Brushing off FP- skills - Any FP ride pairings that you use?

[letsgoreds]

So...just when I get used to FP+ and scheduling FP, we up and move to the west coast. I used to be the designated FP runner at WDW, so trying to remember my old tricks.

I do remember pairing rides...pulling a FP for a side-by-side ride, then riding the pair, then back to the original to ride. This worked great at WDW-HS with TOT and RnR or at MK with Splash and BTMRR.

I read that some at DCA will grab RSR (Cars) FP then head to TSMM or Screamin'.

Do you have any regular FP pairings that you seem to do, visit after visit? Thanks!!!

 

[figment_jii]

I read that some at DCA will grab RSR (Cars) FP then head to TSMM or Screamin'.

As long as it is not a EMH morning, I generally do the reverse. I go ride TSMM at rope drop and then double back for the RSR FPs. Depending on when you're going, the line for Screamin' might not be too bad and you could ride it at that point as well.

Do you have any regular FP pairings that you seem to do, visit after visit? Thanks!!!

Sorry, I'm a little confused about what pairing FPs mean. Using the ride examples from DHS, do you mean:
1. Get FP at RnR,
2. Get FP at ToT,
3. Ride RnR with FP
4. Ride ToT with FP?

So then another question I have with pairing FPs: how do you get them so that you can use them in sequence? DLR now enforces return times, so you would have to time the FPs so that time windows work out. Also, you have to wait until the time window opens or two hours later to get your next FP.

My guess is that it would be easier to grab a FP, go ride some things in that general area, and then go back to use the FP (assuming it's not for far later in the day).

It's not necessarily a pairing, but another commonly mentioned path is to grab an Indy FP and then head to PotC and HM (which generally only uses their FP machines while HMH is running), while waiting for the FP window to open.

I think the closest FPs to each other are Autopia, Space Mountain, and Star Tours. The only attractions that have FPs seem further apart.

 

[Jkpark]

At Disneyland we will FP Space, ride Space, ride Star Tours and then use Space FP. Only works earlier in day when return times are relatively close to when you pull it.

Last trip we had our runner grab FP for RSR and he was able to be with us before we got in line for TSMM - and our return time was so early we pulled another for the evening. He was at very front of FP line before Rope Drop.

 

[letsgoreds]

As long as it is not a EMH morning, I generally do the reverse. I go ride TSMM at rope drop and then double back for the RSR FPs. Depending on when you're going, the line for Screamin' might not be too bad and you could ride it at that point as well.


Sorry, I'm a little confused about what pairing FPs mean. Using the ride examples from DHS, do you mean:
1. Get FP at RnR,
2. Get FP at ToT,
3. Ride RnR with FP
4. Ride ToT with FP?

So then another question I have with pairing FPs: how do you get them so that you can use them in sequence? DLR now enforces return times, so you would have to time the FPs so that time windows work out. Also, you have to wait until the time window opens or two hours later to get your next FP.

My guess is that it would be easier to grab a FP, go ride some things in that general area, and then go back to use the FP (assuming it's not for far later in the day).

It's not necessarily a pairing, but another commonly mentioned path is to grab an Indy FP and then head to PotC and HM (which generally only uses their FP machines while HMH is running), while waiting for the FP window to open.

I think the closest FPs to each other are Autopia, Space Mountain, and Star Tours. The only attractions that have FPs seem further apart.

Guess I mean more ride pairings...although I long for those days of no enforcement...

So grab a FP for one ride, ride the other standby, then use the FP. I know a lot depends on FP return time, so this often works better when the return times for FP aren't too far out/less busy rides.

 

[figment_jii]

Last trip we had our runner grab FP for RSR and he was able to be with us before we got in line for TSMM - and our return time was so early we pulled another for the evening. He was at very front of FP line before Rope Drop.

It's worth noting that they do not have guest form a line before rope drop to get RSR FPs anymore. They claim this (as well as connecting the RSR FPs to the rest of the system, most likely) have resulting in FPs lasting longer into the day.

So grab a FP for one ride, ride the other standby, then use the FP. I know a lot depends on FP return time, so this often works better when the return times for FP aren't too far out/less busy rides.

So, using the example, grab a RnR FP, ride ToT standby, then ride RnR using the FP, right?

I've gone to Indy, gotten a FP, and then went and rode PotC and HM before returning to Indy. You could also substitute BTMRR instead of Indy in this grouping.

Over in TL, I've gotten Space FPs, and then rode Buzz, shopped at the Star Trader, and grabbed a snack before turning for Space. You could also substitute Star Tours.

