To book throwaway room or not?

Thanks, all. I'm thinking it's not worth it for the price. Yes to $40 of parking and, what, $40 of magic bands (10x4?), but it will cost $133 and I still won't get the FPPs, so what's the point? I appreciate all your input and experiences, though. It has made the situation much clearer for me.
Parking would be $25/day Magic Bands $15/person.

You would be paying $33 for those fast passes. I would do it.
 
I'm thinking about booking a tent site for one night for the extra 30 days of FPP booking. Pricewise, it's worth it and feels like a 'fee' for FPPs. But I know we aren't actually staying there and I don't even have to check in. It feels like I would be taking a spot from someone who is actually looking to stay on site.

Then, there's the idea of cancelling the spot within the 30 days, but again, that feels like I'm just gaming the system in a way that, if eveyone did it, would totally mess up reservations and anyway, I don't want to risk losing any FPPs I gain.

So, have you done it? What was your experience?

Would you do it if you were staying offsite?

I’m looking for info/confirmation if this loophole has been closed?

Thanks.
 
I’m looking for info/confirmation if this loophole has been closed?

Thanks.

cancelling, you mean? i’m pretty sure it has been closed, yes. i don’t know about throwaway rooms—that might still work?

i think your best bet is to check the throwaway room threads on the theme parks board. they’ll have the most up-to-date info over there.
 


cancelling, you mean? i’m pretty sure it has been closed, yes. i don’t know about throwaway rooms—that might still work?

i think your best bet is to check the throwaway room threads on the theme parks board. they’ll have the most up-to-date info over there.

Yes I’m asking if the throwaway room 60 day FP loophole still works. I’ve used it 5 yrs ago and then you were able to book FPs day by day after your 60 day window opened.
 
Yes I’m asking if the throwaway room 60 day FP loophole still works. I’ve used it 5 yrs ago and then you were able to book FPs day by day after your 60 day window opened.
Are you referring to a "lead reservation" room? Where you book a fake reservation before your real one? I did this at the beginning of this year to get my fast passes, but I really don't know right now whether or not that option still works.
 
I believe, as long as you're paying for the room, whether you stay there or not, you would be eligible for the 60 day FPs. In the end, I didn't do it because I didn't want to have the extra trouble of getting down there to get MBs (they won't ship to Canada) just for the one night. I got my FPs at 30 days and got what I wanted anyway. But I did stalk the site to get them.
 


Are you referring to a "lead reservation" room? Where you book a fake reservation before your real one? I did this at the beginning of this year to get my fast passes, but I really don't know right now whether or not that option still works.

Not really.

In the past with a 1 night reservation you would be able to book FPs for check in and check out day 60 days out. Then you could book your 3rd day FPs the following day and so on. You could book one additional day each consecutive day.

So 60 days before your last planned day in the parks you’d have all you FPs booked.
 
Are you referring to a "lead reservation" room? Where you book a fake reservation before your real one? I did this at the beginning of this year to get my fast passes, but I really don't know right now whether or not that option still works.

Not really.

In the past with a 1 night reservation you would be able to book FPs for check in and check out day 60 days out. Then you could book your 3rd day FPs the following day and so on. You could book one additional FP dat each consecutive day (for as many days as you had tickets) all with a single night reservation.
 
Not really.

In the past with a 1 night reservation you would be able to book FPs for check in and check out day 60 days out. Then you could book your 3rd day FPs the following day and so on. You could book one additional FP dat each consecutive day (for as many days as you had tickets) all with a single night reservation.

This loophole has been closed. With a 1 day reservation you only get to book FP+ on checkin and checkout days. The FP+ are now linked to the reservation you use to open the 60 days window so if you cancel that reservation (even within 30 days) you loose them.
 
This loophole has been closed. With a 1 day reservation you only get to book FP+ on checkin and checkout days. The FP+ are now linked to the reservation you use to open the 60 days window so if you cancel that reservation (even within 30 days) you loose them.

Thank you. No plans to cancel the reservation. $75 is “cheap” for 4 magic bands, 2 days of FPs and 2 days of parking.

Last trip we were a group of 9 and a campsite allows for up to 10 - so the reservation included 9 Magic bands.

The 1 day reservation always only allowed FPs for the check in and out. But the 60 day window was available each consecutive day beyond that, one day at a time.

Sounds like that may have been changed?

Now - 2 separate reservations spaced one day apart would get you 4 days of FPs and parking. Check in, check out, check in, checkout..............
 
Thank you. No plans to cancel the reservation. $75 is “cheap” for 4 magic bands, 2 days of FPs and 2 days of parking.

Last trip we were a group of 9 and a campsite allows for up to 10 - so the reservation included 9 Magic bands.

The 1 day reservation always only allowed FPs for the check in and out. But the 60 day window was available each consecutive day beyond that, one day at a time.

Sounds like that may have been changed?

Now - 2 separate reservations spaced one day apart would get you 4 days of FPs and parking. Check in, check out, check in, checkout..............

Yes the rolling window is no longer opening. I think some do the campsite every second day exactly for that reason and just decline the Magic bands they don’t need.
 
But couldn't you just book for a week or something and then cancel AFTER the 30 days out since that's when everyone is able to make FP+ reservations? Would your FP+ stay in your MDE account if you cancelled at say 29 days out from day arrival?
Yes I think now they cancel your FPs. Too many people gaming the system.
 
