(Article last updated: January 12, 2018)
Sometimes even after you've done all of the research for your Disney World trip and you feel super well prepared, you come up empty on a couple of FastPass+ reservations that you had hoped to get.
It often happens to even the best planners. Here are some strategies to help get the most difficult FastPass+ at Disney World.
In this article
Which FastPass+ reservations are hard to get?
Most FastPass+ reservations aren't that hard to get, but you will likely run into the most issues with Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom, Frozen Ever After at Epcot, and both of the Pandora attractions (Na'vi River Journey and Flight of Passage) at Animal Kingdom.
Beyond that, you probably won't have any trouble getting any FastPass+ reservations, although you may not end up with your ideal times for a few other FastPass+ reservations.
For more details on which FastPass+ reservations are available and recommended, check out the touring plans and FastPass suggestions for all 4 parks.
Strategies you can try to get difficult FastPass+
Book FastPass+ reservations 60 days beforehand
Since off-site guests book FastPass+ reservations 30 days beforehand, this strategy is just for on-site guests.
Here's what you can do:
- Get online just before 7 a.m. eastern time, log out of your account, and then log in fresh.
- At 7 a.m. eastern time, the FastPass+ reservations for your whole trip will become available to book.
- Do not make your FastPass+ reservations in chronological order; make them in order of difficulty (this is the same suggestion for people making dining reservations). That means you'll likely jump to your difficult FastPass+ reservations first to make those reservations before all others. You can make just 1 FastPass+ reservation at a park and then come back later to book the other 2, less difficult attractions.
- The end of your trip will have better chances of availability than the beginning.
Book FastPass+ reservation for 1 person and then add others
Sometimes when you're searching for FastPass+ availability, the My Disney Experience system will tell you that it can't find something for your whole group but if you just search for 1 person, it will show up, and then you can try to add other people from your group.
You can do this on the phone app or computer. Here's how it works from a computer:
You will begin by going into the FastPass+ screens and make a FastPass+ reservation for 1 person in your group. Then, you need to go back in and try to add more people to it.
Do that by selecting the "Change Party" option on your FastPass+ reservation...
Then choose who you'd like to add to the reservation...
If there is availability, you'll be asked to confirm...
Try to get FastPass+ with overlapping times
Searching for a FastPass+ reservation for your whole group but coming up with no availability? Try searching for 1 person at a time instead. If you're able to get them 1 at a time with overlapping FastPass+ windows, that will allow you to all visit the attraction at the same time.
Here's a video that helps explain this concept.
Check for FastPass+ reservations openings
People cancel FastPass+ reservations all the time, so it's good to check a day or two beforehand to see if anything has become available.
Make use of the My Disney Experience phone app during your trip to check for restaurant reservations or FastPass+ reservations that you weren't able to get beforehand.
Another thing to watch for is park hours being extended, therefore providing new FastPass+ openings. Disney publishes park hours updates all the time. If those park hours are updated so that the parks (happens a lot at Magic Kingdom) are open for more hours, then more FastPass+ reservations will pop up for those dates a few days after the park hours updates are published.
Sign up for alerts on the monthly dashboard for when you'll be traveling and you'll get an email immediately after park hours are updated so you'll know when this happens.
New! Some guests can pay to purchase FastPass+
Starting January 12, 2018, guests staying at some Disney World resorts who have 3+ ticket days (or an Annual Pass) can pay $50 per person per day to book an extra 3 FastPass+ reservations up to 90 days ahead. These FastPass+ can be in any park and include the option to book preferred viewing for nighttime shows.
Guests staying in these rooms are eligible:
- Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Cabins
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge – Club Level
- Disney’s BoardWalk Inn – Club Level
- Disney’s Contemporary Resort – Club Level
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa – Club Level
- Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort – Club Level
- Disney’s Polynesian Village Villas & Bungalows – Bungalows
- Disney’s Wilderness Lodge – Club Level
- Disney’s Yacht Club Resort – Club Level
- Disney’s Beach Club Resort – Club Level
- Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotels - select suites and premium rooms
What if you never get the difficult FastPass+ reservations?
