Try for A&E FP+, or just use the DAS?

[halssister]

I'm 61 days out right now, which means I can book my FP+ tonight at 1 a.m.!
The problem is, I really don't want to be AWAKE at 1 a.m.
DS sleeps in my bedroom due to severe anxiety (along with his ASD), and I have to be up early for work every morning. I'm debating setting my alarm for 1 a.m. so I can try to score a FP for Anna and Elsa. It's really the ONLY thing DS has expressed interest in at MK (he's not into rides). We only have one day to spend at each park, and will probably be done by 1 or 2 at the latest each day, so we need to get a morning spot. But setting my alarm does risk waking up my sweet kiddo, and he does NOT sleep well.

I know that we could use the DAS for A&E if we can't score a FP. So we could go straight to GS at rope drop, get the DAS, then head straight to A&E to get a return time.......what's the likelihood that the stand by time will already be several hours at that point? I'm not too worried about "tying up" the DAS with a long return time, since there aren't many "must dos" for us at MK.
Any thoughts? FP in the middle of the night, or DAS?

 

[Kebby]

We are planning on using DAS for Anna and Elsa, and saving fp+ for mine train, belle and Peter pan.

 

[aaarcher86]

I prefer using a FP so out DAS isn't tied up for a long period.

 

[zaksmom]

We used the DAS this past weekend for Anna and Elsa. On Sunday, the return time was about 1 hour or so. We used our fastpass for Pooh, got a snack and headed over. There were only a couple of people in front of us and we were in and out. It was in the afternoon, but Memorial Day weekend. Don't know about the crowds when you are there, but it was pretty painless and quick to use the DAS. Good luck and have fun.

 

[halssister]

So just to make sure.....can I still get a DAS return time on something if I have a future FP return time on it?
I got a 3:00 time for A&E, but not sure we will make it that long at MK. Can I still head straight over there after RD and try for an earlier DAS return time, or do I need to cancel the FPS first? I'm not at all worried about tying up my DAS, or wasting a FP, since we are fine with the other things we plan to do.

 

[OurBigTrip]

So just to make sure.....can I still get a DAS return time on something if I have a future FP return time on it?
I got a 3:00 time for A&E, but not sure we will make it that long at MK. Can I still head straight over there after RD and try for an earlier DAS return time, or do I need to cancel the FPS first? I'm not at all worried about tying up my DAS, or wasting a FP, since we are fine with the other things we plan to do.

Yes, you can have both at the same time.

 

[SueM in MN]

Fastpass and DAS are independent, so it doesn't matter if you have a Fastpass and also DAS for the same attraction.

Also, you can check nearer to your trip for an earlier Fastpass time for Elsa and Anna, even the day of your visit.
Some Fastpass times become available because people cancel/change their times or WDW does save some times for each day for making that day.

 

[halssister]

How does that work for shows with DAS return times? Are you reserving a specific showing, or is it still an "any show after this time" scenario? I'd like to see an early showing of the Frozen sing along, but the soonest FP I could get was 2:30. We plan on doing DHS on an early EMH day, and there's a 10:30 showing. Can we just head over to the show and get a DAS return time for that 10:30 show? I know the DAS can be used for FP shows, but wasn't sure how the return time aspect worked.

 

[zaksmom]

We had a fast pass for frozen show in the morning last week. We missed getting there in time and didn't want to tie up the DAS. We just went back later without either and got right it. It was a "slow" HS day, but still pretty busy. Keep your fast pass but just check out the stand by for the earlier show. You might just get in.

 

[halssister]

Also, you can check nearer to your trip for an earlier Fastpass time for Elsa and Anna, even the day of your visit.
Some Fastpass times become available because people cancel/change their times or WDW does save some times for each day for making that day.

Thanks! I started playing around and managed to get a fp for DS and I for 12:30, and one for DH for 12:40 . That time works so much better for us! We have Cinderella and Rapunzel scheduled right before that

 

[DisMommyTX]

Great! Always remember that you can change your FP+ as you go. We book the hard to get FP in advance, but very often plans change once we are in the parks. DS may not feel like riding BTMRR, so we switch his and mine to Aladdin while the others ride the headliner. Or we all may not feel like trekking across the park, so we switch to a Dumbo or Tomorrowland Speedway that opens in five minutes.

With the huge amount of walking at WDW, I highly recommend planning to start each day in a certain area of the park, then schedule rides to minimize back tracking.

Go ahead and book those with the longest lines in advance, but don't feel locked in. And if you find it a bit sad giving up 7DMT for Magic Carpets, just remember that you are make someone else very happy by freeing up that FP+.

Advance planning of FP+ is less helpful with our kids, but tag-teaming DAS with SDFP allows us to do more with minimal waiting.

 

[specchalakani]

I was just there in the beginning of May right after the roll out of DAS and having it linked to the Magic Bands. It was more than a bit bumpy, but I was NOT able to use the DAS when I had a FP+ set up. That was the only consistency. Has it changed since then?

 

[aaarcher86]

I was just there in the beginning of May right after the roll out of DAS and having it linked to the Magic Bands. It was more than a bit bumpy, but I was NOT able to use the DAS when I had a FP+ set up. That was the only consistency. Has it changed since then?

That was never a condition when it rolled out.

