Fastpass Planning

Overview
The Fastpass system is what is referred to as a “virtual queuing system.” By allowing you to “book” several rides in advance, Disney hopes to minimize the time you spend in line. In practice what it actually does is to spread the average wait times out throughout the park more evenly, so attractions that used to have very long lines under the previous version of Fastpass now should theoretically have shorter lines, and attractions that used to be virtual walk-ons may have a bit longer lines (the last part has definitely come to pass).

Here’s how it works: You select a ride you want to Fastpass using the My Disney Experience app (or at an in-park kiosk). You’ll be able to choose a one-hour time slot for that attraction. You can use your Fastpass any time in that hour. When you arrive at the attraction, you’ll see two entrances: one for standby riders (those without Fastpasses), and a Fastpass return line. You scan your Magic Band or park pass to be admitted to the Fastpass return line. You’ll then have a much shorter wait for the attraction.

You may book 3 Fastpass attractions per day. You can do this 60 days in advance if you are staying on property and 30 days in advance off-property. In either case, you must already have purchased tickets – either as part of a package, or as a separate, ticket-only purchase; and they must be linked to your My Disney Experience account.

Once you have used the Fastpasses that you booked in advance, you may add additional Fastpasses, one at a time.

What attractions should I choose?
Ideally, you want to choose the attractions that typically develop the longest lines, since a Fastpass will save you the most time at these rides. For various reasons, that isn’t always possible, so it’s important to have a good strategy. I’ve created a guide to help you come up with a Fastpass plan.

First, highlight the the attractions that are the most important to you. You may even want to rank them.

I’ve placed the attractions in order of average wait time. So using a Fastpass at an attraction near the top of the list will save you much more time waiting than if you pick one near the bottom.

At Magic Kingdom, it’s easy: just choose the three attractions you’ve highlighted that are closest to the top of the list. If one of those isn’t available, move down the list.

At Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, the Fastpass selection process groups the attractions into two tiers. You may only choose one attraction from the first tier. Your other two selections must come from tier 2. On these lists, I’ve put the tier 1 attractions in bold type. If you three top choices fall into tier 1, you’ll have to select one of them and plan to use the standby line for the other two. Move farther down your list to pick two more Fastpass choices from tier 2.

How does the Process Work?
Making Fastpass reservations is very easy on both the website and the app. There are just a few important things to remember. First of all, your window opens at 6 am central time. So just like with dining, you need to be logged in with your plan ready at least five minutes in advance (this is why a lot of clients just let me do this part for them!) You also need to make sure that your reservation and tickets are linked to your account. You should be able to see them when you look under My Reservations and Tickets. Check to see that there is a ticket listed for each person you want to make Fastpasses for. This can be tricky if you are planning with another family and did not correctly link up your accounts. See my My Disney Experience info page for how to do it correctly. You’ll actually want to make sure this is correct at least a few days before your Fastpass selection day.

My other advice is to start with the hardest to get Fastpass – don’t just go in consecutive order. Currently, that would be Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom, then Slinky Dog Dash at Hollywood Studios and 7 Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom. So, if you are trying to book at day at Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom that include those highly coveted Fastpasses, first book Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom. Then, skip the rest of your Animal Kingdom Fastpasses for now and jump to your Hollywood Studios day to book Slinky Dog Dash. Then do your 7 Dwarfs Fastpass at Magic Kingdom. Then you can go in and fill in the rest of each day. In fact, if you aren’t trying for any of those three attractions, you don’t really need to get up early at all!

Another thing, don’t be surprised if even if you log on right at 6 am and try for Flight of Passage first thing and find it already unavailable. People who are checking in on the days before you do will have already made their Fastpasses. So many of the slots (sometimes all) will already be filled up. Your best shot at avoiding this is to book the last days of your trip first. And if you aren’t able to get those Fastpasses, I can help you with a touring plan that allow you to ride them in standby.

For a run-through on how the website Fastpass system works, watch my video: