Advice please! FastPass and tickets bought online

[Katgoesonholiday]

Hi everyone, I'd really appreciate some advice re our upcoming trip to DisneyWorld in December.

We are planning on being in Orlando from the 4th of Dec to the 13th and we have booked a 5 day WDW pass through our travel agent here in NZ. We have also booked offsite accommodation through her.

Originally she had said they were registered to be able to provide Magic Bands, issued before we left NZ, but some time after we had booked through her she said that she had recently found out that would not be happening till next year.

Then two weeks ago I asked her to get me our ticket numbers or Will Call number so that I could start booking our FastPasses once the 30 day booking period opened. She was a bit stumped and it took her a week and quite a few phone calls to establish that since we were not staying onsite and since our tickets were booked through an agent who got them from a wholesaler, we wouldn't actually be able to get a ticket number or Will Call number till we pick up the physical tickets in Orlando.

Naturally I am a little disappointed in that. We are travelling from NZ which is costing us a small fortune and we want to make the most of our time at WDW. And a big part of that is minimising queue wait times for the key rides.

So now you have the background here are my questions:

1. If I had booked our tickets myself through the Disney website would I have been able to link them to my My Disney Experience account and utilise the advance booking for FastPasses? Or would I have not been able to anyway since I won't have my tickets till we arrive?

2. Does it even matter? Will we still have plenty of selection for fast passes on the days we plan to visit even if we wait to book then once we pick up our tickets on the 4th?

If I could book the Fastpasses by booking direct, and if it is likely to make a difference then I will go back to the travel agent and suggest that she refunds me the money and I book directly. If its not going to make much difference then I will take a chill pill and go obsess about some other aspect of our holiday.

 

[Robo]

Hi everyone, I'd really appreciate some advice re our upcoming trip to DisneyWorld in December.

We are planning on being in Orlando from the 4th of Dec to the 13th and we have booked a 5 day WDW pass through our travel agent here in NZ. We have also booked offsite accommodation through her.

Originally she had said they were registered to be able to provide Magic Bands, issued before we left NZ, but some time after we had booked through her she said that she had recently found out that would not be happening till next year.

Then two weeks ago I asked her to get me our ticket numbers or Will Call number so that I could start booking our FastPasses once the 30 day booking period opened. She was a bit stumped and it took her a week and quite a few phone calls to establish that since we were not staying onsite and since our tickets were booked through an agent who got them from a wholesaler, we wouldn't actually be able to get a ticket number or Will Call number till we pick up the physical tickets in Orlando.

Naturally I am a little disappointed in that. We are travelling from NZ which is costing us a small fortune and we want to make the most of our time at WDW. And a big part of that is minimising queue wait times for the key rides.

So now you have the background here are my questions:

1. If I had booked our tickets myself through the Disney website would I have been able to link them to my My Disney Experience account and utilise the advance booking for FastPasses? Or would I have not been able to anyway since I won't have my tickets till we arrive?

2. Does it even matter? Will we still have plenty of selection for fast passes on the days we plan to visit even if we wait to book then once we pick up our tickets on the 4th?

3. If I could book the Fastpasses by booking direct, and if it is likely to make a difference then I will go back to the travel agent and suggest that she refunds me the money and I book directly. If its not going to make much difference then I will take a chill pill and go obsess about some other aspect of our holiday.

1. Yes.
1. The NUMBER of FP+ available, overall, is not in question.
It is the selection of most-sought-after FP+ that will be in short supply the longer you wait.
3. TA didn't do you any favors.

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

There are five of us travelling and visiting the parks together. We will be visiting the parks that aren't having Extra Magic Hours so do you think there will be sufficient FastPass selection if we leave booking those till the 4th?

 

[minnie mum]

As Robo pointed out, the most "in demand" FPs will have little or no availability by the time you arrive. I'm thinking of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, the Anna and Elsa M&G, Toy Story Mania, the parade or fireworks FPs for MK, etc. With only 5 days in the parks, you may not be able to switch your park days around at the last minute to take advantage of a particular FP at a particular park suddenly appearing due to someone suddenly canceling. Second and third tier fps should have plenty of availability, though.

I agree that your TA has done you no favor by booking your tickets as she has done. If it was me, I'd insist that she immediately cancel that purchase and refund the money to you. Then you can book your tickets directly with Disney online. Select the Will Call option. That way you will have the ticket numbers and can link them to your MDE account and make FP bookings on your 30 day. Because you are off site, you will not receive free Magic Bands. But you can buy them when you arrive if you wish.

 

[Katgoesonholiday]

Thank you for all the advice. I have been in touch with the agent and impressed on her how disappointing this situation was. Although the tickets are listed as non refundable she has managed to secure a refund for me and I hav gone ahead and booked the tickets myself through Disney using the 'will call' option as suggested. I then spent four hours working out my plans for each day in the park, booking my fast passes, and printing off my itineraries. I have missed out on fastpasses for the 7 dwarves but I have got everything else I wanted.

I don't think she has ever dealt with anyone this obsessive before! Lol!

 

[Robo]

I don't think she has ever dealt with anyone this obsessive before! Lol!

On the other hand, she obviously is oblivious to procedures required to utilize advance-booked FP+.

If she wants to charge clients when she books WDW trips, she needs to learn these procedures.