FastPass, MaxPass

[CheekyRose]

Apologies for posting such a basic question. I've searched and only found discussions where everyone already knows the answers, so it's not spelled out for the clueless like me.

Although I grew up in So Cal, I haven't been to Disneyland for several years. We are staying with a friend, so not on-site, and we'll be driving to the parks two days during our short visit. Am I correct that DL still does fast-pass the "right" way? Meaning, no booking fast-pass times 6 months ahead like in WDW, and we will just use our park tickets to grab fast-passes in the parks?

Also, it looks like MaxPass allows guests to use their phone to grab fast-passes. Does this mean we don't have to be at Space Mountain to grab a Space Mountain fast-pass? I can be over at Pirates and get my Space Mountain fast-pass? Do you have to be in the park for it to work? Or can I grab a fast-pass while I'm still in the parking lot? Or for a DL ride while I'm in California Adventure?

Looks like MaxPass is $10 per person per day. If you've used it, do you think it's worth it for mobile fast-passes? We don't really care about the photo-pass aspect.

Thank you!

 

[Malcon10t]

Once you have scanned into one of the Disneyland parks, you can grab a MaxPass from anywhere you have service. For example, go back to your room for a swim and schedule a MP for Splash while getting ready to head back. We find it very useful.

 

[agamble]

Yes. Old fashioned FP with ticket readers still exists. You cannot pre book FP. If you get MP you will have to go to at least one park before you can book. Then you can book from either park whenever throughout the day.

I had MP on my AP for the photo benefit. We paid for it for other tickets a few times. Mostly we just used standard FP. The value is dependant on what you want to do and how busy the parks are. If you don't want to re ride rides or aren't too interested in thrill rides it won't be necessary. It is very convenient though. If you love the thrill rides and dislike criss crossing the parks to get FP it could be valuable. Most recently we put MP on my husband's ticket Thursday. It was our anniversary and .y mom was keeping the kids over night. We wanted to be able to bank some rides for when we returned that night and MP allowed us to do that. That was the only time we used it in 6 days.

 

[LilyJC]

Looks like MaxPass is $10 per person per day. If you've used it, do you think it's worth it for mobile fast-passes? We don't really care about the photo-pass aspect.

We’re local and have been pass holders for years. When MaxPass was initially released I was pretty irritated by this “money grab” and resolved to never use it.

Well we happened to be at DLR over Memorial Day weekend to celebrate my kids’ milestone birthdays this year with their friends who rarely get to go to DLR. I decided to give MaxPass a try so that we could get more accomplished. It’s definitely a game changer for our family, and now we’re hooked! Right now DL has way more options than DCA with all the closures.

I would say it’s worth it for us because my kids are older and can ride everything, and we enjoy park hopping multiple times throughout the day.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

These two videos will give you a good overview of MP so you can see what it does and whether it would work well for you:

 

[CheekyRose]

Thanks so much, everyone. From the videos, it looks like you can link MaxPass on one phone to more than one ticket. So everyone doesn't need to put the app on their own phone if they don't want to?

And the app is the regular official Disneyland app, right? Looks like it'll be most convenient to download the app ahead of time, buy the tickets including MaxPass via the app, and then we'll have a bar code to scan at the entrance? Is that right?

If mom and dad pay for all four tickets through the app on mom's phone, I assume all four tickets are automatically linked to my phone. What if the kids want to go off of their own? Can their tickets be linked to one of the kids' phones, too, so they can get their own fastpasses separately?

 

[Winnowill]

Thanks so much, everyone. From the videos, it looks like you can link MaxPass on one phone to more than one ticket. So everyone doesn't need to put the app on their own phone if they don't want to?

Nope. One phone can hold all tickets. The reverse is also true: you can scan all tickets into more than one phone.

And the app is the regular official Disneyland app, right? Looks like it'll be most convenient to download the app ahead of time, buy the tickets including MaxPass via the app, and then we'll have a bar code to scan at the entrance? Is that right?

Yes, the official Disneyland app. I wouldn't buy tickets through Disney directly - that's the most expensive way to get them. LMT Club (google for a free membership code) is the cheapest.

If mom and dad pay for all four tickets through the app on mom's phone, I assume all four tickets are automatically linked to my phone. What if the kids want to go off of their own? Can their tickets be linked to one of the kids' phones, too, so they can get their own fastpasses separately?

Yes. You can choose FPs for the group as a whole or individually.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I also buy my tickets from last minute travel club

 

[az4boys]

I think all your questions were answered. If not...

