Magic Kingdom without Fast Pass?

[5Adults]

I've read a few threads on this forum and think it will be too much for me to figure out the Fast Pass +.
We'll be there a busy week - teacher in our group so it's the only time she can go. We're staying off site so I'm thinking just buy entrance to the theme park and once we get there, buy our little bracelets and go to the kiosks in the theme park to book our Fast Pass as we go. It just sounds so confusing and trying to figure it out for five people will really sap the fun out of things. My question is during Feb 18-25 is there any hope of a good time in Magic Kingdom without Fast Pass + ?

 

[mousehockey37]

Your trip is what you make of it. You can do the MK without FP. You can technically do all of WDW without it. You do have the opportunity at 30 days out to make your FP+ arrangements. It's really not hard. You go in, select the MK park, and pick your three choices. Not too difficult. Just try to spread them out some so you have time to get from one to another and maybe hit up a ride or 2 in between. Remember, just because it's supposed to be busy doesn't mean the ride times will be. Yes, the Mine Train, Space Mountain and such will have longer waits, they normally do, but not everyone is in a ride queue the whole time. There are people eating, wandering and at meet and greets, so it's just about making a plan and trying to do what you can with it. Good luck!

 

[Weather_Lady]

I've read a few threads on this forum and think it will be too much for me to figure out the Fast Pass +.
We'll be there a busy week - teacher in our group so it's the only time she can go. We're staying off site so I'm thinking just buy entrance to the theme park and once we get there, buy our little bracelets and go to the kiosks in the theme park to book our Fast Pass as we go. It just sounds so confusing and trying to figure it out for five people will really sap the fun out of things. My question is during Feb 18-25 is there any hope of a good time in Magic Kingdom without Fast Pass + ?

You can always do things without FP+, but setting it up ahead of time is really not that complicated. (Why not spend some time now to set it up, rather than spending the same amount of time on a park day trying to mess with it, or standing in longer lines?)

If you opt to take the plunge, first you'll want to create a My Disney Experience ("MDE") account at https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/plan/my-disney-experience/. Then, purchase tickets for the entire group ahead of time (e.g., online - buying ahead of time will also protect you from any later price increases that occur before your trip) and you will be given ticket numbers which you can link to your MDE account. (There's a conspicuous clickable link on MDE for "linking" tickets/reservation numbers to your account.) Once you've done that, you can open your MDE account 30 days or less out from your trip, and book your allotted 3 FP+ for the group. If you want to make changes to those arrangements later, up to and including the day-of, you can do so online, at an in-park kiosk or from your Smartphone (there is a free App for your MDE account), but at least you'll have something set up to begin with. The upside of doing this is that you won't necessarily be "shut out" of FP+ for the most popular attractions, which is the likely result if you wait until the day-of to make your FP+ inside the park. If you're not comfortable setting things up online, perhaps there's someone else in the group who is tech-savvy and wouldn't mind doing it.

That being said, and particularly if your party is arriving at rope drop, there is no reason you can't tour the MK without any FP+ at all -- you'll just need to be more patient about waiting in long lines, and/or about taking time out of your touring to investigate or make day-of FP+.

 

[DisneyJoe]

buy our little bracelets

You don't need to purchase MagicBands unless you want to; they are optional.

 

[CheshireCat12]

Don't be afraid to set up a MDE account and do your Fastpass + ahead of time. It is very easy and I would recommend it no matter what time of the year or how big/small your traveling party is. It will save you time on your visit.

 

[5Adults]

You can always do things without FP+, but setting it up ahead of time is really not that complicated. (Why not spend some time now to set it up, rather than spending the same amount of time on a park day trying to mess with it, or standing in longer lines?)

