Okay. I give up.

[AmyBeth68]

Also I've tried to give people waiting in the stand-by line my fast passes if I knew I didn't have time to use them and some have looked at me like I was nuts. Like, "What is that?". Bizarre.

I KNOW!! That is sooo weird. We had four FPs for Splash Mtn that we ended up not using. The standby line was over an hour long and we asked several people if they wanted them....they all said NO!?!?! SOOOOO weird. My DH and I were actually in disbelief....we finally said forget it. Tried to be nice.... . It's one of those mysteries of life!

 

[marthachick]

SHHH! We're going in 8 days-the less people know, the better for us! (Just teasing, of course!)

We're going in 70 days. Hope they don't learn by then either!

 

[AbbysFamily]

We're due to go in about 70 days too!!!
And as for not learning it by then.... Well I wouldn't be too concerned. We learned our lesson last trip (3 years ago). We didn't FP the AK safari because the standby line was under 30 min according to the sign right away in the morning.... 45 minutes or so later we decided to FP anything we could. The rest of the trip - If it had a FP, we tried to use it.

The only thing that didn't get FP was my BIL and I ran over one afternoon to do Test Track. FP were way gone, but we went singles line and was in pretty quick. (Can't do that this time - our little princess is looking forward to TT and too small to do alone - so FP here we come!)

 

[lllovell]

We aren't park commandos and always use fast pass where we can. (However on our first trip, we did screw up and not check the return time and blew our Fps for the whole day because it was 6 hours until we could return. I didnt realize we could have traded them for another FP - live and learn). That said, we have small children and if we aren't waiting in line for a ride or having a snack, they are bored and restless. It works out better for us to be IN line for something else, while holding a FP for a different attraction simply to keep them entertained. We often do this in Fantasyland early in the day and find we can ride everything so quickly! That said, if the line were 90 minutes, no way! We will be back at some point and will catch it then.

That said - I have tried to give away unused fast passes before and people refuse. Its just crazy, I agree and does show that most people don't have a clue about the system. We took some friends with us last trip and they were amazed at how much we got done each day! I love sharing my knowledge with our traveling companions and enjoying a laid back trip.

 

[anabelle]

We were there in June with my parents. I had a plan that included me as the FP volunteer. We walked on every ride. My mom could not believe the difference in her two trips. Now my mom came with us the first time we went to Disney. Every line was an eternity. When you go to a place like WDW the first time, it can be completely overwhelming. We had no idea what to do. Every picture of my husband on our first trip was him looking at the map. It was kind of funny and sad at the time.

 

[Raevyn_Wolfe]

I too believe the world is full of stupid people.
But, like others have mentioned, I don't automatically assume the people in standby are stupid. . . . I just ask myself, "why". And I can understand a majority of the "smart" reasons to be in the standby. . . . although none of them fit me at all. I simply HATE lines and avoid anything over 20 minutes like the plague.

The people that get me are the ones others too have complained about. I've gotten WAY to many evil looks, snarls, rude comments, etc. I've had people jump the line behind me, seeing me and other people moving so much faster. I've been behind arguments about needing a fast pass to use that line.
And whatever you want to call it: stupid, simple, misunderstanding. . . . . . I really do pity those people who don't take the time to read, and educate themselves.
THOSE are the people that make me shake my head.

 

[tlbwriter]

But contrary to this thread, one is not a loser, ignorant, etc. if you choose to wait in a line.

Many people don't use FP because they don't know what it is or how it works, or they assume they're not eligible. Those people are, by definition, ignorant (because ignorant means "uninformed," not "stupid"). I always assumed a lot of people did both - use FP when they can, and stand in line when they have to.

 

[Greg K.]

We were there in June with my parents. I had a plan that included me as the FP volunteer. We walked on every ride. My mom could not believe the difference in her two trips. Now my mom came with us the first time we went to Disney. Every line was an eternity. When you go to a place like WDW the first time, it can be completely overwhelming. We had no idea what to do. Every picture of my husband on our first trip was him looking at the map. It was kind of funny and sad at the time.

Same story here! We took my inlaws to WDW last month, their first trip there in about 20 years (and their first time staying on property). With a little planning, and a lot of Fast Passes, we kept their wait time to a minimum and had a wonderful time. My father in law even said at one point that he had been DREADING the trip, because everyone he knows who's been to WDW comes home EXHAUSTED. But my inlaws were relaxed and refreshed and happy .

He's telling all his friends to ONLY visit WDW with his daughter and her husband. "They've got it down to a science," he said in amazement (and gratitude).

 

[LoveWDW]

I agree about the lack of planning. Lots of people admit that they don't WANT to have to study and plan ahead for a vacation - they just want to show up. A WDW vacation is a pretty hard one to just "show up" for.

The first evening we were at YC, I was talking to a guy who had just arrived - hadn't hit any parks yet. We were chatting in the hot tub, and he said that he had heard that there was something you could buy where you could go to the front of the line. Here he was, at WDW, paying a whole lot of $$ to stay at YC, and didn't know that FP was free. I told him all about it, but who knows if he used it.

Also, I won't get into judging people's intelligence, but as a lawyer, I can relate to the tax accountant's comments on page 1 of this thread. Intelligent or unitelligent, LOTS of people hate to read and attend to details. When I was a young lawyer, one of the partners told me "People pay us to read because they don't like to." It's true with taxes and legal documents AND with vacation planning. Lots of people don't want to expend more effort than they have to in any aspect of their lives.

