Anyone else on the fence about Maxpass?

[gary1955]

anyone think that Maxpass will eventually get integrated into the standard ticket?

for anyone that is old enough to have experienced the ticket book days, there was a time before ticket books were eliminated that guests could buy upgraded tickets that were good for unlimited ride access. I think they were called Passport tickets and they were available for several years before ticket books went away. so I was wondering if the same thing would eventually happen with Maxpass?

 

[sherilaine]

I think it does depend - for a party of 4 who like to ride all the big rides and only get to Disney once a year or sometimes once every two years, it was totally worth it for us!

 

[CateinPhoenix]

I was the fastpass runner mom for YEARS, every trip! While a hero for my kids (the magic of FPs ) and getting tons of great exercise....I didn't think we would do MP every day of our trips, but we have.....it's just so EASY for me and gives me tons of extra time to look around at shops, people watch if I choose not to do a ride with the fam. Plus being able to book at 90 minutes and also book at the hotel during afternoon breaks for evening rides just makes me so happy!
Edited to add: However, we used FP for years with much success and can't remember waiting longer than 15 minutes for ANY ride....granted we had EMH/MM most of the time, but even without, if you do your homework, paper FP is just fine! We typically stay 6-7 days at a time so that just starts to take a toll on my feet.

 

[Shanti]

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?

We used it during a 2-day trip with hoppers and it was worth its weight in gold.

 

[Butterfly123]

Our last trip was right after Maxpass was started. We are a family of five, the youngest being 19. We had five days in the parks, and we did not get Maxpass. We had enough time to do everything we wanted, and utilized paper FP. Could we have managed a few more rides a day with Maxpass? Probably, but we were happy with the rides we did. And there is a lot to do besides just rides!! We had decided that if we felt like we were missing out we would try it on one of our days, but we just didn’t feel the need. I’m pretty frugal, too, and $50 a day for a couple extra rides didn’t seem like a good deal!

 

[WonkaKid]

Here's my take: I added it to my AP about six months ago. I have to renew in the next eight weeks and am still 50/50 about adding it again this year (it cost $75 then and I imagine it'll be about the same this year). While it's fun and convenient to use, I don't feel entirely that it's crucial. In my case, however, I usually go to the park by myself so it's not hard to weave in and out of crowds to grab FPs. Also, I don't often go to CA. For people that do, I can see how it would be handy. People with large groups/families may feel differently.

 

[leslie826]

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.

Ooooh that’s something I never thought of...stocking up during the afternoon break. I LOVE that idea. You may have convinced me. Lol. Thanks!

 

[auntiegem]

I absolutely hate Fastpass running, and I feel the 90 vs 120 minute window will be a clincher for us. Right now we’re planning getting it for three of our five park days, and won’t hesitate to up that number if it goes well. That being said, quite a bit of our goal is to easily ride a lot of rides. I also want an easier and quicker way to do POTC multiple times if the prediction of awful standby lines comes true when it reopens.

 

[Winnowill]

I loved it when we were there at Christmas time. And we'll be getting it for our girls' trip in June - at least some of the days. It was so easy to use, and we managed to score an RSR after dark cancelled FP long after RSR FPs were all gone from the machines.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Two great perks with MP that make it different from paper FP: 90 minute window (vs. 120 w/paper FP) to get a new FP and the ability to get a cancelled MP that another guest returned to the pool. Those extra 30 minute intervals can add up throughout the day if you keep booking new FPs. And it's always such a fun treat and surprise to have a FP pop up on your phone for a ride you thought had no more FPs for the day.

Now, do these perks make it necessary to have MP for a successful day at DLR? NO! I love that it is absolutely possible to use the free paper FPs and still have a great time. It all depends on your touring style and budget. As long as you have good planning and organization, either FP method can work really well for you. (Or neither -- we have friends who still don't use FP at all because they aren't at the stage yet where they ride FP rides. And when their families get to that stage, then they will have to readjust their touring style. But for now, no FP works for them!)

