At WDW Now - Used GAD Fastpass for Epcot & DHS

[december]

I'm looking at these rides...
MK, definitely worth fastpass for almost everything, Epcot, worth it for Soarin and Test Track, DHS, worth it for TSM, but AK... I'm not so sure it is worth it. Do you guys agree? DH thinks we'd almost be better off using our fourth voucher for a second fastpass day at the MK.

We have 5 vouchers, and 6 park days. We are using them for 2 MK days, 2 Epcot days, and 1 DHS day. We aren't using 1 for our AK day. At DHS we get to avoid the TSM dash, and at Epcot Dd10 can ride TT to her heart's content!

 

[lenshanem]

It just dawned on me we can use three of our vouchers (hopefully) for fastpass days at MK, Epcot and DHS for Easter spring break, then INSTEAD of using our fourth voucher for AK or a second day at MK we could actually save it for fastpasses at the MK for our quick weekend trip in May!

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

My family of 4 will like the FP for AK as we love to ride EE and Dinosaur. In June this park can get really hot, so less criss-crossing of the park to get and then use FP will be a big plus for us. That's what makes this FP thing so great for us.

 

[Petraman]

Petraman, any chance you can ask the CMs at the window about the blackout days, since it'll be (if I'm doing the math correctly) about a week before the actual dates? And then report back on what they say?

No problem. I will make a note of it & update online while I am there!

 

[Petraman]

My family of 4 will like the FP for AK as we love to ride EE and Dinosaur. In June this park can get really hot, so less criss-crossing of the park to get and then use FP will be a big plus for us. That's what makes this FP thing so great for us.

That is what makes this GAD FP program so great! Everybody has a different approach that best suits their family. Like you, we are going to definitely use one of our passes for AK. It is true we will be at MK for 2 days and could use it for both days there, but the day of our AK trip, we are going to sleep in late (only late day this trip), go to the park at our leisure, then ride all the cool rides (EE, Dinosaur< Kilimanjaro) with no waiting in lines, and still get out of the park early for fun at the pool.

So for us, using it at AK really is the best value.... but everybody is different, so use it how it works best for you.

No matter how we use these passes, the fact remains, they are going to make our WDW trips so much more enjoyable.... Thanks Disney!

 

[doconeill]

Petraman, any chance you can ask the CMs at the window about the blackout days, since it'll be (if I'm doing the math correctly) about a week before the actual dates? And then report back on what they say?

No problem. I will make a note of it & update online while I am there!

Looks like there is no need, although it can't hurt:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2413918

 

[Petraman]

Awesome! Thanks to Cheshire Figment for getting this info. Finally, some actual data from the internal sources. Too bad they weren't more forthcoming concerning the way the FP would be used. Far as I have heard, they STILL have not released a trustworthy explanation themselves.... All our data has been gleaned through Folks like Doconeil and others who kept us up to speed with real time data.

All I can say I am sure gald we have the Disboards!

 

[heatherwillmom]

We didn't get the birthday fast pass last year so I'm not sure on a few things. We will get 4 vouchers because we all did the volunteer project. When we get the fast passes, will we get 4 for each ride? We had thought about using a voucher at each park

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

Just got back from WDW, here is my little GAD trip report! DH and I volunteered in the kitchen at a camp for children with diabetes 2 weeks before our trip, they were having a mini camp over President's weekend. We had a blast and they kept us busy, so the time flew by fast. DH found out his company has a volunteer program called "Dollars for Do'ers", he submitted the number of hours he volunteered and they matched it with a donation to the camp!

We (me, DH, DD-4, my parents) were in the parks everyday from Sat 2.27 through Sat 3.6. We used DH's GAD towards an AP, I already had my AP voucher so I saved my GAD for the fast passes on our last Saturday in the MK. All week the rides were not busy, we just used our regular fast passes for TSM and Soarin' and walked onto most other rides. Thank goodness we saved my GAD certificate for the last day! Between the start of spring break and the Princess Marathon, many rides at MK had an hour wait! We got 5 GAD fast passes, my parents don't go on many of the 'Donald' rides so DD and DH got to do a couple rides twice. By far, having the fast passes was worth much more than $79 considering we went on 6 rides that would have taken 6 hours to wait for! A few rides ran out of fast passes by dinner time, but they still had out one fast pass machine that had a sign on it that it was for GAD cards only. One tip... I had 5 GAD fast pass cards so I got a sharpie and numbered the back of them. On the sheet of paper they gave me with the list of rides I wrote "1, 2, 3, 4, 5" three times next to the Donald list and three times next to the Daisy list. Sometimes we only got 3 passes if my parents weren't going on the ride and it was hard to keep track how much we used on each pass. As we used a GAD card we put an "X" over the number on the list.

