Park hopping which fast passes would you get?

[dminnie]

I'm trying to decide which fast passes to get for one of the days on our upcoming trip. AK and HS are not our favorite parks(although I like them both more than the other people in my family!), but we've added this day in where we'll hop at both of them. It will be a very full day: We'll be at AK for EMH, then Epcot for dinner, then HS for the evening. At first, I was going to do HS fast passes, but I'm wondering if I should just do AK ones and then hope to get the rides we want at HS later...maybe get one fast pass for there on that day after we've used the AK ones.

Originally, we were going to go to AK for EMH and do the following: Flight of passage, na'vi river journey, expedition everest, Lion King show, lunch at Sattu'll Canteen before leaving park. Then to Epcot or our hotel for a rest before our 4pm ADR at Epcot, followed by a 5:30 concert there. We probably won't get to HS until around 7. There we want to ride Star Wars and Toy Story before seeing the 9 pm Star Wars fireworks show. I was going to fastpass the HS rides.

Does that plan make sense...or should I get the fast passes for AK, with the hope that I can get another fastpass for HS after I use the AK ones and hoping the wait won't be too long at HS for the couple of rides we want to do? Also, to get the 4th fast pass after I've used the 3, do I have to physically be in HS?
This is for a Monday in late March.

 

[Klayfish]

I would FP everything. Use your 3 at AK during mid to late morning, after doing what you can at EMH. Then as soon as you tap into your last FP+ at AK, grab Toy Story immediately. You do not need to be in HS to get a 4th, 5th, etc...it's on an app, so you can be anywhere. Or you can ride TSMM right before fireworks, the line drops to next to nothing.

 

[dminnie]

I would FP everything. Use your 3 at AK during mid to late morning, after doing what you can at EMH. Then as soon as you tap into your last FP+ at AK, grab Toy Story immediately. You do not need to be in HS to get a 4th, 5th, etc...it's on an app, so you can be anywhere. Or you can ride TSMM right before fireworks, the line drops to next to nothing.

Thanks. I think it makes sense to do what you're saying. Even with the EMH, I'm concerned we might miss some of the things we want to do there. Hopefully, we'll still be able to do what we want at HS.

 

[ChristineOH]

If you're onsite and think you could get a FP for FoP, that's what I'd do. RD Na'vi, FP FoP, FP Safari (if you want to do this?) FP EE, then backtrack to do FotLK and lunch. Rope drop will be much less stressful if you're going for Na'vi and not FoP.

I personally hate having my FP tied up later in the day. I really like the flexibility of being able to get FP throughout the day, move stuff around, etc.

You could also just schedule a FP for FoP. Then RD Na'vi, head over to EE before the line builds there. Come back to do FoP with FP, and after you scan in for that, schedule your second FP at Epcot and your third at DHS. I've done that, but scheduling the 2nd and 3rd FP at the same park, but from what I've read, they don't have to be at the same park. After FoP, you can do lunch and the FotLK in whatever order makes sense before heading out.

 

[dminnie]

If you're onsite and think you could get a FP for FoP, that's what I'd do. RD Na'vi, FP FoP, FP Safari (if you want to do this?) FP EE, then backtrack to do FotLK and lunch. Rope drop will be much less stressful if you're going for Na'vi and not FoP.

I personally hate having my FP tied up later in the day. I really like the flexibility of being able to get FP throughout the day, move stuff around, etc.

You could also just schedule a FP for FoP. Then RD Na'vi, head over to EE before the line builds there. Come back to do FoP with FP, and after you scan in for that, schedule your second FP at Epcot and your third at DHS. I've done that, but scheduling the 2nd and 3rd FP at the same park, but from what I've read, they don't have to be at the same park. After FoP, you can do lunch and the FotLK in whatever order makes sense before heading out.

I thought that you had to make all 3 choices at one park, use them all...and then you could do another at another park. So I could just do FoP and EE, use them before making one for one of the rides at HS? That would work pretty well. Everyone is telling me that they don't want to do the safari ride, so I wasn't going to get one for that. I wonder if I should get it for that as my 3rd just in case they change their minds by then...If they still don't want to ride it, could I cancel it that day and make the new one for a ride at HS? (We are just having dinner and watching a concert at Epcot, so no need for any fastpasses there that day)

Thanks for your help...I can't seem to find anything on-line that really explains the in and outs of using fastpasses at more than one park.

