Disney 101

Disney FastPass+ 101

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Disney FastPass+ 101

Learn the basics of the system before your next Disney World vacation!

What is it? 

FastPass+ is a digital system created by Disney to allow guests to “skip the line” on select attractions at no additional cost. Every ticket holder receives the opportunity to initially book three FastPasses per day of their trip. This system is only for Walt Disney World, not Disneyland, which offers a different process. 

The FastPass+ provides a designated one-hour window of time to enjoy the selected attraction with a minimal wait time. 

How much does it cost?

Free for all ticket holders, regardless of the type of ticket!

How does it work?

Prior to Your Trip

First you must link your ticket to your My Disney Experience account to be able to book FastPasses. FastPasses can be booked 30 days in advance by all ticketed guests, or 60 days in advance with a Disney resort reservation. 

As soon as the window opens (30 or 60 days out), you can login to your My Disney Experience account and make FastPass+ selections for all ticket holders in your group. The window to make selections opens at 7am ET. Not a morning person? That’s what WDW Park Planners is here for 🙂

You can make up to three selections per day of your trip in advance, and the number of days on the ticket indicates the number of park days for FastPass+ booking. For each day of the trip, all three FastPass selections must be at the same park for that day. 

During Your Trip

Everything is managed through the My Disney Experience app while you’re on your trip. You have the ability to change or modify any of your FastPasses through the app – because we all know that plans change and it’s important to be flexible, especially at Disney! WDW Park Planners is always available during your trip to help make those changes so you don’t have to worry about it 🙂

When you’re at the park, you must arrive for your FastPass during your designated one-hour window of time. There are special lines at each attraction specifically for FastPasses, and all you do is tap your ticket or MagicBand to the kiosk! You’re in! 

Once you’ve used up the first three FastPasses that you pre-booked, you’re able to book one more FastPass at a time through your mobile app (or WDW Park Planners can do it for you – hey, you’re on vacation!). If you have a Park Hopper ticket you can book that additional FastPass+ for any of the four parks, not just the park you’re at! Same process continues once you use the additional FastPass – you can keep booking single FastPasses! There is no limit on the number of FastPasses you can use in one day. 

Things to note

Your window of time for a FastPass selection cannot overlap with one another.

Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and Epcot all have “tiers” for their FastPass attractions. The attractions are categorized as either “Tier 1” or “Tier 2.” That means that guests can only make one selection from Tier 1 (the most popular rides), and then their remaining two selections must be from Tier 2. Magic Kingdom does not have a tiered system.

Should I use it? 

YES! The biggest perk is obviously skipping the line on some of the biggest attractions, who typically have the longest wait times. 180 minutes for Flight of Passage? No thanks! It’s so easy to spend a lot of your day stuck in lines, but if you strategically book your FastPasses, you can have a much more productive day at the parks. 

Why should you consider having WDW Park Planners handle FastPasses for you?

There is a LOT of advance planning work and strategy when booking FastPasses – everything from which are the best attractions to use a FastPass on, to which parks or attractions you should book first, to what time slots you should try to get. WDW Park Planners are true experts at booking FastPasses and base everything on what makes the most sense for YOUR family. It’s a ton of work but well worth the effort so you can enjoy your vacation and Make Every Minute Magical. 

Sound confusing? That’s because it is! There’s so much to the FastPass+ system, so reach out with questions!

Disney 101

Disney World Dictionary

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There’s a lot to learn about Walt Disney World, so here is a good place to start! Learn the terminology and acronyms for the Most Magical Place on Earth with this helpful Disney World Dictionary.

 

Advanced Dining Reservations (ADR) – Booked online 180 days out from your WDW vacation

Animal Kingdom Theme Park – The “nature” park, complete with a real safari and Pandora the World of Avatar

Annual Pass (AP) – Year long ticket to the parks with special perks and discounts (we’re passholders!)

Blizzard Beach – One of the two water parks that “emerged” from an old ski resort

BoardWalk – Located in the Epcot Resort area, guests can enjoy great restaurants, bars and entertainment here without a park ticket

Cast Members – Disney’s universal term for all of their employees

Characters – Either fur or face characters, guests can meet them for autographs and pictures around the Disney Parks and Resorts

Club 33 – Exclusive club with major perks originating at Disneyland from Walt Disney himself, now open at all 4 park at Walt Disney World

Dapper Dans – Popular musical quartet that can be found performing along Main Street USA

Disney After Hours – Special event at select parks (on certain nights only) where the park is open late to ticketed guests

Disney Buttons – Free buttons given to guests at the parks and resorts to celebrate special occasions 

Disney College Program (DCP) – Opportunity for students to study and work at the Disney Parks and Resorts

Disney Dining Plan – Pre-paid meal plan available to Walt Disney World Resort guests

Disney Springs – Formerly known as Downtown Disney, this shopping, dining and entertainment area does not require a park ticket

Disney Transportation – Consists of the Monorail, Buses, Boats, Ferry and Skyliner at the Walt Disney World Resort

Disney Vacation Club (DVC) – Disney’s version of a flexible timeshare program (we’re members!)

