What are your best strategies now that there is no FP?

[momto2]

I can't even remember Disney prior to FP. We will be going the 3rd week in March. Without EMH, we will be doing rope drops. Any great ideas for life without FP?

 

[Naomeri]

Just do the rides you want to do as you come to them, rather than criss-crossing the parks chasing short ride times. Without FP, the standby lines are usually in near-constant motion, so you end up doing a lot more actual walking than you did during the days of FP, and you probably don’t want to add unnecessary steps.

 

[SL6827]

Arrive one hour prior to park opening.

 

[MelanieRI]

I can't even remember Disney prior to FP. We will be going the 3rd week in March. Without EMH, we will be doing rope drops. Any great ideas for life without FP?

I found park opening and near park close are the best times to ride high demand rides, but queues generally are in constant motion and seem to go faster then time stated.

 

[Flynnismine]

As already mentioned, get to the parks early, at least an hour before scheduled opening, and hit the most popular ride(s) in the park first thing, that will help to put you ahead of the main crowds flooding in for a good chunk of the morning. Take a break after lunch, relax, shop, go back to the resort for a break and then hit the rides again an hour or 2 before park close. This strategy worked perfect for us Christmas week, especially in MK, EPCOT, and AK. HS not so much. We had our longest waits in HS and the crowds were just wall to wall, even right at park opening. The wait times were crazy high for most of the rides within 30 minutes of park opening.

 

[yulilin3]

I can't even remember Disney prior to FP. We will be going the 3rd week in March. Without EMH, we will be doing rope drops. Any great ideas for life without FP?

It was before 1999 so not too long ago.
Anyways my tips are same with or without fp. Rope drop and last hour

 

[WDWLODGE]

If a park is closing at say 6PM, are they still allowing you to hop in line as long as it is before 6PM? Then allowing you to ride after closing time.

 

[yulilin3]

If a park is closing at say 6PM, are they still allowing you to hop in line as long as it is before 6PM? Then allowing you to ride after closing time.

Yes

 

[chris benton]

It was before 1999 so not too long ago.

So, let's see ...
Carry the 1, then subtract the...
Ummmm...

 

[CarolinaGator]

Way back in the days before FP or Park Hopper, as Orlando residents at the time, our strategy was to start at the back of the park and move our way forward. People seemed to flow to Tomorrowland first at MK, so we'd start back by Thunder Mountain or Haunted Mansion. The lines at Tomorrowland would be lower at the end of the day thanks to the morning crush. At EPCOT, Spaceship Earth would be what we did on the way out at the end of the day. I have no idea if those strategies still work now with so many more savvy Disney-goers even with all else reverting back to the early days. My #1 strategy in recent years is exactly what people have said above: arrive early and knock out the must-do rides that have the longest average wait times.

 

[momto2]

Just do the rides you want to do as you come to them, rather than criss-crossing the parks chasing short ride times. Without FP, the standby lines are usually in near-constant motion, so you end up doing a lot more actual walking than you did during the days of FP, and you probably don’t want to add unnecessary steps.

Good points!

 

[momto2]

It was before 1999 so not too long ago.
Anyways my tips are same with or without fp. Rope drop and last hour

But I have had 13 visits since then, all with some sort of FP. LOL

 

[dizneegirl]

Honestly, we didn't miss FP at all our past couple of trips. The regular lines move so much better without it, and we didn't feel rushed to get here or there at a certain time. Most of the lines were extremely manageable.

 

[kathy884]

I haven't been back yet, but I will be subscribing to touringplan.com. I will use one of their touring plans, do some customizations (add any favorites they don't have, take out things I'd rather not do), and take advantage of their time study computer program that will recommend a way to approach what I want to do. Then if need be I'll do tweaks (take things out) if waits are too long, and see if that makes the plan look like a fun day. They have people in the park every day. They keep up on current conditions. I have been using their plans and doing some customizations since the 80s. The $16 annual investment (I subscribe every year I go to Disney) has helped me to enjoy Disney even on busy crowded days -- big fan here.

 

[auntlynne]

Turn left in MK.

If there’s a short line, ride.

If the line is long, come back later.

Go without a “plan” other than to have fun. These are not the days for binders.

 

[VandVsmama]

I can't even remember Disney prior to FP. We will be going the 3rd week in March. Without EMH, we will be doing rope drops. Any great ideas for life without FP?

We were at WDW last week. We used the same touring style that we always use on our DL trips:

• get there early
• where possible, go on the really popular rides first
• also go on slow loaders early in the day. Right now, 'slow loaders' would be things like POTC since they're only putting 2 groups in a boat. The Na'vi River attraction in AK is another good example.
• then go on the stuff that has short wait times.
• use the wait times on the app
• be aware that wait times on the WDW are often up to double what the waits actually are (unless you get hit with a cleaning cycle).
• if wait times on popular stuff like 7DMT start to climb, hit that stuff up in the last hour the park is open.