Showing posts with label FASTPASS. Show all posts
FastPass+ Help Is Here!
Disney World has introduced the new FastPass+ system for reserving a place on your favorite attractions. The good news is that there are plenty of opportunities to get help in explaining the new system to you, both prior to your vacation and while you are in the Disney World Theme Parks.
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| FastPass+ Line At Spaceship Earth in Epcot |
Disney FastPass+
As a theme park visitor, the worst part of your day is waiting in lines. The more time that you spend in lines, the less enjoyable your day becomes. Fortunately Disney World recognizes that fact and offers a FREE way to minimize your wait time for your favorite attractions.While other theme parks require you to pay extra for special treatment, Disney World extends this benefit to all of their guests at no extra charge.
FastPass+ allows you to make a reservation for an attraction ahead of time and gives you a 1-hour long window to enter a special express line with minimal wait. Taking full advantage of this Disney service can greatly reduce stress and your time spent waiting in lines at the most popular attractions.
My Disney Experience
If you like to plan ahead of time, then this is the option for you. Register your Disney Vacation at StartYourDisneyVacation.com and then you can start the process of setting up your vacation and linking your Resort confirmation, make selections for dining reservations, customizing your MagicBand, and making your FastPass+ selections.The steps are not difficult for those of you that are computer savvy. If this is not your cup of tea, then your Disney Specialized Travel Agent can certainly walk you through the process. (If you don't have a Disney Specialized Travel Agent to help you through the process or give you FREE advice then contact Only WDWorld Travel at:
info@OnlyWDWorldTravel.com or call 336-899-7943 to get the help you deserve. This help is free to all of their clients that book their Disney vacation with Only WDWorld Travel).
For those who are staying in one of the Disney World Resort Hotels you can start making FastPass+ selections up to 60 days ahead of time. Others who have purchased park tickets ahead of time can start making their FastPass+ selections 30 days ahead of time.
If you do not do this ahead of time, don't worry you can still make FastPass+ reservations inside the park on the day you are visiting.
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| FastPass+ Cast Member help in Disney's Animal Kingdom |
Disney Cast Member Help
In each of the 4 Disney World Theme Parks there have been special areas, cast members, and kiosks set up to help guest learn about this new system and set up their FastPass+ choices. You will be impressed by how many people Disney has dedicated to help their guests learn about this system.
At Epcot there are several places to get assistance. Most notably you will find help by the fountains past Spaceship Earth and near the World Showcase Entrance. Although there are well designed kiosks to help walk you through the process, there are also numerous Cast members available to help you. They are all wearing special blue shirts so that you can easily find them.
At Hollywood Studios, one of the set of kiosks is stationed beneath the giant Sorcerer Mickey's Hat. Again you can find plenty of Cast members to help you.
At the Magic Kingdom there are several places to get FastPass+ help. Shown above are an area in the square on Main Street, Tomorrowland near the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, and another area in Fantasyland near Peter Pan's Flight.
FastPass+ The New Disney World Way To Avoid Waiting In Long Lines
Disney World is always changing and 2014 brings about a major change to the way that guests avoid standing in lines. The old FASTPASS system is gone, and it has been replaced with FastPass+!
Before you ever leave your home to start your Disney World Vacation, you can now rest easy that you have secured times to ride on Toy Story Midway Mania! and your other favorite Disney World attractions.
Presenting Disney World FastPass+
In conjunction with the new MyDisneyExperience and other changes to how you plan for your Disney World vacation, FastPass+ is now an integral part of your pre-vacation planning process.
Although everyone will have access to this system, there will be a definite advantage to anyone who is staying at an on-site Walt Disney World Resort Hotel and either already has Magic Your Way Park Tickets (or an Annual Pass) or purchases them as part of a package with the Resort room.
Those that are staying on-site will be able, through the MyDisneyExperience part of the www.DisneyWorld.com website or through a mobile app will be able to register their vacation stay and make their FastPass+ selections up to 60 days in advance.
