Question about Fastpass...

[Somegirl]

I tried to find this info myself but I haven't found it. My question is....Are there a finite number of Fastpasses given out during the day? As in the machine can run out by 3 in afternoon if the park is super busy.
We are going June 21-24 which seems to be a busy week. I've never gone in the summer before, well not since 1977, but my husband has a convention to attend so we are tagging along.
Anyway, i'm sure my daughter and I will have no problem collecting FPs during the day but I'm hoping to use them in the evening when my husband and come with us to the park.
Thank you for your help.

 

[Raindown]

Yes, if you stop and look at the fast pass return time sign you can see it ticking away as passes are distributed. Thus, eventually there are no more passes.

 

[basketballmom]

Your husband will have to activate his own ticket in the morning for you to get a fastpass for him. He can walk into the park and then turn around and walk out if he needs to, but he has to actually enter the park. Also, after the ticket is activated in ONE park, you can get fastpasses in BOTH parks.

 

[Somegirl]

So how often do they run out of FPs by say 6pm? Does it have to be crazy busy day (like the park is at max capacity) or just your average busy summer day?
I've heard some people say that you can use an FP after your allotted time, but I'm not sure about that because I've never tried.

 

[skiingfast]

When you get fast passes you use your park ticket. So to get one for your husband you will need his ticket. I don't know but the ticket may also need to be processed at the front gate. It's possible the fast pass stations won't give out passes to non active tickets.

 

[Somegirl]

Thanks BBmom. He will go in the park Monday afternoon so his ticket will be ready to go. I figured before my dd and I leave the park before meeting him at the hotel we'd collect an FP in Dland and an FP in DCA with all our tickets. I'm just hoping the FPs aren't all gone by then!

 

[HydroGuy]

When you get fast passes you use your park ticket. So to get one for your husband you will need his ticket. I don't know but the ticket may also need to be processed at the front gate. It's possible the fast pass stations won't give out passes to non active tickets.

it is not only possible it is definite. You cannot use your husband's ticket to get FPs until he enters one of the parks.

 

[HydroGuy]

Thanks BBmom. He will go in the park Monday afternoon so his ticket will be ready to go. I figured before my dd and I leave the park before meeting him at the hotel we'd collect an FP in Dland and an FP in DCA with all our tickets. I'm just hoping the FPs aren't all gone by then!

It depends on the ride and the day. On really busy days the FPs for popular rides will be gone by 2-3 PM. Like Space Mtn, Splash Mtn, Indiana Jones. Even if you can snag one at say 1PM, the return window may not be until 10PM that night. FPs for some rides will still be available into the evening. Like BTMRR, BLAB, CA Screamin.

On moderately busy days - like mid-summer when APs are blocked - the popular FPs will be available a little longer. Maybe until 3-5PM.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

You should take a peak at HydroGuy's tips ~

FASTPASS AT DLR

"Getting the Most Out of FastPass During High Season" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=885132

"FastPass for Dummies and Smarties - A Photographic Explanation" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1186052

"Which Fast Pass First?" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1107718 (see my post #4 in that thread)

"Strategies For Using DL and DCA Opening Time Differences to Collect More Fastpasses"
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1553197

I did not author this next thread, but I reference it in so many of my other tips that I decided to include it here. It is a sticky thread on MiceChat, and is kept up to date by the author, Darkbeer. It is the Bible of FASTPASS.

"The Joy of FASTPASS - details and secrets" www.micechat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5720

Taken from this post ~
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=19810752&postcount=1

 

[Somegirl]

Thank you so much for all the replies. So we could get 3 FPs with our activated tickets at say 1 or 2 pm that don't have return times until say 7 or so when my husband can come back into the park. I understand that it's a bit of a crap shoot as to what we can expect on any given day but this gives me and idea of what it could be like.
June isn't my first choice for a trip but since work will be paying for some of the room cost beggars can't be choosers.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

I've heard some people say that you can use an FP after your allotted time, but I'm not sure about that because I've never tried.

Yes, this is true. The FP can be used anytime after your return time.

 

[HydroGuy]

Thank you so much for all the replies. So we could get 3 FPs with our activated tickets at say 1 or 2 pm that don't have return times until say 7 or so when my husband can come back into the park. I understand that it's a bit of a crap shoot as to what we can expect on any given day but this gives me and idea of what it could be like.
June isn't my first choice for a trip but since work will be paying for some of the room cost beggars can't be choosers.

Not really. When you get a FP you must wait at least 40 minutes up to 2 hours before you can get another. If you are trying to get FPs for popular rides like Space Mtn or Indy it will be 2 hours by the afternoon (it is only 45 minutes in the morning). So if you enter at 1 or 2PM you will only be able to get a single FP for a popular ride like Space Mtn and maybe another for a popular ride at 3 or 4PM. The windows for use will be late at night at 9-11PM.

If you go for the less popular FPs like BTMRR and BLAB it will not be so bad and you can get 2 or 3 then.

Read the links DisneyMomma provided to learn more.

 

[Hound 109]

Thank you so much for all the replies. So we could get 3 FPs with our activated tickets at say 1 or 2 pm that don't have return times until say 7 or so when my husband can come back into the park. I understand that it's a bit of a crap shoot as to what we can expect on any given day but this gives me and idea of what it could be like.
June isn't my first choice for a trip but since work will be paying for some of the room cost beggars can't be choosers.

Read the FP links above & alot of this will start to make sense....& it makes for good reading.

What would prevent the 3 of you entering at 8am? (& then after hubby turns around & leaves, the two of you can tour & collect FPs for 2-3 hours in the early AM when DL is at it's best?)

Why are you waiting until 1pm to enter?

 

[S. S. Columbia]

... i'm sure my daughter and I will have no problem collecting FPs during the day but I'm hoping to use them in the evening when my husband comes with us to the park.

This is just a suggestion.

If your husband cannot activate his ticket at 8:00am,

then you and your daughter could collect FPs this way:

8:05am: Get 2 FPs at Space Mtn
8:50am: Get 1 FP at Space Mtn
10:30am?: Get 2 FPs at Splash or Indiana Jones
12:00pm?: Get 1 FP at Splash or Indiana Jones

Early-afternoon: If FP wait-times aren't too bad, repeat this for BTMRR?

3:00pm?: With husband's ticket, get 3 FPs for BLAB

(The above times are just wild guesstimates.)

Hope this helps.

 

[Somegirl]

Wow you guys are pros at this! thanks for the help.
This is our plan: We arrive around 3pm Mon. the 21st. We will all go into the park all 3 of us at around 5pm and stay 'til closing. My DD and I will do MM on Tuesday and tour the parks, trust me , we aren't waiting until 1! We'll be up with bells on!
If it feels extra busy that day I'll try to collect some FPs with all our tickets for the evening in that afternoon. I'm sure my DD and I will use some FPs throughout the day as well.
When my DH is done with work stuff we'll meet at the hotel, take a short break and then go to the parks together, hopefully with an FP for Dland and DCA.
We'll do the same routine Weds. minus MM. He doesn't plan on working Thurs. morning so we can all go to the parks for a bit before hotel chaeckout of we feel we need to.

 

[jernysgirl]

If it feels extra busy that day I'll try to collect some FPs with all our tickets for the evening in that afternoon. I'm sure my DD and I will use some FPs throughout the day as well.
When my DH is done with work stuff we'll meet at the hotel, take a short break and then go to the parks together, hopefully with an FP for Dland and DCA.
We'll do the same routine Weds. minus MM. He doesn't plan on working Thurs. morning so we can all go to the parks for a bit before hotel chaeckout of we feel we need to.

Just so you are aware, as a PP stated, your husband's ticket must be scanned before you get a fastpass w/ his ticket. This rule applies to every new day, not just once in a trip. So.... if you wanted to collect FPs for Tuesday and Wednesday before your DH gets there, you could only do so with yours and your DD's tickets, unless your DH comes into the park and then turns around and leaves to go do his work stuff.

 

[Eeee-va]

This is just a suggestion.

If your husband cannot activate his ticket at 8:00am,

then you and your daughter could collect FPs this way:

8:05am: Get 2 FPs at Space Mtn
8:50am: Get 1 FP at Space Mtn
10:30am?: Get 2 FPs at Splash or Indiana Jones
12:00pm?: Get 1 FP at Splash or Indiana Jones

Early-afternoon: If FP wait-times aren't too bad, repeat this for BTMRR?

3:00pm?: With husband's ticket, get 3 FPs for BLAB

(The above times are just wild guesstimates.)

