*No longer relevant* (Maxpass/Fastpass: an overview and some strategy)

[mickey+minnie91]

My best bet is to refresh refresh refresh... I was able to get a ton of max passes by refreshing the app and things would come up... its what I do in Disney World as well and it really works wonders... best bet is to find a ride that you want to go on and if you can get that fast pass grab it for anytime and then click modify and try changing the times over and over again. It might take a few minutes but there is always something!

Thank you for this tip. I did this through out the day after all FP were done for the day. I was able to get more passes for my adult kids late at night this way when people must have gave theirs up. I didn't think to do this the first day in the park, after reading the original post and this one, I was able to take advantage of this!

 

[Santtu1982]

not sure if this is relevant, but from an international visitor point of view. I know that there are not that many of us % wise but we are still in the parks

International visitors like myself rely on free Wifi when in USA as data roaming charges are just astronomical. I worked it out by asking here on DIS about how much data is used by a USA visitor and it would cost me approx $150 A DAY for data roaming to use Maxpass.

Standard roaming rates are horrible but there is always the possibility of purchasing a local SIM card with enough data to last for your whole vacation. I for example am planning on ordering SIM cards from Simcorner. 37USD for a connection with 4GB of 4G data should be more than enough for a Disneyland visit. We are staying in US for three weeks next summer and I’m probably getting one with 6GB of 4G data just so that I have enough data to use Google maps and surf the web etc. I get the SIM cards mailed to me in advance so they are ready to go as soon as we step out of the plane at LAX.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Agree with the above poster about buying a local SIM card as an option for international guests who want to use MP. Well before your trip, start a thread on this forum asking for input and suggestions from other DISers in your local area who have purchased SIM cards or found other good options for data while at DLR. For international guests who visit DLR on a regular basis, one option is to buy an inexpensive smartphone at Walmart or Target (both stores have locations fairly close to DLR -- Uber/Lyft would get you there in 5-10 minutes) for US trips. Some DISers find this to be the most economical option for them. The data plans on these cheaper phones are prepaid, so you can load your card before each trip.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Agree with the above poster about buying a local SIM card as an option for international guests who want to use MP. Well before your trip, start a thread on this forum asking for input and suggestions from other DISers in your local area who have purchased SIM cards or found other good options for data while at DLR. For international guests who visit DLR on a regular basis, one option is to buy an inexpensive smartphone at Walmart or Target (both stores have locations fairly close to DLR -- Uber/Lyft would get you there in 5-10 minutes) for US trips. Some DISers find this to be the most economical option for them. The data plans on these cheaper phones are prepaid, so you can load your card before each trip.

thanks and I know this good advice. But for me personally, I use my time in America, without data, as a digital detox. Other than Disney, which is just a small part of my longer trip, not having data is not an issue. I check in with friends and family when I can connect to free Wifi but other than that Im pretty much offline for about 10 days.

 

[B3rlingirl]

Wow!
That is a great thread! It explains the system and gives examples and everything conveniently in one thread! This is a great starting point for first time maxpass Users... easier than having to piece all information together by oneself... like I did last summer!
I definitely save this one for later reference...( I hope I‘ll need it again soon...)

And about international visitors... I didn’t want to believe the park WiFi is as bad as everyone was saying here... but indeed it is... I quickly turned it off as soon as I left my hotel room so my phone didn’t even try to connect... and I was more than happy that I bought an American SIM card already at home so I had no trouble looking for one once I arrived in the US...
I bought mine via Amazon.de (the German amazon store) and got a pretty good deal with more than enough data...but there are many different ways to find the perfect US SIM card for your need... and I guess almost every SIM card is better than roaming...

 

[Santtu1982]

Wow!
That is a great thread! It explains the system and gives examples and everything conveniently in one thread! This is a great starting point for first time maxpass Users... easier than having to piece all information together by oneself... like I did last summer!
I definitely save this one for later reference...( I hope I‘ll need it again soon...)

And about international visitors... I didn’t want to believe the park WiFi is as bad as everyone was saying here... but indeed it is... I quickly turned it off as soon as I left my hotel room so my phone didn’t even try to connect... and I was more than happy that I bought an American SIM card already at home so I had no trouble looking for one once I arrived in the US...
I bought mine via Amazon.de (the German amazon store) and got a pretty good deal with more than enough data...but there are many different ways to find the perfect US SIM card for your need... and I guess almost every SIM card is better than roaming...

Which SIM card did you get? I've been looking for options and so far the only one that seemed competitively priced and reliable was Simcorner. I'm still open to other ideas and it might prove useful to others as well

 

[B3rlingirl]

Which SIM card did you get? I've been looking for options and so far the only one that seemed competitively priced and reliable was Simcorner. I'm still open to other ideas and it might prove useful to others as well

I used lycamobile. I think I had 4gb LTE data and they have (more or less) unlimited calls and texts to many countries but the SIM card only worked for 30 days, which was enough for me. they use the T-Mobile network. The SIM card was way cheaper to buy in Germany than getting it directly in the US...

