A Beginner's Guide To FastPass+

Disney has been working around the clock, creating MyMagic+, to give guests the opportunity to get even more out of their Walt Disney World experience. One part of MyMagic+ is FastPass+. FastPass+ has replaced the traditional, paper FASTPASS system. The idea behind a FASTPASS has always been to give guests the opportunity to maximize their time enjoying shows and attractions in the parks, while minimizing their time waiting in lines. In the past, this has been done by a guest walking up to a FASTPASS kiosk, located outside of a specific attraction. The guest inserts his room key/park ticket and a paper ticket prints out, noting the time that the guest can come back and enjoy the attraction, only waiting in line behind the relatively few others with the same FASTPASS reservation time.

Enter FastPass+. FastPass+ does not require guests to head all the way over to an attraction in order to obtain a return time. It doesn't even ask that guests be in the park... or even in the state! Guests enrolled in MyMagic+ can set their FastPass reservations from anywhere in the world, using MyDisneyExperience.com or the free MyDisneyExperience App on their phones, tablets, etc. And these FastPasses can be locked in up to 60 days in advance of the reservation date for guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort or the Swan or Dolphin hotels. Annual Passholders and Day Guests can lock in those reservations up to 30 days in advance of their planned trip (while Day Guests are able to lock in reservations for as many days as their tickets were purchased for, Annual Passholders can make up to 7 days worth of FastPass+ reservation at a time, within that 30 day, rolling window). Once you have the reservation, its a cinch to use. Guests simply walk right up to the attraction at their appointed time, tap their MagicBand or RFID-enabled park ticket (which they will be issued by Disney ahead of time) to the Mickey Touchpoint, and go right ahead in! It's as easy as that.

One of the other advantages of the FastPass+ System is that is designed to be fluid, allowing guests to make and change their reservations throughout the course of their days. For example, let's imagine that  I have a FastPass+ reservation for Dumbo but, when I get there, I find that the line is pretty short. On the other hand, when I check the MyDisneyExperience App, I see that the line for Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin is getting pretty long. Right then and there, I can go ahead and cancel my FastPass for Dumbo and use the short Standby line. I can then go ahead and set a new FastPass for the Buzz Ride. The app gives me plenty of options to choose from, as far as what time I would like to head to the ride,  so I go ahead and pick the one that will fit best into the remainder of my day.

When the FastPass+ System debuted, guests were able to hold and use up to 3 FastPass+ reservations, in one park, each day of their visit, giving them the peace of mind of knowing that their "must dos" were taken care of, and allowing them to go about their days, simply enjoying themselves. Since then, Disney has gone one step further, as a direct answer to Guest requests. Beginning Monday, April 28, 2014, after Guest's initial FastPass+ reservations (up to 3) have been used, they will be able to book a 4th reservation at an in-park kiosk. After this additional reservation has been used, a 5th one may be reserved, and so on, for the rest of the day! Park Hopping with FastPass+ is now possible as well. Guests can book their additional FastPass+ reservations for any attraction, provided that the selections are made at a kiosk in the park where the desired experience is located.

That's the FastPass+ system in a nutshell! More FastPass info. right --> Here!

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