How much is unlimited fast pass worth?

[LynnTarrant]

Hi Lynn from the UK here again
I have reservations for Candy Cane Inn for $730
I just found out that using a reciprocal agreement from our AA and your AAA I can book through them and get the perks you have all mentioned, as you have all said unlimited fastpass is only available at a Disney resort.
Paradise Pier quote is $1186,
Disneyland hotel quote is $1801 (concierge no standard rms available)
Grand Californian quote is $2311.
These prices are for 3 nights in July with a 4 day bonus park hopper.
So should I change my reservation to get unlimited fastpass? Is the Paradise Pier worth $500 more than the Candy Cane. How valuable are these fastpasses? Will they really help us to see everything more easily, bearing in mind we won't be coming back to Ca in the foreseeable future?
HELP Please

 

[CalGal]

I actually thought that the unlimited FP was for US residents only, perhaps also Canada. Make sure its available to you before you decide.

I certainly wouldn't pay $500 for the unlimited FP, but I think it's going to be really nice for this summer when the parks are going to be crowded. It will only help you with the rides that take FP, so if you spend a lot of your time riding and re-riding those attractions, and less time on the FL rides, unlimited FP becomes more valuable. FP will still run out during the day on many rides like Splash. Whether you should upgrade to a Disney Hotel is the main question, and that depends a lot on your own situation. If you are planning on spending a fair amount of time at DTD or the Disney hotels, and you can afford it, staying on-sight is nice. If your budget is tight, save your money for other things. Go to the parks bright and early to beat the crowds; FP times before 10 or 11 AM won't save you much time anyway.

Your GC quote seem a little high for me; is that also concierge? (I'm doing a 4-day parkhopper 2 people with 3 nights at the GC park view room no concierge; I thought it was considerably less than $2K). Did you say on your other post that it was just for 2 people; each person will add $150 or so for the park-hoppers? Concierge seems to make more sense if you have more people to eat up the appetizers...

Whatever you decide, you'll have a great time, so don't overstress about it.

 

[LynnTarrant]

Thanks Cal girl, i thought it would only be for US residents, but I called AAA today and they told me with the recirocal agreement I can have this perk. It is just 2 of us and the GC was concierge. It will be Paradise pier more than likely if I did change but from what I've read CCInn is just as close, we're in Ca for 3 weeks altogether and really made the decision not to stay on site so we'd have more money to spend on other things. I think you are right we really want to experience everything once rather than the big rides lots of times so I think we'll stick to the original plan, thanks for your help
lynn

 

[Disneyland_emily]

One thing to keep in mind is that 99% of the time you can use FPs later than the time indicated so one rule I use is always have an active pass- Because even if you dont want to/can't ride it right then- You could use it later when the lines get bad

So if there is any FP rides you may want to ride later in the day- Grab a FP even if the waits 15 min and ride it standby and use the FP later

-em

-em

 

[yeartolate]

When in July? If it is near the 4th or 17th.....that "unlimited fastpass" might be well worth it. Otherwise, reading the fastpass threads on optimizing regular fastpass use might be helpful.

Remember, also, that the fastpasses aren't truly unlimited. Essentially, they make other machines ignore the fact that you just fastpassed somewhere else - you still have to follow the 2 hour wait rule (or wait until the window for your return has begun). But the feature is helpful.

 

[mickeyfan2]

Unlimited Fastpass

Could somebody please explain this to me. We are going in December and will be staying at the DLH. We are on a package and will be getting APs (due to the length of our stay). Do you have to have a particular package or just need to stay at the DL hotels?
Thank you

 

[Vanvmom]

Unless things have changed, unlimited fastpass it not available for AP. We had 5 day tickets with unlimited fastpass last year. We waited until day 4 of our trip to upgrade them to AP. This way we got to enjoy the unlimited fastpass feature for a few days before switching to AP tickets. BTW.. to upgrade your tickets Disney reduces your AP price by the amount you've already paid for your tickets (so it will still end up costing you the same as just buying the AP at the start of your trip).

 

[FreeTime]

Bump
I would also like to know what unlimited FP is?

 

[IandGsmom]

When you purchase a package through AAA only and you opt to stay onsite (one of the 3 DL hotels) then they include the multiple fastpasses. You can have more than one fastpass at a time. So you and your family can go into the park and go get a fastpass for Indy, Buzz, Splash etc all at the same time instead of waiting until the time at the bottom where it says you can have another one. You can basically go fastpass line to fastpass line. We used this a couple weeks ago and it was wonderful since the only standby lines we stood in where rides with no fastpass BUT we were already planning to stay at a DL Hotel.
$500 is alot of money and you could do other things with that but the parks will be very crowded this summer and its really up to you. AAA packages also usually come with other "perks" and if you use you Disney Visa to pay then even more things can be added. Go see your AAA person and get a quote. The quotes online were higher than what we got through the AAA office. Also check to see what offers Disney Visa has right now. I went online to check my bill and I saw things like free stroller rental and 10% purchases of $50 or more in certain stores.
HAVE FUN!

 

[CalGal]

Bump
I would also like to know what unlimited FP is?

Unlimited FastPasses are special parkhopper passes available only when a package is booked through AAA that includes a stay at one of the 3 Disney resorts. The passes essentially disconnect the fastpass attractions so that you are able to hold fastpasses for different attractions at the same time. It's not truly unlimited, because you can't hold more than one FP at a time for any single attraction, but for each pass you can theoretically obtain and hold one active FP for each attraction that offers FP.

 

[LynnTarrant]

$500 is alot of money and you could do other things with that but the parks will be very crowded this summer and its really up to you. AAA packages also usually come with other "perks" and if you use you Disney Visa to pay then even more things can be added. Go see your AAA person and get a quote. The quotes online were higher than what we got through the AAA office. Also check to see what offers Disney Visa has right now. I went online to check my bill and I saw things like free stroller rental and 10% purchases of $50 or more in certain stores.
HAVE FUN!

Ahh the Uk have reciprocal rights with the AAA but unfortunately we are not elegible to apply for a disney Visa US citizens only

 

[HydroGuy]

I think the official name is Enhanced Fastpass. I have also heard them called Enchanted Fastpass. The descriptions in this thread about how they work are accurate.

Because of your shorter stay, it may not work for you, but I heard from one woman that she bought the AAA package for two nights at a DLR hotel and got a five day parkhopper ticket. This got her the enhanced fastpass. Then she stayed at a cheaper hotel the other nights.

 

[LynnTarrant]

Now there's a thought Thanx for that

 

[marvel]

What number did you call for the AAA? was it the one for AAA in anaheim? I am from Australia and we have the same reciprocal rights, apparantly, but haven't been able to find a way to get any prices etc. And the AAA website was no help at all. If anyone could let me know the number or even which AAA I would really really appreciate it !!

 

[CalGal]

Marvel -- I just went in to my local office (I also found the web site of no help), but my card has an 800 number on the back for "inquiries about membership, travel, ..." It's 1-800-922-8228. Good luck.