Howdy folks Just wondering - when we arrive in Florida do we get free entry into all the parks or do we have to wait for a certain amount of time before we get this?? I was looking forward to going crazy in the first week or two - going to all the parks,going on all the rides etc but its going to cost a fortune if we have to pay! Ive never been before ya see so i cant wait to see and do everything!!!! Also,in our appartments in the commons are we totaly mixed with people from other countrys - or is there a chance that we would be in with someone else from the Uk??? (i dont care who i live with at all - im just curious!) still hasnt sunk in that im going to be there in a matter of months!!!!! ;D
I'm hoping the rooms are mixed with people from all over - as much as I love my felleh Canadians, I don't get to live with people from China or France or the UK everyday! And I think you get the whole 'free entrance' to the parks after the orientation. Within the first week? But don't quote me on that - that's just me guessing from what I've read so far!
Admission: You need your Property ID to get in for free (the ID they give you that says you work there) and you get that at Traditions which is within your first week and depending on how fast they push you through training that could be on your fourth day. However, I know a few people who were told that as long as they had their Chatham ID (Or Commons, or Vista Way) and the piece of paper stating their Traditions date on it that they could get in (if the security guard was feeling nice). So that could bump you up to your 2nd day ... but I didn't do it so i don't know how legit that claim is. Don't worry ... you'll be so busy before then you probably won't have time anyways until you get your Property ID. Roomies: It's really a random shot. I know some people who had roomies from their own country and people who had a wide assortment. Mine was actually a mix. The girl I shared a room with is a fellow Canadian (I heart Kristine) but the rest of our roomates were all different countries (Mexico, Brazil, Peru and Italy ... another Canadian for quite a while too, until she became Jilly's roomie).
i knew a few people who went in to the parks with their housing ID....but i wanted to wait and do it properly and wait til i got my Disney ID at Traditions.. it felt more special that way.. ok yes im an idiot, i kno ;D U arent allowed to have more than 50% of the one nationality in one apartment, altho sometimes a few rooms slip thru the net, eg i know a room that is 3 out of 4 UK.. U will mainly get mixed up, but that doesnt automatically rule out the possibility u will have someone else from the UK in ur room xx
one thing to do on one of your first nights when you havnt got your ID is do what we did: take the bus to the TTC, walk to the polynesion and sit on the beach there while watching wishes in the distance, then we got on the monorail to epcot (which goes inside the park) while illuminations is on, then stay on the monorail and get off the TTC again.
*cough* A few of us went to Epcot with just our orange Vista Way IDs, and we also managed to go to the Magic Kingdom with that, too. I thinkt it mainly depends on the cast member at the turnstyle.. I seem to recall they checked with their leader, who OK'ed it.. Really? My apartment was 3 american CP's and me.. Andy.
vista may be different as there are so many more americans than anything else i think, but i know thats the rule in the commons
Yeah I got into the Disney/MGM studios with my ID and Traditions paper the night before traditions... worst part about doing it this way is you can't get a fast pass.
Can you get a fastpass with your cast member ID? I would have figured that would be something for guests only.
yup your cast ID is essentially your ticket into the park. Regular fast pass rules apply but your ID will work for them.
At an attraction, instead of standing in line, you get a fastpass which gives you a timeframe to come back in. When you come back, there's essentially no wait in line. It's like a reservation. The catch is that you can only have one fastpass at a time. So if it's 9:00 in the morning and you get a fastpass that says come back at 3:00 in the afternoon, you can't get another fastpass until 3:00 (I think this may have changed slightly, but that's essentially how it works). So basically it lets you ride a ride or two a day without a ridiculous lineup. There are also only a certain number of fastpasses per timeslot, so once they're gone, they're gone (Soarin' fastpasses tend to run out very early in the day). It's kind of cool and when it's done right it doesn't really make the standby line any longer than it would have been otherwise, and if it works really well then the standby line will actually be shorter than if there were no fastpass at all. Universal has a "fastpass", but unlike Disney, you have to pay for that fastpass, and it doesn't give you one at a time, you just get a line bypass for every ride. Basically a two tiered system where the rich don't wait in line. Disney at least everybody has a fair chance at the fastpasses. And if you're REALLY lucky, then you'll get a GOLDEN FASTPASS. Part of the Dreams Come True Celebration, they give out a certain number of Golden Fastpasses each day to random guests, where you can get on every ride with your GOLDEN FASTPASS. Unfortunately, as cast members I believe we are disqualified from recieving the GOLDEN FASTPASS.
A few things to clear up, cuz well just trying to help (since I just came from a fastpass attraction.) Your fastpass ticket has a time on it when you can get a new one. THis will vary from attraction to attraction, Soarin will give you a longer "wait time" than Malestrom will for example. By that I mean when you get a soarin fastpass you need to wait longer to get a new one than you would by getting them at Malestrom. Also the point of the fastpass (I had a few guests who didn't understand this) is to minimise your wait, not eliminate it (wow did people ever get upset they couldn't walk right on, or on the flipside that the other line was moving much faster than theirs... I had quite a few people attempt to push through). When it's busy it can sometimes be quite "fun" to work one of the attractions (especially if it's a main one like MIssion:SPACE). Now the dream fastpasses that are given out are supposted to be for guests only and while I never saw the dream squad when I wasn't working, I've seen them just handing prizes to people and don't believe they'll check to see if you're a CM. You may want to avoid your management with dream prizes if awarded them however. Big prizes (such as a night in the castle) you'll have to turn down, but the Dream Mouse Ears, Fastpasses, and Pin Lanyards and just handed out. ALso the dream fastpasses, are just a card on a lanyard with snap off tabs. There is one tab for each fastpass attraction in the park so at Epcot you get, Malestrom, Soarin, Test Track, Mission:SPACE, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, and Living with the Land. You can only use each tab once and only on the day you win the dream fast pass. If you win one of these, you want to win at Magic Kingdom, as I believe it's the only park with over 6 tabs. edited to add... pictures! Mission:SPACE fastpass You can see here, this person got this fastpass at 4:43 PM, can return between 6:51-7:51, and can get a new fastpass again at 6:16. Here is the only image I can find of a dream fast pass. As you can see there are 5 here, all are for Animal Kingdom (I believe the tabs are for, Everest, Killimonjaro Safari, Kali River Rapids, Primeval Whirl, Dinosaur, and It's Tough to be a Bug). Now also you can return to any FP attraction after your first return time (ie. you can be late but not early) so you can get a fastpass first thing in the morning and use it at 8 PM if you want.
Wow, that's a tonne of info! Thanks guys! That was entirely helpful. Despite the miniscule odds though, I'm dissapointed I can't win a night in the castle. Aaah, fiddlesticks.
You're technically not supposed to come back late for your fastpass time, but I've never seen a castmember that turned someone away. At least they tell you you're not supposed to come back late.
Oh yeah there's plenty of prizes (I only listed the ones where they just pass things out and don't check anything). Yeah your not suposted to come back after your window but many unpredictable events could happen to cause you to be late. Meals, parade route/crowds in the way, etc. Thats why it's an unwritten rule that people are ok to return late. You'ld be surprised how many CMs don't even know that.
lol were you one of the people down there who didn't know that little fact when we were there? I'm sure I knew it before hand (dunno how?) but I sure found out quick when I started at Mission Space.