I have been enjoying planning and dreaming, and studying these boards. But I am starting to wonder if maybe I am not doing enough actual planning. We aren't interested in most of the high volume rides, but do plan to see Haunted Mansion, the new stunt show, the Lion King show, so we'll try to get to these first and get FP if available. Since I don't plan to do most of the busiest rides, am I going to be OK to just have a general idea of what we want to do, or should I do as I have seen people planning, hurry to get FP, then go to other rides, all organized? Am I going to lose out if I don't?

 

[Jen D]

I agree that some people might already be holding fastpasses. We've often gotten into standby lines while waiting on our FP time. I've never get into a line with a 90 minute post time... but I have gotten into a Splash Mountain standby line with a 15 minute wait time posted, waited 35-40 minutes for the ride, and gotten off to see the wait time had been increased to over an hour. So you can't really make assumptions about the planning skills of the people in line... although I know there are peope who don't know about, or don't use Fast Pass (some people seem sure there is a "catch.")

I don't think I've ever given any FPers breezing by me a nasty look.. although on a partiularly hot day I might have been guilty of a long, unthinking stare full of naked jealousy...

 

[polarboi]

I have been enjoying planning and dreaming, and studying these boards. But I am starting to wonder if maybe I am not doing enough actual planning. We aren't interested in most of the high volume rides, but do plan to see Haunted Mansion, the new stunt show, the Lion King show, so we'll try to get to these first and get FP if available. Since I don't plan to do most of the busiest rides, am I going to be OK to just have a general idea of what we want to do, or should I do as I have seen people planning, hurry to get FP, then go to other rides, all organized? Am I going to lose out if I don't?

Don't stress out about it. There is no need to plan every moment of your day, and if you do, you're likely to be so focused on rushing to the next attraction that you totally forget to enjoy the environment you're in!

Here's what I suggest for you in terms of pre-trip planning: Look at the attractions for each park you're planning to visit, and decide which attractions you're most interested in seeing. (It sounds like you may already have done this.) Of these, find out which ones tend to have the longest lines, and make plans to go to those attractions first to get FastPasses.

Once you're holding your first FastPass of the day, just relax and feel free to make plans on the spur of the moment based on how you're feeling and the posted wait times for the attractions you want to see.

When I go, I never plan moment-by-moment, but I avoid almost all of the long lines. When I get to an attraction that has a longer line than I want to wait in, I just get a FastPass and do something else for a while.

People who want to maximize their time on the most popular attractions may cross-cross the park to rush from popular attraction to popular attraction, especially during the crowded times of year. But if you're not trying to see everything, don't plan to do all the popular attractions, and especially if you aren't going during a crowded time of year, you can really take it easy.

It never hurts to know which attractions will get the busiest, because that helps you make smart choices about where you want to head first, but you really don't need to plan beyond that, in my opinion.

Sorry this was a bit off-topic, but it is still about FastPass strategy.

-p.b.

 

[GF Girl]

I do know that many of those people that wait in the long lines do not have Park Hoppers. You have to have this option on your ticket in order to get a FP.
And some who might have already gotten a FP within that hour (can't get 2). So they chose a near by attraction to wait in line for to kill the hour they have to wait to ride the FP attraction.

 

[a Really Bad Egg]

I'm wondering why so many people would be so concerned why some people would stand in a line.

Quick, let's all get a fastpass to another thread!

 

[SomePixiedust]

I do know that many of those people that wait in the long lines do not have Park Hoppers. You have to have this option on your ticket in order to get a FP.

Sorry, that is not true--just don't want anyone to be misinformed. We FP'd EVERYTHING and we did not have Park Hoppers...this was 10 days ago.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I'm wondering why so many people would be so concerned why some people would stand in a line.

I'd rather people wait in the standby line instead of blocking the fastpass entrance waiting for their return time to open up.

 

[mickeymousemom]

I do know that many of those people that wait in the long lines do not have Park Hoppers. You have to have this option on your ticket in order to get a FP.
And some who might have already gotten a FP within that hour (can't get 2). So they chose a near by attraction to wait in line for to kill the hour they have to wait to ride the FP attraction.

ANYONE who has a ticket to get into the parks can use Fastpass...its for everyone..I too don't want anyone to be misinformed....

 

[babiesX2]

please excuse the lack of properness -- i am holding one of my babies and only have one free hand.

one year my dh and i had fp's for test track that we decided not to use. we tried giving them away, but no one would take them. one couple asked us what was wrong with them. most acted like we were trying to give away nuclear waste. we finally just left them on the fp dispenser.

 

[senecabeach]

So many people wander into the parks in their own little bubble...

And what a "Magical" experience they must be having...

.......leisurely taking the time to ..."Smell the Roses"

 

[disneyjunkie]

And what a "Magical" experience they must be having...

.......leisurely taking the time to ..."Smell the Roses"

Smell the roses!!?? Why would I spend $$$$$ for a trip to WDW just to smell the roses?

I can smell the roses in Brooklyn for free.

I don't think there's a right or wrong way to do the parks. We all do what works best for our families.

 

[senecabeach]

disneyjunkie... Absolutely right...people DO WDW in their own way. Guess your too young to understand the "smell the roses" concept. Too bad

While it might be true that some people don't know about FP or choose not to use it, that doesn't make them stupid or foolish. We sometimes uses FP when it suits us and other times we choose the standby line -- either to relax or to watch the pre-ride show or just people-watch. Unless you know those individuals in the standby line, don't make assumptions about our intelligence/knowledge.

Yepper!!!