It sometimes astounds me how many Disney World newbies are unaware of Fastpass+. I recently spoke with a fellow parent at school pick up who told me that they booked their dream trip to Disney world and they were travelling next month. I asked if they had fun booking their Fastpasses, to which the response was "what's a fastpass?" Instantly alarm bells rang in my head. "You haven't booked any yet?" So i instantly opened up the My Disney Experience app (I will explain how to book fast passes further on in the article) and spend 5 minutes showing how the system works and how to reserve attractions in advance.
What is Fastpass+?
Fastpass+ is effectively a virtual queueing system that is offered to anyone who purchases admission to any of the 4 Disney parks (Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios & Animal Kingdom). You simply reverse a timeslot on the My Disney Experience App on your mobile or tablet or you can log into your My Disney Experience account on your laptop to book. If you are in the park and dont have a mobile or tablet to hand, Use the Fastpass+ Kiosks.
You are allowed to book 3 Fastpasses at one time. Disney uses a tiering system which has an impact on what rides you can book at one time. i will explain this in more detail further on. Once you have completed the 3 rides you can then book another 1 attraction and continue to do so one at a time for the rest of your day in the park. Fastpass+ riders have their own special line which are a lot shorter than the standard Queing times. Simply scan your Magic Band or card onto the fancy Mickey Mouse machines. When the light flashes green you can walk through. You are usually on the ride within 5-10 minutes (can be longer depending on how busy the park is)
When Can i Book My FastPass+ Attractions?
This is very important to know when you can start booking your fast passes and i will explain why.
If you have booked your Disney World Vacation and you are staying on Disney property then you will have 60 DAYS to book your Fastpass+ attractions.
If you are staying off site then you have 30 DAYS to book your fastpass+ attractions.
Why is this important to know i hear you ask? Disney is an extremely popular place with over 50,000 visitors to the parks every single day. And with you booking your Disney park tickets in advance, you have secured an advantage over a large chunk of those 50,000 visitors who buy their ticket on the day. BUT don't get complacent! If you want to secure those all important rides such as Seven Dwarf Mine Train in Magic Kingdom, Flight of passage in World of Pandora Animal Kingdom, the newly added Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run in Star Wars Land Hollywood Studios and Frozen Ever After in EPCOT (a select few popular attractions) you will need to be on your My Disney Experience app on the day you tick onto that magic 60 or 30 days.
Fastpasses for the rides i have mention above are likely to sell out on the day your window opens so make sure you are fully prepared.
When your fast pass window opens you will be able to book for the entire duration of your holiday.
Top Tips for Being Prepared For Your Fastpass+ Booking Day
Make sure you are familiar with the My Disney Experience App/Website - It doesn't hurt to have a mess around with the app.
Make sure you have linked your Disney reservation to your My Disney Experience account. This is extremely important as without doing this you will not be able to select anyone in your party to participate on the ride.
If you have made a daily plan for your holiday (Which is important), Be flexible. For example if you plan to visit Hollywood studios on the monday but you can only get Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway on the Wednesday. change your plans to fit around the attractions. Unfortunately, You will be unlikely to get every ride you desire on the day you want it so make sure you are prepared to do some juggling around.
My Disney Experience is a great tool to maximise your holiday. It will be your best companion. If you are unfamiliar with the app then it's a great idea to download it from the app store or google play store. Link your Disney World reservation and you are all set. As this post is about Fastpass+ i will focus on how the app works when booking your ride reservations with a step by step guide on how to reserve a
How do i book fastpasses? My Disney Experience App
My Disney Experience is a great tool to maximise your holiday. It will be your best companion. If you are unfamiliar with the app then it's a great idea to download it from the app store or google play store. Link your Disney World reservation and you are all set. As this post is about Fastpass+ i will focus on how the app works when booking your ride reservations with a step by step guide on how to reserve a fastpass attraction.
