As you plan for your trip, make sure you avoid these 9 mistakes guests make with Fastpass+:
1. Booking a reservation between 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM – This is the least busiest time in the park. Most queues are short and going through the Fastpass+ line will not save you much time. Instead set your first reservation to start at 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM.
2. Booking a Fastpass+ reservation for an non-busy attraction – With the launch of the new Fastpass+ program, Disney added a number of attractions that really do not need Fastpass+. You can find a list here.
3. Not booking your Fastpass+ reservations immediately – Don’t lollygag! When your window opens (60 days before arrival for Disney resort guests and 30 days for non-Disney resort guests), log in and make your Fastpass+ reservations. The most popular attractions go first and you want to secure those reservations!
4. Not making additional Fastpass+ reservations – When you use your first 3 reservations, you can make another Fastpass+ reservation using the MyDisneyExperience App or by visiting one of the Fastpass+ Kiosks in the park. Make sure you make another one as soon as you use up your first 3!
5. Not realizing everyone in your party can do different things – You do not have to book a Fastpass+ for the same attraction for everyone in your group. My son and I do not like Splash Mountain. So I will book Fastpass+ for my daughter and husband and my son and I will Fastpass+ something else like Aladdin’s Magic Carpets during the same time frame. They go off to do their thing and we go off to do ours.
6. Not taking advantage of Rider Switch and Fastpass+ – If you are traveling with a little one, they won’t be allowed on attractions that have height restrictions. In order for both parents/caregivers to ride, you can use Rider Switch.
7. Not remembering your Fastpass+ times – Take a screen shot of your Fastpass+ reservations so you can quickly access them from your photos instead of having to book up the MyDisneyExperience app when you want to verify the times. And make sure you don’t forget to actually go to your Fastpass+ reservation!
8. Booking your Fastpass+ attractions for late in the day – You have to use your first 3 Fastpass+ attractions before you can make a 4th one. If you book your reservations for late in the day, by the time you use your 3rd Fastpass+ there will not be anything decent left for the rest of the day.
9. Not using the My Disney Experience App – If you have a smart phone, make sure you download the app to it. It will make managing your Fastpass+ reservations so much easier! I would go ahead and download it to all smart phones in your group so if your phone dies, you already have the app ready to go on someone else’s phone.
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.
You can only book more than 3 fastpass per day if you stay at the Disney properties. Hotel or resort. Or buy the fast pass package. If you are not on the Disney property you only have 3 passes per day included in the tickets.
Also, Magic band swapping. My husband and I dont like riding the popular thrill rides so much anymore. So we let our kids have our bands so they can ride twice
I’ve made FastPasses for late in the day. I don’t consider it a mistake when I do it. We park hop, so if we want a ride or attraction at the 2nd park for that day, and it’s one that’s very popular, I’ll get a FastPass for it while I can. Just because you can make more after your first three have been used, doesn’t mean what you want will still be available.
And for the hard-to-snag FastPasses like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Slinky Dog Dash, Avatar and so on, I’ll book them whenever there’s an available time, even if it’s later in the day, then schedule around that.
This is a great post- basic info but CRITICAL. Thanks!
What about using Fastpass for rivers of light show for a good seat?
7 dwarfs mine train isn’t worth it the wait was an hour long and the ride was like 1-2 minutes long. Don’t recommend but the safari ride is definitely worth it if you ride it as soon as you get there. We rode it while waiting for expedition Everest to be repaired.
You have to do it from the fast pass kiosks.
Kristin, I love your website. I’m fast becoming a WDW addict since our family splurged on annual passes 6 months ago. I’d like to a couple tips regarding your above advice.
A slight variation we do regarding tip #1. My daughter (5) loves Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, so we fast pass those as close to 9-10 and 10-11 as we can. Then we head over at rope drop and run through standby a couple times before we use our fast passes. Then we catch up with the rest of the family for 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, which you must get exactly 60 days in advance. If you can get those at 9-10-11, you got the golden egg. Then start trying to fast pass the rest of the day.
Another tip. Once you get a fast pass, you can try to modify the times (or ride), so keep trying to get the right time for your family or that fast pass you wanted but missed out on. If you use a computer, the time selection gives you all the options for the whole day for the ride you are trying to fast pass. Much easier than the phone app.
Bye Mickey, See ya real soon.
Alan
I’m wondering if I am missing something, we just got back from Disney at the end of September 2016 and once we used our 3 fast passes we weren’t allowed to book anymore for that day. I thought we would be able to book more once we used up our three. What did I miss???
Depends on crowds & availability!
When was this written? My family and I are going in December and I just want to be certain it is updated.
Thanks.
This was last updated in July of 2016. :)
Hi I went to Disney world in August of 2016 and it was my first time. We learned a lot on our first trip. After we used our 3 fast passes you can actually reserve more rides but only one at a time and it is unlimited per each day. Also if you run out of battery they have the battery’s there you can buy and switch out with other batteries if it runs dead. Also if you plan on renting the stroller it’s cheaper to rent more than one day and if you don’t use it they do put the money back in your account.