I could not disagree more with this strategy, though I also thought it was the way to go, until I tried it. First of all, when you reserve fastpass times for “as early as possible,” as I did on our most recent trip, you quickly discover that it was a total waste. You essentially DO NOT NEED a fastpass a half hour or even an hour after the park opens. It was a complete waste. FP line was a walk on. Standby line was a 5 minute wait – i.e. walk on.
When all fastpass times were used up, the lines at the kiosks were a good 15-20 minute wait (and this in late September), and guess what, NONE of the headliners at MK were available for additional fastpasses. So I got a fast pass for Mansion. Which saved me about 15 minutes in line. Not nearly the time saver the fast passes were originally designed for.
My advice – reserve you fast passes for the afternoon, with a possible exception for late morning for either Toy Story Mania, Test Track or Seven Dwarfs at their respective parks since they are busy all day long. Then, in the morning, when lines are shortest, ride as many rides as possible in the standby lines.
Then, after using your 3 fastpasses, try to get another fastpass for that evening, BUT ONLY if the lines at the kiosks are not long. If they are, you are trading waiting in line there for waiting in line for what will ultimately be the same amount of time saved for whatever attraction you get a pass for, because it will almost certainly NOT be a headliner.
Folks, the days of riding 6 or more headliner attractions in one day using fastpasses is over, by design.
Obviously, time of year and which park you are at (since AK and MK do not use a tiered system) will make some slight differences, but overall, I would suggest DO NOT get fastpasses for first thing in the morning.
Greg….I’m not here to argue your points but have you ever tried to ride the Mine Train or Peter Pan between 10 and 11:00 without FastPasses? On an average day, they can be close to an hour. I absolutely agree that you can ride some of the headliners in the first couple hours without long waits and you should. But, you should also mix in other headliners where fast passes are useful. Then, after 11 o’clock you could get rides like haunted mansion, pirates, Jungle Cruise, small world, or Speedway without much trouble using The additional FastPast method. All of those attractions typically have 30 to 45 minute waits in the afternoon, and using these fast passes could save you more than 2 to 3 hours! Again, if you were there in September the crowds were below average and the lines weren’t that bad overall.
True, those rides do get busy early, and that is why I think you should hit them first, or use one of your later fast passes for them.
To have used all of your fast passes by 11am, as you suggest, then you would have had to have used at least one, maybe two unnecessarily, and then, after 11, you will have to wait in a line to get another fastpass, one at at time, and probably not for a headliner. That just doesn’t seem to be the best overall use of the system to me.
Perhaps do a mid-morning fastpass for say Mine Train, then a couple of early afternoon fastpasses for a pair of E-Tickets. After that, if you want to wait in line to get another fastpass, to avoid waiting in line for a C-D Ticket, then by all means, go ahead, but I think it kind of becomes fruitless at that point, since you are not saving that much time, and are very unlikely to get a pass for a headliner that late in the day anyway (or even early afternoon really).
That is why I think it is best to use get fastpass times that actually maximize the time saved in line. Again, hit several rides early on, when there are no waits, instead of using precious fastpass spots for them, that you are unlikely to be able to replace later in the day for the same attraction when you really would have liked to have it.
The point I was making regarding September was that BECAUSE it is a less busy time, and yet I still had the issues I described, I can only imagine it would be even worse during busy times of the year.
I suppose your suggestions may work for some people in certain situations, but I have talked with many folks who are in complete agreement, by experience, that fastpasses in the morning are not the wisest use of the system.
Thanks for your insight about changing fastpass times after you reserve them though. Not many people are aware of that trick, since Disney does not advertise it.