Some general things to consider:
Before you buy any SIM card you have to check if your phone supports the LTE Bands used by the US provider! (that’s a problem many overlook when using a foreign sim...) another thing some people complain about is the fact that the telephone numbers are reused quite often. So you might get calls from foreigners and you might wanna mute your phone so it doesn’t disturb you...

And sorry to the op hat „we“ internationals hijacked this great Maxpass thread...

 

[mjallemand]

So just to make sure, I can load both my wife and I's tickets into one app and manage Fastpasses for both of us, correct? We don't need to manage our own tickets individually?

 

[Skyegirl1999]

So just to make sure, I can load both my wife and I's tickets into one app and manage Fastpasses for both of us, correct? We don't need to manage our own tickets individually?

Correct - you wouldn’t want to manage individually. You just use “add ticket” in the app and add both, and then when you click “get FP” you’ll both be listed, and you grab FPs for both at the same time. (If you wanted to ride different things for some reason, you could do that, too, by clicking just the person who wanted to ride and getting a FP just for him/her).

 

[Kender]

I just ran into a new issue I hadn't encountered before that should maybe be noted:

MP is having some issues on Android. Especially Samsungs and Pixels. It kept showing me nothing available for FPs even though there were still being distributed at the kiosks.

Turns out I could see them fine if I look for just FPs for my mom and me (Sig+ APs), but I could find nothing once I added in also looking for FPs for my two friends with tickets (5 day PHs). Even with just them I couldn't find anything. Said nothing available.

Talked to Guest Relations. It's a known issue IT is working on.

Seemed they'd have been willing to refund what I paid for my friends' MP for the day if we didn't have an iPhone in our group. But we did so we said we'd try it. Although it is hindering us because it means me, with the knowledge and experience using the system, can't book our FPs anymore and I'm reliant on another friend

 

[coolmark18]

I just ran into a new issue I hadn't encountered before that should maybe be noted:

MP is having some issues on Android. Especially Samsungs and Pixels. It kept showing me nothing available for FPs even though there were still being distributed at the kiosks.

Turns out I could see them fine if I look for just FPs for my mom and me (Sig+ APs), but I could find nothing once I added in also looking for FPs for my two friends with tickets (5 day PHs). Even with just them I couldn't find anything. Said nothing available.

Wow. As a Pixel user that's extremely annoying and disappointing. I wonder why there were issues with different ticket types. Hopefully it won't affect my upincoming trip. A wonder if it was the different ticket type which affected it.

 

[edhmom]

I just ran into a new issue I hadn't encountered before that should maybe be noted:

MP is having some issues on Android. Especially Samsungs and Pixels. It kept showing me nothing available for FPs even though there were still being distributed at the kiosks.

Turns out I could see them fine if I look for just FPs for my mom and me (Sig+ APs), but I could find nothing once I added in also looking for FPs for my two friends with tickets (5 day PHs). Even with just them I couldn't find anything. Said nothing available.

Talked to Guest Relations. It's a known issue IT is working on.

Seemed they'd have been willing to refund what I paid for my friends' MP for the day if we didn't have an iPhone in our group. But we did so we said we'd try it. Although it is hindering us because it means me, with the knowledge and experience using the system, can't book our FPs anymore and I'm reliant on another friend

Thanks for the heads up. We'll be in the parks next week with 3 iPhones and 2 Samsungs. When someone booked a FP on the iPhone, were the Samsung able to see it on theirs? In others, could they view it, just not book?

 

[Kender]

Wow. As a Pixel user that's extremely annoying and disappointing. I wonder why there were issues with different ticket types. Hopefully it won't affect my upincoming trip. A wonder if it was the different ticket type which affected it.

Not sure, but something to be mindful of. If you see "nothing available", but there's still kiosk ones available to talk to Guest Relations. I have a Pixel 2XL myself and this is the first time I've ever had a problem before. But I'm usually just with my mom and it seems to only affect tickets.

Thanks for the heads up. We'll be in the parks next week with 3 iPhones and 2 Samsungs. When someone booked a FP on the iPhone, were the Samsung able to see it on theirs? In others, could they view it, just not book?

I don't know. I don't have a Samsung. I have a Pixel 2XL. But on my Pixel, it just wouldn't show me availability when I tried searching for FPs with the tickets in my MP party. With just my mom's and my APs (Sig+) I could see FP availability. And I can see all the FPs booked. Just can't book them lol

 

[Kender]

Er, it's working now. Go figure. But heads up this is a potential issue. I'll keep an eye on it next couple days since I'll be buying MP for them again.

 

[midnight star]

I just ran into a new issue I hadn't encountered before that should maybe be noted:

MP is having some issues on Android. Especially Samsungs and Pixels. It kept showing me nothing available for FPs even though there were still being distributed at the kiosks.

Turns out I could see them fine if I look for just FPs for my mom and me (Sig+ APs), but I could find nothing once I added in also looking for FPs for my two friends with tickets (5 day PHs). Even with just them I couldn't find anything. Said nothing available.

Talked to Guest Relations. It's a known issue IT is working on.