I've heard about folks that grab a Screamin' or Soarin' FP on their way to TSMM.

 

[Oomiak]

I'm going to have to dust off FP skills as well. The last two trips I made to WDW have been with magic bands and FP+. I've been to WDW plenty of times with paper FP's so I'm sure I can get into the swing quickly!

 

[Aladora]

Guess I mean more ride pairings...although I long for those days of no enforcement...

So grab a FP for one ride, ride the other standby, then use the FP. I know a lot depends on FP return time, so this often works better when the return times for FP aren't too far out/less busy rides.

Given this description, we do this with Space and Star Tours firs thing in the morning. Grab Space FP, ride Space standby, ride Star Tours standby, ride Space using FP.

My son loves Space so we would likely grab another Space FP as soon as we could!

 

[MouseEXP]

At California Adventure FP isn't really needed as much as it is Disneyland.
If you can experience most of the attractions before 10am-1030am, you'll be good for the rest of the day.

For the park opening at 8am example, Avoid Cars Land all together and head straight to Paradise Pier and do Toy Story Mania, then Screamin, Fun Wheel, and Goofy Sky School.
Mermaid , Symphony Swings, Zephyr, and Jellyfish can all be done later in the day with very low waits.

Get on Soarin by 9am-930am then Grizzly by 930am-10am.

Now grab that FP for Radiator Springs Racers then visit Bugs Land and Tower or Terror between 1030-1130am

Before lunch grab a disconnected FP for Anna and Elsa, then eat lunch early.
After Lunch Grab a FP for Frozen Sing a Long and just stay around Hollywood land until you meet Anna and Elsa, see the Sing a Long, visit the snow, ride Monsters Inc, and perhaps see Aladdin.

That should all end at around 2pm-3pm and you can then rest back at the hotel or do the things you missed so far.

Once you get back you can do all of the Cars Land attractions.

At Disneyland you just have to remember to grab your next FP before you use your current FP.

8am-9am: I would do Fantasyland Stuff. First Peter Pan, then Dumbo, Alice,
Mr. Toad, Casey Jr., then single rider Matterhorn. Snow White, Pinocchio, Storybookland, Mad tea Party can all be done later.

9am you want to head to the Westside (Adventureland, Frontierland, etc...) of the park. You want to save the Tomorrowland side because the main attractions there have FP.

9am-1130am: Grab that FP for Indiana Jones, ride Jungle Cruise, ride Splash, Mansion, grab FP for Thunder, use FP for Indy, ride Pirates (might be a long line but it will move fast), Tarzan Treehouse, Grab FP for Space Mtn, and use FP for Thunder,

1130am-4pm Then have Lunch. After Lunch take the Twain, or visit Sawyer Island, Grab FP for Star Tours, use FP for Space, Buzz (might be a long line but it will move fast). Nemo Submarines or take a trip on the train around the park, Grab FP for Autopia, use FP for Star Tours, ride an attraction in Tomorrowland that you missed. then grab a FP on an attraction you want to do again.

Space and Indy are the most popular. With Splash being popular if the weather is warm. Star Tours is next, with Thunder almost lasting the entire day.

After all that you want to do Toontown and Its a Small World (non Holiday) as it tends to have lower crowds at around 5ishpm

 

[HydroGuy]

So...just when I get used to FP+ and scheduling FP, we up and move to the west coast. I used to be the designated FP runner at WDW, so trying to remember my old tricks.

I do remember pairing rides...pulling a FP for a side-by-side ride, then riding the pair, then back to the original to ride. This worked great at WDW-HS with TOT and RnR or at MK with Splash and BTMRR.

I read that some at DCA will grab RSR (Cars) FP then head to TSMM or Screamin'.

Do you have any regular FP pairings that you seem to do, visit after visit? Thanks!!!

I know exactly what you mean. And I cannot think of anything at DLR that mimics the WDW examples you give. The closest I can think is the Star Tours / Space Mtn situation. RSR and Soarin kind of fit it too.

I can tell you the RnR/ToT pair and Splash/BTMRR pair at WDW is something I figured out on my own and I do not use that strategy at DLR on any of the rides. It also worked much better at WDW before they started enforcing FP windows. I went once pre-FP+ but post-FP window enforcement and I did not use the FP pairing as it no longer made sense.

In general since FP window enforcement I do not get FPs first thing in the morning at DLR anymore - with RSR being an exception in some cases.

Maybe this post I made on DLR FP will help you think through this?

