How to Make the Best Use of Your Disney FastPass+

If you are reading this you are probably going to Disney, or planning on going! Hooray!

We are Disney Crazy over here! By we I mean Emma, Owen and I lol! Daddy, not so much!

But anyway – we have been Disney Annual Passholders since Emma turned 1, and I love to take advantage of the fact that we live so close to Orlando and take as many Disney trips as we can throughout the year.

I decided to put together a little “FastPass+ Guide” to help guide you when you are booking your Fast Passes for your Disney trip.

Ok, get ready for some tips! 🙂

 

Tip # 1 – Book Your FastPass+ ASAP

You can book your fast passes 30 days in advance or 60 days in advance if you stay in a Disney Resort Hotel. In our case we only have the 30 day option since we usually do not stay in a Disney Hotel, so I have to get what I can as soon as I can.

Tip # 2 – Split Up Your Passes

Each guest is limited to 3 pre-planned FastPass+ per day and these initial FastPass+ reservations may only be used in a single park per day per ticket.
Once you’ve used your advance FastPass+, you can get one additional FastPass+ reservation at a time on the day of your visit. for any attraction at any park.

Each adult must have a FastPass+ so sometimes I take the kids on a ride by myself, or Jaime takes them by himself. The first few times we visited the parks Jaime and I always wanted to ride everything together, so we could both experience the rides with our kids, but as we started going multiple times we were ok with splitting up. This also helps with nap times – if Owen is taking a nap, we don’t want to wake him up to go on a ride, we would rather let him rest since Disney days are usually long.

Check out an example of my breakdown of Fast Passes for a day at Magic Kingdom:
1 FastPass+ for It’s a Small World (Me)
1 FastPass+ for Peter Pan (Jaime)
1 FastPass+ for Meet & Greet with Ariel (Me)
1 FastPass+ for The Little Mermaid Ride (Jaime)
1 FastPass+ for Meet & Greet with Rapunzel & Tiana (Me)
1 FastPass+ for Dumbo (Jaime)

That gives our family 6 FastPass+ at a time instead of 3. It also helps that my husband has an unisex name, lol, so if I want to do something with the kids and he is the one who has the FastPass+ I can just go as Jaime. 🙂

Tip # 3 – Child Swap/Rider Switch

If you are Child Swapping, that means that you are going on a ride that little kids can’t ride, or maybe your kid doesn’t want to ride – which happens!

Child Swapping allows one parent, or some of your group – whichever – to wait in line while the other parent or the rest of your group stays with the little ones outside of the ride. This way only part of your group needs to wait in a line, and when you are done they can ride quickly instead of having to wait in another long line which would waste SO MUCH time!

If you are Child Swapping all you have to do is let the Cast Member at the entrance of the line know that you are Child Swapping. They will give you a plastic pass that hangs on a lanyard for you to hold on to, until you get to the ride. Before you get on the ride, another cast member will give you a paper FastPass+ that allows up to 3 people to use it.

By using the Child Swap feature you save time, and get “extra” Fast Passes because you don’t need to book a FastPass+ for every member of your group.

When I go with my parents, I will often get 2 Fast Passes per couple for rides that the kids can’t go on, so the couples will ride together and get a Child Swap FastPass+ for the other.

For example, at Magic Kingdom, my kids can’t ride any of the “Mountains” so I will get 2 FastPass+ for Thunder Mountain – one for myself and one for Jaime, I will tell the Cast Member in front of the ride entrance that we are child swapping and they will give me the pass. While Jaime and I are riding, my parents are watching the kids. When we are done riding we meet up with my parents, give them their Rider Switch Pass and take the kids so they can ride next. Easy!

Tip # 4 – Get The Earliest Times Possible & Keep Booking FastPass+ as You Go!

You want to be able to take as much advantage of your FastPass+ as you can, and a way to do it is to book early passes, and use them so you can continue to book additional passes.

Also, did you know that as soon as your FastPass+ is scanned, you can book another one? Yup! You don’t have to wait for the time block to be over!
Let’s say you have a FastPass+ for It’s a Small World from 10:00-11:00 and you ride it at 10:10, you don’t have to wait until 11:00 to get your next one! Pretty awesome, right?!

Tip # 5 – Download the My Disney Experience App!

I LOVE the My Disney Experience App! With that app I can easily book and access all my FastPass+ selections, and do much more.
Here are a few great things you can do:

  1. Book your FastPass+!
  2. Modify and/or change your FastPass+ selections.
  3. Keep track of ride times. This one is important because if you got a FastPass+ for an attraction that only has a 20 minute wait or so, you’ll probably want to change your FastPass+ for something else, instead of “wasting” it on a ride that you can easily just get right on.
  4. Book Friends & Family FastPass+. This is especially great when you are traveling with a group! You can add your family and friends to your account and manage their FastPass+ too!

 

A couple of extra tips and things to think about as you plan your trip:

  • You can only make advance FastPass+ reservations in one park per day.
    So if you’re planning on starting the day at Hollywood Studios, and hopping over to Magic Kingdom in the afternoon, know that you can only make advance FastPass+ reservations at one park.
  • You can change FastPass+ selections after booking them, including changing the time or replacing the attraction with something else, via the app.
  • If you do not have the app or want to download it, each park has a FastPass+ spot where you can scan your Magic Band or Park Ticket and book them there.

I hope this little guide can help you and your family make the best out of your Disney Day! 🙂

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