Do you really need FP's

[sunny45]

I have been reading through these boards and it seems that getting a FP is very necessary at DL. We have been to WDW several times and only used FP once when Mission Space first opened.

This will be our first DL trip, just DH and I (age mid-to late 50's), with a
5 day park hopper. He won't do certain rides which I would just do as a single rider. CL will already be over a year old by the time we get there, so hopefully the newness will die down a little.

We are going is the week of Sept 14 next year. No Halloween Party yet but Halloween stuff will be up. Off-site hotel is booked, within walking distance or ART if we need it.

Basically, we do want to see as much as we can b/c we have no idea if we will be back but we won't be running between parks or attractions just to grab a bunch of FP's for all the rides that have them. Maybe just a couple if we really have to. We'll be allowed one MM. We will have to go on Saturday/Sunday to see fireworks and shows that won't be on during the weekdays b/c of the shorter season hours. Could use the weekdays to do some of the rides we can't do on the weekends.

We may do Fantasmic dessert pkg and WOC dinner pkg. Still have time to think all that through.

So.....is DL doable without a FP for every FP ride/attraction?

TIA

 

[mrswh]

You don't *need* FPs. But they sure are helpful. We don't run around collecting them and go parkhopping just to get FPs. We usually get to the parks early, when most of the lines are very short. We might grab a FP on the way in for something we know we'll want to ride later. We spend a few hours riding everything we can with the short lines, grabbing FPs here and there. Then, when it starts getting crowded we see some shows and some of the attractions that never really have a wait. We leave during the heat of the day (which also coincides with the biggest crowds of the day) for a break, and grab another FP on the way out. For example, on a DCA day, we might end up with FPs for Soarin', RSR, GRR and WOC to use when we return later in the evening.

Unless you have a very short time and are determined to ride every single ride, I don't think you need a touring plan or a crazy FP plan. With 5 days you should be able to see everything you want to see without a military style operation. However, I would still suggest that you pick up FPs if you can (i.e., if you haven't just gotten another one and you're in the vicinty) and if it's something you know you'll want to ride that usually has long lines, or if you'll want to ride it more than once.

 

[Mary09]

Very few of the rides even offer FP. You don't have to use them. But often it's this choice- stand in line for 45 mins. or grab a FP and go do another ride or three, come back later, and get on in 10 mins. It just depends how many rides you want to get in, and how averse you are to long lines.

 

[Blue32]

Sorry to piggyback on this thread a bit, but it does pertain to the topic. Are there times of the year when FP is not even offered at a FP attraction?
I have been playing with the Ridemax software a bit and it does not have me use FP for an attraction like BTMRR. Do rides like this frequently NOT offer FP in the offseason? Please share your experiences with this. Thanks!

 

[LizzyS]

When we went last year for the first time, I was all set to collect Fast Passes, but honestly, we ended up not even getting one and still got in all of our musts in our one day visit. The longest we waited was about 30 minutes for the Haunted Mansion. I knew which rides were the most popular and went to those first thing in the morning. We walked right on to Splash Mountain because it was early in the morning in November, too. Of course, we didn't do CA, only DL, but next time we're staying longer. They would definitely be helpful, but not necessary. It depends on what time of day you want to ride something, really. The later in the day, the more necessary it will become.

 

[cari12]

We went in Oct 2009 and did not use a single FP. But we were there at rope drop everyday and had a plan to hit certain rides in order. Mostly followed that and got a lot done with little or no wait times before the parks got busy in the afternoon.
This year however we plan to use EE to ride RSR and then get a FP to come back in the evening to see CL and RSR at night. We will also get a FP for WOC as we missed that on our last trip. Other than that, we are hoping not to need them again but if the parks are crazy busy, then we will pick up ones if we need them.

 

[Girimama33]

You don't *need* FPs. But they sure are helpful. We don't run around collecting them and go parkhopping just to get FPs. We usually get to the parks early, when most of the lines are very short. We might grab a FP on the way in for something we know we'll want to ride later. We spend a few hours riding everything we can with the short lines, grabbing FPs here and there. Then, when it starts getting crowded we see some shows and some of the attractions that never really have a wait. We leave during the heat of the day (which also coincides with the biggest crowds of the day) for a break, and grab another FP on the way out. For example, on a DCA day, we might end up with FPs for Soarin', RSR, GRR and WOC to use when we return later in the evening.

