Is not getting MaxPass going to break us?

[Herewegooooooooo]

So I’ve used it it before, but just with my husband. Now we are going with a large party. Just for our family alone will be 5 people. Hoping it won’t make or break not getting max pass and just a have a runner. We know how to do Disney well, but with the new feature I’m. It sure how that will change everything.

 

[blackjackdelta]

We did maxpass when it first came out, and a couple times after that, based on the predicted crowds, could no live with out it, so much smoother of a time. And we also do Disney very well.

Jack

 

[aroseinwintr]

I think as long as you plan for larger crowds in the afternoon and get the things (rides) done in the mornings you will be fine without a maxpass.
We are planning to get it at least one day of the 4 we are going to be there for the photos. It will be my 4 year old granddaughters first trip!

 

[Joestoppable]

So I’ve used it it before, but just with my husband. Now we are going with a large party. Just for our family alone will be 5 people. Hoping it won’t make or break not getting max pass and just a have a runner. We know how to do Disney well, but with the new feature I’m. It sure how that will change everything.

Bigger parties usually work better with Maxpass. Because you can get fastpasses using just one person's app. Instead of doing it the old way of entering each ticket into the machine. This can sometimes become a problem for larger groups because on rare occasions the 3rd or 4th person might get the next time frame over. Most CM's are cool about that happening and will let you through with your party. But it does save quite a bit of time and worry.

But as long as you show up for rope drop and dont get unlucky with breakdowns. The parks are still doable without it.

It just makes things a LOT easier.

 

[winklet]

Just wanted to chime in with our experience.
We went to DL in Dec on a busy day with a group of 10 and didn't do maxpass.
It was a great day!

I was the runner and got paper FPs for the group. We rarely had to wait for rides and got everything in that we wanted to do. I find with a group that big, we moved A LOT slower than the the days when it was just my family of 4, so the longer wait time between pulling a FP (vs w MP) wasn't really an issue. Everyone in the group was super relaxed, go-with-the-flow types. Being a runner was great for me, because I never got frustrated when the group would slow down since I had my own mission (to get FPs!). You might want to designate a leader/runner who knows DL well.
As a poster mentions above, sometimes the FPs would be for ever-so-slightly different times, ours were never a difference of more than 5 mins and we never had a CM deny the group entering all together with earliest FP time.
It's A LOT cheaper with a big group to skip MP, though we loved using it for the day it was just our family of 4. I would do it the same way if we were doing it over again. Remember that a big group moves differently through the parks, in my experience, we wouldn't have been able to quickly bounce back and forth to the main MP rides. Note that we also did not have park hoppers, so MP value is already slightly diminished in that scenario.

All things considered, I just don't think it would have been worth it. Might have gotten in one or two extra rides at most, but we were never really standing around waiting at all...

 

[DisSurfer878]

I think if you're going after star wars lands opens, you would have to have taken leave of your senses to think maxpass won't be crucial.

 

[whoever]

I'll never go without it.

 

[gottalovepluto]

It doesn’t change everything. Lots of people still have perfectly fine trips with old school FP. If after a day you are unhappy you can always add it then. Also, because SWGE won’t have FP I think the massive FP/MP demand we feared was coming will not materialize.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

Just wanted to chime in with our experience.
We went to DL in Dec on a busy day with a group of 10 and didn't do maxpass.
It was a great day!

I was the runner and got paper FPs for the group. We rarely had to wait for rides and got everything in that we wanted to do. I find with a group that big, we moved A LOT slower than the the days when it was just my family of 4, so the longer wait time between pulling a FP (vs w MP) wasn't really an issue. Everyone in the group was super relaxed, go-with-the-flow types. Being a runner was great for me, because I never got frustrated when the group would slow down since I had my own mission (to get FPs!). You might want to designate a leader/runner who knows DL well.
As a poster mentions above, sometimes the FPs would be for ever-so-slightly different times, ours were never a difference of more than 5 mins and we never had a CM deny the group entering all together with earliest FP time.
It's A LOT cheaper with a big group to skip MP, though we loved using it for the day it was just our family of 4. I would do it the same way if we were doing it over again. Remember that a big group moves differently through the parks, in my experience, we wouldn't have been able to quickly bounce back and forth to the main MP rides. Note that we also did not have park hoppers, so MP value is already slightly diminished in that scenario.

