How to deal with new FastPass rules

[ppony]

Common misconception. You can get another no more than 2 hours after the previous in every case, sometimes sooner.

A misconception fueled by their own TV in the resort rooms. When we were watching it on our last trip a few weeks ago it said you could only have one at a time. Reading this board I knew there was some way around that and then reading the pass itself, it said you had to wait an hour befor getting another one. We just never had the enrgy to run from one to the next to "collect" them as others did so we jsut ended up w/ one at a time and of course, none once the popular ones ran out.

I'm personally hoping the new system (or a return to what I remember it being when it started because the CMs did used to turn people away eons ago) will help those of us that aren't b*lls-to the-wall, commando park goers as those that used the FP system to it's full advantage before. I'm just getting too old for that racing around.

 

[KellyNY]

Is it really that difficult to go on the ride at the time on the fastpass? I don't understand it. I have never had a problem. If you don't think you can make it back in time then don't get a fastpass.

I have found that the rides are easier to get on at night. Or maybe you can wait to ride the headliners on an EMH night?

Yep, pretty simple!

 

[edolee]

As promised I am going to summarize the ideas I thought were helpful...

But just a reminder -- This thread is about a practical approach to enjoying the more crowded attractions in the evening during Christmas, Spring Break, the summer, and other crowded days. (Given the Fastpass policy changes scheduled for March 7th.)

Also, I am personally not worried about missing FP returns because of ADR, or heat stroke, or broken down attractions, or cheating evil doers from Iowa ;-)...

Hopefully I didn't miss any of the good ideas:

1) Ride during the Parades and/or fireworks... AND/OR ride just before park closing... Standby lines should be shorter in both cases

2) Find a Fastpass hero (as opposed to volunteer) that is willing to stay in the park all day and collect FP's with evening return times (maybe in combo with #3)…

3) Get a smartphone app the gives the current return windows at the various FP machines so you don't run all over the park for no reason....

4) Spend ¾ day in the park, and then take your break in the evening OR, just focus on the parades and fireworks/shows in the evenings and implement #1 for rides

5) Subscribe to a service like Ridemax

6) Start in a non-EMH park and then hop to a late closing park

7) Create a FP swap network (sounds dangerous ;-)


Keep em coming... I will continue to summarize as long as there are ideas coming in.

Ed

 

[lcj19]

Sadly some long lines are just part of it, but we have always used the FPs in there printed time frame and had very few long lines to wait in. MK for example. We just follow the circle around when we get to a ride that has a FP and the standby line is too long for us at the time we get a FP, read the time on it, hit the next attraction in line, and check the time when we get off...repeat until it is close enough to your window to head back that way.

Now I can see where this idea would problematic for people who plan every minute of their trip, but it has worked for us. THOUGH the only time it didn't was with TSM...I wasn't willing to wait an hour to ride first thing in the morning or wait in an hour line to get a FP when I could walk onto every other ride at the park...it was a small sacrifice, but worth it to me.

Good luck you can do it!!!

 

[edolee]

Sadly some long lines are just part of it, but we have always used the FPs in there printed time frame and had very few long lines to wait in. MK for example. We just follow the circle around when we get to a ride that has a FP and the standby line is too long for us at the time we get a FP, read the time on it, hit the next attraction in line, and check the time when we get off...repeat until it is close enough to your window to head back that way.

Now I can see where this idea would problematic for people who plan every minute of their trip, but it has worked for us. THOUGH the only time it didn't was with TSM...I wasn't willing to wait an hour to ride first thing in the morning or wait in an hour line to get a FP when I could walk onto every other ride at the park...it was a small sacrifice, but worth it to me.

Good luck you can do it!!!

Interesting... several people have suggested on this thread and the other monster thread that people using FP well outside the printed return times must be commando planners... from my perspective it is exactly the opposite. Having a fistful of FP's when there was essentially just a "no sooner than" return time allowed me to not plan much at all, other than getting to the park for the rope drop.

The touring strategy you use is more or less the same as ours, except that we don't think about using FP's we get until we return to the park in the evening. If we get there at Rope Drop we can generally get on all the popular attractions before lunch with a 1:30 ADR @ Liberty Tree Tavern... Also, since we can only tend to go at busy times we have found that the popular attractions have imposing standby lines at night... something that many people seem to disagree with...

