Question regarding experience without FP

[mickeyfanachey1999]

Curious for anyone who has visited recently (especially the days in March when all parks reached whatever capacity limit was set) -

What do you think about NOT having the Fast Pass option?

One thing I will never forget about our 2018 trip was getting up early when we hit our day to try and secure FPs and feeling disappointed; and the trip was I think 3 months away still. Not a great feeling given all the money we were spending.

Then we checked periodically and made adjustments - but the main adjustments were in the park as people dropped certain ones and we were able to snag them. BUT the downside of course is time spent on our phone instead of simply taking in the atmosphere of WDW.

SO - I actually am looking FORWARD to NOT having that!

Any thoughts?

The lines Labor Day week were LONG and I'm not talking time (not that they were short) but physically long. I got in line for Slinky Dog about 50 feet from the animation courtyard. DW and DS10 went and got a cold drink and some shade and waited for me to get within sight before coming to join me so in a way I was their fastpass

 

[nickg420]

I'm assuming MK is the best with crowd dispersal, due to them having more rides?

Not necessarily, in fact in some ways MK is the worst because of the many bottlenecks through the lands. For example my son and I were in Frontier Land waiting to ride BTMR and I was texting my wife where we were and commenting about how crazy and crowded it was there. She texted me back a picture of an almost empty hub and castle....So it really just depends on the day, time, and place you happen to be standing in any park.

What was your experience like at HS? HS feels more crowded in GE and TSL but we had no issues getting a cantina res or res to build a lightsaber for my 10yo son for his bday and we even got CRT and B&C.

Like a previous poster said your best bet is to "rope drop" any absolute must do or watch the wait times and hit that area of the park when the wait times slow down usually in the afternoon for all parks but HS or Epcot WS. HS and Epcot WS are where most people end up hopping to, so they become a little heavier in the afternoons than say AK or MK.

Like I said, we never stood in line longer than 45 min for any ride. That includes catching a couple of cleaning cycles...

 

[JakeAZ]

Not necessarily, in fact in some ways MK is the worst because of the many bottlenecks through the lands. For example my son and I were in Frontier Land waiting to ride BTMR and I was texting my wife where we were and commenting about how crazy and crowded it was there. She texted me back a picture of an almost empty hub and castle....So it really just depends on the day, time, and place you happen to be standing in any park.

What was your experience like at HS? HS feels more crowded in GE and TSL but we had no issues getting a cantina res or res to build a lightsaber for my 10yo son for his bday and we even got CRT and B&C.

Like a previous poster said your best bet is to "rope drop" any absolute must do or watch the wait times and hit that area of the park when the wait times slow down usually in the afternoon for all parks but HS or Epcot WS. HS and Epcot WS are where most people end up hopping to, so they become a little heavier in the afternoons than say AK or MK.

Like I said, we never stood in line longer than 45 min for any ride. That includes catching a couple of cleaning cycles...

Thanks for that.

HS and Epcot WS are where most people end up hopping to

This was surprising. Not the Epcot part, I get that as they have later hours and people hop there for dinner. But HS. I would have thought once the second ROTR lottery happened, people would hop out. Good to know, in advance, that I have it wrong.

 

[nickg420]

Thanks for that.


This was surprising. Not the Epcot part, I get that as they have later hours and people hop there for dinner. But HS. I would have thought once the second ROTR lottery happened, people would hop out. Good to know, in advance, that I have it wrong.

Actually it's both....You can watch a mass exodus of people after the second RotR BG and then as the afternoon goes on people hop to HS because they "think" it will be empty from everyone going somewhere else....Which was true at 3:00-4:00....

After that it starts to get a little crowded in GE and TSL all over again...

 

[Kailani6]

Curious for anyone who has visited recently (especially the days in March when all parks reached whatever capacity limit was set) -

What do you think about NOT having the Fast Pass option?

One thing I will never forget about our 2018 trip was getting up early when we hit our day to try and secure FPs and feeling disappointed; and the trip was I think 3 months away still. Not a great feeling given all the money we were spending.

Then we checked periodically and made adjustments - but the main adjustments were in the park as people dropped certain ones and we were able to snag them. BUT the downside of course is time spent on our phone instead of simply taking in the atmosphere of WDW.

SO - I actually am looking FORWARD to NOT having that!

Any thoughts?

I was thinking about this last night actually. At first when I heard there would be no fastpasses I was so disappointed but once I really thought about it the idea has grown on me.

I am a obsessive planner and enjoyed planning out the fastpasses but no matter how hard I tried I always ended up having to leave a land that I wasn't done in yet to rush to a fastpass and then backtracking to finish what I wanted. So just the time saved there will be huge and I think it will even out in the end when we aren't having to wait in a regular line while they let all the fastpass people through

My feet will be much happier just going through the park- land by land and I feel like I'll have more time to stop and enjoy just the sights and sounds of each land instead of rushing off the my next scheduled ride. Oh and not spending all the extra time throughout the day stalking the app for more fastpasses.