We are going back in early Dec for MVMCP and I told my parents the GAD program was reaching it's max. As soon as we got home I signed them up for Project Linus and tonight my mom and I are taking my DD-4 fabric shopping. My dad travels a lot for work so this is the perfect project for them to do together and also include my 4 year old who is too young to sign-up. When we go back in Dec for a long weekend my parents will get the GAD fast passes for the days we don't do the Christmas Party. My DD-4 is also helping me save soda can tabs for one of my friend's whose son is collecting them for his GAD project. We will be mailing them off to him next week.

 

[huskies90]

Anyone know if there is a will call window for the Give a Day set up at the International Gateway entrance?

And also, where in Epcot can you go to upgrade your one day ticket to an AP?
Thanks!

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

And also, where in Epcot can you go to upgrade your one day ticket to an AP?
Thanks!

DH turned in this GAD for an AP at Magic Kingdom. He went to the Will Call window, turned in the certificate and they did the upgrade immediately.

They don't take the certificates at the ticket window, I was turning in a AP voucher and when I was done they had a CM bring us to the front of the Will Call line to do DH's GAD transaction.

 

[doconeill]

We didn't get the birthday fast pass last year so I'm not sure on a few things. We will get 4 vouchers because we all did the volunteer project. When we get the fast passes, will we get 4 for each ride? We had thought about using a voucher at each park

Here is how it works: Give A Day Fastpass.

In short, you get 4 FP Exchange Cards. Each one is good for a set number of Fastpasses from each of two groups of attractions (usually 3 FP per group).

 

[Minnie0621]

I just have a few questions....i sincerely apologize if this has already been answered. I haven't got a definite answer for these.

1. when using your gad fastpass, i know you get immediate access to the ride with your fastpass time, however there is an ending time on this fastpass, do you have to wait until the end time is past to get another GAD Fastpass or does end time not matter with the gad fastpass and you are allowed to get one right after the other?

2. Can you use your park ticket as a regular fastpass right along with the gad fastpass? If so, you could technically have several fastpasses on you at one given time.

Thanks, and sorry if this has already been discussed, i tried to read most posts

 

[doconeill]

I just have a few questions....i sincerely apologize if this has already been answered. I haven't got a definite answer for these.

1. when using your gad fastpass, i know you get immediate access to the ride with your fastpass time, however there is an ending time on this fastpass, do you have to wait until the end time is past to get another GAD Fastpass or does end time not matter with the gad fastpass and you are allowed to get one right after the other?

2. Can you use your park ticket as a regular fastpass right along with the gad fastpass? If so, you could technically have several fastpasses on you at one given time.

Thanks, and sorry if this has already been discussed, i tried to read most posts

1) There is no time restriction on when you can use the card again. You can use it again right away.

2) Yes, the GAD FPXC does not affect your regular ticket's ability to get FPs in any way. And you could ALWAYS have several FPs on you at one given time. The system does not track that you used them at all.

 

[Minnie0621]

1) There is no time restriction on when you can use the card again. You can use it again right away.

2) Yes, the GAD FPXC does not affect your regular ticket's ability to get FPs in any way. And you could ALWAYS have several FPs on you at one given time. The system does not track that you used them at all.

Thanks so much! Very helpul...

On #2 above do you mean the regular fastpasses they don't track or the gad fastpasses? I thought with regular fastpasses you could get 1 and then you had to wait until the minute after the return time to get another one??

Sorry for so many questions, just trying to plan my strategy as we will be there at an extremely busy time (week after Easter)

 

[doconeill]

Thanks so much! Very helpul...

On #2 above do you mean the regular fastpasses they don't track or the gad fastpasses? I thought with regular fastpasses you could get 1 and then you had to wait until the minute after the return time to get another one??

Sorry for so many questions, just trying to plan my strategy as we will be there at an extremely busy time (week after Easter)

Neither one is tracked. You could gather FPs all day, and take them home with you. Not using them does not prevent you from getting another one.

As for when you can get another one normally:

Rule #1: You can get a new Fastpass when it says you can get a new Fastpass on the Fastpass you most recently obtained. Look towards the bottom of the pass for where it says, "Another FASTPASS ticket..."

Rule #2: How long it will be varies, but the general rule of thumb is either the return time of the previous Fastpass or two hours after you obtained the previous Fastpass, whichever is sooner.

Rule #3: There are always exceptions, so always refer to Rule #1.

 

[Minnie0621]

got it!! Thanks so much!

 

[Kevinisagirl]

There is sooooo much great info in this thread - Thank you all!! We will have 3 vouchers to exchange for FP's when we go in May, WhooHoo! No waiting at MK, DHS, or Epcot for us!!

 

[kcandbella]

I saw this question asked but not answered, sorry if I missed it. I did read the whole thread lol. My nephews are going with us and they are 10 and 8. If I have certified copies of their birth certificates, will it matter that their parents (legal guardians) are not there? Do you think they will even check?

 

[babydovesx2]

Will they accept a copy the the birth certificate? I only have one original because it cost $35 per original in the state she was born in, so I only ordered 1 when DD was born. I don't want to travel with the original and risk losing it.