I find NO magic in standing in line for Peter Pan for 90-120 minutes in the evening... I suppose I could just "suck it up" and skip the ride, but I would like to do better than that for my family if I can. That is the purpose of this thread...

Ed

 

[CarolynU]

We never left the park but sometimes just stayed in one area and returned to another with our FP after the time stated so we weren't criss crossing the park non stop. Or we went to eat dinner and then rode with our FP when we had finished.
Now we will not plan on making dining ressies so that we can just ride whenever the FP window, and then apart from one day in each park to see the parades etc where we will eat CS we will not bother staying in the parks late, but leave and perhaps eat offsite if we can't get a last minute ressie on property.
It will free us up from always clock watching to make our dining ressies on time and in that time we can then always make our correct FP return time.

 

[fla4fun]

Or are we just doomed to ride the great attractions in the morning?

Ed

I'm not sure I understand the issue of being "doomed" here. Isn't the whole point to be able to experience your favorite attractions? Are they only your favorites if you see them at night instead of earlier in the day? I mean, I enjoy Soarin at 9am or noon or 8pm - so as long as I get to experience it at some point during the day, I'm good. Or were you doing it standby in the morning and then again with FP in the evening?

I think what everyone needs to do is to wait until this is implemented and see how it affects guest flow before making any decisions on altering their touring routines. We don't know if it means more people or less people will be there for rope drop. We don't know if it means more people or less people will take mid-day breaks. We don't know if it means more people or less people will stay until closing, or avoid parades and fireworks, or anything that might make a difference when considering how to tour the parks. Until we see the new system in action, we don't know if the suggestions people are making are worth the effort, or a waste of time. Let the dust settle a bit and then decide what will work best for your family.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Why does someone like you even come to a message board? Honestly? You can't find anywhere in your "real life" to spread your sunshine?

People are trying to figure out theme park strategies here. Maybe you should find something else to do.

It's not WW III and we're not trying to solve world hunger here. What my post offered was perspective. It's a THEME PARK. Go. Enjoy. Ride what you can, and don't ride what you can't.

It's impossible to develop a strategy when you don't know how many people are in their army, and what amount of time standing in line is acceptable for them.

As for the comments regarding programs like Ridemax, it's going to be interesting to see how this affects them. Their whole strategy is heavily dependent on using FPs outside the window (I believe.) so it will be interesting to see how they retain their value.

Look. I'll confess. Maybe we're a little spoiled. We go down as a family 3-4 times/year. I go a lot more than that. People are getting all bent out of shape out of something they absolutely have no control over other than to vote with their pocketbooks if they don't like it. Nobody makes anybody go, but if you do go, you essentially agree to play by Disney's rules in Disney's parks, and these are the new enforced rules.

Sure. You can tell people to go ride big-ticket rides during fireworks and parades. Those are great strategies, but they were 3 weeks ago too.

I recognize that for many families, WDW is a once in a lifetime thing. Go. Enjoy the ambience. Enjoy the atmosphere. Enjoy the hustle and bussel of it all. That's what WDW is all about. Enjoy the story. You can't possibly see it all and do it all in a week or even two. I've been hundreds of times and I haven't seen it all or done it all. You can, and will enjoy it a lot more if you don't pressure yourself into these "I have to this and that." boxes people tend to artificially place themselves in.

I talk to a lot of people that go to Disney and plan their trips down to the minute, and are so disappointed when they return home tired, frustrated, and swearing they'll never go again because there's just too much to do and no way to get it all done. They're exausted from the wear and tear of their vacations. I don't think that's what Walt intended. I could have told every one of them that the strategy they chose would have led to that end result they obtained before they even left home. I did in many cases. It's a pretty easy result to predict.

WDW is about the essence of being there. It's about slowing down to smell the roses in the rose garden. And watching the smile on your daughter's face when she sees Cinderella's Wishing Well for the first time. Most people never even slow down enough to even find these things. Most people are in such a rush to get things done and to check them off their proverbial (or literal, as the case may be) lists, that they miss the essential WDW.

It's the story.

It's the theming.

It's the color.

It's the smells.

It's the atmosphere.

It's the magic that is Disney.

Forgive the Cliche, but I encourage you to not get so lost in the forest that you miss the beauty of the trees.

