Must get Max Passes and early morning rides.

NicholeB630

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 6, 2014
Ok I need some advice as to what Max passes I need to focus on getting first and where to go first thing I the mornings. We'll be utilizing the early mornings every day we can. So if theres MM, EE or EMH we'll be there before rope drop.

From the research Ive done the Max pass approach is a bit different then DW and I don't need to plan it out ride by ride BUT I want to make sure I'm utilizing it right and get the most of out it.

My kids will both be tall enough to ride everything. So nothing will be off limits. Peter Pan is not a big deal to us. We'll ride if we can but its not priority so we won't be doing the mad dash to ride that first when we go to DL. We will have 4 park days. So plenty of time! Typically at MK we'll split our days and do one day half the park then the other day the other half.

Of course our top priorities will be things that DW does not have. But then we'll still want to ride our favorites like BTM, Splash Mountain, Pirates, Toy Story Mania.

Are there any Max Pass rides we should not bother getting and just hit them in between others? Rides that maybe have low wait times all the time? We will be going the week leading up to Easter so I'm expecting decent crowds. Thanks!!
 
Radiator Springs Racers (RSR) is usually the toughest and you should plan that carefully. In addition, it feels like a different ride at night than day so plan for that if you can.

Frequently GOTG FPs go quickly.

LM is not nearly as popular at DCA than ay MK and lines are frequently 5 minutes long mid-day. Plus it is identical to MK.

The DL rides that are tougher to get are Space Mtn (different and better than MK SM) and Indiana Jones (should be one of your highest priorities). BTMRR is not as popular at DL as at MK with regard to FP and queue times. Often 15 -20 minutes for a good portion of the day. Splash Mtn (not as good at DL as MK) depends on how warm the weather is, similar to MK.

See "Comparing DLR's MaxPass to WDW's FastPass+" - https://www.disboards.com/threads/comparing-dlrs-maxpass-to-wdws-fastpass.3726294/

:wizard:
 
Last edited:
Radiator Springs Racers (RSR) is usally the toughest and you should plan that carefully. In addition, it feels like a different ride at night than day so plan for that if you can.

Frequently GOTG FPs go quickly.

LM is not nearly as popular at DCA than ay MK and lines are frequently 5 minutes long mid-day. Plus it is identical to MK.

The DL rides that are tougher to get are Space Mtn (different and better than MK SM) and Indiana Jones (should be one of your highest priorities). BTMRR is not as popular at DL as at MK with regard to FP and queue times. Often 15 -20 minutes for a good portion of the day. Splash Mtn (not as good at DL as MK) depends on warm the weather is, similar to MK.

See "Comparing DLR's MaxPass to WDW's FastPass+" - https://www.disboards.com/threads/comparing-dlrs-maxpass-to-wdws-fastpass.3726294/

:wizard:


Ok thanks. I think that RSR we will try and grab first thing unless you think we should just go straight there at RD and use our first fast pass at like Incredicoaster early on. Is TSM as hard to get at DCA as it is HS in FL? That is always gone and long waits!! You said LM .. Did you mean HM for Haunted Mansion? We def wanna ride Space Mountain at DL. What about rides like Pinocchio, Mr Toads Wild ride, Alice ride and Snow Whites scary adventures? Those are all rides we've never been and want to make sure we do. Are any of those Fast pass or no? Should we try and hit all those first thing in the morning and schedule our first fast pass like an hour after were in the park. Like if its a 7am morning then do our first fast pass at 8 something? We won't do SM if its not hot same as the grizzly one. Thanks for the link. I'll look into that!
 


No LM (actually LMAUA) - Little Mermaid, not HM :). See my signature for abbreviations. TSMM is not as much of a thing at DCA as at DHS. Still only tracks. FP not that hard to get in my experience.

Yes, do the FantasyLand at RD or during MM and hot all those drak rides.

Usually a no brainer to get MaxPass. See "Maxpass/Fastpass: an overview and some strategy" by @Skyegirl1999 - www.disboards.com/threads/maxpass-fastpass-an-overview-and-some-strategy.3726246/

:wizard:

Ahhh little mermaid.. is it the ride at MK or show from HS? I do love the ride! It’s my fav princess ride.

How about Pirates does that sew long waits? I’ve heard it’s better at DL then MK?
 
Ahhh little mermaid.. is it the ride at MK or show from HS? I do love the ride! It’s my fav princess ride.

