Fastpass Advice please

I’m off to Disneyland with 2 families, in August! Yes I know it will be busy but we are from the UK and it has to fit into school holidays.

We have a 3 day park hopper tickets and we will be taking advantage of the EM at DL, and I understand I can run to the opposite park to collect fastpass for later at the other park, but I guess what I’m asking is what should I be getting from the other park to maximise it’s use (like Radiator racers?) and by what time do I need to of crossed over to collect said fastpass? Also what machines are not connected to the rest of the system, what I like to call bonus fastpass!

Our main plan is to spend the first morning in Disneyland then head back to the hotel around 2pm little rest etc. then return to California Park for 5ish till closing (10pm).
The second day is sort of backwards start at California Park, again leave about 2pm but not return to Disneyland till 7pm and stay till at least the firework.
Leaving the last day for any extras we missed or want to enjoy again.
Oh and don’t worry we are not doing all these back to back there is at least 2 day between each visit, but any other advice is gratefully received.

How you attack Fastpasses depends a lot on how you want to view the park. Are you in a hurry to hit as many rides as possible, or are you going to take your time and “see” the park? When we go with family, we tend to hit as much as possible in the AM and late PM, while relaxing and doing shows from lunch to 4-5.

When we go with 3 day hoppers, we spend one day in each park for the first 2 days. Gives plenty of time to see the cool things about DLR without spending time going back and forth. The only time we use the park hopper on these 2 days is on the DCA day after World of Color, since DL stays open later. We then use the 3rd day to hit missed rides/repeats.

Having said all that, RSR is a MUST first FP, especially on busy days, as they will run out quickly. Head there first. Nothing else in DCA runs out, so after that, ti’s really up to you as to when you want to time things. As for DL, passes will run out early for Space Mountain for sure, sometimes also Indy, Star Tours, and Splash Mountain. If those are on your list of must-dos, go there as soon as you can.

Other than that, be flexible and have fun! On trips where I’ve stressed too much about “the plan”, I never seem to enjoy myself as much as when I’m flexible and go with the flow. Just my two cents.

Enjoy your trip! :smile:

Steve

Thanks Steve, I think we will take a lot of that advice on board.

Where are the FP for RSR located?

If you are walking to Cars Land from the main entrance, they will be along the main path, on the left side where the Bug’s Land area is. It’s well before you get to Cars Land.

I want to mention that you can’t just run over to another park to get FPs… All of the people in the party need to be in the park in order to get fastpasses. Your tickets are connected to the system and need to be scanned at the gate. I have seen many unable guests who went ahead of their group to the park only to find they couldn’t get the passes.

Actually, as long all the people in the party have entered either park, you’ll be just fine. I have sent my husband across the espanlade for RSR, Soarin’ and WOC FPs while I have stayed in DL with the kids doing rides he doesn’t care to miss, (like Astro Orbiters, the Carrousel, etc.).

Edited to add:
And each time, we had all entered DL, but only my husband had gone over to DCA.

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lola is right. As long as your ticket has been scanned at either park, you can get FP’s for them at the other park without everyone entering there, but they all do need to have entered one of the parks, so you can’t leave them sleeping in their room, while someone goes early and pulls FP’s.

On a busy summer day Space can run out by 3 pm or earlier. If you have access to the official DLR app you can check FP return times to know when to send someone across to get the FP. RSR FP will run out but I don’t usually recommend getting them first thing after RD because the line can be long, so you waste precious first hour low wait time for that line. If you go 40 or more after RD, there will be no line and should still be able to get a late morning/early afternoon return time.

As far as when to cross to get different park FP, that depends on when you want to ride. Since you’re from the UK, you may not have access to data to check FP return times but you can always go to one of the Guest Services kiosks and as a CM when the return time is for any attraction, even an attraction at the other park.

The only FP that are not connected within the same park are the shows, so WOC is not connected in DCA. Other than that all FP within the same park are connected as of now, but they are not connected across parks, so you can have a FP for a DL attraction the same time as a DCA attraction.

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