Until this past weekend, one of our top insider tips for Disneyland Resort visitors was that the return time windows printed on FASTPASS tickets were rarely if ever enforced. Even though FASTPASS tickets clearly display a one-hour window during which the ticket is valid for expedited admission into an attraction, the end of the time period could previously be safely ignored. This was a great boon to savvy guests, who could get FASTPASS tickets for popular rides in the early hours of the day and stockpile them for use at any time before park closing.

Walt Disney World used to have a similar unwritten policy, until it began enforcing FASTPASS return times last year in preparation for the new MyMagic+ program. Now, Disneyland Resort has joined its Florida counterpart in requiring guests adhere to the designated return times.

As of this morning, Cast Members at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure attractions offering FASTPASS will refuse entry to guests arriving after their printed pass time has expired. Cast Members have been warning guests of the policy change for the past couple weeks, and signs reminding guests to observe their return times have been posted at all FASTPASS dispensing kiosks.

During this transition period, Cast Members may have the discretion to admit latecomers within a 15 minute grace period. Also, if an attraction breaks down during your return window (a not-uncommon occurrence at Radiator Springs Racers) your pass will be accepted later in the day when the ride is operational again. Otherwise, be advised to pay close attention to your return time, or else your FASTPASSes will expire and be nothing more than free souvenirs.

Be aware that our Lines optimizer is aware of this new policy, and will adjust your customized touring plans created with our tools accordingly.

What do you think of this new policy? Will it impact the way you tour the Disneyland Resort? Do you think it means more MyMagic+ features will be making their way to Anaheim from Orlando? Let us know what you think in the comment below.

Disneyland Resort Now Enforcing FASTPASS Return Windows is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Copyright Disney

Between the debt crisis, cabinet confirmation, and gun control, you might the the U.S. Congress has its hands too full at the moment to pay much attention to the Mouse. But Disney’s new MyMagic+ program, which was officially announced earlier this month and will soon roll out across Walt Disney World’s theme parks and resorts, has raised questions about security and privacy inside and outside Washington.

On January 24, Representative Edward J. Markey from Massachusetts, who has earned a long-standing reputation for challenging entertainment companies, issued a 3-page detailed letter requesting answers about how Disney’s new RFID chip-based guest management system will be implemented.

Markey’s missive read, in part:

Collecting information about how guests use Disney amusement parks could improve the company’s ability to target advertisements at its guests, including children… Although kids should have the chance to meet Mickey Mouse, this memorable meeting should not be manipulated through surreptitious use of a child’s personal information.

The response from Disney CEO Bob Iger, released on January 28, was less than diplomatic:

We are offended by the ludicrous and utterly ill-informed assertion in your letter dated January 24, 2013, that we would in any way haphazardly or recklessly introduce a program that manipulates children, or wantonly puts their safety at risk. It is truly unfortunate and extremely disappointing that you chose to publicly attack us before taking the time to review our policies and/or contact us for information, which would have obviated the need for your letter. Had you or your staff made the slightest effort, you would have found most of the answers to your questions already existed and were publicly available online at http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/pp.html and https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/my-disney-experience/privacy-policy.

You can read Iger’s full response here.

Congressional concern is unlikely to significantly slow the billion-dollar MyMagic+ project, which is expected to expand across WDW in 2013, and invade Disneyland Resort the following year.

Are you concerned about your personal privacy in the light of Disney’s new designs? Do you feel it is appropriate for government representatives to ask questions like these? Leave us your take in the comments below.

Disney CEO Iger Disses US Rep. Markey’s MyMagic+ Questions is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

I made an all too brief visit to Walt Disney World this past weekend with my husband. About two weeks prior to our departure for this trip, I received a surprise FastPass+ tester invitation in the mail. The “welcome” letter included two standard plastic cards which were imprinted with our names and a square QR code box. We were directed to a website where we could use our resort reservation number to sign up for FastPass+ use.

