Help me dial in MaxPass plan

[limace]

We are traveling next week and haven’t used MP before. 5 day parkhoppers, in Park Tuesday-Saturday early afternoon.

Our party is:
4 adults
2 12 year olds
1 8 year old
1 2 year old

I am definitely planning on MP for Tuesday and Saturday, but am willing to buy it every day, especially if it’s as crowded as we are worried it will be.

So-would you buy it for all 7 of the older guests? Or should we buy for some and then use Rider Swap-if so, quick run down on how that’d work? Are there MP rides the 2 year old could go on that we’d miss with that strategy?

And should we have everyone with a phone load the app and the tickets? The 12 year olds have WiFi only-using our old phones-would it make sense/be possible for them to be able to book fast passes for themselves when they go off for an hour or two together, or should I plan to do that for them due to the WiFi issue?

Thanks all!

 

[DnA2010]

We had 6 disney adults and 2x 20 month olds in May - we used 3 max passes and had no issues. I'm pretty sure you'd be fine with say 4? Teh biggies you are going to need to use MP as the 2 year old can't ride, the stuff your 2 year old will love you they don't have MP for, other than say Small World, and you can just avoid the key times when it may be busy.

Edited to add- our touring style is that we do like to do a lot of rides/headliners so we did like having FP's waiting, we would then fill in the time with the "other" stuff- ie shows, parades, things like the Tiki Room, Toon Town etc.

 

[lalasmama]

I would get MP every day for every person (except the 2yo, who obviously doesn't need a ticket). There's some FP/MP rides that the 2yo can go on (like Small World, for instance). I'd have the 12yos get the app on their phones, but only load their tickets on to it (so they don't load unwanted rides on other tickets).

 

[DizneyMommy]

I would get it every day for every person as well. Sharing tickets/FP is not actually allowed, I would not take that advice as you may get caught and turned away. Your photo is attached to your ticket on your first entry.

Technically in order to use rider switch, if the first party is using a FP to ride then then return adult is also supposed to have a FP, which they will convert to a RS. I have been asked to see all of our FP before, we don’t even wait for them to ask anymore we just show it. I would not chance it, and just budget for everyone.

The 2 year old does not need and cannot have MP because they don’t have a ticket. They just get in along with you.

 

[DizneyMommy]

I would also have everyone load the app and have their own ticket pulled up for fastpass return, it helps the line move much quicker than one person having to swipe them all.

 

[DizneyMommy]

To use RS, your entire party needs to go to the entrance and let the CM measure the child. They will then ask for the ticket/app of the person who will be waiting with the child, and up to 2 guests who wish to ride with them (you don’t have to ride alone!). They will scan your tickets and convert your FP into a RS, and give you a one hour return window to get back on right after the first party finishes their ride. It is super easy!

 

[DnA2010]

I would get it every day for every person as well. Sharing tickets/FP is not actually allowed, I would not take that advice as you may get caught and turned away. Your photo is attached to your ticket on your first entry.

Technically in order to use rider switch, if the first party is using a FP to ride then then return adult is also supposed to have a FP, which they will convert to a RS. I have been asked to see all of our FP before, we don’t even wait for them to ask anymore we just show it. I would not chance it, and just budget for everyone.

The 2 year old does not need and cannot have MP because they don’t have a ticket. They just get in along with you.

I specifically asked and was told to get 3 MP's and then use rider swap. We were there for 5 full days and had 0 issues- when 3 people would go use the FP's, they would ask for RS and then the cast members would load the passes onto tickets.

 

[DnA2010]

I would also have everyone load the app and have their own ticket pulled up for fastpass return, it helps the line move much quicker than one person having to swipe them all.

From what I saw it was faster to have one person just swipe through on one phone, rather than a big group taking up more space in the area. We only had data on 2 of our phones, so had to do this, our group just stood back a bit till the passes were swiped. We found the Wifi not great in some areas, but great in others.

 

[DnA2010]

To use RS, your entire party needs to go to the entrance and let the CM measure the child. They will then ask for the ticket/app of the person who will be waiting with the child, and up to 2 guests who wish to ride with them (you don’t have to ride alone!). They will scan your tickets and convert your FP into a RS, and give you a one hour return window to get back on right after the first party finishes their ride. It is super easy!

We were told by the CM's they just needed to see the littles- we would just have them around the area and point to them (ie if the two dad's were sitting out) they would load 3 FP on their suggestion, so my 14 year old often rode twice!

