Disney Fastpass+ Questions/Not staying on property

[kilo90]

We are heading to Disney World the first week of March. I use to have the fastpass strategy down to a science and now I'm reading about the new fastpass+ system. :confused1:   Due to family size, we rent a town home downtown. To say I'm not thrilled about the fastpass+ is an understatement.

 

My biggest question...does the kiosk assign you a time and that's that or do you have a chance to accept or not accept it?  My concern is if  morning times are booked (since on-property guest book in advance), then we might only get mid-afternoon return times. We typically leave for 3 hrs in the afternoon to rest and if our fastpass+ times all fall in that window, we'll be up a creek.  

Second question, can we kiss good-bye any chance of getting a fastpass+ for late in the day? (I'm sure this might vary on how busy the park is) I was reading on-line that many days they run out of fastpass+ times by early morning. I guess the idea of trying to get 2 in the morning and save 1 for when we get back in the afternoon is a poor plan. Yes?

 

Any tips/advice/warnings would be very much appreciated. This has rocked my planning-world and my excitement about the trip has taken a significant hit.  :glare:

[DawnM]

Are you staying off-property?  I was there in November and people staying off-property didn't have an option at all with Fastpass+.  We simply didn't qualify.  We could get the "old" system FPs but they were harder to get and some were out before we got there.

 

 

[kilo90]

We are staying off-property. Now that they have done away with the old system, folks not staying on-property can get 3 fastpass+ per day, but not in advance. I WISH we had the old system option. 

[Joker]

I found this. Maybe it will help.

 

http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201401/3846/

 

I'm not happy because we live close by and have annual passes. So, this penalizes us and we won't be renewing our passes this time around.

[kilo90]

Thank you for the link. People's comments at the bottom are very helpful! Yes, I thought about local folk. We use to live in Tampa and had annual passes. I can't believe they wouldn't offer a better option for those families. Seems like they have been planning this for years, but I'm not sure if they've considered all the issues. I would think lots of folks would drop their annual passes. 

[Mom in High Heels]

Wow, it's not fair that they have nothing for annual pass holders.  I would be pretty mad, because those tickets aren't cheap.

 

We're going in June and I'm the one who does all the planning, and this is so confusing to me!  I suppose the first thing I need to work out is meal reservations, which is difficult enough as it is!  We went for 10 days once and I nearly lost my mind, because I had it planned, but some of the restaurants weren't available, so things had to change and blah, blah, blah.  I know, my life is so hard.  What a complaint.

 

The agent I spoke to said when our magic bands came, we could go online and choose our fast passes.  I'm not sure how that works.

[kilo90]

From what I've read, the beginning of March shouldn't be bad since Easter & Spring Breaks are a little later this year. We typically go during the off-season, but some rides always seem to have lines especially later in the day.

Mom/Heels...good luck sorting it out. You'll have the advantage of picking your Fastpass+ times up to 2 months out which will be nice. And then you have the option of changing times if you need, too. Definitely a perk to staying on-property. And the number of passes you are allowed depends on what resort you are staying at, too. You may get more than 3 a day.  :001_smile: 

[Bensmom]

From what I've read, the beginning of March shouldn't be bad since Easter & Spring Breaks are a little later this year. We typically go during the off-season, but some rides always seem to have lines especially later in the day.

Mom/Heels...good luck sorting it out. You'll have the advantage of picking your Fastpass+ times up to 2 months out which will be nice. And then you have the option of changing times if you need, too. Definitely a perk to staying on-property. And the number of passes you are allowed depends on what resort you are staying at, too. You may get more than 3 a day.  :001_smile: 

 

I have read rumors that the number of passes allowed is dependent upon which resort you are staying, but have not read that this is definitive.  I thought Disney was still toying with this idea and everyone has 3 (1 headliner and 2 non-headliner) passes.  Have you read this is being put into practice now, and if so can you please link the article?

 

I agree with the OP, trying to figure out this new system is a bit of a pain :(

[Trez]

We just got back from staying at the Poly resort. We have been to Disney and stayed at the resort numerous times. Let me just say that we are definitely NOT a fan of the new fastpass system. We had to say ahead of time which 3 rides we wanted and then the website would give us 4 options that would work with those rides. You can not pick to fastpass across parks and you only get the three a day. We found that often we went to the park and found that we didn't really need the fast passes that we asked for and would have much rather choosen something else. They have removed all of the normal fastpass machines at the Animal Kingdom and according to the working castmembers were shortly removing other machines from the parks.

 

ARGH I would much rather have the old fastpass system! The only parts of the new system I like are the braclets for room keys/charging/entering the parks/pictures. We are seat of the pants planners and thus don't really plan out our whole vacation and restaurants 60 days out. We actually stopped using the online restaurant reservations and just walked up to the restaurants to ask for openings.