All things considered, I just don't think it would have been worth it. Might have gotten in one or two extra rides at most, but we were never really standing around waiting at all...

Excellent point! Our last big group trip prior to this spring break, I was the FP runner and I loved it and definitely needed the time for myself that trip. This trip, I would have been the runner again but knew it would cause me more stress to be away from the kids (plus I'm not as young as I used to be!), so decided MP would be worth it for me. But it is definitely not terrible to go without it if you have someone who is willing and able to be the runner and the savings really add up.

 

[Baptist]

If going for more than one day, try it without MaxPass. You can always add it on the next day. I think it depends on your situation. If you have a one day park hopper plan, then it's essential. If you are going for a few days with no hopper tickets, then it's less important.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Some of these replies are a little silly. Maxpass is great, I love it, but it’s certainly not “crucial” to having a good time! I mean, Maxpass didn’t exist a couple of short years ago, and everyone was fine then!

I do agree that if you have only 1-2 days (especially with hoppers), Maxpass becomes more valuable, but lots of people don’t have it even then.

 

[DisSurfer878]

Some of these replies are a little silly. Maxpass is great, I love it, but it’s certainly not “crucial” to having a good time! I mean, Maxpass didn’t exist a couple of short years ago, and everyone was fine then!

I do agree that if you have only 1-2 days (especially with hoppers), Maxpass becomes more valuable, but lots of people don’t have it even then.

And neither did Star Wars Land and its increased capacity of some 30,000 people.

Things change. But by all means, you go this summer and tell me if you have a good time without maxpass.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Will you still have a good time without it? Yes! Will it make your life so much easier and the trip more enjoyable? Yes! (In my opinion). We are a family of 6 and have found it invaluable - and we do Disney well.
I second the thought it’s even more useful with a large group. But that’s assuming everybody in your group wants to get it. It can cause a huge headache if not everybody does.

We were there in March and the lines to pull physical fastpasses were really long - longer than I’ve seen in a long time. Especially for Guardians and Radiator Springs (both late morning).

I’d also be curious when you’re going. I agree with the consensus of if it’s after Star Wars opens, I will say it’s almost going to be necessary.

 

[kiwitinkerbell]

We are going Jan 13-17, do you think we would need maxpass?

 

[Skyegirl1999]

And neither did Star Wars Land and its increased capacity of some 30,000 people.

Things change. But by all means, you go this summer and tell me if you have a good time without maxpass.

Again, I love Maxpass and think it's great. Big fan. Often recommend it. But for $75 a day, I think a family of five can definitely make the call that the cost isn't worth the benefit for them. If you compare "what we did with traditional FP" vs. "what we could have done with Maxpass," it's definitely possible to decide that the difference in those days wouldn't be worth $75.

A couple of weeks ago, I went with some first-time visitor friends - a family of four, visiting for 2.5 days (I joined for one). Maxpass wasn't in their budget, so even though it was busy Spring Break season, they (we) just used good old traditional FPs, taking turns acting as the runner. Was it as good as having Maxpass? No, and I certainly missed the efficiency of booking on my phone. But did it "break" their trip? Not at all - in fact, my friend told me afterward that she was glad they hadn't spent the money on Maxpass "since we did everything we wanted to anyway." They had a wonderful time, including using many FPs, and are hoping to come back in a couple of years. So even though I personally think Maxpass is awesome and usually recommend it, I can also say with confidence that it's not "necessary."

Also, just to address one point by a PP, if you're using the machines and the times change while you're pulling, you're only going to have a 5-minute difference - say, your first few FPs will be for 10:10-11:10, and then the last few will be 10:15-11:15 - shouldn't really make much of a difference.

 

[DisSurfer878]

Again, I love Maxpass and think it's great. Big fan. Often recommend it. But for $75 a day, I think a family of five can definitely make the call that the cost isn't worth the benefit for them. If you compare "what we did with traditional FP" vs. "what we could have done with Maxpass," it's definitely possible to decide that the difference in those days wouldn't be worth $75.

A couple of weeks ago, I went with some first-time visitor friends - a family of four, visiting for 2.5 days (I joined for one). Maxpass wasn't in their budget, so even though it was busy Spring Break season, they (we) just used good old traditional FPs, taking turns acting as the runner. Was it as good as having Maxpass? No, and I certainly missed the efficiency of booking on my phone. But did it "break" their trip? Not at all - in fact, my friend told me afterward that she was glad they hadn't spent the money on Maxpass "since we did everything we wanted to anyway." They had a wonderful time, including using many FPs, and are hoping to come back in a couple of years. So even though I personally think Maxpass is awesome and usually recommend it, I can also say with confidence that it's not "necessary."