 

[limace]

I would get it every day for every person as well. Sharing tickets/FP is not actually allowed, I would not take that advice as you may get caught and turned away. Your photo is attached to your ticket on your first entry.

Technically in order to use rider switch, if the first party is using a FP to ride then then return adult is also supposed to have a FP, which they will convert to a RS. I have been asked to see all of our FP before, we don’t even wait for them to ask anymore we just show it. I would not chance it, and just budget for everyone.

The 2 year old does not need and cannot have MP because they don’t have a ticket. They just get in along with you.

Thanks all! Not sure what you mean when you say sharing tickets? We definitely weren’t planning on doing that-I was thinking of the RS strategy other posters talked about where you use MP for part of the party and RS for the remaining two that waited with the kiddo. Is that not ok?

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Sharing tickets/FP is not actually allowed, I would not take that advice as you may get caught and turned away. Your photo is attached to your ticket on your first entry.

While I realize this thread is more about rider swap, for the sake of other readers, this is not accurate. Your picture matters for park entrance, but does not show up for FP redemption. You just need a ticket with a valid FP on it. We "trade" passes all the time, and what's more, we actually clarified this with guest services back last year when my mom was in a wheelchair and they confirmed that it's completely fine and within the rules.

If, for instance, you have a family member with a ticket that is too small or injured or something for a ride, they can still pull FPs to be used by other people in your party.

 

[DizneyMommy]

While I realize this thread is more about rider swap, for the sake of other readers, this is not accurate. Your picture matters for park entrance, but does not show up for FP redemption. You just need a ticket with a valid FP on it. We "trade" passes all the time, and what's more, we actually clarified this with guest services back last year when my mom was in a wheelchair and they confirmed that it's completely fine and within the rules.

If, for instance, you have a family member with a ticket that is too small or injured or something for a ride, they can still pull FPs to be used by other people in your party.

I’m sorry that is not true. It is actually written both on your ticket and online that tickets and benefits are non-transferable. A CM may allow it, but it is against the rules to share your ticket with anyone for any reason. As FP are now linked to your ticket, they are non-transferable. I’ve emailed Disney about this exact issue as someone insisted to me that it is allowed and they verified exactly what I said. Yes, the photo is used at the enatrcae gate, and it is in their system. At any point they wanted to verify who that ticket or AP l belongs to, they can.

I would never advocate cheating or skirting the rules to another guest.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/park-rules/

ETA i don’t know why my screenshot won’t show, but at the end of section one of General Rules it states exactly this. Tickets and entitlements may not be shared. Fastpasses are entitlements. It has been verified by Disney many times. Just because you can get away with something doesn’t make it right. How is it fair that a party of 5 adults has to pay for 5 people to use MaxPass but a party of 5 adults and a small child can “get away” with only paying for 2 people and still get 5 people on the ride?

 

[DizneyMommy]

Thanks all! Not sure what you mean when you say sharing tickets? We definitely weren’t planning on doing that-I was thinking of the RS strategy other posters talked about where you use MP for part of the party and RS for the remaining two that waited with the kiddo. Is that not ok?

You are supposed to all have FP, If the first party is using FP. Then they will convert the FP into a RS for the waiting adult. It has been enforced inconsistently in the past for us, but as Star Wars land opens I think they will start cracking down. Only paying for half the party to have MP and then using RS for the rest is cheating the system.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I’m sorry that is not true. It is actually written both on your ticket and online that tickets and benefits are non-transferable. A CM may allow it, but it is against the rules to share your ticket with anyone for any reason. As FP are now linked to your ticket, they are non-transferable. I’ve emailed Disney about this exact issue as someone insisted to me that it is allowed and they verified exactly what I said. Yes, the photo is used at the enatrcae gate, and it is in their system. At any point they wanted to verify who that ticket or AP l belongs to, they can.

I would never advocate cheating or skirting the rules to another guest.

Our intention was never to "cheat" or skirt the rules, which is why we checked with guest services and were reassured that it was not a problem. In practice, it is not a problem.

 

[limace]

You are supposed to all have FP, If the first party is using FP. Then they will convert the FP into a RS for the waiting adult. It has been enforced inconsistently in the past for us, but as Star Wars land opens I think they will start cracking down. Only paying for half the party to have MP and then using RS for the rest is cheating the system.

I’m so confused. If we all had a fast pass why would we need a RS? We would just go in two groups with the fast passes we already have.

