Today I am going to introduce your very best friend at Disney. It’s called a Fastpass. It is your fast pass to the front of the line!
Fastpass is free. It’s a benefit that Disney gives their guests that not many people take advantage of. You do not have to stay on site to get Fastpasses. It is a service for everyone.
And obtaining a Fastpass is so easy.
1. Take your park ticket and go to the Fastpass machine that is located near the entrance to the ride that uses Fastpass. (Only select ones do)
2. Insert your park ticket into the machine. Immediately a ticket will print out that indicates that you have a FASTPASS for that ride. It will also list your return window to come back and ride that select ride. (For example – it might say “Return anytime between 10:05 am and 11:05 am.”
3. When your return window opens, you return to the ride and present your FASTPASS ticket to the CM. They then allow you to enter the que and proceed to the ride. This is when you get to feel like a celebrity… going past all those people who didn’t use the Fastpass and getting right to the front of the line! (A ride will allow 2, 3 or 4 times as many Fastpass ticket holders to people standing in line. So your 4 party members will get to ride while only 1 person that waited in the long line gets to ride. etc)
4. The key to being a smart Fastpass user is to always have a Fastpass in your hand. There are 2 rules you need to remember when it comes to getting more Fastpasses. You can not get another Fastpass until 1 – your return window opens or 2 – it has been 2 hours since you were issued your last Fastpass. This is because sometimes your Fastpass return window won’t be for 3 or more hours after it is issued to you.
5. You can only obtain Fastpasses with park tickets that have been used that day. So if your husband goes to the park with all of your family’s ticket while the family stays at the hotel, he won’t be able to get a Fastpass with your family’s tickets, just with his own since he used his to enter the park.
6. Each person does not have to use their own ticket to get a Fastpass. One member of your group can be selected as the Fastpass runner and they can take everyone’s park ticket and go to the Fastpass machine and obtain the passes.
7. The Fastpass return window starts 1 hour after the park opens. So if Rope Drop is at 9 am, the first return window will be at 10 am.
8. Rides only have a certain number of Fastpasses available a day. So they might run out before the day is out. Just keep that in mind. If you know you want to ride something, get the Fastpass early in the day.
9. This is a secret…. so listen closesly. Shhh are you listening? Even though the Fastpass ticket says its only valid for that one hour that is printed on the ticket………. Disney does not enforce it and will take your Fastpass ticket all day long! That means if your return window was from 10 to 11 am, you could return at 8 pm and use that Fastpass and ride that ride!!!!! (Note: Your return window has to be open. So if your return time is 10 am to 11 am, it has to be after 10 am to use, but you can use it any time after that but only on that day) But this is a secret! ;) Disney has a lot of secrets that I am going to share with you. Don’t you love me already??
The concept of Fastpasses really boggled my mind before my first trip. Be sure to read this post on WDWInfo. It also lists which rides in which parks use Fastpass.
On our trip in May 2009, we were addicted to Fastpasses. We had Fastpasses in our hands as often as possible. We even gave away some because were weren’t able to use them all!
One interesting thing we noticed. We were at Animal Kingdom and we wanted to ride Kilimanjaro Safari. It was 9:10 am. We looked at the standby line and it said it was 25 minutes long. We looked at the Fastpass return time (both of these times are clearly posted on every ride) and it was at 9:35. Well which one did we choose? Yeah, we went with the Fastpasses. We then went and did Pangani Forest Exploration Trail and by the time we finished it was time to go ride the Safari. We walked by like 1,000 people in line and got on the Safari ride in less than 5 minutes.
I can not say this enough ……. Fastpasses are your very best friend at Disney! If you have any questions or comments about this, don’t hesitate to post them below!
Disney World is the Most Magical Place On Earth. Be sure to learn how to make the most of your trip by reading the Disney World Training series.
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All of these disney posts make me want to go right now! But I wouldn’t be able to ride anything because I’m pregnant. At least I’ll be in the know when we do go! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your tips and secrets!
I have been following your postings about Disney. I have been 3 times as an adult wih my children The first time, my children were little and it seemed to be a waste of money. However, the second time, it was all about the characters. But our last time, it was about the ride because they were a little older, we rode everything but Mt. Everest because th line was too long and the fastpass was done issuing tickets for the day. Oh, I how I love that fastpass. We would not have been able to ride everything without it. we may be going back again later this year depending on how many snow days we might have to make-up!
Agreed! Fastpasses are one of Disney’s greatest ideas! I cannot imagine a day at WDW without them!
Christy, You’d be surprised how much you can still do even when you are pregnant!
I think that using a FastPass at any time is YMMV. When I was there last January, my family rode the Safari while I waited (I was pregnant). I saw many people turned away because it was not time for their FastPass to be used.
Christy, I say go for it! I was 22 wks along when I was there and had a blast.
Correct. Your window HAS to be open to be used. So if your Fastpass window is 10 am – 11 am, it has to be 10 am or later to use it. If it’s 9:59 am, you will be asked to wait until 10 am. Disney is very strict on that.
My aunt & uncle both worked for Disney while I was growing up. They built the teacups & other rides that I can’t remember right now. Anyhow, we’d go for free all the time when I was a kid and teenager. So much that I really took it for granted & didn’t get into the Disney spirit when we’d go.
Well, that all changed when I took my own kids to Disney World in 2007. We drove down to the Shriner Hospital because one of my daughters has Cerebral Palsy. She uses a wheelchair and leg braces. After our visit there, we decided to swing by Disney on our drive back home (we live in NWFL).
