How does Magic Bands work when you have Park Hopper passes?

[nuge67]

Can I do 3 Fast Passes say at Magig Kingdom, head over to Animal Kingdon, get another 3 there and then maybe later on get 3 more at Epcot, etc?

 

[BrianL]

You can schedule 3 for your first park, use them, then once you go to another park you can get an additional one for use there, and you can only do that at a kiosk (i.e. CMs with iPads). Once that is used you can get one more, and so on, subject to availability of course.

I think a better strategy is to schedule your 3 FPs for your second park (or the one you will be at in the peak afternoon hours) and just use rope drop strategies at your first one. You can still grab a 4th after you use the three.

 

[nuge67]

You can schedule 3 for your first park, use them, then once you go to another park you can get an additional one for use there, and you can only do that at a kiosk (i.e. CMs with iPads). Once that is used you can get one more, and so on, subject to availability of course.

I think a better strategy is to schedule your 3 FPs for your second park (or the one you will be at in the peak afternoon hours) and just use rope drop strategies at your first one. You can still grab a 4th after you use the three.

WOW, thanks. This will really force us to sit down and map out what rides are most important to my kids. They are older now so they want the more intense rides that each park offers.

Thanks for the input

 

[BrianL]

Don't expect a lot of availability for the big rides later in the day, especially at the non-MK parks (and at MK, Seven Dwarves Mine Train). If you schedule your FPs for around mid-day you might be able to snag a thrill-ride for later. Try to hit them all at rope-drop and earlier in the day. With hoppers, I'd still schedule for the second park though.

If your kids are old enough, there is always the single rider option for certain rides (Test Track, Expedition Everest, Rock'n Rollercoaster) if you are comfortable with that (it works very well for TT).

When are you going? Lighter crowds will give you quite a bit more flexibility, but heavy crowds mean those FPs are going to get taken up rather quickly.

 

[nuge67]

Don't expect a lot of availability for the big rides later in the day, especially at the non-MK parks (and at MK, Seven Dwarves Mine Train). If you schedule your FPs for around mid-day you might be able to snag a thrill-ride for later. Try to hit them all at rope-drop and earlier in the day. With hoppers, I'd still schedule for the second park though.

If your kids are old enough, there is always the single rider option for certain rides (Test Track, Expedition Everest, Rock'n Rollercoaster) if you are comfortable with that (it works very well for TT).

When are you going? Lighter crowds will give you quite a bit more flexibility, but heavy crowds mean those FPs are going to get taken up rather quickly.

Maybe Sun April 12th and Mon April 13th.

 

[BrianL]

Maybe Sun April 12th and Mon April 13th.

Those will be moderate crowd days according to EasyWDW, which is a site that has free and reliable crowd calendars. They are rated 5, but MK is not recommended for either day (each park is rated as recommended or not recommended), meaning MK will be more crowded than other parks 9check out EasyWDW for the full details). Still, at 5 it shouldn't be too crowded. I'd recommend rope drop at the least recommended park then hopping to the recommended, unless you have specific nighttime shows you want to see (you can always hop back for those).

 

[cmoser]

What is the earliest that you can book fast passes before your trip?

 

[mesaboy2]

What is the earliest that you can book fast passes before your trip?

60 days from your check-in day at a Disney onsite resort. Answers to FP FAQs like yours can be found in the green link in my signature.

 

[Mikie]

What is the earliest that you can book fast passes before your trip?

60 days ahead of arrival if you're staying onsite, 30 days if you're off site.

For park hopping, many people like to get to their first park early and ride as much as they can before lines get very long. Then take a break and head to second park and have their 3 Fastpasses booked at that park for the afternoon or evening. Different strategies depending on your travel style.