Clueless on which FastPasses to get?

[sithlord]

We're going to all the parks in June 2010 and I'm clueless on which fastpasses I should be gunning for and in which order. Last time DW & I went was 2001, but this is the first time for DS7 and DS4 to go.

Which rides should should I get fastpasses for at each park and what order should I get them?

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

First try to be at the park before opening about 20 minutes or so so you are in line to be some of the first to get in. This will help reduce your wait times.

With kids your age I would recommend using FP in this order (you also need to check height restrictions for that 4yr old).

MK
Big Thunder
Splash
Space Mountain
Buzz Lightyear
Peter Pan
Pooh
Jungle Cruise
Stitch (I'd skip this one for the 4yr old its scary and maybe the 7yr old unless they are not frightened of the dark and aliens)
Philharmagic

Epcot
Soarin
Test Track
Mission Space
Maelstrom (Norway, in World Showcase)
Living with the Land
Honey I Shrunk the Audience

DHS
Toy Story Mania (FP will run out early in the day and lines swell easily to over an hour)
Rock N Rollar Coaster
Tower of Terror
Star Tours
Voyage of the Little Mermaid

Animal Kingdom
Kilamanjaro Safari
Expedition to Everst
Kali River Rapids
Primeval Whirl
Dinosaur (again I'd have the 4yr old sit this one out, and maybe the 7 yr old)
It's Tough to Be a Bug (this one is scary to many little ones as well)


geeen-often not needed FP's and machines may not be running. General rule is if line is less than 20 min standby don't use FP.

Hope this helps.

 

[Nadjalu]

Personally what I would do is only get the ones I wanted to ride.

The first time we went I picked out the "must do" rides and seen if FP was available, if it was then I knew I would plan on getting them if the line was more than 20 mins long.
Basically that is what we do. Only been to DW twice and we have done everything we wanted. No we haven't seen all of what WDW offers, but we have done what we wanted.

 

[DISHoppy]

MK
Big Thunder
Splash
Space Mountain
Buzz Lightyear
Peter Pan
Pooh
Jungle Cruise

The only change I would make here would be to move Pan and Jungle Cruise up a few notches. Buzz loads fairly efficiently, so the wait times are usually low and pretty accurate. Pan and Cruise don't load/unload as efficiently and the FPs really affect the waits. Pan is almost always longer than the posted wait time due to the FPs and load/unload issues. YMMV.

-Kevin

 

[wildcatfan]

I agree because I think with the ages of your children they would enjoy pan and the jungle cruise more. Also, remember there are lots of things that are not fast pass that you can enjoy with the little ones. I think since it is their first time, relax and don't let the fast pass guide your trip.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

I agree because I think with the ages of your children they would enjoy pan and the jungle cruise more.

I'm sorry I'm going to have to disagree with you there, as a mother of children those ages what 4 and 7 year old boys don't LOVE Buzz Lightyear and a life sized video games?

This order also minimizes your zig zagging back and forth across the parks.

Also here is the height restrictions
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/height.htm

I would suggest measuring before leaving home/hotel. It can save some tears and frustrations later on when DS4 finds out after gettting all geared up and going toward the big ride he can't actually get one it. For Splash and BTMRR Tom Sawyers Island was where we headed and for Space Mtn we took an extra spin on the TTA. Hopefully this year DS4 will make the cut he has 5 months to go and about 1 1/2 inches to grow so keeping our fingers crossed.



But I totally agree with this:

don't let the fast pass guide your trip.

You may find your favorite attraction is something completely off the beaten path and not a FP attraction.

 

[curlylocks]

Sorry to jump in here I have children around the same age so great info just one question is fast pass available to all ticket holders dh asked and I cant remember I do remember last time we went that some people were not able to use the fast pass it wouldnt print a ticket for them but we did use it....thanks for any info....

 

[DISHoppy]

is fast pass available to all ticket holders

Yes.

-Kevin

 

[countrygrl4]

Sorry to jump in here I have children around the same age so great info just one question is fast pass available to all ticket holders dh asked and I cant remember I do remember last time we went that some people were not able to use the fast pass it wouldnt print a ticket for them but we did use it....thanks for any info....

As the poster already replied correctly but what couldve happened and I noticed this too when I went in August was that people were having trouble with the machines where there were still FPs but didn't print them out and stuff so CM had to come and try and fix them. IDK which parks I saw this in but I know I saw it.

 

[brightspark]

Tour Guide Mike has useful info about which fastpasses run out first, and which lines grow the quickest...

 

[Planogirl]

You shouldn't need Fastpasses for all of those. At MK we typically grab them for Splash Mountain and ride Big Thunder Mountain. If time still allows we do a few nearby less crowded attraction until time to ride Splash. Then it's off the Fantasyland where we get Fastpasses for Peter Pan and ride other nearby attractions until it's time for Peter Pan. Then we're ready for Buzz. Jungle Cruise gets busy but we like it better at night.

This is just one park but our system works well everywhere. Note that we don't bother with Space Mountain. We might have to change that now that it's been remodeled.

 

[sters]

I'd definitely get the one for Pan while you're touring Fantasyland, which BTW, is least crowded the first two hours after rope drop. Pan is slow-loading ride and the que is not that interesting.

 

[doconeill]

Sorry to jump in here I have children around the same age so great info just one question is fast pass available to all ticket holders dh asked and I cant remember I do remember last time we went that some people were not able to use the fast pass it wouldnt print a ticket for them but we did use it....thanks for any info....

If you are unsure about how Fastpass works, see the link in my signature.

For those who had an issue, they could have been trying to use a ticket that wasn't properly scanned in at the turnstiles (some will use their room key, but have forgotten that their park ticket was a separate ticket), or they may have already gotten a Fastpass recently and aren't allowed to get another yet (there is a wait time between when you can get Fastpasses).