How about Pirates does that sew long waits? I’ve heard it’s better at DL then MK?
LM is the same exact ride as MK. Just with much lower waits.

POTC tends to not get that long. No FP. Usually less than MK since MK got FP.

:wizard:
 
Last edited:
POTC is better at DL -- all my WDW friends say so! Be aware that there are two drops -- in case this might scare anyone in your family. And, you can eat at Blue Bayou which is inside POTC! Check the online menu to see if your family might enjoy the BB F! Dining Package -- that one's our favorite. It's the most expensive, but the viewing area is right in the center and you get a souvenir cushion to sit on. (And, like all DLR restaurants, BB is very good about adapting the menu for kids and picky eaters.)

These posts might be helpful for you:
https://disneylanddaily.com/a-fastpass-guide-for-disneyland-and-california-adventure/#MaxPass
https://disneylanddaily.com/how-to-start-your-day-at-disneyland/
https://disneylanddaily.com/how-to-start-your-day-at-california-adventure/

Come back with any questions!
 
Last edited:


I meant to post this last month when this trip happened.But here it is now. I wanted to post this trip report to show that you can still get a lot done in the parks in a day. Strategic planning is needed. I've also seen a couple of questions on the main DL board regarding maxpass. We heavily used maxpass for this trip... We started at DL since it didn't have magic morning.

Morning time: We were let into the gates around 7:45 for the 8 am opening. We headed straight to Space Mountain for rope drop... So we did Space Mountain and were off by 8:10ish... We went back to Tomorrowland and did Buzz and Star Tours (5 min stand by each)...

Below are the rides that we did. I did my best to explain how we did the maxpass selections and redemmptions. We did a total of 17 rides.
Space Mountain (rope dropped)- Off by 8:10 am
Star Tours- 5 min wait
Buzz Astro Blasters-5 min wait
Indiana Jones- redeemed 8:50 am maxpass at 8:45 am (you can scan in 5 min early) .. Booked Splash Mountain for 9:05am
Splash Mountain-redeemed on or around 9:05am...booked Radiator Springs for 12:45 pm (we chose to wait the 90 minutes.
Winnie the Pooh- 0 minute wait
Roger Rabbit-15 minute wait time.. 90 minutes were up while in line... booked Guardians of the Galaxy maxpass for 12:50 pm
Small World- 5 min wait
Haunted Mansion- 13 min wait...90 minutes were up sometime after this ride and while eating beignets...booked Incredicoaster for 12:30 pm

At this time, it was about 12:15 pm, so we scarfed down the beignets and mint juleps to rush over to redeem Incredicoater maxpass

Incredicoaster- redeemed at 12:35ish...while waiting to get on the ride..our 30 minutes was up so we chose Toy Story Midway Mania for 4:35pm
Radiator Springs Racers- redeemed around 12:45
Guardians of the Galaxy- redeemed around 1:15...this fastpass line took the longest. We didn't get off the ride until nearly 2 pm.

Sometime during our breaks and eating at Lamplight Lounge, we chose Soarin' for 5:50. The last maxpass we booked was Goofy Sky School for 4:35 (this was an instant return time).

Toy Story Midway Mania- redeemed at 4:35
Goofy's Sky School- redeemed at 5:20
Silly Symphony Swings- 15 min wait
Little Mermaid- 5 min wait
Soarin- redeemed at 6:15 pm

We were going to go back to DL to do Pirates, but we were wiped out and decided to go home. We left the parks around 6:45 pm...12 hour day!

Rides we couldn't do: Matterhorn was down (still down). Also we were going to wait for Big Thunder in Standby..after maybe 10 minutes an announcement was made to have us all exit the line. We walked down the pathway that would take you to Fantasyland and saw that the ride was stuck at the top of the mountain! So that was shut down for a good portion of the day, and we were fine with not doing it.

Let me know if you have any questions. Hope it's not too long-winded.

This is a one day trip report from this past summer of a very successful park hopping day using MP. Because the OP put in the actual wait times, MP booking and redemption times, you can get a good idea of how the day moved along. The OP and friends did not have MM/EE/EMH and they were still able to get 17 rides -- and they left fairly early! You'll have more time on your side each day, so think about more rest times, meal times, show times, and more ride time. :)
 
POTC is better at DL -- all my WDW friends say so! Be aware that there are two drops -- in case this might scare anyone in your family. And, you can eat at Blue Bayou which is inside POTC! Check the online menu to see if your family might enjoy the BB F! Dining Package -- that one's our favorite. It's the most expensive, but the viewing area is right in the center and you get a souvenir cushion to sit on. (And, like all DLR restaurants, BB is very good about adapting the menu for kids and picky eaters.)

