by Pixie Dusted Diva
If this is your first trip to Walt Disney World you are probably wondering what this FastPass+ is you keep hearing about. If this isn’t your first trip, but you haven’t been in a while, you may remember Disney’s old Fast Pass system where you raced into the park and inserted your park ticket into a machine to obtain a “reservation” for your favorite rides, which you would come back later at a certain time to ride. However things have now changed completely! I will explain the new Fastpass+ system to you along with some tips on how to make FastPass+ reservation in advance and while at Walt Disney World.
Soarin’ Diva reminds us of what those old Fast Passes looked like in the picture on the left. You can read just how necessary Soarin’ Diva thinks FastPass+ are here.
The FastPass+ system allow you to reserve your Fast Passes in advance for rides, character meet and greets, parades and even firework shows. However, you must have a valid ticket linked to your My Disney Experience account.
The first thing you will want to do is set up that My Disney Experience account and link your park tickets.
One of the benefits of staying on property at a Walt Disney resort is the ability to book your FastPass+ selections at 60 days prior to check in. If you do not have Walt Disney resort reservation you will only be able to book 30 days in advance. You will be able to book 3 FastPass+ reservations for each day you have a park ticket. For example, if your vacation is 8 days, but you only have a 6 day park ticket you will need to decide which six days you will visiting the parks as you will only be able to make six days’ worth of FastPass+ reservations. When you are booking you FastPass+ selections at 60 days you will be able to make the selections for your length of stay. If you are making selections at the 30 day mark, you will have to make each day separately and wait to the next day to make the next day’s worth of passes.
Fastpass+ reservations can be made on the computer or the Mobile app. Either way you will choose the make the passes you will go to the FastPass+ option when logged into My Disney Experience. The steps are generally the same on the computer or the mobile app. The computer calls the options 1, 2, 3, 4 and the app calls the options A, B, C, D so they are minor details that mean the same thing. I personally like to make my initial FastPass+ selections on a computer as I find it is easier to make changes for the exact times I want the reservations. Of course, while I am at Walt Disney World and making changes I always use the mobile app or the in park kiosk.
- You will be given the option to choose new FastPass+ experiences or modify your existing FastPass+ selections. Since we are walking through the steps of making new selections we will want to choose the first option, choose new FastPass+ experiences.
- You will then select the guests you are planning the FastPass+ for. You will only be able to choose guests who have a valid ticket linked. Guests who are 3 and under will be listed, but you do not have to make individual FastPass+ selections for them. You will check off each member of your party.
- Next, you will choose the park and date you are making your FastPass+ reservations for. Typically I like to start
with the hardest reservations to get first. Those might include things like the Seven Dwarves Mine Train or Meeting Elsa and Anna, both at the Magic Kingdom. Therefore, I would pick my last day I am at Magic Kingdom and do those FastPass+ reservations first. - On the next screen you will see the list of available FastPass+ reservation available. No times will be shown, just the attractions with availability. If there is not availability you will see a note which states that (wording is different on the computer or the app), FastPass+ Distribution Has Ended for Selected Day. This means you will not be able to select that attraction for a FastPass+ selection. You will also see a note if an attraction is closed for refurbishment. You will choose three selections before moving on to the next screen. You have to choose three selections, you cannot choose only one or two selections.
- Disney will automatically give you four-time options for you FastPass+ selections. For the purpose of writing this article and my test I choose the date of November 20th, the park Magic Kingdom, and my three selections were Meeting Tinkerbell in Town Square, Big Thunder Mountain, and Peter Pan’s Flight. You will have to choose one of the options given to you. You will have the opportunity to make changes to everything. Some things to keep in mind are the locations of the rides within the park and your dining reservations, if any are scheduled for the day. Some people schedule FastPass+ all over the park and end up doing a lot of extra walking that could have been avoided. You should allow enough time if you have a table service dining reservation scheduled as well. Here are the four options I was given:
- Option 1 Tinkerbelle 10:50 – 11:50 a.m., Big Thunder Mountain 1:45 – 2:45 p.m., Peter Pan 4:45 – 5:45 p.m.
- Option 2 Tinkerbell 11:30 a.m.– 12:30 p.m., It’s a Small World 1:15 – 2:15 p.m., Big Thunder Mountain 2:55-3:55 p.m. Note: They replaced my Peter Pan selection with It’s a Small World which I actually didn’t notice at first.
- Option 3 Tinkerbell 12:10-1:10 p.m. , It’s a Small World 2:00 – 3:00 p.m., Big Thunder Mountain 3:45 – 4:45 p.m. Note: The ride replacement is still here.
- Option 4 Big Thunder Mountain 9:25 – 10:25 a.m., Tinkerbell 11:20 a.m. – 12:20 p.m., It’s a Small World 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
I chose the first option as it was the only one that included Peter Pan, my original ride choice for a FastPass+. I wasn’t sure if the time given was the only time frame available You will receive a confirmation on the next screen once you choose done. Under each selection there is a modify button. This will allow you to modify the experience or the time. Since I did get all the experiences I wanted, I will now look at the other times available. There will be a list of hour time frames to choose from. The system will not allow you to choose overlapping hour windows. I did modify the times by a little bit as you will see in the picture below.
Depending on what works for your family and your touring plan you may want to book your FastPass+ for the morning, the afternoon or the evening. If your family likes to get up early and arrive at the parks for rope drop you may want to make mid-morning FastPass+ reservations as many of the rides do not have long waits in the early morning.
After you have used the three pre-planned FastPass+ reservations you can visit an in park kiosk to make a fourth FastPass+ reservation. The kiosk will show you what is available for the park you are in at the time. Once you use the fourth FastPass+ reservation you may return for a fifth selection and repeat the process for as long as the park is open and there is availability. All members of your party must use their FastPass+ selections in order to book another FastPass+ at the kiosk. If a member of your party does not use their FastPass+ you must wait
for the time frame of that FastPass+ to expire before you can make additional FastPass+ reservations. Should you decide to park hop, you are able to make a fourth FastPass+ at the in park kiosk in the second park you have visited for the day.
Remember: All three FastPass+ reservations you are making in advance must be made in the same park. At this point in time Disney is not allowing you to break up your FastPass+ selections into multiple parks.
You may also be wondering if you should use your FastPass+ selections for parades or shows. Darlin’ Diva discusses that here.
Diva Tip: A benefit to staying on property is booking your entire stay at 60 days prior to check in. Here at Tips from the Disney Diva recommend using Patricia with All for Dreams Travel for all your travel needs. To contact All for Dreams Travel please click here for more information.
