Need some major help and questions regarding tickets..

[sersee05]

Well actually I have a zillion questions but will try to keep this short... Believe it or not...We have been to Disney quite a few times and have NEVER used the fp's. Probably because most of the time we booking sort of last minute. We never plan a year in advance. I think we always think we are taking summer vacation somewhere different but always end up back in Orlando. lol


So here we are again. Now Im assuming I won't be able to get any fast passes at all. But I will try my hardest. We just got our accommodations situated and I will be buying tickets from UT.

Ok so first...I want to get magic bands. Last time we misplaced a card and I don't want to go through that again. Plus its a fun souvenir and I know I probably will be going next year again..lol So if I purchase through ut...I read that I can buy magic bands and link them. But some of the older info says that I would have to get disney to link them. But I thought I read I could do it through my disney experience?


My daughter went on her senior trip and got a magic band. Can I put her ticket on the band she used before?


Ok now for the parks. We also have never ever have had a strategy. ...we always wing it. This time , since we have never had the disney dining experience ..I plan on making ressies. We will have hoppers so no biggie. But we also have to maximize our park time. I am not going park commando this time either. WE decided we want to also be relaxed so we plan on taking a break in the middle of the day(vampire hours).

Animal kingdom is one of my concerns because of the hours. So is it best to make a breakfast ressie in AK so I can get on the safari right away?

I have read morning hours are nice until about lunch time. I am printing out all the parades and showtimes so we don't miss anything...the shows are a favorite amongst my family. Are the shows usually around the same times everyday at the beginning of August? Frozen is splattered through the day? Im not buying the premier package...will I be able to see most of it?

 

[CAS239]

Well actually I have a zillion questions but will try to keep this short... Believe it or not...We have been to Disney quite a few times and have NEVER used the fp's. Probably because most of the time we booking sort of last minute. We never plan a year in advance. I think we always think we are taking summer vacation somewhere different but always end up back in Orlando. lol


So here we are again. Now Im assuming I won't be able to get any fast passes at all. But I will try my hardest. We just got our accommodations situated and I will be buying tickets from UT.

Ok so first...I want to get magic bands. Last time we misplaced a card and I don't want to go through that again. Plus its a fun souvenir and I know I probably will be going next year again..lol So if I purchase through ut...I read that I can buy magic bands and link them. But some of the older info says that I would have to get disney to link them. But I thought I read I could do it through my disney experience?
you can buy your own magic bands and either have a CM link them in the park when you buy, or you can link them yourself through the MDE app. You can also purchase the bands online ahead of time and link them yourself through the app. It's super easy and fast. The cheapest bands are the solid colors at $12.95. Then you have open ended designs at I believe $19.95, and then limited editions at close to $30

My daughter went on her senior trip and got a magic band. Can I put her ticket on the band she used before?
yes. Enter her ticket confirmation number into her MDE account and any band she has will be able to be used. Nothing is stored on the band, it's stored within MDE. So you're not putting the ticket ON the band. So once the ticket is in her MDE account, she can have multiple bands she can use interchangeable. When you log into MDE you can click "my magic bands and cards" and see everything that's linked. Also magic bands are not suppose to be interchangeable between people. So once it's linked to one person, it's their magic band. There's a unique code on the underside of the band, that's what you'll enter into MDE to link to any accounts

Ok now for the parks. We also have never ever have had a strategy. ...we always wing it. This time , since we have never had the disney dining experience ..I plan on making ressies. We will have hoppers so no biggie. But we also have to maximize our park time. I am not going park commando this time either. WE decided we want to also be relaxed so we plan on taking a break in the middle of the day(vampire hours).

Animal kingdom is one of my concerns because of the hours. So is it best to make a breakfast ressie in AK so I can get on the safari right away?
You can easily get on the safari at rope drop with minimal wait for about the first hour, maybe two. So make the breakfast reservation if you guys really want to eat there, but it's not needed to beat the crowd to the safari

I have read morning hours are nice until about lunch time. I am printing out all the parades and showtimes so we don't miss anything...the shows are a favorite amongst my family. Are the shows usually around the same times everyday at the beginning of August? Frozen is splattered through the day? Im not buying the premier package...will I be able to see most of it?
the parades and shows are generally the same time everyday, but definitely have a print out or info saved into your phone so you know for sure. As far as frozen, you'll be able to see everything. The frozen package is not needed at all

Bolded answers. Hopefully that helps

 

[subtchr]

Just a couple comments about a few of your questions...

