The Best Disney World FastPass Strategy
My Favorite Disney FastPass tips
If you are planning a trip to Walt Disney World then GOOD FOR YOU!!! And you already know that there is a mountain of information to sift through and a lot of decisions to make. Getting familiar with Disney’s FastPass or FP+ will really pay off by allowing you to better manage your time spent at each park.
Save money AND time whenever you can.
FastPasses are Disney’s way of allowing you to hold a place in line without STANDING in line. Once you know how best to utilize the FP+ system you will minimize your time in lines for popular attractions and maximize the number of rides and attractions you can cross off of your must-do list.
But you have to be strategic about planning…and accept the fact that you ain’t gonna get it all done.
I thought my first trip to Disney would be my only trip to Disney. Until I went. That was almost 20 years and over 40 trips ago.
I still do new things that I just haven’t gotten around to doing yet.
But it’s busy, and getting busier. New attractions are always in the works and the crowds only seem to get larger.
Check out my tips for getting the most out of FP+. (I’ll share some Disney Fastpass secrets)
Oh, before you do anything else download the My Disney Experience App at the Apple Store or Google Play before your trip so that you can make changes to your Fastpass selections on the fly.
This page contains affiliate links to products I use, love, and recommend. See my full disclosure policy.
The ABC’s of Disney’s FastPass
Some basic rules for using Disney’s FP+ are that you can schedule in advance 3 attractions per day but only one park at a time. Now, once you have used your 3 FP’s you can schedule another one, even at a different park. Use that one and you can schedule another one.
Of course, scheduling any FP+ is based on availability. The hottest game in town may not be available to FastPass on the day of your visit.
FP+ reservations allow a one hour window of time to arrive and you can’t overlap reservations. So, for example, you have Haunted Mansion scheduled for 10:20 am. Your window is 10:20-11:20 am. You couldn’t have another ride scheduled that would overlap this window. While you are making FastPass reservations on My Disney Experience you will be given suggestions of available attractions that meet these guidelines.
Staying Off Property
If you are not staying on Disney property you can schedule FP+ 30 days in advance. For a multi-day trip, you have to meet the 30-day threshold for each day. (For the purposes of making FP+ selections the day starts at 7:00 am eastern time, so you want to be ready to go online and make your selections as soon as possible).
Staying On Property
If you ARE staying on property at a Walt Disney Resort or a Disney Springs area hotel (click here to get details) you can schedule FP+ 60 days in advance. Once you meet the 60-day advance requirement you can schedule FP+ experiences for the entire length of your stay.
Related posts
5 Money-Saving Tips for a Disney World Vacation.
The Best Disney World Souvenirs
Using FP+ and Parkhopping
The strategy for scheduling FP+ when you are park-hopping will be a bit different because you can still only schedule FastPasses in advance for one park per day. So if you are spending part of the day at Hollywood Studios and part of the day at Epcot, for example, you can either schedule FastPasses at Hollywood Studios OR Epcot. Once those are used, you can start scheduling FastPasses for another park.
If you are planning to spend only a few hours at a park before moving on to another then one way to do it is to FastPass your favorite 3 attractions as close together as you can get them. You will be able to enjoy other attractions in between your FP+ reservations. By the middle of the day, you will be ready to move to another park.
Once you have used the last FastPass go to My Disney Experience and pick another attraction at your next destination. Once you’ve used that FP+ book another one, and so on. At this point, even if you go to yet another park, you can continue scheduling one FastPass at a time. Until the end of the day.
While you may not get your first choice of attractions, there is a good chance that something fun will be available and you can decide how much time you are willing to wait in line for your first choice.
OR
Another option, depending on what is on your must-do list, is to schedule those must-dos for the afternoon at your second park. Spend time in the first park in the morning when it’s not at its busiest and wait times are typically shorter. And it’s cooler. You will be able to get a lot done. Then move to the next park where you have FastPasses for your must-do attractions already scheduled. You’ll feel really smart.