The test took place at the Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We were directed to choose one of these parks on each of the two nights of our stay. I chose our arrival day Friday December 14 for DHS and Saturday 15 for the Magic Kingdom. We were offered a list of several attractions and allowed to choose a limited number to reserve with the FastPass+. We were presented with four sample time configurations, but had the ability to go in later and tinker with the timing. In practice, this felt very much like making a meal reservation.

Here are some screen shots of the reservation process:

You are initially presented with four sample FastPass+ itineraries. These can be changed. Note that each time you log on, you have 30 minutes to make your choices.

Some FastPass+ slots do fill completely up, leaving standby as the only option.

You can do a fair amount of tinkering with your FastPass+ selections.

It looks like more attractions may have FastPass+ capability than currently have standard FastPass capability.

You can print your selections, or have them emailed to you.

I’m still processing my thoughts on FastPass+, but here are some initial observations and reflections:

Using my FastPass+ card at Toy Story Mania. A real boon on arrival day.

• This is an AMAZING tool for WDW arrival days. Our flight to Orlando landed in the late morning. There was no way we could get to Disney’s Hollywood Studios before 1:00 p.m., when Toy Story Midway Mania standard FastPasses are usually long gone and waits of 90 minutes or more are typical. However, because I had a reserved FastPass+ slot at 3:00, we were able to hop right on the attraction at our appointed time. Similarly, this will be a boon for teens or other folks who like to sleep in on vacation. With FastPass+ you could theoretically schedule all your riding in advance for late afternoon or evening. The whole “get to the park before rope drop” mindset may change dramatically.
• You can set up separate FastPass schedules for each member of your party. This means that you don’t all have to ride together, or even ride the same attractions.
• There is definitely a “Big Brother is watching you” aspect to this. Each time we used our FastPass+, we were greeted by name. Somehow during the registration process, my husband’s card got coded with my name and vice versa. Cast members remarked on this several times.
• The guest-specific labeling of the FastPass+ has me wondering what will become of the “FastPass sacrifice.” For example, my daughter Josie LOVES Tower of Terror, I can take it or leave it. Often I’ll use my park ticket to get a FastPass for ToT and give it to her – sacrificing my Pass so that she can ride twice. I hope that enforcement of FastPass+ user identity does not become the norm. Somewhere in the rumor mill I recall hearing that the new card technology will eventually be linked to guest photos. (Just a rumor, I have no scoop.) Would my photo show up if my daughter used my Pass, thus causing her problems?

FastPass+ control station at the Jungle Cruise attraction. You can use this station to modify your FastPass+ selections while in the park.

• The “celebration notification” aspect of the card might become grating after a while. During registration, I was presented with half a dozen choices of things I might be celebrating (birthday, anniversary, reunion, etc.). I chose the last option, “other,” just to see what would happen. Sure enough, all the cast at the FastPass+ return areas asked what the “other” was. Even if you’re there for your birthday, I can see that the obligatory good wishes could quickly seem forced rather than fun. Also, I didn’t necessarily want to have a conversation at every ride.
• We were allowed to make changes to our FastPass+ “reservations” on the fly, pending availability. For example, at any of the stations, you can ask to see your remaining FastPass+ allotment and if check whether it’s possible to switch attractions or times. As with restaurants, there appeared to be a few attractions that filled up quickly and had little movement in their availability. My impression was that the reserved parade and Wishes areas were the hottest tickets, likely because there is only one time each day for this.
• The FastPass+ times were staggered such that you could really only have one FastPass+ reservation per hour. This did not impact your ability to get/use regular FastPasses. No word yet on whether this will stay the same once the rollout it complete.
• I hope that eventually guests will be able to build Park Hopping into their FastPass+ experience. The current test only allow reservations at one park per day.

RFID Room Key

You use this device on the check-in desk to select your PIN.

During this trip, we stayed at the Boardwalk, where all the rooms appear to have been converted to RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) locks. You wave your room key in front of the lock, rather than sliding it into a slot. I had previously encountered this technology during opening weekend at the Art of Animation resort.

