How do effectively use FastPasses

[Bri]

Hey all,

We are going to Disney December 8-15. I have read that some rides can be longer waits and fastpasses would be good to take advantage of. I remember one time I got a fastpass for TOT then went to get one for RRC and I couldn't get one for RRC, the CM told me I had to wait a certain amount of time to get another fastpass once I had one. What is the most effective way to use fastpasses, get fastpasses for 2 different rides, etc? Thanks!

[4277]

You can't get 2 fastpasses in the same time frame. For example, if your fastpass says you can enter the ride between 1:00 & 2:00 then you can't get another fastpass till after 2:00. We get to the park when they first open and we get a fastpass for RnRc and then go ride ToT a couple of times because there's usually no line and then back to RnRc. If there's not much of a line for RnRc then we use the regular line and save the fastpass for when it gets crowded. Once the time on the fastpass has passed then you can get another fastpass. Sounds confusing but it's really not.

[Bri]

thanks for explaining that to me! now i will be able to better use the fastpass. thanks again!

[jpH/keD]

When we went in Nov 07 we would go to a ride we wanted to go on first thing into the park. The lines usually aren't bad 1st thing. Then while we wait we send our teenagers running w/ all our cards to the next ride to get a fast pass for later. Then they come running back and we can usually get a second ride all together when they get back! I hate the running thing but teenagers don't care! :thumbsup:

[PhilHarHarMagic]

You can't get 2 fastpasses in the same time frame. For example, if your fastpass says you can enter the ride between 1:00 & 2:00 then you can't get another fastpass till after 2:00.

In this circumstance can't you get your next fastpass at 1:01? I was thinking that was what we did last year...

[CleveRocks]

Before you decide whether to get a FASTPASS or not, look at the sign that tells you the stand-by line waiting time, as well as the FASTPASS return time. In other words, decide if the regular (stand-by) line is too long for you to wait in. But also consider the FASTPASS return time window (it will be a one hour window, such as 1:10 to 2:10 p.m.), to make sure it's not so late in the day that you won't even be in the park anymore.

So anyway, when you get a FASTPASS, on the bottom is printed the time that you are permitted to get another FASTPASS. It will be EITHER 5 minutes after the beginning of the return window of the current FASTPASS, or it will be 2 hours from the time you obtained the first FASTPASS -- it'll be whichever one is earlier (it will say only one of them).

The very best way to use your time is to NOT get onto a ride the very instant that the return window opens to you.

So let me give you an example using Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom. Let's say it's 10:00 a.m. and you want to ride Winnie the Pooh, but there's a 30 minute line. You don't wanna wait in that line, so you grab a FASTPASS with a return window of 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. You then get in line to ride Dumbo, which is NOT a FASTPASS attraction. Dumbo has a 30 minute wait in line, and then let's say it takes 5 minutes to ride it. So you get off Dumbo at 10:35 a.m. Then you go over and wait in the 20 minute line for It's A Small World, also not a FASTPASS attraction. You ride that for 10 minutes. SO you get out of IASW and now it's 11:05 a.m. Your Winnie the Pooh FASTPASS window just opened 5 minutes ago, which is great!. But more importantly, that FASTPASS says you can get a new FASTPASS anytime after 11:05 a.m., which is NOW! So before you go to ride Winnie the Pooh, go grab a FASTPASS for another ride.

So let's say you grab a FASTPASS for Peter Pan, that has a return window of 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. It's about 11:10 a.m. now, and you go ride Pooh. You get out of there by 11:20 a.m. You have about an hour until your Peter Pan FASTPASS return window opens. SO maybe you wait in line for the Carousel for 10 minutes and ride it for 5 minutes, and now it's 11:35 a.m.

Maybe it's time for lunch. Before you decide where to eat, decide what you'll want to do after you use your Peter Pan FASTPASSes. Maybe grab lunch at Pinocchio's Village Haus, a counter-service place. After most of you party is done or nearly done eating, have one person volunteer to be a FASTPASS runner. Have this person take everyone's park tickets and go to your next stop, let's say either Space Mountain or Splash Mountain. Everyone can finish their meal or get dessert or something until the runner gets back from getting the next round of FASTPASSes for everyone.

