people dropped certain ones and we were able to snag them. BUT the downside of course is time spent on our phone instead of simply taking in the atmosphere of WDW.

SO - I actually am looking FORWARD to NOT having that!

Any thoughts?

 

[PaladinButters]

We hated it. Used to be we had three options to make headline ride waits better - grab the FP+, early entry mornings, rope drop and make that first. Now we only have one ride that can be rope drop and everything else is a much longer wait than we are used to.

 

[ww52]

How bad are wait times? I read on another thread that the Touring Plan wait times are more realistic.

I guess the point I'm hoping is true is that reduced capacity along with everyone being in the same situation makes it less painfl than one might think.

But you seem to be saying that's not true.

 

[Elleshoodat]

We hated it. Used to be we had three options to make headline ride waits better - grab the FP+, early entry mornings, rope drop and make that first. Now we only have one ride that can be rope drop and everything else is a much longer wait than we are used to.

We were there last week, and also over Labor Day weekend -- so two of the busiest times in the last year, I'd guess, and we LOVE not having FastPass+. Yes, there are waits, but Disney often exaggerates them, and the lines move SO quickly without having to load FastPass+ riders. I much prefer touring the parks this way.

 

[Pyxie]

Well I'll put it this way. We did more in half a day than we did in an entire day with FP. We hit almost every ride that we wanted to do. The wait times seem to fluctuate a lot, so keep checking and get in line as soon as you are comfortable with the wait time. The lines also look A LOT longer than they really are due to social distancing.

 

[ww52]

Thanks - two different opinions; I have to say I was hoping to hear what elleshoodat said;

But I understand; if there are several headline attractions you feel are very important to experience, there is less chance.

Even in 2018 we picked a few big name ones but realized - we'd not likely get all of them - especially since with small kids things like Belle's Storytime and character meets would use up FPs

We missed the Mine Train and Slinkydog; we may prioritize those two this time.

I'm actually looking forward SO much to being there after needing to cancel last year that I'll be happy with anything.

(Well, maybe we'll STILL skip Hall of Presidents)

 

[Pyxie]

Thanks - two different opinions; I have to say I was hoping to hear what elleshoodat said;

But I understand; if there are several headline attractions you feel are very important to experience, there is less chance.

Even in 2018 we picked a few big name ones but realized - we'd not likely get all of them - especially since with small kids things like Belle's Storytime and character meets would use up FPs

We missed the Mine Train and Slinkydog; we may prioritize those two this time.

I'm actually looking forward SO much to being there after needing to cancel last year that I'll be happy with anything.

(Well, maybe we'll STILL skip Hall of Presidents)

Mine Train is the only ride I never saw with a manageable wait time all day. If you want to ride that one, go first thing and get there early. Everything else we were able to wait for.

 

[ww52]

Thanks Pyxie - another encouraging response. I think though regarding paladin's view it's a matter of quantity / quality; again, we'll have 4 little ones so the attractions we'll prioritize are not always the biggest named ones.

I like the idea of getting a lot done even if we miss a few of the "can't miss" ones. I never thought of anything as "can't miss" except WDW itself.

 

[hes122]

I thought I would hate it, but honestly it wasn't that bad. I liked not having to plan the day around specific times to go on a certain ride. We did our research prior to going so we knew what to expect before we got there. The longest we waited for something was maybe 45 minutes. All that to say, there are some things we didn't do that we normally do. Why we didn't do them was a combination of wait times (maybe 10%), crowd levels (probably 65%), and knowing we'd be coming back and could do them on another trip (25%). We're usually pretty gung-ho in our touring strategies, but this time we made a point to actually go back and rest/relax some. I kind of liked it better and will definitely keep that in mind when we plan the next trip.

 

[nickg420]

I was there the entire week of 15th and we hit every park multiple times.

Did it feel crowded? Sometimes....But I would say no more, or perhaps even less, than a "normal"pre-Covid day.
How were the wait times? We rode everything we wanted to multiple times and never stood in any line longer than 45min.


