UGTP for parents...why standby not FP?

[maggie1]

Hello - I am confused about what I read in UG touring plan for parents with small children. for a number of fantasyland rides they say to do the standby line and not the fastpass...why? We would want to be seated with our 5 year old and I did not think that was possible on standby line - isn't if for single riders? Thanks for the help - sorry if this is a dumb question!

 

[mskay]

Not a dumb question at all. It's all very confusing.

Someone else correct me if I'm wrong, but the standby line is just the regular "wait your turn with everyone else" line.
Single riders line is something different. It's usually on the big, more popular roller coaster rides. My DH and I have done that on Test Track before. You usually are split up in that case, but one time we were in the car together.
As to why the UG would suggest standby as opposed to fastpass, I have no idea. They do some mathematical computation stuff to come up with their plan so there's definitely a reason. I just don't know what it is, though. We have followed their plans (not for ones with kids, but for adults) and they work like a charm.
This isn't very thorough, but I hope it helps.

 

[Bojangles]

Originally posted by maggie1
I did not think that was possible on standby line - isn't if for single riders? !

There are separate lines for single riders and for stand by. I don't recall any single rider lines at MK. It's for rides like Test Track or Mission Space at Epcot that seat 4-6 people.


Go to MK on a weekday and get there at park opening. Bypass the characters on Main Street. There will be no lines on Fantasyland rides.

 

[maggie1]

Thank you so much - that makes perfect sense. I obviously was not thinking of the standby line as the regular line. You can tell the last time I was at WDW there was no such thing as fastpass!!

 

[Bojangles]

Get to MK at park opening on a weekday and everything in Fantasyland will be a walk on for at least the first hour.

 

[lentesta]

Hi maggie1,

Thanks for reading the Unofficial Guide!

MsKay is correct - the "standby" line is the regular "wait in line" line. Thanks very much, MsKay.

As for why we recommend not using FASTPASS, there are a couple of likely reasons. One is that your FASTPASS return windows are likely to be valid about the time you're leaving Fantasyland. Therefore, using FASTPASS might require you to walk back to Fantasyland from somewhere else in the park. Lots of folks don't like to do that. Our touring plan computer software has rules built into it that try to minimize the amount of backtracking that you have to do in the park, and this is probably an instance of that rule coming in to play.

A second reason would be that for the first hour the park is open, the wait times at the Fantasyland FASTPASS attractions are not likely to be high enough to warrant using FASTPASS. A good rule of thumb is that if you can't save 30 minutes of standing in line using FASTPASS, it's probably not worthwhile (again, primarily because of the backtracking).

The third reason I can think of is that the computer software does not recommending FASTPASS because it thinks your limited supply of FASTPASSes is better spent elsewhere. If we recommend getting a FASTPASS in the late morning somewhere else, it's probably true that the computer software thinks you can save more time standing in line there than in Fantasyland. Put another way, you'll save more time standing in line by using a FASTPASS at Splash Mountain at noon than at Fantasyland at 9 am. The touring plan computer software is probably recognizing this and making the appropriate recommendation.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks again for reading the Guide!

Sincerely,

Len Testa

[edit: typos]

 

[maggie1]

HI Lentesta - thanks so much for responding. The whole thing made sense once I clued in that standby was the regular line.

As a side note I have to tell you I absolutely love the UG. My parents are joing us on our trip and my mom was reading it the other day and laughing out loud. Not only is it full of great information it is a very entertaining read!!!

 

[phillybeth]

We did Fantasyland one morning, got there at park opening, 9 am, and by 10:30 we had done EVERYTHING. Except the teacups, they make me hork

In my family the Official Guide is called the Old Testament, while the UG is the New Testament.

 

[DebbieB]

I noticed when I rode Space Mountain last month that they had a sign for "single riders" in the back row que on the platform. They weren't using it, I wondered if anyone else has been there when they used it.