Originally Posted By fidoprincess Most of you here probably know the fastpass rules thanks to Darkbeer but I just wanted to add a reminder that Grizzy and Roger Rabbit are not on the system so it was nice to have those extras. Grizzy was the longest wait in the park on the record high temp days! I also saw a lot of upset people who had "missed" their fastpass time windows and were so relieved to know they could go anytime after. Most of us know that but just in case, remember you can go anytime after the window! We love collecting them all morning and using them later in the day when the lines are so so long. I know it is not the "proper" thing to do but it really works for us. Another tip, did you know you can always ask to wait a bit longer for the front of a ride? My kids love love doing this and usually we don't wait at all. The trick is to ask nicely and be polite. Rides that we always ask for the front are soaring, small world, indy(the only steering wheel is in the front row!), screaming and a few others but it really does enhance the experience on many rides so it is well worth asking! To drive the Mark Twain, just ask the CM at the gate and he will tell you where to go. You go up to the top level and knock on the door of the little white square wheelhouse. Hardly anyone does it and the capt let us know that generally he has to go and find someone to "drive" because so few people ask! It was a highlight for dd and you get to blow the whistle and ring the bell and wear a capt hat (they have TWO hats!)At the end you get a little certificate that is really cute! Simple to do and they are as nice as can be about the whole thing! DD really thought she was steering the boat and was oh, so serious and careful! I know I have posted this before and others have too but we really enjoyed the Early Entry to build-a-bear. If you are staying at the resort hotels, you can go to BAB one hour earlier than the store opens and practically have the store all to yourself. You also get some extra goodies with your bear like a brush and stickers. I have read that libby lu and sephora both have ee programs too. Just set it up about 1 month before with the hotel's guest services. I think they say you have to spend $10 but we never have a problem doing that! By the time you get an animal, sound, and an outfit, it runs around $50. We got a discount too but don't remember whether it was for the ap or visa, so ask! Also, a little trick on finding pins. We looked everywhere for a few special pins and no place in DL, DTD or CA had the ones we wanted. DD wanted "sets" of the 4 Pooh characters and we never could find Pooh or piglet. Many CMs were so helpful and called around for us as well. We finally found them-at the hotels! DLH had all the pieces in the set we were looking for and had not seen in the park. PP has even more "hard to find" pins I guess because the walk is even longer and off the beaten path so those are good options for pin hunters. If you see a boxed set you like, buy it right away because they are generally cheaper per pin and sell out to traders very quickly! I know I've posted this before too but just as a reminder to families staying at the DLH. You can get a room with 2 queen beds and a sofa sleeper and still ask for a rollaway! I only have 2 kids but they fight over who gets the sofa sleeper and with the rollaway, it all works out nicely and no more fighting. Each kid has their own spot and there is plenty of room and also there is a portacrib in the closet. Dont' forget to just call housekeeping for the rollaway and while you are at it, ask for the coffee maker too and they bring it right up. Another fun tip for DLH, do the remote boats! They are all brand new this trip and work great. If you drive the boat under the waterfalls, it talks-so cute. Don't forget to feed the koi too at the DLH by the real waterfalls, great fun for kids every tu and thur at 9:30. Anyone can do these things, you don't have to be staying at the hotel so if you do Goofy's for breakfast, swing over and try these other fun for kids activities. Well, I hope these tips help some others! I wanted to post them since we are just back from our trip and it was great!
Originally Posted By SuzieQ Glad to hear you had such a great trip! Thanks for sharing what worked for you.
Originally Posted By 4Disnee Hey Fidoprincess, Thanks for all the little reminders they are great and I always forget them sometimes when we are at the parks. I am also glad to hear that you had a nice trip!
Originally Posted By tapdancemom Glad you had a good trip. I learned some new things from you, thanks.
Originally Posted By mickeynewe Thanks fidoprincess for taking the time to write down so many great ideas for everyone!
Originally Posted By mousegrl Yes, those are great tips. I used them all this past week, and they help immensely! (Especially collecting fastpasses all morning and using them in the afternoon!) Thanks for sharing!
Originally Posted By atinkfan fidoprincess, I have a question about collecting the Fast Passes in the morning. How do you get so many of them? I thought you could not get another FP until the time arrived on the first FP you got. Is that still true? Is there another trick I don't know about?
Originally Posted By atinkfan ^^^^Never mind on my previous question. I just read the other thread on Darkbeer's Fast Pass info. I think that pretty much covered it!! Unless of course you know something other than that!
Originally Posted By mickeynewe atinkfan~ Our family always follows the same practice. We start collecting fastpasses early in the morning, as we ride on the rides, and hold them for later. At the bottom of the ticket it will tell you when you can pick up another ticket. Also, be sure to take advantage of single-rider lines! Normally, our family will always get on the "same" ride, but we just can't sit together. It doesn't matter to us if we get momentarily separated here and there if it means less time standing in ride, because we have plenty of other opportunities to ride on the rides together also. Don't forget to take advantage of the unlinked fast passes too!
