FastPass and Early Admissions? HELP

[kverdon]

Though we are fairly well seasoned WDW guests, we have not been to Disneyland for a while. We've been doing some reading and would like to confirm or deny some things we've been reading about early admission and Fastpasses.

1. Does staying at a Disneyland Resort Hotel still give you early admission to the parks?

2. Does the FastPass system work differently if you obtain your Hopper Pass from a Disneyland Resort Hotel? What we had read was that if you obtained your Hopper Pass from a Disneyland Resort Hotel, as part of a vacation package, you would be able to use your Hopper Pass to get a fastpass from each of the available Fastpass locations and hold them all at the same time. Thus you would be able to enter the park and then make the cirucit and obtain one each of the fastpasses from each of the attractions and then go back and start using them. However, if you did not obtain your Hopper Pass from a Disneyland Resort Hotel, then you were restricted to the normal Fastpass system in that you could only use one Fastpas at a time and could obtain another Fastpass either when your hour window came due or after 4 hours had passed since you obtained the Fastpass. This information was obtained from the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland.
Is this true? If not, how does the system work at DL?

thanks all, we'll be there in 3 weeks!!!!! (can't get enough time off to get to WDW this year but still have to visit the mouse).

thanks,

Kevin and Mona

 

[LadyDarling]

From a seasoned DL veteran!

Kevin and Mona~
I'm so glad to have you visiting our parks! Now, try not to compare them too much. It really is apples and oranges!

Here's the info you wanted:

1) Does staying at a DLR Hotel grant you early entry? Your answer is "Sometimes". It depends on the season. If you are going during the summer, yes, you can usually get in an hour early. Any other time of year - don't count on it. It's a toss up.

2) The fast pass system works the same wether you bought your ticket at the gate, through the hotel, through a vacation package, etc. Here's an example:
Fast pass time for Splash Mountain - 1pm-2pm.
Time you can get a second fast pass in Disneyland park? Usually it's 30 minutes before the time for your fast pass (12:30pm), or 5 minutes into your fastpass time (1:05pm). BUT you can go to the California Adventure and get a fast pass for an attraction after you've gotten the Splash Moutain one. Think: different park, different system. It would be like getting a fast pass at EPCOT and then MK ( which I've yet to try, but I think you can do!).

Enjoy your trip! If you need any other help, let me know! Remember, the Unofficial guide tends to be a little on the pessamistic side.

 

[FireFly725]

The system is pretty simple and I think it's pretty much the same as at WDW. If you got a Fastpass which says 3pm-4pm, you can get a new one at 3pm or 2 hours after you got your Fastpass, whichever comes first. They don't really enforce the second time on your Fastpass, so you can pretty much use it anytime after the first time listed on the pass. I've always found that to be a nice trick, so you don't have to worry about making it before your Fastpass expires.

 

[xfkirsten]

A bit more on the FastPass system... there is an enhanced FastPass thing you can get through some reservation, but I really don't know much about it other than that it exists and that it allows you to get more FastPasses than normal. I think it typically comes with Disney Travel Co reservations.

-Kirsten

 

[RU42]

And a small comment on Firefly's post:

I hear (rumor) that Disney will begin to enforce the time windows. I cannot remember all the details; I think it was centered around the ToT opening at DCA.

I think that is a good idea, lots of people holding and coming late really messes up the system. I always try to hit the window.

RU

 

[xfkirsten]

Originally posted by RU42
And a small comment on Firefly's post:

I hear (rumor) that Disney will begin to enforce the time windows. I cannot remember all the details; I think it was centered around the ToT opening at DCA.

I think that is a good idea, lots of people holding and coming late really messes up the system. I always try to hit the window.

RU

Really? I hope not!!! I try to hit the window as much as possible, but sometimes I miss it.

-Kirsten

 

[FireFly725]

That's kind of sad, but if it helps the system, I guess I can live with it.

 

[JackSkellington]

They are usually very good about the FP time. The CM can usually judge what time you got in line. And accordingly estimate your tme in line vs. the FP window. Just treat the CM nice and they usually return the favor.:lol:

 

[wannaread]

AAA Fastpass

Don't know if it is still active but the enhanced fastpass mentioned was only through AAA - basically it made the fastpass stations at each ride act as if they weren't linked into the main system, that is, for a given ride, say space mountain, its the normal limitation (2 hrs after issue or 5 minutes after start time - the five minutes after is to get you to use the FP THEN get a new one, and is on all FP, whether AAA or not) - normally you would have to follow this restriction for any other fastpasses (in the same park anyway, no linking between parks), but with the AAA upgrade you could do this at each ride, and they would not use each other's data (essentially if you look at the post with the patent, "Abuse Check" is skipped except in regard to the same ride) :animwink:

 

[grunter]

Can anyone confirm that the enhanced fastpass is still available through AAA?

That would really come in handy during my July 2008 trip to Disneyland.

 

[Figment1986]

enhanced FP is not offered anymore...

also... I heard early entree is not offered for resort guests.. only those with a ticket with the option on it... but i have to clarify that (and to think i booked the DL hotel wanting to use that option)

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I'm pretty sure that early entry is included in a resort stay. In Feb 08, my park ticket only included one early entry, but I was allowed to go to a second early entry because I was staying at GCH.