Are Fastpasses available during extra magic hours?

[mommommom]

Let's say I get to the park at 7am and run to Radiator Springs or Space Mountain. Will I be able to get a Fastpass right away, or will I have to wait until 8am?

 

[skiingfast]

No.

FP kiosks open when the park normally opens.

 

[mommommom]

Thanks!

 

[algae]

Right, need to wait until the park opens for FP machines to turn on. However, that doesn't mean people won't start waiting in line for the FP during EMH. That's one of our strategies. Have one person wait in line for FP and the others go wait in line the the actual ride (Star Tours, Space Mountain, Racers.) By the time the machine open up and we get FP's, the others in our group are near the front of the ride line and we just meet up. Ride and a FP all in a hour.

Actually, now it's just better to head to Screamin' and Midway Mania for EMH since Cars Land opened up. Literally no lines! We rode both twice in less than 30 minutes! And you get to see your score show up as the high score for the day for a few minutes on Midway Mania

 

[buyerbrad]

That's one of our strategies. Have one person wait in line for FP and the others go wait in line the the actual ride (Star Tours, Space Mountain, Racers.) By the time the machine open up and we get FP's, the others in our group are near the front of the ride line and we just meet up. Ride and a FP all in a hour.

So your strategy is to cut in line infront of everybody else who has been waiting their turn? "Line holding" should only be used for little kids who need to run to the bathroom, not for those selfish guests who look to maximize their ride amounts by cutting/butting/skipping the line just to meet up with people further ahead in the line.

 

[dsny1mom]

So your strategy is to cut in line infront of everybody else who has been waiting their turn? "Line holding" should only be used for little kids who need to run to the bathroom, not for those selfish guests who look to maximize their ride amounts by cutting/butting/skipping the line just to meet up with people further ahead in the line.

IMHO *space holding* is not the same as line cutting. Line cutting is when you jump in line without anyone holding your space. If someone chooses to wait in line and hold spaces for the rest of their party I have no problem with them doing so. Space holding happens a lot at DL for attractions, shows, Meet N Greets, etc. I know at WDW people freak out about space holding and call it line cutting but at DL it's common practice and I have never once in the past 56 years ever seen anyone get all nutty over it happening.

At the beginning of the month we were waiting to meet the princesses at FF. A family in front of us was waiting with their young girls. As we inched along the show they do inside the theater started. The mom took their girls out of line to see the show and the Dad stayed in line. By the time the show ended the Dad was just about at the front of the line and the little girls all dolled up in their dresses went right in to see their idols. Are you saying you'd have a problem with this? What would you have done cause a scene, not let them back in line, made them feel bad with angry words, call a CM over to complain, or.......?

If you go to DL you know space holding isn't just common for F! but pretty much accepted practice at DL for F!. CMs will even help those that have staked out their turf protect it by assiting their late comers to their held spaces. I've even seen CMs come to the aid of guests to shoo away people that try and encroach on areas saved for a group off riding rides.

dsny1mom

 

[Malcon10t]

So your strategy is to cut in line infront of everybody else who has been waiting their turn? "Line holding" should only be used for little kids who need to run to the bathroom, not for those selfish guests who look to maximize their ride amounts by cutting/butting/skipping the line just to meet up with people further ahead in the line.

I don't mind if people can meet up at a point in the queue where they can just cross the chains/ropes. But if they have to walk up the line going "Excuse me, excuse me, catching up to my family..." No. If you can't meet in a place where you aren't disturbing people, then it's too late.

 

[starshine514]

IMHO *space holding* is not the same as line cutting. Line cutting is when you jump in line without anyone holding your space. If someone chooses to wait in line and hold spaces for the rest of their party I have no problem with them doing so. Space holding happens a lot at DL for attractions, shows, Meet N Greets, etc. I know at WDW people freak out about space holding and call it line cutting but at DL it's common practice and I have never once in the past 56 years ever seen anyone get all nutty over it happening.

At the beginning of the month we were waiting to meet the princesses at FF. A family in front of us was waiting with their young girls. As we inched along the show they do inside the theater started. The mom took their girls out of line to see the show and the Dad stayed in line. By the time the show ended the Dad was just about at the front of the line and the little girls all dolled up in their dresses went right in to see their idols. Are you saying you'd have a problem with this? What would you have done cause a scene, not let them back in line, made them feel bad with angry words, call a CM over to complain, or.......?