"Thoughts on Maximizing FASTPASS in Today's Disney Parks" http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=50089263

Have a great trip!

 

[SplashMo]

At California Adventure FP isn't really needed as much as it is Disneyland.
If you can experience most of the attractions before 10am-1030am, you'll be good for the rest of the day.

For the park opening at 8am example, Avoid Cars Land all together and head straight to Paradise Pier and do Toy Story Mania, then Screamin, Fun Wheel, and Goofy Sky School.
Mermaid , Symphony Swings, Zephyr, and Jellyfish can all be done later in the day with very low waits.

Get on Soarin by 9am-930am then Grizzly by 930am-10am.

Now grab that FP for Radiator Springs Racers then visit Bugs Land and Tower or Terror between 1030-1130am

Before lunch grab a disconnected FP for Anna and Elsa, then eat lunch early.
After Lunch Grab a FP for Frozen Sing a Long and just stay around Hollywood land until you meet Anna and Elsa, see the Sing a Long, visit the snow, ride Monsters Inc, and perhaps see Aladdin.

That should all end at around 2pm-3pm and you can then rest back at the hotel or do the things you missed so far.

Once you get back you can do all of the Cars Land attractions.

At Disneyland you just have to remember to grab your next FP before you use your current FP.

8am-9am: I would do Fantasyland Stuff. First Peter Pan, then Dumbo, Alice,
Mr. Toad, Casey Jr., then single rider Matterhorn. Snow White, Pinocchio, Storybookland, Mad tea Party can all be done later.

9am you want to head to the Westside (Adventureland, Frontierland, etc...) of the park. You want to save the Tomorrowland side because the main attractions there have FP.

9am-1130am: Grab that FP for Indiana Jones, ride Jungle Cruise, ride Splash, Mansion, grab FP for Thunder, use FP for Indy, ride Pirates (might be a long line but it will move fast), Tarzan Treehouse, Grab FP for Space Mtn, and use FP for Thunder,

1130am-4pm Then have Lunch. After Lunch take the Twain, or visit Sawyer Island, Grab FP for Star Tours, use FP for Space, Buzz (might be a long line but it will move fast). Nemo Submarines or take a trip on the train around the park, Grab FP for Autopia, use FP for Star Tours, ride an attraction in Tomorrowland that you missed. then grab a FP on an attraction you want to do again.

Space and Indy are the most popular. With Splash being popular if the weather is warm. Star Tours is next, with Thunder almost lasting the entire day.

After all that you want to do Toontown and Its a Small World (non Holiday) as it tends to have lower crowds at around 5ishpm

Does this work on most days or do the parks need to be fairly quite?

 

[MouseEXP]

Does this work on most days or do the parks need to be fairly quite?

It works on all days. Of course if the park opens later or there is a Early Magic Hour that you cannot attend then you have to slightly adjust.

For example, if there is a EMH skip Peter Pan, come back later and be willing to wait in a line because you have nothing better to do.

If the park opens at 9am, then you can get a couple of the Fantasyland attractions in especially if there is no Early Magic Hour. Start with Peter Pan, then Alice and then head to Adventureland.

if the park opens at 10am. Skip Fantasyland and start in Adventureland. Come back to Fantasyland later in the day.

 

[figment_jii]

Does this work on most days or do the parks need to be fairly quite?

Based on the timeline for FL, I'd say this has to be very quiet day. Peter Pan will probably take about 30 minutes, unless you are one of the very first people in line. After that, lines will have already begun to build up at Dumbo, Alice, and Casey (assuming it's open at the start of the day). I went in mid-November on a weekday and we need a good two hours to finish PP (started here), Dumbo, Alice, Casey, and a few other attractions. We could have probably done Dumbo, Alice, and one other attraction in a hour, if we skipped Casey and PP. Casey, even if the line is short, is a very slow loader, has a low capacity, and can take quite a while.

 

[letsgoreds]

Thanks for all the links and information! Especially helpful knowing what rides build lines quickly, and others that can be done throughout the day. There is a great free site called EasyWDW (for Disneyworld), and this guy Josh has maps and cheat sheets for each of the parks. He color codes the rides that way, Red = ride at rope drop/get a FP, yellow, and green = ride anytime no wait. With the information provided, I kinda get this at DL/DCA...plus being able to peek at wait times on Touring Plans (although I think they are waaay off sometimes), helps.

Awesome!

