The Fast Pass system

I must apologize. I have several friends who recently visited the Disney parks and asked me what those fast pass tickets were and how much they cost. I felt so bad for not having filled them in before hand! I think fast passes are such a common topic that I assumed I already blogged about them; apparently not.
So here you go...

What is a fast pass?
A fast pass is a free ticket available to anyone in the park to bypass a large portion of a popular rides line.

Which rides offer them?
Rides such as Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain at Disneyland have these, as do Radiator Springs Racers, Soarin, Grizzly River Run and Tower of Terror at California Adventure. There are more, but I don't think I need to list them all...
It is easy to see if they are available for a ride, because next to the current walk on wait time you will see a fast pass return time posted.

Where can I get one?
You can get a fast pass for a ride at a ticket machine usually near the rides main entrance, or else close by the ride itself. If you can't seem to locate it, simply as a cast member and they will point you in the right direction.
You will need your park ticket to get the pass. Simply walk up to an available machine and put your card in. It will be scanned and out of the bottom of the machine will pop a fast pass ticket with a time of return listed on it. Do not lose this (of your park ticket for that matter...)

How do they work?
When the time listed on your fast pass arrives, simply return to your ride and enter the 'fast pass' line. A cast member will ask to see your ticket and let you through. The fast pass line usually runs right along side the main line but will be relatively empty. On a busy day you may still end up waiting 10 minutes or so to get on your ride, but it is nothing compared to the poor folks who have been waiting for 45. At the end of the line a cast member will take your fast pass ticket from you and you can then proceed onto the ride.

Do I have to use my fast pass during the listed time?
That's a tricky question. I have never been let on a ride earlier then my fast pass time, however I have heard of many people using their fast passes long after their time has expired. Disney World has recently stated that they will be enforcing their ticket times, where as Disneyland has not said anything about it. I think this is one of those times where it just depends on the cast member you get. That being said, we always just use our fast passes when it is the right time as we have a system.

Are the fast passes ride specific?
Yes! You can not use the same fast pass ticket for Indiana Jones as you would on Space Mountain. They will each require a separate fast pass.

How many fast passes can I hold at a time?
You cannot simply run all over the past grabbing fast passes for every ride first thing in the morning. There is an actual time limit on your ticket. You can get a new one every few hours or once your current ticket expires.

Does each ride have an unending supply of fast passes?
No! When you go to get a fast pass at a ride you will see a current 'return time' listed above. For popular rides at popular times of travel, fast passes can be gone for the whole day within an hour or two of park opening. So if you are travelling during a peak season and have a ride that makes the top of your list, I suggest heading there straight away and securing your pass.

Our system is to get a fast pass for one ride and then head to another close by while we wait. For example, we will get a fast pass first thing in the morning for Indiana Jones and then go on Pirates of the Caribbean and Tarzans Tree House. Or we will get a pass for Space Mountain and then proceed to ride Buzz Light Year and Astro Blasters in the meantime.

I will add that fast passes are not worth your time unless the ride you desire to go on has more then a 20 minutes wait. Our general rule is that if the rides line is under 20 minutes we will simply do walk on, but if it's 25 minutes or more, we get the pass for it.
And may I just add what a wonderful feeling it is to join the fast pass line and walk past all the other guests who have been not so patiently waiting forever... Sorry, was that a little mean?

Hope I've helped! If you have any more questions please feel free to send them my way!

How to avoid long lines at Disney.

I am reminded of a recent episode of 'Modern Family' that was filmed in Disneyland. A son is super excited to ride Indiana Jones for the first time with his father because he finally makes the height requirement. They cheer as they run towards the back of the line only to discover that there is a 45 minute wait. Talk about killing the mood! But it doesn't have to be that way. At least not if you do a little bit of planning. Here are a few tips that have worked well for us.

1. The number one trip? Don't go during Christmas, Spring Break or any other major holiday. I know what your thinking, "But then my kids would miss school and I don't want that!" But here's the thing, everyone else is thinking that too. If you hate crowds, this is the easiest way to avoid them. Period. The best time of year we have found for low crowds is January/February or September/October. I realize this just isn't an option for alot of people. Don't worry, there are other things you can do.

How nice does this look for crowds? credit to: http://www.themeparkreview.com

2. Don't plan your whole trip around a weekend. You should definitely be in the park for at least one day of a weekend as there are more shows, parades and entertainment on these days. But don't pick your park days to be Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Mondays can be busy too. Ride lines are at there lowest on Tuesdays through Thursdays, so plan accordingly.

Rope Drop: credit http://consumermachine.tumblr.com for photo

3. Get up early. This is one of those times that having children who wake you up at the crack of dawn has an advantage. Get to the park half an hour before opening. You will be let through the gates and onto mainstreet. When the rope drops, you are free to head straight to one of the most popular rides with a very minimal (if any) line up. Usually before 11am the park is fairly quiet, so its a good time to get on those coasters. We tend to head one of two directions; Adventureland (for Indiana Jones) or Tomorrowland (for Space Mountain.) These two rides tend to have the longest line ups throught the day. Fantastyland is another smart destination, as Peter Pans flight can get a pretty long line up too and its not really worth it considering the ride itself is about a minute long.

4. Stay late. Pretty self explanatory. Just realize when I say late, I mean laaate. As in an hour before closing (which may be midnight.)Not usually doable if you have young children, but great if you are a group without kids!

credit wikipedia for photo

5. Take advantage of the Fast Past system. To give you a quick idea, its a card that you can collect at some of the more popular rides that has an hour time window written on it. You return when that time comes and you get to enter a separate line that bypasses most of the wait. Our general rule is that if a line up is over 25 minutes, we get a fastpass to return later. I will elaborate on this system more in a later post.

6. Go when it rains! A little rain never hurt anyone, right? I must admit, I am not a fan of this one.  But it really does work! If you and your children are game to wear ponchos or don't mind getting soaked, then you will get on alot of rides! Main reason for this is that locals wont go when the weather is poor, because they don't need to. And if vacationers have a few days to play with, they will often choose to just try again tomorrow.

I know alot of these things seem like common sense, and they are. But believe it or not, alot of people give zero thought whatsoever to things like this and just go go go. By doing a little bit of planning ahead you can save yourself a whole lot of wasted time.

Hope Ive helped.