If you're walking around and your kid's in the stroller at 11:00pm crying because he or she is exausted and tired and you're still going commando, you missed the whole point. Therein lies the tragedy. Not in the fact that the FP system didn't afford you an opportunity to ride Space Mountain at 9:30 so you could hurry up, and not have to miss Wishes while you hustled all the way across town to catch one more ride on Splash Mountain.

Relax. You're on vacation. And you're in for the experience of a lifetime. It's all about a crescent moon over Cinderella Castle. It's all about the sparkle in a child's eyes. Don't miss that. That's what you'll never see again and what you'll never forget, not the score you aquired on Toy Story Midway Mania.

 

[bookwormde]

That "very old and crude" system works just fine. (it's actually not that old or crude...it's a great system). You're never going to completely eliminate long waits when you have a popular ride and a crowded park. FP still is a great way to get a jump on a line that you would other have to simply wait in....like people did before fast pass.

As far as a very simple technical matter....please explain. That would require some sort of screen or input device at each station so people could see what's available then tell the computer what they want, (thus taking much more time to print the ticket and causing long lines), and a database of already selected times to keep track of what people have already selected and printed. Sounds slightly more complicated than putting in your card and getting a ticket 2 seconds later.

As far running the system until it dies from old age, FP is one of the newer systems put in place by Disney, and has a long way to go before it dies.

It is crude in that it is completely non discriminatory to the needs of the "customer".
As this tread shows once you actually follow the rules it does not work "fine" since if you get to the machines and find that the current return times are at times when you already have other things planned like dining or breaks, as this thread demonstrates, it does not "work".
Yes is would take a customer input pad and display screen, certainly technology that has been around for decades. As far as the database, it is a very simple matter to scan for available return slots. if you want to talk about the lines at the FP machines, with a key pad, you could group tickets the first time you put t hem through the machine (one by one) and then just put one in the next time you get fast passes and select the number of fast passes you want. As we all know to is the multiple ticket scanning that is at the heart of the long lines (and the scanning errors that require repeated tries and CM help) so reducing the quantity of scans would be the biggest help.
Just because the system is not that old does not say that is was not behind the times technologically when it was put in and it now by any standard antiquated

For the origonal poster the 3rd party technologies are probably you best bet until WDW catches up and we have virtual scannable fast passes on our mobile devices.
Bookwormde

 

[Lisa0620]

Thanks, Ed, for the helpful summaries and your patience in keeping this thread on track.

If I could change my strategy (which I can't, because I made all dinner ADR's 5 months ago... not bitter) it would be to adjust our normal routine back 2hours.

Old system: We do RD, eat CS lunch early (11:30) and leave right after lunch and then are back in the parks for TS dinner before 6:00 and use FP's collected all morning.

If I could replan with new system: do RD, eat TS lunch early, use any FPs that are ready up until 2 or 3 o'clock. Grab one FP on the way out with late return time if possible. Return to resort and after CS dinner return to parks in time for your one FP, try for a quick turnaround FP like Buzz and do nighttime entertainment. Same strategy just pushed back and less time and only 2 rides in the parks at night.

I don't think FP Hero would be worth it. If your family leaves at 2:30 after LTT and comes back for dinner it seems like the MOST you could stockpile would be 2 sets since you would only be looking for those with a late return time and therefore 2 hours b/w collecting. Won't it be strange to be hoping for late return times? Total paradigm shift for sure!

 

[Art 1]

My interpretation of FP was so that guests could get a FP and return at a later scheduled time so as to not wait as long in a line, for the most popular rides or rides chosen by Disney. I has no idea that guests were getting a stack throughout the day and returning at night to use them. I'm not sure they were saving any time by doing it this way. Too much planning and thinking for me.

 

[LaurenT]

I'll be eagerly awaiting the first reports of what impact the new policy will have on the rate at which FP are distributed and, therefore, what the return times will be at a given point in the day.
I, for one, will probably not run for a FP at RD the way I used to.... Why would I want a FP with a 9:40 return time when I can easily ride standby with little wait between 9:40 and 10:40 anyway? So, I assume I'm not the only one who will think this way.
I will monitor my lines app, looking for what the return times are for a particular ride. When I see that it's up to the time I was looking for, I'll grab one.
It could well be that, before you leave for your afternoon break, the return time for Peter Pan will be 5pm...if so, you can just get a FP on your way out and use it as soon as you get back to the park. If the return times are still saying 1 pm when you are getting ready to leave for your afternoon break, then there is a good chance that when you return to the park at 5pm, you can still grab a FP for Peter Pan that will have a 7 pm return time. Then just go do non FP rides and come back between 7 and 8....
I think we'll do most of our headliners in the morning and just do the other attractions and maybe one headliner in the evening.
There will still be a strategy to make it work, it just won't be as easy.

