How to Book a Disney World Fastpass
Disney’s FastPass+ is a system for reserving attraction times in the Walt Disney World theme parks. With a FP+ reservation, instead of waiting in the regular line for a ride, you’re directed to a special line with a shorter wait time. It’s like making a restaurant reservation, but for rides. It is a service that is included with your entry to Walt Disney World. You do not need to pay anything extra to make a Fastpass. It is available to everyone!
Many travel agents provide Fastpass booking services for their travelers. If you booked with Showcase the World travel, skip this post! I will be sending you Fastpass recommendations based on your family’s ages and interests, help you decide on what will save your family the most time AND I will make your Fastpass+ reservations for you. Many, but not all travel agents offer this service so if it is something you want taken care of for you just make sure it is included before you book with them.
How it Works
In advance of your trip, you can make up to three FP+ ride reservations for each day of your vacation. You are able to reserve a one hour window in which you can experience the attraction through the designated Fastpass line. All of the attractions must all be in the same park, the ride times can not overlap and you can’t reserve the same attraction multiple times in one day.
Once you are in Disney and have used your three pre-selected FastPasses, you can then make additional FastPass+ reservations, for any attraction (even repeats), at any park, one at a time.
STEP ONE: GET SET UP
Create a My Disney Experience Account
If you haven’t done so already the first thing you need to do is create a My Disney Experience Account. To do this head to mydisneyexperience.com and click create an account below the log in boxes. It will prompt you to fill out some information.
You may get a message saying that there is already an account for the email you are using. This is because all of Disney’s web services are linked. If you have a Disney+ account, bought anything from ShopDisney, logged in to ESPN for your fantasy league or voted for Dancing with the Stars on abc.com it will recognize your email. If that comes up and you don’t remember your password just click the forgot my password button to reset it.
Link Your Resort if you are Staying at a Disney or Good Neighbor Resort
If you are staying at a Disney Resort or Good Neighbor Resort with early FP booking privileges you will need to link your resort information to be able to access the FP booking at the 60 day booking window. When you log in to your account and are on the my plans screen you will see a series of circles. Under Hotel, click link reservation and just enter your confirmation number and last name. If it is linked correctly the circle will go from being white with a blue outline to solid blue.
If you booked a vacation package your tickets are tied to your resort information and should be automatically linked. If you park ticket circle is solid blue you can skip the next step.
Link Your Tickets
No matter where you are staying YOU HAVE to link park tickets before you can make Fastpasses. This can be done the same way as the resort reservation above. Hover over the circle, select link tickets and fill out the confirmation number or ticket ID. It will ask you to assign the ticket, select someone from your friends and family list or enter their name and information. Disney tickets are non-transferrable so make sure you connect them to the appropriate person.
Make A Note of When Your Reservation Opens
Once everything is linked properly a date will appear under the Fastpass circle. This will be 60 days (if you are staying at a Disney or Good Neighbor Resort) or 30 days before your trip. This is when you can start making your Fastpass reservations. Put this on your calendar. Set a reminder a few days before. Do whatever you need to do to ensure you do not miss it!
STEP TWO : Prepare Your Selections Do Some Research
do some research
To make the most of your Fastpasses you will want to understand what attractions offer the service and what will end up saving you the most time in line. Look at the attractions that offer the service and figure out which of those interests you the most.
THEN, figure out what attractions commonly have long waits. Just because there is a Fastpass available does not mean that it will end up saving you time in line.
My daughter’s favorite attraction is it’s a small world but the line rarely exceeds 15-20 minutes during normally crowded times. I would rather use that Fastpass on Peter Pan’s Flight which commonly has wait times of over an hour.
You will also want to pay attention to attraction Tiers. With the exception of Magic Kingdom, the park’s attractions are divided into two groups, tier one and tier two.
Make a Plan
Decide which attractions you want to try to get Fastpasses for BEFORE you log in to do them. Having a plan will save you precious time deciding in the moment.
You will want to make sure you have a few backups, some of the most popular attractions commonly run out of Fastpass availability before your window opens. I do have some tips for maximizing your chances for getting what you want.
STEP THREE: BOOK
Book FP the day your window opens
Booking your Fastpasses as soon as your window opens will allow you the greatest availability of both attractions and ride times. The most coveted ride times do tend to book just as quickly as popular attractions. You can book FP on the My Disney Experience Web Portal or App at 7am on the day your window opens. For a complete how to video click the image above!
I highly recommend making sure you link all your tickets, and if you are traveling with someone else, connect as friends and family at least a few days in advance so you can resolve any tech issues that may arise. If you booked using Showcase the World we will take care of this for you, so sleep in Moms and Dads…you deserve it!
Book FP In Order of Popularity NOT Chronologically
Most people book their Fastpasses in the order they will be enjoying the attractions. They will log in and book the first attraction they want to ride on the first day of their trip, then the second ride followed by the third. They then proceed to do the same thing for the second day.
You will have a better chance of getting the hot ticket items because you know what attractions run out of Fastpasses quickly and book those FIRST. Be prepared with an organized list and book based on popularity and importance to you. Then fill in day by day.
Keep Checking
If all of these strategies didn’t work and you didn’t get a Fastpass that you wanted, don’t despair, there is still a chance you can snag one. People change their plans, cancel their trips, move things around all the time…you may be able to snag a cancellation if you check back regularly.
This post makes it seem way more complicated than it actually is.
The site is pretty intuitive once you get on there. It is a fully electronic system so there are often some hiccups. I recommend clearing your history and using an incognito window for the best experience. You may need to log out, clear your cookies and log back in should anything arise. If you have tried this and still have issues contact Disney IT (407) 939-4357I
Are you feeling overwhelmed with everything that goes into a Disney vacation?
I understand how you’re feeling, I know all too well how easy it can be at the beginning to start researching online, just to find yourself 3 hours down the line more confused than when you started. But don’t panic! I can help you plan your dream Disney vacation without any of the stress of hassle – starting with the ‘A Disney Trip without Overwhelm, 5 Easy Steps’ Guide. These 5 steps will help keep you focused on organizing the best trip ever, while giving you peace of mind that everything will be done, and nothing will be left out.
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