If you go to DL you know space holding isn't just common for F! but pretty much accepted practice at DL for F!. CMs will even help those that have staked out their turf protect it by assiting their late comers to their held spaces. I've even seen CMs come to the aid of guests to shoo away people that try and encroach on areas saved for a group off riding rides.

dsny1mom

"Space holding" for a character M & G is very, very different than for an actual ride. For a M & G, each group takes up pretty much the same amount of time, regardless of the size (I know, huge groups take longer, but you average group of 5 or less take roughly the same amount of time). So, an extra person or two joining in the M & G line isn't going to make a difference in the amount of time it takes to meet the character (once again, a large group joining would be different), and those behind will still be meeting the character at the same time as they would have for the smaller group. This type of "space holding" and "space holding" for events such as F! are the only ones I've seen advocated by CMs (and yes, I have been told by CMs to leave DH in the 90-minute PFF M & G line, while (as suggested by the CM) I take the girls on a train ride around the park).

For a ride, one person may or may not make a difference in the amount of time it takes for the people waiting behind them to enjoy the ride. Regarding the rides you mentioned... On Star Tours, you're definitely increasing the amount of wait time for those behind you because you take up a seat - the CMs are really good about trying to fill every seat and you can't just squish an extra person in. On Space Mountain, you may or may not be effecting those further back in line. If your group was an odd number of people and the joiner makes it an even number, then you haven't effected those behind you (if there is more than one joiner, you have effected the wait time of those behind you). On RSR, if there is a SR line (which my understanding is that there usually is), even one person has effected the ride time of the behind him (or those in the SR line) - and with the frequent breakdowns of this ride, this could have the biggest effect.

Personally, on a ride I consider "space holding" to be "line jumping", the only exceptions are for people who had to leave the line and return (normally with a small child in tow, presumably for a potty or stinky diaper emergency). In my opinion, if you didn't bother to get in the line with everyone else, you shouldn't expect to push your way through the line to join them. If riding together is so important, they can wait for you to catch up with them.

I'm a person "nutty" enough to tell line jumpers (yes, that's what they are) that they can't pass in a ride line, especially if there are more than two of them trying to push by (once again, the exception for one adult with a couple of small children - maybe both kids had a bathroom emergency while in line). But 6 teenagers trying to "join" their "friend" (I've often wondered if this person actually exists) up ahead? Nope!

 

[theworldneedscolor]

I have to agree with the line issue, that is not space holding, but line jumping. It is incredibly frustrating to be waiting in line for twenty or thirty minutes, or even more sometimes, and then have some just shove past you and walk up to the front of the line. Everyone needs to wait in line.

 

[algae]

My, some people are touchy.

Although I do not feel I need to defend our strategies, if you must know, all but one of us waits in line for the ride. Only one person goes to get FP's. Almost all of the time, there are plenty of places to just go over a rope and meet up with the rest of us in line. This is no different than us getting in line at the same time and one person decides to go grab a churro or something. Are those of you who call this line-jumping suggesting that the entire party get out of line when one person in the group wants a churro? If it were one person in line being a place holder for half a dozen people, then I would probably get a bit miffed also, but one person isn't going to materially affect your already 150-minute wait times.

BTW, CM's are the ones who told us to use this strategy...

As an aside, it's nice that CM's walk the RSR line selling drinks and popcorn so we don't have to send someone to hunt down the drink carts. They often have those Cars Land buttons also!

Let the flames begin!

 

[Disney Dreams]

My, some people are touchy.

Although I do not feel I need to defend our strategies, if you must know, all but one of us waits in line for the ride. Only one person goes to get FP's. Almost all of the time, there are plenty of places to just go over a rope and meet up with the rest of us in line. This is no different than us getting in line at the same time and one person decides to go grab a churro or something. Are those of you who call this line-jumping suggesting that the entire party get out of line when one person in the group wants a churro? If it were one person in line being a place holder for half a dozen people, then I would probably get a bit miffed also, but one person isn't going to materially affect your already 150-minute wait times.

BTW, CM's are the ones who told us to use this strategy...

As an aside, it's nice that CM's walk the RSR line selling drinks and popcorn so we don't have to send someone to hunt down the drink carts. They often have those Cars Land buttons also!

Let the flames begin!

Here's the thing though... Let's say there are 100 parties in front of you. If every one of them uses your strategy, that's 100 additional people in line in front of the last person. 100 people joining the line in front of someone WILL indeed " materially affect your already 150-minute wait times."

