DAS pass and the FP+

[magic kingdom park]

I am trying to figure out how to go about scheduling our days at DW. I have never used the FP+ as we have not been in several years. My son who has autism we always got a GAC . We always go in the fall so it is less crowded so we really only used it when needed as he couldn't wait in long lines without causing a scene or getting upset. My question is how to I use both? I am almost at the window to schedule the fast passes and I don't even know where to start. We don't do a lot of the major rides space mountain, TOT, Rock n Roll or the mission space. So none of these I really worry about. Characters, parades and the fireworks are all his favorite but I have heard they are a waste of fast pass. Open for suggestions. Also if I choose to do the Halloween Party should I do a Sunday Sept. 28 or the Thurs Oct.2 looking for the less crowded. thanks

 

[PatMcDuck]

Interesting, because I DO use my FP+ for character meet and greets, because generally you cannot get a DAS return time for those.

I will probably try for the parade too, it was not an option on our trip last Fall.

Best tip is to arrive at rope drop, of course.

(I have an adult DS with multiple disabilities.)

 

[Michigan]

Schedule your fast passes near each other and if there is a ride near those fast passes that you don't have a pass for get the DAS time before using the first . That way when you get off the first fass pass ride you can go to the DAS ride if you have time before the 2nd fast pass. If you don't have time the DAS time doesn't expire so it can wait if you have to.

Don't go to the party on weekends as they are the most crowded.

 

[magic kingdom park]

So if you get a time for the DAS card and you make it back late you can still use it at that ride? And you can only have one ride waiting on the DAS card at a time correct?

 

[HopperFan]

One attraction at a time on DAS and there is no deadline. We have picked one up as we are leaving the park for a break and then use it upon return.

We have found if we can think in terms of "lands" or "neighborhoods" for our day it works best and has less walking. Say we go to Tomorrowland first. I book a FP+ for Buzz Lightyear. Upon arrival I go straight to the Speedway and get a DAS time, then we head over to ride Buzz with our FP+, usually by time we return we are ready to ride Speedway. If we still have a few minutes we walk across to bathrooms and get that done. Then I have a FP+ for Under the Sea. On our way there we stop at Barnstormer and get a DAS time, we head over to Dumbo and jump in the Standby line, head to Under the Sea to use our FP+, if Ariel line is short we jump in on our way to Barnstormer to use our DAS.

At first it takes some mental visualization of moving around the parks in smaller units so that you don't do too much walking. Then build in the lunch, bathroom and snack times. I honestly found my DS lasted much longer each day doing the DAS system than the GAC system.

 

[magic kingdom park]

That does sound like a good plan. I was thinking I read somewhere that almost every ride in the MK was fast pass now, do you know if that is true?

 

[SueM in MN]

So if you get a time for the DAS card and you make it back late you can still use it at that ride? And you can only have one ride waiting on the DAS card at a time correct?

Yes to both questions.

If you haven't checked it out, there is a WDW DAS thread stuck near the top of this board. The first post of that thread is FAQs about DAS.

Many of the people who say that parades, characters and fireworks are a waste of time are more interested in thrill rides.

At WDW, you can use DAS for any attractions with Fastpass Plus. This includes the character meet end greets that have Fastpass Plus.

DAS is meant to be used with Fastpass. As Michigan mentioned, some people choose to schedule their Fastpass Plus times close together and then fill in the between time with short wait attractions or getting a DAS Return Time.

Since you can only have one DAS Return Time active at a time, some people choose to use Fastpass Plus for the attractions that are likely to have the longest waits. That ties up the DAS card for shorter amounts of time.

Other people chose to use Fastpass Plus for their 'must do' attractions. It may be helpful to some people to be able to tell their child what time they are scheduled to ride the things the child is most looking forward to.
If your child has attractions they like to repeat, one way to do it is scheduling a Fastpass for it, getting to the park at opening and getting a DAS Return Time, then riding that attraction.

 

[SueM in MN]

That does sound like a good plan. I was thinking I read somewhere that almost every ride in the MK was fast pass now, do you know if that is true?

Yes.
They are adding Fastpass Plus to almost everything.

 

[magic kingdom park]

Thanks alot of good info to help me plan.Wonder what the purpose for adding fp to everything, poc most of the time is short wait when we go and I heard they were doing the fp.

 

[aaarcher86]

We are going to both of this Halloween parties. Both should be pretty low crowd. Enjoy

 

[disneyholic family]

Thanks alot of good info to help me plan.Wonder what the purpose for adding fp to everything, poc most of the time is short wait when we go and I heard they were doing the fp.

they've added FP+ to everything just because they need to offer FPs, otherwise there just wouldn't be enough to fill demand.

as for the rides that used to have no wait, with the addition of FP+, we found that those traditional no wait rides did have standby waits. It was rather annoying actually.

 

[sharadoc]

We always use a DAS/old GAC when we go. On our last trip, the crowd levels were low so we were able to get a lot done with combining the FP+ and the DAS. Don't forget that you can walk on anything that has a 15 minute or less wait, so we filled in wait time with those "secondary" rides. But in many cases, those rides were things like Buzz, TTA, Teacups, HM, Star Tours, Muppets, GMR.

Surprisingly, it works better than I expected. The only downside to me is having to go to the entrance to get the DAS signed. That caused some anxiety because once we walked there, DS expected to ride. We worked on explaning and I "think" he understands, but it's still a bit of a struggle.

Hopefully our next trip over Thanksgiving will be the same, but I know we have to work on the FP+ reservations and timing of them, so it could go horribly wrong!!