Disney World FastPass Tiers + 7 Tips to Get You Started

When planning a Walt Disney World vacation there is one important step that can save you waiting in lines and missing out on your favorite attractions. That step is planning your Fastpass+ reservations. In this post I will share the two things you need to know: the Disney World FastPass Tiers and steps to plan your FastPass reservations.

To start planning your Disney vacation you need to understand the Disney World FastPass Tiers. This is the breakdown of what attractions you can make FastPass+ reservations for and what theme park each attraction is in. (FYI: FastPass+, FP+, Fastpass are all the same system.)

Magic Kingdom is currently the only park that does not have FastPass+ tiers. Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom give you tiers that you must pick attractions from. Basically this means you cannot pick the top 3 attractions at Hollywood Studios. You pick one from group A and two from group B.

I will go into more details about how to book Fastpass+ reservations and what you need to know later in this post.

Walt Disney World FastPass Tiers

Magic Kingdom Fastpass+ Tiers

Magic Kingdom does not have Fastpass+ Tiers. You can pick from any of the attractions that offer Fastpass+ reservations. The following attractions offer Fastpass+ at Magic Kingdom:

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
• Barnstormer
• Dumbo
• Enchanted Tales with Belle
• Haunted Mansion
• “it’s a small world”
• Jungle Cruise
• Mad Tea Party
• Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Meet Ariel at Her Grotto
• Meet Cinderella and Elena at Princess Fairytale Hall
• Meet Mickey at Town Square Theater
• Meet Rapunzel and Tiana at Princess Fairytale Hall
• Meet Tinker Bell at Town Square Theater
• Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
• Peter Pan’s Flight
• Mickey’s PhilharMagic
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
• Space Mountain
• Splash Mountain
• Tomorrowland Speedway
• Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid

There are many options for making Fastpass+ reservations at Magic Kingdom and some are better than others. I suggest reading, Your Guide to Planning FastPass+ Reservations at Magic Kingdom, to help you decide the best options for your family. It also includes a itinerary to make planning your day easier.

Epcot FastPass+ Tiers:

Choose 1 from Tier 1:

• Test Track
• Frozen Ever After
• Soarin’
• IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth

Choose 2 from Tier 2:

• The Seas with Nemo and Friends
• Journey Into Imagination with Figment
• Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
• Living with the Land
• Mission: SPACE
• Turtle Talk with Crush
• Meet Disney Pals at the Epcot Character Spot
• Spaceship Earth

To help you decide what FastPass to make I suggest reading Epcot FastPass Recommendations + Itinerary for Families.

Disney Hollywood Studios FastPass+ Tiers:

Choose 1 from Tier 1:

• Slinky Dog Dash
• Alien Swirling Saucer
• Toy Story Mania

Choose 2 from Tier 2:

• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
• Beauty and the Beast-Live on Stage
• Fantasmic!
• Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
• Disney Jr. Live on Stage
• Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
• For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
• MuppetVision 3D
• Star Tours
• Voyage of the Little Mermaid

For a more in-depth guide read Hollywood Studios FastPass Recommendations + Itinerary for Families.

Animal Kingdom FastPass+ Tier:

Choose 1 from Tier 1:

• Avatar Flight of Passage
• Na’vi River Journey

Choose 2 from Tier 2:

• DINOSAUR
• Kali River Rapids
• Finding Nemo – The Musical
• Kilimanjaro Safaris
• Meet Favorite Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost
• Festival of the Lion King
• Primeval Whirl
• Rivers of Light
• Expedition Everest
• It’s Tough to be a Bug!

Disney World FastPass+ Tips

Understanding How FastPass+ Works

• FastPass+ is a FREE virtual line reservation system that is used at all of the 4 Walt Disney World theme parks.
• Guest staying at an on-site Walt Disney World resort can book their FastPass+ reservations 60 days in advance beginning at 7:00am EST.
• Guest staying at an off-site resort can book their FastPass+ reservations 30 days in advance beginning at 7:00am EST.
• At the park you arrive at the ride or attraction during your reserved day/time slot and you enter through a different, usually shorter line. The time reservation is an hour window. For example, a 4:00pm-5:00pm time means you can arrive any time within that time.
• FastPass are hourly. You can’t reserve two in the same time period. So for example you could get a 9:00am-10:00am window and a 10:00am-11:00am window, but you couldn’t get a 9:00am-10:00am and a 9:30am-10:30am.
• FastPass+ can be made for 3 attractions at the same park. After the 3 are used you may make a 4th FastPass+ at another park using the My Disney Experience App.
• You can make FastPass reservations from the My Disney Experience App or sign-in from your computer. I suggest using a desktop for making your first reservations.
• There is limited availability as the day goes on. Some FastPass will be gone or sold out.
• FastPass are connected to your MagicBands.
• You may arrive at a ride that you have a FastPass for and find a short wait. If the wait is 20 minutes or under, ride in the regular line and change your Fastpass while you wait.

