Disney's MaxPass worth it if I have to line up at Guest Services?

Is MaxPass worth purchasing?

  • YES

    Votes: 18 94.7%
  • NO

    Votes: 1 5.3%

  • Total voters
    19

umieesa

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jan 26, 2010
Hey all,

My 17yo son and I plus my mother in law will be traveling to Disneyland at the end of January (low attendance day according to the crowd calendar). I bought one day - 2 parks per day tickets off ebay that were from a charity auction (little did I know that these types of tickets can't be linked to the Disneyland app). So now I was told by Disney that if I want to purchase MaxPass that I would have to go to guest services upon entry to exchange them for new tickets that would allow me to use MaxPass with them. If I knew what a hassle this was going to be I would've shelled out a little more and purchased direct (lesson learned :()!

So now my question is, is it worth purchasing MaxPass at this point when I get there? I'm worried we will waste a lot of time in line at guest services. Time that could be used to rush to Toy Story. We have limited time in California (thus the reason for doing 2 parks in one day) so I want to make sure I can maximize our time in DCA/Disneyland. Because my son is older there will be some rides we can skip and we should be able to move around relatively quickly, but since we plan to do 2 parks I thought MaxPass would ensure we get to ride rides in Disneyland that I could get fastpasses for while in DCA in the morning. I'm just not sure how long I'll be standing in line, plus how's the learning curve to use this feature?

Any advice is much appreciated! TIA! :)
 
I agree with PP - you definitely want to avoid having to waste time waiting during your park visit, so get there early (either the day before or a few minutes earlier on your arrival day) to get the MP taken care of.
 
If I can go the day before that would be perfect! Whereabouts is guest services outside the park? I haven't been to Disneyland in 10 years and only vaguely recall the setup.
 


If I can go the day before that would be perfect! Whereabouts is guest services outside the park? I haven't been to Disneyland in 10 years and only vaguely recall the setup.
It’s to the left of the Disneyland gates where lost and found is.
 
If for whatever reason you aren't able to get it taken care of before park opening, I'm not sure I would do it first thing unless you can see that there's no line. If it were me I would probably use paper FP for my first FP, go on a few rides before the lines build, and then go handle guest services. I don't know if the guest services line gets longer as it gets later, but ride lines definitely do, and when you first arrive I'm sure you'll be antsy to go do something fun.

MP will be really helpful for trying to do both parks in one day because you can be in one park and be lining up FP for the other park for later in the day. But those later return times aren't going to be available at opening, so as long as you set it up by mid-morning I think it will still be worth it.
 
Thank you all so much for your valuable input. :love: I never would've thought to get this taken care of the day before. This makes it a no brainer now, but Niltiac your plan would be a good alternative if for some reason they aren't able to do it.

Now I just need to learn more about using it! I'm experienced with WDW FP+ but this whole MP thing is totally new for me! :o
 


Thank you all so much for your valuable input. :love: I never would've thought to get this taken care of the day before. This makes it a no brainer now, but Niltiac your plan would be a good alternative if for some reason they aren't able to do it.

Now I just need to learn more about using it! I'm experienced with WDW FP+ but this whole MP thing is totally new for me! :o
If you are a FP+ bet, I suggest you strongly consider whether you really need MP. We bought it yesterday and I pretty much feel like I wasted $40. When you are used to the flexibility of Fastpass, I think it is hard to adjust to MP. (And I think, vice versa.)
 
Oh wow really?! What made you feel like it was a waste? What draws me to MP is that I can choose a fastpass use it and then immediately pick up a new one, especially being able to pick fastpasses in Disneyland while I'm still in DCA. With MP can we pick 3 initially though like FP+ or is it only one at a time?
 
I'm not sure how MP can be considered a waste, as the consensus is that it's the best thing since sliced bread. It saves a lot of walking, and if you are park hopping, you can pick up a FP from anywhere in the two parks. If you are a savvy MP user, you can pick up another FP immediately after scanned use of previous FP. If it's super busy and you are pushed out to 90 minutes, that is still a 1/2 hour sooner than a regular FP user who has to wait 2 hours. Add to that the free upload of ride photos and Photopass pics, and I'm worried that MP becomes more popular than it already is! Therefore, ignore everything positive I just said about MP! :joker:
 
Oh wow really?! What made you feel like it was a waste? What draws me to MP is that I can choose a fastpass use it and then immediately pick up a new one, especially being able to pick fastpasses in Disneyland while I'm still in DCA. With MP can we pick 3 initially though like FP+ or is it only one at a time?