First of all, there is never a reason not to get fast passes. Other than a couple of high interest attractions, there are fast passes available for EVERY attraction EVERY day. Book them as soon as you get the ticket numbers entered in MDE.

For your daughter's MB from her senior trip, the answer as to whether she can use it again is, "It depends". Was she able to link it to her MDE account and use it for entering the park and using FP? If so, then yes, she can use it on this trip, as long as her current ticket is linked to her MDE.

The one situation where she would NOT be able to use it would be if her senior trip had a group reservation for an onsite resort. Unfortunately, the folks have not figured out how to work the system to allow group members to link their reservation to their individual MDE accounts. I had two high school bands there in March, one at Pop and one at ASMu. Each student received a gray MB when we arrived, but the only thing it was good for was to open the room door. They needed to use an RFID card for park entry and FP+. I talked to the group folks at WDW, and they are working on the system, and hope to be able to make group MBs fully integrateable in the next year or two.

 

[sersee05]

Bolded answers. Hopefully that helps

Thank you so much...It absolutely is helpful.. I wasn't sure if I needed to do breakfast in order to get right on the safari. AK will be the one that we go to right away since it closes at 7pm and they don't really do anything at night...that is also a night that we have a T rex reservation . AK is always one we can get through in a day. I have to make every firework..lol And we have never seen fantasmic..which I would like to do this go around. What is the best way to make it happen with Frozen fireworks? Do you think if we take a break in the middle of the day...we could still get most of the frozen stuff done? I have 5 day hoppers so we can bounce around on the last day and try and get done anything we didn't get to.

 

[CAS239]

That's interesting about the group situation. I didn't know about that.

If that is the case and the band can't be linked to her MDE account, at least the bands are fairly cheap and easy to link.

 

[sersee05]

Just a couple comments about a few of your questions...

First of all, there is never a reason not to get fast passes. Other than a couple of high interest attractions, there are fast passes available for EVERY attraction EVERY day. Book them as soon as you get the ticket numbers entered in MDE.

For your daughter's MB from her senior trip, the answer as to whether she can use it again is, "It depends". Was she able to link it to her MDE account and use it for entering the park and using FP? If so, then yes, she can use it on this trip, as long as her current ticket is linked to her MDE.

The one situation where she would NOT be able to use it would be if her senior trip had a group reservation for an onsite resort. Unfortunately, the folks have not figured out how to work the system to allow group members to link their reservation to their individual MDE accounts. I had two high school bands there in March, one at Pop and one at ASMu. Each student received a gray MB when we arrived, but the only thing it was good for was to open the room door. They needed to use an RFID card for park entry and FP+. I talked to the group folks at WDW, and they are working on the system, and hope to be able to make group MBs fully integrateable in the next year or two.

Thanks so much for that info. Im not sure she ever had her own MDE account..Like you stated, I think it was more a group and she definitely got a grey band. It has her name on it. I will ask her if she used it to get in the park. I know she didn't make any Fp's. So most likely I will need to purchase another one?

We never did fp ..I think because we never plan very far ahead and at the parks they were always gone. I definitely will use it this time. You can actually get a 4th too if you use all three?

 

[CAS239]

Thank you so much...It absolutely is helpful.. I wasn't sure if I needed to do breakfast in order to get right on the safari. AK will be the one that we go to right away since it closes at 7pm and they don't really do anything at night...that is also a night that we have a T rex reservation . AK is always one we can get through in a day. I have to make every firework..lol And we have never seen fantasmic..which I would like to do this go around. What is the best way to make it happen with Frozen fireworks? Do you think if we take a break in the middle of the day...we could still get most of the frozen stuff done? I have 5 day hoppers so we can bounce around on the last day and try and get done anything we didn't get to.

We're AP's so we go in the morning, break, then park at night. We rarely select FP's for AK. You can get a lot done for the first few hours of opening. Unless the park is slammed, which is rare, I wouldn't book any fast passes earlier than 11 or 12. It's the best park for getting there early and going without FP's.