Unless you have a very short time and are determined to ride every single ride, I don't think you need a touring plan or a crazy FP plan. With 5 days you should be able to see everything you want to see without a military style operation. However, I would still suggest that you pick up FPs if you can (i.e., if you haven't just gotten another one and you're in the vicinty) and if it's something you know you'll want to ride that usually has long lines, or if you'll want to ride it more than once.

This is our strategy as well.
I usually go off season, and I utilize and love FP.

 

[KateDrake]

Sorry to piggyback on this thread a bit, but it does pertain to the topic. Are there times of the year when FP is not even offered at a FP attraction?
I have been playing with the Ridemax software a bit and it does not have me use FP for an attraction like BTMRR. Do rides like this frequently NOT offer FP in the offseason? Please share your experiences with this. Thanks!

The only instance I can think of is Haunted Mansion. It doesn't have FP most of the year, but does when it gets its holiday overlay.

Sounds like maybe Ridemax is assuming you'll have another FP at the time you are riding BTMRR? It's one of those that has FP available, but if you have to choose between a FP for it vs. something like Space or Splash, it would be better to get on for those instead. The lines at BTMRR are usually much shorter than the other "mountains" at DLR. And if you are going in the off season, you may not need one anyway, as the wait is often under 20 minutes. I certainly hope that's the case for you!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Sorry to piggyback on this thread a bit, but it does pertain to the topic. Are there times of the year when FP is not even offered at a FP attraction?
I have been playing with the Ridemax software a bit and it does not have me use FP for an attraction like BTMRR. Do rides like this frequently NOT offer FP in the offseason? Please share your experiences with this. Thanks!

We are not usually there during offseason, so I don't have a lot of first-hand experience at this. I have read frequently though that BTMRR and Roger Rabbit Cartoon Spin are two rides for which fastpass is sometimes not offered at all on weekdays during the offseason. We did actually encounter this once with Roger Rabbit; I can't remember if the Thunder fastpass machines were running during that trip.

Haunted Mansion only offers fastpass when it's Haunted Mansion Holiday.

 

[Eeee-va]

You CAN do the parks without FPs, of course. But IF Disney still isn't enforcing Fastpass return times by then, I don't see why you would make it a point not to get any, unless you have only a very mild interest in the FP rides that don't offer Single Rider.

That said, if you're at a really not-busy time--and with luck, it looks like you will be--then FPs will really only be very useful for a couple rides, because the standby line will probably be very short. Once in the rain, they wouldn't even take our FP for Indy because they were routing everyone into the indoor queue, instead of forcing those without FPs to wait outside and get soaked. And Single Rider on Indy in particular is great too (sounds like it's great for Radiator Springs Racers as well).

I couldn't make a conscious decision to never use Fastpasses for a whole trip, though, just for Space Mountain alone, because I love to ride that multiple times a day. On even the deadest days (aside from rather early in the morning), Space Mountain seems to have at least a 20- or 30-minute wait, with no Single Rider option--though maybe that's changed with Cars Land. If the wait is longer than 30 minutes, then I certainly wouldn't want to wait in the line, so I'd want a Fastpass for sure.

And if the park IS dead enough that Space Mountain has a 20-minute wait, there is a good chance you can get a FP to return about 45-50 minutes after the time you get the FP. So when that is the case, you can wait 20 or 30 minutes to ride Space Mountain if you want. Or you can get a Fastpass, then view Captain EO or ride Buzz Lightyear, or the subs, or Autopia, maybe even take a loop on the Monorail, and/or do a bit of shopping or get something to eat. 50 minutes later, you come back to Space Mountain to use your Fastpass. You could even get a Fastpass, then ride Space Mountain standby, and then you could ride it again when your Fastpass window opens.

So a FP wouldn't be necessary in that case, but I would find it made the experience more pleasant, personally. At the last, I would pick up a FP on my way to riding (it's what, maybe 15 steps out of your way) and then you have it to use later if you want.

If Disneyland is busier, it's a similar story with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (though that may be closed for refurbishment during your visit). You can wait 20-45 minutes standby, or get a Fastpass that will in many cases be for an hour or less after you grabbed it. Often, that FP will make the ride practically a walk-on. (When the park isn't busy, though, they often don't even have the FP machines running for Big Thunder Mountain.)

Have a great trip!

 

[Blue32]

If Disneyland is busier, it's a similar story with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (though that may be closed for refurbishment during your visit). You can wait 20-45 minutes standby, or get a Fastpass that will in many cases be for an hour or less after you grabbed it. Often, that FP will make the ride practically a walk-on. (When the park isn't busy, though, they often don't even have the FP machines running for Big Thunder Mountain.)

