Life in the Fast Lane: An Overview of Disney World’s FastPass+
Want to hit the Disney World fast lanes? Not sure how? You’re in the right place. Here’s everything you need to know to about Disney World’s FastPass+.
FastPass+ was introduced at Disney World in January 2014. It’s basically a reservation system. You can use FastPass+ to make appointments for riding rides, meeting characters or watching shows. There are roughly 60 different options throughout the parks. The FastPass+ appointments are tied to your Disney park tickets, which are also linked to Magic Bands if you choose to use them. For every day of park tickets you purchase, you receive three FastPass+ selections. There’s no additional cost to use them.
It’s kind of like Aladdin’s three wishes, except once you use your third FastPass+, you can request another!
The two primary benefits of FastPass+ are peace of mind and saving time. The program provides peace of mind, because you get a chance to schedule some of your must-do activities at Disney World before your trip. If you’ve dreamed of meeting Mickey Mouse on Main Street or Soarin’ around the world at Epcot, FastPass+ provides you the opportunity to secure a spot in line for these activities before you even arrive in Orlando. The second biggest benefit of the program is the amount of time FastPass+ can save you in line. Guests with a FastPass+ appointment enter a separate, and typically faster-moving line than the regular “Standy-By” entrance for each attraction. If you choose your selections wisely, you could easily save three or more hours in line per day.
So now that we’ve covered the basics of FastPass+, how do you actually use it? Here’s the When, Where, How and a little Which too. (Happy Halloween!)
WHEN
If you’re planning to stay on Disney World property, you can start making FastPass+ selections 60 days before your trip. At 60 days, you can also schedule for the balance of your trip (up to 14 days).
For example, if your vacation begins on November 25 this year, you can start making FastPass+ selections tomorrow, September 26. If you’re planning to stay at Disney World for an entire week, you will have the opportunity to book selections from November 25 through December 1 all at once. You don’t to have log back on each day. In fact, you may want to try booking your choices for the end of your visit first. This can improve your chances of securing the most popular choices because fewer guests have access to the system during this time frame.
If you’re staying off Disney property, you can start making FastPass+ selections 30 days before your trip. Unlike the example above though, you’ll need to log on every day to schedule the balance of your trip.
Regardless of where you are staying, the FastPass+ selection window opens at 7:00AM Eastern Time on your designated day. Once you make your selections, you can cancel or modify them any time you want, including while you’re in the parks.
WHERE
You select your FastPass+ options through Disney World’s website or the My Disney Experience App. In both instances, you’ll need a Disney account. If you link all of the guests traveling with you to your account, you can select FastPass+ options for your entire group at one time. You may have already completed these steps when you booked your trip.
If you don’t have an account and you don’t want to set one up, you can still make FastPass+ selections at park kiosks once you arrive in Orlando. Please note, however, that availability will be much more limited after you’re on vacation than it was at the 30 or 60 day window.
HOW
There are a few rules for selecting your FastPass+ attractions. Your first three choices have to be for three different attractions. In other words, you can’t choose Space Mountain three times. You also have to select your first three attractions from the same park. Once you’ve used your initial three choices, you can select any attraction that is still available. If you have a Park Hopper option on your ticket, you can select additional attractions at other parks too.
For example, if you’re planning to visit Magic Kingdom for the day, but then “hop” over to Epcot for dinner you have two options. You can either pick three FastPass options at Magic Kingdom for the morning or three FastPass options for Epcot in the evening. Once you’re used your FastPasses, you can look for additional options at either park.
A third rule, and probably the most complicated for most, is the “tier” system that is in place for FastPass+ at Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios. For each of these parks, the FastPass+ attractions are organized into two groups. For each day you plan to spend in these parks, you’re permitted to pick one attraction from Tier One (also called Group A) and two attractions from Tier Two (Group B). Tier One includes the parks’ most popular attractions. Disney limits these on purpose to control crowd levels and to allow guests the opportunity to reserve at least one headliner attraction. I’ve included more details on these attractions below.
Although they aren’t really rules, there are also a few guidelines I recommend for how to choose your FastPass+ selections. Consider scheduling your selections for mid-morning through early afternoon. The first hour or so within the parks is the least crowded. You can usually visit some of the attractions using the Stand-By entrance with short waits. Once the parks start to fill-up and the lines get longer, you’ll get a better use of your FastPass+.
If you plan your first three selections to end by early afternoon, you’ll also have a greater chance of obtaining additional ones. You can do this via the My Disney Experience app or at park kiosks. If you get a chance to complete your fourth selection, you can choose again. This process lasts until FastPass+ availability runs out or your energy does, whichever comes first! This strategy makes the most sense for Magic Kingdom, because it offers the most options. There’s less benefit to this approach at the other three parks.
