How to use Fastpasses like a PRO in Walt Disney World!

One of the most wonderful things about Disney World, when comparing it to other amusement parks, is the fastpasses. Who does not want to jump on rides with little to no wait for no additional cost? But now that you cannot walk into the park and get paper fast passes, our strategies for maximizing Fastpasses have changed.

As a self-proclaimed “Disney Pro”, I have worked out a few tips and tricks to help work through the new system. With these tips, I was able to create a new record high of 13 fast passes in one day between two parks on a busy Sunday in the August heat of 2018.

Tip 1:

Book your trip more than 60 days before your trip, if staying on property.

When you stay on property you can pick your fastpasses up to 60 days before your vacation which means you need to take FULL advantage of this.

Personally I have only done this once but it helped so much! I booked my upcoming trip to Disney in June, even though I’m not going till January. This allowed me to ensure that I was able to pick my fast passes as soon as they were available (60 Days Before).

By doing this I was able to get every fastpass I wanted, including one for Flight of Passage in Animal Kingdom.

Disney also allows you to “price match” your trip price if a better deal is released after you book your trip. So no need to worry that you will lose out on a deal because you booked early!

Tip 2:

Book your fastpasses backwards! Last day first and first day last!

This may sound weird but book your last day of fastpasses first. Your fastpass window opens based on the first day of your trip and can be used to your advantage. This means that if your check-in is on Monday and you are staying seven days you have access to the entire week 60 or 30 days before that Monday.

But if someone else if coming that same week, Thursday – Sunday, they will not have access to their fastpasses until 60 or 30 days before that Thursday. You will have access to those fastpasses for Thursday – Sunday 3 days before them, which means it will be easier to get better fastpasses those days then the first days of your trip as more people are going to have access to those first days before you.

Tip 3:

Book your fastpass for the morning (About 1 hour after opening)

Many websites and tip books will tell you to book your fastpasses for the afternoon, when the parks are busy, but personally I don’t follow this trick if I want to maximize my fastpasses.

Personally, I book my first fastpass for around 10 am, which is around 1 hour after the park opens. I will be at the park at the opening or a few minutes after, ready to jump on a ride or two or get some breakfast.

If I am at rope drop I can usually ride one or two rides before my first fastpass because the park is not as busy. Once the first fastpass window opens, I jump on it and I try to have all my fastpasses done by 12pm – 1pm.

Tip 4:

Download the My Disney Experience App before leaving for your trip!

This is an easy one but a very important one. The My Disney Experience App is my best friend when I visit the parks. It literally has everything in it and has helped me too many times to count.

In the app you can check-in to your hotel, change your fastpasses or get more, book dining reservations, check wait times and more! Make sure to have this app downloaded and ready before leaving your home.

Tip 5:

Try to move up your next Fastpass as soon as you scan in for the previous one

Even though you are using a Fastpass there is a strong possibility you will have to wait a few minutes before jumping on Haunted Mansion or Seven Dwarves Mine Train. This is great because it gives you a chance to hop on the My Disney Experience App and try to move up your next fastpass.

As soon as you scan your magic band at the fastpass kiosk at Dumbo at 10 am you can jump on the app to move your Buzz Lightyear fastpass to the next closest time.

I do this for each of my prepicked fastpasses in hopes of getting through them as fast as I can and you will see why in the next tip!

Tip 6:

Don’t Forget About Getting MORE Fastpasses After the Original Three!

So many Disney goers do not know that after the initial three fastpass + picks, YOU CAN GET MORE!!!

This is why I push the idea of having your fastpasses done by 12 PM – 1 PM. Once you scan in for the last prepicked fastpass +, you can start looking for more fastpasses one at a time.

I was able to do this every day during my last trip to Walt Disney World and every day I got more than three fastpasses. This also works extremely well if you are park hopping.

My mom and I would go to one park in the morning and use the original three. I would then start looking for more for fasspasses in that park and we would do that till I couldn’t get any more for that time. We would finish up in the park and park hop to the next park we planned on going to. This was usually the park we planned on eating our sit down meal at.

While we are park hopping, which takes longer than you think, I begin looking for another fastpass in the park we are headed to. I continue this process for the rest of the day, use a fastpass and then look for the next soonest one while in line. This has worked for me every time and every day of my trip I was able to get 5 or more fastpasses a day! There is no limit!

SIDE NOTE: Book your sit down dinner plans for before 4 PM. The restaurants aren’t as busy, the wait staff is more attentive and you miss the dinner rush. Lunch menus are also cheaper if you are not on the Disney Dining Plan!

Tip 6.5:

Take advantage of the Fastpass grace period

Many Disney goers do not know this but Disney does have a grace period when it comes to Fastpasses. You can scan in for your fastpasses 5 minutes early and around 10 minutes after the time window closes. If you are dead set on getting as many fastpasses as possible you could take advantage of those extra five minutes.

Hopefully these tips are useful during your next trip to the most magical place on earth! Check out the rest of my blog for more useful Walt Disney World Posts like this!

Have a Magical Day!

-Magical Montana 🙂

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