If you don’t know Disney has introduced a system for you to reserve a time for certain rides. The FastPass + (FP+) system is available to all ticket holders with valid tickets to one of the four theme parks at Walt Disney World.
If you are staying “on site” you can book your FP+ 60 days out. If you are staying “off site” you can book your FP+ 30 days out. Just another reason to stay at a Disney owned hotel.
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How it works
You are able to reserve 3 FastPass+ for each day. Once you use your first 3 you are than able to select 1 more. Once that one is used up you can select another. You can keep repeating this until park close.
Example: You book a 1000-1100 Splash Mountain, 1pm-2pm Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and 230pm-330pm Dumbo. Once you enter the FP+ line at Dumbo you can get on the My Disney Experience app and select any available FastPass+. So you can get one for Space or Big Thunder Mountain or even Dumbo again.
Another thing to note. Once you use up your 3 original FP+ you can booked your 4th in the same park or a different park. That’s right you can book your first 3 at Magic Kingdom than grab a 4th at EPCOT (Test Track anyone?).
You will really be surprised what’s still available at 7pm at the different parks. Just don’t expect to get Flight of Passage or even Slinky Dog. You still might be able to get Everest or Tower of Terror. Just Remember it doesn’t hurt to try.
Who can use it?
Anyone with a valid ticket can use the FP+ system. It just depends on where you are staying, on how far out you can book them. Guest staying at Disney owned hotels along with partner hotels (Swan and Dolphin and a few others) can book 60 days out.
Example: You check in on October 1st and are staying till the 10th of October. Well you can start booking your FP+ on August 2nd for your whole trip. Even though October 10th is more than 60 days out you can still book your FastPass+ for that day as long as you have valid tickets.
Now if you are staying off site (not a Disney owned or partner hotel) or are a season pass holder you can only reserve your FastPass+ 30 days out.
Example: You are staying at a time share in Orlando and have a 10 day park ticket starting October 1st. You can start booking the first day 30 days out (September 1st). But you can only reserve FP+ for that day. You have to wait till September 2nd to book FP+ for October 2nd.
So when staying offsite and using the FP+ system you can only book one day at a time when it is 30 days or less away. While if you are staying on-site you can reserve your whole vacation time once your arrival day is 60 days out.
FastPass+ Tiers
Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios all have two different tiers of FastPass+ rides to choose from. Magic Kingdom only has one tier. At the 3 parks that have the 2 different tiers you are able to book 1 Tier One ride and 2 Tier Two rides.
Basically the hottest rides at Animal Kingdom (Flight of Passage and Na’vi river journey), EPCOT (Soarin’, Test Track, Frozen Ever After, IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth), Hollywood Studios (Alien Swirling Saucers, Slinky Dog, Toy Story Mania).
All other rides fall into Tier 2. There is a good chance that once you use all three FP+ up in the day and book your 4th that you will not be able to find any Tier 1 available. But you may just get lucky as well.
Tips and Hacks
First things first. If Flight of Passage is on your must do list… BOOK it first. Even if your Animal Kingdom day isn’t until day 4 of your trip. Book that ride first. It is still the hardest one to get and will be even after Galaxy’s Edge opens since in the beginning there will be no FastPass+ there.
Next go for Slinky Dog Dash at Hollywood Studios. In my experience that is 2nd hardest one to get. Plus if you go before Galaxy’s Edge opens you’ll probably only spend a half a day or a full day there.
Next up on the must get would be Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. You could even try to book this one second instead of Slinky Dog. Mine Train FP+ is still hard to get but since you will most likely be spending more than one day at Magic Kingdom you have more opportunity to book at least one day with a Mine Train FP+.
DON’T use your FP+ for fireworks viewing. You’ll be holding up your last FastPass+ for an event that happens towards the end of the night. So you won’t be able to get a 4th or even 5th FP+ for that day.
DON’T use your FP+ for shows. For most shows all you get is a shorter wait into the main staging area. At some shows it gives you front row seats. If you or your kids need to be up front than by all means use it for shows. Rides are just a better option in my opinion.
Do use your FP+ for the three Mountains at Magic Kingdom.
Try and book all your FP+ before 3pm. This way you can get a 4th or 5th maybe even a 6th FP+ for that day.
At some parks it may be hard to figure out what three to choose from. Looking at you EPCOT. For EPCOT I book Living with the Land for right around park opening. This way even if I don’t make it to the park that early. My first FP+ is done before I even get there. Than I can use my Tier 1 and usually Spaceship Earth before 1pm. That leaves me plenty of time to book my 4th FP+ at any other Park.
The FastPass+ system can seem a little crazy. It really is easy to use once you get the hang of it. Just a few things to remember.
When staying on site you can book 60 days out. You can only choose one ride out of the Tier 1 rides when booking your first 3 FP+ for that day. You must have a valid ticket. DON’T use a FP+ on shows or fireworks.
Disney World Park Hopper Ticket – Buy 4 Days & get 5th Day Free!That pretty much covers the FastPass+ system at Walt Disney World. Check out my FastPass+ choices for Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios. Let me know in the comments below if you have any other questions or tips you like to use. Remember to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest at KozmoPhotos. It will help you stay up to day with all the latest post and photos.
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