[kilo90]

I have read a couple books and several webpages dealing with the new system. The first place I read about the tiered fastpass+ system was the "Unooficial Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids 2013."  (It is on page 238.) Won't take the time to type out the 1/2 page, but as I re-read it, it starts out by saying "The actual scheme has not been determined, but we hear it goes something like this..." then they go into the details of numbers. Some websites stated the tiered plan as fact, so I didn't think to question it. My sincere apologies for assuming this was already being implemented! The info is blurring?!  :001_unsure: 

[Serenade]

Disney is getting too complicated.

[Χά�ων]

As someone who has never

been this does nothing to convince me to consider Disney as a vacation destination.

[Dandelion]

We're going in 4 weeks. Guess I better start reading up on this.

[Annie G]

Disney is getting too complicated.

 

Agree!

 

Here's how old I am...the last time I went (I was 11 and it was the 70's) our ticket was an actual book of tickets, labeled A through E. Each ride had a designated letter and we had to give up a ticket for each one. When our tickets ran out, we went home.  We had few E tickets, but more of the other ones.

 

Some people LOVE the Disney planning. I enjoy planning trips for our family but I think Disney would put me over the edge. Where to stay, where to eat, which park to see on which day...it's all overwhelming to me. 

[Serenade]

Agree!

 

Here's how old I am...the last time I went (I was 11 and it was the 70's) our ticket was an actual book of tickets, labeled A through E. Each ride had a designated letter and we had to give up a ticket for each one. When our tickets ran out, we went home.  We had few E tickets, but more of the other ones.

 

 

 

This is what my husband talks about.  He grew up in Winter Haven, not too far from Disney.  He also talks about how later Disney pioneered the one price admission, but it seems like bit-by-bit, that one price admission is gradually being dismantled in favor of nickel and diming.

[kilo90]

Annie...That is fascinating about the tickets and the process years ago!  

I will say, I am a HUGE planner, but not when it comes to Disney. We have traveled extensively (with kiddos) in Europe & Great Britain and I pride myself on smoothly run adventures due to lots and lots of planning. But Disney...no way. This is the first time I've read a book on Disney planning and I have to say if I planned our vacation based on many of the suggestions, I (and thus the fam) would be miserable. Not enough flex. Now, this is just me personally. I'm sure many folks plan where they are eating, schedule by the hour, and have a wonderful trip. Some folks can get off-schedule and not be bothered. I do not fall into that category. 

THIS is why the fastpass thing has thrown me for a loop. That is the only "control" I like to have in our schedule. I know its Disney and I know theme parks have lines, but I will not wait in a line for an hr for a ride. (No, I don't have teenagers YET.I'm sure this will have to change.) Just not worth it to me to have a 5 yr old wait for that long for a ride lasting 3 minutes. We strategically grab fastpasses and it makes the day go SO much better. 

 

I certainly don't want this thread to discourage anyone from a Disney trip. If you never knew the joy of fastpasses, you wouldn't miss it. And you could go and not worry a lick about the fastpass+ system. Trez testifies that, in the end, they didn't need the fastpasses they had reserved. 

 

Dandelion, I would be very appreciative if you gave an update after your trip as to how it went for your family. 

[ChrissySC]

We went in October.  I loved it.  The Magic Bands were great.  I had the park hopper option added to our trip.  We could Fast Pass three at each park.  I chose them each day, and not ahead of time.  I want to say that the lines were not terrible either.  They were working on several rides, and I missed Peter Pan.  :(  However, waiting in line was somthing that my family and I are accustomed to doing with Carrowinds right down the road.  Honestly, it is not that bad.  I do suggest that you make reservations as soon as you can.  The restaurants book quickly.  We ate at the resort several times and found it acceptable. 

 

I will note that the meal plan would not have served the three of us well at all.  We only spent $500 and the meal plan was closer to $700. 

 

It was the best time for us.  The girls and I absolutely loved it, and we started our Disney savings again!

 

Don't be discouraged.  It really is great fun.  My youngest was 6yrs.

[kilo90]

We just returned from our Disney trip and I thought I would report back.  Overall I definitely like the old fastpass system better. That said, I did like the fact that you could have your choice of times with the new system IF you were at the park first thing in the morning.  We arrived at rope drop all but one morning. The mornings we arrived at rope drop, I went directly to a Fastpass+ ( FP+) kiosk and got our passes for the day. The one morning we arrived an hour after opening, the lines for the kiosks were long and time choices were very sparse. This may not be the case every day, but that was our experience. I did like being able to get my choice of times for later in the day. We could leave for the afternoon when things got busy, come back later in the day to use our FP+. . Also, when we passed FP+ kiosks mid to late morning, the lines were crazy long. 45 min to wait for your FP+?? Nuts. 

