Theme Parks including Universal

[2 Sisters at Disney]

Have not visited since 1999, however my sister and I are taking a trip in January for one week....can't wait. Thought I would educate myself to anything new. Just have a few questions....here goes.

1. Could someone explain what a Fast Pass is and does it really work? Seems if you don't book a reserved time your wait in the regular que could take forever, unless I don't understand the system very well....of course, this is entirely possible! If someone could list the pros and cons I would really appreciate....

2. My sister and I thought we would take a trip to Universal one of our days. Is there a shuttle you can catch from Disney?....we are staying at the Caribbean Beach and will not have a car.

3. Have purchased the dining pass.....Using it at the Signature Restaurants looks great even if it requires 2 dinner days....is this as good as it looks or is there something hidden here....any recommendations? We have reservations at the California Grill on my Birthday, however everything else is open.....help! Far too many to choose from....

Kindest regards, Jan

 

[alfredromero1975]

FASTPASSes are free. They allow you to skip long waits, but getting them requires going to a FASTPASS machine and there's a limited supply.

Not sure about shuttles to Universal. However, I believe Alamo or National has a car rental on property (just South of Magic Kingdom at the Car Care Center).

Also, not sure about your dining question, other than I recommend at least one really nice dining experience while you are at WDW.

Hope this helps!

 

[2 Sisters at Disney]

Thanks for your help....we have made a reservation at the California Grill...one of the ten best in the USA.....thought I would book one more deluxe dining experience. However, that will take some thought...have never seen so many good menus in an area this size.....we are sea food lovers...any suggestions would be appreciated!

As for the Fast Pass.....are the FP machines throughout the theme park or at the particular ride. Having a difficult time wrapping my head around the concept.....although, very interested in any way of eliminating long waits.....we are use to the crowds at Christmas, maybe the waits won't be quite as long during mid January when we will be travelling.....

...one more question.....on the nights the parks extend their hours to those staying at WDW resorts, do you have to pay an extra admission??? Years ago there was a $10.00 fee besides your regular ticket....not complaining, especially since my sister and I like to go on the rides. I remember going down Splash Mountain 4 times in a row sitting in the front seat....took us no time at all....you basically got off the ride and then went up the ramp and got on the ride again with no wait at all......THNX again for your help....

 

[bekkiz]

I'll try to answer your questions, as best I can!

Fast Pass: It's only available for some rides in each park. Each ride will only issue a certain number of Fast Passes each day. During busy periods, popular rides will have all of their Fast Passes gone by noon or earlier. You use your admission ticket in the machines to recieve the Fast Pass and it will give you a little ticket with an hour block in which to return. When you come back at the appointed time, there's a seperate line and you'll give the CM the little ticket.
Here's a web site that will hopefully help with Fast Pass:
http://www.allearsnet.com/tp/fastpass.htm

Extra Magic Hours: You're thinking about E-Ride nights which were at the Magic Kingdom and did cost extra. Now there's EMH in both the morning and evening at each park and it's included as long as you're staying on property.
Another web site:
http://www.allearsnet.com/tp/emhour.htm

 

[bekkiz]

Also, we had a great meal at CA Grill a few years ago. My mom and sister just ate at Narcoossee's at the Grand Floridian last week and had an excellent meal. They said the lobster was outstanding.

It's not on the meal plan, but BlueZoo at the Dolphin is said to have fantastic fish and seafood.

 

[Indy's Girl]

Disney does not offer shuttle service to Universal Studios. You could rent a car, or do what many others do and call Mears. Mears is a shuttle service and for a fee - not sure what it is , but you can check out their website or look on the transportation board for more info- they will pick you up at your requested time and take you to Universal, and then pick you up there and bring you back.

Fastpasses are super easy to use once you have done it a few times, don't be intimidated! Any guidebook on WDW will list what attractions have fastpasses as well as give a brief description of the service and as said before it is free. Be aware that you can not get a second fastpass for a ride until 1) Your time slot on the first fastpass or 2) 2 hours after you got your first fastpass. So don't waste time trying to run to a bunch of fastpass machines to pick up fastpasses all at once.

If you want some great dining ideas, go to the Restaturant Board. THere is lots of great info and even a thread that has pics of food from around the world. You will probably want to make a few more ADR's than just California Grill to make sure you can use your table service meals on teh dining plan. Have a great trip!

 

[Cebshop]

Like the previous posters said, Fast Pass is easy to use once you get the hang of it.

Since you are going at an off time, I would try and utilize the Extra Magic Hours - and it's free to boot!

As far as reservations are concerned California Grill is a good choice, you may want to use all 1 TS passes for the rest of your meals so that you can hit a different restaurant each day - there are many good 1 TS restaurants, Coral Reef, LeCellier, Concoarse Steak House just to name a few. Even though you are going at an off time, I would still get reservations to some restaurants - since the DDP has been added it is harder and harder to get reservations, even at off times. Go to allears.net and click on dining for a full list of all the menus and what restaurants participate in the dining plan. Have a great trip!

Forgot to add that we are going to go over to Universal one day and we booked our trip through AAA and they are setting up my transportation - it's $15 per person round trip.