Are you saying you couldn't use it for a ride you,had a FP for or anytime before your FP were gone? You're the first person reporting this on the forum.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/wdw-das-going-digital-yes-started-april-30-2015-see-page-6.3396814/

The only time the DAS can't be used for a time is when the holder has a WC return time for the ride, but I've only seen this reported at DL.

 

[specchalakani]

Hey, thanks for the reply,
Here's what happened. This happened quite a bit. Say that I had a FP+ for 1:15, and I went to set up a DAS FP for the 7 DMT for after the 1;15 ride was over, I was not allowed to do that. I was told that I couldn't set up any DAS return times until after all my FP+ were used. This was very consistent. Like EVERY time.

 

[lanejudy]

Hey, thanks for the reply,
Here's what happened. This happened quite a bit. Say that I had a FP+ for 1:15, and I went to set up a DAS FP for the 7 DMT for after the 1;15 ride was over, I was not allowed to do that. I was told that I couldn't set up any DAS return times until after all my FP+ were used. This was very consistent. Like EVERY time.

That's interesting, and hasn't been reported by anyone else. I wonder if there was confusion as to what you were requesting? Or since it was right at the roll-out of electronic DAS, if there was some other confusion that has since been straightened out.

You don't get a DAS for a specific time. The DAS return time is based on the standby wait minus 10 minutes, but you may return any time after that to use it. Assuming you approached 7DMT at 10:00am and there was a 60 minute standby, you should have been given a DAS return time of 10:50am...then you could use that prior to your 1:15 FP+ or after it. That would give you 2 rides virtually back-to-back (with just the length of FP line between). But you should have been able to get a DAS whenever you approached the ride, even if it was a couple of hours before your FP+ time.

You cannot have DAS and wheelchair return times active together, but you should be able to use FP+ and DAS or FP+ and wheelchair return times together. You cannot have 2 DAS return times active together, you must use or cancel one before getting another.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[aaarcher86]

Hey, thanks for the reply,
Here's what happened. This happened quite a bit. Say that I had a FP+ for 1:15, and I went to set up a DAS FP for the 7 DMT for after the 1;15 ride was over, I was not allowed to do that. I was told that I couldn't set up any DAS return times until after all my FP+ were used. This was very consistent. Like EVERY time.

Were you asking them for a FP? Since you're the only one reporting this happened, I'm betting there was confusion.

If it happened EVERY time, it may have been your wording. Because their answer is accurate with obtaining a 4th FP.

 

[specchalakani]

I don't know. I was told to ask for a Das return time which is what I did. Not sure what happened. What i was told and could tell was that there was much confusion.Serveral times the system didn't work and they had to give me a paper pass. However, I did the research, but I don't know why I would have to have a specific wording. Each time I asked for a Das return time, and they scanned my daughter's and my magic band and it showed a FP+, they would not give me a DAS return time. I've been going to Disney for decades with my daughter, and we still had a great time, but I don't see how a FP+ was much good to us. I also wasn't too impressed with this roll out. It was less than a week old when we were there. We also had to go back to guest services and have them redo the DAS because they wouldn't let us ride together because her pass said One person not two. UGh. Just very rough.

 

[zaksmom]

we were there from MAY 15 to May 25. We had a lot of late afternoon/evening fast passes as this was a last minute trip and that's what was available. We were able to use the DAS before using any of our fast passes numerous times. I remember one time we had a safari fastpass and since this is a ride we do A LOT we got the DAS return time before we used the fast pass, then used the fast pass, using the DAS for a second "ride." And yes, there were changes during our stay. At first the DAS times did not show up on My Itinerary, that took a couple of days into our trip. It looks different on the screen. It will show the fast passes and I wish I could remember exactly, but the DAS return times looked different on the screen. We also had some of the use anywhere fast passes when rides would be "down" during our fast pass time. These appear automatically on your fast pass list. Those needed to be figured in. I think that if my son went first it would use the DAS. If one of us went through the scanner first, it would take that open fast pass. The paper DAS times were in fact given when the Ipad/Ipods weren't working. Those and the wheelchair return time cards did not show up on the My Itinerary screen. So it is a lot to keep track of. A couple of times we were given a handwritten fast pass (you know the kind from the paper pads the CMs have for special things) when the system was not working. Even though it was a lot of stuff to be aware of, I think it will be really good when all the kinks get worked out. Also we could change fast passes on the go. Say we walked past it's a small world and found we would be directed right on, no waiting for the wheelchair boat. We could then change our up coming fast pass for small world to something else. ( I really dislike having to look at a screen when on vacation and can't count the people who fell over my son's footrests while crossing in front of him reading a screen. But I guess I'm an old fogey and need to get with the future. )When Disney and I get it all figured out, it looks like it will be a great system.

 

[specchalakani]

Yeah, totally not my experience. I can see where the DAS will be a great thing, it was just not a great first experience. I'm not sure what it is that I should be saying, other than what they told me to say which is " I need a DAS return time." Is there something else that I should have said? That seems sort of silly too. It's like having code.

 

[aaarcher86]

Yeah, totally not my experience. I can see where the DAS will be a great thing, it was just not a great first experience. I'm not sure what it is that I should be saying, other than what they told me to say which is " I need a DAS return time." Is there something else that I should have said? That seems sort of silly too. It's like having code.

No, that's exactly what we say.

The when you wrote DAS FP I thought you had maybe said that as well, and they perhaps heard the FP part and went with that.