Newbie/Fastpasses and general questions.

[Trica]

Hi,

I'm a newbie so forgive the questions. I've been reading the boards to prepare for our stop at Disneyland and DCA in August. My name is Tricia but my nickname is Trica. I am 28. Dh is 36. We've been married for close to 9 years. We used to live in FL and dh worked at the WDW dolphin hotel. Him and I have been to WDW a few times before. We now live in Canada. We have lived here for close to 8 years. We have two kids. DS is 7 and our DD is 5.

I've been browsing the boards for a week but I am still wondering how many fastpasses can you get at a time? It sounds like their are fastpasses for shows? I'm assuming a ride can run out of the amount of FP's given out at a time?

What shows would be recommended for a 5 year old girl and a 7 year old boy?

Our other main concern is carsland. It sounds like getting a fastpass as soon as possible is the thing to do for RSR?


We are planning 1 day at DCA and 1 day at Disneyland. I know some people say that isn't enough but we have a lot of other things planned for our time in California. Also, My husband and I could only handle 1 park per day when we went to WDW 9 years ago and we didn't have kids then. Our potential days are Wednesday August 15th to Monday August 20th. When would you choose to go in that time if it were you?

We are driving down from Saskatchewan Canada. Hitting seven states and visiting at least 4 national parks. Including the Grand Canyon. This trip is a huge undertaking and any bit of help is so appreciated.

 

[Girimama33]

I'm a newbie so forgive the questions. I've been reading the boards to prepare for our stop at Disneyland and DCA in August. My name is Tricia but my nickname is Trica. I am 28. Dh is 36. We've been married for close to 9 years. We used to live in FL and dh worked at the WDW dolphin hotel. Him and I have been to WDW a few times before. We now live in Canada. We have lived here for close to 8 years. We have two kids. DS is 7 and our DD is 5.

I've been browsing the boards for a week but I am still wondering how many fastpasses can you get at a time? It sounds like their are fastpasses for shows? I'm assuming a ride can run out of the amount of FP's given out at a time?

What shows would be recommended for a 5 year old girl and a 7 year old boy?

Our other main concern is carsland. It sounds like getting a fastpass as soon as possible is the thing to do for RSR?


We are planning 1 day at DCA and 1 day at Disneyland. I know some people say that isn't enough but we have a lot of other things planned for our time in California. Also, My husband and I could only handle 1 park per day when we went to WDW 9 years ago and we didn't have kids then. Our potential days are Wednesday August 15th to Monday August 20th. When would you choose to go in that time if it were you?

We are driving down from Saskatchewan Canada. Hitting seven states and visiting at least 4 national parks. Including the Grand Canyon. This trip is a huge undertaking and any bit of help is so appreciated.

Hi Tricia,
As far as FP's go, the only "show" FP would be for WOC in DCA.It is very easy to park hop at DLR. which makes getting and maximizing FP easier. I don't know if you checked out the FP info on the sticky, but it should help with which rides have FP available, and which (if any) are disconnected. They do not enforce the return time at DLR. And yes. RSR should be a priority first thing in the morning if you want a FP.
As far as shows go...WOC, Fantasmic, Fireworks, Aladdin would all be good options. Have fun!
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32518085&postcount=5

 

[Patrick in Oregon]

Hi,

I'm a newbie so forgive the questions. I've been reading the boards to prepare for our stop at Disneyland and DCA in August. My name is Tricia but my nickname is Trica. I am 28. Dh is 36. We've been married for close to 9 years. We used to live in FL and dh worked at the WDW dolphin hotel. Him and I have been to WDW a few times before. We now live in Canada. We have lived here for close to 8 years. We have two kids. DS is 7 and our DD is 5.

I've been browsing the boards for a week but I am still wondering how many fastpasses can you get at a time? It sounds like their are fastpasses for shows? I'm assuming a ride can run out of the amount of FP's given out at a time?
Rule #1: Fastpasses have a return time on them. You don't HAVE to return at that time, but it tells you the EARLIEST you can return. You can only have 1 fastpass until it is time to return for your other one. For example. You have a Space Mountain fastpass at says "return at 10am." 10 am is the earliest you can get another fast pass.

Rule #2: HOWEVER there are some rides that have their own fastpass system, which we consider "disconnected." One such ride is California Screamin'. This means that you can get a Fastpass for California Screamin' but this does not prevent you from getting a fastpass. For example, you get a Tower of Terror fastpass that says "return at 1pm" it is only 11am, but you can still get a California Screamin' fastpass. Rule #1 still applies to California Screamin' by itself - meaning if a CS fastpass says return at 10am, you can't get another CS fastpass until 10am

Rule #3: I can't make anyone fall in love...strike that...A fastpass from Disneyland will not prevent you from getting a fastpass in California Adventure.

FPs do run out based on their demand. Since so many people want a FP for RSR, they run out before 10am. You can tell how close a FP is to running out based on their return time as they get later and later as they run out.

Strategy: you should always be trying to get a FP as soon as you are able to, if your objective is to get as many rides as possible.