I loved the RFID locks at AoA, but initially had huge problems with them at the Boardwalk. I’d get to the room and the key would work. I’d leave and come back, then the key wouldn’t work. This happened several times. Eventually I found a cast member at the Boardwalk concierge desk who explained that the new iPhones have been demagnetizing guests’ key cards. She gave me an envelope for my key and told me to put it in a different part of my purse, away from my phone. After following her advice, I had no more key problems. I hope this is something they work out because I often place my room key and phone in a small wristlet or clutch when I’m going out in the evenings at WDW.

RFID Tap to Pay

When checking in at the Boardwalk, we were asked if we wanted to activate “Tap to Pay” on our Key to the World Card. To do this, we selected a four digit PIN and input that number twice into a reader on the check in desk. There are some restrictions about what PINs are available. For example, we were told that we could not choose four consecutive numbers (1234) or two sets of double numbers (1122). Once your Key to the World Card had Tap to Pay activated, for purchases under $50.00 you really do just tap your card on a reader in front of the register. If you’re making a purchase over $50.00, you tap your card and then input your four digit PIN into the reader. I used this technology twice, once at the Boardwalk gift shop and once at the Emporium on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom.

Tap to Pay point at the Emporium on Main Street.

My sense is that in the long run, this will become a slight time saver for merchandise check out cast members. Previously, cast members had to check photo ID for room charge purchases over $50.00. With the RFID system in place, these transactions will involve less fumbling to find drivers’ licenses and more quick tapping of PIN codes. On a related note, there is fairly large subset of WDW guests who likes to enter the parks with only their Key card. Under the old system, these folks could only make merchandise purchases of less than $50.00 because they had no ID on their person. Now they won’t need the ID to make a payment.

RFID Park Entry

Magic Kingdom Touch Point entry - no turnstiles.

RFID entry was also tested at the Magic Kingdom. Four or five sets of turnstiles had been removed from the far right side of the entry area (near Guest Services) and had been replaced with Touch Point card readers. There was no entry barrier; it was simply up to the cast on site to regulate the flow of guests. The scene during the test was slightly chaotic because it was not immediately clear who could enter where. Cast members were just asking people if they were staying on WDW property and if so did they have their park tickets encoded into their room key. Since I am an annual pass holder and did not have my park ticket on my room key, I could not enter through the test area. I did, however, watch the entry area for quite a while. The lack of physical turnstiles made it much easier for guests using strollers or personal mobility devices.

Overall

Overall, I was impressed with my tech testing experience. I know that my teens will be thrilled when the day comes that they can be sure about getting on Soarin’ without having to wake up at the crack of dawn. And once I got the demagnetization issue worked out, my RFID room key and payment experience was quick and easy. I look forward to subsequent roll out steps.

Fellow travelers, what questions do you have about FastPass+ or other new technology testing at Walt Disney World? Let us know in the comments below.

My Experience as a FastPass+ Tester is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

Arrive at DCA at least 45 minutes before park opening...

Looking for traffic avoidance advice as you drive down the crowded Route 66? Well, pull up to the pump and fill up on some free touring info, certain to make your first (or next) visit to Cars Land at at Disney California Adventure a little less fraught.

Recently, we related our step-by-step plan for surviving the Early Entry hour at Cars Land. Since the publication of that piece, Disnelyand announced the expansion of Extra Magic Hours for resort hotel guests to 7 days per week at both parks, now through September 13, 2012. Our advice is to take full advantage of the early admission programs if you are eligible for them, but that’s out of reach for the bulk of visitors this summer.

As a result of this temporary adjustment to early entry operations, general admission visitors this summer will never be the first into Cars Land, no matter how early they line up. If you are one of the unwashed masses unable to enter the park early, you can still enjoy all the new Cars Land attractions; it just may take a little more effort. Follow this plan to a “Model T” and you are likely to find yourself cruising in the fast lane, while everyone else languishes in long lines.

