The Walt Disney World vacation model has changed dramatically along with the expansion of the parks and resorts. There is a high cost associated with staying on property, and yet there is far too much to do on one visit. For many, Walt Disney World is the vacation of a lifetime, so there is a lot of pressure to cross everything off of their bucket list.
Optimizing your vacation time isn’t hard, to do but it requires a lot more management before your trip than it used to. Part of that planning process is using FastPass Plus for important rides you don’t want to miss. These keys to properly using FastPass Plus will help facilitate a much more enjoyable and stress-free stay at the Walt Disney World resort.
FastPass Plus
Walt Disney World’s unique version of the FastPass system is called FastPass Plus. It allows you to pre-select 3 attractions for each parking ticket for free. You can manage these on your My Disney Experience app. FastPasses become available to select 60 days before your arrival as long as you stay at a Disney World resort or a Good Neighbor Hotel on Disney property. This is an advantage over the 30 days given to all other guests. After you use your first three FastPasses, you can continue to grab more FastPasses for the rest of the day, so don’t think you will only get the three you start with.
FastPass Tiers
One of the ways Disney manages wait times for more popular attractions is by establishing FastPass tiers. This regulates how many FastPasses you can secure in a particular class. FastPass tiers can change in the parks depending on the arrival of new popular rides such as those at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. You can only select one tier 1 attraction in FastPass Plus and you must use your other two initial FastPasses for tier two attractions before grabbing another FastPass for the first tier.
The Magic Kingdom does not use tiers, but the other three parks do:
EPCOT: Frozen Ever After, Soarin’, Test Track, Epcot Forever/HarmonioUS
Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Slinky Dog Dash, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom: Flight of Passage, Na’vi River Journey
Tier 2 attractions are not lesser attractions, they are just lower in popularity. Tier 1 attractions change as the parks develop.
FastPass Strategy
The smartest way to use FastPass Plus is to prioritize your favorite rides and factor the crowds into your plans. FastPasses are great for skipping the standby queues, but you should take advantage of short queues at the beginning of the day. Make your first FastPass later in the morning. Since you can grab more FastPasses after using your initial three, you should not schedule your third one too late in the day. Understand if you pick a nighttime show, you are locking yourself out from having more than three FastPasses for the day.
Consider time and geography when you make your selections. Study park maps before you choose your attractions. Epcot, in particular, can require a lot of walking from one attraction to the next, so try and make things as efficient for your party as possible.
FastPass Tips
- Avoid FastPasses for continuously running shows
- Make FastPass Plus selections as early as possible
- Change your FastPass attractions or modify their times in the My Disney Experience App.
- Cancel a FastPass if you change your mind
- Grab hard-to-get FastPasses at the last minute by refreshing your My Disney Experience app and patiently watching for an opening time.
- Look for clusters of FastPass attractions in one area for your first three picks
- If you park hop, you can claim FastPasses in the second park, but your first three must be at the first park.
I hope these tips helped you out for your next trip to Disney! Do you have anymore to share? Leave them in the comments if so.
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