The girls were 6 & it was their first Disney trip. Let me tell you something…I QUICKLY regained that old Disney-Magic feeling as soon as we made it through the gate. My favorite Magic Kingdom ride has always been Peter Pan, so we headed to it straight away. We hopped in the regular line and stood there for just about a minute before a ride worker approached us.
We were just standing there like, “uh, what is going on?”
He said “Come with me! We are going to the front of the line. When we get there, tell so-and-so that Mark told you to have a Magical Mickey Moment!”
And we are still all just standing there like “what in the world?” haha, but we did what he said and they let us right on that ride in front of the whole line!
And you know what happened when we got to Small World? Teacups? Guys, it happened on every single ride.
I was seriously overcome with the amount of kindness that we were shown that day. I was so emotional. We spend horrible shopping trips here at home where no one will hold a door for a little girl in a wheelchair. Or they will run into her chair with their shopping carts. Or point and stare. (Just remembering this is making me cry)
But at Disney World….EVERYONE IS A PRINCESS!!! It is true! I just remember walking around and thinking “Oh my God, I wish the world really was like this, filled with nice people.”
Anyway, I had to share this since you were talking about the Fast Pass & it reminded me of this.
Christina – Your story made me cry! How incredible for your daughter! That is truly magical. I love it!
Christina, I also had a child with a wheelchair. Disney is the most incredible place for the handicapped! You are right everyone is a princess. Your story reminded me of the great trip we had with our angel and even though she has moved on to a better place the memories always make me smile. Thank you for sharing!
I gotcha now. You can use it once your FastPass starts – no earlier, but I could save for 6 hours later. That will definitely come in handy!
Christina, you made me tear up too! All of WDW is wonderful! We went for our twins 5th Birthday last year, my oldest was 6 and youngest 2. So my husband and thrill junky daughter were over riding the mountains while the boys and I “rested” in Fantasyland! One of the 5 year olds and the 2 year old were sacked out in the double stroller. The other 5 yo was patiently waiting, chatting with all the cast members that were shuffling strollers etc. Calling them by name. Of course we were sitting right in front of Peter Pans Flight, next to It’s a Small World, his two favorites. When one of the cast member’s who he had chatted with quite a bit. Went somewhere and got him a Honorary Prince sticker, sheesh you would have thought they handed him the key to the park, hehe! He was delighted. Well a little later, he was still being Mr. Personality, waiting his turn to ride rides….and along comes one of cast members in management….and says I understand there is someone out here that would like to ride Peter Pan’s Flight, asked me if he could take Trev on the ride and off they go, thru the castmember entrance and right onto the ride….my little guy still talks about that! He insists that he is going to be a castmember when he grows up! Love me some Disney. We are going next week for my husbands birthday!
Great tips! It’s also important to note that rides can RUN OUT of Fastpasses too! We missed the safari in AK last time because we were not early enough for the FP and the line had a TWO HOUR wait!!
Thanks Holly! I just added that to the post.
Another one that runs out of FP quickly is Toy Story Mania at DHS. We got FP in Jan when we were there, and it was awesome. I wouldn’t have waited the 90 mins for the ride, but with the FP (and still waiting 15 mins or so), it was really fun.
Disney World is one of my favorite places to go, and Fastpass is one of the best inventions ever.
Another secret great thing that falls under the FastPass category is if you have handicap/special needs person in your group. Our son has Tourettes Syndrome and other associated disorders. The first day we go to the parks we go to guest services right away and tell them what his disorders are and they give us an “alternate access pass” and a sticker to put on his stroller to be treated as a wheelchair. The access pass is used just like a fastpass only you never have to wait for a ‘window’ you can use it at anytime without wait, and it is good for your entire stay and at any of the parks. It is good for up to 6 people so your group can go together. No matter how small the disability may be I would stop and ask. Living with any disability is tough enough it is nice that Disney makes a small part of it a little bit easier.
Quick question…So do you suggest walking around and getting fast passes before doing anything else?
Well you can only get 1 Fastpass when you get there until either your window opens up to use it or 2 hours passes whichever is shorter… but I do suggest you get your first one asap.
We went in sep. 08 when toy stroy mania was still really new.and had to wait like 75 min because fast passes had ran out and it was only like 11am.
Don’t forget to mention Stroller Swap. They made our Disney trip even more special for my son. We are used to having to split up at theme parks when you have a 2 yr old and an 11 year old their taste just differ. But Disney has found a way to make that inconvience seem like a wonderful feature. I would speak to the cast member at the gate, baby in tow. They would give my son a stroller pass and he would get in line to ride with his dad and I would take the baby to explore something else near by that my son felt he was too old for (another great idea by disney) Then when the guys got off the ride we would meet at the entrance my husband would take the stroller and my son and I would get to use the fast pass line to go again. This thrilled my son every time and he loved giving me pointers on where the best seats were or somthing special to look out for on my trip. The awesome thing was it worked when you were using fast passes too. Disney really knows how to make everyone seem special.
so the same son got to go on the ride twice, once with each parent? really? that’s great!
I just want to say THANK YOU! The info you provide is priceless!!!!!!!
I know this is an old post but Im a little confused. We’re going on our first trip to Disney in 11 days. It is last minute and we’re going with our inlaws. This fastpass.. is it only for guests who stay on Disney resorts?