FP+ and One Park a Day
If you are planning a multi-day stay that allows you to devote an entire day to each park, the strategy is a bit different. It also changes if you are staying on property or at a Disney Springs hotel and can take advantage of Extra Magic Hours. Take full advantage of Extra Magic Hours, especially in the morning.
The only attraction you should FastPass first thing in the morning is whatever the hottest game in town is. Right now it’s Avatar Flight of Passage. If you can snag a FastPass for this ride at any time, day or night, do it. This ride still routinely has a 2 hour+ wait time. Plan everything else around that.
Later this year Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge will be the hot ticket, and that’s before they offer FP+.
Otherwise, there is little reason to FastPass anything at opening time. Just go directly to the ride you want to start with and ride it. Using FP+ for a show is never necessary unless you want to be closer to the stage or maybe get the kiddos picked for some activity associated with the show.
Except for that super-hot attraction, it’s usually not necessary to FastPass anything first thing in the morning. Your trip won’t look like mine, but this is the gist of it.
Sample Schedule
Schedule your first FP+ around 11 am, then another at 3 or 4 pm and another at 6 or 7 pm EACH in a different area moving around the park in order, instead of zigzagging around. It wastes time and is H-E-double hockey sticks on your feet.
When you get to the park make a mad dash to the place where you DON’T have a FP+ scheduled. Lines will be minimal because the park has just opened. Do all the stuff you want to do in that area. Move to the area where you have scheduled your first FP+ and take advantage of all that you can in that area. Keep an eye on showtimes to fit those in while you are close to them.
Here is my best tip for making the most out of your hard work in planning and creating your Disney FastPass schedule.
**Anytime you can start your day in any park with Extra Magic Hours AND you arrive early to take advantage of them, you are going to have a super-fun productive day and just move from one cool thing to another.**
Park Layouts
If you take a look at the guide maps you will see that all of the parks are laid out in zones, in one way or another. And each zone has its top attraction along with a series of rides or shows that are relevant to the area.
All of the areas, lands, worlds, no matter the layout, has a Must-do. The first 4 times I visited Disney everything was a must-do. OK, I’m here to tell you that you could stay at Disney for a year and maybe do it all.
Space your FP+ selections out throughout the day. Stay in a particular area, use your FP for the attraction selected, do everything you can do in that area, and then move to the next.
No two trips are going to be the same, priorities or Must-dos will vary, but an organized approach will allow you to experience more of what is offered.
FP+ Tiers
Every park except Magic Kingdom has some form of a tiered system, where rides and attractions are given a designation of “Tier One” or “Tier Two’ and you pick 1 from “Tier One” and 2 from “Tier Two”. In other words, you can’t select ONLY the hottest tickets.
But this is genius because you can pick a popular attraction without waiting in line for 3 hours. And you’re spending that time doing other things. Things that don’t have 3 hour wait times. And there are a lot of other things to do.
You will find new favorites, I promise.
How about if I break down each park by area and list the FP+ attractions for each?
Be sure and pick up a map and times guide when you get to each park. You can easily fit the shows in around your FP+ schedule.
Disney’s FastPass Highlights
Animal Kingdom
TIER ONE attractions in Animal Kingdom are both located in Pandora
Pick 1
Avatar Flight of Passage
Na’vi River Journey
TIER TWO
Pick 2
Discovery Island
It’s Tough to be a Bug
Adventurers Outpost (character meet and greet)
Africa
Festival of the Lion King (show)
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Asia
UP! A Great Bird Adventure (show)
Kali River Rapids
Expedition Everest-Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
Rivers of Light (a nighttime show)
Dinoland USA
Finding Nemo (show)
Primeval Whirl
Dinosaur
Decide what rides are absolute must-dos for you and your family. Check out the map of Animal Kingdom to see where these rides are located in relation to each other. Did you get a FP+ for anything in Pandora? Well, you’ll start there with your planning.
Magic Kingdom
There are no tiers in Magic Kingdom, select 3 attractions eligible for FP+.
