This was my first trip being able to use the rolling FastPass+ and I learned quite a bit during the whole experience. Going into the trip, I thought my best plan of action was to get my first 3 FastPasses out of the way as quickly as possible. So I initially scheduled:
After Space Mountain, we went to the kiosk by Stitch's Great Escape and booked Space Ranger Spin for 10:55. This was the first rolling FastPass I had ever booked. After scanning your magic band and selecting your party, you press a button that lets you add an additional FastPass, then choose the ride, then choose the time. The screens are pressure sensitive, so using your fingernail is pretty much necessary. An odd choice to use an older technology like that.
Just for fun, I opened the app after scheduling my FastPass and was happy to find that I could modify it without having to return to a kiosk.
We did a few other rides with short wait times before riding Space Ranger Spin, then went back to the same kiosk to book Pirates of the Caribbean for 1:05 (after lunch). At this point, I realized that booking anything during a timeframe you may not be able to hit is a waste. Lunch (at BoG!) went quickly because we had preordered, but if that had taken too long, and we hadn't been able to reschedule for a sensible time, that reservation would have dictated our schedule.
After Pirates of the Caribbean, we stopped by the kiosk by Jungle Cruise. It had a CRAZY line. But very very nearby, if you take the path with the restrooms between Adventureland and Liberty Square, there's another kiosk near the Diamond Horseshoe. This also had a line, but it was fairly short, and it moved quickly. I booked FastPasses for Splash Mountain and we returned to our resort for rest and some naps. On the way back to the park, I modified the FastPass to push it back to 5:20 due to taking a longer rest than we were planning. It's a great idea to book a FastPass before you leave the park even if you don't know exactly what you want to ride of when you'll be back just so you can work with it in the app.
We made our way back to the Diamond Horseshoe kiosk to see what we could grab. Even though we weren't planning on riding Jungle Cruise, we found FastPasses that would let us ride it immediately. When we got to Jungle Cruise, the standby time was 60 minutes. This was the craziest part of the trip for me, being able to get an immediate FastPass for a ride with a 60 minute wait. But it shows that 5 minutes in line at a kiosk can save you a ton of time overall.
After Jungle Cruise, we went back to the Diamond Horseshoe kiosk. The line was a little longer, and we were headed in the direct of Fantasyland anyway, so we stopped by the PhilarMagic kiosks. While I was in line, I watched a cast member press the Back/Next button to refresh the list of ride times to help someone get a better ride time. We really wanted to get on Big Thunder Mountain, which we thought was unlikely, and there were initially no ride times, but the Back/Next trick worked and we were able to get an 8:40 FastPass, which fit our schedule perfectly.
You may be wondering whether this was "a ton of effort" or whether or not it was "worth it". It was all pretty easy and most of the time I spent messing with the app was while we were in line, dining, or sitting on a bench somewhere. We went the entire day without waiting more than 5 minutes in any line. And since my wife and I love our time wandering the park as much as we love the rides, this really freed up our whole day to just relax. In one day, we went on every ride we wanted to, rode the River Boat, ate lunch at Be Our Guest, took a 2 hour break, had a 2 hour dinner, and never felt rushed.
- 8:05 Peter Pan's Flight (switched to Winnie the Pooh because we wanted to see the new Peter Pan queue)
- 9:15 Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- 10:15 Haunted Mansion
After Space Mountain, we went to the kiosk by Stitch's Great Escape and booked Space Ranger Spin for 10:55. This was the first rolling FastPass I had ever booked. After scanning your magic band and selecting your party, you press a button that lets you add an additional FastPass, then choose the ride, then choose the time. The screens are pressure sensitive, so using your fingernail is pretty much necessary. An odd choice to use an older technology like that.
Just for fun, I opened the app after scheduling my FastPass and was happy to find that I could modify it without having to return to a kiosk.
We did a few other rides with short wait times before riding Space Ranger Spin, then went back to the same kiosk to book Pirates of the Caribbean for 1:05 (after lunch). At this point, I realized that booking anything during a timeframe you may not be able to hit is a waste. Lunch (at BoG!) went quickly because we had preordered, but if that had taken too long, and we hadn't been able to reschedule for a sensible time, that reservation would have dictated our schedule.
After Pirates of the Caribbean, we stopped by the kiosk by Jungle Cruise. It had a CRAZY line. But very very nearby, if you take the path with the restrooms between Adventureland and Liberty Square, there's another kiosk near the Diamond Horseshoe. This also had a line, but it was fairly short, and it moved quickly. I booked FastPasses for Splash Mountain and we returned to our resort for rest and some naps. On the way back to the park, I modified the FastPass to push it back to 5:20 due to taking a longer rest than we were planning. It's a great idea to book a FastPass before you leave the park even if you don't know exactly what you want to ride of when you'll be back just so you can work with it in the app.
We made our way back to the Diamond Horseshoe kiosk to see what we could grab. Even though we weren't planning on riding Jungle Cruise, we found FastPasses that would let us ride it immediately. When we got to Jungle Cruise, the standby time was 60 minutes. This was the craziest part of the trip for me, being able to get an immediate FastPass for a ride with a 60 minute wait. But it shows that 5 minutes in line at a kiosk can save you a ton of time overall.
After Jungle Cruise, we went back to the Diamond Horseshoe kiosk. The line was a little longer, and we were headed in the direct of Fantasyland anyway, so we stopped by the PhilarMagic kiosks. While I was in line, I watched a cast member press the Back/Next button to refresh the list of ride times to help someone get a better ride time. We really wanted to get on Big Thunder Mountain, which we thought was unlikely, and there were initially no ride times, but the Back/Next trick worked and we were able to get an 8:40 FastPass, which fit our schedule perfectly.
You may be wondering whether this was "a ton of effort" or whether or not it was "worth it". It was all pretty easy and most of the time I spent messing with the app was while we were in line, dining, or sitting on a bench somewhere. We went the entire day without waiting more than 5 minutes in any line. And since my wife and I love our time wandering the park as much as we love the rides, this really freed up our whole day to just relax. In one day, we went on every ride we wanted to, rode the River Boat, ate lunch at Be Our Guest, took a 2 hour break, had a 2 hour dinner, and never felt rushed.