I'm going in August so we will see if I feel the same way once I have to do it.

 

[ww52]

I think maybe a lot of people who aren't into Star Wars think HS is a "minor" park still.

 

[Dug720]

I think maybe a lot of people who aren't into Star Wars think HS is a "minor" park still.

There are only max 4 things I'd do there (Tower of Terror, Muppets, Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railroad, and maybe RnRC depending on the day), so never waste a ticket. But I think those of us who don't like Star Wars are a very vast minority.

 

[fla4fun]

I think a lot of it depends on how comfortable you are with standing in line, period. I have some back and knee issues that make anything over ten minutes painful. The longer I stand, the more painful it gets. When I get to 20 minutes I have to sit and rest for a while. My issue, not blaming Disney. So even if the actual wait time is 45 minutes, I won’t get in that line because I know my limitations. With FP, I would get on my three favorites, and maybe grab another FP or two to go on others without waiting, and rest between the FP. The last time I was at MK (early Dec 2020) the line for HM not only wound through the extended river boat queue, but then extended way back into Frontierland. I texted my sister a photo of the person holding the end of the line sign with Harpers Mill in the background. The line was just too long, especially for a continuously loading attraction.

It’s totally a personal opinion, but I hope they bring FP back sooner rather than later.

 

[lnR_Texas]

I think a lot of it depends on how comfortable you are with standing in line, period. I have some back and knee issues that make anything over ten minutes painful. The longer I stand, the more painful it gets. When I get to 20 minutes I have to sit and rest for a while. My issue, not blaming Disney. So even if the actual wait time is 45 minutes, I won’t get in that line because I know my limitations. With FP, I would get on my three favorites, and maybe grab another FP or two to go on others without waiting, and rest between the FP. The last time I was at MK (early Dec 2020) the line for HM not only wound through the extended river boat queue, but then extended way back into Frontierland. I texted my sister a photo of the person holding the end of the line sign with Harpers Mill in the background. The line was just too long, especially for a continuously loading attraction.

It’s totally a personal opinion, but I hope they bring FP back sooner rather than later.

Sounds like you are a candidate for DAS. Check in, get a return time based on the wait time, and then check back in and go to the front of the line. You are basically waiting in line somewhere else...

 

[tealandlemon]

How bad are wait times? I read on another thread that the Touring Plan wait times are more realistic.

I guess the point I'm hoping is true is that reduced capacity along with everyone being in the same situation makes it less painfl than one might think.

But you seem to be saying that's not true.

i have always found touring plans to be more realistic. I hardly ever look at wait times anywhere else. Worth the cost for us for sure!

 

[pcollins48]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I just joined a few weeks ago. We are no longer AP holders but plan to go this November. FP's always helped with wait times for our son with autism. Are DAS passes still available?

 

[JakeAZ]

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I just joined a few weeks ago. We are no longer AP holders but plan to go this November. FP's always helped with wait times for our son with autism. Are DAS passes still available?

Yes, they are.

 

[brockash]

Curious for anyone who has visited recently (especially the days in March when all parks reached whatever capacity limit was set) -

What do you think about NOT having the Fast Pass option?

One thing I will never forget about our 2018 trip was getting up early when we hit our day to try and secure FPs and feeling disappointed; and the trip was I think 3 months away still. Not a great feeling given all the money we were spending.

Then we checked periodically and made adjustments - but the main adjustments were in the park as people dropped certain ones and we were able to snag them. BUT the downside of course is time spent on our phone instead of simply taking in the atmosphere of WDW.

SO - I actually am looking FORWARD to NOT having that!

Any thoughts?

We've been 3 times since Covid, the last being a week and a half ago with several days hitting capacity...WE MISS FASTPASS GREATLY. We are really sick in waiting in 20-70 min lines for basically everything after the first hr or so. We had a really efficient touring plan when using fastpasses and very rarely waited more than 20 mins for anything and now it's just not possible. It definitely is much less planning, but we'd much rather plan ahead and not waste a ridiculous amount of time in lines.

 

[brockash]

I was there the entire week of 15th and we hit every park multiple times.

Did it feel crowded? Sometimes....But I would say no more, or perhaps even less, than a "normal"pre-Covid day.
How were the wait times? We rode everything we wanted to multiple times and never stood in any line longer than 45min.


The people you see complaining are people that only look at a wait time of 75min at the end of a loooooooong socially distanced line and never even get in the line and wait. They just avoid it and then come online and say things like "We only got to ride 1 ride the entire day! Bring back FPs!!" The truth is the majority of our lines were a little over half the posted wait times and were consistently minimum 20min less or more including catching a cleaning cycle or two.

Was it hot and miserable in almost 90° heat wearing a mask? You bet your behind it was!!! Was it still fun and better than FP days? Yup! Without question!

