Secret to fastpass success?

[MaryKatesMom]

I wish I had know they would take expired fast passes!

My husband was meeting me in MGM at 12:30 (he had a conference) and I was sooo proud because I used all of my tickets and was presenting him with 4 fp's - 2 for Tot and 2 for RnR. I really wanted him to have some fun right away but they expired by 1:15.

Of course he met me right at 1:15 and we threw them out thinking they were no good! Aaargh. I circled the park for hours waiting for those return times and was heartbroken thinking he didn't get his "turn" for a good time.

I'll know next time! Thank you disboard!

 

[TTFN]

One small bit of strategy....a few weeks ago my sister was able to get a Kilamanjaro Safari Fast Pass at the front of AK (near the Bug's Life). This saved them from having to hot foot it to the back of the park and then back to DinoLand. They got their fast pass, did some other things (including Dinosaur), and then went to the back of the park. Not sure if this fast pass machine is only there at busy times, but I'll find out in a few days. This would really save a lot of steps!

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by Tank
It was told to me by 3 different CM's at 3 different rides that they accept expired FP's.

You know, call me judgemental if you wish, but I just don't agree with that approach. The FastPass tickets have a return time for a specific reason--to keep the the ride lines moving along. It isn't FASTpass anymore if you face a late-afternoon line with 200 people who suddenly decided to use their FP tickets with scheduled return times throughout the day.

WDW has always had a policy that FP tickets could be used at any later time if a ride breakdown occurred during your return window. But this new "policy" is news to me. It sounds like something designed to be "guest friendly", to not penalize someone for being 5 or 10 minutes late if they go caught up elsewhere.

But I think that CM's are wrong to tell people that it's OK, thereby encouraging such abuse of the system. And I wouldn't be surprised if this "policy" is changed in the near future.

Just because we CAN do something doesn't necessarily hold that we SHOULD.

 

[lentesta]

Hey NCLinda, where in NC are you from? I'm in Summerfield.

Synonymous, it's almost always more efficient to plan your tour around wait times than around using FP, especially for comprehensive tours of the Magic Kingdom. There are certainly instances, such as the "ride Space Mountain twice" scenario you describe, where FASTPASS makes obvious sense. But as a general rule of park touring, I think my original comments are accurate.

One possible explanation for this is that there are many more non-FASTPASS attractions than FASTPASS attractions. In the Magic Kingdom, there are nine FP attractions and at least 24 non-FP attractions. For comprehensive touring plans, the wait times at the non-FP attractions tend to dominate the wait times at the FP attractions. If you consider that most efficient touring plans have you visit one or two "headliner" attractions (which are invariably FP-enabled) early in the morning, the ratio of FP to non-FP attractions is even lower. So after the first, say, forty-five minutes in the park, the wait times at the non-FP attractions should be the main concern. Again, this applies to general-purpose, comprehensive touring plans.

Another way to illustrate this is to look at the Magic Kingdom One-Day Touring Plan for Adults in the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. That touring plan is within a couple percent of optimal for the attractions it contains. That is, the extra wait time between that plan and the "perfect" touring plan for the same attractions is probably no more than fifteen minutes. This is easily the best one-day comprehensive touring plan of the MK one is likely to encounter.

IIRC, that touring plan uses FASTPASS no more than three times. And if memory serves, there was some debate over whether one of those FP was even necessary. It appears that plan (or the software used to create the plan) used wait times at non-FP attractions as its guide. That's why I'd be suspicious of any "FP First" strategy for touring the parks.

Finally, I might mention that it is possible to see every attraction, show and live performance in the Magic Kingdom in a single day without using FASTPASS at all. It's been done before, using the touring plan software from the Unofficial Guide. The current record-holder for seeing every attraction in the MK (10 hours, 40 minutes for those of you interested) used FASTPASS twice, I believe. While I wouldn't recommend this as a general-purpose touring plan, it should illustrate that FP is a secondary consideration behind wait times.

Hope this helps. Nice discussion.

Len

 

[tjmw2727]

Just a word of caution - while the occasional CM may waive you through with an expired FP I wouldn't base my "touring plan" on it. We missed our window for Test Track by just about 10 minutes and were not allowed to use it. (DD then 5 needed a last minute pit stop!) Maybe on a less popular ride, one where the FP's arn't gone by noon, they would have allowed it. I had the feeling from the CM that if he could have waived us through he would have.

While I was dissapointed that we missed the FP time it was our fault and I took responsiblity. I can't imagine basing my touring plan on using expired FP's - what are you going to say to the CM if they deny you access? Perhaps if the CM's are allowed to make exceptions for a certain time after FP expiration (say 1/2 hour) and people start to abuse this courtesy it will end.

TJ

 

[Synonymous]

Len, maybe its a matter of touring style. Different folks will have different goals at MK. We certainly don't follow anything like the 1-day touring plan in the UG. We know what we want to do and usually want to maximize rides on favorite attractions. The smaller attractions are filler for while we're waiting for the favorites. For anybody who's been to MK previously, or plans to be back in the reasonable future (especially during the same trip), seeing everything in 1 day probably isn't a priority.

 

[DisneyKidds]

With this in mind I started to get as many as I could in the mornings before the return time was to far away.

*****DK climbs atop his soapbox.........(tap, tap, tap.......is this thing on?)............and begins to speak*****

Yes, people can game the system like this. Unfortunately, by capitalizing in such a way on the fact that CM's will allow those who missed their time to make use of a FP it really violates the intent of the FP system. If everyone started doing this the FP system would fail, and CM's would have no other choice but to restrict the use of FP's to the stated time. That would be very unfortunate.

