Just got back

[sammyboy]

returned from wdw friday the 18th after a week stay. won't go into too much detail, but it did get quite crowded at MK and AK by 10-11am. We roughly followed the Unofficial wdw Guide book's reccomendation to get through the parks, and found it very helpful. The main advice i have is 1) Arrive early! they open 30 min before posted times (8:30), and be ther by 8:20 or so. 2) Use fastpass!!!!! We routinely wlked past hour long lines to the front of the line and walked right on. Why most people don't use them is beyond me!

 

[Marla Hellwig]

I agree - wonder why more visitors don't use the fast pass system - sounds like a wonderful trip - thanks for posting!

 

[BarbaraMB]

When it is really busy and you get a fast pass for a ride/attraction and you must wait a certain length of time to pass before getting another one, what else are you to do except stand in line at another ride/attraction? How else are you going to be able to avoid this if you can only have one fast pass?

 

[pumba]

get our fast pass around the same time we would be finishing our lunch or suppers.......we used them and they were great.....thanks a million for your post

 

[turbodisney]

I think people waiting in one line have fastpasses for another......they know they will get into another ride as soon as they finish the long line they are currently in...

 

[BarbaraMB]

So, while you might have a long wait for one ride, when you get off you are able to basically just go on another so it makes up for the waiting time. Then you get another fastpass and start over again. But what if your fastpass for the ride isn't for hours later? Do they let you know before you get the fastpass when the approximate return time will be so that you can make the decision on whether or not you want to forget about a fastpass for that ride and get it for something else. Has anyone left Disney without being able to experience a ride or attraction because they ran out of fastpasses and the line waits are just too long?

 

[CarolA]

You know in spite of Disney's efforts I don't think people get Fast Pass sometimes.

My last solo visit I got in the single riders line for Test Track. There were 3 younger adults (of course I am getting to the age where everyone is younger!) who were talking. They thougth the solo rider line was great since the stand by line was about an hour. I heard the girl say "wonder how much those cost? You know buying a fast pass might be worth it if it was only $5 or so to skip an hour line" At this, I piped up and said I hate to intrude, but FAST PASS is free. I explained how it worked. The whole time they have a park map in front of them with a big fast pass add on it which explains how it works. I have heard this "fast pass costs extra" several times.

 

[CarolA]

Barbara.
You can get a new fast pass as soon as the window opens for your current one or two hours after the time your current one is issued.

I am not a fast pass expert since I go at slow times. If you go over to the Theme Park boards I am sure someone could help you plan a Fast Pass touring plan!

 

[TRAPPED-PARENT]

We were just down there. They do post the return time at the Fastpass distribution area. They also have printed on your Fastpass when you will be able to get another one, so this takes the "guessing" out of when a machine will accept your ticket.

Now, the people who go to WDW a lot have some idea of what rides are slow loading, etc. If I am at Fantasyland in the MK, I know that IASM is ALWAYS a walk-on later in the day, so I don't get in line. I know that Dumbo and Peter Pan are slow loading, so these would be rides I would be inclined to get a Fastpass for as the standby line is EXTREMELY slow so will require a lengthy wait. Bottom line, I am selective about which rides I get my Fastpass at. I would never wait in a long line for Pirates or for the Jungle Cruise ... these rides always seem to have little or no wait periodically throughout the day, so we'll just come back if the wait is too long.

Many of the more popular rides can be done with little wait early in the day ... this necessitates you being there at the time the park opens.

If you are new to WDW, I would encourage you to read the Unofficial Guide to WDW. I think they do a good job in explaining some of these concepts and describing which rides have lines that move slowly (slow loading rides) and which move quickly (rides that can accomodate more people in a shorter amount of time).

As with most things in life, a little time spent in preparation can save a lot of time and frustration later on.

 

[turbodisney]

Hi Barbara,

Sometimes they close the fastpass machines if its late in the day and the time wont allow it. For example, test track always runs out late in the day on a busy day. People may get a fastpass at 4:00 for a return time of 6:45 or something like that. Since Future World closes at 7, they wont be issuing passes at 6:45.

One good thing, if a ride goes down and you miss your scheduled return time, they will honor the fast pass at other times. That has happened to us at R&R.

 

[BarbaraMB]

So if you have a scheduled time to go back to Test Track and has stopped running for repairs you can use your fast pass for another time (same day?). Is there ever an issue of not being able to use your fast pass because of weather related problems? Do they honor it at another time? Is Test Track pretty much the one ride that runs into long line and fast pass problems?

 

[maggie767]

when using fast pass , can you only get them if you are staying on property? thank you for any info.

 

[marybet]

You don't need to be staying on property to get a fast pass. If you stay on property at Universal you can get front of the line access to all the rides, but they also have a fast pass system for everyone else, forget what they call theirs.

 

[turbodisney]

At each of the big popular rides is a fastpass machine. You put your ticket in it and it spits out a paper ticket that tells you when to come back...plus there is a big clock above it also.

You get one fastpass ticket per admission ticket. You can not get another fastpass ticket until the time expires on that one. So people are not running around the park getting fastpasses to all the rides at one time. So chose wisely.

If a ride goes down for technical reasons and your time expires on the fastpass, they usually honor them and let you go on later. But remember, it may be a little more crowded in the fastpass line as they catch up.