Guests not staying on-site will be able to make FastPass+ selections inside the Disney theme parks on the day of their visit at a number of different kiosks. The concern will be availability for the most popular attractions. The ability to wait in the normal lines will still exist as well.
The FastPass+ system remains free to all Disney World Guests just like its predecessor the FASTPASS.
Using The Disney World MyDisneyExperience Website
The website is not to difficult to use, but it does take a little time to become familiar with it. Once you are set up, then it is just a matter of following the on screen steps and making your selections.
Once you go into the FastPass+ area, you start by selecting a day to plan. Once the day is selected you must choose one Disney World Theme Park (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, or Disney's Animal Kingdom) to make your FastPass+ selections. Even if you are planning to Park Hop you may only get FastPasses for one park per day.
Once you have chosen a theme park then you are given the opportunity to select up to 3 attractions to receive a FastPass for. After the initial selection you will be shown available options to choose from. Although the system is not quite as flexible as the Disney Dining Reservation system, it still does a good job.
Each park has a different number of attractions that can be selected. They range from Attractions, Entertainment Options, Character Meet & Greets, or preferential locations for parades or fireworks shows.
Here are the currently available options for each Disney park.
Magic Kingdom
Select up to 3 preferences from this group
- "it's a small world"®
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad®
- Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin®
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant®
- Enchanted Tales with Belle
- Haunted Mansion®
- Jungle Cruise®
- Mad Tea Party
- Meet Ariel at Her Grotto
- Meet Cinderella and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
- Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater
- Meet Rapunzel and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
- Mickey's PhilharMagic®
- Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor®
- Peter Pan's Flight®
- Pirates of the Caribbean®
- Space Mountain®
- Splash Mountain®
- The Barnstormer
- The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Tomorrowland Speedway
- Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid
Select up to 1 preference from this group
- IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth
- Maelstrom
- Meet Disney Pals at the Epcot Character Spot
- Soarin'®
- Test Track® Presented by Chevrolet®
Select up to 2 more preference(s) from this group
- Captain EO
- Journey Into Imagination With Figment
- Living with the Land
- Mission: SPACE®
- Spaceship Earth
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends®
- Turtle Talk With Crush
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Select up to 1 preference from this group
- Beauty and the Beast-Live on Stage
- Fantasmic!
- Rock 'n' Roller Coaster® Starring Aerosmith
- Toy Story Midway Mania!
Select up to 2 more preference(s) from this group
- Disney Junior - Live on Stage!
- Indiana Jones™ Epic Stunt Spectacular!
- Lights, Motors, Action!® Extreme Stunt Show®
- Muppet*Vision 3D
- Star Tours® - The Adventures Continue
- The American Idol® Experience
- The Great Movie Ride®
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™
- Voyage of The Little Mermaid
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Select up to 3 preferences from this group
- DINOSAUR
- Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain®
- Finding Nemo - The Musical
- It's Tough to be a Bug!®
- Kali River Rapids®
- Kilimanjaro Safaris®
- Meet Favorite Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost
- Primeval Whirl®
New Use Of Technology For Improved Guest Experiences
The new FastPass+ system will take some getting used to, but for guests staying on site it will be a big benefit. The ability to get reservations for favorite attractions like Toy Story Midway Mania!, Space Mountain, Soarin', and others will be great for those that like to sleep in and not get to the parks right at opening. They now don't have to worry about arriving late and not being able to get a FASTPASS.
Changes can be made at any time, including the day of use. So don't worry if you change your mind or your plans.
There are definite advantages to the new system, so we will all have to wait and see how it works out. I think once people get used to it and how to use it, it will become very popular and may be considered an improvement over the old system.
Use Disney's FastPass To See More Attractions And Spend Less Time Waiting In Line
It is hard to find a time to visit the Walt Disney World Resort when there are no crowds and short wait times for the most popular attractions, but there is a way to reduce stress and your time spend waiting in lines. It is called Disney’s FastPass. This FREE, yes I said FREE, tool is available to all Disney World Theme Park Guests, but many either choose not to use it or wrongly think it costs extra and avoid it.