Sometimes - especially during peak travel times - you'll try all of the strategies above and STILL find yourself empty-handed on a couple of things. Here are some ideas for how to handle that:
- Show up to the park early (30-45 minutes before park opening) which will put you at the front of the line to go into the park and head straight there after the park opens
- Take advantage of a morning Extra Magic Hour and visit that attraction first
- Make an early dining reservation in the park, finish eating before the park opens and make your way there first
- Visit the attractions during a party. Most parties (like Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party or Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party) have much shorter lines during the party so you could visit attractions during that time. Notes: 1.) some parties are quite busy and 2.) popular attractions will still have longer lines than less popular attractions but usually shorter than during regular park hours.
- Remember that there's a single rider option available on Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Expedition Everest, and Test Track
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Any thoughts on booking difficult FastPass+ reservations? Feel free to share in the comments.
Sound like more than you want to tackle? Booking FastPass+ reservations is 1 of several services provided by Prep School Travel agents. Fill out the fields in the form below to be connected to an agent who will get back with you shortly.
so I am a FP newbie, going with a group of 14. We will be at WDW for 2 days, 2 days at other parks, then 2 more days at WDW. Can I get my 3 FP’s for just one day at a time, or all 4 days at once? Any tips for a large group? Better to go in say a group of 6 and 8?
If you’re staying onsite you can book all your FP’s starting 60 days before the first day of your trip. If you’re staying offsite I believe it’s a day-by-day basis.
I’ve never traveled with a group that big, but if you can’t get 14 at a time I would get reservations in smaller groups with overlapping times so you can still wait in line together.
I am checking in on Friday Nov 23. Checking out on Sat Dec 1. I purchased park tickets for 5 days. When I make my fast pass reservations 60 days out, what days will I be able to make the fast pass reservations for? I thought I could do my whole trip (like dining) but after reading the discussion I fear that’s not true.
I wasn’t able to get Slinky Dog on my 60 days out, so I booked another Tier 1 ride (TSM). I frequently check back to see if Slinky Dog becomes available but I notice that when trying to update from one Tier 1 to another, it will not display times when I have another fastpass (My other two rides are at 10:50, and 12:10). When I cancel one fastpass and ADD a new fastpass, then I’ll see the overlapping times which say “You have another fastpass at this time”. What is your strategy for checking back when you don’t get what you want? I have been cancelling one fastpass for that day and hoping that someone doesn’t snatch it so that I can check for Slinky Dog across the whole day, and not just that tiny window of opportunity that I have open.
Hi Shannon.
A little confused. Read in other comments. If I am going to be staying at a Disney hotel for 8 days total but only have a 6 day ticket (going to other parks) I wont be able to Fast Pass the last 2 days of my trip right away when I can start my official 60 days from the start?
You will be able to do that. You can do up to 10 days at a time when your window opens up. Your window will open 180 days before the day you check in.
For our upcoming trip in July, the only FastPass we didn’t get when our 60 day window opened was Frozen. We are doing Epcot our first day, so I wasn’t too surprised. I went back on later in the day…just in case…and there were several spots opened. So, got Frozen FastPasses for our family of 5 at 9:55 am.
Hello Shannon, A while ago when I was starting my planning, you mentioned an app that would alert you when a fast pass became available. I lost the information. Can you tell it to me again and let me know if it still works.
Thanks.
Unfortunately that site is no longer available.
Do the fast pass reservations work like the dining one? Meaning I can book actually starting 60 days out but do it for the entire 10 days we are there even though those days that are 68-70 days out? The dining you can post 190 days out if staying on property starting your first day…thanks!
Yep! Works the same, but will be limited to the number of ticket days you have. So if you only have 7-day tickets, you’ll be able to make 7 days worth of FP+ 60 days out.
If you buy the extra fast passes , do you have to do so fir each day of the trip ? Also, can you make a fast pass for a same ride you made one for with your automatic fast passes?
This is great info! We are planning a family trip in April for 19 people. 11 kids (age 1-14) and 8 adults. Trying to keep group together. Had great success with your dining tips and got our reservations. Now planning fast passes.! Any tips for large groups would be appreciated!