For Fantasmic..definitely recommend seeing it. My best advice for that is to, if possible for your guys choices, go to HS in the morning and use your 3 FP's, then before you leave, go to a kiosk and select Fantasmic as a 4th FP for that night. I'm not familiar with all the frozen events they'll have going on and the times, but you should easily be able to catch it all. See the frozen parade and watch the sing a long before you leave in the afternoon, then catch anything you didn't see when you get back to the park

 

[Stitch808]

Yup, you can buy the plain color MB from the Disney Store and link it on MDE. Once you get the band, you would just add the MB code from the back of the band. If you want a graphic MB, I would get it when you arrive at WDW and link your tickets to the MB then. They do not sell the graphic bands online. As for your daughter, if she already has that MB linked to her MDE account, you would just need link the new tickets to her account and that band would work with her new tickets. The only thing you can't do is reassign the MB to another account. So, if she wanted a graphic MB, she would still have both bands to use interchangeably.

I don't think you need the breakfast reservation to beat the crowds. The lines for Safari doesn't get extremely long until about 2 hours after rope drop IIRC, but we do go during the "slower" times of the year. I think if you get in AK at RD, you should be fine to go straight to safari if you don't want to get a breakfast ADR. I would still try to get FP+ for some of the headliners. You don't have to get them way ahead of time, but if you know the night before, just see what FP+ are available and get them at that time if you still want to "wing it." You can get three, then get your fourth at a kiosk at the park or your evening park when you hop.

 

[sersee05]

it's definitely possible. Frozen is really important...to me..Lol... I can really do anything. That's a great idea and will utilize that plan. So as long as I get the safari first thing in the morning..it should be not to bad and I am hoping to see animals before it's to hot. It's a great night for us to leave and go to DD for Trex. Last time we really could have left early afternoon after getting most things done. I figure after the safari maybe to shoot over to Everest.

It's 3 fp per day correct?

I have been also told that we should definitely walk around the showcase area in Epcot because there are different things going on throughout the countries.

 

[CAS239]

Yea it's 3 pre selected FP's per day. After you use your first 3 you can go to a FP kiosk in the park and get a 4th FP within the park your in. Use that, go get a 5th one and so on.

 

[subtchr]

Thanks so much for that info. Im not sure she ever had her own MDE account..Like you stated, I think it was more a group and she definitely got a grey band. It has her name on it. I will ask her if she used it to get in the park. I know she didn't make any Fp's. So most likely I will need to purchase another one?

We never did fp ..I think because we never plan very far ahead and at the parks they were always gone. I definitely will use it this time. You can actually get a 4th too if you use all three?

I would highly recommend learning much more about FP before your trip, because I think you have some misconceptions. Even at the parks, they are never "gone". A few of the most popular attractions, sure, but the rest have FP available even the day of. Here is the best source of info: MESABOY'S FP+ INFO THREAD. Don't be intimidated by the number of pages, just read the always-updated first few posts for the basic information.

I am surprised your daughter never used FP on her senior trip. When I take my bands and choirs, there are students who don't make plans ahead of time, but they always figure it out once they are in the parks. If nothing else, they do it to tour with their friends!

The MBs the groups use for their room keys do have their names on them, so you will have to ask your daughter if she only used it to get in the room, and had an RFID card to use in the parks.

You mention "buying" her another MB, so I assume you are staying offsite? You can purchase MBs ahead of time here: DISNEY STORE ONLINE. Or, if you want one of the character-specific ones, wait until you are at the parks.

 

[sersee05]

I thought when we went..certain attractions said no more fast passes. I will definitely read the thread though..thank you. She was in a wheelchair (ACL surgery )and it seems Disney took good care of her...so not sure she needed too.

That's a shame they haven't quite figured that out yet..She has a magic band that can't be used again I guess.. Oh well nice souvenir I guess! I have been checking the disney store for them...because I am staying offsite. Yep my daughter just told me she used them for the rooms and had a card as a ticket..

 

[subtchr]

I thought when we went..certain attractions said no more fast passes.

This was true of the old paper FP system, for sure. But even that was mostly the highest demand attractions (Soarin', Toy Story, a few others).

I just don't want you to feel that it's not worth trying to use the FP+ system for a short or last-minute trip. It has its flaws, but it's definitely still worth using!

Have a great trip!