 

Even thought I thought it would be a big disadvantage to not be able to reserve our FP+ ahead of time like folks staying on-property, I don't think that's the case. I think it would drive me batty to pre-plan my FP+ weeks/months ahead of time. I would feel so restricted. You can change your times and rides if you want but still. That's way to much planning for me. And I'm a planner!? 

 

Another disadvantage that bugged me is that you can not split up your passes between parks in the same day. If you have the park hopper, you end up using them in the first park. If you waited to reserve any until you got to the second park on that day, the odds of their being any left would be slim from what we saw. 

 

As I say, this was our experience last week. Even though, it might have been nice to just say "forget the FP+" and just do the lines, many of the lines were LONG last week. There's no way we would have waited in some of those lines without the FP+.  

 

I came across this article yesterday that gives various perspectives on the issue.

http://money.msn.com/technology-investment/post--disney-bets-big-on-visitor-tracking-technology

 

As a side note, if your girlies want to meet the Frozen princesses, do your research and be prepared. The wait to meet them is 3-4+ hours long. I am not kidding. People arriving at 9:15 were being put in the 1:00 line. I let my 13 yr old know "it ain't happenin'"  I told her she can meet them next time we go once the newness of the movie has worn off.  The lines for meeting characters were longer and slower this time. My kids got about half the autographs this time compared to our visit 3 years ago. You can get a FP+ for some of the Character meet & greets. If you want to do a princess, I would recommend it. 

 

Happy to field any questions. 

[trinchick]

Thanks for the update, Gloria. Like you, I felt like I had the old system down to a science, so this new program has me worried. We're planning our first off-site stay for August, and your info about getting to the parks early has helped to ease my mind.

 

DD will be disappointed about the Frozen princesses, but we're just not going to wait that long. Sounds like the lines are as crazy as when Rapunzel and Tinker Bell first started their meet and greets. We try to schedule a few character meals so that we don't have to wait in all those lines for autographs. DD is 9 this time, so maybe this year she'll be more interested in the rides than the characters.

[mlktwins]

We just returned from our Disney trip and I thought I would report back.  Overall I definitely like the old fastpass system better. That said, I did like the fact that you could have your choice of times with the new system IF you were at the park first thing in the morning.  We arrived at rope drop all but one morning. The mornings we arrived at rope drop, I went directly to a Fastpass+ ( FP+) kiosk and got our passes for the day. The one morning we arrived an hour after opening, the lines for the kiosks were long and time choices were very sparse. This may not be the case every day, but that was our experience. I did like being able to get my choice of times for later in the day. We could leave for the afternoon when things got busy, come back later in the day to use our FP+. . Also, when we passed FP+ kiosks mid to late morning, the lines were crazy long. 45 min to wait for your FP+?? Nuts. 

 

Even thought I thought it would be a big disadvantage to not be able to reserve our FP+ ahead of time like folks staying on-property, I don't think that's the case. I think it would drive me batty to pre-plan my FP+ weeks/months ahead of time. I would feel so restricted. You can change your times and rides if you want but still. That's way to much planning for me. And I'm a planner!? 

 

Another disadvantage that bugged me is that you can not split up your passes between parks in the same day. If you have the park hopper, you end up using them in the first park. If you waited to reserve any until you got to the second park on that day, the odds of their being any left would be slim from what we saw. 

 

As I say, this was our experience last week. Even though, it might have been nice to just say "forget the FP+" and just do the lines, many of the lines were LONG last week. There's no way we would have waited in some of those lines without the FP+.  

 

I came across this article yesterday that gives various perspectives on the issue.

http://money.msn.com/technology-investment/post--disney-bets-big-on-visitor-tracking-technology

 

As a side note, if your girlies want to meet the Frozen princesses, do your research and be prepared. The wait to meet them is 3-4+ hours long. I am not kidding. People arriving at 9:15 were being put in the 1:00 line. I let my 13 yr old know "it ain't happenin'"  I told her she can meet them next time we go once the newness of the movie has worn off.  The lines for meeting characters were longer and slower this time. My kids got about half the autographs this time compared to our visit 3 years ago. You can get a FP+ for some of the Character meet & greets. If you want to do a princess, I would recommend it. 

 

Happy to field any questions. 

Thanks for this update.  I've just booked us a Disney cruise for beginning of May and was planning 3 days at the parks beforehand.  We've only done the old fastpass system and we also stay off-site.  How long were your standby lines for things like Test Track, Soarin, Toy Story Mania?  Do you know what the crowds levels were for the parks you went to (crowd levels either form easywdw.com or touringplans.com)?

 

Thanks so much!

