The recent post on surviving Disneyland triggered an onslaught of emails and tweets (where an onslaught equals three) wanting to know more about Disney’s Fastpass system. Here you go!
The Fastpass (not to be confused with Disney’s PhotoPass) works like this: Certain rides/shows at the Disney parks (list below) offer a Fastpass option that allots a window of time for guests to return to said attraction and bypass the longer stand-by line.
If an attraction offers Fastpass there will be an area somewhere in the vicinity of the entrance or exit (some are harder to find than others) where guests can insert their admission ticket FOR THAT DAY into a machine (each person in a party needs their own pass) and it will return the admission ticket with an additional ticket that is the Fastpass.
Depending on the ride, time of day and crowd levels, the return time (an hour window issued in five minute increments) may be close to the issue time or hours later. With the exception of the World of Color show in Disney’s California Adventure, guests will not be able to get another Fastpass in the Disneyland Resort for at least two hours. Walt Disney World parks will have different rules and exceptions.
Return to the attraction during the time printed on the Fastpass and enter the Fastpass line. A Disney Cast Member (CM) will grant guests access to the line after confirming that their time is correct. (Please note, hold onto the Fastpass as they will be collected by another CM later in the queue). Fastpass holders seldom walk right onto the ride, but the wait time will be considerably less than that of guests in the stand-by line.
Here are the Disneyland Resort rides that offer Fastpass:
- Autopia
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Haunted Mansion Holiday
- Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye
- Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
- Space Mountain
- Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy
- Splash Mountain
- Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
- California Screamin’
- Goofy’s Sky School
- Grizzly River Run
- Soarin’ Over California
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
- World of Color
Please visit Wikipedia for the Walt Disney World list of Fastpass attractions.
Look! Bonus info! In addition to utilizing the Fastpass option, another great way to get on a ride faster is the Single Rider Line. However, this means that parties will not be able to ride together.
Fastpass photo from Wikipedia