Greg….I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts on this subject. I am at the Disney parks an average of 4 to 5 times per week and I have tested just about every way possible to utilize the FastPass system. I think that we aren’t far off from being on the same page. My last “Tour Guide Tuesday” was all about getting there early and getting as much done as possible. I also talked about how long the lines are for several of the headliners like Anna and Elsa and the Mine Train right at opening. I’m not going to go into itinerary specifics, but even during busy times, you should be able to get through the most popular attractions by lunch time using the early FastPass method. This leaves the afternoon for quick FastPass return times on rides that average 45 minutes (like Jungle and Haunted) I think the biggest issue is how long you were waiting at the FastPass kiosks. Even during Christmas week I waited no longer than 15 minutes. You need to know which ones to go to, as the busiest “looking” ones typically move the fastest. Waiting 10 to 15 minutes is certainly better than waiting 45-60 for an attraction like Jungle Cruise. Eventually, we will have the ability to choose additional FastPasses right from our phones, and that will make life easier and make the “early FastPass” method a no brainer. Anyway, thanks again for reading and sharing your thoughts!
Thanks for the reply. We will have to agree to disagree on at last a bit of what you wrote, and that’s OK! Since I avoid the parks during busier times like the plague (partly since I only make it down about every other year), your tips may work out wonderfully during busier times, though my last visit in September was possibly one of the busiest I have ever experienced.
I read and enjoyed your previous article about what NOT to do first thing in the morning. Good stuff there. I really look forward to the day when we can reserve more fastpasses on our phones. (I really hope that day comes.) I would be very interested in the meantime to see a post or article on what you have discovered about the kiosks. I also noticed some lines were much longer than others, but was not able to determine why, or if there was a pattern.
I envy you being able to be in the parks that often. Again, thanks for bothering to reply, and keep up the good work!
I’m with you Greg. I can ride 5-6 attractions easily in the morning with no fast pass needed. Get out of bed and open the park. Head back to the resort for some rest and come back and use your fast passes during the evening or afternoon.
Craig……I agree 100 percent that you should ride 5-6 rides easily in the morning and that is exactly what I recommend! I’m just saying that waiting to use your FastPasses until the afternoon is a waste, unless you don’t mind waiting in line for some of the attractions. My tour guests don’t have to wait in any lines more than about 10 minutes using this method.
Those magic bans. that’s Disney way of beta testing the rf id chip scanning areas. ITs already build in the scanner so when the chip is approved its all ready to go. so Disney starts off with the bans to make it look fun and exciting easy to use. Disney has future prof them self. just like the do with their rides were they can upgrade later.is what they are doing with those scanners future prof them self.
i agre with this. disney dont want you to to do to much stuff so they been future proff everything with the bans and things like that. well sedd, tony.
this is a great article! I went to MK for one day only (it was all the time we had) in May 2014 a little before the mine train opened. the crowds were nice and light and the weather wasn’t too harsh yet. I hadn’t been to WDW since 2009ish and was excited to be back and try FP+ we bought tickets maybe a week before we went and I booked the FP+ for myself and my two best friends that went with me. I tried this method and it worked beautifully. we booked the first three for Splash Mountain, BTMRR, and Peter Pans Flight as early as possible and after pan we were able to go back to the kiosks and book a FP+ for nearly every other attraction in the park the rest of the day. the only stand by we waited in was for little mermaid because the wait said only like 20 minutes and I wanted to see that queue. basically this method is the way to go as long as you can make it work depending on crowd levels and group size. we are three young men in our mid 20’s so running all over the park for the day was not a problem for us. know where the FP+ kiosks are and have a general idea of what you want to see for the day and you can play FP+ like a fiddle. Thanks Dave! Great Job!
Thanks so much for the feedback! I’m glad this method worked for you and that you were able to enjoy so many attractions! I appreciate you reading Tour Guide Tuesday and hope you enjoy the upcoming articles as well!
Comments for Tour Guide Tuesday: Making the most of FastPass+ by reserving early return times
Greg
I could not disagree more with this strategy, though I also thought it was the way to go, until I tried it. First of all, when you reserve fastpass times for “as early as possible,” as I did on our most recent trip, you quickly discover that it was a total waste. You essentially DO NOT NEED a fastpass a half hour or even an hour after the park opens. It was a complete waste. FP line was a walk on. Standby line was a 5 minute wait – i.e. walk on.
