Anyone else on the fence about Maxpass?

[leslie826]

It seems everyone says it’s a MUST, but I just can’t get over the fact that it’s only available for like 5 or 6 rides in each park. (I may be exaggerating.) We’re staying on-site and will be in the parks early each morning, so I know we’ll be able to squeeze in a couple of headliners early. I want to make this trip the best it can be, but I’m frugal and am struggling to justify this in my head. Anyone else?

 

[Skyegirl1999]

It seems everyone says it’s a MUST, but I just can’t get over the fact that it’s only available for like 5 or 6 rides in each park. (I may be exaggerating.) We’re staying on-site and will be in the parks early each morning, so I know we’ll be able to squeeze in a couple of headliners early. I want to make this trip the best it can be, but I’m frugal and am struggling to justify this in my head. Anyone else?

It is only currently available for six rides at DCA, and I would NOT pay for it if I was doing a DCA-only day (exception: I would buy it on one ticket to get the Photopass part).

While it's available for more rides at DL (10), I'm also not sure it's a must-have for a DL-only day - it depends on your touring style, really.

If you're park-hopping, I think it's really, really worth it.

 

[Lm3js]

How old/tall are your kids (if you have them) and how many days are you gong? Mine are older and the rides MP are for are the ones they want to do the most. We definitely think it is worth it to be able to ride the popular rides multiple times in a trip and not have to run around pulling paper passes. Plus we really like the photopass downloads too (something that we would never buy before). We only get about 1-3 days in the park each visit so try to make the most of our time there. If you are going longer or kids too short to ride some of the rides, may not be worth it.

 

[shooting4life]

It is worth it unless you are fine doing a bunch of single riders.

 

[tink89]

For us we went during Xmas and stayed on site so we had EMH and still used max pass in two of the days we were there. I thought it was well worth it.

I guess depending on when you are going and how many days and which rides are a must then you might not need it.

For me it helped make our days less stressful land more relaxed.

 

[ADisneyFamilyof5]

I was hesitant to purchase it for our 2 day trip a couple weeks ago (an extra $50 a day for us is a lot), but we are so happy we did. While we stayed onsite at did EMH each day (and got so much done), we would not have gotten many rides in after our afternoon break had we not had max pass. Many big attractions are usually out by mid afternoon/early evening so we were able to book those during our afternoon break and then would book the other rides that were closer to the current time when we started heading back. By the time we got back to the parks in the evening, we would have 4 fast passes. Loved it! Also really likes that it comes with photo pass, which is something we don't normally buy. We will be getting maxpass for at least few of our days for our trip in November.

 

[chickapin parterre]

I wish I could find the thread of a recent trip report on using Fastpass instead Maxpass and you could read about their success not using Maxpass, alas my search is in vain and I need to start taking down user names to track evidence. Anyhow, they had a great time and no problem, as a family with fastpass option.

 

[Jokiho]

I recently used it on our two day trip. I have to say it was very helpful. Without it I’d say you’d need an extra day for the park.

One thing I do worry about is the requirement to pay more and more premium park experiences. I have the means, but it certainly sets up a certain degree of class differences. I never felt Disney should be that way. It’s certainly an advantage!

 

[DizMe]

I've chosen not to get it. First, I don't mind walking to get a FP; I don't have small children and I enjoy walking around. Second, I go often enough that rides aren't the biggest thing to me. And third, I'm just too cheap to fork out the money for something that's not that big a deal to me.

 

[maleficent55]

Plus you don't have to have a fastpass "runner", and you get photos with it

 

[avalovesminnie]

If I had to choose between Maxpass and park hoppers I'd choose maxpass. It's SO much more convenient and you can book fast passes earlier... from your phone while in line or wherever, so much easier than walking to fp machine through crowds of people. If your family isn't into the rides that need fastpass then of course why bother.

I guess I also would rather save $200/ night and stay offsite and use that $ for things like maxpass, hoppers, food or other fun extras.

I totally agree about everything increasing in price and pricing out regular middle income families. I don't think we will be able to justify coming once a year anymore which makes me sad...

 

[agamble]

I'm with you. I do not think it's necessary. Convenient, true, but not necessary. You can still get a lot of FP with just your ticket. The nice thing about MP is you can pull a new one 90 min out instead of 120. And you can pull them for the other park or even from your hotel after you've scanned into the park. But it certainly isn't necessary. We mostly use regular FP when visiting. You already have EMH.

