Was going to grab a Space Mtn FP first thing but now I'm a little afraid ...

[AmyK]

of the crowds that will all be heading to Star Tours. Maybe I should just go with my family to Indy and get a FP there first instead on our first day.

 

[damaris13]

Why? Just want to know your thought process here. We'll be doing both Indi and SM and skipping ST. Thanks!

 

[AmyK]

Mostly because it's my first time in the park and I was going to be a fast pass volunteer and get the FP and then meet the family at Indy (maybe after they get off) but now the crowds will be even higher going to the Tomorrowland side and I'll have to get past them to get to SM, right? I'm a little concerned. I know I need to walk swiftly to get a SM FP anyway but now even more are going there. Don't want a stampede feeling.

 

[damaris13]

If you are the sole runner, I don't think it would matter that it's crowded or not. I was the runner a few years ago at WDW (went on New Years Eve when they closed the park to incoming guests by 10 or 11 that morning), and a single walker can maneuver through the crowds quickly as long as you know where you are going and watch for those breaks in the crowd. Study the park maps a good bit before you head into the park to know which routes are available to get to different places.

One strategy I had with the insane crowds was to stay along the edge unless absolutely necessary. I found it easier to scoot behind a group along the railing of a bridge than to force my way down the middle of the road through a crowd.

I do understand your concern though. I was wondering what the crowds looked like in TL to determine my strategy.

 

[jesseramos]

We were there this past Saturday and Monday. They had a separate line at the rope drop just for ST. If that's the case when you go, you should get to SM pretty easily since the rush for ST is sort of controlled. I was able to get to the ST FP machines pretty quick.

 

[chigirl]

Was there this past Mon, Tue & Thu...was the sole runner and got thru the INSANE crowd to the FP machines on Tue. If you jog to the far left, closest to Matterhorn, you will be ok...everyone cuts thru Plaza Inn who are attempting to cue up to the actual ride line, so the FP people are ok if they go to the far end. At open on Tue (regular open at 8am, mind you, we did not do magic morning at 7am) we got FP w/a return time of 4pm. On Thu, when we walked by the FP machines at 10am, they were done for the day.
The ride WAS amazing! We had a visit to Tatooine w/Princess Leia.

 

[damaris13]

Was there this past Mon, Tue & Thu...was the sole runner and got thru the INSANE crowd to the FP machines on Tue. If you jog to the far left, closest to Matterhorn, you will be ok...everyone cuts thru Plaza Inn who are attempting to cue up to the actual ride line, so the FP people are ok if they go to the far end. At open on Tue (regular open at 8am, mind you, we did not do magic morning at 7am) we got FP w/a return time of 4pm. On Thu, when we walked by the FP machines at 10am, they were done for the day.
The ride WAS amazing! We had a visit to Tatooine w/Princess Leia.

I'll be interested to hear about this week with Matterhorn down. What will that do to the other lines...

Thank you for the update on maneuvering the crowds!

 

[quiltymom]

Thanks for the info. Now I have a silly question. We're planning on getting FPs first thing after rope drop, and will also need to get a locker. Will we be okay to get them if we stop and get the locker first? (It'll be just me and the kids so we need to stay together.)

Thanks.

 

[ktlm]

We were there June 4 to June 8. On Saturday and Sunday, the parks were not bad at all EXCEPT for the Tommorowland area. The lines for pretty much everything else were pretty short (only waited 15 minutes for the Little Mermaid Saturday night). Monday and Tuesday the parks were significantly more crowded, and the Tommorowland area was crazy. Wednesday, the crowds were less again, but the Tommorrowland area was still crazy. I'm talking Tommorowland was often bad enough that they made the side by Star Tours one way for walking and had CMs directing traffic. I would say if you want fast passes to SM to make the run first thing in the morning. I can't remember which day it was, but the ST FPs were gone for the entire day by 9:00 a.m. Everyone who went there and could not get FPs seemed to be just going to SM and getting fast passes there instead, so that led to the SM fast passes being gone fairly early too. The line for SM seemed to stay pretty long constantly, probably because that area was just so crowded! Although the area was crazy, the line for Buzz never seemed to be that long. Star Tours is fantastic by the way. I rode it twice and DH rode it 4 times. My 2nd ride was completely different from the first and although I thought the 1st ride was great, the 2nd was about 10 times better. As for DH 3 of his rides were entirely different, and the last one was all pieces he had seen before, but in a different order. The line for ST was around 3 hours most of the times we passed, occasionally we saw it at 2 hours. Thank goodness for the perk of staying on property and being given those 2 fast passes each. DD (5) wouldn't brave ST so DH took her FPS!

 

[quiltymom]

Thanks!

 

[AmyK]

hmmm not feeling much better. lol While I could probably get to the SM FP pretty quickly, my FP times will probably all be pushed back later if it's running out sooner. I think maybe I'll leave SM for our 2nd day when we have our MM morning and I'll send DH over ASAP to get that FP. The first day I'll stick with the family on the other side of the park and maximize our FPs over there. SM was really the only FP planned that first day.