? about FastPass strategy

[wifemomkate]

We are a family of 5. Two of the kids will not be tall enough to ride most rides. Say we got FP for ToT....could we use all 5 of our tickets to get 5 fastpasses? Do they even give admission tickets to the under-3 kids?

We use 4 of our tickets to get fastpasses for ToT. We come back at our stated time to ride, and then with our 4 fastpasses, two of us ride twice in a row. Does this make any sense? Sort of like childswap but without the wait.

One more question. Could we use the smaller kids tickets to get FP for rides they aren't tall enough to ride? Like if we got 3 FP to ToT and then used the 2 babies' tickets to get FP to RNRC immediately after, then we wouldn't have to wait to get more FP.

I hope this is making sense.

 

[rlovew]

You can get FP with any ticket (if you don't pay for a ticket they don't have one so those under 3 won't have them), after all the ticket doesn't tell the machines how tall one is. If your entire party has tickets you could get FP with all of them to ToT and have 2 people ride 2 times each. If you want to spend as much time together as a family you could use those same tickets to get 2 FP for ToT and 2 FP for RnR and then do things with the family until the passes open up. I routinely do this for thrill rides that are in the same area since my DH doesn't ride them. He sits and waits while I run over and get my FPs with both our tickets and then we go do something together while waiting for the window, then I go use my FP while he does his own thing.

The biggest thing is remembering the amount of time a ride takes even with a FP- usually 20 mintes for ToT between the short line, preshow, 2nd line, and ride. RnR also takes about 15 minutes for the short line, preshow, 2nd line, and then ride.

I go to the parks at times when it is not as busy so most of the time my FP windows overlap so it is convient to use them at the same time but that is not always true.

 

[shafke]

You could get 2 FP for ToT and 2 for RnR. When you return to use your fast pass you can get a child swap pass for use later in the day thereby giving two rides on each ride.

 

[cvjw]

Last week at AK, we got FP with all 7 of our tickets, and then my two sons rode EE three times each, with one FP left over. Also, the CM told me that you can come back after the specified time on your FP and it will still be honored, as it was hard to try and ride RNRC 3 times in one hour, due to all the before the ride preshow stuff.

 

[Allison]

This is done all the time. Tower of Terror is my favorite ride and noone else likes it. I'll being usng all 5 tickets to get fastpasses so I can ride it again and again.

 

[eeyore45]

Last week at AK, we got FP with all 7 of our tickets, and then my two sons rode EE three times each, with one FP left over. Also, the CM told me that you can come back after the specified time on your FP and it will still be honored, as it was hard to try and ride RNRC 3 times in one hour, due to all the before the ride preshow stuff.

Just be aware - that's not always true - for instance (or esp. for Soarin) we were denied entry AFTER the FP return time had expired - there's a lot of debates or posts on this issue, I dont know - I only know about our experience last Oct - the CM checked the return time, for Soarin, if you werent in your window of time, they didnt let you in... (some have posted the back of the FP states that, but its often overlooked by many of the FP attractions - for Soarin I imagine the FP line was getting long - I know at the Big Thunder RR the FP line was esp long, and so I can see where this COULD be abused, not that it is or anything...)

Just thought I'd share our experience. It was really disappointing to our dd

 

[Deb & Bill]

As long as your children are required to have a ticket to enter the park, you can get a fastpass for that ticket. If a ticket is not used for park entry, you cannot use it for a fast pass. If the child is young enough not to require a ticket for entry, they do not need a fast pass.

 

[mdoc]

You can use all of your tickets to get FPs and it doesn't matter who uses them. No ticket for the under 3's, though. Check out how the child swap works for each ride, though. On RnR, which is the only ride my DD wasn't tall enough for this year, they gave us a Child Swap pass at the FP entrance. It was good for me and 2 other riders to use at any time for the next few days. You don't have to use it right away and it's basically a FP for 3 people. I'm not sure if all rides work like that, but for those that do it's definitely worth doing. You don't have to ride right then - just come back when it's convenient. Might as well put those babies to good use!

 

[runwad]

I second mdoc's tip to get the child swap fastpasses. It's nice cause it's not tied to your ticket so you can still use your park ticket to get other fastpasses, plus they're good for almost 3 - 5 days after the day you got them. WE collected them on our first vist then on our last day at the parks we went back and "redeamed" all our child swap fastpasses for quick rides. Great perk.

 

[dznygurl]

About halfway through our Feb. trip we realized how much better the child swap tickets were than the FP. The FP can get bothersome when you're tied up doing another attraction and have to hurry back to the FP attraction before your time is up. With child swap, we didn't have to rush. I have three children, so my DH would take the two older ones on the ride and I would wait with my DS2. Then I would use the child swap ticket and bring both of my older kids. They thought it was great to ride the big rides twice.

 

[tjmw2727]

To the OP, anyone can use the fast pass ticket once you get it. As long as the ticket was used for admission to that park that day it can be used to get a fast pass. Children two and under are free and as such don't need admission tickets or fast passes so you won't have the benefit of those extras for FP's.

Just an FYI on the Babyswap tickets, they are now dated so check the bottom for the expiration date. Some were good for a few days and others only the day of. Soarin and EE were very strict on BS - only the day of and enforced. In addition, in my experience, neither EE or Soarin were accepting late fast pases after the window last weekend. So if you really want to ride its a good idea to return during the window, at least on these two new, very popular rides.

TJ