Have a great trip!

Great info. Thank you!

 

[Mary09]

Sorry to piggyback on this thread a bit, but it does pertain to the topic. Are there times of the year when FP is not even offered at a FP attraction?
I have been playing with the Ridemax software a bit and it does not have me use FP for an attraction like BTMRR. Do rides like this frequently NOT offer FP in the offseason? Please share your experiences with this. Thanks!

Last time I was there was spring break '11 and there were a lot of times when the BTMRR FP wasn't on. I didn't get it. Crowds were heavy. I think there might've been times that ToT didn't have FP, either, but maybe I'm remembering my annoyance that there was no single rider line.

 

[tanyaewa]

Fast pass is like a guarantee that you will never have to wait. We always go in off season sept/oct and Apr/may and they are still very valuable. Of course we don't have the luxury of single rider.
30 min IMO is still a Too long wait. FAst pass makes sure you never have to. You just need to pay attention to where and when you go on certain rides. We love it.
My boys think of it as VIP treatment. You can't help but feel bad for people in a long line at Space mountain as you sprint past them in line!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Agree with the other posters -- you can do the parks without any FPs, but they can come in quite handy for rides you know you will want to ride more than once. You can check the ride board throughout the day for information about wait times. The longer the times for rides you want to go on, the more handy a FP will be for you.
Also, don't forget about making magic for other guests! We've often gotten FPs for popular rides, knowing that we won't use them, but for gifting to other guests. It's worth it just to see the smiles when we give someone a FP for Star Tours or Space Mountain!

 

[HydroGuy]

Fast pass is like a guarantee that you will never have to wait. We always go in off season sept/oct and Apr/may and they are still very valuable. Of course we don't have the luxury of single rider.
30 min IMO is still a Too long wait. FAst pass makes sure you never have to. You just need to pay attention to where and when you go on certain rides. We love it.
My boys think of it as VIP treatment. You can't help but feel bad for people in a long line at Space mountain as you sprint past them in line!

Just to be clear, FP do not mean you do not have to wait. It means your wait is reduced. Even Indy FP still takes 15 minutes. Space Mtn 10-15 minutes. ToTo 15 minutes.

Whether FP helps depends on what crowds are like. If Indy has a 20 minute max line on a given day then FP just doesn't help.

To the OP, FP is worth it on busy days and wekeends for sure. On weekdays in offseason it may only be worth it on very busy rides like RSR or Space Mtn.

 

[Eddygirl]

When we were there low season last time a lot of FP machines were not even running. If we happened by a ride with a line that had FP and we thought we would like to ride we would grab one.

We don't know what to expect this time when we are there next week crowd wise, so we plan on using the FP if the wait times are more than 30 mins for the rides we really want to do. If the crowds are lower than we are anticipating we will do what we did last time......either way we will just go with the flow.

THT!

 

[HenDuck]

You don't *need* FPs. But they sure are helpful. We don't run around collecting them and go parkhopping just to get FPs. We usually get to the parks early, when most of the lines are very short. We might grab a FP on the way in for something we know we'll want to ride later. We spend a few hours riding everything we can with the short lines, grabbing FPs here and there. Then, when it starts getting crowded we see some shows and some of the attractions that never really have a wait. We leave during the heat of the day (which also coincides with the biggest crowds of the day) for a break, and grab another FP on the way out. For example, on a DCA day, we might end up with FPs for Soarin', RSR, GRR and WOC to use when we return later in the evening.

Unless you have a very short time and are determined to ride every single ride, I don't think you need a touring plan or a crazy FP plan. With 5 days you should be able to see everything you want to see without a military style operation. However, I would still suggest that you pick up FPs if you can (i.e., if you haven't just gotten another one and you're in the vicinty) and if it's something you know you'll want to ride that usually has long lines, or if you'll want to ride it more than once.

We do the exact same thing as stated above. I don't know what mid-September is like, but during the summer, you need to 1) go at park opening or earlier, and 2) use FPs whenever you can.

You'll want to figure out which rides are a must-do and make sure you work those into your plans.

Good luck!

 

[BayGirl22]

Last week was slow when we were there, and we were doing single rider and child swap. On most rides FP only saved us a few minutes. I still felt it was worth picking them up when it was convenient, it took away the stress of worrying the lines would get long. I'll take an extra 5 or10minutes free, I don't like waiting.

They were not running FP for Autopia or ToT on the weekdays. Not sure about BTMRR because I rode it Labor Day. Space and star Tours were short but it still was worth getting the FP for me.