Hello Angela,
Yes that was our idea to get there early. When we have been on our own that is what we have done. My daughter and her partner who have no children just couldn't get themselves out that early and this is why we arrived when it was so busy. As you say everyone seemed to take it in their stride. It was just a pity that my grandson missed a few rides because the queues were so long although he was happy with the rides he went on. We usually go in mid May and it is a lot quieter. I am not so sure the fast passes help very much as you have to go to each ride to get one which is also time consuming. We still had a good time though which is the main thing.