Guide to FastPass+ at Walt Disney World– Facts, Tips, and Secrets
If you’ve got questions about the Walt Disney World FastPass+ system, we’ve got you covered! We’ve put together a list of the most commonly asked questions so you can find the answers all in one place, including our best tips that we have discovered from visiting Disney World over the years. We will update this page with any new info or changes that come along, so be sure to check back each time before heading to the parks!
As always, we encourage you to visit Disney’s website for all official information and to make sure that none of this information has changed since this article was written. Disney frequently makes changes and updates to their parks and offerings. Because of this, the information in this post was current at the time of publishing and is subject to change at any moment. We update our website and articles as often as we can, but it is always a good idea to double check Disney’s official website before planning your trip or visiting the Walt Disney World Resort.
Last Updated October 31, 2020
UPDATE:
FastPass+ is not currently available during Walt Disney World’s reopening phase. For more info on the recent changes to the parks, see our post on Walt Disney World’s reopening.
Q&A’s:
2 – Do I have to pay for FastPasses?
4 – How can I get FastPass reservations?
5 – When can I select the FastPass reservations I want?
6 – How many FastPass reservations can I have?
7 – Do I have to make FastPass reservations for each person in my party?
8 – How do I use my FastPass+ reservations in the parks?
9 – Can I use the same FastPass reservation more than once?
10 – Can I change my FastPass reservations?
11 – Will I still have to wait in a line with a FastPass reservation?
13 – Can I reserve more than one FastPass selection at a time?
14 – Can I have multiple FastPass reservations within the same time slot?
15 – Why am I not able to make FastPass reservations for certain attractions?
16 – Can I reserve FastPasses while I am in the parks?
17 – Can I leave the standby line of an attraction if a FastPass reservation becomes available?
18 – What if an attraction I have a FastPass reservation for only has a short standby wait?
19 – Do I need to make FastPass reservations for my child?
20 – What if I miss my FastPass reservation or arrive too early?
21 – What if an attraction I have a FastPass for closes or goes down for maintenance?
– 1 –
What is FastPass+?
The FastPass+ system is a Disney World service that allows guests to essentially skip the standby line for most attractions and shows. When FastPass was first introduced, guests had to use in-park kiosks in order to secure their reservations for whatever park they were in at the time (much like Disneyland’s current FastPass system). Disney World eventually upgraded this system, allowing guests to make reservations ahead of time using the My Disney Experience website or app. This new upgraded system is now known as FastPass+. Guests are currently still able to use in-park kiosks to make same-day reservations if they would like as well, but the FastPass+ system on My Disney Experience makes it a much easier and quicker process overall.
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Do I have to pay for FastPasses?
Walt Disney World FastPasses are completely free with your Disney World tickets or Annual Pass! You do not have to pay extra to reserve FastPass or use the FastPass+ system on the app or website, unlike Disneyland’s MaxPass system which does cost extra. Other Disney Parks around the world do offer free FastPasses – including Disneyland in California – but they do not offer the full app or website reservation system at this time (they still use in-park kiosks only).
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How does FastPass+ work?
To use FastPass+, guests must first select the FastPasses for the attractions they want to experience, then when the time comes to use each FastPass the guest will tap their card or MagicBand to the Mickey pedestals at the attraction’s entrance. Once the Mickey silhouette on the pedestal lights up green (it may be another color if you have a DAS pass or another type of pass), guests may then enter the FastPass line for the attraction.
It’s also important to note that FastPass reservations work differently for rides than they do for shows. When you use FastPasses for rides, you basically get to skip the standby line, though you may still need to wait in the FastPass line for while. The FastPass wait time is almost always significantly shorter than the standby wait time, however, so you will most likely experience the attraction much sooner than you would if you waited in the standby line. Occasionally the FastPass line can end up being a longer wait than standby for various reasons, but this generally is not the case.
When you reserve a FastPass for a ride, you will be given an allotted hour long time block to arrive (unless you are close to park closing hours, in which you may be given a shorter time block). For example, your FastPass reservation may be from 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM, which means that you and your party may arrive at any time within this hour to use this FastPass reservation. This is generally also the same process for Character Meet & Greets.
For shows, you may be seated in a special section or you may just be allowed in to the seating area earlier than those guests in the standby line so that you have a better choice of seats. You will typically have a FastPass arrival time window of fifteen minutes before a show starts. That means that if you want to see a show that begins at 6:00 PM, you will need to arrive between 5:30-5:45pm.