The people you see complaining are people that only look at a wait time of 75min at the end of a loooooooong socially distanced line and never even get in the line and wait. They just avoid it and then come online and say things like "We only got to ride 1 ride the entire day! Bring back FPs!!" The truth is the majority of our lines were a little over half the posted wait times and were consistently minimum 20min less or more including catching a cleaning cycle or two.

Was it hot and miserable in almost 90° heat wearing a mask? You bet your behind it was!!! Was it still fun and better than FP days? Yup! Without question!

I would also agree with watching the wait times either on the app or through TPs app. There were plenty of times a certain land/section of the park was FULL of people and lines were longer s a result, but other lands/sections were completely empty and rides were almost "walk-on"...even top tier rides...

You'll certainly have people tell you how crowded and awful it was, but it's simply not true. I'm a true Disney fan....I've been when it was borderline inappropriate touching to move through the parks. So I always say, "If you can still see plenty of pavement....it's not crowded..."

 

[hes122]

We missed the Mine Train and Slinkydog; we may prioritize those two this time.

We skipped Mine Train on our 2019 trip, so we made it a point to get it done this time.

As for Slinky Dog, we had a plan to go back to HS after our afternoon pool break (which really turned into nap time) the day we were there. After we woke up we talked it over and decided that the rest of our day would be better spent in MK trying to knock out Splash Mountain & Mine Train instead of going back to HS just to do Slinky Dog and Star Tours. We left the resort a little after 4:00 (on a 7:00 close day), watched a couple of cavalcades on the way to Frontierland and were able to knock of Thunder (20 min wait- 60 posted), Splash (33 min wait- 60 posted) & Jungle Cruise (35 min wait- 40 posted) by 6:30. We then made our way to Fantasyland and got in line for Mine Train. It was shortly after 7 when we got on.

 

[PaladinButters]

How bad are wait times? I read on another thread that the Touring Plan wait times are more realistic.

That's probably always the case - Disney has always been known to post at least slightly higher wait times (especially around park close, etc). We found a mix of shorter times and times that were almost dead on due to getting hit with a cleaning cycle so there's some luck in there right now too.

Don't get me wrong, we were still able to ride everything at least once, we just spent more time actually standing in the queue (and in a lot of cases seeing that part of the queue for the first time) - as opposed to having the FP when we could go to the shops, or grab a snack, hit another ride, or just sit in the shade while we 'waited' for that ride. So the overall feel was less Disney and more Six Flags.

 

[NashvilleMama]

Been twice (Sept and late January) and thought we'd HATE it as we're pretty crazy FP +touring plan users and never wait in line, basically ever....but I really, really enjoyed this for some of the reasons said already above. The pace was just so much more relaxing. Yes, waiting in line is no fun. But being able to wing it on your days in the parks and not worry about having to make certain windows for certain rides was really freeing.

now. I think I'd feel differently if we only went once every few years and had to squeeze every single thing in. We definitely gave up some "big ticket" rides like Mine Train and PP and even Pirates on this last trip because the lines were more than we wanted to deal with.

 

[Dug720]

Well I'll put it this way. We did more in half a day than we did in an entire day with FP. We hit almost every ride that we wanted to do. The wait times seem to fluctuate a lot, so keep checking and get in line as soon as you are comfortable with the wait time. The lines also look A LOT longer than they really are due to social distancing.

This. I was there during the Valentines/Presidents' Week/Mardi Gras trifecta and did not feel like there was anything I was unable to ride that I wanted to. (Granted, I pretend the Studios doesn't exist most of the time, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is skippable for me, though I still could have done that and just skipped a couple of rerides if i wanted to)

 

[loves to dive]

There is a just back thread that you might want to read. Lots of people telling how their experiences have been and what their touring plans were. I'll be there the week of April 11 so haven't experienced it yet but will say we rarely ever used FP+ when it was in place. We have been going since long before any fast system and it has just always been our style to wing it. We might make a FP for another ride while standing in line but only if that ride were only 30 min. out. We just don't like being tied down to plans, we also never made ADRs in advance and at at least one TS most days. We just made them while walking around the parks. Frankly, having to book a park in advance with the new reservation system was one of the reasons I put off going back. I only decided to go back once Park Hopping came back. I figured I could stand booking a park in advance if I didn't have to stay there past 2.