WHICH
So, which specific FastPass+ attractions should you choose? It really depends upon your interests. Browse through the Disney World website to see which attractions hold the most appeal for you and your travel party. Then consider which of your choices have the longest wait times. You want to pick the FastPass+ attractions that have the longest lines, because you’ll save the greatest amount of time. Wait times tend to be longer for rides that opened most recently (like the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train) or have broad appeal and low ride capacity (like Peter Pan’s Flight).
Here are some recommendations, listed by park. These are ranked by the expected amount of time saved, not overall interest. Make sure you pick stuff you’ll enjoy, not just the stuff that will save you the most time!
MAGIC KINGDOM
Magic Kingdom has the greatest number of attractions, although many of them seldom require a FastPass+ to enjoy. Here’s my recommended list, based on past experiences. Remember to keep your travel party interests in mind!
Great use of FastPass+: Big Thunder Mountain, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Peter Pan’s Flight, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Space Mountain and Splash Mountain
Good use of FastPass+ (especially after you use your first three!): Buzz Lightyear Ranger Space Station, Cinderella meet ‘n greet, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Journey of the Little Mermaid
Other options/usually don’t need a FastPass+: Ariel (meet ‘n greet), Barn Stormer, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, it’s a small world, Mad Tea Party, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse (meet ‘n greet), Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, Mickey’s Philharmagic, Rapunzel & Tiana (meet ‘n greet), Tinkerbell (meet ‘n greet) and Tomorrowland Speedway
ANIMAL KINGDOM
The attractions at Animal Kingdom are organized into tiers. You can select one option from Group A and two options from Group B. Both the rides from Group A are in the new Pandora: World of Avatar section of the park. Your best choice here is the crazy popular (and totally worth it) Flight of Passage. If you shy away from thrill rides, you’ll want to pick the Na’Vi River Journey instead. Either option will save you more than an hour in line.
FastPass+ for Group A: Flight of Passage or Na’Vi River Journey
Great Use of FastPass+ for Group B: Expedition Everest and Kilimanjaro Safari
Okay Use of FastPass+ for Group B (especially after your first three!): Dinosaur!, Kali River Rapids, Mickey meet ‘n greet, Rivers of Light show
Other options/usually don’t need a FastPass+: Festival of the Lion King, It’s Tough to Be a Bug, Finding Nemo the Musical and Primeval Whirl
EPCOT
The attractions at Epcot are also organized into tiers. You can select one option from Group A and two options from Group B.
Any of the three rides in Group A (Frozen Ever After, Soarin’ and Test Track) are great for FastPass+ because all three have long lines. Frozen tends to be the most popular choice at the moment. Choose whichever one you are most excited to ride.
Group A also includes Illuminations, Epcot’s nightly show. I wouldn’t recommend selecting Illuminations for your FastPass+ unless you don’t want to ride anything. It’s a good show, you just don’t need a FastPass+ to view it. Since Illuminations doesn’t begin until the end of the day, if you choose it for one of your first three you’ll also be giving up the chance to get additional FastPass+ selections.
Good Use of FastPass+ for Group B: Living with the Land, Mission: Space, Spaceship Earth, The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Other options/usually don’t need a FastPass+: Epcot Character Spot, Journey Into Imagination, Pixar Film Festival, Turtle Talk with Crush
HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
The attractions at Hollywood Studios are also organized into tiers. You can select one option from Group A and two options from Group B. Hollywood Studios has the fewest number of ride-on attractions at the moment. More rides are coming with the new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway planned for 2019.
Group A consists of the rides within the new Toy Storyland and include: Alien Swirling Saucers, Slinky Dog Dash and Toy Story Midway Mania. All three of these will save you time in line, but Slinky Dog Dash will likely be the greatest in demand this year.
For Group B I recommend the Hollywood Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n Roller Coaster or Star Tours: The Adventure Continues.
All of the other options are shows, and do not require a FastPass, unless you don’t like thrill rides or really want to sit in the front row. The shows include Beauty and the Beast, Disney Junior on Stage, Fantasmic!, Frozen Sing-a-Long, Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, Muppet Vision and Voyage of the Little Mermaid.
And that’s it. Everything you need to know about Disney World’s FastPass+. If you still have questions or need advice, feel free to leave me a comment below. Or, if you want more information on FastPass+ check out the incredibly thorough content at touringplans.com.
Put on your seat belt, hit the gas and add a little magic to your world!