Maximizing your MaxPass FastPasses

In my previous post, I talked a bit about why I think MaxPass is the only Disney Upgrade that’s worth it.  Today, I’ll be sharing some of my tips and tricks to maximize the value you get from your MaxPass purchase.  With that — let’s get onto my tips for getting the most FastPasses out of your day.

Start Early

This is generally true of Disneyland, but the earlier in the day you start booking your FastPasses, the easier it is to get them.  If you look at 10 AM, you’ll often see return times just an hour or two ahead for almost every ride.  If you wait until mid-afternoon to start booking FastPasses, more popular rides will likely have return times after 10 PM (or may even be out of FastPasses all together!)

Pay Attention to your Next Booking Time

After you get a FastPass, the app will tell you when you can book your next FastPass between 30 and 90 minutes from when you book your last one.  Sometimes this means you can book your new FastPass before you’ve used your current one.  Pay close attention to this so you can maximize the amount of FastPasses you can get in a day.

Re-book ASAP

One of the best things about MaxPass is that you can rebook as soon as your wait time is up.  This means you still may be in line for the ride you just used your FastPass on, or walking across the park to get a snack, and you can still get a new FastPass for another ride.  You used to have to walk all the way to the FastPass machine to get a new one. We used this strategy when we did all 61 Disneyland Attractions in a single day.

Don’t Park Hop Too Much

I often see friends trying to hit all the rides, and in doing so crossing back and forth multiple times between Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.  The reality is that it takes a solid 15 minutes to get between parks, once you get to the park exit, fight the lines to get into the other park, and then walk down either Main Street of Buena Vista Street.  If you know you want to do a lot of rides in one park, try to stay in that park until you’ve gotten thru those rides — you will lose less of your day crossing between parks. Unless you have comfortable shoes and everything you need for an entire day at the park, I don’t recommend doing it too often.

The Mighty “Multiple Experience” FastPass

If an attraction goes down while you have a FastPass for it, you will receive a “Multiple Experience” FastPass.  This enables you to go on any FastPass attraction in the Park the ride that went down in.  This means you can either hang on to the FastPass and try the same attraction later in the day, or you can choose to do a different attraction.  I’ve been known to book Indiana Jones FastPasses (since it goes down a lot) to see if I can get extra “Multiple Experience” FastPasses to use on Space Mountain.

The Radiator Springs Racers Problem

This ride is SOOO popular.  Even 5 years after this ride opened, the FastPasses almost always runs our of FastPasses early in the operating day.  If you’re not arriving in the park until the afternoon, you can pretty much forget about getting a FastPass for this attraction at all. If you want to go on it, make this the very first FastPass you book for the day.  While this means you probably will have to wait the full 90 minutes to get your next FastPass, it’s worth it if this a must-do ride for you.

And there it is — my tips for getting the most FastPasses out of your MaxPass purchase.  Stay tuned for my next post where I share some of my PhotoPass tips to enjoy your MaxPass purchase.

 

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