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Disneyland Fastpass and Other Tips

FASTPASS, Space Mountain

Welcome to another article from my Disneyland tips series. This is a continuation from the previous tips about the Best Time of Year to go to Disneyland, dealing with when those times are and the trade-offs made between those times of the year. If you missed it, feel free to read it and my other Disneyland articles by clicking here.

As stated in the previous article, I always aim for smaller crowds. Sometimes, however, it isn’t possible and I find myself vacationing in the busy season. Don’t be discouraged. Learn to fight the crowds with just a few modifications to your Disneyland plan. I’ve compiled a list of tips that I personally use to make these trips just as enjoyable as any other.

5) Buy and Print Disneyland Tickets Online

Avoid the first line by ordering online. Using Disney’s website, you can buy everything from a single day ticket to a premium annual passport with parking pass. Everything is very simple and well described. During my latest summer Disneyland vacation, I purchased a five day park-hopper ticket for the price of a three day ticket, and it even included one Magic Morning entrance (more on that later.) After purchasing the ticket or annual pass, simply print off the ticket they send via e-mail on regular paper and present it at the turnstiles. Congratulations! You have successfully skipped the dreaded Disneyland ticket kiosk lines and saved quite a bit of time. (Bonus tip: Print two copies of each ticket and pack them in two different places, just to be safe.)

4) Rope Drop Rush

What is rope drop? Disney will sometimes allow people to enter through the main gates and move onto Mainstreet USA (the main road heading toward the castle) before the rest of the park and rides are open to the general public. A rope spans the road to keep visitors from crossing until the proper time. People rush different directions when the rope finally drops and the Disney day begins. Keep in mind that most people head toward their favorite rides, which are often the same. Space Mountain, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Indiana Jones Adventure are a few of the most popular Disneyland destinations. My tip is to rush to a few of your secondary rides, which are rides that are on your list but not the top of the list. For me, these include rides like the Casey Jr. Circus Train, Storybook Land Canal Boats, and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Most of these rides will be walk-on status this early in the day, since the vast majority of visitors will head for the more popular, larger attractions listed above. Another surprising “morning” secondary ride is Splash Mountain. Later in the day Splash Mountain will be crawling with riders, but few wish to risk getting soaked first thing in the morning. By delaying riding those favorite Disneyland rides for an hour or so, visitors can usually ride several secondaries before waiting in any significant lines.

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3) Disneyland Fastpass

Ever take a ticket and wait at the division of motor vehicles office for a driver license renewal or new plates? The Disneyland Fastpass is the same concept, except you can ride a roller coaster or two while waiting. Fastpass is offered by many of the larger rides near their respective entrances (look around for signs.) Just find the Fastpass machine, swipe a park ticket and receive a Fastpass ticket for that ride along with a time window. The important time on the Fastpass is the top one, which states the earliest one may return and enter the Fastpass lane. This line is significantly shorter than the regular line where those without a Fastpass ticket must wait. The regular line is called “Standby”, and will have an estimated wait time displayed at its entrance. If the Standby wait time is ten minutes or less, take that instead of using a Fastpass. The Fastpass really shines when Standby has wait times of 45 minutes or even higher. Confused yet? If you’ve used the Disney Fastpass system already, you were probably able to follow this fairly well. If all of this is new, here’s the breakdown using Space Mountain as an example:

a) Walk to Space Mountain ride entrance
b) Locate the Fastpass machines
c) Pick a machine, swipe your park ticket, receive a Space Mountain Fastpass
d) Note the return time
e) Go eat lunch, ride other rides, buy souvenirs, etc.
f) Return to Space Mountain ride entrance at the return time
g) Enter through the Fastpass return line
h) Smile and walk past all those people in the Standby line

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Now that you know how to get and use a Fastpass ticket, a Fastpass tip or two would be useful. As more people get Fastpasses for a particular ride, the return time gradually moves later and later until there are no longer any Fastpasses distributed for that ride that day. High-demand Fastpass tickets, such as Space Mountain, can run out within a few hours of Disneyland opening if visitors hit them hard. Plan Fastpasses accordingly. Each visitor is allowed a new Fastpass after either the first time listed on the most recently obtained Fastpass has elapsed, or two hours have passed since receiving the latest Fastpass. Another great tip is that you don’t need to be present for someone to get a Fastpass for you. If vacationing in a group, send a runner with all the park tickets to swipe each and get Fastpasses for everyone in the party. This is a great way to be efficient while waiting in a long line for another attraction (Disney will allow your returning member to jump line back to your party.) Get a new Fastpass for another ride as soon as possible. After mastering this Disneyland Fastpass system, one could easily ride most of the major attractions several times during a single day. Miss the time window? No problem! Most people don’t know that the Fastpass is actually good any time (that same day) after the pass originally became valid. The proper use of the Fastpass could literally cut hours from waiting in Standby lines, especially in crowded situations.

2) Magic Morning Early Entrance

People who buy select multi-day park tickets online or stay in Disneyland hotels receive something called a Magic Morning entrance. This early morning entrance allows visitors into the park roughly an hour before the general public is admitted. Many of Disneyland’s rides will open early and crowd pressure is significantly lighter. Use that Magic Morning entrance to quickly move through rides that will have longer lines after Disneyland opens to everyone else. One additional tip is to spend some Magic Morning time at the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Due to its positioning near a monorail exit, the Finding Nemo ride line fills very quickly with Magic Morning participants and remains long through most of the day. This will be the best chance for a short wait in this line.

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1) Run Before the Fireworks Start

I enjoy Disneyland fireworks shows as much as the next guy. Usually I try to watch the fireworks at least twice during a summer Disney vacation, when the show happens most weeknights (as opposed to just the weekends for most of the rest of the year.) In my previous article about how to save money at Disneyland, I mention that I usually stay at a nearby motel with a hot tub from which the fireworks are easily seen. Definitely stay for the fireworks at least once during your vacation at Disneyland, but I recommend leaving the park before the fireworks shows the remaining nights so as to avoid the mass exodus which follows. Lines waiting for trams back to the parking structures are very long and slow going. After a long day in the park, the last thing anyone would want is to stand in a tram line for half an hour or even longer.

In conclusion, realize there are many things you can do to streamline your movements through a crowded Disneyland. The added chaos can be exciting and make for some wild memories. The general tip is to plan and think instead of standing and waiting. Please make good use of my other Disneyland articles and learn from my experiences.