Disney World 101: FastPasses

There is some terminology that doesn’t really exist outside of Disney. ADRs, MagicBands, Memory Maker, PhotoPass, FastPass, and so on. One of those terms can be a little confusing for people who have never been to Disney. So let’s explore how FastPasses work.

Why Use a FastPass?

FastPasses are meant to help you skip the long lines for certain rides. It won’t take you to the front of the line (unless there is no one in the FastPass line), but it will reduce your wait time greatly.

There are very popular rides in Disney World, like Frozen Ever After, that will always have long wait times.  Having a FastPass will help you not waste a good amount of your day in line.

How it Works

For guests staying at a Disney World Resort hotel, FastPass reservations can be made 60 days from your check-in day. For guests that are staying off Disney property, FastPass reservations can be made 30 days out from your trip (you will have to purchase tickets to make your reservations).

Make sure you have an account on Disney’s website, you will need this for all reservations. When you have an account set up you can either make the reservations through My Disney Experience on the website or through the My Disney Experience app. I highly recommend downloading the app. It comes in very handy when you are in the parks, because it has real-time wait times for the rides.

When you go to the section to make your FastPass reservations, choose the park and the date for the reservations. You will have to do this for each day you want to make FastPass reservations.

For each day of your stay you are allowed to make 3 FastPass reservations (in the same park). Once you have used the initial FastPasses for the day, you can visit one of the FastPass kiosks in the parks to make another reservation.

The FastPass reservations give you an hour window where you can go to the ride and get in the FastPass line. Each ride you choose will have multiple hour time slots to choose from. When making your FastPass choices, it’s best to have a map of the park. This way you know how far apart the rides are and how much time needs to be left between each reservation. You can always go back and change the FastPass reservation times, you’re not locked in to your first choice. We changed ours multiple times.

Also, the FastPasses will be on your MagicBand. So you don’t have to carry tickets around with you. Each attraction that offers a FastPass option will have a post, like the ones when you enter the parks, and you scan your band on those. When it turns green, your FastPass has been received and you can continue to the ride.

*Tip*: 

Try to plan your FastPasses in the order they are in the park. For instance, if you are making FastPasses for Magic Kingdom make sure the FastPass times work with the layout of the lands. It wouldn’t make sense to choose a ride in Tomorrowland, then the meet and greet with Mickey at the front of the park, and have your last FastPass be in Fantasyland. You would spend a lot of time running all over the park. It would make more sense to do the FastPass with Mickey first, then Tomorrowland, then Fantasyland. Doing it this way helps to save time. I do this for clients to make sure they are not zig zagging all over Magic Kingdom.

How to Know Which Rides to Choose

It can be a little overwhelming to try and plan out your days so far in advance of your trip, but the best thing to do is study the attractions before your reservation date and figure out which attractions everyone wants to experience.

Once you have made a list of the attractions and their locations within the parks, it will make it a little easier to select times. There are some instances where you will not be able to pick certain rides in the same FastPass group.

For instance, you cannot pick Soarin’ and Test Track for the same day. There are two different groups, Experience Group 1 and Experience Group 2, for Epcot. With Experience Group 1 you can only pick one from the list and both Soarin’ and Test Track are on the same list. So you would have to pick between the two attractions and then pick an additional two attractions from the Experience Group 2 list.

Here is a rundown of the different FastPass experiences as Disney has them:

Magic Kingdom

• Attractions
  • The Barnstormer
  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
  • Dumbo the Flying Elephant
  • Enchanted Tales with Belle
  • Haunted Mansion
  • “it’s a small world”
  • Jungle Cruise
  • Mad Tea Party
  • Mickey’s PhilharMagic
  • Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
  • Peter Pan’s Flight
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
  • Space Mountain
  • Splash Mountain
  • The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  • Tomorrowland Speedway
  • Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid
•  Shows
  • Festival of Fantasy Parade
  • Main Street Electrical Parade
  • Meet Anna and Elsa at Princess Fairytale Hall
  • Meet Ariel at Her Grotto
  • Meet Cinderella and Rapunzel at Princess Fairytale Hall
  • Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater
  • Wishes Nighttime Spectacular

 Epcot

• Attractions
  • Experience Group 1 – Pick One
    • Frozen Ever After
    • Living with the Land
    • Soarin’
    • Test Track
  • Experience Group 2 – Pick Two
    • Journey Into Imagination with Figment
    • Mission SPACE
    • Spaceship Earth
    • The Seas with Nemo & Friends
    • Turtle Talk with Crush
• Shows
  • Experience Group 1
    • Illuminations: Reflections of Earth
  • Experience Group 2
    • Meet Disney Pals at the Epcot Character Spot
    • Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival

Hollywood Studios

• Attractions
  • Experience Group 1 – Pick One
    • Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
    • Toy Story Midway Mania!
    • The Great Movie Ride
  • Experience Group 2 – Pick Two
    • Muppet* Vision 3D
    • Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
    • The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
    • Voyage of The Little Mermaid
• Shows
  • Experience Group 1 – Pick One
    • Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage
    • Fantasmic!
  • Experience Group 2 – Pick Two
    • Disney Junior – Live on Stage!
    • For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
    • Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
    • Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show

Animal Kingdom

• Attractions
  • DINOSAUR
  • Expedition Everest
  • Flights of Wonder
  • It’s Tough to be a Bug!
  • Kali River Rapids
  • Kilimanjaro Safaris
  • Primeval Whirl
• Shows
  • Festival of the Lion King
  • Finding Nemo – The Musical
  • Meet Favorite Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost
  • Rivers of Light

I hope this helps anyone who has questions about the FastPass system. Of course you can always feel free to ask questions in the comments or join the fun in our Facebook group!

Thanks for reading!

*Liz*

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