 

[DizneyMommy]

Our intention was never to "cheat" or skirt the rules, which is why we checked with guest services and were reassured that it was not a problem. In practice, it is not a problem.

that was definitely a bad on the part of that cast number. I don’t know why they would tell you to share tickets.

 

[DizneyMommy]

I’m so confused. If we all had a fast pass why would we need a RS? We would just go in two groups with the fast passes we already have.

If you came at the end of your fast pass window, it may expire before the waiting party was able to ride. So if you convert it to a writer switch, it gives you enough time to get on the ride

If you come at the beginning of your window, you don’t even need to bother with writer switch.

 

[limace]

This thread is going a little astray but I did go look on the Disneyland site itself about rider switch and it indicates that “party 2” will enter through the FP entrance or the exit to the ride, depending on the ride-it absolutely doesn’t say party 2 must have a MP for the ride. After all, you can use rider swap with no FP at all-first group waits in standby, second group uses RS and enters through FP entrance, so requiring that second group to have a FP doesn’t make sense.

 

[Ray LeBlanc]

This thread is going a little astray but I did go look on the Disneyland site itself about rider switch and it indicates that “party 2” will enter through the FP entrance or the exit to the ride, depending on the ride-it absolutely doesn’t say party 2 must have a MP for the ride. After all, you can use rider swap with no FP at all-first group waits in standby, second group uses RS and enters through FP entrance, so requiring that second group to have a FP doesn’t make sense.

This is an excellent point and exactly correct. If the second group gets a FP when the first group waits in standby, then why would the second group need the FP to begin with? Doesn't make sense.

We were there Tuesday-Friday last week. Me, DW, DS (4), and DD (5 months). Tuesday we bought MP for me, DW, and DS, but quickly realized we didn't need all 3 to use MP, UNLESS we were riding something like Buzz or IASW altogether with DD. I was left with an extra FP on every ride, so...

Wednesday-Friday we bought 2 MP's (just me and DS), and set up our MP/FP's for the two of us. Asked for a RS as we entered FP, and received one for DW and DS every time since our infant daughter obviously could not ride.

This is not skirting the rules or cheating the system... It is using the system as it is intended to be used. Please get off the high horses and relax. Again, think about Party 1 entering the standby queue... Party 2 gets a FP then anyway, when they didn't have FPs to begin with. Clearly, Party 2 does not need a MP/FP to begin with. Getting upset about this and accusing people of "cheating" is rather silly. I really don't care what kind of source you think you have on this, I was just there and it worked the same way all week, no inconsistencies at all. And it makes sense when you logically realize that Party 2 doesn't need a FP for the standby line. I tried buying for all on day 1 and had an extra FP after every ride, so I'm not sure where I was wrong on just buying 2 MP per day from there on out.

There was technically one inconsistency... On one occasion, the CM offered to give us 2 more FPs so DW/DS can ride again. On Soarin', he scanned their two RS tickets in, then told us we get an adult +3, so he could do two more (for 4 total)... I felt that was a bit of a stretch, and we declined the offer.

So OP, you figure out what works best for your party. Just know that no matter which line you enter (standby or FP), the second RS party will enter via the FP line, and those members don't need an initial FP to use the RS feature. Of course, if you're looking at IASW, Buzz, TSMM, or any other MP/FP rides that don't have height restrictions, then you'll all need MP to ride. But if you plan to cluster those rides on certain days, you can save some $.

 

[Ray LeBlanc]

How is it fair that a party of 5 adults has to pay for 5 people to use MaxPass but a party of 5 adults and a small child can “get away” with only paying for 2 people and still get 5 people on the ride?

I'd say this is a reasonable accommodation to those that are traveling with very small children, who can be a burden on the traveling party. It was awesome to take my 5-month old daughter to Disneyland. She lit up at so many things. But it was too bad that my wife and I couldn't ride any of the real fun rides together with our son. In exchange for missing out on those shared experiences, my son got to ride twice as much, once with me and once with my wife. It was still a lot of fun, but probably not as much fun as we would have had if we could have all enjoyed everything together. So I'd tell you it's a perk to those that have to care for very small children or infants in the park. It allows us to still enjoy everything with our children that are of age/size for the "big" rides without the wait.

When my daughter is big enough, I'll happily pay for MP for all members of our party. Until then, I think it's more than fair/reasonable to use MP/FP as I described in my post above. If you don't, I suppose I understand, but please refrain from accusing me of breaking some sacred rule. As SkyeGirl said, in practice it is rather simple.