Disney’s FastPass
The FastPass is a way for Disney World Theme Park Guests to get a special pass to enter a shorter line at a specific time later in the day for a particular attraction. The benefit is that you can go and do something else while you are waiting for your allowed time, including riding other attractions.
The reason that you must use your theme park ticket to be issued a FastPass is that Disney regulates how many FastPasses you can have active at one time. The FastPass that you receive will designate when you are eligible to get another FastPass from this attraction or any other within the theme park. Since there are only a limited number of FastPasses available each day for each attraction, this keeps the system fair for all to use.
Use FastPass Wisely
By using the FastPass system wisely, you can greatly reduce the amount of time that you spend waiting in line during the day. This in turn will make for a much more enjoyable day at Disney World, no matter how crowded it may be.
One of the best strategies for using Disney’s FastPass is to obtain them for the most popular rides as soon as you enter the Park in the morning. For example if you are visiting Epcot, the two most popular attractions are Test Track and Soarin’. If you get a FastPass for Soarin’ as soon as you enter the park and then go ride Test Track while the lines are still short early in the morning you will be able to hit both attractions with minimal wait, while others may have to wait over an hour for each later in the day.
You will notice that the FastPass gives you a range of time where you can return to the attraction to ride. Although you cannot return before the start time listed, you usually can still use the FastPass after the end time as long it is still for that particular day.
Key Attractions To Use FastPass
Here are the best attractions to use the FastPass feature on in each Park at Disney World:
Magic Kingdom:
· Space Mountain
· Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
· Splash Mountain
· Peter Pan’s Flight
· The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh
Epcot:
· Soarin’
· Test Track
Disney’s Hollywood Studios:
· Toy Story Mania!
· Rock ‘n Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
· The Twilight Zone Tower Of Terror
Disney’s Animal Kingdom:
· Expedition Everest
· Kilimanjaro Safaris
· Kali River Rapids
Don’t Miss Out On This FREE Benefit
Many guests don’t take advantage of Disney’s FastPass because they have visited other theme parks that charge extra money for their front of the line systems. Don’t make the mistake of skipping this valuable Disney World benefit that is free and available to all who choose to use it.
By using the FastPass system you can save a significant amount of time each day and increase the amount of time spent experiencing the attractions instead of waiting in lines.
Soarin' - Favorite Disney World Attraction For All Ages
Soarin'
The concept for Soarin' was dreamed up by Disney Imagineer Mark Sumner who created the prototype for the attraction with an erector set. He was able to come up with a unique ride mechanism that ending up being very close to the final design for Soarin'. The concept was so novel that it was granted a U.S. Patent (#6,354,954) on March 12, 2002.
Walt Disney World Resort guests actually have Disney's California Adventure to thank as they debuted the attraction in 2001, and it's overwhelming success lead to the addition of the Epcot version to the Land Pavilion in 2005.
FastPass Is The Key To Avoid Long Waits
The downside of the immense popularity of Soarin' is the fact that everyone at Epcot wants to ride it! In order to avoid spending your vacation in long lines, you should definitely take advantage of the FREE Disney FastPass system.
The FastPass system allows you to obtain a pass to return later in the day within a specified one hour time window and get in the much shorter FastPass line.
Futuristic Entrance To Soarin'
You are greeted by plenty of blue neon and polished metal surfaces as you enter the queue for Soarin'. The long corridor takes you from the center of the Land Pavilion to the pre-show area for Soarin'.
Must Do Epcot Attraction
No visit to Epcot is complete without riding Soarin'. Your Epcot Touring Plan should include getting your FastPass for Soarin' as soon as you get to Epcot to make sure that you don't miss it.
This is the only attraction where we have taken 3 generations of our family at the same time and everyone loved it! There isn't another attraction at Disney World that will get that same reaction.