I'm thinking about booking a tent site for one night for the extra 30 days of FPP booking. Pricewise, it's worth it and feels like a 'fee' for FPPs. But I know we aren't actually staying there and I don't even have to check in. It feels like I would be taking a spot from someone who is actually looking to stay on site.

Then, there's the idea of cancelling the spot within the 30 days, but again, that feels like I'm just gaming the system in a way that, if eveyone did it, would totally mess up reservations and anyway, I don't want to risk losing any FPPs I gain.

So, have you done it? What was your experience?

Would you do it if you were staying offsite?

As someone who stays at Fort Wilderness and is trying to book sites for our 2020 trip, I ask you to please not do this. There are far to many people doing this and although Disney is trying to close the loop hole, there are still some ways around it. I am having a hard time finding availability for the Fort, and I am 18 months out from my trip. The only way that we can afford to stay onsite is by camping at the Fort. If you really want the fastpass window and really want to be able to utilize the perks offered when staying on site, then please stay at the hotels that offer this service or be satisfied with the fact that you are staying offsite for a tenth of the cost and follow the course of what that means for you as a traveler. We did not opt to stay offsite because we wanted to utilize a lot of the perks that Disney offers. That was a choice we made when booking our trip. Just food for thought, it makes it more difficult for other travelers to book their vacations.
 
As someone who stays at Fort Wilderness and is trying to book sites for our 2020 trip, I ask you to please not do this. There are far to many people doing this and although Disney is trying to close the loop hole, there are still some ways around it. I am having a hard time finding availability for the Fort, and I am 18 months out from my trip. The only way that we can afford to stay onsite is by camping at the Fort. If you really want the fastpass window and really want to be able to utilize the perks offered when staying on site, then please stay at the hotels that offer this service or be satisfied with the fact that you are staying offsite for a tenth of the cost and follow the course of what that means for you as a traveler. We did not opt to stay offsite because we wanted to utilize a lot of the perks that Disney offers. That was a choice we made when booking our trip. Just food for thought, it makes it more difficult for other travelers to book their vacations.
Thank you for posting. I did not end up doing it. It didn't feel right to me. Not judging others, but your situation points out why it's not really a good idea.

Also, if people keep doing this, Disney might just decide that early FP access is worth about the price of a tent site, rather than have people booking and leaving the sites empty.

Also, anyone who is considering doing this, at least look at the prices for the good neighbour hotels that offer the 60 day FPs. Maybe they will suit your needs better than a throwaway camp site.
 
We are going to WDW on a big family vacation. We decided to rent a house offsite because we have 13 people with Grandparents, grown kids, and grandkids. However, my family of 5 is getting there 2 days earlier than everyone else and staying onsite for those first two days before switching to the offsite property. This is not a throw away room. We are staying at the onsite resort for the first two days, but we have 9 day park tickets.

Will I be able to book the FP+ reservations 60 days out for just the days we are staying onsite, and then I will have to wait until 30 days out to book the FP+ for the offsite days? Or will I be able to book FP+ 60 days out for my full 9 day park tickets?
 
We are going to WDW on a big family vacation. We decided to rent a house offsite because we have 13 people with Grandparents, grown kids, and grandkids. However, my family of 5 is getting there 2 days earlier than everyone else and staying onsite for those first two days before switching to the offsite property. This is not a throw away room. We are staying at the onsite resort for the first two days, but we have 9 day park tickets.

Will I be able to book the FP+ reservations 60 days out for just the days we are staying onsite, and then I will have to wait until 30 days out to book the FP+ for the offsite days? Or will I be able to book FP+ 60 days out for my full 9 day park tickets?

Since they closed some loopholes, you will only be able to book checkin to checkout days so three days total at 60 days and the reminder days will have to be booked at 30 days since your FP+ window is now linked to your onsite stay. Any offsite stay will open at 30 days unfortunately.
 
I'm thinking about booking a tent site for one night for the extra 30 days of FPP booking. Pricewise, it's worth it and feels like a 'fee' for FPPs. But I know we aren't actually staying there and I don't even have to check in. It feels like I would be taking a spot from someone who is actually looking to stay on site.

Then, there's the idea of cancelling the spot within the 30 days, but again, that feels like I'm just gaming the system in a way that, if eveyone did it, would totally mess up reservations and anyway, I don't want to risk losing any FPPs I gain.

So, have you done it? What was your experience?

Would you do it if you were staying offsite?
I was thinking of doing this strictly for Extra Magic Hours. No fast passes needed. We booked offsite before extra magic hours were set.
 
Thought I would close the loop on this strategy given the new rules.

Booked 3 tent campsite reservations on alternating days 1-3-5. Cost was $85 each for a total of $255.

For that we received:

6 days of parking - $150
2 sets of 4 magic bands - $120 (declined 3rd set)
Used EMH on several days
Successful in getting FPs on 60 and 60+1 x3 for FOP, SDMT x 2, EE and all the mountains. Didn’t try for Slinky Dog as my kids are older.

Certainly feel we got “value” for the $ spent with basically $270 worth of parking and magic bands. Plus all the added benefits of FPs at 60 and 60+1 as well as making use of the EMH.
 
So this is why we have a hard time booking for our DW camping trips :(

Please don’t do that it’s greedy, yes some of us actually like camping and it’s what we can budget. These camp sites are getting price hikes because people are doing this meaning some people just can’t go if it’s all booked and nobody is using the site. It’s sad people do this.
 

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