• We added MP to our AP's. Best decision ever. We are not regulars. AP's this year is a once in a lifetime thing, and MP has made it a lot of fun.
• No pre-booking.
• You have to scan into one park to use it that day, then you can book FP through MP all day for either park, even if you leave the parks. We are going in a couple weeks and plan to go to the beach one day. I think we'll enter the parks for 2 minutes just so I can book FP for the evening.
• The app is very flexible. Multiple phones can link to a single ticket and multiple tickets can link to a single phone. Just be careful about which tickets you are getting a FP for.
• You can still get FP the old fashioned way by walking to the kiosk and entering your ticket. You will get a reminder paper, but you need your ticket or the app to enter the FP line.

Have fun!

 

[Skyegirl1999]

If mom and dad pay for all four tickets through the app on mom's phone, I assume all four tickets are automatically linked to my phone. What if the kids want to go off of their own? Can their tickets be linked to one of the kids' phones, too, so they can get their own fastpasses separately?

Every time you book a FP, you create a "FP party." That could be all four of you, or just three, two, or one - so there's no trouble booking different things for different people from one phone. If they want to go off for awhile and do some booking themselves, then yes, you'd want to link their tickets to one of their phones, too.

 

[CheekyRose]

Thanks so much, everyone!

 

[lunasea]

Another thumbs up for the MaxPass. We have had it since we renewed our APs in March, and have used it well. Worth very penny.

 

[abby2525]

So if only one of you gets the App, then you only have to pay the $10 per day for one person, not for all 6? I'm just still learning too about Max Pass as they didn't have it when we went.

 

[smartlabelprint]

So if only one of you gets the App, then you only have to pay the $10 per day for one person, not for all 6? I'm just still learning too about Max Pass as they didn't have it when we went.

Everyone can have the app for free.
If you want to add one maxpass it will be $10 daily and you can use it for photopass.
If you want to use maxpass to book fastpasses you each need to pay $10 per day.

 

[Winnowill]

So if only one of you gets the App, then you only have to pay the $10 per day for one person, not for all 6? I'm just still learning too about Max Pass as they didn't have it when we went.

The app is free. MaxPass is an add-on to your ticket that you need to have the app to use.

 

[abby2525]

Sorry, still not understanding. For one maxpass and photopass, that would be only for one person but you would get photo pass as well and one max pass for only one in your group? If you want to book fastpasses for 6 people we would be paying $60 daily? That seems crazy!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

So if only one of you gets the App, then you only have to pay the $10 per day for one person, not for all 6? I'm just still learning too about Max Pass as they didn't have it when we went.

Everyone can have the app for free.
If you want to add one maxpass it will be $10 daily and you can use it for photopass.
If you want to use maxpass to book fastpasses you each need to pay $10 per day.

To make sure this is clear for anyone following along, MP is currently $10 per day for each person who uses it to book digital FPs. So for 6 people booking FPs, that would be $60 per day. As stated above, downloading the app is free.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Sorry, still not understanding. For one maxpass and photopass, that would be only for one person but you would get photo pass as well and one max pass for only one in your group? If you want to book fastpasses for 6 people we would be paying $60 daily? That seems crazy!

Yes, if you want to book digital FPs for 6 people, MP is $10 per day x 6 = $60 per day. However, the paper FP system is still in place and that is still free. So you could still use paper FPs for 6 people at no cost. Ask yourself if you want to pay $10 to cover the convenience of MP, plus one day of free PhotoPass? Or are you willing to do the legwork and use the FP machines for free? Both systems work well if you know how to use them. MP isn't mandatory, just more convenient.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Sorry, still not understanding. For one maxpass and photopass, that would be only for one person but you would get photo pass as well and one max pass for only one in your group? If you want to book fastpasses for 6 people we would be paying $60 daily? That seems crazy!

This is why I think that for large groups, it can be wise to add Maxpass to just a day or two of a multi-day trip. Adding $60 to the total cost of the trip and having one day where you knock out a ton of FP rides would be worth it to me - and if you have Maxpass and use it wisely, you really can do all of the current FP rides in a day, with the exception of maybe one or two (that may change once Incredicoaster and TSM are in play, but on Saturday, we booked a FP for every single FP ride except Indiana Jones, which my daughter is too short for, Splash Mountain, and RSR, which we rope-dropped... and we avoided booking any FPs with return times between 11-2, and we left at 6pm - so we could have fit those in if we'd been there all day). So to me, one day of Maxpass and then just using traditional FP for the other days would be the way to go if you're trying to maximize your rides for the trip without breaking the bank.

 

[abby2525]

Thank you.