We have used "expired" FP's 3 times. The first time on Kilimanjaro Safaris we had missed our time. I was at the FP machine ready to get new FP's when the attendant saw I had some I was going to toss. When she asked I informed her they had expired. She said we would be able to use them. The CM was able to create a bit of Magic. The second time we had missed our Primevil Whirl return time after having to take our son to first aid, fearing he had sprained his knee (or worse) in the Boneyard. After a visit from the paramedics and a couple hours out of our day, all was fine. It was nice that we were able to use the FP's that had expired. Another piece of Disney Magic. The third time was selfish.........we simply didn't make our return time after lunch. I didn't expect to be able to use the expired passes, but I asked nicely and they allowed us to. Another nice treat.

That is what CM's allowing the use of expired FP's can do - create Magic or maybe help to save a day that has taken an un-Disney-like turn. It can be such a nice bonus. If people exploit that thinking they are entitled to game the system because it will work only jeopardizes the CM's ability to create that Magic and provide that bonus. Sure, you may be able to use expired FP's if circumstances cause you to miss a return. To obtain FP's with the sole intent of letting them expire and using them later just sucks.

*****DK climbs off of soapbox*****

 

[Synonymous]

One person's "magic" is another person's "gaming the system." Subjective self-regulation will not save the system if there truly is a threat to it from expired FPs. (Given the huge number of people who don't even understand FP in the first place, I doubt expired FPs would ever become a serious problem.) If Disney doesn't feel it's important to enforce their own "rules" on this, I don't see why guests should do the enforcement for them. Especially when CM's are often reported to go out of their way to tell people they can use their expired FPs (as in the example above.)

 

[DisneyKidds]

I doubt expired FPs would ever become a serious problem.

Perhaps. However, when one person goes out of their way to use a system in a way it was not intended to be used there is a risk that two will, and three, and.......... How many would it take to become a "problem" requiring action? I have no idea. I will say this - Disney took action when it was perceived that groups were "hoarding" Cinderellas Royal Table priority seatings and using them in a way the system was not intended to be used. Whose to say they wouldn't take action if it became apparent that people were "hoarding" FP'sand doing the same?

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by DisneyKidds
Perhaps. However, when one person goes out of their way to use a system in a way it was not intended to be used there is a risk that two will, and three, and.......... How many would it take to become a "problem" requiring action?

Also, don't underestimate the power of the Internet and forums like this. When the CMs have an ever-increasing number of guests saying "I read on the Internet that I could use my FP anytime", do you think they won't take notice?

 

[KarlainKY]

Originally posted by TTFN
One small bit of strategy....a few weeks ago my sister was able to get a Kilamanjaro Safari Fast Pass at the front of AK (near the Bug's Life). This saved them from having to hot foot it to the back of the park and then back to DinoLand. They got their fast pass, did some other things (including Dinosaur), and then went to the back of the park. Not sure if this fast pass machine is only there at busy times, but I'll find out in a few days. This would really save a lot of steps!

I've never heard of this before. Is this something new since last fall? Sounds great!

 

[Synonymous]

I would say don't overestimate the power of the internet, either. A very minimal percentage of WDW's customers ever come to a site like this.

Anyway, the potential problem we're discussing is, at best, a long-shot. And the possible consequence we're concerned with is a very minor one. In effect, we're saying, don't use expired fastpasses, or else Disney will stop letting us use expired fastpasses. Well, so what? If we're going to prohibit ourselves from doing it, what difference does it make if Disney prohibits us from doing it?

Disney sets the rules and decides whether or not to enforce them. People can't be blamed for making the best use of whatever Disney allows them; heck, even encourages them to do. If there's an "abuse," Disney can slow it or stop it at anytime. They have complete discretion over how FP operates. They can tell their CMs not to take ANY expired FPs, or they can tell them don't take any that are past an hour, or any number of variations. That's up to them, not us, to decide.

 

[Armadillo4]

Expired FPs have been accepted at DL/DCA in California for at least a year now (when I first heard about it), and perhaps even longer. And the California parks are really generous about it. According to a few DL veterans, an expired FP is good anytime after expiration. I've only had to do use an expired FP at DL/DCA two or three times and had no problems. One time, I showed up with a FP that was over two hours past expiration, and the CM didn't bat an eyelash.

Abuse of this policy hasn't been a problem at the California parks yet. I'm guessing that the majority of guests don't know about it and are trying to use their FPs as quickly as possible. This is, of course, pure speculation on my part, but I think the predominant behavior of most guests is to use their FPs during the target window. Most people won't hold onto a FP, because they'd rather be on the ride.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the future. Perhaps the word will spread to a significant amount of guests that it might become an issue. But in the meantime, it's probably just a help to those of us when we mis-calculate our ride planning times.

 

[ProfGoofy]

My theory on the expired Fast Pass situation is that the Cast Members will look at the Fast Pass queue before accepting an expired Fast Pass. If the queue is short and moving then they'll honor the expired Fast Pass. If the queue is slow and crowded, they must honor valid Fast Passes and turn away expired Fast Passes, this is what may have happened with tmjw2727 and the Test Track Fast Pass queue. We have to remember the underlying purpose of why the Fast Pass System was established... A guest that is standing in a ride queue is a guest that is not purchasing food or souvenirs.