Steps to Use FastPass+ at Walt Disney World

Create an Account at My Disney Experience

• Start on a desktop, not your mobile device. It is easier to set everything up. After set up you can use your mobile device to make changes. (Follow along on the screenshots below.)
• Go to the Walt Disney World website.
• In the right corner click on My Disney Experience -> Sign in (or Create an Account)
• You will start at the Welcome screen. From here you can do a few things:
  • Add friends or family
  • Link reservations to on-site resort
  • Link theme park tickets- You must do this before you can make FastPass+ reservations. I highly recommend doing it as soon as you purchase tickets. 
  • Make dining reservations
  • Make FastPass+ reservations
  • Personalize Your MagicBands

• First you need to add all guests you will be making FastPass+ reservations for. Go to My Disney Experience -> My Family & Friends List 
• Add a Guest -> Import through Resort Reservation
• Add all the guests that will be joining you. On our last visit it was my family and my parents. I was able to plan all 7 of our FastPass+ Reservations, Dining Reservations, and order MagicBands. This is really helpful when traveling in a large group.
• To customize your MagicBands: My Disney Experience -> MagicBands

• Now that you have your Friends and Family added you can move on to creating your FastPass+ reservations.
• You do not need to customize your MagicBand before you make your FastPass+ reservation. MagicBands should be ordered within 30 days of arrival and will be shipped to your home.

Understanding the FastPass+ Tiers

• Once you have everything set up review the Fastpass+ Tiers and decide what attractions you would like to reserve.
• I suggest doing your research before your reservation window opens. Popular attractions will run out of FastPass tickets and it can go fast.
• Do your research and make a list of your top 5 attractions.

This is where I will tell you to stop and take a breath. It is a lot to take in and before you can actually start making reservations you need to learn a little more about the rides and attractions.

Do Your Research

• Go to the Walt Disney World website and start reading about the rides. Think about the ages of your kids and anyone else traveling with you and spend some time thinking about what would make everyone happy.
• If you are unsure what a ride might be like, search it on YouTube. You can watch most rides to get a feel for what to expect. Is is a dark ride? Wet ride? Is it scary? What are the height requirements?

Create a Flexible Itinerary

• Once you know what you want to ride. You need to think about the parks.
  • What parks do you want to visit?
  • How many days will you go to the parks?
  • Do you need a park hopper?
• With your list of parks you want to go back to the Walt Disney World website and look at the calendar for the days of your vacation.
• Make a flexible itinerary of the days you will go to the parks. (Need an easy worksheet? Download my vacation planning guide.) 
• You are looking for hours the parks are open and if any park has Extra Magic Hours(Early Entry for On-site guests)
• Write your park into your vacation planner and you are ready to book your FastPass+!

Make Your FastPass+ Reservations

• Sign in using My Disney Experience.
• Click on FastPass+ Reservations
• Choose the day you would like to make your reservations.
• Choose the park you would like to make your reservations.
• You will not be able to make FastPass+ reservations if you do not have a linked ticket. Make sure you do this before your 60 or 30 day window.
• Here is an example of making a FastPass+ at Hollywood Studios

• Select all the guests that will need the FastPass. Everyone needs a FastPass that will go in line with you. That includes young children and seniors, even if they do not plan on riding.
• Click -> Next

• Choose the day and park you would like to make FastPass reservations for.

• Choose the attraction and the time for your FastPass+ reservations.
• If the given choices don’t work click View Detail and More Times.
• Remember to consider your dining reservations and time it takes to walk to each attraction when making your reservations.
• Once your reservations are made they will appear under your reservations page.
• You can also modify, change party, or cancel your reservation.
• If you decide to change parks or times you can usually change your FastPass+ reservations but keep in mind the most popular attractions do run out or sell out very quickly.

FastPass+ Attractions that Typically Go Fast:

• Pandora Attractions at Animal Kingdom
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom
• Frozen Ever After at Epcot
• Toy Story Land Attractions at Hollywood Studios

Now that you have booked your FastPass+ reservations you are ready to sit back and enjoy. It can feel like a lot of work, but having a plan will save you so much time during your vacation at the parks. If you are planning your first visit read The Best Tips for First Time Visitors to Walt Disney World.

Next Post: Magic Kingdom FastPass Recommendations + Itinerary for Families

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