By that time, you can go ride Peter Pan. WHen you get ut of there, there entire party will stroll to Tomorrowland or Adventureland, depending on what ride you picked. WHile you're waiting for that next FASTPASS to mature, ride another ride, and so on.

This is just one example. It's not as complex as you think. I never plan this kinda stuff in advance. I find myself in a situation and I just plan one move ahead and no more.

The biggest lesson to remember is NEVER actually use a FASTPASS until you have your next FASTPASS already. This way, you spend some of the waiting time by actually riding the first ride! And that hardly feels like waiting, does it???!!!:mickey:

[faline]

It is sometimes possible to have more than one fast pass in your possesion at the same time. Just check the first fast pass you get to see when you are allowed to get the next one.

Often, we will wait until our fast pass window opens and grab a fast pass for the next attraction we want one for before heading to ride on the attraction that just opened up to us with our first fast pass.

As noted, use it judiciously. If the ride is a walk-on, grab a fast pass for another attraction and go through the stand-by line.

Details on using fast pass (http://www.intercot.com/themeparks/tickets/fastpass/default.asp)can be found here.

[Mackflava99]

More tips-

1.) when at the FP kioskwith a handful of tickets, while popping them into the machie to get fastpass, make sure you are organized with making sure which tickey you have used vs. the one's you have not. otherwide you will get bad reads and hold up others behind you. Also make sure you gather up all your tickets and check them before you leave... I have seen many people either leave tickets or walk away with FP tickets that say "Bad Read" and they wont be able to use them...Call the CM near the kiosk if you have an issue, dont walk away.

2.) if you get to the kiosks and see queues just to get fast pass, note that the times keep changing as you wait in line, so you can guage the time based on the queue. AND if you see a person infront of you with 12 tickets and they don't seem so savy, get in another line...otherwise you may lose 30 min from your return:)
**Once i was in line and the person infront of me must have been a tour guide, because he had 22 tickets....by the time he was done , the FP return time had changed 2 times...

[Mackflava99]

Normaly when we go to a park, as we enter- i will take the tickets and jog (light jog, not a full run) over to the ride we think will be toughest to get on, i will get the fast pass, and then as my wife gets the stroller, and gets the kids situated, i meet up with them at a certain spot. She is a "slow walker" ...no reason, but she just always walks slow :) , so i return and in reality it has not impacted anyone, because we are the same point of the park where we'd normally be. Then when we determine the time we got for that FP, we plan which part of the park we will visit based on that time.
It seems to work and its been sucessful-

Not all are worth jogging for because normaly at some time during the day, the lines will subside ( or someties not)

FP rides worth jogging for:
Rides like :
Epcot : TT and Soarin
AK: everest
DHS : TT and RRC
MK : splash mountain, Space Mountain

[bshaw96]

We learned that when we FP one ride, and say it said to be back between 1:00 and 2:00, we could get a 2nd FP at 1:01. That's how we did it. We'd FP a ride, walk around, shop, eat, etc. Then at 1:01, we'd FP the 2nd ride, and then go ride the 1st ride we FP. Hope that made sense :mickey:

[milhouse]

Make sure you have a fastpass in you pocket when you sit down at your meals. That way when you're done you can jump right on the ride.

[azdisneymom]

My daughter and I started each morning getting a fastpass to our favorite ride. If the wait time was 30 min or less we would also get in line. It worked out so about every 2 hours we could get a new fastpass (sometimes sooner). We spent most of the morning and early afternoon riding non-fastpass rides, waiting in short lines or seeing shows. We used all our fastpasses after dinner. They are good even if the return time has past. No rush and we still got to ride our favs more than twice in one day during the holidays.

We found those pouches that attach to the end of a lanyard well worth the money. We bought ours at WDW after fumbling around in backpacks for a day. I believe it cost around $4-5 and had several clips to attach just about anything you could imagine on it. Our tickets and fastpasses were always handy.

[wedway fan]

just want to say- i've used fastpass on our two previous trips, and feel very comfortable with the system, but this is a GREAT thread even for a veteran. you all have learned to use the system to its greatest advantage. thanks for the tips! :thumbsup: