Disney Countdown 2014: Fast Pass Plus

This is my first post in my Disney Travel Series Countdown to our Disney trip in Mid-October.  I will be sharing tips I’ve picked up on the over nearly 2 dozen Disney trips I have taken. If there is something you are interested in knowing about Disney or have a Disney related question email me and I will do my best to answer it. First up is tips for using Disney’s Fast Pass Plus.

 

Disney’s Fast Pass Plus

If you haven’t been to Disney recently then you might not be familiar with the new Fast Pass Plus system. On my last trip in January 14 Fast Pass Plus was slowly being rolled out and we were lucky enough that it was up and running for our resort. With this trip I didn’t have much advance notice to plan so I basicly winged it the whole time and planned as I went, so not my thing.

Disney’s Fast Pass Plus Rules

You can book Fast Pass Plus 60 days in advance with a Disney resort reservation.
You can book Fast Pass Plus 30 days in advance with a valid park admission ticket.
Annual Passholders without a Disney Resort Reservation can book 7 days in advance.

Disney’s Fast Pass Plus Tips and Tricks

1. Plan in advance. You can book Fast Pass Plus 60 days in advance starting at midnight. So have that resort reservation made! These days I rarely make it up till midnight, so I waited and booked mine in the morning and didn’t have trouble getting the attractions that I wanted. However I had a friend who stayed up till midnight to get Anna and Elsa and said the Fast Passes went quickly but she was able to get her second choice pick. If you have something that you must have or else your vacation will be ruined then stay up. Otherwise rest up and get them in the am.

2. Buy your park tickets in advance! You must have your park tickets in order to book Fast Pass Plus.

3. Make a plan. While I know some people who use a spreadsheet to plan, that’s just not my style. I do however make a list of all my dining reservations so I know which parks I will be in and to avoid overlapping. Then I go from there.

4. Know your family. I know what matters to the people I’m traveling with, so for my son that means riding Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Small World and seeing Mickey on our first day in the Magic Kingdom. We spend a lot of time in Magic Kingdom because my son is preschool age. Figure out what is really important what you would be devastated to miss and book those.

5. When booking Disney gives you 4 time options. The first one is the one that all the times back up to each other so you can essentially bounce from one Fast Pass to the next.

6. Check the my Disney Experience app while in the park. I do this frequently becasuse you can change your Fast Passes on the go. So let’s say I booked Pirates of the Caribbean for 10 am but at 9:45 the wait is 5 minutes. I will cancel my Fast Pass Plus and then start looking for attractions that I can book later in the day. Don’t use a Fast Pass just cause you have it. Don’t waste a Fast Pass on a ride with no wait.

7. It’s not set in stone. Think of Fast Pass plus as jello, it’s set but there is still a lot of wiggle room. You can make changes on the go. If you miss one of your reservations Disney will give you the Fast Pass back so you can use it for something else.

8. You have guarantees. I know there are a lot of complaints about the new system. That it locks you in and that you can’t just go with the flow. But, But with the new system you are guaranteed 3 rides. With the old one you weren’t guaranteed anything. Years ago I went to Disney over NYE and we couldn’t get on any rides. Fast Passes were sold out for the day, lines were 3 hours long. We saw so little of the park. Now you know what you are guaranteed to see and can then plan the rest of the day accordingly.

9. There are no longer paper Fast Passes. I know a lot of people miss the old paper ones but they no longer exist, so make sure you book your Fast Pass Plus.

10. Kiosks. There are kiosks in each park where you make or change Fast Pass Plus reservations.

I know it’s hard not to obsess about your Disney Vacation Plan but my advice is make your Fast Passes and then go with the flow. There is so much to enjoy about a Disney Vacation and I guarantee that your family will enjoy it no matter what you do. So if you miss a Fast Pass time because your kid was playing in a fountain or enjoying the pool or having a Mickey Ice Cream Pop, don’t sweat it. You can always change it, book another or move on. After all the moments that I find to be the most magical at Disney are the ones I didn’t plan.

Make sure to check out more of my Disney Travel Tips!