...and wait in line for a Radiator Springs FASTPASS...

Selecting the right day to visit is crucial. Avoiding DCA on an Extra Magic Hour morning — when resort hotel guests are allowed in early – is currently impossible. However, on four days of the week, Annual Passholders are also allowed in early (now through mid-September). Therefore, your best day to visit DCA is Saturday, when the majority of Annual Passholders are barred from entering by blackout dates. The next best days are usually Tuesday and Thursday. Sunday is the busiest day for Passholder early entry.

• Arrive at the park’s front gates, ticket in hand, at least 30 to 45 minutes before the official opening time. Hotel guests and Annual Passholders who have registered for early entry will be allowed in ahead of you through designated turnstiles. Active hotel keycards or special wristbands are required, so don’t bother trying to sneak in.
• As soon as the general public is permitted through the turnstiles (usually at least 30 prior to the official opening time) proceed down Buena Vista Street to Carthay Circle. Look for signs designating the start of the Radiator Springs Racers FASTPASS queue.

...and wait...

• Have one noble, self-sacrificing member of your party take everyone’s admission tickets and hop into the line for Fastpass distribution, which will not begin moving until the official park opening time. The queue may stretch through Hollywood Land all the way to Tower of Terror; if you are standing past the Animation building, you are looking at about a 30 to 45 minute wait once the line begins moving.
• At park opening (8 a.m. every day this summer) a musical fanfare will announce the “rope drop,” and employees will carefully walk the crowd towards Cars Land. FASTPASS tickets will be distributed to those waiting in the queue, and will likely be gone for the day before 9:30 a.m. On busy days, unless you are already in line by opening time, it is possible you may not get a FASTPASS at all.
• The rest of your party (minus the FASTPASS retriever) should proceed through Cars Land to Luigi’s Flying Tires. The wait may already be quite long, thanks to early entry guests, but it won’t get much shorter all day. So if this ride (a slow-loading blend of bumper cars and air hockey) is high on your to-do list, do it now.

It's only 8:15 a.m. and FASTPASSes for the morning are running out quickly!

• Take a look at the single rider line for Radiator Springs Racers. If the wait is 30 minutes or less, and your party doesn’t mind being separated, take a trip through the singles queue. Otherwise, wait until your FASTPASS is active.
• Experience Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree next. If the wait is over 30 minutes, skip it and check back in the late afternoon, when the queue usually dwindles.
• If you’ve made good time to this point and want to take a breather, grab some breakfast at Flo’s V8 Cafe or Cozy Cone Motel, or pose for a photo with Lightning or Mater.
• Secure a World of Color FASTPASS if you want to see the first showing of the night.
• Enjoy the park’s other top attractions, which should be much less crowded than Cars Land. Also keep a close eye on your Radiator Springs Racers FASTPASS return window; this is the resort’s only attraction where the end time printed on your FASTPASS ticket is being enforced.
• Be sure to stop back in Cars Land in the evening to enjoy the sunset neon lighting ceremony and evening illumination on the rock work. A second ride on Radiator Springs Racers after dark is a very different experience; try the single rider line during a performance of World of Color.

Victory! Got in line at 7:40 a.m., got a Fastpass at 8:30 a.m., can use it at 12:40 p.m.

Cars Land Survival Guide: General Admission is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

7 a.m., seconds before rope from in Cars Land for Early Entry. (All photos by Seth Kubersky)

The new Cars Land attractions are barely three weeks old, but their popularity has already pushed the Disneyland Resort in general, and the Disney California Adventure park in particular, to record levels of attendance. The old conventional wisdom was that the sparsely-attended second gate didn’t require the same assiduous planning as its older sibling to enjoy in a single day. But at least until the Cars Land hoopla dies down — which we don’t expect to happen any time this summer — you’ll need an efficient itinerary to absorb all the relaunched park has to offer.

