Maxpass strategies with no data plan (only using crappy park wifi)

[flyingenie]

Any tips on use of maxpass/photopass if we won't have a data plan and will only be connecting via the supposedly awful DL/DCA WiFi?

Should I screenshot the barcode for photopass rather than logging into the app all the time?

Will I get WiFi where rope drop is at either DL or DCA? Should I hang back and pull my first maxpass near the entrance so that I'll have good WiFi? (but then miss out on the rope drop rush - however, we will be there during low season so hopefully won't be too much of an issue)

Any other "hacks" to maximize our time/minimize our frustration with crappy park wifi? What areas is it most reliable?

 

[HydroGuy]

Yes definitely take screen shots of all reservations. I often do that anyways just for backup.

I know WiFi is not great but do not know where they are so can't help you with where to go. If the DCA entrance is where Wifi is good I would do it there before going to the rope drop to wait. If you have a group that can go ahead of you, send them to hold a spot for you. Even so, it will not make that much difference because folks are not streaming in at that time. They are being scanned at the turnstiles and that slows down folks getting to the ropes. Getting the FP will be more valuable than rushing to the rope. Once at the rope, and when they drop it, then time is of the essence and that would be a bad time to stop for MP.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I honestly don’t know if I’d bother buying Maxpass if I had to rely on park Wi-Fi. (I mean, beyond buying one for the photopass benefits). Maybe if you have hoppers and want to avoid physically going to the other park to get FPs over there... but honestly, finding a Wi-Fi signal will be almost as much work as just walking to a FP machine and getting them that way.

The best Wi-Fi signal is in Tomorrowland (by Space/Pizza Port) - that’s about the only one that I can connect to with any kind of consistency.

If you’re going to try it, I would definitely just use your tickets to scan into the FP entrances rather than using the app, and yes, screenshot your barcode for photopass.

 

[Lauren in NC]

Are you an international visitor and that's why you won't have data? I've seen several recommendations for relatively cheap SIM cards, so someone may be able to help you with that. Honestly, the wifi is so bad I'd say MP wouldn't be worth it. One morning on our last trip I was having a frustrating time with MP not responding and then realized I'd never turned wifi off after we left the hotel - switched to data and it worked perfectly.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I’d skip maxpass without data. Just get fastpasses.

 

[flyingenie]

Are you an international visitor and that's why you won't have data?

Yep, we're international and have a toddler, so mainly getting one of them between the two of us for the photopass benefits. Planning on lots of rider switch. From the sounds of it, fp sounds like too much of a hassle. Going during low season so hopefully won't be too much of an issue. I'll look into cheap Sim cards though, thanks for the tip!

 

[tarheelalum]

Disney's wifi just not sufficient. Buy a temporary data plan if you want to use maxpass. It will likely seem crowded and lines will be long due to Disney reducing staff levels. I'd get a data plan and the maxpass. Max pass is truly worth it.

 

[Lauren in NC]

Yep, we're international and have a toddler, so mainly getting one of them between the two of us for the photopass benefits. Planning on lots of rider switch. From the sounds of it, fp sounds like too much of a hassle. Going during low season so hopefully won't be too much of an issue. I'll look into cheap Sim cards though, thanks for the tip!

OK, with a toddler - if you can swing getting some sort of SIM card/temporary data plan AND the MP, I'd do it. We're a family of four with one kid who's still too little to ride most of the FP rides, so we'll usually use MP to, say, grab two FPs for RSR (one for an adult and my son) and then one FP for GOG, then do rider swap for both. That way, everyone who wants to ride can, and we all get to go through the FP line, so less waiting. Before MP, one of us adults would have to run back and forth between rides grabbing FPs, but now I can do it while, say, watching the kids play in Toontown or Redwood Creek.

 

[flyingenie]

OK, with a toddler - if you can swing getting some sort of SIM card/temporary data plan AND the MP, I'd do it. We're a family of four with one kid who's still too little to ride most of the FP rides, so we'll usually use MP to, say, grab two FPs for RSR (one for an adult and my son) and then one FP for GOG, then do rider swap for both. That way, everyone who wants to ride can, and we all get to go through the FP line, so less waiting. Before MP, one of us adults would have to run back and forth between rides grabbing FPs, but now I can do it while, say, watching the kids play in Toontown or Redwood Creek.

Thanks! To clarify, if one of us has fastpass for a given ride then with rider switch the other goes in the fastpass line? And if no fastpass then which line would the 2nd person for rider switch go in?

 

[pennym]

As an international visitor without data plan I can say that we have several times tried buying a US sim and it has never worked on our phones in Disneyland. Last trip I used maxpass on disney wifi. At least it cost me nothing and I was able to get maxpasses all day every day. Yes it can be frustrating! The best places in Disneyland are by the observatron in tomorrowland, and outside the exit of haunted mansion. Forget hubs in either park. Best in DCA is in the soarin building. The bakery area is also ok. Just go for it and use it when you can. I screenshot everything just in case.

 

[emmybee]

It's been my observation that they have wifi in small areas around the entrances to rides that have FP available. There is also some wifi in areas close to the GCH. To only rely on wifi would not be advantageous for MP. I toggled between data & wifi in October. This past week, I just turned on my data when needed.

 

[Lauren in NC]

Thanks! To clarify, if one of us has fastpass for a given ride then with rider switch the other goes in the fastpass line? And if no fastpass then which line would the 2nd person for rider switch go in?

The second person/group always goes in the FP line, it's the first group that rides that can really benefit if you get an FP first. So, if you just walk up to a ride and want to do child swap, you'd all walk up together, they'd scan the tickets, and then the first group would go in the standby line, and when they're done, the second group would go in the FP line (or exit) for the child swap. If you get FPs for all the members of the first group, then they can go through the FP line, and then the second group goes through the FP line as well.

Usually we only do rider switch on the ones with FP (youngest is tall enough for Mater and Luigi), but I think we did it once with the Mater ride and they had us go in through the exit. If there's a height limit, there's pretty much always a CM at the ride entrance, so they'll be able to tell you where to go.

 

[B3rlingirl]

I used a US SiM when I visited last summer and had no trouble with it... ( you gotta check if your phone supports the US LTE bands)

Park WiFi is quite troublesome... (I didn’t use it for maxpass but I used it successfully a few times when I read the forum). There is a map with the hotspot locations so be sure to check that on out (in the app). I usually had trouble with the WiFi at the turnstile so you definitely want to use a screenshot for entering the park. I think the WiFi has problems when many people try to use it...
I turned the WiFi off as soon as I entered the park cause my phone had trouble to connect to WiFi and tried to load forever so I don’t know any good WiFi spots...

 

[NaturalNine]

With how cheap data, and SIM cards are these days - why not just get a prepaid sim and save yourself the trouble?

 

[flyingenie]

As an international visitor without data plan I can say that we have several times tried buying a US sim and it has never worked on our phones in Disneyland. Last trip I used maxpass on disney wifi. At least it cost me nothing and I was able to get maxpasses all day every day. Yes it can be frustrating! The best places in Disneyland are by the observatron in tomorrowland, and outside the exit of haunted mansion. Forget hubs in either park. Best in DCA is in the soarin building. The bakery area is also ok. Just go for it and use it when you can. I screenshot everything just in case.

Thanks! Does wifi work properly at the park entrance? Someone below said it's not the best at the turnstiles If not, how did you get maxpass added to the tickets after scanning in?

 

[flyingenie]

I used a US SiM when I visited last summer and had no trouble with it... ( you gotta check if your phone supports the US LTE bands)

Park WiFi is quite troublesome... (I didn’t use it for maxpass but I used it successfully a few times when I read the forum). There is a map with the hotspot locations so be sure to check that on out (in the app). I usually had trouble with the WiFi at the turnstile so you definitely want to use a screenshot for entering the park. I think the WiFi has problems when many people try to use it...
I turned the WiFi off as soon as I entered the park cause my phone had trouble to connect to WiFi and tried to load forever so I don’t know any good WiFi spots...

If I'm going to go for a US Sim with data plan, how much data allowance did you allow for? Not sure how much the app takes up ..

 

[B3rlingirl]

If I'm going to go for a US Sim with data plan, how much data allowance did you allow for? Not sure how much the app takes up ..

I had 4gb data but mainly because it was the cheapest available for me at that time. You don’t need that much for maxpass alone...
how many days do you plan to visit the park?

I am sorry but I don’t remember how much data I used, but I did ask that very question prior to my trip and I think the consensus was around 50-60mb for a full day depending how much you use it ( with one unknown exception of 260 mb which was probably some kind of error) so it isn’t that much...
If you want so save data make sure to turn off all other mobile data connections of your phone so you can use all data for maxpass...( I don’t know if it really matters but you might want to wait to check your photos with your app till you have WiFi and save some more mb)

 

[pennym]

Thanks! Does wifi work properly at the park entrance? Someone below said it's not the best at the turnstiles If not, how did you get maxpass added to the tickets after scanning in?

I added it at the tip boards, but discovered that was the worst place in the parks for wifi. Some days it took a lot of time with quite a bit of cursing involved!! In future I think I'll buy tickets with maxpass already to save that hassle. Go to Soarin area in DCA, and observatron in tomorrowland. Good luck!