Going on a family vacation to Walt Disney World can be one of the best trips you’ll ever take…and one of the most overwhelming to plan.
Walt Disney World is a ton of fun to explore and visit, but it is like traveling to a mini-country full of it’s own rules, traditions and even lingo!
One of the Disney terms you’ve probably seen a lot if you are in the middle of planning a trip is FastPass+. Like the previous FastPass system it allows you to get a “pass” for a ride without having to stand in a long line. But unlike the old system you don’t have to run to rides to grab the passes before they run out
Now you can make 3 FastPass+ reservations per park per day from your phone or computer, in many cases way in advance!
It makes it so much easier to plan your vacation, but can be confusing for anyone who is used to the old FastPass system.
What is FastPass Plus?
FastPass Plus (or FastPass +) is Disney’s current FastPass system. Instead of having to go to kiosks and reserve one attraction at a time you can now reserve a day’s worth (three) at one time for 1 park–even before you get to Disney if you are staying at a Walt Disney World resort, are a passholder or pre-purchase a ticket.
How Does FastPass + Work?
For Walt Disney World Resort Guests:
You can make your three reservations for each day online up to 60 days in advance. That is definitely my favorite part! All you need to do is sign into your My Disney Experience account and click on FastPass selections. Then you can choose up to 3 attractions at one park and times that you want to reserve each day.
Then once you get to the park and use yours up you can get another one if there are any still available. The additional FastPasses can be obtained at a different park than your original passes which is great for those that like to park hop.
For Non-Resort Visitors:
If you buy your tickets in advance you can start making FastPass+ reservations 30 days in advance through your My Disney Experience account. If you are purchasing a ticket the day of your visit you can get FastPasses too. When you get to the parks you go to one of the FastPass + kiosks or use the app to make your selections. There is a Disney cast member at the kiosks to help walk you through the process and you are able to get reservations for everyone in your party at once.
Annual Passholders:
Annual Passholders can now make advance FastPass + reservations too! Passholders get to make 7 days worth of reservations up to 30 days in advance. If you are an annual passholder make sure to link your passes to the My Disney Experience site and order your MagicBands.
Can I Change My FastPass + Selections?
Yes! As long as a FastPass is still available you can switch the times and rides as often as you want. We’ve made our selections before arriving at the park and then gotten better/earlier times at a kiosk once we got there.
While you are at the park you can modify your reservations by going back to the kiosks or using the free My Disney Experience Mobile App. If you miss your FastPass + time you can also use the kiosks and app to reschedule as long as there are spots available.
FastPass + Tips:
- Schedule FastPasses for your top attractions, but don’t use them if the line is bearable. Go through the regular line if it’s short enough and then rebook your FastPass. You can make it for the same ride later in the day or another attraction. A group of 10 I was with last month used this strategy to ride Expedition Everest three times in one day.
- Schedule your FastPasses for as early in the day as possible to take advantage of the additional ones they now offer the day of your visit.
- Not every attraction has a FastPass. If you can’t schedule a pass for your favorite ride make sure to do the ride without the pass during the slowest park time such as first thing in the morning.
- When traveling with a group make sure to link everyone’s FastPasses together to make scheduling and rescheduling simple.
- If you don’t think you are going to make or don’t want to use a scheduled FastPass reschedule it as soon as possible. You can schedule up to three passes a day, but three aren’t guaranteed. It depends on how busy the park is and how many FastPasses have already been issued so give yourself the best odds possible.
- Speaking of scheduling three, it’s up to three per day in advance. You can only get passes at one park per day which is a big change. You have to wait to get an additional FastPass once you are in the park and have used up your first three. You can only schedule in advance at one park, but can get the bonus one at a different park.
- There are FastPass + kiosks throughout the parks and with cast members who can help walk you through the process. If you are confused use the map to go straight to a kiosk and ask for help.
- Use the app to help you plan and adjust your plan on the go. We’ve been using it to choose which rides to do next and even make and reschedule dining reservations.
Making FastPass+ Reservations for Kids:
Visiting Walt Disney World is tons of fun but can be overwhelming so for even more in depth FastPass+ planning info read Fastpass+ Kids Selections and Disney World Planning Tips!
While your planning you can also get crafty and make your own DIY Minnie and Mickey ears! You can personalize them with your favorite colors and other objects to make your trip even more fun.
I am confused why you think the new system is so great especially since you are a pass holder. You honestly like to stand in a large line to make your whopping 3 selections when arriving at the park vice using the old fastpass system? When Disney starts charging for additional fastpasses beyond 3 later this year are you going to tell everyone how lucky we are? No offense but the new system is nothing more than Disney trying to make more $ and has nothing to do with the customer experience.
Mark I really do love getting to make all my fast passes at once instead of having to keep going back and standing in line. We must have been lucky though–we haven’t had to wait in long lines to make the passes. Were they really long when you were there? Over Christmas during the roll-out we weren’t always able to get them though. When you are there if the kiosk area looks super busy check nearby. We have been able to go around the corner or across from the kiosks and make our fastpasses with cast members with tablets and not have to wait. I think that being able to schedule them in advance when we are resort guests and change them with the app has been so nice…we’ll see how it goes during the craziness of the summer!