[StaceyinLA]

Well, I just typed up a detailed response about how we utilized our FP+ options last week and how we toured the parks and I lost the entire post.  :confused1:

[kilo90]

mlktwins, I used the touringplans website and app. The first day we went to Magic Kingdom was suppose to be a 6/10 and it turned out to be an 8/10. It was busy. Second MK day was predicted a 6/10 and it was 7/10. The day we went to Hollywood was suppose to be a 6/10 and it turned out to be a 7/10.  I forget exactly what touringplans predicted for AK and Epcot when we went, but they were one number too low on that one.  (Overall I wasn't thoroughly impressed with their wait and crowd level estimates last week. I know it's impossible to predict accurately all the time, but last week wasn't great with predictions.) We didn't do Test Track so I can't say what the wait was there. Toy Story Mania is definitely one to either get a FP+ for or go right when the gates open. I don't believe I ever saw the wait under an hr once the park had been opened for a short time. I also kept an eye on Soarin' (it's my favorite ride of all  :hurray:)  First thing in the morning and the last hr Epcot was open was reasonable. The rest of the time it was anywhere from 50-80 minutes. We had a FP+ for that one. 

 

I know now that I was spoiled during our last trip which was the last week of Oct a few years ago. The crowds were low and it was fantastic. Even though we beat the Spring Break rush last week, it was much busier than I anticipated. C'est la vie. It was still a fantastic trip. Just had to plan out our days a bit more and decide which rides/character meetings were worth the wait. 

 

trinchick, even though the FP+ system has its cons and short-comings, you can make it work for you. I will also suggest that you head to FP+ kiosks that are further back in the parks because most folks stop at the first ones they see and they get busy very quickly. At Hollywood, I headed to the ones past the Star Wars ride and there was no one line at all. They have employees manning each of the screens to walk you through it. Very helpful. 

[Kari C in SC]

I am here at Disney now. One thing I have noticed is that if you ever stay on site and get magic bands, they still work even if you are on a return trip staying off site. For instance, my sister got her magic band back in November when she stayed onsite. This time she is here and staying off site. She is still able to use the app with her band and plan fastpasses without being an onsite guest. I realize that does not help people that never stay onsite though.

[kroe1]

I am an annual Passholder and have been to Disney twice in the past few weeks. I love the magic bands! I like not having to carry a wallet anywhere in the parks. They can even get wet. (I did not appreciate the change initially, but now that I have the hang of it, my opinion has changed greatly.)

 

I have MyDisney app on my Ipad and schedule everything from there including Fastpasses. I love not having to run to opposite ends of the parks to grab Fastpasses. Now I can plan the entire day from my bed.

 

I now have bands in 3 colors for each family member. We have decorated ours with bedazzles, cloth covers, and other stupid decorations. We think we are so cool.

[Mom23Boys]

mlktwins, I used the touringplans website and app. The first day we went to Magic Kingdom was suppose to be a 6/10 and it turned out to be an 8/10. It was busy. Second MK day was predicted a 6/10 and it was 7/10. The day we went to Hollywood was suppose to be a 6/10 and it turned out to be a 7/10. I forget exactly what touringplans predicted for AK and Epcot when we went, but they were one number too low on that one. (Overall I wasn't thoroughly impressed with their wait and crowd level estimates last week. I know it's impossible to predict accurately all the time, but last week wasn't great with predictions.) We didn't do Test Track so I can't say what the wait was there. Toy Story Mania is definitely one to either get a FP+ for or go right when the gates open. I don't believe I ever saw the wait under an hr once the park had been opened for a short time. I also kept an eye on Soarin' (it's my favorite ride of all :hurray:) First thing in the morning and the last hr Epcot was open was reasonable. The rest of the time it was anywhere from 50-80 minutes. We had a FP+ for that one.

 

I know now that I was spoiled during our last trip which was the last week of Oct a few years ago. The crowds were low and it was fantastic. Even though we beat the Spring Break rush last week, it was much busier than I anticipated. C'est la vie. It was still a fantastic trip. Just had to plan out our days a bit more and decide which rides/character meetings were worth the wait.

 

trinchick, even though the FP+ system has its cons and short-comings, you can make it work for you. I will also suggest that you head to FP+ kiosks that are further back in the parks because most folks stop at the first ones they see and they get busy very quickly. At Hollywood, I headed to the ones past the Star Wars ride and there was no one line at all. They have employees manning each of the screens to walk you through it. Very helpful.

Last week was Mardi Gras. I bet half of South Louisiana was there last week and I knew more families than ever who stayed the whole week this year, even though most schools only get 2-3 days off. I lost track of how many of my friends were there. I was in Gatlinburg. ;) My SIL is a school teacher and we went with them, so we actually traveled on a holiday.