FOTL-less than 15min all day??

[Lobstergal]

okay...so I've got my Loew's card, my AAA card, made my res at the restaurants I want, booked a cabana and a poolview room (hoping for an upgrade as well).....whew!

I'm trying to plan my day at IOA and need a little help! Although I LOVE to plan trips right down to the minute, I hate to have to plan which ride when and all, we don't like to criss cross in the park. Since we'll have the FOTL privledge, can I assume that we won't have to wait for ANY ride longer than 15min? at ANY time of the day?? My kids (10, 14 and 37) are looking forward to the coasters, and since I"m the 'travel agent' I need to be sure that they won't have to wait too long no matter what time we get to the ride. (have to convince the 37 year old that his money was well spent staying onsite with that great FOTL access!!)

Thanks for the help--and for such a great board, it has been sooooooo helpful!!


counting down the days till we leave cold, muddy Maine for Sunny Florida!!

 

[Robinrs]

What are your dates?

I can't imagine any day that the perk would be more than 15 mins unless it's a holiday weekend on a Saturday after 10am... even then it would be a stretch.

 

[Lobstergal]

Hi
we're there next Thurs (IOA) and Fri (US)


Can't wait!! If I can just make it through the next few days at work!!

 

[robvia]

I forget exactly, but some rides have a seperate line for hotel guests, and another line for people with express passes. During the afternoon, from say noon to 3pm, on busy days, I've heard of the line going 20 minutes.
I've waiting in a 20 minute express pass line for Hulk at noon, and the regular wait was 1 hour. On Hulk, I know they have 2 lines, same with Rip Saw Falls. I think it's two lines for Spider man. For Dueling Dragons, I think it's one line, but that ride doesn't get as crowded since they have two trains going at the same time.

From noon to 3pm, you really wanna come back to your room to rest or go for a swim. Then go back as the tired are leaving and the temps come back down. You'll see, at noon it's hot and the park is packed. Even with the FOTL, you're still walking thru crowds of people in the walkways.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

During Presidents' week we were at US and IOA and never waited for more than 15 minutes and it was busy. Now that they are scanning the hotel cards as you enter the ride, it helps them determine how many express tickets to give out and it has really cut down the lines.

HBC

 

[the Dark Marauder]

Originally posted by robvia
I forget exactly, but some rides have a seperate line for hotel guests, and another line for people with express passes.

Never heard of that before, especially since printed express tickets and hotel keys have the same basic guarantee. The keys just have unlimited use.

Express waits *can* go past 15 mins, but it only happens on super-busy days, especially on rides like Spider-Man (which has an express line and a regular line) or even One Fish Two Fish. At least you get to skip over many people

 

[rangebob]

The most that I've ever seen on Express Pass lines was about 20 min.

 

[gschmerl]

We have been there twice during the VERY busy July 4th week. On most rides our room key got us right on. On some we had maybe a five minute wait. The Hulk was the only one where we waited in line for 20 minutes.

 

[MsDisney]

Originally posted by the Dark Marauder

Express waits *can* go past 15 mins, but it only happens on super-busy days, especially on rides like Spider-Man (which has an express line and a regular line) or even One Fish Two Fish. At least you get to skip over many people

And don't forget the ever-popular, "technical difficulties"

I've seen people complaining about their longer than 15 minute wait for attractions that were experiencing problems....demanding that they weren't supposed to wait longer. LOL as if there was some evil plot against them!


I've never seen 3 different lines for attractions either, I've only seen stand-by and Express, which is where you go with an Express pass and/or a hotel key...I'll have to pay closer attention, or start drinking long-island iced teas like Robvia!!!

Karen

 

[robvia]

Well, I remember on Hulk, you go thru the door, then there are two ropes, you go under the coaster, then up the stairs. Someone last year mentioned how they jumped over the rope and went up the hotel side of the stairs to skip the express line. Everyone got real mad at him when he posted the message here.

On Rip Saw falls, the regular line goes up the ramp, back to the area when you can see below, and then comes back the other direction when you head down. The attendant is there. First they let all hotel guests thru, then express people, then the regular line. And all the hotel guests waiting get thru before he ropes it off.

I think it's changed because of the single rider line, yeah, that's it. On Hulk, you have Hotel/Express, then single rider. The kid I talked about up above jumped from single rider, to express at the bottom of the stairs.

 

[MsDisney]

On Rip Saw falls, the regular line goes up the ramp, back to the area when you can see below, and then comes back the other direction when you head down. The attendant is there. First they let all hotel guests thru, then express people, then the regular line. And all the hotel guests waiting get thru before he ropes it off.

I guess this makes a certain amount of sense...if people are paying to stay there, and the perk is that they don't have to wait more than 15 minutes, then I can see where they want to make darn sure the hotel guests are made to feel special!

Karen

 

[the Dark Marauder]

Originally posted by MsDisney
And don't forget the ever-popular, "technical difficulties"

I've seen people complaining about their longer than 15 minute wait for attractions that were experiencing problems....demanding that they weren't supposed to wait longer. LOL as if there was some evil plot against them!

Yes, it's an evil plot to make them wait longer and it's being masterminded by the Kingpin.

Originally posted by MsDisney
I guess this makes a certain amount of sense...if people are paying to stay there, and the perk is that they don't have to wait more than 15 minutes, then I can see where they want to make darn sure the hotel guests are made to feel special!

Karen

It doesnt, actually. Other people in the express line have the same 15 minute expectation, and some PAID for express as well. The hotel guests get infinite express access, whereas everyone else can ony use one express at a time. To me, express is express. It doesnt matter how you got it, as long as it's a valid express key/card. Your approximate wait time is 15mins or less.

 

[MsDisney]

It doesnt, actually. Other people in the express line have the same 15 minute expectation, and some PAID for express as well.

That's true, too...I forgot USF has Express books for sale (they still do then, I assume, I haven't heard much about them lately).

But, I still think that all things being equal with express (as in, if it were only either free for day guests or a perk as a hotel guest), that they would have more of a justified complaint from resort guests made to wait longer since they are paying big $$$ to stay in the resorts for that perk (many cite that as being the biggest reason they stay onsite). I haven't stayed onsite yet, but if I did lay down the money, I'd expect them to uphold that perk to the best of their ability.
But I see your point. They need to make sure they are not giving out more Express passes than they should, so that the resort guests and those who purchased Express passes, have their access, and the extra goes to park day guests. I'm sure scanning room keys gives them some idea of how many resort guests are in the park and probably using the Express perk. It must be trickier when all 3 resorts are at capacity, I'm sure!

Karen

 

[the Dark Marauder]

They're also supposed to scan the printed express-the ones from the machines-as well so they can have a rough idea of just how much express is getting printed/redeemed. On a busy day when the regular wait is 45mins and the express wait is 15, it can be very overwhelming!

 

[BarryHom]

Originally posted by the Dark Marauder
They're also supposed to scan the printed express-the ones from the machines-as well so they can have a rough idea of just how much express is getting printed/redeemed. On a busy day when the regular wait is 45mins and the express wait is 15, it can be very overwhelming!

I wonder how Disney does it with Fastpass since no one scans it. The CMs seem to stick the Fastpasses into the "Box of No Return!"

 

[LISALISA36]

Lobstergal,
you sound just like me about planning...i , sometimes drive my family crazy. but in the long run i think they are glad i did it.
i just feel so much better ,when i knw what i am doing & when...
have a GREAT TRIP,
lisa

 

[Disney Debbie]

Barry - Disney doesn't have to factor in hotel guests with FOTL privileges. So they know exactly how many people will potentially use FastPass within a given time period.