Fast Pass and staying off site

[s u]

SO we are going in March and will be staying off site. We've only been once before, 2 years ago and stayed off site then too. With a lot of help from this site and many others we were able to put together an awesome plan to get to almost all of the attractions and characters we wanted.

This time around, we are getting our tickets in various ways. We have some tickets that are waiting for us at guest services. My husband and I will be using those. I will be getting one child pass through Airmiles and another child pass will have to be purchased (possibly through CAA - we purchased through them last time and it was cost effective).

My question to you is this:
1. Since I won't have physical tickets for myself or my husband, can I book fast passes for us?
2. Where do I get magic bands?
3. If I can't book fast passes for myself and my husband, can I still book them for my daughters and then link me and my husband to them?

 

[ccudmore]

Unfortunately I don't think it's going to be as simple as you're hoping for:

1. Since I won't have physical tickets for myself or my husband, can I book fast passes for us?

You need to actually have the tickets (or vouchers with ticket numbers) and link them into your account in Disney Magical Experience account before booking fastpass+ times

2. Where do I get magic bands?

You won't automatically get MagicBands if you're staying off-site. You'll use what looks like the old cards. That's your ticket media. You can get to the parks or Downtown Disney and purchase MagicBands if you want and then link them to your DME account and then start using them.

3. If I can't book fast passes for myself and my husband, can I still book them for my daughters and then link me and my husband to them?

No, you'll need to have all three tickets linked into your DME account in order to make FP+ reservations. You can certainly make them for yourself once you have your tickets in hand and can link their tickets into your account when you get them, but they won't get the same FP+ times as you. They can make their time bookings at such time as their tickets are linked in.

 

[s u]

Ok.....so I don't HAVE to have magic bands?
I was under the impression that I would.

From what I understand, then I can use the plastic cards like I did the last time?

Once I have the cards for all members then I can go ahead and book fast passes?

Is this correct?

 

[ccudmore]

Ok.....so I don't HAVE to have magic bands?
I was under the impression that I would.

From what I understand, then I can use the plastic cards like I did the last time?

Yes, MagicBands and the plastic cards work interchangeably (as long as it's the latest generation of cards - started about 2 years ago - that have the RFID chip embedded.

Once I have the cards for all members then I can go ahead and book fast passes?
Is this correct?

Yes, that's correct.

 

[Bertie9396]

I purchased my tickets from the Disney website and was then able to book my fast passes right away. We stayed off site as well. I was unable to get FP+ for the headliners but got everything else I wanted. We hit the headliners first thing at rope drop, did as much as we could in the morning and our FPs were for mid afternoon and early evening. It worked out really well for us. We did everything on our list and then some.

 

[mort1331]

Something else to consider is that staying OS you get to book 30 days out, not 60. Just one more advantage to staying OS

 

[AprilFool]

Staying offsite first week of Feb and I was able to book ALL the fastpasses that I was hoping for. (toy Story, 7DMT...) I was so panicked from everyone saying I wouldn't get anything at 30 days out but it all worked out good. Be ready to book at midnight!! Not wasting $$ on Magic Bands either. Hope everything works out for you as well.

 

[ShelleyLovesOrlando]

For our trip (Jan 31st-Feb21st) we are also staying off site. I purchased our tickets on the WDW website last week and have already booked several big ride FP+'s. You don't need to have the actual physical tickets to do this, we chose to pick our tickets up at will call upon our arrival. You just need to have a My Disney Experience account online and when you purchase your tickets, you'll be given a confirmation# and asked if you want to link your tickets immediately to your account. As soon as you link those up, you're all set to book your FP+. I am no expert on any of this (it's only my 3rd trip) but I have been doing this now for a week and it's working great for us.

 

[s u]

So when I have my tickets, I set up a MDE account and 30 days out I can book some fast passes. How many can I book?

When at the parks, am I still able to get fast passes from the machines? Do they have to be at certain intervals from the prebooked ones?

 

[ccudmore]

You may want to head over to the Theme Park Attractions and Strategies board and read the threads about FP+ basics. There's a lot of nuances and subtleties so it's good to get all of the details.

So when I have my tickets, I set up a MDE account and 30 days out I can book some fast passes. How many can I book?

Each person can book 3 per day at a single park ahead of time. Once you've used your three for the day you can book additional ones at kiosks located throughout the park.

When at the parks, am I still able to get fast passes from the machines? Do they have to be at certain intervals from the prebooked ones?

The paper machines are long gone. Only FP+ is done now. As I mentioned above, there's kiosks located throughout the park where you can book FP+ for any ride in the park.

 

[ShelleyLovesOrlando]

So when I have my tickets, I set up a MDE account and 30 days out I can book some fast passes. How many can I book?

When at the parks, am I still able to get fast passes from the machines? Do they have to be at certain intervals from the prebooked ones?

I opened a MDE account a little while ago and just purchased the tickets a little over a week ago. As soon as I logged in and purchased my tickets, I was able to book exactly 30 days out. You're only able to book 3 per day using the website or APP at first. The way I understand it is that once you use those 3 fp+, you can book more on the same day in the park. I could be wrong so hopefully someone will correct me.

 

[sympatico]

Yes, once you use the 3 fast passes that day you can book one at a time after that. As you use the 4th one you can book the next one. So if you want to get fast passes after the first three are used then it's best to have those 3 early in the day. If two of your first fast passes are early and your third one isn't until 6 pm or so then you won't be able to get the 4th until after 6.
It makes you reconsider getting Wishes as one of your first three since you'd have to wait until after that to get another.