These posts might be helpful for you:
https://disneylanddaily.com/a-fastpass-guide-for-disneyland-and-california-adventure/#MaxPass
https://disneylanddaily.com/how-to-start-your-day-at-disneyland/
https://disneylanddaily.com/how-to-start-your-day-at-california-adventure/

Come back with any questions!

Awesome on the two drops my family loves that stuff. Both my kids are into thrill rides :) Yes I did see that about BB and I think we'll def dine there for the F! package. I did read about the cushions and our reserved area you sit. Is it inclined so if people are sitting in front of you can you still see good? My youngest is 6 so Id hate for him to not be able to see because someone larger than him is sitting right in front.
 
This is a one day trip report from this past summer of a very successful park hopping day using MP. Because the OP put in the actual wait times, MP booking and redemption times, you can get a good idea of how the day moved along. The OP and friends did not have MM/EE/EMH and they were still able to get 17 rides -- and they left fairly early! You'll have more time on your side each day, so think about more rest times, meal times, show times, and more ride time. :)

Wow that is amazing. I mean way more rides than Ive ever ridden at any day in DW!! Im starting to understand how it works but still anxious about not using it right when there or totally freaking out and making a mistake LOL .. It seems the best thing to do is book them as soon as possible with the soonest FP time and so on and to ONLY book something later in the day and wait the 90 minutes if you are trying to secure something that looks to be going fast right.
 
... I did read about the cushions and our reserved area you sit. Is it inclined so if people are sitting in front of you can you still see good? My youngest is 6 so Id hate for him to not be able to see because someone larger than him is sitting right in front.
The F! viewing area is slightly sloped downward toward the water. If you stop by that area (right by HM and POTC, down toward the ROA, up by the railing/fence, looking right at the cabin on the island -- stoop down or sit on the pavement for a moment and look straight ahead at the island. That will be your view of F! Keep in mind that at night, the show lights are very, very bright -- like seeing a movie in the dark -- so you don't really notice the railing or things around you as much as you do in the daytime. Some people find the railing distracting and like to sit further back. Walk back a few feet, sit down, and look at the island again. I'm short, so I like to sit right up at the railing, first row, so that I know that no one will be in front of me. I can look at the show through the rails and not be distracted. Seeing the different views in the daytime can give you an idea of what would work better for your family.

Wow that is amazing. I mean way more rides than Ive ever ridden at any day in DW!! Im starting to understand how it works but still anxious about not using it right when there or totally freaking out and making a mistake LOL .. It seems the best thing to do is book them as soon as possible with the soonest FP time and so on and to ONLY book something later in the day and wait the 90 minutes if you are trying to secure something that looks to be going fast right.
Read through the other links from disneylanddaily -- they can give you more of an idea of how MP can work in a day.
 
Here is a map of the F! viewing area (c. 2017): This is still the basic configuration. BB is area #3. That is the area where I suggested you scout the views during the day to see whether you want to be up by the railing or further back.

2017-08-06-f-map-jpg.335691
 
Here is a map of the F! viewing area (c. 2017): This is still the basic configuration. BB is area #3. That is the area where I suggested you scout the views during the day to see whether you want to be up by the railing or further back.

2017-08-06-f-map-jpg.335691

That is a much narrower strip that I realized. Is everything behind that standby or are guests not allowed in that area during the show? What about the Pirates bridge? Is that a good spot?
 
The terrace area in front of CO is free FP/standby -- and pretty good viewing for the second show. The POTC bridge is a great spot if you are in the first or second row (depends on how tall you are), but you'll have to get there very early (like 3-4 hours before the first show) to hold your spots. I don't how it works for the second show.
 
The terrace area in front of CO is free FP/standby -- and pretty good viewing for the second show. The POTC bridge is a great spot if you are in the first or second row (depends on how tall you are), but you'll have to get there very early (like 3-4 hours before the first show) to hold your spots. I don't how it works for the second show.

Good grief. How early to people start lining up for the rest of standby?
 
