How Big of a Disadvantage Not Having MaxPass?

[choover2576]

Hubby and I are the brunt of many friendly jokes with friends and family, but we are still flip phone users (in our defense, we pay $8 a month and I get by just fine with my ipod if I need an App )

How behind the curve will we be without MaxPass? I don't mind being the FP runner, but how dramatically has MaxPass impacted those still using paper FP's?

Any tips or strategies?

Thank you!

 

[livbeatles]

We just did a 4 day trip without MaxPass and were fine! (There were three of us) Sure, it would have been ultra-convenient booking fastpasses at the tip of my fingers, but definitely not required. The most convenient part of the app is being able to see approximate wait times and also what fastpass times are currently being distributed, but you can get that info from calling Otto, which I did as my phone's operating system is too old to download the app. Otto is on 714-520-7090

 

[choover2576]

We just did a 4 day trip without MaxPass and were fine! (There were three of us) Sure, it would have been ultra-convenient booking fastpasses at the tip of my fingers, but definitely not required. The most convenient part of the app is being able to see approximate wait times and also what fastpass times are currently being distributed, but you can get that info from calling Otto, which I did as my phone's operating system is too old to download the app. Otto is on 714-520-7090

Wow, thanks! I've never heard of Otto, I'll be checking it out!

 

[Geemo]

Wow, thanks! I've never heard of Otto, I'll be checking it out!

Here's a link to info when Otto was introduced
https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/07/got-a-disneyland-resort-question-just-ask-otto/

I use this when we've been in the parks. Not having Wi-Fi it was a better option for me.
Even though my cell has data, it takes me too long to get the answer through data.

Otto is fast and easy!!

Geemo

 

[Indiana Scott]

At this point, I think not having it will just cost you some walking time.
Eventually, I think people will use it so much that FP's may be hard to get in person.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Honestly, I don't think that many people are using it right now. $10/pp/day in order to save some walking (and use a service that's free at WDW) is a tough sell. You will be 100% fine.

 

[onlyoneash]

I think maxpass is mostly being used by locals right now because the word just hasn't spread very much (unless you follow threads/boards like this). All those Disneyland tips/hacks books tourists buy don't have anything about it yet and even a lot of touristy websites haven't been updated. I live out of state and asked Facebook friends about it and no one knew what I was talking about...except the friends from Cali! Sometimes I get a response like "oh you mean magic bands at WDW?" Haha!

Once the word does spread (like maybe next summer) Maxpass might turn into a need.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

I think it depends on how much they push it/advertise it. There are still a lot of people who don't use FP at all.Until that changes, I think you'll be fine.

 

[Crazy4Disney72]

We were at DLR 7/31-8/5 and did not use maxpass. At $10 per person per day, that would have been $150 for the kids and another I think it was $80 for me, because they had 5 day hoppers and I have an AP. We had no problems getting the paper fastpasses, and at this point, watching people go through the lines, the majority of people are still doing it that way as I saw more tickets scanned than I saw smartphones. The tickets are expensive enough for a family of 4 without adding another couple hundred just to get fastpasses. I am hoping that this will not take off in a big way, that people will be fine with doing a little extra walking vs. paying for something they can get free, because that will make it harder for those who don't have it.

 

[MacMama0930]

Honestly, I don't think that many people are using it right now. $10/pp/day in order to save some walking (and use a service that's free at WDW) is a tough sell. You will be 100% fine.

This is how I imagined it...before I got to try it out. I said the exact same thing to my sister..."it's basically so you don't have to walk". But man, I couldn't believe the convenience! It's not just about the walking (although that part is nice). It's the shorter time you have to wait (1 1/2 hours vs 2 hours if it's a later return time). And the being able to pull your next fast pass while you're in line at one ride...by the time you're done with that ride and walk to the next ride your return window has opened! Also, not to mention the awesomeness of pulling out of DL park on the monorail for our afternoon break whilst "pulling a fast pass" and then being able to pull another one 90 minutes later from the hotel room! It was super convenient. With that said, OP, you'll still be just fine not using it, but to say max pass is simply about not walking is a huge understatement. It may be a hard sell initially, but once people use it, I doubt they'll go back.

