FastPass+ and Magic Band tips

[egoldber]

Here are some things I learned this trip about FP+. Caveat, they kept telling us that this is still a trial and that things may change.

First, I HATE it, HATE HATE it. Really We were masters of the old system and almost never waited in a line longer than 10-15 minutes. We park hop a lot and liked to get FP wherever we were. The current system limits you to 3 FastPasses in one day and only at one park. Previously, you could also get FPs for people in your party and use them for others. My MIL and FIL were with us this trip. In the past, older DD and DH could have used their FPs to ride a ride again. But now that isn't possible because the FP are linked to each ticket/Magic Band.

One thing I did like was that you could change your FP on the fly in the park with the MDE app. So for example, we realized we weren't going to make a FP for Space Mountain. So I switched it to a slightly later time. You can also do it if you have missed the FP window. Of course, this only works if FP times are still available.

What we ended up doing a lot was going to the ride/show/greeting, and if the current Standby wait time was acceptable to us, we just waited in line and switched for a different FP somewhere else at a later time.

Also, once you have used a FP in a park, you can't switch any other FP to another park. Since we park hop, this was the worst part for us. So one day we went to AK in the morning and planned to go to MK at night. What we did was have FP set up for 3 rides in AK for the morning. When we were able to go on 2 of them without using a FP, I went ahead and switched our 3 AK FPs for FPs at the MK later in the evening. That was a VERY wise move on our part because the MK was very crowded that night (it was a Saturday night).

Currently, the Magic Bands make park entry excruciatingly slow. Many people really struggle getting the bands to read (holding the band at the wrong angle, etc.). Also make SURE your kids do NOT know your PIN number if you don't want them to charge! My ILs actually checked into the hotel, so maybe this can be changed. But younger DD loved to "buy" things in stores with her band. If she had known the PIN (and was old enough to be on her own) she could have easily gone to town charging LOL!!!

[wendibird22]

Currently, the Magic Bands make park entry excruciatingly slow. Many people really struggle getting the bands to read (holding the band at the wrong angle, etc.).

We noticed this when we were at the parks during the holidays. Here we were with the old school card and just wanted to get the heck into the park at rope drop and people in front of us couldn't figure out their bands. It happened every single day at ever park. So frustrating!

[Tinkerbell313]

Also make SURE your kids do NOT know your PIN number if you don't want them to charge! My ILs actually checked into the hotel, so maybe this can be changed. But younger DD loved to "buy" things in stores with her band. If she had known the PIN (and was old enough to be on her own) she could have easily gone to town charging LOL!!!

Just like the old system with the KTTW cards you can dictate who has charging privileges on the MB and you can also have different credit cards assigned to different accounts.

At least that was our experience.

[egoldber]

Like I said my MIL actually checked in at the hotel. They may have asked her and she didn't hear or understand (entirely possible), or it may be that they didn't mention it. We didn't realize until the next second day that younger DD could actually charge on her band.

With the old KTTW cards, I thought that by default children could not charge, but you could opt to allow it if you wanted. But I may be mis-remembering.

[4Cats]

Hi, I'm an infrequent poster (last post about 3 years ago!). I don't know if I am "allowed" to ask a question for a reply to this thread, or if I should start a new one. Please advise....

My family (me, DH, DS1 (8), DS2 (6), and DD (2)) is going to WDW for a week at the end of Feb-beginning of March. We are pretty WDW savvy, having been there multiple times and using the old fast pass system. The new FP+ system seems confusing. We are staying on-property so can pre book our FP+. I'm trying to think of the best strategy... Would it make most sense to book the FP+ reservations for later in the day? That way if we're able to walk on to something early in the day that we have FP for later, we can change it on the go? For example, we want to ride both Test Track and Soarin at Epcot, but can only reserve one for FP+. Let's say I reserve FP+ for Soarin at 2 pm (and none for test track) but am able to walk on to Soarin right after rope drop. Then I can change my FP from soarin to test track for later in the day (assuming there are still FP available). Or, I guess, we could go directly to test track, walk on, then have our Soarin FP secure for 2 pm. Any overall strategic advice?

Kristin

[egoldber]

So what I found worked best was to make FP reservations for just before and after lunch for must do rides/experiences. We then went to those rides/experiences first. If we were able to walk on with short standby times we did, and then I changed the FP to something else.

For example, we want to ride both Test Track and Soarin at Epcot, but can only reserve one for FP+.

Yes, I hate this. This is also true in DHS for RockNRollercoaster and Toy Story.

So for Epcot, if your "musts" are Soarin and Test Track, I would FP one and head directly to the other when you enter. If it were me, I'd FP Soarin for late morning. I would do Test Track first thing, then Mission Space (which doesn't seem to have much of a line) and then wander over to the Soarin area. I would do other attractions in that area until your Soarin FP time.

[BunnyBee]

We recently went and ITA that FP+ sucks. The tier system and lack of ability to park hop are crap. We went at a very low time and can't imagine what a cluster it would be when the parks are busy!

At check-in, you get to choose who has charging privileges just as you did with the old KTTW cards. All of the bands are protected by a PIN though, even if the band owner doesn't have the ability to charge.

PP, yes, I would schedule one and head straight to the other. Test Track does have a single rider line, which we used. It was down when the park opened and when it started running again, the line was long. Even with FPs, it took 20-25 min to ride Soarin' which was painful doing a rider swap.

You may want to bring a battery recharger if you plan to use the app in park. It really sucks up battery power. It also increases the number of people walking through the park, glued to a device. We nearly ran over so many people walking and staring at their phones.

[kristac]

. Previously, you could also get FPs for people in your party and use them for others. My MIL and FIL were with us this trip. In the past, older DD and DH could have used their FPs to ride a ride again. But now that isn't possible because the FP are linked to each ticket/Magic Band.

In theory couldn't your DH swap bands with his parents and use their FPs?

[KrisM]

Hi, I'm an infrequent poster (last post about 3 years ago!). I don't know if I am "allowed" to ask a question for a reply to this thread, or if I should start a new one. Please advise....

My family (me, DH, DS1 (8), DS2 (6), and DD (2)) is going to WDW for a week at the end of Feb-beginning of March. We are pretty WDW savvy, having been there multiple times and using the old fast pass system. The new FP+ system seems confusing. We are staying on-property so can pre book our FP+. I'm trying to think of the best strategy... Would it make most sense to book the FP+ reservations for later in the day? That way if we're able to walk on to something early in the day that we have FP for later, we can change it on the go? For example, we want to ride both Test Track and Soarin at Epcot, but can only reserve one for FP+. Let's say I reserve FP+ for Soarin at 2 pm (and none for test track) but am able to walk on to Soarin right after rope drop. Then I can change my FP from soarin to test track for later in the day (assuming there are still FP available). Or, I guess, we could go directly to test track, walk on, then have our Soarin FP secure for 2 pm. Any overall strategic advice?

Kristin

There are FP+ strategies in the cheat sheets at EasyWDW, http://www.easywdw.com/cheat-sheets/...nd-wait-times/.

[egoldber]

In theory couldn't your DH swap bands with his parents and use their FPs?

I suppose, although they would know if a child tried to use an adult band because they can see who you are on the screen. And our ILs are not always with us when we are touring. But I guess multiple adults could swap FPs that way.