Just something for you to think about.

- Dreams

 

[mrswh]

I don't mind when one person in a party runs to the bathroom, or to get FPs, or get a snack. I see it this way. If I get in line and that person is waiting with their party the whole time, I will be waiting the exact same amount of time as I will if that person runs to get a FP and then comes back. The standby times are based on how long it takes someone to get through the line, not the number of people in the line or the length of the line - so you should, generally speaking, be waiting the amount of time you expected to wait when you got in the line. So I say instead of getting mad, why don't you use the same strategy and save yourself some time too?

 

[soled]

Have one person wait in line for FP and the others go wait in line the the actual ride (Star Tours, Space Mountain, Racers.) By the time the machine open up and we get FP's, the others in our group are near the front of the ride line and we just meet up. Ride and a FP all in a hour.

This is the thing that struck me about this thread. Are those who get in during EMH still having to wait an hour before they actually get on the RSR?

 

[skiingfast]

This is the thing that struck me about this thread. Are those who get in during EMH still having to wait an hour before they actually get on the RSR?

Yes and no. If RSR opens right at the begining of EHM, the wait is short. If the RSR opening is delayed people wait in the line until it does. It has frequently opened late.

 

[pixiewings71]

IMHO *space holding* is not the same as line cutting. Line cutting is when you jump in line without anyone holding your space. If someone chooses to wait in line and hold spaces for the rest of their party I have no problem with them doing so. Space holding happens a lot at DL for attractions, shows, Meet N Greets, etc. I know at WDW people freak out about space holding and call it line cutting but at DL it's common practice and I have never once in the past 56 years ever seen anyone get all nutty over it happening.

At the beginning of the month we were waiting to meet the princesses at FF. A family in front of us was waiting with their young girls. As we inched along the show they do inside the theater started. The mom took their girls out of line to see the show and the Dad stayed in line. By the time the show ended the Dad was just about at the front of the line and the little girls all dolled up in their dresses went right in to see their idols. Are you saying you'd have a problem with this? What would you have done cause a scene, not let them back in line, made them feel bad with angry words, call a CM over to complain, or.......?

If you go to DL you know space holding isn't just common for F! but pretty much accepted practice at DL for F!. CMs will even help those that have staked out their turf protect it by assiting their late comers to their held spaces. I've even seen CMs come to the aid of guests to shoo away people that try and encroach on areas saved for a group off riding rides.

dsny1mom

No, no it isn't a "common practice" at all. This is line cutting and it's very different from someone leaving a line to take a child to the bathroom and then rejoining their group. Please don't do this.
In the case you describe above the children had been waiting in line, everyone around knew they were already there, this is VERY different from one person waiting in a FP line and then "rejoining" the group later after they get a FP.

 

[dsny1mom]

No, no it isn't a "common practice" at all. This is line cutting and it's very different from someone leaving a line to take a child to the bathroom and then rejoining their group. Please don't do this.
In the case you describe above the children had been waiting in line, everyone around knew they were already there, this is VERY different from one person waiting in a FP line and then "rejoining" the group later after they get a FP.

I don't do this and didn't say I did. I said I don't have a problem when others do this. CMs are even suggesting people do this type of thing, and I doubt CMs would suggest *line cutting*.

dsny1mom

 

[kytoo]

But now you have the problem of the ride RSR breaking down...factor in at least 50 people rejoining their party since they were in the fp line or just didnt want to wait etc, plus several hundred fp returners and then the ride breaks down just before you get on it. You get to wait in the line during the breakdown(I did once for 40 mins) or give up the 2 hours of wait time. And you get to stew on the if only ...

It does make a difference and you are not more important than anyone else at the park. That is the point.

I do not join my family after getting fast passes. That is my choice because I wont "cheat" anyone else's family.

And on other rides, ie. space mountain. My family waits while I get fast passes and then we all get in the line....together.

 

[perlster]

My, some people are touchy.

... and others don't like cheating.

[in before the lock]

Is this thread 4,921,047 or 4,921,048 that went this way?

 

[pixiewings71]

I don't do this and didn't say I did. I said I don't have a problem when others do this. CMs are even suggesting people do this type of thing, and I doubt CMs would suggest *line cutting*.

dsny1mom

I didn't say you did do that, I was disagreeing with you saying it is a common practice to do it at DLR. It is not common practice at all. At least not for myself or my family/friends that go to DL regularly.