On Your Disneymoon: Fast Pass - Is it worth it?

[MermaidLife]

I thought about posting this in the main 'Tips/Planning' forum but IMO I think it's a bit different when you're planning your Disneymoon (no kids, more laid-back).

So I've been reading about this whole FP thing for 2 months now here. The last time I was at WDW there was no FP system so this is all new to me.

I've been to WDW once during a peak season and while the sign to a ride said "50 minutes" we knew it would really only be about 30-40. Does this still generally apply?

We have our 1 or 2 rides at AK, HS, and Epcot that we will make priority but at MK we were just going to walk around and go on rides as we find them. Also the day we are going the park is a Monday and open til 1am (not EMH) so we figured what we can't ride during the day we can after the 9pm show when most the families leave; or during one of the parade times. Do you think this is realistic?

I guess I just keep reading stories about people running from ride to ride and collecting these FP and then planning their entire day down to the minute. Not very romance-inspiring or relaxing IMO.

For those on a Disneymoon do you think this is the way to go (the FP planning)? Or can a couple have just as an enjoyable a time the way my DH and I have planned? I'm really kinda getting anxious that if we don't do the FP thing we will have to wait for 2 hours for every single thing.

(P.S. If we happen to be blessed with some FP from CMs we definitely will be happy to use them. *Go Bridal Ears!* LOL)

 

[Chilly]

I thought about posting this in the main 'Tips/Planning' forum but IMO I think it's a bit different when you're planning your Disneymoon (no kids, more laid-back).

So I've been reading about this whole FP thing for 2 months now here. The last time I was at WDW there was no FP system so this is all new to me.

I've been to WDW once during a peak season and while the sign to a ride said "50 minutes" we knew it would really only be about 30-40. Does this still generally apply?

We have our 1 or 2 rides at AK, HS, and Epcot that we will make priority but at MK we were just going to walk around and go on rides as we find them. Also the day we are going the park is a Monday and open til 1am (not EMH) so we figured what we can't ride during the day we can after the 9pm show when most the families leave; or during one of the parade times. Do you think this is realistic?

I guess I just keep reading stories about people running from ride to ride and collecting these FP and then planning their entire day down to the minute. Not very romance-inspiring or relaxing IMO.

For those on a Disneymoon do you think this is the way to go (the FP planning)? Or can a couple have just as an enjoyable a time the way my DH and I have planned? I'm really kinda getting anxious that if we don't do the FP thing we will have to wait for 2 hours for every single thing.

(P.S. If we happen to be blessed with some FP from CMs we definitely will be happy to use them. *Go Bridal Ears!* LOL)

The time guides for the lines are pretty accurate.

If you want to ride TSM then you pretty much have to run like a mad man to the ride first thing in the morning before the queue gets silly and the FPs go within a couple of hours.

We don't get lots of FPs but you might as well get them while you are passing a ride because then you can spend time relaxing in the park rather than queuing up.

 

[Clareathon]

FP is great! The best way to use them without driving yourself nuts is to get a FP first thing for one of the hot rides (like Toy Story Mania), then ride other hot rides (like Tower of Terror or Rock'n Rollercoaster) until your window opens up. One thing to note is that Disney is starting to enforce the FP window written on your ticket, and they never used to do this. Formerly, you could use the FP anytime after the start of the window (so if it said "1 PM to 2 PM", you could really go anytime after 1 PM, even if it was several hours later). Now they are trying to enforce the window a bit more strictly, which complicates the FP plans. easywdw . com has an article about "fastpass enforcement" that you may want to read before you make a decision!

 

[sambycat]

Laid back or no, you don't have to freak out over planning to use fast pass. It doesn't hurt you to grab one if available other than affecting when you can grab another. We use them but we don't plan our vacations around them honeymoon or not. Toy story is one that I don't even bother with without a fast pass. That and soarin'.

 

[MrsDrewsky]

I usually plan our trips, I know it might sound kind of intense to do so, but really I find it makes for a more relaxing trip once we're there. Instead of trying to figure out where to go next, we just look at our plans, and stroll on over. I personally don't like waiting in lines more than 15 minutes, so some planning is a must for our trips.

All we really do is subscribe to touringplans.com and use their iphone app. The day we're at the park we'll pull up the plan for the park we're in and go from there, and they post the wait times for the day so that allowed us to not have to run around. I think a little planning is a must, but you don't have to necessarily be a park commando.

 

[MermaidLife]

Thanks Everyone! TSM and Soarin' were among our "must do" list so we'll be sure to get to them first-thing or get a FP.

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Thanks Everyone! TSM and Soarin' were among our "must do" list so we'll be sure to get to them first-thing or get a FP.

Or, if you're there early, you can grab a fp AND jump in line. That way you get to ride it twice with minimal wait.

 

[Jilian]

Just wanted to add that you cannot get tons of fast passes at once. You can get a new fast pass every 2 hours or 5 minutes after your current pass is valid - whichever comes first. We have kids and don't like to ever wait more than 20 mins so we use fast passes for the popular rides (Everest, Space Mountain, Toy Story Mania) and ride a less popular ride while we wait to be able to use the fast pass. That way we do more rides with less waiting.

 

[redshirt]

so we figured what we can't ride during the day we can after the 9pm show when most the families leave; or during one of the parade times. Do you think this is realistic?

From my experience the last few hours the parks are open are almost the worse. Everyone is trying to cram in a few more rides before it's time to go. I think the BEST way to fit in rides you missed is taking advantage of the magic after hours if you are staying on-site (sorry if that's what you meant) Parade times seem to be hit or miss depending on the ride. I've missed many a parade and not noticed a difference in lines.

We were one of the people to make a mad dash for Toy Story Mania FP's. Literally ran to the line at park open, and the FP line was all the way down past the little mermaid. So instead of waiting we went ahead and got in line. 20 minutes later we're on the ride cause everyone's in the FP line. THEN when we got off the ride and the FP line was empty and we snagged 3 FP's. (don't tell anyone that's how to do it ) lol

 

[herb102211]

It depends on what time of the year you’re going. If its during one of the peak times (summer, school breaks), then yes, I would definitely use FastPass for certain rides, like TSM, Tower of Terrror, Mt Everest, Soarin, and Aerosmith Rock n Roller Coaster. The fastpasses for TSM and Soarin’ generally are “sold out” for the day by noon. The standby wait for both of those rides can be 3 hrs (We just came back from our March trip which hardly had any crowds and the standby wait at Soarin’ one day was almost 3 hours). We had a fastpass and were on the ride in about 20 minutes. So they are definitely worth it!

We were on our Disneymoon last October so the crowds were pretty minimal. We only fastpassed Soarin and TSM.

If there are 1 or 2 attractions you know you definitely want to go on then get the fastpass for those. I certainly wouldn’t fastpass everything as you’ll be running from ride to ride and won’t get to experience much else.

If you don't get to everything, its an excuse to come back to WDW again

 

[MermaidLife]

Thanks! =)

LEAVING TONIGHT FOR WDW!!!!!!!!!!