When all fastpass times were used up, the lines at the kiosks were a good 15-20 minute wait (and this in late September), and guess what, NONE of the headliners at MK were available for additional fastpasses. So I got a fast pass for Mansion. Which saved me about 15 minutes in line. Not nearly the time saver the fast passes were originally designed for.
My advice – reserve you fast passes for the afternoon, with a possible exception for late morning for either Toy Story Mania, Test Track or Seven Dwarfs at their respective parks since they are busy all day long. Then, in the morning, when lines are shortest, ride as many rides as possible in the standby lines.
Then, after using your 3 fastpasses, try to get another fastpass for that evening, BUT ONLY if the lines at the kiosks are not long. If they are, you are trading waiting in line there for waiting in line for what will ultimately be the same amount of time saved for whatever attraction you get a pass for, because it will almost certainly NOT be a headliner.
Folks, the days of riding 6 or more headliner attractions in one day using fastpasses is over, by design.
Obviously, time of year and which park you are at (since AK and MK do not use a tiered system) will make some slight differences, but overall, I would suggest DO NOT get fastpasses for first thing in the morning.
Dave - WDW Guided Tours
Greg….I’m not here to argue your points but have you ever tried to ride the Mine Train or Peter Pan between 10 and 11:00 without FastPasses? On an average day, they can be close to an hour. I absolutely agree that you can ride some of the headliners in the first couple hours without long waits and you should. But, you should also mix in other headliners where fast passes are useful. Then, after 11 o’clock you could get rides like haunted mansion, pirates, Jungle Cruise, small world, or Speedway without much trouble using The additional FastPast method. All of those attractions typically have 30 to 45 minute waits in the afternoon, and using these fast passes could save you more than 2 to 3 hours! Again, if you were there in September the crowds were below average and the lines weren’t that bad overall.
Greg
True, those rides do get busy early, and that is why I think you should hit them first, or use one of your later fast passes for them.
To have used all of your fast passes by 11am, as you suggest, then you would have had to have used at least one, maybe two unnecessarily, and then, after 11, you will have to wait in a line to get another fastpass, one at at time, and probably not for a headliner. That just doesn’t seem to be the best overall use of the system to me.
Perhaps do a mid-morning fastpass for say Mine Train, then a couple of early afternoon fastpasses for a pair of E-Tickets. After that, if you want to wait in line to get another fastpass, to avoid waiting in line for a C-D Ticket, then by all means, go ahead, but I think it kind of becomes fruitless at that point, since you are not saving that much time, and are very unlikely to get a pass for a headliner that late in the day anyway (or even early afternoon really).
That is why I think it is best to use get fastpass times that actually maximize the time saved in line. Again, hit several rides early on, when there are no waits, instead of using precious fastpass spots for them, that you are unlikely to be able to replace later in the day for the same attraction when you really would have liked to have it.
The point I was making regarding September was that BECAUSE it is a less busy time, and yet I still had the issues I described, I can only imagine it would be even worse during busy times of the year.
I suppose your suggestions may work for some people in certain situations, but I have talked with many folks who are in complete agreement, by experience, that fastpasses in the morning are not the wisest use of the system.
Thanks for your insight about changing fastpass times after you reserve them though. Not many people are aware of that trick, since Disney does not advertise it.
