Is there a science to the Fast Pass system?

[Bri1121]

The last time we traveled to Disney was in 2009 right after Christmas. There were a few rides we missed because of the lines and only got a few fast passes the whole trip.

We are traveling July/August this year and know it will be crowded. Any tips, suggestions for the parks! We missed out on Soarin last time and DH waited a long time for Tower of Terror and never made it on the Rockin Roller Coaster- he has never been on and I feel terrible!

We have two small kids so they are not able to ride all the rides and we will be doing a baby pass! My mom is also coming so we have more hands to help with the kids.

Any tips, suggestions, advice would be greatly appreciated. In Epcot and HS I have an idea of what rides have the longest waits but what about MK (there are so many rides I do not know what to do!) and AK! :veryconfu

Thanks!!

 

[Mukta]

My tips:

Make a list of the top 10 attractions you want to experience at each park.

If those attractions have Fastpass, utilize it.

Get to the parks at opening and ride Soarin', TOT, RnR etc. You now know that they are popular, so get a FP for them as early as possible.

At MK, the mountains, Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh have the longest lines. Have one adult get fastpasses for the mountains while the other adults ride something with the kids.

Also, if you are staying onsite, you and/or your Mom can stay with the kids at night while the other adults enjoy Evening Extra Magic Hours. That is a great time to ride the more popular rides.

 

[bmarkelon]

Our "science" as a young family is to use the fast pass and parent swap passes as much as we can to get on the thrill rides. I feel like we do the parent swap way more but usually have a fast pass in hand as well.
Of course it doesn't always work out, I let the DH ride Aerosmith with my dad while I stayed off w/the kids and the wait was so long that by the time they were off the kids were melting down and we had to head back to the resort.
I just try to make a list of all the thrill rides and choose a few that I definitely want to get on each trip. I will go on Rock and Roller Coaster and Haunted Mansion no matter what in August!! Nothing is stopping me, haha!
Good luck! The cool thing is that you can keep closer track of fast pass return times now on the time/wait boards. And all the apps out there come in handy too.

 

[Bri1121]

Thanks guys you have some great tips! Will definitely making lists. Last trip we never made it to Epcot in the am and that was the biggest problem there. This time we definitely will!

One good thing about having little kids is they are up early!! So getting to the parks are no problem. We definitely will be utilizing extra magic hours!

We are getting on soarin this time no matter what too! DD can finally ride so its a must!

Whats the best apps for an iphone? I heard undercover tourist was good! Love that you can keep track on your phone!

 

[JohnLocke]

FP is definitely necessary for Midway Mania in DHS and Soarin' in AK, and you're going to pretty much have to get there when the park opens to get them. If you're able, and don't mind doing it, I'd also say take advantage of the Single Rider line for Test Track, it's what we've always done and really seems to cut down time.

 

[RonAnnArbor]

I would suggest you get a copy of the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2011 -- their touring plans are perfect if you want to get in all the rides.

If your library has a copy, xerox the touring plans from the back of the book.

It's the best money you will spend if you want a complete ride-everything-in-as-short-a-time-as-possible approach.

 

[ob1thx1138]

I would suggest you get a copy of the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2011 -- their touring plans are perfect if you want to get in all the rides.

If your library has a copy, xerox the touring plans from the back of the book.

It's the best money you will spend if you want a complete ride-everything-in-as-short-a-time-as-possible approach.

I second this. We used the 2 day MK Plan and on the first day we had finished everything on the plan and rode a few things from the second day all before we went back to the resort for our mid day break. And this was the week of the 4th of July.

Also getting there for rope drop is essential.

The only other thing I might add is that the makers of the book also have a web site (touringplans.com) that you can use to get the plans as well. Well woth it in my opinion.

 

[Larry Mondello]

The "Science" can be found in the following link

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6173209.PN.&OS=PN/6173209&RS=PN/6173209

 

[Bri1121]

Thanks guys!! I got the book back in 2009 when we went! Will pick up another and check out the site!

99 days! We are finally in double digits! :sohappy:

 

[Scuttle]

Thanks guys you have some great tips! Will definitely making lists. Last trip we never made it to Epcot in the am and that was the biggest problem there. This time we definitely will!

One good thing about having little kids is they are up early!! So getting to the parks are no problem. We definitely will be utilizing extra magic hours!

