Anna & Elsa strategy

[jenniferrose]

With the fast pass for this meet and greet now, what is the best strategy for getting to see them. We will be going Nov 17-21 so I am hoping for low-ish crowds, and I am not typically a rope drop kind of person.. but my daughter really wants to see them so this is one of the few attractions we will be planning for. Where exactly is the fast pass distribution?

Thanks!

 

[PocahontasLookALike]

Get there before park opening and be at the gates when they open. WALK AS FAST AS POSSIBLE to the castle (after rope drop). Stay to the left after going they the castle and go to the meet and greet area. If you get there fast enough they will line you up right away. If not grab a fp for a return time. We were there Friday and Saturday. On Friday (it was NOT CROWDED) fp were gone by 920 with an 8am non magic Morning opening.

Bottom line, be there before the gates open and walk fast *ie run* lol to the meet and greet area.

 

[4Mickeys]

No sleeping in on the day you want to meet A&E you need to be there early. Once through the main gates head down Main Street and usually there are Cast Members with signs forming a line for the A&E meet & greet - they will then walk you through the park prior to actual rope drop. Everyone who is going to meet them MUST be in the park with the tickets active. The whole party does not have to stay in the line to get the return tickets but you MUST have their park tickets with you to show to get the number of return passes needed, if you have any children under 3 then tell them and they will also get a return pass. When you return at your allocated time you will need to show both your park tickets and your A&E return passes. It sounds daunting but if you are early enough to join the line on Main Street it is relatively easy. Enjoy

 

[PocahontasLookALike]

I'm guessing on days when they open the gates early to do rope drop on main st there is a cast member with the sign for the anna and Elsa meet and greet. On Friday the 31st it was park opening at 8am with no magic morning. They didn't open the gates til right at 8 so there was no rope drop and no cast member with a sign on Main Street.

I just high tailed thru the castle stayed to the left and went right to the area. We were there at the gates before opening, but didn't make it to area in time to get in the immediate queue so we got in line for a return time. Ours was for 920 return. When we returned right at 920 all fp for the day were gone. We waited about 30 mins for the fp (which seemed to be going very slow since we were about 20 people back). At 920 we waited another 30 mins and were about 10 families back).

Everyone who wants to enter the meet and greet (even unticketed children like my 1 and 2 yo) have to be accounted for when retrieving the fp return time. They don't have to be there when you get the fp but you just have to have let the cm.

 

[ricardol]

With the fast pass for this meet and greet now, what is the best strategy for getting to see them. We will be going Nov 17-21 so I am hoping for low-ish crowds, and I am not typically a rope drop kind of person.. but my daughter really wants to see them so this is one of the few attractions we will be planning for. Where exactly is the fast pass distribution?

Thanks!

There is no other option but to be get there early, and remember that they scan your tickets so all guests need to have entered the park that day. A friend of mine made the mistake of going to grab the passes while his wife and kids ate breakfast out of the park and found out the hard way he couldn't get the passes.

Also if you have access to Magic Morning or EMH you are practically guaranteed a pass if you go pick it up before the regular park opening hours.

I picked mine out on a Saturday 15 mins before park opening and got a return time of 11:30am.

The distribution is close to where the Meet and greet is, almost next to the german house restaurant. You will see a some Umbrellas and Cast members forming a line towards the restaurant.

 

[ExcitedMama]

Do you think the passes will be gone so early M-F the week after Thanksgiving? I'm driving in so I'm not sure how early we will make it get the passes.

 

[PocahontasLookALike]

I'm under the impression that that week kicks off a very busy holiday season.

Keep watching the boards the crowd updates as the date gets closer. Last weekend was not a heavy crowd index and I was so surprised that fp return times were gone in nearly an hour.

 

[Pheran]

FYI my daughter was able to see Anna & Elsa using a magic morning today. My wife reported that the return passes were gone before regular parking opening.

