Fastpass, fastpass, fastpass.......

[ellyn2000]

Just got back from latest WDW trip. Used fastpass more than ever before and it made the difference in doing some of what we wanted to do and doing ALL of what we wanted to do. Did Tower of Terror for the first time---coolest thing I've ever done with my kids! I can't stress it enough. Do fastpass and go to another attraction while you're waiting for your return time and you'll do twice as many attractions or more. ºoº

 

[Debi]

Fastpass is a timesaver! Use it whenever possible, but remember that you can only hold one Fastpass at a time. Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

[Always_leah]

We also loved fastpass ! We are a family of 5 and we are very diverse park-goers. One loves all thrill rides, one gets sick on many rides and one was 7 yrs younger than the oldest. 2 of us would get a fast pass for a thrill ride and then with 2 of the other tickets -we were able to get 2 more fast passes and go on those 2 rides back to back. We only did this twice but it saved a lot of time.

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says......................................................... I hate to disagree with Debi, but I think this little trick will help once or twice on your trip. It will not happen often. We were at MK on Monday 11-19, our last day of our trip. It was more than mobbed, but we didn't care because we were just looking around and doing research. Some of the lines were Splash Mountain 75 min., Space Mountain 90 min.,Haunted Mansion 60 min.(has this ever happened?),Peter Pan was 70 min.!!! Around 12:00 we got a FP for Splash for 1:15-2-15. Looked around at long lines and left the park to get lunch at Kona Cafe. Finished lunch about 1:30 and headed back to MK. Got in just before 2:00 and headed for Haunted Mansion, and got a FP for 2:45-3:45, at that point the wait said 40 minutes. Yes we were holding two FP'S!!. Went straight for Splash Mountain and got there by 2:10, talk about cutting it close!! Used FP, still waited a few minutes. Went back to HM, and had to wait 5 minutes for our time. The wait then was up to an hour! Moral of the story, you can hold more than one FP, but you must wait until after the start time of your first FP before you can get a second FP. I suppose there is someone there who has firgured out how to get 3 FP, but that would take a lot of work.

 

[SueM in MN]

Another hint: Look at the fastpass return time and regular wait time before you get your fastpasses.
When DH and I went in July, several times the fastpass machine was working with a return time of one hour, but the regular wait was posted as 15 minutes, the CM said it was less than that and we were basically able to get on as fast as we could walk. For example, at Kali River Rapids, people were trying to figure out what to do with an hour until their FP return time. The CM was trying to tell them they could ride right away without a fastpass, but they didn't understand at all since they were so into "you can't ride popular rides without a fastpass".

 

[Judy from Boise]

you can have 2 FP .......if the return time is more than 2hrs away, or if the return time window has started.

 

[ellyn2000]

That's right. One minute into your return time you can get another fastpass. It really worked for us, and as I stated before, it made the difference in how many of the "cool" attractions we got to do in our limited time.

 

[Lucky4me]

Yes! I agree fastpass when it's crowded is the only way to go. I send my DH ahead to get more passes while we ride from different areas of the park. He doesn't care for a lot of the rides we do and hates standing around waiting for us, so we all benefit!

Opening tip at MK-Now that EE is gone, this will really be useful. At rope drop have one member in your group run to get fastpasses for Pooh while the rest go wait at Dumbo or vice versa. These two rides seem to have the longest waits very early on......

 

[SimplyMagical]

We agree, fastpass is great, it enables you to get to experience more in the same amount of time. We are a party of five and we too share the pastpasses, some like the thrill and some do not. It works well for us.

 

[Ahrizel]

I really have mixed feelings about it. Having done it recently before it(June'99), and after ( June '00, and Dec '01), I'm not sure it's the miracle it's promoted as. Yes, it does enable you to advoid some horrendous lines at the e-ticket attractions. However it really messes with the regular ebb and flow of the regular(ie standby) line. When we went in early June the first time, we did the standard procedure to advoid lines-go early, go late or during special events such as parades. The lines would have some natural low points during those times. However with fastpass the lines have become much more evenly distributed, with the possible exception of the first hour or so the parks are open. The only real way to advoid the lines now is fastpass. We follow the summer touring strategy of going early, leaving for midday break, then coming back late afternoon to early evening. Many fastpasses had a return time when we wouldn't be in the park or when we got back to the park later in the day the fastpasses for many rides had already been distributed for the day. Does that mean I don't use fastpass?-of course not. You use whatever you can to enable to see the parks. I just don't think it necessarily makes things a lot better for getting on the big rides.