 

[ww52]

I really appreciate all the responses; I know for our 2018 trip we thought we liked it better pre-fast pass days (or at least when you only could get them in the park). I don't mind the planning but it got way too obsessive-like the last time - almost by necessity.

We always get to the park at/before opening and we were always able to get a lot of attractions in before noon - when we'd think about heading back for lunch and some AC (and perhaps a couple cold ones. Well, not "perhaps"!)

So this sounds like it will be like old times!

 

[lorileahb]

We LOVED it - both with Fast Pass and without. We did rope drop to hit our must do rides before long waits (SDMT, BTMM, SM at MK / FOP, Navi and Kil Safari at AK) - and then rode everything else we wanted (watching wait times with Touring Plans app - a little more accurate) never waiting more than 20 minutes for anything other than Buzz Space Ranger Spin (about 1/2 an hour, it jumped up as we got in line - we decided to wait). No rushing around to make FP windows or staying out in heat - could break when we wanted and loved restaurants being spaced and people not being crushed up against us in lines. Have fun!

 

[JakeAZ]

I was there the entire week of 15th and we hit every park multiple times.

Did it feel crowded? Sometimes....But I would say no more, or perhaps even less, than a "normal"pre-Covid day.
How were the wait times? We rode everything we wanted to multiple times and never stood in any line longer than 45min.


The people you see complaining are people that only look at a wait time of 75min at the end of a loooooooong socially distanced line and never even get in the line and wait. They just avoid it and then come online and say things like "We only got to ride 1 ride the entire day! Bring back FPs!!" The truth is the majority of our lines were a little over half the posted wait times and were consistently minimum 20min less or more including catching a cleaning cycle or two.

Was it hot and miserable in almost 90° heat wearing a mask? You bet your behind it was!!! Was it still fun and better than FP days? Yup! Without question!

I would also agree with watching the wait times either on the app or through TPs app. There were plenty of times a certain land/section of the park was FULL of people and lines were longer s a result, but other lands/sections were completely empty and rides were almost "walk-on"...even top tier rides...

You'll certainly have people tell you how crowded and awful it was, but it's simply not true. I'm a true Disney fan....I've been when it was borderline inappropriate touching to move through the parks. So I always say, "If you can still see plenty of pavement....it's not crowded..."

Thank you for the "on the ground" post.

I'm assuming MK is the best with crowd dispersal, due to them having more rides?

What was your experience like at HS?

 

[Jennx36]

I really enjoyed using FP+, and I hope they will bring back some version of it as time goes on. My two best experiences were when they offered three additional passes if you were staying 4 or more nights in a club level room for a charge of $50 per person per day. It included a preferred viewing area for fireworks also. My husband and I went with my daughter who turned three the last day of the trip, so we only paid for two. We were able to do so much and felt like we were able to practically walk on every ride. My second best FP+ experience was when we paid to do Early Morning Magic at MK with my husband and two daughters. We booked FP for the rides that weren't open at EMM. We started the day early and walked on to almost every ride that day. When we recently went to Disney last October, the experience was VERY different. Wearing a mask, the heat that we thought wouldn't be that bad in October, the closure of Columbia Harbor House, the long line for lunch at Pecos Bill, and traveling with a party of 10 all made the trip very different from others I have been on, so I can't blame the lack of fast passes for the challenges we encountered. We waited every minute of the 45 minute wait to ride Small World, and PotC, but the wait times for Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Winnie the Pooh, and Dumbo were pretty short (30 - 20 minutes). I think your plan of arriving early and retiring to the room midday is solid gold and exactly what I would plan as well. My advice to anyone is to go in with low expectations for getting on rides and enjoy the atmosphere. The rides aren't going anywhere, and just being in the parks can be a pleasant distraction from the real world. Just my two cents.

 

[ucf_knight]

At currently capacity levels I think not having fast passes is great. But once Disney starts increasing capacity I think they’ll have to go back to FP. The waits aren’t bad with most headliners being around 60 minutes or less. Now imagine twice the amount of people in the park currently with no FP. I loved the FP system as we usually got any ride we wanted with the refresh method but I was on my phone a ton in order to get this done.