 

[PocahontasLookALike]

I think the reason fp are running out so fast is because they give a fp to EVERYONE who is in the group. like my husbands parents were with me at the return but they didn't pose or speak with the characters. They literally just watched my daughter talk to anna and Elsa. But yet they gave my in laws a return ticket. Maybe they should give a tix to on,y those ones in the party to who actually want to see and visit with the princesses. My in laws wanted to watch her meet them but that was all. Am I way off?

Everyone in my group wanted to see my daughter meet the princesses so there was no one to sit out and watch my 1 yr old son (who couldn't care less about the princesses), yet my son was issued a return ticket.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think the reason fp are running out so fast is because they give a fp to EVERYONE who is in the group. like my husbands parents were with me at the return but they didn't pose or speak with the characters. They literally just watched my daughter talk to anna and Elsa. But yet they gave my in laws a return ticket. Maybe they should give a tix to on,y those ones in the party to who actually want to see and visit with the princesses. My in laws wanted to watch her meet them but that was all. Am I way off?

Everyone in my group wanted to see my daughter meet the princesses so there was no one to sit out and watch my 1 yr old son (who couldn't care less about the princesses), yet my son was issued a return ticket.

They know how to calculate those numbers. They really have to make everyone in line have a ticket or there would be no way to make sure only those with tickets actually interacted.

If they gave one per child, or one per group, they'd have to just give out a lot fewer passes.

I'm sure they have enough info by now to compute average time per person entering the line.

 

[GatorChris]

Sounds like rope drop or bust for A&E. At least there aren't 3-4 hour lines anymore.

 

[fairy8i8]

It's interesting to see where Disney draws the line for wait times. Guess 3-4 hours was too long for guest satisfaction.

 

[meagus]

We met Elsa and Anna last Thursday. It as early morning, so we got there just before early admission, and I did the fast walk through the park for our fast passes while hubby strolled along with the three kids to meet me there. I had the passes fairly promptly and had a return time of 9.50-10.10am. Early admission was from 9am. Fast
PAsses were gone by about 10.15am I think. The meet and greet itself was fabulous and my little princess and princes loved it! Elsa and Anna chatted to them, signed autographs and had loads of pics taken with them, and didnt hurry them along at all. It was a wonderful experience for us!

 

[wdwrich]

Do you think the passes will be gone so early M-F the week after Thanksgiving? I'm driving in so I'm not sure how early we will make it get the passes.

Definitely yes. We visited on a week day recently during a "non-holiday" period and the A&E fastpasses were gone by 9:45. As others have already stated, you really need to be at the gates for park opening to get them, and you need activated park tickets, one per FP.

 

[awhitman80]

If I book a early rez at CP and have finished eating before rope drop will I be able to go ahead and go to the meet and greet area?

 

[wdwrich]

If I book a early rez at CP and have finished eating before rope drop will I be able to go ahead and go to the meet and greet area?

CP? I know Crystal Palace (CP) at the Magic Kingdom in Florida, but what is CP at Disneyland?

 

[awhitman80]

CP? I know Crystal Palace (CP) at the Magic Kingdom in Florida, but what is CP at Disneyland?

Sorry. I didn't realize this was a Disneyland tread!

 

[wdwrich]

Sorry. I didn't realize this was a Disneyland tread!

Ah- that makes sense then. No worries!

 

[Chelsea524]

We met Anna and Elsa yesterday. We were at the gates about 15 minutes early for magic morning. We were second in line at our gate but the cast member was having an awful time with her ticket scanner, by the time we made it through they had just filled the line for instant anna and elsa so we waited for rope drop. I walked quickly back to get fps and waited about 15 minutes for them for 10:30-10:50. We were back at 10:27 and walked right in with no wait at all. We didn't have an autograph book, dd just wanted to meet them and get pictures. They commented on dds dress, she was wearing an anna dress, and then turned her around for pictures and sent us on our way. I was so sad that it lasted less than 2 minutes, but glad I didn't have to wait 2+ hours for it. Others have said they really take their time but we felt very rushed.

 

[ExcitedMama]

This could be a newbie question but is there an instant A&E line up near the main entrance at rope drop? Thanks!