 

[figment_jii]

Thanks for all the links and information! Especially helpful knowing what rides build lines quickly, and others that can be done throughout the day. There is a great free site called EasyWDW (for Disneyworld), and this guy Josh has maps and cheat sheets for each of the parks. He color codes the rides that way, Red = ride at rope drop/get a FP, yellow, and green = ride anytime no wait. With the information provided, I kinda get this at DL/DCA...plus being able to peek at wait times on Touring Plans (although I think they are waaay off sometimes), helps.

I like looking at easyWDW as well, but it only has information for WDW (as far as I know). I don't think he has any maps or cheat sheets for DLR. Touring Plans does have a DLR section, but it's crowd calendars can be a little wonky.

 

[HopLow1968]

At Disneyland you just have to remember to grab your next FP before you use your current FP.

You mention picking up the next FP ticket BEFORE using the current one. I thought that was impossible as most rides are networked to prevent holding more than one FP ticket. What am I missing?

Its been 20 something years since I've been and I'm unfamiliar with the FP system (but trying to learn!)

 

[rms123]

You mention picking up the next FP ticket BEFORE using the current one. I thought that was impossible as most rides are networked to prevent holding more than one FP ticket. What am I missing? Its been 20 something years since I've been and I'm unfamiliar with the FP system (but trying to learn!)

You can pull the next one when your next window opens up regardless of whether you've actually turned in the paper. For some rides (RSR) your return might not be for 8 hours but your next window opens in 2. So, after 2 hours, get another fastpass and technically you are holding more than one at a time.

 

[HopLow1968]

You can pull the next one when your next window opens up regardless of whether you've actually turned in the paper. For some rides (RSR) your return might not be for 8 hours but your next window opens in 2. So, after 2 hours, get another fastpass and technically you are holding more than one at a time.

Thank you! Thats exactly what I needed to know

 

[Satye1]

Silly question...but does Toy Story in DCA have a fast pass?

 

[figment_jii]

Silly question...but does Toy Story in DCA have a fast pass?

Unfortunately, no it does not.

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

At California Adventure FP isn't really needed as much as it is Disneyland.
If you can experience most of the attractions before 10am-1030am, you'll be good for the rest of the day.

For the park opening at 8am example, Avoid Cars Land all together and head straight to Paradise Pier and do Toy Story Mania, then Screamin, Fun Wheel, and Goofy Sky School.
Mermaid , Symphony Swings, Zephyr, and Jellyfish can all be done later in the day with very low waits.

Get on Soarin by 9am-930am then Grizzly by 930am-10am.

Now grab that FP for Radiator Springs Racers then visit Bugs Land and Tower or Terror between 1030-1130am

Before lunch grab a disconnected FP for Anna and Elsa, then eat lunch early.
After Lunch Grab a FP for Frozen Sing a Long and just stay around Hollywood land until you meet Anna and Elsa, see the Sing a Long, visit the snow, ride Monsters Inc, and perhaps see Aladdin.

That should all end at around 2pm-3pm and you can then rest back at the hotel or do the things you missed so far.

Once you get back you can do all of the Cars Land attractions.

At Disneyland you just have to remember to grab your next FP before you use your current FP.

8am-9am: I would do Fantasyland Stuff. First Peter Pan, then Dumbo, Alice,
Mr. Toad, Casey Jr., then single rider Matterhorn. Snow White, Pinocchio, Storybookland, Mad tea Party can all be done later.

9am you want to head to the Westside (Adventureland, Frontierland, etc...) of the park. You want to save the Tomorrowland side because the main attractions there have FP.

9am-1130am: Grab that FP for Indiana Jones, ride Jungle Cruise, ride Splash, Mansion, grab FP for Thunder, use FP for Indy, ride Pirates (might be a long line but it will move fast), Tarzan Treehouse, Grab FP for Space Mtn, and use FP for Thunder,

1130am-4pm Then have Lunch. After Lunch take the Twain, or visit Sawyer Island, Grab FP for Star Tours, use FP for Space, Buzz (might be a long line but it will move fast). Nemo Submarines or take a trip on the train around the park, Grab FP for Autopia, use FP for Star Tours, ride an attraction in Tomorrowland that you missed. then grab a FP on an attraction you want to do again.

Space and Indy are the most popular. With Splash being popular if the weather is warm. Star Tours is next, with Thunder almost lasting the entire day.

After all that you want to do Toontown and Its a Small World (non Holiday) as it tends to have lower crowds at around 5ishpm

Thank you for these tips! Heading to DLR in July and haven't been there for several years...have been trying to strategize Fastpasses and this is really helpful!