Wondering how to use Fastpass at Walt Disney World? This amenity is available to EVERYONE for FREE! It doesn’t matter if you stay on-site or buy the dining plan or not, everyone can take advantage of the FASTPASS system.
Overview of FASTPASS
FASTPASS is available for the most popular attractions in each park. When you get your FASTPASS ticket, you are essentially reserving a place in line for that attraction for later that day. This helps you avoid spending possible hours in the stand-by line and instead enabling you to enjoy the other attractions in the park that aren’t eligible for FASTPASS.
How FASTPASS Works
Located near the entrance of participating attractions are the FASTPASS kiosks. To obtain your FASTPASS ticket, you insert your park ticket into the machine. It gives you a FASTPASS with a one hour window ride window listed on the front of the ticket. During that one hour window, you are able to return to the attraction and present the ticket to the Cast Member. They allow you to enter the FASTPASS line which gets you to the front of the ride faster than those using the stand-by line.
FASTPASS Tips and Tricks
The Rules:
- FASTPASSes are available every 2 hours during the day unless your ride window is less than 2 hours from when the ticket was issued.Here’s an example… You FASTPASS Peter Pan’s Flight at 10 am. Your ride window is 2 pm to 3 pm. You can obtain your next FASTPASS ticket 2 hours after you received the Peter Pan’s Flight ticket (which in this case is 12 pm). At 12 pm, you can either FASTPASS Peter Pan’s Flight again or FASTPASS any of the other participating attractions.Another example… You FASTPASS Jungle Cruise at 10 am. Your ride window is 10:30 am to 11:30 am. You can obtain your next FASTPASS ticket at 10:30 am since your ride window is less than 2 hours from when your ticket was issued.
- You must redeem your FASTPASS ticket during your ride window. Early and late arrivals will not be allowed to enter the FASTPASS line.
The Tips:
- In order to obtain a FASTPASS, you will need an activated ticket or season pass (meaning it was used to enter the parks that day). However, the person who owns the ticket or season pass does not have to be the one to obtain the FASTPASS. We usually give all of our park tickets to my husband and he runs and grabs FASTPASSes for the entire group.
- The return window that will print on your FASTPASS ticket is posted above the FASTPASS kiosks. Don’t obtain a FASTPASS if that return window doesn’t’ work for you.
- FASTPASS return windows start an hour after the park opens. So if the park opens at 9 am and you grab a FASTPASS at 9:05 am, the return window will be from 10 am to 11 am. The best thing to do is to grab a FASTPASS within the first hour the park is open, but to use that hour to ride as many rides as possible using the stand-by lines. Do not use the first hour the park is open to eat or shop!
- Children under 3 years old do not need a park ticket or a FASTPASS to ride the rides. They can accompany mom and dad through the FASTPASS lines without needing their own FASTPASS ticket.
- If you have a FASTPASS that you won’t be able to use, you can pass it on to another guest. This is a great way to sprinkle Pixie Dust on others.
Another planning tip to avoid lines is to arrive at Rope Drop.
Learn more about planning your Walt Disney World vacation. Plus overwhelmed with all the planning? Destinations in Florida can help you plan your perfect trip.
We have never used FASTPASS before and are traveling this time with my 3 year old. I was wondering if we could swipe my ticket for a ride (say TestTrack) then get a rider swap and then swipe DH’s ticket at another ride we’re going to do a rider swap on?
My babies are grown, so this may be way off, but we received baby swap from the last CM, so if this is still true you would both need a FP to get to that point. BUT, hopefully someone with updated knowledge will come and post. It would be a great benefit for you if it does. Good luck, keeping my fingers crossed for you.
I’ve found that most rides will let you on after the official FASTPASS time stamp. I haven’t found a cast member yet to turn me away when we showed up later than stated. I have had them ask me to wait if it was earlier, though.
This policy was recently changed. Cast members at WDW are currently being told not to accept late FASTPASS arrivals.
They no longer let you return late. I believe there is a 5 minute grace period, but that is it.
The castmembers will let you in 5 minutes before and up to 15 minutes after your window.
The 5 minute before is a rumor, you will need to wait until the time on your fast-pass.
That was true until March 1,2012. The CMs are now enforcing the time stamp. Only exception is if the ride goes down during your time frame. We were there 2/26-3/1 and it was already being enforced. So though many of us would gram FPs and come back at out leisure; that is no more. I will say that there is not really a FP line anymore and they didn’t run out as fast. So its now being used as it was intended. Less time in line bc it holds your place while you ride other things close by that ride.