FASTPASS - Your Disney ticket to short lines

FASTPASS was introduced at Walt Disney World several years ago. It is the Disney ticket that helps shorten the time guests stand in line.

Keeping people entertained while standing in line at a theme park is a daunting task. Disney is by far the best of all the amusement park companies at the preshow. Almost every ride has some form of entertainment for guests waiting in line. For most Disney World rides, standing in line is part of the show.

Never say Disney doesn't listen to complaints. The number one gripe about Walt Disney World is the lines are too long. So Disney introduced FASTPASS.

Questions and answers

Here are a few answers to some general questions you might have about the Disney ticket for avoiding crowds.

Q. What is FASTPASS (FP)?

A. The program is designed to help guests minimize your time waiting in lines. Pass dispensers give out tickets that have a return time on the ticket that allows you to bypass the regular (long) line.

Q. How does FP work?

A. At selected rides (see the chart below), Disney has put ticket dispensing machines. You put your entry pass in to the machine and out pops a pass with a return time.

The ticket will have a return time window. You return to the attraction during that return time window, and walk by all the silly people waiting in line. (Sometimes interesting things happen whey your walking by all those silly people.)

Q. How soon can I get another FASTPASS?

A. There will be a time listed on your ticket when you are eligible for another Disney ticket. It will be the return time on the ticket or 2 hours from the time you got the ticket which ever is earlier.

Q. Who can use it?

A. Anyone with a valid Disney World admission ticket. (Which should be everyone in the park.)

Q. What does it cost?

A. FASTPASS is complimentary. (Yes, son, that means free... good. You're learning.)

Attractions

Here's a chart with the current Walt Disney World attractions where the program is in use.

What the colors mean on this chart.

• BLACK - You will wait a very long time, unless your very lucky, to ride without one.
• RED - Highly suggested. Most days you will wait at least an hour without one.
• Yellow - Check the wait time, it might be better to go ahead and ride.
• Blue - These are shows with large theaters. The FP line is let in first. If the FP line doesn't fill the auditorium, then everyone else is let in. During slow times you'll get in without a FP, during busy times you won't.
• Green - Most of the time you can get on without waiting too long.
• White(white) - Usually you're wasting your time. (To get a FP)

How to Use FASTPASS

Don't I just put in my park pass and get a little ticket? In theory, yes, that's how it works. In practice, there's much more too it.

Here's a little secret. Getting a ticket isn't always a good idea. If the return time doesn't work into your "Plan"... Don't do it.

Here are a couple of examples of what I mean.

Your at Epcot and you want to get a pass for Soarin'. The return time on the clock is 6:30pm. You have dinner reservations at 6:15 at Chef's de France. You probably ought to skip it.

On our last Disney World vacation, we looked at riding Peter Pan's Flight. The standby line was 90 minutes long. It was around noon. The return time was 4:00. Our "Plan" was to be in Adventureland around 4:00.

This is why Dad likes to have a plan.

Check out Dad's Rock-N-Roller Coaster/Tower of Terror FASTPASS strategy. (It works every time.)

Dad's Bottom Line

The FASTPASS program isn't as good as Universal Studios Front of the Line program, but it is free and available to all guests. If used smartly, it will save you time.

Dad's Disney World crowds page
Dad's Disney World home page