We are getting on soarin this time no matter what too! DD can finally ride so its a must!

Whats the best apps for an iphone? I heard undercover tourist was good! Love that you can keep track on your phone!

Lines from touring plans is hands down the best app for WDW

 

[durangojim]

Also, don't forget that you can use a fast pass even after the allotted time "window" as long as it's on the same day.

 

[WDW 3]

Your husband could also use the single rider lines where possible. Our family of 3 will do this at EE and RnR while waiting for our FP times.

 

[JohnLocke]

Your husband could also use the single rider lines where possible. Our family of 3 will do this at EE and RnR while waiting for our FP times.

I would suggest skipping the RnR single rider line. In my experience, you'll do just as well or better going Stand By. If the line's not already in the building, don't do it. By all means use Test Tracks, though, it's the fast way on. Not as sure about EE.

 

[Mick G.]

Our experience with Early Magic Hours has been that they don't work well. You have several thousand other people all going to the same park early to ride a limited number of attractions, and it clogs up. Our practice is to avoid the EMH park, and get to one of the other parks at park open.

Mick

 

[WDW 3]

Expedition Everest Works really well! Agree with the RnR single rider... but it can work. Depends on when you go.

 

[ob1thx1138]

I would suggest skipping the RnR single rider line. In my experience, you'll do just as well or better going Stand By. If the line's not already in the building, don't do it. By all means use Test Tracks, though, it's the fast way on. Not as sure about EE.

Me, my wife and our 9 year old son did the single rider line at EE and we all got on the same train. We planned on putting him in the middle of us so that he would always have an adult with him at the load/unload area. This was just for our 4th ride so we weren't concerned about experiencing it together so much as just getting another ride in as quickly as possible. It took us 10 minutes to get from the front of the queue to the ride during a 90 minute stand by queue time.

 

[epcotWSC]

I always try to hit the most popular attractions first.
That means if you're at Epcot get a fastpass to Soarin as soon as you get into the park.
If you're at DHS get a fastpass to Toy Story Mania as soon as you get into the park.
Animal Kingdom, Everest.
Magic Kingdom I'd say either Splash or Space mountain (BTMRR usually doesn't have too bad of a wait, moves quickly).

You also have to know which of the "big" attractions move quicker than others. For example, rock n' roller coaster can move quite quickly as can tower of terror at least the early morning anyway.

Anyway, that's my advice.

 

[ob1thx1138]

I always try to hit the most popular attractions first.
That means if you're at Epcot get a fastpass to Soarin as soon as you get into the park.
If you're at DHS get a fastpass to Toy Story Mania as soon as you get into the park.
Animal Kingdom, Everest.
Magic Kingdom I'd say either Splash or Space mountain (BTMRR usually doesn't have too bad of a wait, moves quickly).

You also have to know which of the "big" attractions move quicker than others. For example, rock n' roller coaster can move quite quickly as can tower of terror at least the early morning anyway.

Anyway, that's my advice.

I would rather fast pass BTMRR if the weather is hot. That qeue is really hot in the summer time where as the others are mostly inside.

 

[10East75South]

Epcot

If Epcot, or moreover SOARIN is the question -- I make this suggestion. When we go, we get their early, and I drop off the wife and kids at the Character Spot while I run over to the Land to get SOARIN Fast Passes. At that point, first thing in the park, we KNOW that will ride it....we just have no idea when. Fast Passes are great at ensuring your place on a ride sometime in later in the day......

 

[HornsofaSteer]

We have found that in general if you can get to the parks early and go on attractions that have big lines, fastpasses, and are near each other they are the best to get FP for first. For example RnR and ToT, odds are you can get a pass for one and just ride the other. You may also be able to snag a FP for Toy Story Midway Mania and still be able to get on the other two while the lines are shorter.

It also works out well if you give everyone's park passes to one person who can act as a "runner" to go to get the fast passes. That way all the passes are already together and the whole party does not have to navigate to the fast pass area.

Final note, I am sure you check the time when you can get a new fast pass because you can always get a fast pass the minute the last one hits its time window or an hour after you last got a fast pass. So if you have a fast pass for a ride at 2:00 p.m. that you got at 10:00 a.m., and it is now 11:30 a.m. you can get another fast pass for something else before all of the passes are gone. <33 FP