Must-Have Fastpasses

[ElsasFan]

I apologize if there is a thread that addresses this--I searched but couldn't find one. My husband and I are taking our kids (ages 4, 6, and 8) to Disneyworld this November for our first trip. I am trying to figure out what Fastpasses I should try to get and am getting a little bit overwhelmed. I know (think?) that you don't actually need Fastpass for all of the rides for which you can get it, and I think my kids will be scared to ride some that Fasspass is available for. So, my question is, in each park, which are the attractions where it is most advantageous to have Fastpass? I thought maybe if I knew where they would be most useful, I could look at that list and see which we would be most interested in.

We will be there for six days--two MK, one AK, one HS, and one Epcot, and one day left over for anything that we want to see again or didn't get to.

Thank you in advance for your input.

 

[SplashMo]

MK A&E, 7DMT
AK Kali River Rapids in the afternoon. Perhaps Safari, Everest (for adults)
DHS - TSMM
EPCOT - SOARIN or Test Track

 

[Mikie]

Mesaboy2 has a fantastic, very thorough post about FP+ priorities and strategies. Of course, there are "must do" fast-passes for rides that always have long lines but your family may not care about that ride. Conversely, something may be high priority for you that isn't a "prime" FP+ pick. However his post is a great starting point

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3143281&highlight=mesaboy2

 

[jeffrose]

There are lots
But wouldn't it be dependent on which rides you want to ride that have long wait times?
Definitely these:
Toy story Ride
Dwarf Mine train Ride
Soarin
Test Track
Space MT

 

[MOpGrad2013]

Everyone is going to have their own opinion of what is a must have/see/do. I did not understand the idea of using a FP+ for a character meet & greet, but due to height restrictions, we did use one for DS3. It was wonderful! Hopped into a line to meet Mickey & Minnie at AK and we were out in 8 minutes. The standby was 30 minutes. We also stood in a few lines that took 20-30 minutes, and "Mr Impatient" survived.

MK: 7DMT (you won't see the interactive games, but you will load and be off to another adventure),
Splash Mountain or BTMRR

AK: Kali River (if it's warm out)
Kilimanjaro Safari (DH stood SB for 40 min while DS3 & I waited for our time. We walked right past his Daddy in line.)
Finding Nemo (maybe) If you want to sit in the pit, use the FP, but not needed. They load the theater quickly and the characters come along the aisles. Folks in the pit have to turn to see the action behind them.

EP: We used it for Soarin. DDs rode Test Track standby, but the line was long when the rest of us went by. This would be your discretion.

The thing about the system, it allows you the chance to not rush in the park and jump in one line while your other really want to do gets a longer line. We were off site and despite the desire to arrive for RD, we ended up arriving an hour after park open. We took our time and got in line where we wanted. We had scheduled most of the FP for later in the day (11am was earliest). No, we didn't get a 4th but it fit our touring style. DDs rode RnRCoaster 3 times in a row--during Star Wars Weekends' final day at noon. Once with FP+, once Single Rider SB and then a CM gave them a FP for the coaster.

Pretty much, if you WANT to ride it and it will make your family happy, use the FP+. It doesn't fit "normal" plans to use the pass on Nemo & Friends in Epcot, but we did. It worked out well for DH who was in back pain and DS3 to get on, enjoy the break and then climb back on scooter and stroller.

My one Don't Use would be for Crush. You have an hour report time, but the show starts every 20 minutes. We went through and then we were told we would be waiting for 40 minutes. Our FP was for 12:00. That show was full, as were the next 2 shows. You wait in line (crowd) until the show time. And the FP+ folks are filtered in with everyone else. We all got in and their was plenty of room because they count the number of persons...kids all had a good amount of space around them on the carpet.

 

[Figment Mom]

If you're planning to be at parks at rope drop then you could ride many things that you'd want a FP for later in the day when lines get longer. I suggest monitoring the wait times on an app before your trip to see which attractions build long waits and also interest you.

We had a FP each day for Peter Pan and were so grateful each time we saw 45 minute lines standing in the sun (the regular queue is being refurbed).

Depending on time of day we made good use of FP for:
MK-Peter Pan, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Buzz, 7D Mine Train, Speedway, Pooh
DHS -TSMM, Star Tours (although standby wasn't usually too bad on ST)
Epcot - Soarin', Test Track, Maelstrom, Spaceship Earth (wasn't always necessary)

If a wait time showed longer than 20 minutes we didn't get in line. Still, we were able to ride every single thing we wanted multiple times by arriving early and using FP. This was in the past 2 weeks with crowd levels of 8/9.