 

[ChristineOH]

https://www.disboards.com/threads/f...al-tier-1-booking-fps-for-long-stays.3538258/

Read the fourth post down on Park Hopping.

I think if you actually schedule the Safari, you either have to scan in for it or wait for it to expire before booking a FP at another park. It only works if you don't pre-schedule all three. That wouldn't be a huge deal either way for your plan though. I'd try to talk them into the Safari... that's kind of "the" AK ride, right?

 

[dminnie]

https://www.disboards.com/threads/f...al-tier-1-booking-fps-for-long-stays.3538258/

Read the fourth post down on Park Hopping.

I think if you actually schedule the Safari, you either have to scan in for it or wait for it to expire before booking a FP at another park. It only works if you don't pre-schedule all three. That wouldn't be a huge deal either way for your plan though. I'd try to talk them into the Safari... that's kind of "the" AK ride, right?

Thank you! That link is very helpful. I don't think I will schedule the Safari...even though it is "the" ride there! We've been on it several times and a couple people in the family seem sure they don't want to again. I'm scheduling the fastpasses tomorrow morning and I think they are all tired of me asking them what they want to do in 2 months! We just decided a couple weeks ago to go on the trip and all they've heard about from me has been resorts, ADRs and fastpasses!

 

[srwarden1928]

My general rule of fastpasses when parkhopping is simple: If I have any intention of riding FOP on the parkhopping day, the fastpasses are in AK, including FOP. If I DO NOT plan to ride FOP on the parkhopping day, I fastpass MK. Depending on what I plan to ride in MK, my fastpasses there can vary (but almost always include Peter Pan). Yes I understand the wait for SDMT is worse than PP, but sometimes I choose not to ride SDMT that day. I RARELY choose not to ride PP.

 

[ChristineOH]

Thank you! That link is very helpful. I don't think I will schedule the Safari...even though it is "the" ride there! We've been on it several times and a couple people in the family seem sure they don't want to again. I'm scheduling the fastpasses tomorrow morning and I think they are all tired of me asking them what they want to do in 2 months! We just decided a couple weeks ago to go on the trip and all they've heard about from me has been resorts, ADRs and fastpasses!

Oh, my, isn't that the truth. When you're the planner, you ask a million questions, because you want to everyone to have fun, but most people don't want to think about all that so early. And if they've never been before, it's hard for them to understand what to expect.
Sometimes my husband will say, "Why didn't we...?" And I'll just give him a look, because he always tells me to do whatever I want when I go into planning mode, which isn't always helpful. Hope all went well the FP this morning!

 

[dminnie]

Oh, my, isn't that the truth. When you're the planner, you ask a million questions, because you want to everyone to have fun, but most people don't want to think about all that so early. And if they've never been before, it's hard for them to understand what to expect.
Sometimes my husband will say, "Why didn't we...?" And I'll just give him a look, because he always tells me to do whatever I want when I go into planning mode, which isn't always helpful. Hope all went well the FP this morning!

It did go well this morning! I got all the fast passes we wanted, at pretty close to the times I wanted. I just got FoP and EE for AK, so I'll try to schedule Toy Story at HS, after we use one of them that day. I think we really have a good plan to do all the things we want to do that week. I'm not going to try to resist planning out every minute, since that will just drive everyone nuts! I can't wait to spend that week with our kids!

 

[ChristineOH]

It did go well this morning! I got all the fast passes we wanted, at pretty close to the times I wanted. I just got FoP and EE for AK, so I'll try to schedule Toy Story at HS, after we use one of them that day. I think we really have a good plan to do all the things we want to do that week. I'm not going to try to resist planning out every minute, since that will just drive everyone nuts! I can't wait to spend that week with our kids!

Yay!
The plan isn't always as important as all the things you learn that allow you to change the plan if needed. Have a great trip!