I would also agree with watching the wait times either on the app or through TPs app. There were plenty of times a certain land/section of the park was FULL of people and lines were longer s a result, but other lands/sections were completely empty and rides were almost "walk-on"...even top tier rides...

You'll certainly have people tell you how crowded and awful it was, but it's simply not true. I'm a true Disney fan....I've been when it was borderline inappropriate touching to move through the parks. So I always say, "If you can still see plenty of pavement....it's not crowded..."

This would be false in our experience. Like I said we've been 3 times since reopening (LD week, Fall break and about a week and a half ago.) Fall break was the worst, but each time we spent waaayyyy more time in lines for rides than we ever did with fastpasses. Yes, we knew how to use fastpasses and used them efficiently and yes we'll complain about much longer wait times than we've ever had in the past....and yes we did actually ride the rides...not sure how many ppl. actually take their kids to Disney, complain about the wait times listed and literally don't ride...lol; we still rode just waited a lot longer than precovid.

 

[nickg420]

This would be false in our experience. Like I said we've been 3 times since reopening (LD week, Fall break and about a week and a half ago.) Fall break was the worst, but each time we spent waaayyyy more time in lines for rides than we ever did with fastpasses. Yes, we knew how to use fastpasses and used them efficiently and yes we'll complain about much longer wait times than we've ever had in the past....and yes we did actually ride the rides...not sure how many ppl. actually take their kids to Disney, complain about the wait times listed and literally don't ride...lol; we still rode just waited a lot longer than precovid.

We've been back multiple times since reopening as well and have had 0 issues being able to ride and fit in everything we wanted. This includes stopping for a QS lunch and a TS dinner every night.

Now, can you just show up to the park and walk around aimlessly getting in whatever ride queue you want? No....You still have to look and make a plan as to where the least amount of crowd is in the park and hit top tier rides when it makes sense. I have seen several people on FB and other places claiming they couldn't do more than one ride in the park because of the wait times and crowds and that just simply isn't true.

Also, I would submit that by using FPs you're picking a specific ride that's available for you to get on with minimal wait. I think some peoples perception may be a little skewed in the amount of time they are actually taking to scan their phone over and over, pick the FP, run across the park to what's available, still stand in a line usually, ride the ride, then rinse and repeat. This narrative that people went from ride to ride of their choice all day long without any hassle or wasted time with FPs just simply isn't true. I considered myself a FP master, and this was never my experience. I would believe that while you may spend more time standing in line now, you're still using the same amount of time as you would be constantly searching and running around for the next FP IMO. I would rather be there taking in the sights than constantly staring at and refreshing my phone....

 

[ww52]

I love all the responses - those that say "no issue" AND those that say "big issue".

To me it sounds like lines / waits CAN be long but that it's not uniformly so (that is, every ride, every day, all day long)

Just the fact that some people found it better makes me feel better - I was worried that the consensus would be "It's horrible! The lines for most were 60 minutes plus all day within an hour of park opening.

So we will "rope drop", take advantage of the "generous"30 minute early entry (sarcasm) and prioritize the rides that are likely to be long lines

And enjoy BEING there with four little ones rather than constantly trying to juggle FPs

In other words, what we always did before Fast Pass - except the crowds will be smaller

 

[momtwoboys]

we LOVE not having to plan fastpasses! and yes we get what we want done by arriving early and taking a break at lunchtime. I dont mind planning what park we want to hit but after that we never liked booking FP's, now the old paper fast passes were nice to grab and use when we wanted because back then you could use it later than your window. I hope they dont bring back the version of booking them ahead.

 

[dizneegirl]

We've been 3 times since November. Honestly, DH and I both prefer it now without FP+. The standby lines all seem to move right along - even those that look terribly long.

I think I'd be OK with virtual queues for some of the headliners like they have for RotR. But I really don't miss having to pre-schedule FPs before going, or doing the refresh, refresh, refresh to get more during the trip.

 

[Shellyred8]

Our plan for SDD and Mine Train were to get in line for those as our last ride of the day. We knew we were going to have to wait regardless of when we went, so we opted to do the Adventure Land and Frontierland rides first thing in the morning. If you do Jungle Cruise and Pirates at rope drop it's a very short wait. If you wait until even just an hour or two after rope drop, the lines are pretty long (and Jungle Cruise queue is almost all outside). If you can get SDD or Mine Train as soon as the park opens, you stand a decent chance at getting in on a short wait time, but those lines get long quick, so no dilly dallying around on your way to those rides if you try this plan.

I agree with the others that it was nice to not have to always be on my phone trying to manage FP's. But I was still on my phone more than I would've liked because I was always watching for short wait times!

 

[Blondie58]

I dislike not having fastpass VERY MUCH!! If you are older, long lines are not compatable with hips, kness, and feet having six and seven decades of miles. The fastpasses were a HUGE help.