It’s one at a time but they come quick and contrary to popular belief you don’t always have to use the one you have first. When you book one it tells you when you are able to book another. We had 3-5 stacked throughout the day just by pulling one every time we could even when taking a hotel break you can keep booking them when the time window opens.

The above line to Disneyland daily is great. Her park plans using max pass are on point. She can get through all the major rides in a park by late lunch.
 
If you are a FP+ bet, I suggest you strongly consider whether you really need MP. We bought it yesterday and I pretty much feel like I wasted $40...

Oh wow really?! What made you feel like it was a waste?..

I'm not sure how MP can be considered a waste, as the consensus is that it's the best thing since sliced bread...

To the OP: everyone has their opinion -- nothing wrong with that! We have people who are fans of FP+ because it works better for their touring style. But as the other poster noted, majority opinion on this forum for now holds that MP is a really great resource, provided that you know how to best use it to your advantage. One of the great things about MP is that you don't have to decide about purchasing until you get through the gates. See how the crowds are on the day you arrive. If it really is a low crowd day, you might do just fine with regular FP and single rider. But you might want to purchase MP for one person for PhotoPass and ride photos. Read the link to Disneyland Daily for a good overview on MP. Ask any further questions here!
More information on MP:
FastPass, MaxPass (tutorial videos here)
MaxPass
First time MaxPass user...Help with tips and how to use.
 
Last edited:
To the OP: everyone has their opinion -- nothing wrong with that! We have people who are fans of FP+ because it works better for their touring style. But as the other poster noted, majority opinion on this forum for now holds that MP is a really great resource, provided that you know how to best use it to your advantage. One of the great things about MP is that you don't have to decide about purchasing until you get through the gates. See how the crowds are on the day you arrive. If it really is a low crowd day, you might do just fine with regular FP and single rider. But you might want to purchase MP for one person for PhotoPass and ride photos. Read the link to Disneyland Daily for a good overview on MP. Ask any further questions here!
More information on MP:
FastPass, MaxPass (tutorial videos here)
MaxPass
First time MaxPass user...Help with tips and how to use.

Awesome! Thanks for all the great tips!
 
Oh wow really?! What made you feel like it was a waste? What draws me to MP is that I can choose a fastpass use it and then immediately pick up a new one, especially being able to pick fastpasses in Disneyland while I'm still in DCA. With MP can we pick 3 initially though like FP+ or is it only one at a time?
I think many people who use MP like it a lot and find it worthwhile. I am used to FP and I was frustrated by MP. I didn’t like having no flexibility with times. I also didn’t like that you couldn’t modify - you can’t search for other times or other rides without canceling what you have. I was also disappointed by the limited attractions available. We didn’t want to just ride the same things over and over and by afternoon there were only a few things left so it was either repeat rides or not use MP (which is what we did).

I’m not saying it doesn’t have value, just that it felt too expensive for us for the use we got out of it.
 
I would never go to disneyland without it. In the mornings, we grab FP for quick return times - so we are holding 2 and 3 Fps at once. Then we might grab one that has a further out return (RSR) and wait the 90 minutes. Repeat. We were just there last week for 3 days, and rode every headliner at least 5 times, most considerably more. Set an alarm on your phone for the time you are able to get another one, so you don't forget. Always better to grab one and not use it/cancel later than not use MP to it's full advantage.
 
The other thing to note is that Maxpass includes photopass. I just got back and I had a friend who didn't like roller coasters (which is what most of the fastpasses are for) but we did take several photos with photopass photographers.
 
The other thing to note is that Maxpass includes photopass. I just got back and I had a friend who didn't like roller coasters (which is what most of the fastpasses are for) but we did take several photos with photopass photographers.

If you do want MP for the photo benefit, you only need to buy one for $10 and use it for your whole group. Just an FYI.
 
I think many people who use MP like it a lot and find it worthwhile. I am used to FP and I was frustrated by MP. I didn’t like having no flexibility with times. I also didn’t like that you couldn’t modify - you can’t search for other times or other rides without canceling what you have. I was also disappointed by the limited attractions available. We didn’t want to just ride the same things over and over and by afternoon there were only a few things left so it was either repeat rides or not use MP (which is what we did).

I’m not saying it doesn’t have value, just that it felt too expensive for us for the use we got out of it.
You can look on the app for other times and rides that are available prior to cancelling your maxpass.
 

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