The 2013 edition of The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland will soon be winging its way to the presses, packed with our brand-new optimized touring plans for tackling Disney California Adventure’s latest additions. Unfortunately, it will arrive on store shelves too late to help those of you planning to visit within the next few months. Therefore, in honor of the recently-passed Independence Day holdiay, we wave the flag of freedom from frustration, and offer you this “survival guide” to liberating yourself from the long lines in Cars Land.

As always, our number one advice is “Arrive early, arrive early, arrive early!” For the foreseeable future, as far as Cars Land is concerned, you’ll want to add at least two more “arrive earlies” to that mantra. Much of your touring strategy depends on whether you are eligible for one of the park’s Early Entry programs.

Extra Magic Hour is the new name for Disneyland Resort’s bonus to guests staying at one of the three on-site hotels. Anyone with valid admission and an active room key from Disneyland Hotel, Paradise Pier, or the Grand Californian, is eligible to enter DCA one hour before the general public on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Purchasers of 3-day or longer tickets with Magic Morning are only eligible to enter Disneyland Park early, not DCA.

Hotel guests may enter through the main gate or the private entrance in the Grand Californian. An old “trick” that allowed non-hotel guests to enter early if they had a same-day receipt from a hotel shop or restaurant is no longer valid. Note that on the other four days of the week, hotel guests may enter the park 30 minutes early through the Grand Californian entrance, but are only permitted to retrieve World of Color FASTPASS tickets; Cars Land rides will remain off-limits until the official opening time.

For this summer, Disneyland is running a separate early entry program exclusively for Annual Passholders, who can register to attend DCA and Disneyland on one morning each between now and mid-September. The program is held on the opposite days of Extra Magic Hour, meaning that DCA is available on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings. Passholders must register online in advance, and will have to show their passes to receive wristbands before entering the park.

If you are able to participate in either early entry option, we highly recommend you do so, since it is easily the least crowded way to experience the park. Here is our early entry touring strategy:

• Arrive at the park entrance, ticket in hand, at least 90 minutes before the official opening time. For this summer, that means 6:30 a.m. Allow for extra time if you need to purchase admission, or receive a wristband for Annual Passholder early entry.
• Guests may be allowed into the park 30 minutes or more before the early entry period begins. Proceed to Carthay Circle at the end of Buena Vista Street, where you will be held until 7 a.m. If you are early and sleepy, you can grab a Starbucks eye-opener from Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe.
• Once permitted to progress forward, move straight to Cars Land, walking with the restraining rope to the end of Route 66. The majority of the crowd will head directly to Radiator Springs Racers. However, that ride frequently opens a few miniutes (or more) late due to morning safety testing. Instead, get in line for Luigi’s Flying Tires (inside the Casa del Tires shop facade, with the tire tower out front). If you are among the first in the queue, you should be on and off the ride in about 10 minutes.
• After riding Luigi’s, look at the posted wait time for the single rider line at Radiator Springs Racers. If the wait is 30 minutes or less, the time is before 7:15 a.m., and your group doesn’t mind being separated, get in the singles queue. Otherwise, skip to the next step.
• Ride Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree. Your wait time should be under 20 minutes.
• If the time is 7:30 a.m. or earlier, consider grabbing some breakfast from the Cozy Cone Motel (beware the overcooked scrambled eggs) or Flo’s V8 Cafe.
• Send a member of your party with all of the group’s admission passes to get in line for Radiator Springs FASTPASS tickets no later than 7:45 a.m. The distribution location is outside Cars Land near the entrance to It’s Tough to be a Bug! Make sure you get in the FASTPASS line with other early entry participants several minutes before the official park opening, at which time the queue will be merged with the general public.
• FASTPASS distribution begins at official park opening time. If you’ve followed these steps, you should get your passes within 20 minutes of opening, with a return time around mid-morning. Pay close attention to your return window; Radiator Springs Racers is the first attraction at the resort to enforce the printed one-hour time frame, though exceptions are made if the ride breaks down.
• At this point you’ve experienced the slowest-loading rides and secured a coveted FASTPASS to the park’s top attraction. Grab some food if you need to, pick up a FASTPASS to World of Color if you want to see the first performance, and start touring the park. If you’re not following one of our time-tested touring plans, at least prioritize Toy Story Midway Mania, Soarin’ Over California, and Tower of Terror. You’ll find that Cars Land sucks up so much of the arriving crowd that lines at the other former top draws should be pleasantly short.