 

[LaurenT]

The WDW fast pass technology is very old and crude. It would be a very simple technical matter to allow guests to select a time later than the earliest return time available, but it looks like WDW is going to run the current system until it dies from old age.

bookwormde

It would be awesome if they could do that!
You put your ticket in and the. Choose from the time slots that are still available. So, if I'm there at RD, I can ride Soarin' and then go to the FP machine and get a FP to come back at 6 pm...as long as that slot isn't sold out yet.
Now, how would they regulate when you could get your next FP? Perhaps just give everyone a daily allowance? Bet them all right away if you like, ut once you've reached your daily limit, that's it?

 

[estherhead]

I'm still confused why this thread has to be evenings only? I had decided to start a thread that was just like this one. Practical ideas. But then I saw this one & thought perfect no need for yet another thread. But if this is for evening strategies only, do I still need to start yet another FP enforcement thread for general strategies?

 

[maxiesmom]

As for the comments regarding programs like Ridemax, it's going to be interesting to see how this affects them. Their whole strategy is heavily dependent on using FPs outside the window (I believe.) so it will be interesting to see how they retain their value.

Not all touring plan services depend on using late Fast Passes to get the job done. I've used 2 that don't, and they worked just fine.

 

[estherhead]

I'm still confused why this thread has to be evenings only? I had decided to start a thread that was just like this one. Practical ideas. But then I saw this one & thought perfect no need for yet another thread. But if this is for evening strategies only, do I still need to start yet another FP enforcement thread for general strategies?

 

[Paradise18]

Well, ok, but not terribly helpful. As I mentioned, we generally have to go at busier times of year so Standby in the evening (particularly for the headliner rides) more or less takes the whole evening for just one or two rides... Obviously will need to come back in the time window allowed from now on....

Previous response had some good ideas:

1) ride during parade and fireworks....
2) ride just before park closing.....

My guess is that these strategies will work particularly well for POTC and Haunted Mansion, maybe it's a small world... maybe buzz. So I appreciate those ideas. As I mentioned, my kids are a little older... so missing the parade is probably not that big a deal.


I was also thinking that one person might stay in the park through the break that we generally (and many others take) and collect FP for the headliner rides
that hopefully have later return times, while the rest of the family is cooling
their heels at the hotel/villa... That person would exit the park when the rest
arrive so that they can re-enter using their tickets. It is a drag for the person that has to stay behind, but I would guess this would be just about bullet proof...

Any other ideas?


Ed

The idea of having someone stay at the park to collect FPs would hit a snag for those staying onsite. Park admission and access to your room at the resort are both attached to your KTTW card. If the person who stays at the park has everyone's KTTW card, the rest of the party won't be able to get into their room at the resort. Not an issue for those stating offsite.

For my family, if we are unable to get a FP return time that fits within our plans, and there is a ride we want to get on, are we willing to get in the standby line. We can still get on the ride, it just means a longer wait in some cases. Ultimately, the choice is ours to make.

 

[LucyBC80]

Could you point out the iPhone apps that show the fastpass times? None of mine do that.

 

[FireRN]

We have always used FP within times printed (just because we did) and our 2 effective strategies were:

1. Be willing to walk past a long line, knowing that it will probably be shorter the next time past (maybe parades or fireworks or just luck). This is especially doable early in the trip when you will be in that park another day.

2. Start with AM EMH park and leave for resort around early afternoon when it started to get really crowded. Return to a non EMH in the evening (our kids are too young to utilize evening EMH's without meltdowns). I don't think we have ever spent the entire day in 1 park.

Good Luck!

 

[LaurenT]

Could you point out the iPhone apps that show the fastpass times? None of mine do that.

The "Lines" app, from Touring Plans. Other guests input what the FP return times are for rides....not always completely accurate, but it will be perfect for giving me an idea of where the return times are without having to run across the park just to find that the slots that are being issued won't work for me....