Hi, what if people in my party are coming to the parks on different days (i.e. I am going Mon, Tue, Wed, Thur, Fri, but relatives are coming Wed, Thur, Fri, etc. )
Hi I’m in the U.K. Just wanted to check when I can book my fast pass is it 12 midnight or 7am? Thank you
7 a.m. eastern time. Good luck getting all of your FastPass+ reservations!
This information was very helpful! I was looking for the earliest possible time to book (ready to wake up at midnight) and found out that that is not necessary. I would like to comment on one thing that you said: “The end of your trip will have better chanced of availability than the beginning.” I realized on my last trip in December that you can actually book in order of the days you will be at each park. In other words our trip was from December 23-27. Exactly 60 days before December 23, I got online and book our fast passes to JUST the park we were going to each day. So you don’t have to wait until the last day of your trip to book your fast passes. I may have misread what you said, and if so I apologize, but just wanted to point this out just in case!
Yeah, what I meant was that when you log on, you can jump to the end of your trip for the best chance at getting difficult reservations. Always good to book in order of difficulty and not chronologically.
I’m so thankful for your post! I was freaking out this morning trying to book FP+ for our party of 6. All the times they gave me were TERRIBLE. Then I Googled how to get difficult FP+ and this post popped up. THANK YOU! You saved me from some broken heart kids.
you did this tip and it worked? good to know thanks! We have 6 going in Sept and I am freaking out about getting them also. So you got it for 1 and then just added on more, right?
September is usually slower than 10 other months
We are going to Disneyworld in June with my kids who will be 1 and 6 at the time. If all of us want to ride something that the baby can’t, should we get all 4 of us fast passes and then do the rider swap with the older one?
Hi
If we are booking fast pass from UK do we still have to use 7am eastern time. I think that’s 6hrs behind UK. So will be 1pm our time
Hi Brenden
It will be 12 midday U.K. Time when your FP window opens.
Jane
My husband and I were traveling to WDW by ourselves and we have had our FP+ reservations for a few months now. At the last minute, my daughter decides she would like to come 4 days before check-in. Since she is now on our reservation, I have been unable to get a FP+ for her on several of the popular rides (Toy Story, Peter Pan etc.).
What do you suggest I do? Cancel our existing FP+s and get new ones for whatever rides are available (not Toy Story, Peter Pan etc.) or go to the FP lines and see if the cast member will allow her to ride also?
I’m trying to update/modify our fast passes but I’m not getting the modify option unless I was to delete one of our scheduled passes? I don’t see if on the page at all? Any suggestions?
I was confused about this too. I think the website pages are different from when this post was written. You can still modify though. Click view details below the ride you are thinking of changing, then click modify, add the guests you want, click next, then you will see new times off all rides in the same category. If you don’t see what you want then just go back or close the page. Your original fast passes are still there. They don’t delete until you confirm the change. Now if you want to change all of them for another park… I don’t know if that’s possible. I can’t seem to find the way.
When making character meet-and-greet FP selections, do both the child and the accompanying adult have to have a FP? Can I just make the FP selection for my 4 year old, freeing up one of mine to use later for a rider switch situation? Or will I have to have a FP as well to be in line with a minor?
Anybody entering the queue will need a FastPass+, so you’ll need one for yourself as well.
Hello there, our upcoming fastpass 60 day mark coincides with the very first day of school! I can’t allot much time at 7 am that day of all days! Will I get most of what I want if I wait til my lunch break that day? I’ve done fastpass before, and it went relatively quickly, so if I have 10 minutes that morning to spare, which attractions/park should I really focus on doing first? I just don’t think I’ll have time to do all 6 days before school/work. Anna/Elsa isn’t a priority. Neither is the new Frozen ride. Thanks for your input.
I can make fp reservations this Saturday, can I do this at Midnight like others have said or does it have at 7am? I’m making them for my son, husband and myself. Some rides are 2-seater rides, so am I able to make a fp for my husband and son to ride something and one for me to do a meet and greet since we all wont be able to sit together on a ride. If I do this, can my son (3yrs old) accompany me to the meet and greet on my fp?