My Disney Experience is a great tool to maximise your holiday. It will be your best companion. If you are unfamiliar with the app then it's a great idea to download it from the app store or google play store. Link your Disney World reservation and you are all set. As this post is about Fastpass+ i will focus on how the app works when booking your ride reservations with a step by step guide on how to reserve a fastpass attraction
Step 1
Sign into your My Disney Experience account. If you have not created an account, click the create account plus button below and follow the instructions
My Disney Experience is a great tool to maximise your holiday. It will be your best companion. If you are unfamiliar with the app then it's a great idea to download it from the app store or google play store. Link your Disney World reservation and you are all set. As this post is about Fastpass+ i will focus on how the app works when booking your ride reservations with a step by step guide.
Step 2
Hover over My Disney Experience button in the top right corner to bring up the menu. Click on Get FastPass+ button.
Step 3
Click Get started
Step 4
The next page will show you your party. At this point, if anyone in your party is missing from this list then you will need to link them to your reservation before you continue as they wont have a reserved fastpass if they are not on the below list. However if everyone in your party is on the original booking then this should not be an issue. Select the members of your party that require a fast pass and click next. (TIP: If you have some people in your party that wont be riding those thrill rides book them a fastpass anyway! Someone else can use theirs you can ride twice.
Step 5
Use the calendar below to select the date of your fast pass.
Step 6
Once you have selected a date you will see the 4 parks listed below the calendar. Pick the park you will be attending on the day you have selected.
Step 7
Now you have selected your park you can now filter by the time you require the fastpass. In the below click either morning, afternoon and evening. You can also select a specific time in the select time drop down box. Once you pick a time you will see a list of attractions and the available times listed to the right hand side of the ride name.
Step 8
Scroll down the list of attractions and select the time you require. TIP: It's always important to be flexible at this stage. For the GROUP A rides these are high ticket so if there is availability at any time i would advice to book it. You can alway check for a different time at a later point but get the ride secured down!
Step 9
Click Confirm selection. You will see your selected party members below as confirmation.
Step 10
Congrats! you can now look forward to your fastpass! Circled in red, you will see the arrival time. It's important to remember that you have an hour slot to arrive at your attraction. This gives you great flexibility. TIP: Don't panic if you hit the hour mark and you have not arrived at your attraction. Disney usually give you 15 minutes over the hour to arrive. If you are any later your fastpass will be forfeited but you will not be penalised so no panic.
Below you will see the option to book another fastpass. if you want to book another one then click the options Continue on the same day or select a different day. If you are done then click No thanks, Im done.
FastPass+ Tiering System
As mentioned at the start of my post, Each Disney Park Categorises their attractions into a tiering system. This is designed to keep it fair for all guests so that every guest has a chance to ride the best attractions. There are 2 Tiers, Group A and Group B (or Tier 1 and Tier 2) with the exception of Magic Kingdom where there is no tiering system in place.
Group A is made up of the most popular and sort after Disney attractions. These rides tend to have the longest queue times. Group B attractions have shorter wait times and tend to be easier to book.
Fastpass+ allows you to book 1 Group A attraction and 2 Group B attractions which makes up your initial 3 fast passes. after you have completed these 3 attractions you can then book another one.
So let's put those rides into their respective categories
Magic Kingdom - Pick any three from the the below (Attractions in BOLD* you should consider prioritising)
The Barnstormer
Big Thunder Railroad Mountain*
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Enchanted tales with Belle
The Haunted Mansion
"its a small world"
Jungle Cruise
Mad Tea Party
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Meet Ariel at Her Grotto
Meet Cinderella & Elena at Princess Fairytale Hall
Meet Rapunzel and Tiana at Princess Fairytale Hall
Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theatre
Meet Tinkerbell at Town Square Theatre
Mickey's PhilharMagic
Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor
Peter Pan's Flight*
Pirates of the Caribbean
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train*
Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
Tomorrowland Speedway
Under the Sea-Journey of the Little Mermaid
EPCOT - Pick 1 attraction from Group A and 2 From Group B
Group A
Test Track
Frozen Ever After
Soarin' Around the World
Epcot Forever
Group B
Mission: SPACE
Spaceship Earth
Living with the Land
The Sea With Nemo & Friends
Turtle Talk with Crush
Journey into Imagination with Figment
Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
Hollywood Studios - Pick 1 attraction from Group A and 2 From Group B
Group A (From 19th February 2020)
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Slinky Dog Dash
Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway (From March 4th 2020)
Group B (From 19th February 2020)
Toy Story Midway Mania
Alien Swirling Saucers
Rock 'N' Roller Coaster
Tower of Terror
Star Tours
Muppet-Vision 3D
Fantasmic!
Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage
Disney Junior Dance Party
Animal Kingdom - Pick 1 attraction from Group A and 2 From Group B
Group A
Avatar Flight of Passage
Na'vi River Journey
Group B
DINOSAUR
Expedition Everest
Festival of the Lion King
Finding Nemo - The Musical
Its Tough to be a Bug!
Kali River Rapids
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Meet Favourite Disney Pals at Adventures Outpost
Primeval Whirl
Rivers of Light
Top Tips and Strategies
Right, now that we have looked at home the Tiering system works, let now look at some top Tips and Strategies that will allow you to get the most out of your Fastpass+ selections.
Book your Reservations Early
As mentioned above, if you have booked your Disney park tickets in advance as part of your Disney holiday reservation, Remember you have 60 DAYS to book if you are stopping in a Disney Resort Hotel and 30 Days if you are staying off site. If you want those high ticket rides then you have to be ready to reserve them on the day your fastpass window is released!
Book those High Ticket Rides as Priority
This may seem obvious but its important to stress this. These rides fastpasses will not hang around. The parks with GROUP A and GROUP B tiering systems, be sure to make a wise decisions on what GROUP A attractions you want to ride. As you can only pick 1 from GROUP A make sure its the ride you want the most. Try and schedule another day to ride some of the other GROUP A attractions.
Refresh your Phone
This is a great tip i learnt from my last trip. On entry into the parks, make sure you have your phone connected to the free Disney WIFI. Open the My Disney App and make a Fastpass selection. Once you have reached the ride selection (Step 8 in the step by step guide above) keep refreshing this list by dragging down on the app. it is not uncommon that someone may have cancelled that high ticket ride. If this happens the cancelled time slot will be made available for someone else to claim. I was also told by a cast member that Disney can sometimes drop some new fast passes for any of the GROUP A attractions at a random time on the same day! So keep refreshing.
Fastpass placement
Look to keep your Fastpasses in close time proximity to each other. Remember, once you have completed your 3 reserved fast passes you can book another Fastpass ride. If you have two FP in the morning and 1 at 4pm then you will not be able to book that next ride until after you have scanned on that last ride. This is a great tactic to ride as many attractions in the same day. Usually you don't need to book a fastpass in the first hour of park opening because it normally takes until midday for the crowds to meet their peak.
Rider Switch
If you are traveling with young children that do not meet the height requirement for that particular ride you have a FastPass+ for, and you are nearing the end of your FastPass time slot, get a rider switch pass. This enables one parent/guardian to ride with the rest of the family and still use their FastPass+, while the other parent stays behind with the younger child. Once the ride has finished and the parent comes back, the other parent can then go on the ride using the rider switch pass, and even if the FastPass+ window has passed, they can still use the FastPass lane and get on the ride quickly. Its also important to know that if you have young children in your group that do not have a park ticket because they are under three, they will still be able to join your fastpass group without a fastpass if they meet the height requirement.
Check the wait times on the day
if the fastpass attraction you originally booked has a short queue time then get on the app and swap it for a ride that has a longer queue time. After all the whole point of Fastpass+ is so you don't have to wait in long lines.
So there you have it. Fastpass+ is a great system which everyone should utilise to enhance their Disney Park experience. I hope this article has made it a little more simpler to understand how it all works. Use the Tips to maximise your Disney World Vacation.
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