I Need Step-by Step Instructions...

yensid67

yensid67

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
...on how to make the best of a day at the Magic Kingdom with all the new duds it has to offer. I know the fastpass+ is an enhanced fastpass from yesteryear. And the Magicband is new to me. My plan is to focus on attractions. So in order to make the most of this we will make our fastpass ressies online under My Disney Experience, but if I do not have the phone app or anything like that in the parks will I get confirmation numbers or something instead? of iss it best to just got and get fastpasses when we get to the park?

Our 2013 trip we only rode 3 attractions at The Magic Kingdom and left because we were exhausted! This time we want to have a plan. Any help would be appreciated on how things work if you don't have a phone with the app for fastpass on it!
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
There are no paper FastPasses anymore. If you wait to get to the park, you get the same digital FastPass+ you would get my choosing them online. If you book your advance FastPass+ for earlier in the day you can get more in park at kiosks located throughout the park. You no longer go to the individual attraction and the kiosks shows you various times at all available attractions.
 
cw1982

cw1982

Well-Known Member
Here are my suggestions:

1) go to the website and book your FP+ choices based on your top three priorities for each day in advance. You can only pick three in advance per day, and those initial three have to be in one park per day. Even if you don't have the app on your phone, it's better to have them booked ahead of time than to wait until you get to the park and hope that what you want is still available.
2) I would set them to begin earlier in the day... if you are planning to be there at park opening, set your first one for about an hour after that so you can do a few things without a FP before wait times start to build.
3) You don't have to have the phone app to use your FP. They are linked to your ticket and/or magic band, whichever medium you use to enter the park. However, having the phone app is useful to view wait times, and you can adjust your FP times on the fly from the app without having to visit a kiosk. If you don't have the phone app, just visit a kiosk at the park (there are several of them at each park) and you can still make changes as needed.
4) once you use your first three for the day, you can go to a kiosk and get a 4th one, and once you use it, you can get a 5th, and so on.

There's another thread on here full of great tips... and here it is :)

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/some-helpful-fastpass-tips-you-might-not-know-about.883771/
 
Chef Mickey

Chef Mickey

Well-Known Member
lazyboy97o said:
No, it is not. Once you've used your first three FastPass+ selections you can get more.
Click to expand...
You're right...I forgot about kiosks but I wish there were more. The lines weren't bad enough in May for me to explore that option. Thanks for reminding me for next time!
 
cw1982

cw1982

Well-Known Member
Chef Mickey said:
You're right...I forgot about kiosks but I wish there were more. The lines weren't bad enough in May for me to explore that option. Thanks for reminding me for next time!
Click to expand...

I had a similar experience in June. When we were there, we only used our first 3 on some days, but then there were others when we used 6 or 7 just because we could lol... that was when we were further in our trip and had already done everything at least once, so we used the FP system to help us decide what to do next.
 
yensid67

yensid67

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So I understand...

I would reserve my fastpass+ time on My Disney Experience on Disney .com and they will be linked to my tickets/band? I assume I have to put a number for the ticket/band that the reservations are to be linked to?

I forgot the most important part of my original post...we aren't going until December 2017 for my 50th Birthday Celebration! Heck, by that time they will have rolled out something else! So I will have to rely on my friends here to tell me what to do and how it works!
 
cw1982

cw1982

Well-Known Member
Once you have bought your tickets, you link those to your MDE account. If you are staying at a Disney hotel, you'll link that reservation as well (you'll get a 60-day window to book FP+'s in advance if you're staying onsite versus 30 days for everyone else, so if you stay onsite, make sure you link everything in the website). If you stay onsite or purchase an Annual Pass, you'll automatically get magic bands linked to your account and sent to you (unless you live outside of the US, in which case you pick them up when you get to the hotel). If not, you can purchase magic bands, but they're not necessary to get into the parks or to use FP+.

So, basically,
1) you'll go online and link your tickets and your hotel reservations to your MDE account using confirmation numbers.
2) when your window opens to reserve your FP+'s, you'll be able to log in and do so. You'll be able to change them as many times as you want, as long as there is availability for the things you're wanting to change around... as of right now, very few things are filling up more than a day or two out from any given park day, so it's not generally an issue to make changes.
3) the magic bands will automatically be linked to your account, if you're getting them in advance. If you decide to buy them once you get to the parks, a CM will link them for you when you buy them. It's quick and painless.

I hope that helps.
 
yensid67

yensid67

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Anything helps for someone who doesn't like change but will have to deal with it eventually! I liked the old school of doing things...credit card style ticket with paper fastpasses! That's just me...I am not good when it comes to change like this!
 
cw1982

cw1982

Well-Known Member
yensid67 said:
Anything helps for someone who doesn't like change but will have to deal with it eventually! I liked the old school of doing things...credit card style ticket with paper fastpasses! That's just me...I am not good when it comes to change like this!
Click to expand...

You'll be fine. It's really not so bad once you get started. It seems like a lot now, but you'll be amazed at how easy it is, and how quickly it goes. By the time your window for FP+'s opens up, the kinks should be out of the system and it will be even more user friendly than I found it to be. I'm definitely not one to give credit where it's not due, but this was our first trip to WDW as adults where we did our own planning, and I had no problems with the system.