Hope this helps.

I'm pretty sure that you cannot officially "hold" FPs for the same ride on the same ticket. (see S.S. Columbia's post below for, you know, truth ) So let's say you get a Splash Mountain FP with your ticket at 8:50 AM with a return time of 12:00 PM, and then try to get a second one at 10:50 AM. You get an error FP ticket that says that you already have a FP for this ride. FP is basically "virtually" standing in line, and you can't stand in line for the same ride twice.

But you CAN get a second Splash FP after you are allowed to ride. Disney does not know that you're holding a Space FP in your pocket, so the system assumes you rode at 12:00 PM, and you can get a new FP then.

If you're up for walking, what I would do to get the most FPs for your whole family would be a variation of:

(edited for truth)
8:05am: Get 2 FPs at Space Mtn

8:50am (or whenever your Space Mountain window opens): Get 1 FP at Space with 1 ticket and 1 at Splash or Indy with the other ticket

10:50am: Get 2 FPs for Splash or Indy with your tickets, provided you are able to. If your return time for Splash/Indy has not yet hit, then I would probably just get 1 FP for Splash or Indy (with the ticket that doesn't already have a FP for that) and get the 3rd FP when your first Splash/Indy return time hits. Or else, wait until the return time hits to get your two FPs (to avoid walking so much). Confusing enough????

(If it's a hot day, I think Splash Mountain's FPs will probably go faster than Space Mountain's but don't quote me there. That said, if you want to ride Splash Mountain late at night--say, 11 PM--the line is usually short because most people prefer to get wet when the sun is out and it's hot.)

12:50pm: Get 2 FPs for Big Thunder Mountain or Buzz or whatever you want

You can switch the order around but the point is to get 2 full "sets" of FPs before noon, even if the park is super-busy.

These windows may be a bit pessimistic but I do think the big FPs probably be all gone by the time your fifth window opens, even if it's as early as 2. (If you're going to take mid-afternoon breaks you'll be leaving then anyway, right?)

DCA would work similarly, assuming you all want to ride all those rides. I'm not sure Tower of Terror's FP machines will be running in June; I'd heard rumors they'd be closed.

I know the pros say to avoid riding the big rides early in the morning, but I can never resist an 8:05 am spin on Space Mountain. Even the FP lines for Space will likely be at least 5-10 minutes later in the day, so if it's a 5 minute wait (which often means walk-on), it might be worth just riding if it's a priority, especially since you'll be giving up some of your own FPs so you'll have fewer opportunities to ride it. Indy is another ride where the FP line tends to be 10 minutes, so it's not always bad to ride it early if you want to do it more than once in the day.

Have a great trip!

 

[sonnyjane]

I'm pretty sure that you cannot officially "hold" FPs for the same ride on the same ticket...

But you CAN get a second Space FP after you are allowed to ride.

Correct!

 

[Eeee-va]

Oh, and I missed your other post. I would recommend that you DO go to the parks on Thursday morning if you're at all up for it. The park is completely different at 8:05 AM than it is at 6 PM, and if your husband gets frustrated by the crowds he should find it completely different on Thursday morning.

Have a great trip!

 

[S. S. Columbia]

I'm pretty sure that you cannot officially "hold" FPs for the same ride on the same ticket.. So let's say you get a Space FP with your ticket at 8:05 AM with a return time of 9:30 AM, and then try to get a second one at 8:50 AM. You get an error FP ticket that says that you already have a FP for this ride. FP is basically "virutally" standing in line, and you can't stand in line for the same ride twice.

But you CAN get a second Space FP after you are allowed to ride.

If you get a Space FP at 8:05am, then it's possible for the Return Time to be 8:50am to 9:50am.

I think that you can get another FP for the same ride at the start of the Return Time -- in this example, 8:50am.

Are you saying that if the Return Time for Space is 9:30am to 10:30am, then you can get another Space FP at 9:30am? (If your answer is "yes," then I agree.)

If the Return Time is 9:30am to 10:30am, why would someone try to get another FP at 8:50am? You lost me there.

Here's another example:
Are you saying that if someone gets a Space FP in the mid-morning, and the Return Time is 4:00pm to 5:00pm, then in theory the next time that person could get another Space FP (using the same ticket) would be at 4:00pm? (If your answer is "yes," then I agree.)