While all 4 parks are using the booklet I talked about in the my previous post, they all seem to have different things in place based on each persons needs.
Epcot offered us this slip for any one attraction. Thankfully we had FastPasses saved on our Magic Bands and there were only 2 other rides/attractions that we wanted to see that would require a lengthy wait.
In Hollywood Studios we were given 3 sets of FastPasses for our party of 4 to use on any attraction in addition to the DAS card. Plus we had the Magic Bands with 3 FastPasses already set up. By utilizing the Magic Bands and the DAS card we only used 1 set of the FastPass cards we were given. When we visited the Magic Kingdom a few days later, I asked the Cast Member at guest services for the same program. She asked how many Hollywood Studios gave us and she gave us the same! When I had asked for the tickets at Epcot they gave us the yellow slip of paper as shown above. Animal Kingdom was the only park that we did not visit after the program was implemented, so I can't confirm which of the 2 options above they are using.
On the first day of the new program we were in Hollywood Studios and walked up to the exit of the meet and greet location for Buzz and Woody across from Toy Story Mania, asked the lady if we could get a return time and the lady said to wait and she'd get us in shortly. After less than a 5 minute wait we were let in the exit door. The line was rather long so I was surprised that she said to wait a minute. All other character meet and greet locations in Hollywood Studios and Epcot were not willing to utilize the DAS card or any wait to the side type of program so we did not see many characters in those parks since most are outside and the lines are directly in the sun. My daughter's skin could not handle that kind of wait. We saw people lining up for Characters in Epcot an hour prior to the characters arrival time!
When there is more than 1 ride in a certain area that you want to do, but there is a long wait, I suggest getting a return time for the longer attraction/ride, and visiting the short wait attraction/ride and then going back to the one you used your DAS for. Some of the attractions/rides Cast Members were more laid back and said to get in the FastPass lane for things that were less than 10 minutes long. Again, that varied by Cast Member.
Example: If you arrive at Finding Nemo and the Turtle Talk with Crush area and there is a wait for both and you do not have the new Magic Bands FastPass set up than I suggest getting a return time in your DAS for the attraction with the longer wait and getting in line for the shorter wait. By the time you are done it should be time to use your DAS pass.
Other attractions/rides that are near each other and work well doing a return time for one and wait for the other are:
Magic Kingdom: Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Peter Pan's Flight and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo and the Barn Stormer, Under the Sea~Journey to the Little Mermaid, and Ariel's Grotto, Princess Storybook Hall has 2 sides so you could always get a return for one while you wait for the other, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Jungle Cruise and The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, get a return time to Meet Mickey at the Town Square Theater and then hit the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom to go on a mission while you wait.
Hollywood Studios: Tower of Terror and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Voyage of the Little Mermaid and Toy Story Mania.
Animal Kingdom: Primeval Whirl and Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids and Expedition Everest,
Epcot: Mission Space and Test Track, The Seas with Nemo and Turtle Talk with Crush, Soarin' and Living with the Land, Gran Fiesta Tour and Maelstrom.
My #1 suggestion to everyone with Special Needs is to visit during the off season when school is in session. We visited when a number of schools in the south were on fall break but still saw most waits at 30 minutes or less! The longer ones were of course the biggest attractions like any of the Mountains in the Magic Kingdom, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania and the roller coasters in the Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios but even those were at an hour or less. In the summer months and major holiday times these waits can exceed 2 hours, making everyone in your party as well as everyone else that is visiting the parks cranky! While the Travel Depot can't guarantee that you won't wait, we will try our best to let you know what the crowds will be like when you are traveling. Having a plan can come in handy for any family whether there are special needs or not!
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