 

[Magnum44]

I am, but I think we'll end up getting it... We have two small kids (2 and 4), so I think it will be a nice option and give us more flexibility. But $150 for a whole trip seems like a lot. I wish they discounted it if you were willing to pay multiple days upfront.

 

[lindyv321]

One of the nice things is you can purchase it per day. Try it for one day and if you don’t like it then you don’t have to get it again. I personally loved it when we went on an adults only trip last fall and am planning on purchasing for my family of four this Christmas. We always get Photopass anyway so the cost of adding MP for three days isn’t much more and so worth it!!!

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

We just got back from a 5 day trip and did not use Maxpass. We thought we would try it if we found it necessary but never did. We got plenty of fastpasses everyday, many more than with the wdw app, and many times we were next to people in line who were complaining that their Maxpass was not working. It seemed like the majority of people were using the old fastpass system. You could always play it by ear like we did.

 

[GeneralTso]

We think it's absolutely worth it. We walked on all the rides. Walked on. No wait. It made a huge difference. I'll pay for that anytime.

 

[blackjackdelta]

I am not sure why any would , huge time saver for us.

Jack

 

[smartlabelprint]

I am, but I think we'll end up getting it... We have two small kids (2 and 4), so I think it will be a nice option and give us more flexibility. But $150 for a whole trip seems like a lot. I wish they discounted it if you were willing to pay multiple days upfront.

Why $150?

 

[Winnowill]

Why $150?

The 2-year old doesn't need it.

 

[smartlabelprint]

The 2-year old doesn't need it.

We didn’t even get it for our 3 yo. When we wanted toy story we used DAS though.

It’s anazing when having toddlers. Too much running around and transitioning sets our kids off. Although we couldn’t even use the ride switch. Too impatient.

 

[agamble]

We think it's absolutely worth it. We walked on all the rides. Walked on. No wait. It made a huge difference. I'll pay for that anytime.

But the wait would be the same with FP. They just have to walk over and get the FP.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

But the wait would be the same with FP. They just have to walk over and get the FP.

Yeah, I get a little nervous when I see people with larger groups and multi-day tickets thinking that they "need" Maxpass for every day. I mean, if money is no object and all that, sure! It's great! At the end of the day, though, the regular FP system is still available (and free!), and I think it's fine for many situations.

Don't get me wrong; I personally loooove Maxpass. After initially wondering why I would pay for something I could get for free, I tried it once and had added it to my AP within hours. 75% of my trips are just me and my daughter (who just turned 5), so there is no "FP runner" in my life, and the fact that she and I can routinely go for 5 hours and ride Space Mountain, Big Thunder, Splash, and RSR or GOTG (plus a few other smaller rides, like Buzz, Star Tours, Goofy's, etc... plus usually meet some characters and watch a show or two...) - that's amazing, and I couldn't possibly swing that without Maxpass. I usually visit the park with tourists a few times a year (never more than a 1-2 day trip), and it's incredible how much more we can accomplish in a "commando" style day with Maxpass than without it. The simple efficiency of grabbing your next pass the moment it's available is huge, and the 90-minute wait vs 2-hour wait is helpful. It really can be a game-changer in some cases!

HOWEVER. I think that for a lot of people, it doesn't make financial sense to add Maxpass (at least not every day). For instance, people on trips longer than three days certainly don't "need" it every day (maybe pick 1-2 days to really go crazy with rides and add it then), and larger groups that are looking at adding $60-80 per day... it might not be the best use of funds. This is particularly true since many people using Maxpass in the parks have little idea how it works or how to maximize its efficiency.

Anyway, I adore Maxpass personally and absolutely think it's "necessary" for some people who show up posting here about the 18 rides they're hoping to accomplish in 15 hours or whatever... but I'd also hate to see some family stretch financially to add it to 5-day tickets and then realize on day 3 that they'd have rather spent $100 of those dollars somewhere else, you know? I'm a big fan of adding day-by-day for long trips.