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How can I get FastPass reservations?
To reserve FastPasses, guests must have already purchased park tickets (or have an Annual Pass) and then select the FastPass reservations that they want for each day. When your FastPass options become available, you will be able to make FastPass selections for one park per day. This means that if you choose a Magic Kingdom attraction for your first FastPass on a Monday, your other two FastPasses for that Monday will also have to be in Magic Kingdom. Each day can be a different park, but the FastPasses for that day can only be in one park.
Guests can also choose to use in-park kiosks to make same-day FastPass reservations for the park they are currently in if they prefer. These FastPass kiosks can be found in certain areas of the park, but they can be far and few between. It can also often be difficult to find same-day FastPasses for popular attractions or on busy days, so we don’t really recommend using the in-park kiosks to make FastPasses (especially your initial three FastPasses) if you want a better chance at getting the FastPass reservations you really want.
You will select each person in your party that you want to make FastPass reservations for each time you select a FastPass, so it is not a requirement that everyone in your party all make FastPasses for the same attractions. If you all want to experience the same attraction together, then you will need to include each person in your party when selecting a FastPass reservation time for that attraction, but if someone in your party does not want to experience that attraction, then you may leave them out of your selected party for that reservation.
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When can I select the FastPass reservations I want?
Currently, your Walt Disney World FastPass selections will become available at 7:00 AM ET either 30 or 60 days from your arrival (depending on whether you are staying onsite or not). FastPass selections for offsite visitors will become available 30 days before their first ticket date, while FastPass selections for Disney World resort hotel guests will become available 60 days before their arrival date. Onsite guests can reserve FastPasses for up to ten days of their trip, which means that if they are staying in a Disney resort hotel and visiting for longer than ten days, they can only reserve FastPasses for days 1–10 of their trip.
If you are an Annual Passholder, you can reserve FastPass selections up to 30 days in advance for up to seven days, unless you also have a Disney resort hotel reservation, in which case you will then be able to make FastPass reservations up to 60 days before your check-in date just like every other onsite guest.
Rules for Passholders are a bit different when it comes to length of stay, however, so it’s important to note these changes if you are an Annual Passholders staying onsite. Currently, Passholders staying onsite can reserve FastPasses for up to seven days of their stay (rather than the usual ten days for non-PassHolders), unless they are staying for over two weeks, in which case they can reserve FastPasses for up to fourteen days of their stay. You can find more info on FastPass reservations for Annual Passholders on Disney’s website.
As we have experienced in the past, FastPass selections will not be available until the exact time of 7:00 AM ET on the given date. If you log into your account before this time it may appear that you are still unable to make FastPass selections. Right at 7:00 AM your FastPass options should become available for every day of your trip (up to ten days). If you aren’t in the Easter Time Zone when you make your FastPass selections, make sure you know when you should log into your account on the day your options become available – that’s a super early 4:00 AM if you’re on the west coast!
FastPasses go fast, so you will want to be ready to grab the ones you really want as soon as they become available. You aren’t required to make FastPasses in any particular order, so it’s a good idea to prioritize which attractions are most important to you and secure FastPasses for those first. You don’t have to begin with the first day of your trip – you can start with the hardest-to-get FastPasses first on whatever day you will be visiting that park and then fill in the rest of your FastPasses after that.
It can also a good idea to work backwards when reserving your FastPasses, which means beginning with the last day of your trip and working your way back to day one (remember you can only reserve up to ten days of your trip should you be staying longer). Since all park guests must also wait 60 or 30 days before making their FastPass reservations, the further out you are from the earliest date available the less people will have access to depending on the length of their stay and arrival date. Also, most people tend to start with day one and work in chronological order, so the earliest dates will most likely see the most competition over the limited number of available FastPasses.
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How many FastPass reservations can I have?
Guests can make three FastPasses to start with for each day. This means that you can only reserve three initial FastPasses in one park, and you must use these three FastPasses before you can make any more FastPass reservations. Until you use those three initial FastPasses, you will be unable to reserve any other FastPasses for that day. After you have used these three FastPasses, you will then be able to reserve one additional FastPass for another experience. After using this additional (fourth) FastPass, you can then reserve one more additional FastPass. You can continue reserving these additional FastPasses one at a time for the rest of the day so long as FastPasses are still available.