If you opt to take the plunge, first you'll want to create a My Disney Experience ("MDE") account at https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/plan/my-disney-experience/. Then, purchase tickets for the entire group ahead of time (e.g., online - buying ahead of time will also protect you from any later price increases that occur before your trip) and you will be given ticket numbers which you can link to your MDE account. (There's a conspicuous clickable link on MDE for "linking" tickets/reservation numbers to your account.) Once you've done that, you can open your MDE account 30 days or less out from your trip, and book your allotted 3 FP+ for the group. If you want to make changes to those arrangements later, up to and including the day-of, you can do so online, at an in-park kiosk or from your Smartphone (there is a free App for your MDE account), but at least you'll have something set up to begin with. The upside of doing this is that you won't necessarily be "shut out" of FP+ for the most popular attractions, which is the likely result if you wait until the day-of to make your FP+ inside the park. If you're not comfortable setting things up online, perhaps there's someone else in the group who is tech-savvy and wouldn't mind doing it.

That being said, and particularly if your party is arriving at rope drop, there is no reason you can't tour the MK without any FP+ at all -- you'll just need to be more patient about waiting in long lines, and/or about taking time out of your touring to investigate or make day-of FP+.

Super huge thank you. I think I will take the plunge and buy tickets and book Fast Pass on the iPhone App MDE. I just asked everyone to make an account so I can link them to mine. Thanks again for the really helpful post.

 

[5Adults]

You don't need to purchase MagicBands unless you want to; they are optional.

Thanks that's interesting. So our tickets are in our cell phones on the MDE App and is it our cell phone that we show to get on all the rides, instead of the magic band? Or do people not have to show anything to get on rides once you're in the park?

Don't be afraid to set up a MDE account and do your Fastpass + ahead of time. It is very easy and I would recommend it no matter what time of the year or how big/small your traveling party is. It will save you time on your visit.

You're right CheshireCat, I think it's good advice and I will just stop being such a damn baby LOL.

 

[BAChicagoGal]

MDE on the computer is actually very user friendly, and it is nice doing things at home, where you can take your time. I can't imagine trying to do this while a vacation is already in progress.

 

[5Adults]

Your trip is what you make of it. You can do the MK without FP. You can technically do all of WDW without it. You do have the opportunity at 30 days out to make your FP+ arrangements. It's really not hard. You go in, select the MK park, and pick your three choices. Not too difficult. Just try to spread them out some so you have time to get from one to another and maybe hit up a ride or 2 in between. Remember, just because it's supposed to be busy doesn't mean the ride times will be. Yes, the Mine Train, Space Mountain and such will have longer waits, they normally do, but not everyone is in a ride queue the whole time. There are people eating, wandering and at meet and greets, so it's just about making a plan and trying to do what you can with it. Good luck!

Thanks, I can't tell you how relieved I feel to read your and other posts. Once I downloaded the MDE App and mucked about there for a bit, I see how it is easier to do it that way and I'm sure one of my adult sons will laugh if I tell him I was afraid to use the damn App. God I hate being old.

 

[Rob562]

Thanks that's interesting. So our tickets are in our cell phones on the MDE App and is it our cell phone that we show to get on all the rides, instead of the magic band? Or do people not have to show anything to get on rides once you're in the park?.

If you buy tickets, you can either have them send you the ticket, or pick them up at Will Call at the park. Either way, you'll get a plastic card to use. You'll use that card to enter the park and check in to FastPasses. They're RFID, so you just tap the card to the reader like the MagicBands.

-Rob

 

[5Adults]

If you buy tickets, you can either have them send you the ticket, or pick them up at Will Call at the park. Either way, you'll get a plastic card to use. You'll use that card to enter the park and check in to FastPasses. They're RFID, so you just tap the card to the reader like the MagicBands.
-Rob

Okay, thanks!

 

[HurricaneHanna]

Thanks, I can't tell you how relieved I feel to read your and other posts. Once I downloaded the MDE App and mucked about there for a bit, I see how it is easier to do it that way and I'm sure one of my adult sons will laugh if I tell him I was afraid to use the damn App. God I hate being old.

If you can figure out how to post on a chat forum (and even customize your avatar, whoo hoo), I promise, you can figure out how to use MyDisneyExperience and book FastPasses.

