Just returned home last night from a 5-day Disney trip. Had a wonderful time, enjoyed myself immensely, but just had to say that the Fast Pass system was really something. I don't really understand how it works or if people just haven't caught on yet, but by using the Fast Pass I only had to wait the time it took to walk from the ride entrance to the actual ride, maybe 5 minutes, 10 at the most.

The Tower of Terror at MGM was probably my favorite ride, with the Test Track at Epcot a close second. The only sad thing about the Test Track, it was not working properly on my first ride. It stopped several times when it shouldn't have. But the second ride later in the day was redeeming!

I also really enjoyed the Tapestry of Nations parade at Epcot, and the IllumiNations laser light show at the end of the day. The Imagination Lab at Epcot was a lot of fun, too. I had heard from several people that Epcot was their least favorite park, followed by the Animal Kingdom. But Epcot was probably my favorite of the four.

I was impressed also with the smoothness of getting in and out of the parking lots.

That's all! If someone has a question or comment, feel free.

Sandi

Sandi - What exactly is the Fast Pass system? I have never heard of it before. Please elaborate. Thank you.

FastPass is great. It is available on the most popular rides - Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, Winnie the Pooh, Test Track, etc. Instead of waiting on the regular line, you go to a machine in front of the attraction, insert your park pass, and receive a timed ticket which gives you a time to come back to the ride. It is usually an hour time frame. When you get back to the ride, you just walk up the FastPass line. For Space Mountain, we waited about 5 minutes, as opposed to the people in the regular line who waited almost an hour. The only drawback is that you can only hold one FastPass at a time.

Sandi, you are so right about Fast Pass. When I went, they had just started the system. I was able to ride things that have existed in the parks for years, but that I had never had the patience to line up for.

I agree. It's really great!

I am so glad to hear that. We are going to WDW at the end of June. I know this is not the best time to go, but school's out and that's the way it has to be. When our son was little, we would go to WDW in January - absolutely the best time to go -- no lines, no heat, no crowds. Perfect. I am happy to hear that FastPass works. I look forward to using it.

Thanks.

So when is the best time (of year, not day) to go to WDW? When are the lines the shortest?

I too agree that Fastpass is terrific. You must use some strategy to really make the best use of it because you can only hold one at a time. But, if you get one, then go to another ride (or two) where the lines are shorter, then pop back to the fastpass ride, it's the best. We were also able to get one for the Bugslife show at Animal Kingdom, (the 3-D show under the Tree), go and eat lunch, then return for the show. We could have stood in line that whole time if we'd wanted to. It's a great addition and makes the day less stressfull.

Amy-We were there the first week of November and there were no lines. The only drawback is the weather can be cool. But, hey, you are inside a lot and you can wear a jacket. The busiest times are school breaks, Thanksgiving, Christmas, March & April (before and Easter weekend) and the summer months.

Marilyn - WE went last June after school go out. Don't worry about the crowds. The parks are so big you can always find something to do that doesn't require a wait. MK was a bit crowded but we were okay for the most part. Fast Pass makes a huge difference. We were shut out of Splash Mountain one evening when they were out of passes and the line was over an hour. The same was true of Space Mountain but because my company sponsers that ride we could go to the head of the line as if we had a Fast Pass. Epcot was practically deserted and crowds were minimal at MGM. Take advantage of Enights too if you get the chance (if they still have them).

Went in early May, no crowds, of course we stayed away from light shows, went on rides and more rides and more rides.

Went to Disneyland last October, couldn't believe how crowded it was. Used Fast Pass loved it!! Lots of peeps were using it but it still worked great. Couldn't believe someone would wait for an hour on Splash Mountain and others but not us. So Sandi, Fast Pass does ROCK!

Yee-ha! We loved Fast-Pass too. I envision the future: you program your ticket from your hotel and all your rides are reserved for you through-out the day!
As for the slowest time of year: early Feb before the northerners have school vacations. We got off the ride and could turn around and walk back on! Sshh . . . Don't tell anybody! Also early Dec. But it is cool; you'll be lucky to get a swimming day from late Nov to first of March. But my family hates the heat, so it works for us!

We went to disney the end of April, decided to hold off going to MK until the end of our trip. We were there the sunday after easter. The fastpass definately made a big difference in how we toured the park. The park was crowded but we had less than 20 min wait at all rides. The only exception was big thunder mountain, our final ride of the night, all fastpass tickets were gone, and we had a 60 min wait. Really made us appreciate the fastpass system.

Amy -
I've found the best time to go to Disney to be the very beginning of Sept. or early fall. I've gone over Labor Day several times and there are absolutely NO lines, it's wonderful! Also, October is pretty slow and virtually no lines as well. Stay away from holidays and NEVER go the week before or after Easter. It's madness! I have to agree the
FastPass is ingenius! I don't know why more people don't use it!

What are Enights? We will be going to Disney World next week for the first time in about 15 years, and we look forward to using Fastpass also. I Hope not many people know about it.

Yep, it's a keeper; we did make good use of the pass, even got to go twice on "Space Mountain" at Epcot and "Splash Mountain" at MK.
We took the trip last year, end of May, begining of June; it was lovely; not crowded, enough people around to make you feel part of the fun but definitely not crowded. Had enough rides where all we had to do is walk right in or only wait for the next show, train, etc...