Liberty Square
Haunted Mansion
Adventureland
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
Jungle Cruise
Pirates of the Caribbean
Frontierland
*Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Fantasyland
It’s A Small World
*Peter Pan’s Flight
Mickey’s PhilharMagic (3D Movie)
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Mad Tea Party
*Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train
Under the Sea-Journey of the Little Mermaid
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland Speedway
*Space Mountain
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor (show)
*These rides have long lines that start forming early in the day.
Magic Kingdom has numerous character meet-and-greet locations, and they are subject to change. Be sure to get a times guide to see who’s where and when! Plan around any parades that are scheduled, as well.
By staggering your FP+ selections throughout the day you can reserve the rides with the longest wait times and spend time in each land doing all of the other stuff!
Hollywood Studios
Changes to the tiered system for rides and attractions at Hollywood Studios will take effect on Aug. 29th. There is nothing at Galaxy’s Edge that will be eligible for FP+ right now. The Star Wars area will be a zoo for a long time and the only saving grace is that guests staying on property or at participating Disney Springs resorts will have access to Extra Magic Hours from 6:00 am – 9:00 am. from Sept. 1 – Nov. 2, 2019.
Rise and Shine, Star Wars fans!
Tier One
Pick 1
Toy Story Land
Slinky Dog Dash
Toy Story Mania
Alien Swirling Saucers
Sunset Boulevard
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
Tower of Terror
Tier Two
Pick 2
Echo Lake
For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration (show)
(note-FP+ gets you into the theater earlier and you can get a seat closer to the stage and all of the singing children, decide if that’s worth it to you).
Star Tours-The Adventure Continues
Grand Avenue
Muppet Vision 3D
Animation Courtyard
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Sunset Boulevard
Beauty and the Beast (show)
Fantasmic (show)
This is likely to change when the Star Wars attractions are added as FastPass options. I will update this post as the information becomes available.
Plan the other attractions, parades, and character meet-and-greets in between your FP+ selections.
Epcot
Tier One
Pick 1
Future World East
Test Track
Future World West
Soarin’
World Showcase
Frozen Ever After
If Frozen Ever After is a must-do for you and your family, but you still want to catch the other rides from tier one, try this. Get a FastPass for Frozen Ever After later in the day. Get to Epcot when it opens and make a mad dash for either Test Track or Soarin’. Ride one and make a mad dash for the other one. Wait times aren’t horrible first thing in the morning, but they do grow quickly. Schedule your tier two rides leisurely throughout the day. And don’t forget to include all of the other Epcot attractions in between your FP+ selections.
OR
Schedule a Princess Storybook character meal at Akershus Royal Banquet Dining Hall in Norway (World Showcase). You will be allowed to enter Epcot early for the breakfast. After breakfast, you will be able to ride Frozen Ever After with little to no wait time. Plan your FP+ for either Soarin’ or Test Track for later in the day. After the Frozen ride hot foot it over to whatever you don’t have a FastPass for and wait in the relatively short line. The rest of the day is a piece of cake.
Tier Two
Pick 2
Future World East
Spaceship Earth
Mission: SPACE
Future World West
Epcot Character Spot
The Seas with Nemo and Friends
Turtle Talk with Crush
Living with the Land
Journey into Imagination with Figment
Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival
Having a good plan is just as important as being able to adapt to the changes you might have to make along the way. You will get an alert through My Disney Experience if a ride you have scheduled is down and will be given an option to make another selection from a list of 2nd tier rides. It happens, just like rain in central Florida. ADAPT.
If you decide to leave a park, for whatever reason, before you have used your Fastpasses be sure and cancel the ones you aren’t going to use. This allows you to make other choices when you are ready to. Otherwise, you may not be able to schedule anything new until your last Fastpass expires. Also, it opens it up for someone else who’s trying to snag it.
This can work in your favor, as well. You just might grab that elusive Flight of Passage at the last minute. That’s happened to me on more than one occasion.
Whatever your plan be sure to schedule lunch, rest time, parades, or character meet-and-greets between FastPass reservations.
I hope you have the best time ever and if my tips have helped please leave a comment!