Yes! You should skip going together as a family and just plan separate FP for you and your husband. Your son will get on 6 rides as compared to 3. And if you have one you really want to do together just explain to the cast member that your reservation didn’t sync to your husband’s or vice versa and they will likely let you on without issue. They’re quite accommodating!
How early time wise can I book fast pass ? Will they allow me at midnight or 1am on my 30 day mark Tonight?
7 a.m. eastern time.
Im wondering the same thing. I have read 12 am but also 7 am. Did you ever find out?
It used to be midnight, but it’s been 7 a.m. for almost a year now.
How can the son get on 6 rides with each parent booking 3 fast Pass rides for themselves?
Hello and thank you for the great information. I am looking to book a trip at the end of next June (2017). I am considering staying off site. The savings if I do that will be between $1500-$2000. Will it be that big of a deal for us to only have the 30 days out for fastpasses instead of the 60 days? We don’t care about meeting characters or dining reservations. We just want the rides. Any information or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
30 day is fine. don’t worry
Thanks for all the info! So am I right in saying that you can longer book your fastpass reservations right at midnight the day you’re allowed to start booking? We now have to wait till 7 am the day of?
Same # of days beforehand as it’s always been, but instead of opening at midnight, it’s 7 a.m.
Great post! I am actually getting ready to across this information which I found very interesting to read.
idealcreativitys
Logged in around 1:30 slow time (that’s an hour behind Disney time) this morning, which is the date our fast passes became available. I got EVERY fast pass I wanted including 7DMT and Toy Story Mania! I have followed your site ( along with a few others) an have found your tips so helpful! I will tell you Anna & Elsa were no longer being offered when I logged on so I believe they booked up in that 1.5 hour period before I logged on. Good luck everyone and definitely log on 60 days in advance of you are staying on site. It’s so worth it not to have to worry about any more scheduling!!!
Hi there! I have a question for you regarding FastPass+. I am an annual pass holder and have reservations at a Disney Value Resort for May 23. According to your advice and May 2016 calendar, I should be able to book Fast Pass reservations beginning March 24. However when I go to the My Disney Experience site to check the calendar, it is only showing a 30 day reservation window. Is that because I have not paid the full amount for our vacation stay? It isn’t due until we check in.
So you have a room-only reservation and a current AP that’s linked in your account? If so, it should allow you to make your FP+ reservations as soon as you hit the 60 day mark. Has nothing to do with if you’ve paid or not, because as you mentioned, room-only reservations are not due until your check-in day.
Hi, I have the same problem. I have a passholder certificate linked to my Disney account but not an active AP until I arrive but I do have onsite room reservations. It will only show 30 days out. The other two in my party have purchased regular tickets and show the 60 day mark. Does this mean we won’t be able to get the same fastpasses?
Hi! I think I understand everything about the FP except for the part about starting at the end of your trip and working back. Does that mean at 60 days out from my check-in date I can reserve FP for attractions that are actually 64 days away (for a 4 day stay?) I guess I thought I would need to be up at midnight 4 nights in a row to make my picks.
Yep! People staying onsite can make all dining and FastPass+ reservations in 1 sitting, whereas people staying offsite have to log on multiple days in a row.
I am going to Disney in March. Two of the people in the group want to do space mountain while the rest of us do not. Since I am in charge of the planning I was going to do the fast passes. Can I setup 2 then have them 2 do their own for that ride? I saw you said that you have to pick 3. We would like to do the other rides together. Btw I love your site!
hi! I am staying on Disney property and I know can reserve fast passes 60 days in advance. Our friends going with us are staying off property so they can reserve 30 days in advance. My question is….. can i add their park tickets to my my Disney experience and manage their tickets on my account and get them fast passes with ours all at the same time even though they wont be resisted guest at a Disney resort.
Did you ever find the answer? I have the same question.
Yes, I do this all the time. My brother in law lives in FL and they have annual passes. I have them linked in my account so when they meet us at Disney, I am able to make dinner and FP reservations for all of us.
