What to take for the day?

[larelsail]

Hi Wrongway,

I guess I don't know the answers to some of your vital questions...guess I'll be doing a little searching in the rest of the forums. Thanks!!

[WrongWay]

FastPass: Free Line Reservation system.
Many of the big rides: including Indianna Jones, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear (okay,that isn't a top ride), Roger Rabit at DL and Tower of Terror, Soarin', Screamin', Mad Mouse, Grizzly Rapids at DCA. Near the entrance to these rides, there are Fast Pass distribution stations that list start and end times. Go to one of the machines, put your park ticket in, and it spits out a FastPass. Come back after the start time, and ride with a much shorter wait time than the "stand-by" (non-FastPass) line.

Now, how it really works. Let's sat a ride has a capacity of 2500 people an hour. They may decide they want ridership to be 50-50. But, they assume some people that get the tickets won't actually come back and use them. So, they decide to issue 1500 FastPasses per hour.

Well, the passes are issued in 12, 5 min incriments per hour, and never less than 40 minutes out. So, if the park opens 8:00AM, then they start issuing FastPasses with an 8:40 AM return time. 1500/12 = 125 FastPasses issued per 5 min incriment. That doesn't mean they issue only that many tickets every 5 minutes. It means everytime they issue that many, the return time jumps 5 min further out.

So 8:00AM they start issuing FP tickets for 8:40. It takes people awhile to walk to the first ride, and then most just run passedthe FP machines to get to get on the first ride. So, let's say the first 5 mins they don't issue the full 125. No big deal. At 8:05, the return time clicks ahead to 8:45 (never lessthan 40 min). Now, 8:05-8:08, let's say they issues 125. Then the return time clicks ahead to 8:50. The next 3 min, then issue another 125. Time clicks another 5 min forward. Now instead of being 40 min out, we're actually 50 minutes out.

Run this for a few hours, and by noon, you'll see return times 2+ hours out.

So, what is the problem with that? Well, you can't get another FastPass until the start time on the last one you got.

Show up at 8AM, all the lines are short and the FastPass return times are all 40 minutes out. Send one person to get Space Mt. FastPasses and everyone else gets in line for Nemo subs. The FastPass runner then goes and joins everyone else in the line. By the time you ride Nemo, it will be atleast 40 minutes out, so you send a runner all the way across the park to get Splash Mt. FastPasses while everyone lese gets inline for Matterhorn. Another 40 min later, you are getting a FastPass to Indyanna Jones. Then 40 min after that, another FastPass.

In the first 2 hours, with no lines and close in FastPasses, you can get on half a dozen of the top rides, and have 4 sets of FastPasses in your pocket.

If you really want to max out the ride count, at 10:00AM as DCA is opening, jump over there and repeat.

But what good do all the FastPasses do if they all expire? Right? At 8:00AM you get a FP with a return time of 8:40-9:40AM. Hint. THEY DON'T EXPIRE. I've used 9AM FastPasses at 11PM, no problem. So,at noon, when all the lines are an hour long, then you use those FastPasses that you ran around collecting all morning. You grab a new FastPass here and there.

Now, assume you show up at noon instead of 8AM. Well, now all the wait times are an hour, and all the FastPass return times are 2+ hours out. So, you get a FastPass at noon with a 2PM return time. You then ride 1 or 2 rides, waiting an hour for each, probably out in the hot sun. Then, at 2PM you get another FastPass with a 5PM return time. In 2 hours you have done 2 or 3 rides instead of 6+, and you don't have a pocket full of FastPasses in you pockets.


That is the overview. A few more details. You can get another FastPass at the start time for you last FastPass. Get a FP at 8:00AM with an 8:40 return time, and you can get another FP at 8:40. The exception is when the return time is more than 2 hours out. In that case, you can get another FP after 2 hours. Let's say it is 2PM and you get a FP with a return time of 5PM. Well, then you will be able toget another FP at 4PM. Each FP has the returntime in BIG letters, and at the bottom is says "you can get another at: xx:xx".

he 2 parks are notaware of FP you hold from the other park. So, let's say at 9:50AM you grab a FastPass to Splash with a return time of 11:20. You then walk over to DCA for the 10AM opening. Well, you can then immediatly grab a FP to Soarin' since DCA FastPass machines don't know you have a DL FP. Ditto coming back to Disneyland. You can graba Tower of Terror FP at 2PM with a 4PM return time, then at 2:15PM, grab an Indianna Jones FastPass.


There is also one ride per park that isn't aware of FPs you hold to other rides in that park. These are Roger Rabbit and Grizzly River Rapids. So, upon heading into DCA, you can grab a set of FPs to Soarin' AND another set to GRR on your way back to Screamin'.

I rarely use these last 2 tricks, but they are available.


So, my typical Disneyland day goes something like this: Arrive at least a half hour beforepark opening. At opening, run around like a mad man collecting FastPasses and riding rides that will have long return lines later. Then at 10PM, if Disneyland is getting crowded and FastPass return times are getting further out, then I jump to DCA and repeat.

By noon, when everything is packed with a long line,and all the FP return times are hours out, I just see a show, use a FP or 2, grab a meal, see another show, grab a fastpass, use a couple fastpasses, see a show, etc.


Must see shows:
Fantasmic (if there are 2 shows that day, see Fireworks, then after fireworks head directly to RoA to see Fantasmic)
Fireworks (see it from the hub. Not too close to the castle. My favorite spot is in the street in front of the Plaza Inn restaurant. Make sure you can see all the area between Matterhorn and castle without trees in the way.) This is NOT your typical fireworks show.

Good:
Main Stree Electrical Parade (okay, now called Disney's Elec Parade since it is at DCA)
Aladdin (also at DCA. 45 min long, Broadway style musical with lots of in theater effects).
Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. Blue grass music/comedy in Golden Horseshoe. We love to do a late lunch here. Nummy (in horridly unhealthy) fried food like chicken strips and chili cheese fries.

Parades are okay I guess, though I do not do them anything close to every trip.


And, I touched on food. Wat we do is stuff oursleves on breakfast by 7AM for our 8AM start of madness. By 10-11 AM we're looking for a quick snack. Popcorn, pretzel, churro, giant cookie or rice crispy treet, (pop tarts, nuts, fruit we snuck in in our backpack), etc. We usually do a late lunch at like 2PM. Why be in the restaurants at noon when everyone else is trying to eat? Snacks again at 4PM ish. Dinner at 7PM or later then grab spots for Fireworks.

Doing this 2 days in a row is rough. If you can have a rest day between, great. If not, my second day is usually a lot more relaxed. Still get there early, but not do as much running back and forth across the park. I certainly don't try to do both DL and DCA opening in the same day, if I'm going 2 days in a row.

[PirateGuy 815]

Anything Disney if you have it- shirts, mouse ears, or my favorite- The Jack Sparrow bandana complete with dreads.

[Bob38dizfan]

An un-maxxed out credit card - cause it will be by the time you're done.