 

[PinkHelloKitty]

Maxpass is another cost for convenience option, but definitely not required especially since free fastpasses are still available. There are only two of us so $20 a day was not a big deal and I have to admit we loved it. We could grab FP's for both parks no matter where we were, we could get new ones faster, and our favorite perk was being able to toss your current selections and immediately grab new ones if you ended up changing plans.

That being said if we were a larger family or were staying more than a few nights we would not want to pay $10 a head a day. If you have a fast pass runner, or plan your headliners out and pay attention to wait times you can cover a lot of ground. You can also only give one person max pass for a day to take advantage of the photo pass if that interests you.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Here’s our situation:
3 adults
2 disabled toddlers

It was a godsend. We wouldn’t have gotten to ride any FP attractions without it. As it was we couldn’t even make Use of rider switch now that you have to ride directly after. Eyeroll

I also enjoyed booking and cancelling FP from the hotel.

 

[hyperminimalism]

I refuse to buy it simply because my legs work just fine and Fastpass is still free. FPs don't usually run out for the day when I'm there, which is once a year. I mean, at least not at the moment or during the last time I visited for 4 days. I'd rather not tack on an extra 20 bucks for my friend and I just for the convenience. That could be another souvenir I take home or a meal. It just isn't justifiable for me when I can walk to the FP machines and get one with my ticket. Only when FP goes obsolete or they take rides out of the system and only offer it for MaxPass, or if I become disabled in some way that prevents me from getting my own FP will I considering getting MaxPass. And since I know they'll be raising the prices, I'd rather just utilize the free ride until I can.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Im another who wont be buying it when I go to Disneyland is a few weeks times. Im a solo traveller and always have had no issue with just walking to get a Fastpass. Sometimes I have got a Fastpass and not used it as I have found something else to do.

Also I am an International traveller and data roaming is wildy expensive. I rely on Wifi when I am in America and Disneys WiFi is not good enough, its only in certain places , not park wide.

I dont use photopass, never have, I dont get character photos or on ride photos

I really dont see why I should PAY for something which is already free, and people are just too lazy to walk for.

 

[Mamato4boys]

I haven't used MaxPass before, but I am planning on paying for it for my family of 6 when we visit next month. I don't find it to be simply an issue of being "lazy" or not. The logistics of getting FPs is difficult when you have children.

Our typical plan on previous visits has been one parent going on a ride with our older two boys, while the other makes the trek across the park/to the other park for the next FP with our younger two in tow. Zig zagging across the park while trying to make sure you don't lose a child or your sanity adds a lot of stress to your day.

With Maxpass, we can book on our phone and take the younger kids on a fun ride/to meet a character/get a snack/bathroom break instead of just trying to keep up with FPs for riding with the older kids.

I imagine that Maxpass will make our trip significantly less chaotic and leave more time to really enjoy the parks.

 

[slpeters]

The idea of running around to grab the fastpasses just sounds exhausting to me so I think MaxPass will be worth it for us. Plus it seems like the photo thing is definitely worth it. There are two of us for 5 days--so $100, we paid more than that for Memory Maker for our recent trip to WDW. For us it seems like a no-brainer.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I haven't used MaxPass before, but I am planning on paying for it for my family of 6 when we visit next month. I don't find it to be simply an issue of being "lazy" or not. The logistics of getting FPs is difficult when you have children.

Our typical plan on previous visits has been one parent going on a ride with our older two boys, while the other makes the trek across the park/to the other park for the next FP with our younger two in tow. Zig zagging across the park while trying to make sure you don't lose a child or your sanity adds a lot of stress to your day.

With Maxpass, we can book on our phone and take the younger kids on a fun ride/to meet a character/get a snack/bathroom break instead of just trying to keep up with FPs for riding with the older kids.

I imagine that Maxpass will make our trip significantly less chaotic and leave more time to really enjoy the parks.

Yes. It will be much easier for you. Wise choice imo because you’ll be able to focus more on keeping everyone happy, fed, pottied, cool, etc!

 

[smartlabelprint]

Im another who wont be buying it when I go to Disneyland is a few weeks times. Im a solo traveller and always have had no issue with just walking to get a Fastpass. Sometimes I have got a Fastpass and not used it as I have found something else to do.

Also I am an International traveller and data roaming is wildy expensive. I rely on Wifi when I am in America and Disneys WiFi is not good enough, its only in certain places , not park wide.

I dont use photopass, never have, I dont get character photos or on ride photos

I really dont see why I should PAY for something which is already free, and people are just too lazy to walk for.

I wouldn’t get it if I had to pay data.