Disneyland – The Happiest Place on Earth and the original Disney park created by Walt himself, located in Anaheim, CA

Dole Whip – Famous Disney treat that consists of pineapple flavored soft serve

Epcot (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) – The park that contains World Showcase and the “golf ball,” also known as Spaceship Earth

ESPN Wide World of Sports – Location where RunDisney expos are held among other sporting events

Extra Magic Hours – Window of time (outside of regular park hours) where the parks are only open to Disney Resort guests

FastPass – Allows you to skip the line for an attraction by arriving during a scheduled one hour window of time, booked online or through the app 60 days out from your WDW vacation (if you’re staying on property)

Festival Season – Special events at Epcot that run for several months and do not require a separate ticket (i.e. Festival of the Arts, Flower and Garden Festival, and the Food and Wine Festival)

Hollywood Studios – Previously called MGM Studios, this is the “movie” inspired theme park where Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land are located

Imagineering – The research and development branch of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation and design of the Parks and Resorts around the world

Magic Kingdom – The park with Cinderella Castle and tons of the classic Disney attractions such as Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, and It’s a Small World

Magical Express – Free bus transportation to/from the Orlando Airport and your Walt Disney World Resort

MagicBand – A customizable band worn during your WDW vacation that acts as your room key, park ticket, FastPass access and much more

Main Street USA – The area as you enter Magic Kingdom that leads you to Cinderella Castle, inspired by Walt Disney’s hometown of Marceline, Missouri

Memory Maker – Photo package for purchase that allows you unlimited downloads of your WDW photos for a discounted price

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) – Halloween themed special event at the Magic Kingdom requiring a separate ticket, on select nights only 

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) – Christmas themed special event at the Magic Kingdom requiring a separate ticket, on select nights only

My Disney Experience – Your own Disney account that connects you to all of your reservations, FastPasses and other important information for your vacation

On Property (versus Off Property) – Any WDW Resort or affiliate resort; provides special Disney perks for its guests

Park Hopper – A park ticket that gives you the flexibility to visit more than one park in a day

PhotoPass – Disney’s photo service at the parks and resorts

Pin Trading – An activity at the parks and resorts where guests can swap pins with Cast Members 

Resorts – Name for Disney hotels, offer various pricing levels: Value, Moderate, Deluxe and Villa

Rope Drop – Time when the park opens and the rope literally “drops” to let guests in

RunDisney – Race provider for Disney that hosts several themed race weekends throughout the year

Single Rider – Special line offered by certain attractions for a party of one, often with a shorter wait time

Tables in Wonderland – Discounted dining program available to Annual Passholders, Disney Vacation Club Members and Florida Residents

Typhoon Lagoon – The second of the two water parks that was “transformed” into a tropical paradise after a storm

Villains After Hours – Villain themed special event at the Magic Kingdom requiring a separate ticket, on select nights only

Walt Disney World – The Most Magical Place on Earth, located in Orlando, Florida

WDW Park Planners – Disney Concierge Vacation Planning Service to help you keep track of all of this vocabulary and information!

 

Have a magical day!

 

Disney 101

Extra Magic Hours 101

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What are they and are they worth it? 

What are they?

One of the perks of staying on property during your Walt Disney World vacation is Extra Magic Hours, or EMH. This is a window of time in the morning or evening where the parks are open only to Disney Resort guests.

Because it’s outside of regular park hours, the windows are early in the morning and late in the evening. All four parks offer EMH, but only one park offers it per day, so be sure to check the schedule! Keep in mind only select attractions, dining and shopping are open during EMH.

 

Who can take advantage?

Guests staying at any Walt Disney World Resort or Official Walt Disney World Hotels can take advantage of this perk.

Official Walt Disney World Hotels (partner hotels) include: 

  • Swan and Dolphin
  • Shades of Green
  • Four Seasons Orlando
  • Waldorf Astoria Orlando
  • Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek
  • Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels (see the full list here)

How does it work?

Everything is connected to your MagicBand! To enter the park for Extra Magic Hours, each person in your group will scan into the park normally, but then you also need to scan one of your party’s bands on a Cast Member’s iPad. This lets them know that you are staying on property!

Pros and Cons

  • Pros:
    • Less crowds
    • Shorter wait times
    • Better temperatures
  • Cons:
    • Only select attractions and experiences available 
    • All the resort guests flock to that park 
    • It’s very early or very late in the day
    • Subject to change at any time

Morning vs Evening EMH

The morning EMH are offered very frequently, especially at Hollywood Studios with the opening of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge and its respective attractions. The other parks have morning EMH often, too, and they rotate the days those are offered to guests. Typically the park will open at 8am for EMH, and then at 9am for all guests. Be sure to check the attraction availability, as it differs from park to park on how much is open during EMH.

Recently, the evening EMH have been offered less frequently, which is for a few reasons. One reason is the high volume of crowds. To manage crowd flow, Disney extends park hours so they open very early and are open very late for all guests – leaving little room for EMH. Second, in recent years Disney has started offering Disney After Hours. This is a ticketed event where the park is open to guests for 3 hours in the evening, which brings in more $$ for Disney but less opportunities for resort guests to take advantage of evening EMH. 

Should you take advantage? 

There are a few strategies for Extra Magic Hours – to plan your trip around EMH (so you get optimal park time), avoid EMH completely (since most resort guests head to that park), OR just plan your trip ignoring them completely. It’s a personal decision that everyone has different opinions on from their past experiences and/or research!

Personally, I’m in the last group. I typically don’t plan my trip around EMH, unless it’s for something in particular like Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. If EMH works out with our plans, then great, but I really just consider it an extension of the regular park hours. In the morning, I still get there 45 minutes before the EMH start time (i.e. if EMH are from 8-9am at Magic Kingdom, I’m at the park by 7:15am). Park hours are always subject to change, and that includes EMH. I’d rather plan my trip going to the parks I want to hit on the days I want to go than having to shuffle things around if Disney changes EMH and park hours.

Overall, I love taking advantage of EMH but do not base my trip on the EMH schedule. What is your strategy?