GAD FastPass Strategy: Which Parks?

[MidnTPK]

For my upcoming trip in June, I'm going to redeem my GAD vouchers for the special FastPasses. We'll be visiting parks for five or six days, but only have two vouchers. Considering that the trip will be in late June, which parks do people suggest we use the vouchers at?

My thinking is that we should use them at Epcot and the Studios. My logic being that the lines for TSMM, RnRC, ToT, Soarin, and Test Track are the biggest in all of WDW, the FPs for these rides all get distributed early in the day, and we might not otherwise be able to ride these attractions without the FPs.

I'm tempted to use one at the MK, but since there are so many more attractions at the MK, I think the FPs are less important.

Other details: my traveling party will be: me, 6-month-pregnant-wife, DD3, sister, BIL, nephew-6, and nieces-9&11 ( we have one-two too many, but pregnant wife and my toddler won't do the thrill rides).

And I found the following description of the special FPs on another website:

The FASTPASS Exchange Card takes the form of a card that would be inserted into the FASTPASS kiosk instead of your park ticket, and would give you a FASTPASS with a Return Window that starts immediately. These cards do not give an unlimited number of FASTPASSes, however, and they are only good at the park at which you received the card and only up until the regular park close time at the end of the day in which you received it.

The FASTPASS attractions are divided into two groups. The most recent known list is as follows, but is subject to change. You will receive a list of the attractions with the FASTPASS card:


* Magic Kingdom

o Donald: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan's Flight, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain
o Daisy: Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Jungle Cruise, Mickey's PhilharMagic, Stitch's Great Escape!
* Epcot

o Donald: Soarin', Test Track
o Daisy: Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, Living with the Land, Maelstrom, Mission: SPACE
* Disney's Hollywood Studios

o Donald: Rock N Roller Coaster, Toy Story Midway Mania, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
o Daisy: Lights Motors Action Extreme Stunt Show, Star Tours, Voyage of The Little Mermaid
* Animal Kingdom

o Donald: Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris
o Daisy: Dinosaur, It's Tough to Be a Bug, Kali River Rapids

In general, you will get between 2 and 4 FASTPASSes per card from each group. The number can vary by park and day, but there is no known way to predict it in advance. You will be given a sheet with the card that explains everything, including how many FASTPASSes you will get from the card. 3 seems to have been the most common number.

If it is 3 on that day, what you get is three FASTPASSes for any combination of Donald rides, and three FASTPASSes in any combination of Daisy rides. You do not choose them in advance - you choose by putting the Exchange card into the kiosk of the ride you want.

The easiest way to think of it is to consider that you have X Donald credits and X Daisy credits on the card. If you go up to a Donald attraction and put the card in the kiosk, you will get one immediate FASTPASS and use one Donald credit. You can use all the Donald credits at the same attraction, or spread them out among other Donald attractions.

Even if all the regular FASTPASSes are gone, you can STILL get an immediate FASTPASS using your FASTPASS Exchange Card - usually there will be one kiosk left open for this purpose. In some cases, all the kiosks may be covered - in that case, please let the Cast Member at the entrance know and they should be able to get the FASTPASS for you.

This only applies up until regular park close. If there are Evening Extra Magic Hours, there is no guarantee you will be able to use the Exchange Card at any particular attraction.

Note that using the FASTPASS Exchange Card in no way affects your being able to use your regular park ticket to get regular FASTPASSes. You can use both independently, and your ability to get FASTPASSes with your park ticket follows the same rules as always as to when you can get another FASTPASS.

Andy advice/opinions appreciated...and please vote.

[bxrluv]

We're in the same boat as you. We have two vouchers. But, we'll be using ours at MK for two days. I just feel like because there are so many rides at MK, we'll get more out of them. Yes, TSM is the hardest one to get a fastpass for but we're just going to get there when it opens, get in the line and get a FP for later. So, that's our take. Have a great time :mickey:

[TikiGoddess]

We are going in late June and will have GAD FPs to use too! I've been doing research on them, trying to figure out the best way to use them. We will have 3 vouchers and 5 days in the parks, but we also plan on parkhopping every day. That makes it a bit more complicated.