All FastPasses must be made in only one park per day if you have Standard Tickets. This means that if you reserve a FastPass for a Magic Kingdom attraction on Monday, all of your other FastPass reservations for that Monday must also be in Magic Kingdom.
If you have Park Hopper Tickets or are an Annual Passholder, your first three initial FastPass reservations must all be in the same park for that day, but you may choose another park for your next additional FastPass (and any other additional FastPasses after this – just keep in mind that all additional FastPasses can only be reserved one at a time). For example, if you reserve a FastPass for Hollywood Studios on Tuesday, then your remaining two FastPasses must also be in Hollywood Studios for that Tuesday. Once you have used these three FastPasses, though, you may then select an additional FastPasses for that day (one at a time) in a different park.
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Do I have to make FastPass reservations for each person in my party?
If you have more than one person in your party, then you’ll need to make FastPass reservations for each person. Your family and friends will not be able to join you in the FastPass line unless they also have FastPass reservations for that attraction at the same time as your’s. For instance, if you and two of your friends want to ride Splash Mountain together using the FastPass line, you must reserve three separate FastPasses for the same time slot (one for you, one for one of your friends, and one for your other friend).
It is also very important that all of your FastPasses fall within the same hour block of allotted time or you won’t be able to ride together – even if your friends have FastPasses for that attraction at a different time that day.
If your family or friends’ Disney accounts are connected to your’s, then you should be able to reserve FastPasses for every person in your party that would like one all at one time. For example, if you and your two friends want to ride Slinky Dog Dash between 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM on Wednesday, then you should be able to make these FastPass reservations for all three of you at once. All you need to do is specify who you would like to make the FastPass reservations for (your friends’ Disney accounts should show up in the FastPass selection area of your My Disney Experience so long as your accounts are all connected and they also have tickets for that day).
You won’t be able to make FastPass reservations for any of your friends or family members if they do not have tickets or if they already have FastPass reservations in a different park for that day. You will want to make sure your accounts are all linked together before attempting to reserve FastPasses and make sure all of your party is listed when you select the FastPasses that you want.
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How do I use my FastPass+ reservations in the parks?
To use FastPass+ in the Disney World parks, reserve your FastPass ahead of time, then walk up to the FastPass pedestal within your allotted time and tap your MagicBand to the Mickey silhouette. Once it turns green, you are ready to head into the FastPass line or inside the theater – though you may still have to wait a while. Your FastPass reservation should disappear from your My Disney Experience app as soon as you use it, but occasionally it takes a few minutes to disappear. If it doesn’t disappear within five or ten minutes, try editing your plans or notes and see if that helps, otherwise check with a Cast Member to see if there is an issue.
– 9 –
Can I use the same FastPass reservation more than once?
You may use a single FastPass reservation only one time. Once a FastPass is used, it should disappear from your list of FastPass reservations so you can only use it once. This means that you may not re-enter the FastPass line and experience the attraction again. If you want to ride the same ride again, you will either have to wait in the standby line or reserve another FastPass if one is available. To reserve another FastPass, you can use one of the in-park kiosks or your My Disney Experience app on your mobile device so long as you have already used your three initial FastPass reservations.
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Can I change my FastPass reservations?
It is possible to change one or more of your FastPass reservations. You are able to change a FastPass to a different time or a different attraction without affecting the others. However, you won’t be able to reserve a FastPass in a different park without first letting go of all of your current FastPasses for the park you already have reservations (as far as we know, this is generally true for Park Hoppers and Annual Passes as well).
This means that if you already have FastPasses in one park for a certain day, you unfortunately won’t be able to see what FastPasses are available at another park on that same day without removing all of your current FastPasses for that day first. Because of this, you really want to be absolutely certain that you are ok with loosing all of your current FastPasses for that day because it will likely be very difficult to get them back – if you are able to get them back at all.
Unless someone cancels their FastPass selections or more FastPasses are released (which does occasionally happen), you more than likely will not be able to get the same FastPasses back that you once had. Because FastPass reservations are limited and there are countless people trying to reserve them at once, most FastPass selections go extremely quickly, especially if they are especially popular rides.
It is possible to find the same FastPass selections that you previously had for a different day or to get same-day FastPasses for many attractions, but it isn’t a guarantee and not always likely. Once you choose your FastPasses for each park on whatever days you selected, you are essentially locked in to those parks on those specific days unless you want to take the chance of loosing the FastPasses you already have should you decide to change your plans.
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Will I still have to wait in a line with a FastPass reservation?
You may still have to wait in a line even if you have a FastPass. Keep in mind that FastPasses don’t always guarantee that you’ll be able to immediately walk on to any attraction, though this does sometimes happen if crowd levels are low. Many times you will still have to wait a little while, but the wait time will most likely be significantly shorter than the standby line.
FastPasses are usually your best option for extremely popular attractions since they can often see standby wait times of well over an hour. You may still have to wait a while in the FastPass line if an attraction has a significant standby wait, but it is almost always much quicker to use FastPass.
If you have a FastPass reservation for a show, you will also most likely wait a while before you are allowed into the theater to find a seat.
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Will any more FastPass selections become available later if there aren’t any left when I make my reservations?
If you don’t get a FastPass you want because they are already gone, you may still be able to get them at some point. This is especially true for those staying offsite, because those staying onsite have already had thirty extra days to reserve their FastPass selections. Keep checking as often as possible (several times a day if you can) to see if someone cancels their FastPass reservation or if more FastPasses are released (as we’ve mentioned before, this can happen occasionally). Once a FastPass you want becomes available, reserve it immediately as these will also go fast since other people are also waiting to find more FastPasses as well.
Even if you’re not totally sure if you can fit the available time slot for a FastPass into your schedule, make sure to grab the FastPass anyway if you really want to experience that attraction. It’s usually much easier to re-work your day plan than it is to find the exact time you want for an attraction that has no more FastPasses available.
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Can I reserve more than one FastPass selection at a time?
You can reserve several FastPasses at once if others in your party help with the reservation process. So long as the people you will be visiting the parks with also have tickets and have connected their Disney accounts to yours’, they can also log in and make FastPasses for the entire party at the same time.
Since you can get three FastPasses for each of your theme park days (for up to ten days of your trip), it’s a good idea to have more than one person reserving FastPasses when they become available. Since you can reserve FastPasses in any order (day or park), we usually try to reserve the hardest-to-get FastPasses first rather than going in day or park order.
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Can I have multiple FastPass reservations within the same time slot?
As it works right now, FastPass reservations can only be for one attraction per time slot. For example, if you reserve a FastPass for Space Mountain on Monday from 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM, you won’t be able to select any other FastPass attractions that overlap this time frame. This means that if you find a FastPass for another attraction from 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM on Monday, you will not be able to select this FastPass without canceling your original Space Mountain FastPass from 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM.
You can choose FastPasses that come one right after another, however, so if you want a FastPass on the same day for Space Mountain from 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM and a FastPass for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin from 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM, you should be able to reserve both.
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Why am I not able to make FastPass reservations for certain attractions?
There are a few reasons that you may not be able to make FastPass reservations for certain attractions. The most common reason for this is that the attraction you would like a FastPass for has no more reservation times left. FastPass reservations are limited, so they may all be taken already if no FastPass time slots are showing up.
It may also be that the attraction does not offer FastPass. Most Walt Disney World attractions do offer FastPass, but there are a select few that only have standby lines, or in the case of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, they may use a Virtual Queue system.
You also may not be able to reserve a FastPass for a certain attraction because you already have a FastPass reserved for another attraction at that same time. FastPass time blocks can’t overlap each other, so you will have to cancel your current FastPass reservation that overlaps with the new FastPass that you want.
Another reason that you may not be able to reserve a FastPass for a certain attraction is because three of the parks have a tier system for rides and shows. Currently, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom all have a tiered FastPass system, so you may not be able to get certain FastPasses at the same time. For instance, if you want a FastPass for Soarin‘ and Test Track at Epcot, you may only choose one of these for your initial three FastPass selections because they are in the same tier. Once you use these first three FastPasses for the day, though, you can select another attraction in that same tier for your additional FastPass selection so long as FastPasses for that attraction are available.
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Can I reserve FastPasses while I am in the parks?
It is possible to reserve FastPasses while you are in the parks. You can either check the My Disney Experience app or visit the in-park kiosks to see what FastPass selections are available at that time. Using the app is generally easier and more efficient since the kiosks are located at quite a distance from each other. With the app, you can make FastPass reservations from anywhere – even while waiting in line for another attraction!
It’s generally pretty easy to make and modify FastPass reservations from the app, though the app can be glitchy at times. Within the app, you can reserve new FastPasses, change the time slots of a FastPasses you already have, or cancel FastPasses you no longer want. You can also use the My Disney Experience app to select your additional FastPasses after you’ve used your initial three for that day, which is a great way to experience more attractions throughout the day than you may have been able to waiting in standby lines. It is important to reserve a FastPass that you want as soon as you see it, though, as they can disappear within seconds. Just be aware that this app does use cell phone data, so make sure you have enough data in your cell phone plan or you may be charged extra.
– 17 –
Can I leave the standby line of an attraction if a FastPass reservation becomes available?
You can leave the standby line if you find a FastPass for that attraction. If you’re really close to the front of the line you won’t probably want to do this, but if you’ve still got a 30 minute or more wait for an attraction, then it’s a great idea to check the app for a FastPass. While you probably won’t find a last minute FastPass on crowded days or for especially popular attractions, you never know when one will show up. It is something that happens more often than you might expect, so it’s always worth a try!
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What if an attraction I have a FastPass reservation for only has a short standby wait?
You can always cancel an unused FastPass for an attraction if you’d rather wait in the standby line. If an attraction you have a FastPass for has a short standby line, you can cancel your FastPass reservation and choose a different one. This works so long as you haven’t already checked in to the FastPass line. If you are okay with changing your schedule around a bit, you may very well be able to fit more into your day using this method since it will free up a FastPass slot!
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Do I need to make FastPass reservations for my child?
If your child is under three years old, you will not need to reserve FastPasses for them. If you have a FastPass for an attraction and your child is under three years old, they will be able to enter the FastPass line with you (so long as they meet height requirements for the ride). You will need to reserve separate FastPass selections for each child that is over the age of three.
To make and manage FastPass plans for children who are under thirteen years old, you can list them under the Friends and Family section of My Disney Experience. This way you can include them in your plans and be able to change these plans when necessary. To learn more about how this works, check out this page on Disney’s website.
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What if I miss my FastPass reservation or arrive too early?
While you most likely won’t find any official information about this on Disney’s website, there may be a possibility that you can still use your FastPass reservation if you arrive too late or too early. The general consensus is that most of the time there is a grace period for most FastPass reservations, and we have been told this by a few Cast Members in the past. From what we have been told, it is possible that you may be able to still use your FastPass up to ten or fifteen minutes after the last time listed on your reservation time block, and you may be able to check in to the FastPass line up to five minutes before the official start time of your reservation time block.
Like we mentioned above, we haven’t been able to find any official statement on Disney’s website about this, so we can’t guarantee that you will be able to use any of your FastPasses before or after your reserved time block, but it’s worth a try if you are just a few minutes off from your reservation time. It’s also possible that this may depend on certain changing factors, such as how busy the attraction is at the time, so we recommend checking with the Cast Member to see what your options are if you’re just a little bit early or a little bit late.
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What if an attraction I have a FastPass for closes or goes down for maintenance?
Whenever an attraction you have a FastPass for stops operation for a while, guests are usually given a Multiple Experiences pass to use for another attraction. This may happen for a number of reasons, including unexpected maintenance, lightning storms, or other reasons. A Multiple Experiences pass is sort of like a FastPass that guests can use at an attraction they choose out of a list of select attractions. You do not have to use this Multiple Experiences pass if you’d still like to use your current FastPass selection should the ride begin operation again, but if you think the attraction may be down for the day or would rather change your selection to another attraction instead, you can use your Multiple Experiences pass just like you would your FastPass.
Check your app and click on “Multiple Experiences” in your plans to see the list of available attractions, then if you decide to use this pass for one of those attractions all you need to do is enter the FastPass line for that attraction.
Your Multiple Experiences pass should be loaded onto your ticket card or MagicBand automatically and allow you to use it the same way you would a FastPass. Just keep in mind that if you do decide to use the Multiple Experiences pass, your original FastPass you had will most likely not be available to use anymore even if the attraction begins operation again.
If an attraction is only down for a short time, you might not receive a Multiple Experiences pass, but keep an eye on your My Disney Experience app as you should see this pass show up in your plans if you are given one to use.
We hope our Guide to FastPass+ helps you as you plan your next magical Walt Disney World vacation!
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