 

[snugglebug]

Does a fastpass cost extra? If so, how much extra?

 

[SueM in MN]

No. Fastpass doesn't cost extra. It is available to anyone.
Click HERE for a link to the DIS page about fastpass. It should answer most of your questions.

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says................................ I am really confused by the post from Ahrizel. Fastpass is fantastic!! With careful planning we did Splash and Haunted in 30 minutes, when the posted waits were Splash 90 min., Haunted 60 min. On slower days it is even better! Know your plan, and use it as best you can! Once the time hits your first FP, you can get another!! If your FP says 1:15-2:15, at 1:15 you can get another FP, even if you have not used the first one, very important for when the parks are crowded.

 

[Mikeyboy]

I have been spoiled by going in off-peak times but I don't think FP is all it's cracked to be either. I find that I get a FP and by the time I can use it I'm on the other side of the park and the walk isn't worth it. I'm not going to hang around doing nothing when I can do a couple of other short lined attractions in the mean time. I found it worked well this summer at DL/DCA because everything is closer together in those parks. My best tip is go off peak and avoid the need for FPs, but I realize it is easier said than done.

 

[Kermit]

I love FP, but I can see Ahrizel's point of view. We usually go when it's not crowded and return times are short, but if return times are long and you plan on not being there for more than a few hours at a time, it can be hard to get a FP that you will be able to use. You have to stick around to use FP. I've found that it works better to take a later break, around 3:30 or 4:00, to get the most use of FP, but I can imagine that if you go when it's hot, that's not a good alternative either.

 

[WDWfanatic288]

yup!


went busiest time of year...never waited more than about 20 minutes!

FP is the greatest! and most of the FP we got were for like an hour later....guess people dont use fastpass very much or something.

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says.................................................Fast pass is still great, we never hang around to wait for our time, we have a plan before we get one. Like this great one that I made up, by luck, chance and quick wit. And this was on a busy Saturday Night! 30 minutes till parade, got a good spot, get a FP for Buzz in ninety minutes, on the way saw no line for AE for some reason. Saw the parade, rushed to AE, still no line and got out in time for Fantasy in the Sky(by one minute!) Rode TTA twice to kill the twenty minutes left to get on Buzz. How's that for two hours in a very crowded park?! Or on the monday before Thanksgiving, taking it easy because we were really done for our trip, this was the last day. Didn't get to MK till almost noon, let me tell you an AP will turn the hardest core commando style person into a tub of goo since there is no rush! Got FP for Splash, didn't wait for our time, went to Kona Cafe at the Polynesian for lunch, came back got FP for HM, went to Splash, waited a few minutes, then off to HM, waited a few minutes and we were done. Posted waits were Splash 90 min., and HM 60 min.,And we did both with all the walking and waiting, and the actual ride time included in less than 40 minutes! At that point we had to leave, because FP for Peter Pan was for 4 hours later, same with Honey Pots!! I will admit, when it gets that crazy, FP is worth zero!!!!!

 

[CaptHook]

Last year FastPass allowed my brother and me to ride ToT and RnRC 4 times each within the space of two hours! We got Fastpass for ToT and got on the Standby Line right away, then went over to RnRC, got on the Standby line waited maybe 30 minutes, our FastPass time for ToT had started, so we grabbed RnRC Fastpasses, then headed back to ToT, then returned to RnRC and repeated the whole procedure. This was first thing in the morning and it only works if you get early fastpasses and there is little to no wait on the standby lines. By the time we used the fourth passes the standby lines had waits of 90 minutes! Within 3 hours we had ridden MGM's two best rides 4x each! We did a similar thing with Splash Mountain and BTMRR, it's a little harder in the MK though, the crowds get back there pretty fast.

 

[Toby]

I just got back from DW - 12/27-1/3/02 and I can tell you the FP system wasn't the greatest.
Son got FP for Splash MT at 2:30pm and return time was for 9:00pm at night!! Another time,
all FP for the most popular rides were gone by mid-morning for the entire day!! So, there was
no option, but to wait in 90-minute lines should you care too. I feel Fast Passes don't work
well when the crowds are overwhelming in number, such as when we went. I think Disney
lets too many people into the parks, so it becomes absolutely miserable for everyone. You
spend 8-9 hours in the park, and end up doing 3-4 rides - waste of time and money. Universal studios has it all over Disney with their front-of-line pass all day if you stay on their
property. Granted Disney has lots more hotel rooms, but during these peak holiday times,
they have got to do something better for the people who do stay on the property, spend
money there, but do not get their money's worth at the parks.