This is what your wait will look like if you are among the first people in line for Luigi's.

Can’t take advantage of early entry? Check back later for part 2 of this series, featuring our survival advice for general admission.

Cars Land Survival Guide: Early Entry is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.

“There is nothing wrong with your computer monitor.  Do not attempt to adjust the settings.  We are controlling content.  If we wish to excite you, we will bring you a post about the Fantasyland Expansion.  If we wish to bore you, we will bring you a post about which brand of band-aid best accommodates walking-borne blisters.  If we wish to bend your brain, we will bring you a post much like the one to follow.  For the next five minutes, sit quietly and try to wrap your mind around what we are about to deliver.  We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your computer.  You are about to participate in a great adventure.  You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from within the insanity of Type-A, commando, vacation planners to . . . The Outer Limits.”

This is how I imagine a blog post such as this one should open.  My mind explodes as I try to comprehend the magnitudinal impact of the information that I am about to share.  In terms of a Disney vacation, this is where it is at for a die-hard.  The time that could be saved . . . the biological energy that could be conserved . . . the amount of Disney territory that could be conquered . . . it’s almost more than a little Neurotic Disney Mom such as myself can take.  But a word of caution: This information is not for the faint of heart.  It is possibly not for the faint of anything because once you are able to comprehend this complex trickery of Touring Plan bliss, the execution of it might cause you to . . . well, faint.  Consider yourself warned.

Many a Disney fan is familiar with the Fastpass system that is an option for most of Disney’s longest “wait-in-line attractions”.  To refresh, though, I will pull an excerpt from the latest edition of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World:

” . . . . insert your park admission pass into a Fastpass machine and receive an appointment time (for later in the day) to return and ride [the attraction for which you opted to get a Fastpass].  When you return at the designated time, you enter the Fastpass line and proceed directly to the attraction’s preshow or boarding area.” – p. 79

In the Fastpass system, each ticket is limited to one Fastpass at a time.  The holder of the Fastpass for one attraction may not acquire a Fastpass for a second attraction until the time indicated on the original Fastpass has transpired.  Only then can a ticket-holder seek a Fastpass for a second attraction, but the “Rider Exchange” is a game-changer for those that are serious about time efficiency.

The “Rider Exchange” (referred to as the “Switch-Off” in The Unofficial Guide) is possibly a less-known time-saving technique amongst the Disney guest population because it is not as widely publicized.  However, it is a necessary option for parties that have a person who is unwilling or unable to ride attractions but can’t be left alone while the rest of the group experiences them.  Here is another excerpt from The Unofficial Guide to briefly explain:

“To switch off, there must be at least two adults . . . . On most Fastpass attractions . . . . When you tell the cast member that you want to switch off, he or she will issue you a special “rider exchange” Fastpass good for three people.  One parent and the non-riding child (or children) will at that point be asked to leave the line.  When those riding reunite with the waiting adult, the waiting adult and two other persons from the party can ride using the special Fastpass.” -p. 331-332

So here is the mind-blowing part.  You can incorporate Fastpasses with the Rider Exchange in order to have Fastpasses for multiple attractions at the same time. This is an enormous benefit for larger groups.

Because the “rider exchange pass” can be used by the adult holding it as well as three companions, this essentially gives a “four for the price of one” scenario in terms of Fastpass currency.  The basic idea is that we’re using one one-person Fastpass to get one multi-person rider swap pass.  Naturally this give you more “bang for your buck” in terms of covering ground during your hours at Disney.