Dave - WDW Guided Tours
Greg….I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts on this subject. I am at the Disney parks an average of 4 to 5 times per week and I have tested just about every way possible to utilize the FastPass system. I think that we aren’t far off from being on the same page. My last “Tour Guide Tuesday” was all about getting there early and getting as much done as possible. I also talked about how long the lines are for several of the headliners like Anna and Elsa and the Mine Train right at opening. I’m not going to go into itinerary specifics, but even during busy times, you should be able to get through the most popular attractions by lunch time using the early FastPass method. This leaves the afternoon for quick FastPass return times on rides that average 45 minutes (like Jungle and Haunted) I think the biggest issue is how long you were waiting at the FastPass kiosks. Even during Christmas week I waited no longer than 15 minutes. You need to know which ones to go to, as the busiest “looking” ones typically move the fastest. Waiting 10 to 15 minutes is certainly better than waiting 45-60 for an attraction like Jungle Cruise. Eventually, we will have the ability to choose additional FastPasses right from our phones, and that will make life easier and make the “early FastPass” method a no brainer. Anyway, thanks again for reading and sharing your thoughts!
Greg
Thanks for the reply. We will have to agree to disagree on at last a bit of what you wrote, and that’s OK! Since I avoid the parks during busier times like the plague (partly since I only make it down about every other year), your tips may work out wonderfully during busier times, though my last visit in September was possibly one of the busiest I have ever experienced.
I read and enjoyed your previous article about what NOT to do first thing in the morning. Good stuff there. I really look forward to the day when we can reserve more fastpasses on our phones. (I really hope that day comes.) I would be very interested in the meantime to see a post or article on what you have discovered about the kiosks. I also noticed some lines were much longer than others, but was not able to determine why, or if there was a pattern.
I envy you being able to be in the parks that often. Again, thanks for bothering to reply, and keep up the good work!
Craig
I’m with you Greg. I can ride 5-6 attractions easily in the morning with no fast pass needed. Get out of bed and open the park. Head back to the resort for some rest and come back and use your fast passes during the evening or afternoon.
Dave - WDW Guided Tours
Craig……I agree 100 percent that you should ride 5-6 rides easily in the morning and that is exactly what I recommend! I’m just saying that waiting to use your FastPasses until the afternoon is a waste, unless you don’t mind waiting in line for some of the attractions. My tour guests don’t have to wait in any lines more than about 10 minutes using this method.
Linda Raymond
thanks so much Dave ,,,this is very helpful information… I love this new addition to Inside the Magic, looking forward to my weekly lesson (lol)
Dave - WDW Guided Tours
Thank you so much Linda! I really enjoy contributing to Inside the Magic!
tony
Those magic bans. that’s Disney way of beta testing the rf id chip scanning areas. ITs already build in the scanner so when the chip is approved its all ready to go. so Disney starts off with the bans to make it look fun and exciting easy to use. Disney has future prof them self. just like the do with their rides were they can upgrade later.is what they are doing with those scanners future prof them self.
Dav
i agre with this. disney dont want you to to do to much stuff so they been future proff everything with the bans and things like that. well sedd, tony.
Mr. Tom Morrow
this is a great article! I went to MK for one day only (it was all the time we had) in May 2014 a little before the mine train opened. the crowds were nice and light and the weather wasn’t too harsh yet. I hadn’t been to WDW since 2009ish and was excited to be back and try FP+ we bought tickets maybe a week before we went and I booked the FP+ for myself and my two best friends that went with me. I tried this method and it worked beautifully. we booked the first three for Splash Mountain, BTMRR, and Peter Pans Flight as early as possible and after pan we were able to go back to the kiosks and book a FP+ for nearly every other attraction in the park the rest of the day. the only stand by we waited in was for little mermaid because the wait said only like 20 minutes and I wanted to see that queue. basically this method is the way to go as long as you can make it work depending on crowd levels and group size. we are three young men in our mid 20’s so running all over the park for the day was not a problem for us. know where the FP+ kiosks are and have a general idea of what you want to see for the day and you can play FP+ like a fiddle. Thanks Dave! Great Job!
-TTAtraveler
Dave - WDW Guided Tours
TTAtraveler,
Thanks so much for the feedback! I’m glad this method worked for you and that you were able to enjoy so many attractions! I appreciate you reading Tour Guide Tuesday and hope you enjoy the upcoming articles as well!
All the best!
Comments are closed.