What shows would be recommended for a 5 year old girl and a 7 year old boy?
At least Fantasmic

Our other main concern is carsland. It sounds like getting a fastpass as soon as possible is the thing to do for RSR?
This depends on how you want to structure your day. If you are looking for maximum fastpass abilities, I would say do not get a RSR fastpass. This is because if you get a FP that says "return at 8pm" and it's only 9am, you will be in the park for 10 hours without being able to get any other FPs. That is a major underutilization of time, especially on a short trip

We are planning 1 day at DCA and 1 day at Disneyland. I know some people say that isn't enough but we have a lot of other things planned for our time in California. Also, My husband and I could only handle 1 park per day when we went to WDW 9 years ago and we didn't have kids then. Our potential days are Wednesday August 15th to Monday August 20th. When would you choose to go in that time if it were you?
I'd probably go Wednesday, Thursday. If someone can confirm that Saturdays are less busy at that time, I'd then go Friday, Saturday

We are driving down from Saskatchewan Canada. Hitting seven states and visiting at least 4 national parks. Including the Grand Canyon. This trip is a huge undertaking and any bit of help is so appreciated.

See bold answers. Welcome and good luck

 

[KateDrake]

Hey, just wanted to clarify something PatrickinOregon said re: when you can get your next Fastpass. If you get a RSR FP and your return time isn't until 9 p.m., you will still be able to collect other FPs that day. The rule is that you can get a new FP when your window opens OR about two hours after you get your first FP, if the return time is later than that. So you could get RSR with a return time of 7 p.m., but you'd be able to collect another FP before noon.
Lots of people have also reported getting "bonus" FPs when they go to RSR, such as a FP to Grizzly River Run or Soarin'.
One other tip for DCA is that the FP machine for California Screamin' is disconnected from the rest of the system, so you can get a FP for it right away, without waiting for your window to open. Roger Rabbit is sometimes disconnected in DLR as well, so that will help you collect extra FPs.
Do you need help with the national parks section of your trip? I'm sure the DISers would be happy to help with planning those as well. Sounds like it will be a great trip!

 

[Patrick in Oregon]

Hey, just wanted to clarify something PatrickinOregon said re: when you can get your next Fastpass. If you get a RSR FP and your return time isn't until 9 p.m., you will still be able to collect other FPs that day. The rule is that you can get a new FP when your window opens OR about two hours after you get your first FP, if the return time is later than that.

Really? That's the first time I heard that one...that's handy to know.

 

[Girimama33]

Really? That's the first time I heard that one...that's handy to know.

Kate Drake is correct. You can obtain a new FP by either:
A) your FP return time opens up
B) Two hours after you obtained your last "Connected" FP

Check out the Superthread posted above for confirmation.

If FP worked the way you are suggesting, I wouldn't love it as much as I do.

OP - Based on reports this summer, it is advised to get RSR FP ASAP since they have been running out by noon on most days.

 

[ArchOwl]

Kate Drake is correct. You can obtain a new FP by either:
A) your FP return time opens up
B) Two hours after you obtained your last "Connected" FP

Check out the Superthread posted above for confirmation.

If FP worked the way you are suggesting, I wouldn't love it as much as I do.

OP - Based on reports this summer, it is advised to get RSR FP ASAP since they have been running out by noon on most days.

Yes, this is true. If you had to wait until the window opened up for your RSR FP, you would only be able to get a few FPs that day. If you are ever confused, just look at your FP, it will tell you when you are eligible for another FP.

See an example of that here in my picture:


You can also see that California Screamin' is disconnected, because I was able to hold two FPs at the same time. HTH!

 

[Trica]

Thanks for all the info guys! I think I get how FP's work now.

The national parks we are hoping to see are: Death Valley CA, The Grand Canyon AZ, Dead Horse UT, and Devil's Tower WY.

We are also making a short 2 night stop in Las Vegas.

We want to go to the beach in CA. We are considering going to Catalina Island but the boat prices seem a little pricey. We also want to see the hollywood sign and walk of fame. This is our first trip to the western United States!

Mu husband also noticed that WWE summer slam is in LA on the Saturday that we are there. Of course him and the kids are dying to go so they are keeping their eyes peeled on stub hub for reasonable tickets.

I just noticed they have the Jedi Training thing. My son is going to lose it with excitement. He has been the biggest star wars fan since his birth. lol. His room is even Star Wars themed. I saw the thread about the best way to be selected. VERY helpful. He has a dozen different Star Wars shirts, I'll just have to make sure he wears one that day.

 

[KateDrake]

Really? That's the first time I heard that one...that's handy to know.

You bet Patrick! Sharing our experiences is the best part of the DIS, right?

Sounds like you have a great trip planned Trica! I live in Utah and my DH is a big outdoors buff, so I've been to most of the parks you mentioned. PM me or start another thread if you want help with those. People here are so helpful, I'm sure you'll get a lot of responses, especially if you have specific questions.

If your son likes Star Wars, I'd recommend making Star Tours your first FP stop in Disneyland. It's still kind of new, so it often has a long line, though return times are more like early in the afternoon or late morning, vs. late at night! It's a great one for multiple rides, because there are a bunch of different scenes!

One other tip I just thought of that might help you is that the DCA and DLR FP systems are disconnected from each other. So you can head over to DCA, get a RSR FP and then walk over to Disneyland and get one for Star Tours or anything else you want to see, assuming you have park hopper tickets. You can even send one member of your party over to the other park with all the tickets to get FPs if you have all entered a park that day!

I love the beach at Catalina Island. My recommendation is to drive or take the ferry over to the Hotel del Coronado. They have a really nice beach that they groom so all the sea weed is out of the way, etc. It is open to the public, so you can use it even if you aren't staying at the hotel! And make sure you stop at the ice cream shop inside the hotel, it seriously has the best ice cream I've ever tasted, at least here in the USA.
Hope you have a great trip!