 

[gottalovepluto]

This is how I imagined it...before I got to try it out. I said the exact same thing to my sister..."it's basically so you don't have to walk". But man, I couldn't believe the convenience! It's not just about the walking (although that part is nice). It's the shorter time you have to wait (1 1/2 hours vs 2 hours if it's a later return time). And the being able to pull your next fast pass while you're in line at one ride...by the time you're done with that ride and walk to the next ride your return window has opened! Also, not to mention the awesomeness of pulling out of DL park on the monorail for our afternoon break whilst "pulling a fast pass" and then being able to pull another one 90 minutes later from the hotel room! It was super convenient. With that said, OP, you'll still be just fine not using it, but to say max pass is simply about not walking is a huge understatement. It may be a hard sell initially, but once people use it, I doubt they'll go back.

Well dang, now I want it... alas it's not in the card this trip! Maybe next time!

 

[MacMama0930]

Well dang, now I want it... alas it's not in the card this trip! Maybe next time!

Are you able to try it out for a day?

 

[lcp9]

I think considering the number of people who still don't use paper fastpass because they think it costs money (???), the number using max pass is a very small percentage of people there!

 

[22Tink]

This is how I imagined it...before I got to try it out. I said the exact same thing to my sister..."it's basically so you don't have to walk". But man, I couldn't believe the convenience! It's not just about the walking (although that part is nice). It's the shorter time you have to wait (1 1/2 hours vs 2 hours if it's a later return time). And the being able to pull your next fast pass while you're in line at one ride...by the time you're done with that ride and walk to the next ride your return window has opened! Also, not to mention the awesomeness of pulling out of DL park on the monorail for our afternoon break whilst "pulling a fast pass" and then being able to pull another one 90 minutes later from the hotel room! It was super convenient. With that said, OP, you'll still be just fine not using it, but to say max pass is simply about not walking is a huge understatement. It may be a hard sell initially, but once people use it, I doubt they'll go back.

I love the sound of this!! Looking forward to trying it out next week!

 

[tarheelalum]

You will be fine without Maxpass. Save your money and have a great time.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Are you able to try it out for a day?

Not this trip, I keep & adding stuff & have to draw a line for myself somewhere! Maybe a future trip

 

[KatieCharlotte]

We were fine without it. I don't think the FP were gone any sooner than what I'd heard pre-MaxPass, and I didn't mind being a FP runner for the most part, except when it hit 90 degrees! We did overhear someone talking about booking multiple FP during their afternoon hotel break -- that's a definite advantage to MaxPass, but it's such a small number of people that I don't think it affects the overall pool of FP for the rest of us.

 

[Stefne]

watching people go through the lines, the majority of people are still doing it that way as I saw more tickets scanned than I saw smartphones.

Just so you know, some of those people still could have been using maxpass, as the FP itself is still attached to your ticket and not your phone. We used maxpass from 7/22 - 7/27 and never used our phones to scan in for fastpass... just our tickets. With that said, I think at this point you will be fine without it .

 

[Delilah1310]

Just so you know, some of those people still could have been using maxpass, as the FP itself is still attached to your ticket and not your phone. We used maxpass from 7/22 - 7/27 and never used our phones to scan in for fastpass... just our tickets.

Same. Scanning the tickets worked better as each individual had one. With the phone, it seems like one person has scrolling through all screens for their party.
It might not have had any impact on the time or line back-up, but it seemed like we could just breeze through when we each had our ticket to scan individually, even though all the reservations were made on my phone.

 

[az4boys]

I think considering the number of people who still don't use paper fastpass because they think it costs money (???), the number using max pass is a very small percentage of people there!

I totally agree with this. We were there a couple weeks before MP started. Instant fast passes were so fun, but I was amazed at the number of people who don't even try to use the fast pass system. So, out of those that do use the FP system, a much smaller percentage might be using MP.