We were there the week after Thanksgiving this year and it was fairly crowded and we still managed quite a bit with our MaxPass strategy. I had a five year old with me too. I find that when doing rope drop at DCA it works best for us to go to RSR and ride it standby, then either pull a fast pass for it again (maxpass will let you grab a fastpass for the time the park opens for general admission that day), or for Toy Story while we're on it. Then we go ride LM and Mater's Tow Yard while we wait for the first fast pass (or Toy Story standby if the line isn't too long). Then I monitor the day and pull another RSR fast pass later for a ride a night. As someone else mentioned, the ride at night is so great!

I have never had GoTG run out of fast passes, but I know it does happen. So I'd pull one for that (or Soaring) right after I use that first fast pass.

On mornings we started at DCA I found that with MaxPass we'd have ridden everything we really wanted, sometimes twice, by 11-12 (opening at 7am with EMH), and then I'd start pulling fast passes for our favorites at DL. We'd take our time walking over there, grab lunch, and then have 2-3 stacked fast passes for our afternoon there. It worked out perfectly for really busy days.

My DL Maxpass strategy changes all the time, but the DCA scenario described above is my most solid plan.
 
Last edited:
Good grief. How early to people start lining up for the rest of standby?
The POTC bridge front row is a prime standby spot -- thus the long wait. (And this is why we recommend dining packages on this board. That's the easiest way to get good viewing with a minimal wait.) When we do standby, it is usually a last minute decision for the second show. We rarely wait more than 10-20 minutes. Walk by the F! standby area, see how crowded it is, if things look fairly open, ask a CM if you can go in. Otherwise, just walk up to the show and ask a CM where you can find a spot. If you are alone, this will be a lot easier. Sometimes the gamble pays off.
 
The F! viewing area is slightly sloped downward toward the water. If you stop by that area (right by HM and POTC, down toward the ROA, up by the railing/fence, looking right at the cabin on the island -- stoop down or sit on the pavement for a moment and look straight ahead at the island. That will be your view of F! Keep in mind that at night, the show lights are very, very bright -- like seeing a movie in the dark -- so you don't really notice the railing or things around you as much as you do in the daytime. Some people find the railing distracting and like to sit further back. Walk back a few feet, sit down, and look at the island again. I'm short, so I like to sit right up at the railing, first row, so that I know that no one will be in front of me. I can look at the show through the rails and not be distracted. Seeing the different views in the daytime can give you an idea of what would work better for your family.


Read through the other links from disneylanddaily -- they can give you more of an idea of how MP can work in a day.

Im reading all the links I know there is so many options to how we do this and where to go first. Some will say to get things like Buzz first and others say get like Space Mountain first. I just don't know. Considering we'll have two mornings we can do DL we can split it up. I feel it probably makes most sense for us to go to FL the morning we have MM and hit all those rides that don't have FP first right? And then grab like Space Mountain as our first one at like 8am if we get there at 7am. Does Matterhorn has FP? Would it be better to get that as the first FP then? ahhhh
 
Im reading all the links I know there is so many options to how we do this and where to go first. Some will say to get things like Buzz first and others say get like Space Mountain first. I just don't know. Considering we'll have two mornings we can do DL we can split it up. I feel it probably makes most sense for us to go to FL the morning we have MM and hit all those rides that don't have FP first right? And then grab like Space Mountain as our first one at like 8am if we get there at 7am. Does Matterhorn has FP? Would it be better to get that as the first FP then? ahhhh
You don't need to stress about MP - on a super-crowded day (12/29/17) we were able to get FPs for everything. Just keep on top of your eligibility and always get a new one as soon as you can, and you'll be fine.

Matterhorn DOES have FP.
 
Im reading all the links I know there is so many options to how we do this and where to go first. Some will say to get things like Buzz first and others say get like Space Mountain first. I just don't know. Considering we'll have two mornings we can do DL we can split it up. I feel it probably makes most sense for us to go to FL the morning we have MM and hit all those rides that don't have FP first right? And then grab like Space Mountain as our first one at like 8am if we get there at 7am. Does Matterhorn has FP? Would it be better to get that as the first FP then? ahhhh

I don't think there is anything wrong with getting things like Radiator Springs, TSM, or Space Mountain first thing, but it would be better to get something that is a personal favorite or high priority to you with a return time 30-45 minutes out or less. I definitely wouldn't use it on Buzz that early since they will be available all day. If Space is available with a 30 minute return window, that's definitely a good grab that early. You'll be waiting 90 minutes between FP later in the day, so the idea is to be able to get more in early. But if it's for a ride that never has much of a wait, then why waste your time with it at RD?
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top