Considering staying Off-Site for the first time - ? about Fastpasses

preschoolmom

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 3, 2007
We've done Disney a decent amount of times - but all on-site. This time, considering a trip over next Christmas with our extended family.
We would really like to stay off site for the space + the ability to do some non-Disney activities (like college visits, LOL).
My concern is fast passes. Is it possible to get them at all without the resort advantage? We are obviously wanting to see Star Wars (like everyone else). Will this be possible with an off-site visit?
Any advice you have would be appreciated!
Thanks!
 
Hopefully by then there will be fast passes available for Rotr. So its hard to tell what HS will be like.
We use to go in December a week or so before Christmas so schools were not out yet and crowds were moderate. We did not have any issues getting the rides we wanted.. i think its timing on when you go. We loved MVMCP you should totally do that. We did that instead of magic kindgdom
 
We've done Disney a decent amount of times - but all on-site. This time, considering a trip over next Christmas with our extended family.
We would really like to stay off site for the space + the ability to do some non-Disney activities (like college visits, LOL).
My concern is fast passes. Is it possible to get them at all without the resort advantage? We are obviously wanting to see Star Wars (like everyone else). Will this be possible with an off-site visit?
Any advice you have would be appreciated!
Thanks!
I’m sure you can get some FP, though perhaps not the headliners, and perhaps not at the times you want. Yes, it is possible to see SWGE, but might require a lot of time and patience.

We don’t know if ROTR will have FP or still be doing BG at that point. If it’s BG, then you have as much of a chance as anyone else of scoring one, provided you are in the park by opening. If FP, then your chances are exceedingly slim at 30 days.

Christmas is such a busy time that getting prime FP is going to be hard, probably even for those staying on site. But that also means there will be extended hours for standby.

So, if you get there early enough to be at the head of the pack, you can knock one ride out at opening. If you jump in line right before closing, you can do another ride with a short-ish (this is a very relative term) wait because there won’t be the FP guests cutting the standby line. You can also just take it in stride, download a movie to your phone, and watch Star Wars for two hours while waiting in line.

You certainly can walk around GE and take in the ambiance of the world and marvel at its details. You can probably get a reservation at Oga’s. With some stalking, you can likely get a slot to build a droid or lightsaber (if you’re so inclined to part with the extra cost of these activities).

Christmas at WDW is always busy, and enjoying yourselves will rely heavily on a solid game plan and managing your expectations.
 
I just booked our fast passes for Easter week at 60 days out at 7am (staying onsite) and on our first day at HS (1st day of our trip) I was unable to get any tier one fast pass for 3 people. We got 3 good tier 2s, but no Smuggler’s Run, Mickey and Minnie Railway or Slinky Dog. I have been checking a couple of times a day, and still nothing. Staying onsite at 60 doesn’t even guarantee the most popular rides at busy times.
 


We always stay offsite. The key is to manage your expectations. As Snemeth said, even staying onsite does not mean you'll get the hottest FPs. Last trip, my wife said she really wanted to ride Slinky Dog. We couldn't get a FP so we just planned to do the standby line one day. Wait time was posted at 60 minutes and I think we were on in about 50. We were fine waiting as that was part of our plan.

Honestly, we don't usually even make a bunch of FP reservations in advance because we don't plan out every day of our trip in advance. We just go on the night before and see what we can snag for the next day.
 
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2 years ago we got everything we wanted with offsite (7dmt, FOP, FEA were the 'hot' ones). but we didn't get any of them at our 30 day date. I took what I could get and then basically constantly refreshed for the 30 days leading up and happened to get lucky and find them all (FOP I did 2 and 2 instead of all 4 of us at same time). So it CAN be done, but i was a manic refresher. and that was 2 years ago.
I would just go into it knowing you could be giving up FP for a tier 1 at HS especially, depending on what that looks like by then.
But when we have done the math, we just don't feel like it's worth paying $1k difference to stay onsite just for 60 day FPs. Some people definitely feel like it is!
 


I would just go into it knowing you could be giving up FP for a tier 1 at HS especially, depending on what that looks like by then.
But when we have done the math, we just don't feel like it's worth paying $1k difference to stay onsite just for 60 day FPs. Some people definitely feel like it is!
YES!
Ask yourself what the value of the chance of tier 1 fast passes is for you. Some people are happy to pay for CL and then pay even more for the extra FP booked at 90 days. Others would never make it to WDW except maybe once a decade if they needed that kind of budget.

For me, staying off site, renting a car, and paying for parking is often around what I would pay for a value, so I stay on site in that case. The small price difference is worth it for the 60 day window.

But if I’m with my whole family of 5, we don’t fit in a Disney Value, so off site is better for us. In that case I prioritize space and money over early FP booking.
 
But if I’m with my whole family of 5, we don’t fit in a Disney Value, so off site is better for us. In that case I prioritize space and money over early FP booking.
This is us! Yes, it's comparable to a value after car + parking. But then you're comparing a 1 bedroom suite to 2 queen beds in a tiny single room. I just can't travel that way, so I guess in a way I feel like I'd be paying with for the FPs with either the $1k or space.

Plus fwiw i feel like having a car is actually a +. Unless you're doing a monorail resort, it's so nice to have a car vs waiting for busses!
 
We stayed off site last Summer and we were able to get every fast pass we wanted except for FOP and SDD. We rope dropped FOP and then rode SDD at the end of the day on another day. You might not get everything you want, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to ride them if you're willing to be flexible with your schedule. We have stayed both on and offsite and I honestly do not think one is better than the other. There are pros and cons to both.
 
Our strategy is to Fast Pass the "hottest" things we can and then rope drop what we can't get as a fast pass. Can't remember the last time I waited more than half an hour for a ride in our outside of a FP line. Usually we're FPing or there is a short wait. Riding at the end of the night works, too! Don't forget to use FP after your initial three...
 
The fastpass game is different now. There are 15 off site Disney Spring resorts that now get the 60 day fastpass pass privilege. These are not small resorts. Add to this that there are two new Disney timeshares, too.

If you can stay at a Disney Spring included 60 day fastpass resort then you might be okay.

You will need to realize the prime rides will be hard to come by staying offsite if it's not Disney Springs. You will probably have to go in smaller groups with your fastpasses to have more success. Try 15 minutes apart on fastpass times in smaller groups for better success. Then you can still go all together at the later time with the hour window.

If the prime rides are important to you than do rope drop and be prepared for long waits. Some groups can handle it while others cannot.

I can still enjoy Disney World without going on the latest and greatest rides. I like it all.
 
Disney Springs hotels are a 60 day FP+ window correct ?
You just have to do the 60 day FP+ window each day ----ie, 1st day in park = FP+ window of March 1, then 2nd day in park would be = FP+ window March 2,....etc

Am I correct with the above ?
 

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