Fastpass and staying off site

[KrystalS]

So we had planned on staying off site or at a non Disney hotel, maybe one of the ones still on property. However now that I have done some research I'm not so sure I want to do that with the new fastpass+ system. The last time we went to Disney was in 2009 so this system did not exist. Our first visit we stayed off property and rented a car, second time we stayed at Port Orleans and used the buses. I hated using the bus, I felt like we were constantly waiting around. I felt like we wasted so much money staying at a Disney hotel because we only slept there. But will I regret this because of the fastpass system. You only get magic bands if you stay at Disney is this correct? You can only make fastpass reservations 30 days out? Can someone explain this fastpass system to me? I have read several things but I want just like a run down from someone who has gone. Tell me if I'm wrong here. You can make 3 fastpass reservations per day, only for 1 park? We don't park hop so thats not an issue for me. Once you get to the park and you have used those 3 reservations can you make more or is it 3 max? Last time I paid for access to the touring plans site, is this still the best route? We never waited in line for more than 10 minutes last time so I absolutely want to do a touring plan. My DH hated it at first, he said we were constantly running around and it was stupid, but by the end of that first day he saw how long the lines were and we had not waited at all.

Our first visit DD loved all the characters, it was her favorite part. She will be 11, only cares about the rides, if we see some characters fine but not priority. DS is 4 almost 5 by the time we visit, his first time. He will definitely want to see some characters but not a priority. Definitely Mickey and the Toy Story gang, and he loves Jake. So no princesses or Frozen which from what I have read those are the most popular now.

If we should stay on property how are the values? I hated Port Orleans. We were constantly walking, a mile it seemed like to the bus stop and food court, it was so spread out.

[truly scrumptious]

We went last year and the Fastpass + rules were that you get 3 and you're done. If you were staying onsite, you could book your fastpasses in advance. If you were offsite you had to wait to get to the park in the morning and line up at a kiosk to get your fastpasses for the day (which i assume would reduce your options considerably since many would be taken by the people staying onsite, and also waste a bunch of time when you get to the park lining up for kiosks.) Every time we entered a park (usually at rope drop) the kiosk lines would get crazy long immediately.
We used the touring plan site and LOVED IT. It will help you figure out which fastpasses to get, too, so you can book the ones you're most likely to need. Also, you can change your fastpasses (depending on availability, which was not much) during the day if you change your mind, using the MDE (My disney experience) app. I don't know if you have this option if staying offsite.

A couple of tricks we learned to maximize our fastpasses - definitely use the touring plan site and app, which reroutes you throughout the day as needed. Also, consider splitting up the FPs. For example, DD was too small for some rides, so one of us would do a FP with DS for a ride he could go on, and then ask for rider swap. Rider swap effectively works out to be 2 more FPs for the same ride (one for DS and one for the adult) so he got to ride some of the popular rides twice, while one of us took DD to meet Tinkerbell or something else up her alley.

I am by no means a Disney expert, and I'm sure you can get great tips from people who know more, but I hope this helps!

ETA -I don't have recommendations for where to stay onsite - we stayed at Art of Animation and loved it and were so glad we stayed onsite. In the future I might look for a midlevel resort, though.

ETAA - My DH started out unconvinced about touring plans too, but by end of day 1 he was raving about it.

[klwa]

I went last March and things were running very similar to PP. However, I know that now off site can book at 30 days. The only things you'll have real issues getting at that point seem to be Anna & Elsa fastpasses & the Mine Train. This site ( http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=835236 ) will give you an idea of what fastpasses you can get at 30 days out.

As for when you can get more, once you've finished your 3, you can get more, just one at the time, and only at the kiosks. You can't use the app to get additional past the three.


As far as touringplans, this last trip, I had access to it since I booked my trip through AAA. However, I found myself liking/using the plans from easywdw more than I did the touring plans info. And it's free. Check out http://www.easywdw.com/ before you purchase touringplans, at least.

[klwa]

Forgot to add, you can buy the magic bands: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/bands-cards/price/

But, if you don't want to deal with the added cost, the RFID ticket card acts the same as the band.

[KrystalS]

Thanks for the info! We have decided to stay at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. Hopefully I'm able to make all the Fastpass+ reservations I need. I'm just happy you don't have to wait til you arrive at the park, seems like that would waste a huge chunk of valuable time! Our last visits we rode more in that first hour than the rest of the day! If lines weren't long we would get right back on the rides! I've never gone in the summer though so I'm hoping the crowds aren't unbearable. We plan to rent a car, so we may end up going back to the hotel if it's too hot. Seems like last time we never did this because it takes so long to go back and forth. We will have at least 1 day possibly 2 without park plans. We are also going to Universal for Harry Potter, I will probably be asking lots of Q's about this because we have never been to Universal, I'm think I'm more excited than the kids about HP!

ETA: Thanks for the info about the Magic bands, I wouldn't bother but I think the kids would like having them!

[truly scrumptious]

FYI if you end up getting the Magic bands be aware that you may end up wearing them for the kids. Both DD and DH (yes you read that right DH!) lost their magic bands (as in fell off their arms on a ride or while walking around) at AK during our stay. We were able to get a temp card for each of them, and then recovered them from the main information desk before we left. But we wasted a bunch of time on that. Of course, no guarantee that the cards would fare any better.

Have a great trip!

[Globetrotter]

You can choose fp 30 days in advance, but we went at peak times and there were openings that came up closer to our date. Don't count on it, though. Once you use your first three, you can choose one at a time but you can't get another one until your other one is done. Early morning is the best time for rides (even without fp) so you might want to schedule fp a little later, unless you plan to get there late. We ate lunch and dinner at odd times and used the touring plans app. I also used the crowd calendar from easywdw to decide when to go to each park, and it was fairly accurate. We went to the epcot world showcase earlier in the day to avoid crowds, and it was great!

Definitely get a fp for toy story and 7 dwarfs. The scary coasters are are popular, but I'm guessing you will skip those? Touring plans worked out for us. Also get the my disney experience app to manage fp and dining reservations. I changed our fp schedule on the fly using that, vs standing in line for a kiosk. It was overloaded and slow, but we went at the busiest time.