PS I am too cheap to pay for FastPasses if it ever comes to that though! 😉
I am very confused, we have a totally different fast pass system in California and I like it just fine. What happens if vacationers come and all the fast passes are already gone? They spend hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars only to have all the fast passes taken by the people who know how to use the system. I am getting ready to come to FL and bring my whole family for a Disney experience and I am a bit worried about the “new system” I am sorry the old one is not being used there. I sure hope they don’t change it in California 🙁
Tonnie do you still have the paper passes in CA? I think they don’t release all of the passes until that day because we have gotten better times first thing in the morning when we are in the park than we can get ahead of time. I agree though that you should be able to schedule additional ones on the day of your visit! I hope they change that soon!!!
Disney World is our favorite vacation spot, too! We haven’t tried out the fastpass + yet, but we are excited to try!
So excited to go back to Disney!
Me too Carolyn Elbert!!!!
We were there in January and stayed at the Polynesian. We were disappointed with the new FastPass system, because when scheduling FastPasses, we could only do so in one park per day. For example, we couldn’t get a FastPass for two rides at the Magic Kingdom and one ride at Epcot; all three had to be within one park. That made things more difficult for us.
DeltaBreeze that happened to us too and was a bummer! Now that it’s completely rolled out we were able to make them at two parks last time we were there. I am hoping that soon they will start letting us make more than 3 at a time too!
You were able to get your fastpasses on the same day in different parks??? I haven’t seen that they made that change!
To clarify more…Before all the parks were completely rolled out we were able to do it at both the Animal Kingdom and Epcot, BUT have since not been able to. The next time we went back we were told it was a glitch because AK had switched over but not Epcot yet.
We just got back from Disney World last week, and I think this is super helpful!! Especially for those who get to read it before they go :). I got to spend some extra time with my fast pass rep because of technical difficulties, and she gave me a couple of tips for Magic Kingdom. She said the fast pass kiosk at the entrance is always the busiest, so avoid that one! Also, in MK, Peter Pan and the Belle attraction always run out first. We can’t wait for the next trip, and I am so glad to know even more about the Fast Pass system. It was a lifesaver for us!!
GREAT tips Katie! We have been avoiding the kiosks and going to the cast members nearby which has been a lot faster too. We’re here again this week and have a FP for Belle tomorrow! Thanks for the info!
Glad to have found your blog from kid blogger network. We will be in Disney middle of May. The last 2 years we visited in July and it wasn’t the heat that bothered us at all but rather the crowds from the groups of kids visiting from other countries! We chose May this year and wanted to ask if you have been in May and how the crowds are? Thanks for your insight!!
May is SO much better!!! You still have the nice weather but the crowds are so much more manageable! You are going to love the difference!
thanks for the tips!! we are going to stay at Disney for our first family vacation coming up in april!!
Woo hoo! Have fun!
Thanks for the tips! I love being able to plan all the FP’s in advance. With two small kids, it just seems so much more manageable for our family.
I love being able to have an idea of how the day is going to go too!!! Now I’m hoping they give us a couple more!
I have to agree with Mark. We have been going 2-3 times a year for the last eight years, and are currently at WDW. The FP+ is miserable. Limiting my selection to three option a day, and then only letting me select one of the top selections at Epcot and Studios. Yesterday, I was told to “watch your window” by a CM when we were 35 minutes late for our FP+ window (due to Disney transportation issues). He let us on the ride, but it was irritating to have to rush to make this window that I had to book a month ahead of time (and it was a popular ride, so there was no “re-booking, as there was no FPs left for the remainder of the day (at 11:30am)).
Also, they’ve created FP+ for attractions that never needed FP in the past and are creating exaggerated wait times now (because people are selecting FP for rides that never had more than a 10 minute wait (Nemo, Small World). I’m all for new technology when it’s better (love the magic bands), but I don’t see the value in FP+.
That stinks that you were having so much trouble!!! I wrote very detailed thoughts to all of the Disney Experience surveys I have gotten about being able to get more fast passes once I was in the park (which I think is greatly needed as more and more people book in advance!) so make sure you give them feedback on your survey!
It won’t help you on this trip but I did see that booking more FastPasses once you are in the park may be coming soon–even this spring!
Out of curiosity were there long waits at Nemo and Small World? I haven’t seen long ones there yet and I have never used any of our 3 on them because you are right, we’ve always been able to get in quickly.
We are pass holders. Both times we visited MK in March Small World had long lines.
That’s not good news. I hope they work this out!
I think this new system in WDW is for people like me who are traveling from another country to enjoy the attractions! I go every year and this time it’s the first time I have the chance to get a fastpass for the busiest atractions because every time we go to the kiosk had a group of about 30 people taking fastpass for all the atractions they wanted and more than one finished sold out which meantl I can’t enjoy it! Give the whole trip for not being able to enjoy the most anticipated attraction is frustrating and disappointing. The new system allows us all to enjoy it.