Seemed they'd have been willing to refund what I paid for my friends' MP for the day if we didn't have an iPhone in our group. But we did so we said we'd try it. Although it is hindering us because it means me, with the knowledge and experience using the system, can't book our FPs anymore and I'm reliant on another friend

Yikes! And they didn't issue any multi-experience passes?? I've heard that they sometimes will give them if you purchase maxpass and it is glitching.

Wow. As a Pixel user that's extremely annoying and disappointing. I wonder why there were issues with different ticket types. Hopefully it won't affect my upincoming trip. A wonder if it was the different ticket type which affected it.

I heard of similar issues on New Years Day when I went. On the AP facebook group, people were saying that they could not buy maxpass or if they did buy it, they couldn't use it. The only people who could use it were those who have it already on their ticket or AP before getting to the park. I didn't experience any issues..granted I have an iphone..

 

[Caumann]

I just ran into a new issue I hadn't encountered before that should maybe be noted:

MP is having some issues on Android. Especially Samsungs and Pixels. It kept showing me nothing available for FPs even though there were still being distributed at the kiosks.

Turns out I could see them fine if I look for just FPs for my mom and me (Sig+ APs), but I could find nothing once I added in also looking for FPs for my two friends with tickets (5 day PHs). Even with just them I couldn't find anything. Said nothing available.

Talked to Guest Relations. It's a known issue IT is working on.

Seemed they'd have been willing to refund what I paid for my friends' MP for the day if we didn't have an iPhone in our group. But we did so we said we'd try it. Although it is hindering us because it means me, with the knowledge and experience using the system, can't book our FPs anymore and I'm reliant on another friend

Thanks for this. We'll be sure to have tickets loaded on an iPhone as well as my Samsung just in case!

 

[Kender]

Yikes! And they didn't issue any multi-experience passes?? I've heard that they sometimes will give them if you purchase maxpass and it is glitching.

I wish. We lost time on it because of it and really didn't get what I felt was the best value from it. I think they didn't because I said yes, we did have an iPhone in the group. It's just all so weird. We had no problems earlier in the day and then no problems later in the evening. Just that afternoon time glitched.

I heard of similar issues on New Years Day when I went. On the AP facebook group, people were saying that they could not buy maxpass or if they did buy it, they couldn't use it. The only people who could use it were those who have it already on their ticket or AP before getting to the park. I didn't experience any issues..granted I have an iphone..

Funny thing is I asked about this specifically because I noticed around 10/11pm on NYE I stopped seeing any FPs for either park. That seemed extremely strange as usually the water rides still have them until a half hour to park closing (when they seem to stop any distribution). I was told no, they were just out. Now I wish I'd known about this because I'd have checked through just trying to book with the APs. I really don't believe they were out. Usually something shows up in a refresh too and I killed my phone almost how much I was refreshing.

Unrelated, but MP had the same "FPs disappear from view after midnight" annoyance again too.

 

[Summer2018]

I don't know if we would really benefit from getting Max Pass. We are only going for about 4 hours on two mornings. It would cost us $60; we would have to waste time waiting in line for it instead of enjoying early morning rides with smaller crowds (we already bought our park tickets when we booked our trip with our TA); we'd only get to take advantage of two maybe three Fastpasses using it; we'd be using up our data.

I was under the impression that MP was unlimited FP's. Someone on Dis described it as one after another after another, no waiting. That would be the only way that I would pay for it. You only gain 30 minutes. Not worth the extra money and time for us.

I really wish that DL had FP+ like WDW.

 

[mom2rtk]

I really wish that DL had FP+ like WDW.

Not me. You have a much better chance of riding multiple headliners or reriding headliners with MaxPass. You get to start every single day with a blank FP slate. All options are still available.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I don't know if we would really benefit from getting Max Pass. We are only going for about 4 hours on two mornings. It would cost us $60; we would have to waste time waiting in line for it instead of enjoying early morning rides with smaller crowds (we already bought our park tickets when we booked our trip with our TA); we'd only get to take advantage of two maybe three Fastpasses using it; we'd be using up our data.

I was under the impression that MP was unlimited FP's. Someone on Dis described it as one after another after another, no waiting. That would be the only way that I would pay for it. You only gain 30 minutes. Not worth the extra money and time for us.

I really wish that DL had FP+ like WDW.

While you certainly may decide you don’t need Maxpass, a few points:
- You wouldn’t wait in line for it; you purchase it through the app. Barring technical difficulties (which have occured from time to time), it takes seconds or minutes to buy and book your first FP (depending whether your tickets and credit card are pre-loaded).
- First thing in the morning, many of the rides can be pulled “one after another,” although that does depend on the day and the rides. Most days, anything I listed in Group 3 or below is pretty immediate for the first couple/few hours.
- Because you don’t have to physically get to the machines to pull FPs, it’s possible to use MANY more FPs than with traditional FP. The ability to scan in for one FP and then pull another one in line is so much more efficient than waiting to be off the ride and then sending out a runner.

You might try it one of your two days and go hard on the lower-group FP rides that day, then just use traditional FP the other day?