An alert reader in Mequon, WI discovered this strategy of combining the two time-saving line options to ride more Fastpass attraction headliners:

You advise sending someone to get Fastpasses for Big Thunder and then “switching off” so all the adults can ride.  But if you have at least two adults in a group and one non-riding child, it’s possible to use the “switching off” pass to get Fastpasses for more than one attraction at a time.

Our group consisted of two adults, two teens, and two young children.  We split our tickets into two groups of three and used one group to get Fastpasses for Big Thunder and one group to get Fastpasses for Splash Mountain.  When the half with the Big Thunder Fastpasses went to ride, we asked to “switch off” and obtained a pass good for one adult and up to three other people.  My husband used the three Fastpasses to ride with our two teens.  Then, with the switch-off pass, I rode with the teens again and one of our younger sons who was willing to ride.  We did the same thing on Splash Mountain immediately afterwards because the time on our Fastpasses for that ride was already here when we finished riding Big Thunder.

Depending on size and number of ticket-bearers, this strategy has the potential to hold Fastpasses for as many as five attractions at any given time while still maintaining the ability to get the entire group on each attraction with a single “swap.”  This mass Fastpass acquisition is accomplished by dividing up the group’s tickets for Fastpasses at different attraction kiosks, but the maximum number of attractions a party can exploit this way diminishes as the size of the group increases.

Used at its fullest potential, a family that consists of two adults and four other ticket-bearing people (one which is not able or willing to ride) can divide their tickets into five groups.  One ticket would be used to obtain a Fastpass at “Attraction A.”  One would be used to get a Fastpass at “Attraction B.”  The pattern would continue for acquiring tickets for “Attractions C, D and E” simultaneously.  With the attraction of the earliest Fastpass time stamp being called “Attraction A”, an adult wielding the Fastpass for “Attraction A” would request a rider exchange pass by approaching the Cast Member at the Fastpass Return entrance.  After securing the rider exchange pass, the adult would use his Fastpass to board the ride and give the rider exchange pass to the second adult when he rejoins the group.  At that point, the second adult–accompanied by the three others whom are riding–would present the switch-off pass to the Cast Member guarding the Fastpass Return entrance.  All four family members would be permitted to enter the Fastpass lane for the ride while the first adult would remain with the non-riding individual.  Upon the return of the second group, the same procedure could be followed for the remaining four Fastpass attractions without having to wait an extended period for the assigned time-frames.

This scenario may seem unappealing as it would require an adult that was always willing to ride solo as well as some serious team cooperation in gathering the Fastpasses from all corners of the park.  For that reason, we see dividing the group’s tickets into thirds and using them for three different attractions as a more reasonable option (providing the number of riders in the party doesn’t exceed six).  Here is how it might play out:

Two parents, two adventurous grandparents, two excited teens, and one terrified child named Clarence want to make the most of their time.  Dividing their tickets into three groups of two, Dad runs to grab two Fastpasses at Space Mountain and plans to meet up with the rest of the family after they have used two tickets to get Fastpasses at Splash Mountain and two tickets to get Fastpasses at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  Once the time rolls around, Dad and Grandpa use the Fastpasses for Splash Mountain, being sure to ask for the rider exchange pass when they enter the Fastpass line.  After they ride, they give the rider exchange pass to Mom who then takes Grandma and the two teens through the Fastpass lane.  Dad and Grandpa wait with Clarence near the exit, and the group is reunited when Mom, Grandma and the happy teens emerge.  This same scenario would play out for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Space Mountain in short duration due to the fact that the FastPasses for those attractions have already been grabbed and the time for entry has probably arrived.

Now that I have completely amazed you with the brilliance of this Touring Plan technique, you are left with two questions:

1. How far are you able to take this mind-boggling strategy within the demographics of your particular vacation party?

and

2. Are you willing to take it to the “Outer Limits”?

Fastpasses and the Rider Exchange: A Powerful Combination is a post from the TouringPlans.com Blog. Signup for a premium subscription today! Or get news via Email, Twitter, & Facebook.