Also, just to address one point by a PP, if you're using the machines and the times change while you're pulling, you're only going to have a 5-minute difference - say, your first few FPs will be for 10:10-11:10, and then the last few will be 10:15-11:15 - shouldn't really make much of a difference.

The problem is, good luck having a "runner" in the craze of star wars. It WILL BE shoulder to shoulder crowds once it's a free for all. People keep shrugging like "meh". Star Wars fan are possibly the craziest, most hardcore fans of any fans.
Gonna be real hard to run to attractions for fastpass when you are in a sea of people who won't let you through, and when lines just into the park top an hour or more. If you don't think there will be lines at fastpass kiosks, hah. There will be.

ALL BETS ARE OFF THIS SUMMER. Maxpass may be no good at all, but its still gonna be better than waiting in line just to PULL a fastpass.

 

[dieumeye]

The problem is, good luck having a "runner" in the craze of star wars. It WILL BE shoulder to shoulder crowds once it's a free for all. People keep shrugging like "meh". Star Wars fan are possibly the craziest, most hardcore fans of any fans.
Gonna be real hard to run to attractions for fastpass when you are in a sea of people who won't let you through, and when lines just into the park top an hour or more. If you don't think there will be lines at fastpass kiosks, hah. There will be.

ALL BETS ARE OFF THIS SUMMER. Maxpass may be no good at all, but its still gonna be better than waiting in line just to PULL a fastpass.

If crowds are large enough that the entire park is shoulder to shoulder (which may not even be possible given capacity restrictions) then it's likely that not all of those people would be using MaxPass, and yet many of them will have a good time. Unless you are suggesting that starting this summer almost every visitor will be using MaxPass (leaving the few non-users at an extreme disadvantage), which is possible but seems unlikely. I feel confident saying that people will be able to visit this summer and have a good time without MaxPass... certainly not everyone will be happy no matter what, but plenty will be able to manage.

 

[GoingSince1990]

Having experienced Maxpass, I could never, ever go back.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We are going Jan 13-17, do you think we would need maxpass?

The answer to your question depends on several things:
1) Does your family ride lots/all rides on the FP system? People can forget that not all rides at DLR are included with MP/FP, so if your family doesn't ride all the FP rides, then MP might not be a great fit for your group right now. Check the list of FP rides (look on the DLR website or on the app) to see if you'll be riding those rides.
2) Will you be using PP and getting ride photos? Not everyone cares about this, so if it isn't a big deal for you, then MP might not be such a value. If you do want PP, it can be worth purchasing MP for one person each day just for the photos.
3) Do you need to have MP every day of your trip? For a multiday trip, some families only buy MP for the busiest day/s, not all days. This can save some money. Plan to push hard on the day you have MP, then you can relax the next day.
4) The SWGE factor: everything is speculation until that land opens on May 31st. And you will have until January to do as much research as you can do before your trip on what kind of crowds hit the parks and how to best handle those crowds. All the news, tips, and strategies will be posted here on this forum -- so it's not like you'll be completely without information before you arrive. Use all that information to make an informed decision about whether getting MP will be useful for your family.

Some guests try MP and can't do the parks without it. Others enjoy the parks just fine without it. We use it and really enjoy it. And we also have great park days where we don't use it at all. MP isn't magic in and of itself -- you'll still need good FP skills and organization to make the most of it. Read this thread to get a good understanding of MP (Maxpass/Fastpass: an overview and some strategy), then decide whether it will be a good fit for your family and worth the money. Or would regular FP be just fine and the savings spent elsewhere be a better fit? There is no wrong answer -- only what is a better fit for your family right now.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

So I’ve used it it before, but just with my husband. Now we are going with a large party. Just for our family alone will be 5 people. Hoping it won’t make or break not getting max pass and just a have a runner. We know how to do Disney well, but with the new feature I’m. It sure how that will change everything.

See my answer above. I think you can have a great time with MP and a great time without it. It all depends on what works best for your family and how you plan for that. And remember that you don't have to buy MP every day of your trip, either. Maybe you could try it for what are predicted to be the busiest days? I would think about getting MP for just you each day so that you could have PP and the ride photos.