Planning a vacation to Disney World can be scary. There are so many things to plan and so many things that can go wrong. Fastpass+ is one of the newest additions to Disney World that has a major impact on your vacation planning. If you don’t know how it works, you could be stuck waiting in lines ALL day, or skipping out on the best rides.

That’s why I’m here to help. I am well versed in all the tips and tricks of Fastpass+ and I’m here to share with you all the secrets, from how to make reservations and what rides to use them for to how to get the most out of your day at Disney World by using more than 3 Fastpasses.

How to Make a Fastpass+ Reservation

Step 1: Download the “My Disney Experience” app and create a Disney account or log in to an existing account.

Step 2: Link an existing valid park ticket or buy one.

Step 3: Click the “+” on the bottom of the screen.

Step 4: Select “Get Fastpass+”

Step 5: “View FastPass+ Options”

Step 6: Select the day you would like to make your Fastpass selections for. (Tip: If you are staying at a Disney World resort, you can make your selections 60 days in advance for your entire trip. This means that 60 days prior to your arrival, you can make your selections for everyday of your trip rather than making them one day at a time. If you are not staying at a Disney World resort, you are able to make your selections 30 days in advance. If you plan to go to parks multiple days, you will have to make each day’s selections 30 days prior to each park day.)

Step 7: Select the park you would like to make your selections for. You are only able to make Fastpass+ selections in one park each day. If you have dining reservations in a park and do not have a Park Hopper ticket, you will want to make your Fastpass+ selections in the same park as your dining reservations.

Step 8: Select your ride. Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot all have tiered FastPass systems. This means you may only select one ride or experience that is considered “Tier 1” and 2 rides or experiences that are “Tier 2” or pick all 3 from tier 2. Tier 1 rides are often newer such as Flight of Passage in Animal Kingdom or Smuggler’s Run in Hollywood Studios. Experiences such as reserved seating for Epcot Forever in Epcot are also Tier 1.

Step 9: Select your time. Be sure to note other reservations you may have made or shows/parades you would like to see to ensure you are making the right choice in times. These can be changed, however, for hard-to-get fastpasses, availability is limited, and you may not be able to find a new time available later on.

Step 10: Select “Add Another Experience” if you would like to make additional FastPasses for any day and repeat steps 6-9. If you are finished making selections, select “View My Plans” to see all of your plans.

FastPass+ Tips

Make Tier 1 selections first for all of your days.

If you are staying at a Disney World resort, chances are you are going to the parks multiple days during your stay. To heighten your chances of getting those hard-to-get FastPasses, make your tier 1 selections for each day then go back and make your tier 2 selections.

Make FastPasses for late morning / early afternoon.

Some people make the mistake of making FastPasses for as soon as the park opens. This is a mistake because the lines are not likely to get long until late morning.

I generally start my fastpasses around lunchtime, think the 11 oclock hour.

Back to back is your friend.

I ALWAYS make my FastPasses back to back. If my first one ends at 12:30, my second one begins at 12:30. This helps get through all of your 3 FastPass+ selections so that you can make additional selections.

You can get more FastPasses after your first 3.

What many people don’t know is that you can actually make more than 3 FastPass selections. While you can only make 3 ahead of time, once you use those 3, you are able to make more selections one at a time.

Once you use your last FastPass, you can get on the app and make another. Once you use that one, you can make another.

This is why making your selections back to back when possible is great because you can just keep making more!

Grace periods are a thing.

If your FastPass window is from 12:30 to 1:30, you can actually use it from 12:25 to ROUGHLY 1:45. I have been told the late grace period is 15 minutes. I have been late many times, but not quite that late.

In addition to these times that your FastPass will show green, often times cast members are pretty understanding. I have gone up to a cast member before and told her I simply wanted to leave the park but my last FastPass wasn’t for another 20 minutes and she let me in. Of course this is not always the case and they are not required to allow this, sometimes it is worth the try.

Best Tier 1 Options (As of March 4, 2020)

Epcot:

Frozen Ever After (If you are a big Frozen fan or have never ridden it, otherwise, don’t bother.)

Soarin’

Test Track

Animal Kingdom:

Flight of Passage

Hollywood Studios:

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

Slinky Dog Dash (If you have never ridden it)

Millenium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run

That’s all folks!

If you have more questions about how to use FastPass+ or ways to get the most out of your Disney vacations, don’t hesitate to ask! Leave a comment below or contact me!

Have you checked out the Disney movies you should watch before going to Disney World? If not, check it out HERE.

Also, check out my Disney World tips board on Pinterest HERE.

Thank you for reading and as always, stay safe and healthy! Love y’all!