What's a FastPass and why do I need one?
Disneyland and Walt Disney World operate on two different FastPass systems. Walt Disney World has what's known as FastPass+ while Disneyland still has the "old" FastPass system but before I jump in to all the nitty gritty of FastPasses, you should know that FastPasses are completely free to every Disney park guest. You can obtain an unlimited amount of FastPasses daily as long as there are still some available at the end of the day. I have gotten as many as 10 but I'm sure other people have gotten more. FastPass gives you a specific time frame to arrive at an attraction so you can bypass the standby line. This will help you wait less and enjoy more time playing!
Disneyland FastPass System
Upon arrival at either of the parks in Disneyland California, you can head to an attraction and look for a FastPass distribution sign. Here you will pick up a paper FastPass. The FastPass will give you a return time for later in the day. While you wait for your return time you are free to visit other attractions, grab a bite to eat or even do some shopping. You may get another FastPass after using the first one or two hours later, whichever comes first. So if you pick up your FastPass at 9am and use it at 9:30am you can get another FastPass right away. If you pick up your FastPass at 10am and have a return time for 4pm for that specific attraction you may still get another FastPass at noon. Another thing to note, Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure FastPass systems do not talk to each other. This is specifically helpful for those of you with park hopper passes. You will be able to get a return time for a ride in Disney California Adventure and head over to Disneyland Park and grab some other FastPasses right away or vise versa. The park entrances are only about 100 yards away from each other so you don't have to worry about a long walk back and forth. Below is a sample FastPass ticket. You will see your return time frame, when you can obtain a FastPass for another attraction and the date.
photo credit: touring plans
Disneyland Park FastPasses:
Autopia
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Fantasmic!*
Haunted Mansion
Indiana Jones Adventure
Matterhorn
Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin
Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
Star Tours
Disney California Adventure FastPasses:
California Screamin'
Goofy's Sky School
Grizzly River Run
Radiator Springs Racers
Soarin'
Toy Story Mania
World of Color*
*Fantasmic! and World of Color are not included in the 2 hour wait limit before you can obtain another FastPass. These are very popular so be sure to grab a FastPass as soon as you enter the park. The Fantasmic! tickets are located behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Walt Disney World FastPass+ System
It's no secret that a trip to Walt Disney World takes a little bit more pre-planning than a trip to Disneyland but did you know that FastPass+ reservations open 60 days in advance to guests staying on Disney property and 30 days in advance to those stay off site? If you're not a huge planner, don't let that frighten you. I'm going to give you all the tips you need to make this a stress free, easy going and fun vacation. First things first, make sure you have the My Disney Experience app downloaded on to your smart phone. I find it easiest to make my FastPass+ selections from my phone app as opposed to the My Disney Experience website. You'll also want to sit down and make an itinerary of which park you want to visit on which days. You may have (aka hopefully) already done this when you made your Advanced Dining Reservations at 180 days out - Whats that? Don't worry, I have a blog coming up about that too. Once you know what parks you want to visit on which day, you can pick which attractions you would like a FastPass+ for. You will be able to pick 3 FastPass+ per person per day of your trip in advance. All of your initial 3 must be for the same park and must be used before you can add a 4th FastPass+. Once you use all 3, you can go on to your My Disney Experience app and add a 4th FastPass+, once you use your 4th you can add a 5th and so on. This could be for the same park or, if you have hopper passes, could be for a totally different park. Additional FastPass+ selections are subject to availability. There is no limit as to how many additional FastPass+ selections you can make as long as there are still some available for that day. They do limit the amount of FastPass+ that they offer per attraction to keep the FastPass+ lines shorter. Also, you will see that all the parks in Walt Disney World, aside from Magic Kingdom, have a tier system. This means that you may pick only one attraction from tier one and two attractions from tier two (or three if you're not interested in any of the tier one picks). As opposed to Disneyland where you get a paper ticket with a return time, all of your selections will be housed within your My Disney Experience app. You will be granted access in to the FastPass lane by scanning your Magic Band or park ticket.
photo credit: Disney
Magic Kingdom FastPass+ Top Picks
There are so many FastPass+ selections for Magic Kingdom that I decided to show you the ones that are most popular and are the best use of a FastPass+ selection.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 40"+
Haunted Mansion
Peter Pan's Flight
Pirates of the Caribbean
Seven Dwarf Mine Train 39"+
Space Mountain 44"+
Splash Mountain 40"+
EPCOT Fastpass+
Tier One - pick only one:
Frozen Ever After
IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth*
Soarin 40"+
Test Track 40"+
Tier Two - pick two or three:
Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival
Journey into Imagination with Figment
Meed Disney Pals @ Epcot Character Spot
Mission Space 44"+
Spaceship Earth
The Seas with Nemo & Friends
Turtle Talk with Crush
Living with the Land
Disney's Hollywood Studios Fastpass+
Tier One - pick only one:
Beauty and The Beast - Live on Stage
Fantasmic!*
Rock n' Rollercoaster 48"+
Toy Story Mania!
The Great Movie Ride
Tier Two - pick two or three:
Disney Junior - Live on Stage
For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing Along
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
Muppet Vision 3D
Star Tours 40"+
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 40"+
Animal Kingdom Fastpass+
Tier One - pick only one
Avatar Flight of Passage 44"+
Na'Vi River Journey
Tier Two - pick two or three
Dinosaur 40"+
Expedition Everest 44"+
Festival of the Lion King
Finding Nemo - The Musical
It's Tough to be a Bug
Kali River Rapids 38"+
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Meet Disney Pals @ Adventure Outpost
Primeval Whirl 48"+
River of Lights*
*Some dining locations also offer VIP seating for select shows when you book a dinner package that way you don't need to use one of your fastpass+ selections. Also, included in a dining package is VIP seating for Pixar LIVE located in Hollywood Studios.
So there you have it. All you need to know about Fastpass. Does it all still seem so confusing and overwhelming? That's what I'm here for! As a travel consultant specializing in Disney Destinations, it is my pleasure to not only help you choose which fastpass+ selections are best for you, but I will even book them for you early in the morning so that you don't have to! All of my services are 100% free of charge when you book a trip through me. You can request your free, no obligation quote here: https://goo.gl/forms/9oUrDmJqTOXlK7lD2
Until next time,
Angie
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