 

[BAChicagoGal]

Thanks, I can't tell you how relieved I feel to read your and other posts. Once I downloaded the MDE App and mucked about there for a bit, I see how it is easier to do it that way and I'm sure one of my adult sons will laugh if I tell him I was afraid to use the damn App. God I hate being old.

This post made me smile. I am going on 69, and I remember back in 2005, when I first got a computer, and a cell phone. Both my grandson and my husband helped me out a little, but mostly they told me not to be afraid of the technology. I made lots of errors at first, but I figured out how to do things. In fact, over these many years, I may know more, about some stuff, than these first teachers taught me years ago.

The world is ever-changing, and new ways of doing things are happening every day. The kids seems to pick up some of this stuff automatically, but some of us take a bit longer. I applaud those of us who try. There are still some old folks missing out on all the fun/convenience of the modern ways to do things.

 

[HurricaneHanna]

The world is ever-changing, and new ways of doing things are happening every day. The kids seems to pick up some of this stuff automatically, but some of us take a bit longer. I applaud those of us who try. There are still some old folks missing out on all the fun/convenience of the modern ways to do things.

You're so right! My father in law is in his mid 80s and he's kept up with technology all along. He emails us and his grand children frequently. Has a brand new lap top which he's currently using to research and write a book. He has the newest iPhone. As such, he's not intimidated to do anything. My mother on the other hand, died two years ago still refusing to learn how to use an ATM, let alone a computer or cell phone. She barely left the house and was uncomfortable participating in things for years before her death because she felt so out of touch.

 

[5Adults]

So I added all my peeps into my MDE account under my profile. If I buy tickets on MDE for all of us, can I just assign a ticket to each of them and then when they arrive in the mail I scan them in to my account under each of their names? Or do they have to make separate MDE accounts first? One of my party is having trouble downloading MDE because she doesn't have an iPhone.
Also, I want to buy two tickets to Universal ... do I buy those somewhere else like at an OTC?

 

[HurricaneHanna]

You can manage all of the planning for your friends. They do not need their own accounts. Here's what I recommend. First have anyone who wants to make their own MDE account do it as soon as possible. Then link your account with those friends. The friends should not list any of the other members of your group when they open their accounts. You already added everyone in your account so once you link to one friend, that friend will then have access to add the other group members from your list. It's easy to do. MDE will prompt you to add their email addresses. Once you are linked, purchase the tickets. You'll be prompted to assign a friend to each ticket. This will automatically link the tickets in MDE. You won't need to manually enter any info yourself.

You can not buy tickets to Universal from Disney.

 

[5Adults]

Okay thanks, Hurricane.So I added all four as family. One of them made her own account and I invited her to link to my account. But after reading your post I asked her to not accept my invitation to link and asked her to delete her account. It's much easier if I manage all of them and they are happy with it. Hope it's not hard for her to delete her MDE account. Gosh, seems I've already made a mess of things on this new adventure of mine. All-inclusive in Mexico is more my speed

 

[HurricaneHanna]

@5Adults , I edited my post a bit. I think maybe you saw the first cut of it and I hope I didn't alarm you. I'm not sure that your friend can delete an account. If she didn't add the other people in your group, you should be okay. The problems I was initially explaining (in my initial post) happen when two people link and each of them already has some of the same friends on their lists. This causes the mutual friend to have two profiles and it can really cause a mix up. If your friend did not put any other names in her new account, you will be fine. Just go ahead and link. Read my above post as I now have it. I'm sorry if I caused confusion or alarm.

 

[mouse_luv]

Just be aware that when you are going the Parks may be more crowded than usual because that's right before Mardi Gras and the families from New Orleans flock to Disney to get away from it. Accidentally made that mistake back in 2007. LOL!

 

[5Adults]

Just be aware that when you are going the Parks may be more crowded than usual because that's right before Mardi Gras and the families from New Orleans flock to Disney to get away from it. Accidentally made that mistake back in 2007. LOL!

Yes, it's President's Day long weekend, Disney marathon, Mardi Gras, you name it. But we have a teacher in our group so it can't be helped. That's why I think I need to book Fast Passes. Is the MDE app the only way to book Fast Pass?