You don't even have to get a magic band. Disney still does credit card style tickets as well... they just like for onsite guests to have magic bands because they work as a room key, ticket, fastpass, and give guests a way to charge to their room, all without ever having to open a wallet or purse.

Keep asking questions as you think of them though :)
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
cw1982 said:
You don't even have to get a magic band. Disney still does credit card style tickets as well... they just like for onsite guests to have magic bands because they work as a room key, ticket, fastpass, and give guests a way to charge to their room, all without ever having to open a wallet or purse.
Click to expand...
Everything you listed is available without using a MagicBand and, excepting FastPass, was available on the old, non-RFID Key to the World cards. Disney wants people to use MagicBands because it offers them more analytical data based on your movements in the parks. They are only now starting to roll out some MagicBand only features such as the automatic linking of on-ride photos and checking in without stopping at the front desk (the latter more since the cards are not mailed out and must be requested at the front desk of your hotel).
 
cw1982

cw1982

Well-Known Member
lazyboy97o said:
Everything you listed is available without using a MagicBand and, excepting FastPass, was available on the old, non-RFID Key to the World cards. Disney wants people to use MagicBands because it offers them more analytical data based on your movements in the parks. They are only now starting to roll out some MagicBand only features such as the automatic linking of on-ride photos and checking in without stopping at the front desk (the latter more since the cards are not mailed out and must be requested at the front desk of your hotel).
Click to expand...

Exactly. My point was that the OP won't have to have a magic band if it's not wanted.

I was typing on my phone... apparently the last part of my post didn't make it :confused:, but I had meant for that to include the fact that you can do all of those with a regular ticket.
 
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graphite1326

graphite1326

Well-Known Member
Here is what I did and it worked out great. First of all I have been there many times and kinda know where and when to go on rides. I booked my fastpass+ well in advance for the afternoon and they were for Space MT., Jungle Cruise, & I believe the last was for Philharmic. We arrive at rope drop, walked to the back of the park and rode Splash and Big Thunder Mt Railroad first. Then we worked our way toward the front of the park starting with HM and so on. I have never found Pirates to have a long line so we rode it when we were in the area and it work out well. We used our Fastpasses up and rode everything else we wanted to. Hope this helps.
 
yensid67

yensid67

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
cw1982 said:
You don't even have to get a magic band. Disney still does credit card style tickets as well... they just like for onsite guests to have magic bands because they work as a room key, ticket, fastpass, and give guests a way to charge to their room, all without ever having to open a wallet or purse.
:)
Click to expand...

Just a thought...
You would have thought Disney would have included Good Neighbor Hotels with the Magicband to capitalize on the whole even with guests staying at these hotel like we are!(we cannot afford to stay on property) Disney could use the info to see how many guests really do stay off property compared to how many stay on property and maybe they MIGHT think about lowering their resort prices in order to nab the off site guest pool!?

I will most likely use the card style tickets as long as I can schedule 3 fastpasses 30 days out and then schedule others once they are finished! This time we just have to plan to use fastpass as much as we can in order to have a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment when we think about our trip once we get home! Once we are home we cannot do anything over, so might as well do it right the first time!
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
yensid67 said:
Just a thought...
You would have thought Disney would have included Good Neighbor Hotels with the Magicband to capitalize on the whole even with guests staying at these hotel like we are!(we cannot afford to stay on property) Disney could use the info to see how many guests really do stay off property compared to how many stay on property and maybe they MIGHT think about lowering their resort prices in order to nab the off site guest pool!?
Click to expand...
They probably already have a good idea of that breakdown. And why give something away for free when you can sell them for $13 a piece?

If you really want to be dynamic with FastPass+ you may want to consider getting something so you can access the My Disney Experience app.
 
cw1982

cw1982

Well-Known Member
yensid67 said:
Just a thought...
You would have thought Disney would have included Good Neighbor Hotels with the Magicband to capitalize on the whole even with guests staying at these hotel like we are!(we cannot afford to stay on property) Disney could use the info to see how many guests really do stay off property compared to how many stay on property and maybe they MIGHT think about lowering their resort prices in order to nab the off site guest pool!?

I will most likely use the card style tickets as long as I can schedule 3 fastpasses 30 days out and then schedule others once they are finished! This time we just have to plan to use fastpass as much as we can in order to have a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment when we think about our trip once we get home! Once we are home we cannot do anything over, so might as well do it right the first time!
Click to expand...

I agree with @lazyboy97o on this one... I'm sure it's just a matter of math that a computer program somewhere can run very efficiently to determine what percentage of guests are in the parks each day as part of a vacation package, those who bought tickets and booked their onsite hotels separately, and those who are staying offsite somewhere but still have park entry via a one-day or multi-day ticket, AP, or whatever. With the electronic ticketing, this should be very easy to track with the right software.

You can still use fastpasses without having magic bands. If you're not staying onsite, there's really very little in the way of an advantage to having them, other than having your ticket and fastpasses on your wrist instead of in your wallet.

Either way, the bottom line is, if you've done a little planning on the front end, you're much more likely to have that great trip you're after. I think you're off to a great start. :)
 

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