Anyway, one thing I have found is that if you have 7 in your party, you probably won't have trouble getting FP cards for your entire party. The CMs don't seem to be strictly adhering to the "up to 6" rule.

I know we're using one of our days at the MK. My girls are 5 and 7, enough said. We will also probably do DHS and Epcot.

The way I look at this: The FPs give you a chance to not have to rush in the morning. When/If you are at the park at opening, you don't HAVE to go to TSMM with everyone else. You can head to other rides and save TSMM for later, and not have to worry about the FPs running out. What a nice perk to have. :)

I think your decision should be based on what rides you want to do. For us, our kids don't do TOT or RnRC (but we'll use 3 on TSMM)... FPs at MK will be very convenient for us... and Epcot has Soarin' and Test Track. So, poll your party and see which ones everyone is interested in riding, perhaps multiple times.

[Mackflava99]

how did you get these GADs?

[faline]

how did you get these GADs?

Disney was offering a promotion where folks received these for volunteering for a day with a registered non-profit. The promotion ended earlier this month after all one million vouchers that Disney promised to put up were spoken for.

[MidnTPK]

Anyway, one thing I have found is that if you have 7 in your party, you probably won't have trouble getting FP cards for your entire party. The CMs don't seem to be strictly adhering to the "up to 6" rule.
Thanks for the tip.


The way I look at this: The FPs give you a chance to not have to rush in the morning. When/If you are at the park at opening, you don't HAVE to go to TSMM with everyone else. You can head to other rides and save TSMM for later, and not have to worry about the FPs running out. What a nice perk to have. :)

I think your decision should be based on what rides you want to do. For us, our kids don't do TOT or RnRC (but we'll use 3 on TSMM)... FPs at MK will be very convenient for us... and Epcot has Soarin' and Test Track. So, poll your party and see which ones everyone is interested in riding, perhaps multiple times.

I get what you are saying. It would be nice to know beforehand if the passes give you two redemptions per ride group, or more, and if it varied by park....I mean there's a big difference between four rides on Soarin' or TSMM, versus Peter Pan. If all you get is two rides per group/pass in the MK, I'd bet the other parks would look more appealing.

[TikiGoddess]

Thanks for the tip.


I get what you are saying. It would be nice to know beforehand if the passes give you two redemptions per ride group, or more, and if it varied by park....I mean there's a big difference between four rides on Soarin' or TSMM, versus Peter Pan. If all you get is two rides per group/pass in the MK, I'd bet the other parks would look more appealing.

I've only heard of Disney giving three choices within the Donald/Daisy groups... have you seen two? I know the rules say 2-4... I'm wondering if it depends on how busy the parks are... and if late June will be busy enough for them to cut down to two.

Kathy

[MidnTPK]

I've only heard of Disney giving three choices within the Donald/Daisy groups... have you seen two? I know the rules say 2-4... I'm wondering if it depends on how busy the parks are... and if late June will be busy enough for them to cut down to two.

Kathy

I haven't heard any first-hand accounts....or second hand for that matter. All of the info I've posted/found has been from unofficial sources too.

If anybody has any first-hand experiences with redeeming the GAD vouch for the FastPasses, please share your experience.

[timberho]

I have heard several first hand accounts from another source and here is what I can tell you.

So far NO ONE has reported anything other than getting 3 fast passes per group (which would be a total of 6). I know it says 2-4, but so far it has been 3 all year long. Even during the crazy busy level 10 crowd week they had last week.

Even though the rules have stated you can get up to 6 GAD FP cards per voucher, no one has been turned down with a group of 8, and even 10 in some cases.

The website states that they cannot guarantee that you can get these vouchers after 11am. 2 people reported last week getting their vouchers after 4:30pm on a level 10 crowd day. So far I have not seen one report about one single person has gotten turned down even after 11am.

And if i'm voting how to use 2 vouchers, I would say MK and DS hands down. They both have 3 very popular rides that most people want to try. Also, toy story mania is so crowded these days, imagine having the ability to ride it 3 times with no wait whenever YOU are ready ? Hope this info helps, have fun...

[MidnTPK]

Thanks! It Helps!