If I can only (for personal reasons) book my Fastpasses at 55 days out instead of 60, how much effect will this have on availability? Will I miss out on 7DMT at MK for example?
Yes, most likely. Everything else should be OK though.
I want to say thank you! I have (in less than an hour) made EVERY reservation for EVERY fastpass that I was hoping to get through your tips for my upcoming March trip. Thank you for all your knowledge and advice! Thank you a million times!
Hi there I have a complicated booking reservation for my upcoming trip in April 2016 . I have a 1 day room only on the 9th a 2 day DVC on the 10 the then a 4 day starting the 12 that my 7 day ticket is attached to. When will my 60 day window start? From the April 9th or April 12 ?
Our FastPass+ booking opportunity opens on Dec. 29. Magic Kingdom is open until 1 am. This will be our first time booking the FastPass+. Does anyone know what time it will begin? Midnight like normal? 1 am when MK closes? 2 am which is 1 hour after MK closes? Thank you!
It’ll be at midnight eastern time. They fixed that glitch that required you to wait until MK had closed.
Sweet! Thank you very much for the quick reply!
HELP!
I just booked a meet and greet with Anna and Elsa on Christmas day at 7pm. Problem is I booked myself first and now when I go to copy the only time available is 11pm. Can I use my fastpass time and my daughter still meet them? I have no idea how this works.
Brilliant advice. – used many of these tips for booking our FPs this summer. As we are in the UK there were quite a few early mornings for us to get in at the start of the window.
We managed to get Anna and Elsa but it took some time – we booked what times we could and added people as soon as more became available in the end the 6 in our party had these impossible to get FPs all of which had a crossover of at least 10 minutes. I would say don’t give up, the last FP for Anna and Elsa was booked the week before we arrived.
Hi Shannon,
Thanks so much for your detailed website I have used a lot of it for my planning!
I just wanted to point out to you that this fastpass strategy page may need to be updated as some of the information is not applicable to UK residents. I wanted to provide you with a rundown of my fastpass experience this week so that it might help other people (particularly UK residents). It may be the case that WDW have made some allowances for the UK as there has been a huge marketing push in this region lately.
I will be staying at a DW hotel for 2 days during my stay so was geared up for my 60 day booking window. As I’m located in the UK, I was ready to follow your strategy (i.e. wake up at 12 midnight EST which is 4am GMT) when the booking window opened over the course of two nights to book in my 2 day’s worth of fastpasses.
However the night before at around 8:30pm-9pm GMT (4:30-5pm EST) I received an email from WD planning stating that my fp+ booking window had opened and provided a link which gave me access to fp+ booking for both days of my stay! This is a full 6 hrs earlier than the times provided in your strategy (which may only be for US residents?), and at least 1 day earlier than my US counterparts for my 2nd day in the park (I believe)? Unfortunately I wasn’t aware of this WD email so it was sitting in my inbox for 1 full hr before I discovered that fp+ was already accessible, and by that time all of the good mine train timeslots were gone. It could have been worse, at least that email didn’t go to junk mail!
Would be good to know whether this is the same for those in the US, or whether it is UK/overseas resident applicable only? Were you aware of this?
Many thanks again!
Just returned from WDW and wanted to thank you for your tips and ad one more! The fastpass copying feature you suggest did not work for us since fastpass would tell us that there were not enough slots available to copy…but I managed to get a fastpass reservation for Elsa and Anna two days in advance for myself and my 4 y.o. daughter by booking a single fastpass for each of us with overlapping time slots. For myself I booked 5:40-6:40pm and for my daughter I booked 6:20-7:20 – this left us a 20 minute window to get in – and we were able to bring my 2 y.o. in with us since she does not need a fastpass of her own. This enabled the three of us to jump a line with a posted wait of 110 minutes. Hooray!
Am finding the whole fast pass system so frustrating – it seems to me that you are really penalised as an off site guest in terms of only being able to access fast passes 30 days in advance as opposed to 60. I’ve been at my computer at 5.50 each morning (I live in the uk) trying to get fast passes from when they are released at 6am and it’s impossible to secure any for the most popular attractions like Mine Train or Elsa and Anna as they have already gone! Feeling quite let down by this and hope that the queues are not too bad when we get there – am taking 3 very excited kids. Think they should keep a number of fast passes back so they can still release a decent amount 30 says in advance….
I was just practicing and with the 30 day window and 7DMT was gone when I looked for both my husband and I but was available when I looked for just myself and then I added him on a few seconds later so I’d try that approach. Plus I’d keep checking during the 29th day as well since I’m sure plenty of other people are “practicing” each night as well. (And yes, I already cancelled mine to be nice as my trip isn’t actually until April.)
Good luck!
There are young women across the country with beautiful voices and Elsa and Anna costumes who are willing to dress up and meet your children for $100-150/hour – a whole private hour with Elsa and/or Anna! Seems worth it to me rather than all this stress and hype to meet characters for just a few minutes – especially if your kids are in love! I’ve done it twice this year for my kids in Pittsburgh and it’s a lot cheaper than our Disney vacation! I’m sure you could find them through referrals or on the web locally. We had a different girl each time and they couldn’t tell the difference. My kids are 2 and 3, though.
Thank you for this fabulous information! I just logged on at midnight and came up empty handed for the Elsa/Anna Fastpass. This is a major disappointment since we are only staying at a Disney property for the 60 day access to this Fastpass. 🙁
My question is – if you arrive to MK before the Early Magic Hour and go straight to Fantasyland, how l0ng would you expect to wait? (This is for the first Mon in Nov.) Thanks again!
Hi, We were at the Welcome show and were the first group of people to get into the park behind the rope carriers and we rushed straight into see Anna and Elsa from the second they let us and we didnt have to wait long at all… but you have to be at the gate early to get in front of the people for the show and there will be some fast walking required to stay right behind the rope drop and you may have to deal with pushy people 🙂
My daughter’s only BIG wish for her 20th birthday celebration was to get a photo with Anna & Elsa. We were unable to get a fast pass for this attraction but we managed to get in with only a 10 minute wait and it was mid-June. Get to MK super-early! We arrived a good 45 minutes before rope drop and were within the first 50 to get into the park. I had never seen the show before rope drop and we adored it! Went directly to the attraction, waited 10 minutes, had photos taken of both my daughter and her friend (each alone with A & E and with each other with the Frozen princesses — they do not rush you through) and by the time we exited @ 8:20 a.m., the wait time was 240 minutes! Go early! Worked well for us!
Thanks for all the excellent information!!
Shannon; When choosing your fast passes are you able to narrow down the times you want or do you have to choose from the options provided and then modify??
Are there established patterns for the Extra Magic Hours? We are just planning our trip for 9 months from now. We want to plan what parks we are going to and then our dining options. It would be helpful to know what days are likely to have Extra Magic Hours at each park. Thank you for any help you can give.
When talking about option #2 above, you say “you’ll hopefully end up here with a successful copy of your FastPass+ reservations”. What determines whether it will successfully copy? How often does it work (and not work)? My 60 window opens next week and I’m planning to start with our last day and try to get A&E, but I don’t want to waste a valuable Fastpass+ selection if only one of us can go to that attraction. I’m new to this process and I have no idea what I’m doing!! Thanks for the great info.
The success in copying depends on availability. If there aren’t any spots open, it can’t copy it.
Can you make fast passes for 2 different parks, but the same day?
We are staying at 2 different properties during our stay. We are staying for 7 nights, 5 at one resort and 2 at another. My question is, will I still be able to book fast passes for the last day of our stay 60 days out from our first day since we will be moving hotels and actually have 2 reservations? Thanks so much for all the helpful info! 🙂
I have a 7 night reservation followed by a 2 night reservation and would also love to know if I can make fastpass+ reservations for my entire 9 days. Does anyone know the answer to this question?
Why wasn’t the Anna & Elsa (or the Mine Train, for that matter) even an option when I scheduled my Fast Pass reservations? It was grayed out with an ‘x’ over the button you click to check yes? I got on at 12:00 am (eastern time) exactly 60 days prior to our trip and I couldn’t even choose it as an option. When I look at other days, it says “fast pass is closed for this date” or something along those lines. Please help! (We will be at WDW Sept 19-26). Thanks!
I just had the same problem. The system needs to be re-evaluated.
I had the same issue last night at midnight…frustrating.
I also had this problem
We are traveling to Disney on September 4, 2015 and I was able to make FastPass+ reservations at 11:01 pm CST (12:01 am EST). I kept logging out of the Disney app on my phone and it opened up at that time. We got all of our must haves, including Meet Anna and Elsa and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, multiple times on all days. The trick is to get on the site/app as close to 12:00 am EST as you can! We are staying on resort and partaking in the Free Dining this year. With a party of 9, it was more cost effective – even with a reservation at Old Key West.
A word of advice on Free Dining and snagging it – call as soon as it is announced. I had my phone and my husband’s phone calling at the same time, with both on hold. I was on hold for over two hours but it was well worth it. I will say the gentleman who helped me stated that I was the first person out of the last eight who qualified to receive it. Just do the math and see which route saves you the most money. We are still getting the Tables in Wonderland card to save $$$ on alcohol.
I just got back from Disney. The app really helped. I would check fast pass availability on the bus ride from the resort to the park each day. That is how I scored a last minute fastpass to the Dwarf’s Minetrain. Also, if you don’t mind missing the last couple of minutes of the fireworks show, start making your way to the ride just before the show ends. Even on a regular hours night, the park is open for another hour after the fireworks although many people go ahead and leave. By heading to the Dwarf’s just before the fiteworks ended, we were able to ride again, without a fastpass, and only a 15 minute wait!
This is really depressing, it sounds like the average off-property guest stands no chance of getting any good fast passes. Really hating the new system right now! 🙁
So we are a family of 6 traveling to Disney this July. My 3 boys could care less about seeing a princess, but my daughter and I really want to meet Anna and Elsa and just can’t ‘let it go.’ 😉 If we try to get a FP+ 60 days ahead of time and do not obtain a pass, then do I understand correctly that I can check in daily and see if more FP+ just happen to pop up? Also, if I understand correctly, since my DD and I are the only ones who want to go see them, the boys can use their FP+ for something else? Thank you so much for all of your help. I agree with the above comments on how people just don’t plan for this trip- that is just crazy!
You have it right.
Also, you can do the ‘run to meet Anna and Elsa at rope drop’ thing. My kids are slow moving at rope drop and the wait was only about 20 minutes.
Booked Fastpasses this morning at 60 days, but can only book for the first 14 days of our trip. Our trip is for 21 days. When will I be able to book fastpases for the last 7 days of our trip ?
21 days in Disney?! That’s fantastic! You shouldn’t have any issues getting on all of the popular rides during your stay. Are you camping during your visit?
Did you ever find the answer to this? I’m currently having the same issue
Great advice to know. I really want to hit everything in the one day I have at MK, except for the “Meet” stuff, since it will just be adults in my party. The only thing I’m worried about missing is the Seven Dwarfs. When I booked my 3 FP+ at the time I bought my tickets the SD wasn’t available. I didn’t even think to check back. I just check and it’s still not available, but A&E is, go figure. Too bad there’s not a way to trade with people. At least I’m guessing there is not.
I have been on this ride and it isn’t worth waiting more than 20 mins for worth wasting a fastpass on. Sorry to be a downer, but it is the truth.
I agree that the wait is not worth it for the Dwarf roller coaster ride, but still, if you haven’t done it and really want to, I understand that. I went to Disney in Oct. 2014 with a girlfriend and will be there this Oct. 2015 with my husband and small girls. He really wants to go on it, and I told him I’ll pass and stay with our girls.
My girlfriend and I did not have fast passes to get on it back in Oct. 2014, we just booked it after the rope drop and waited only 15 minutes (we were like 3rd in line!). Now, we were quite determined and ran as fast as our legs could carry us (politely – no pushing and shoving, I promise). But if you just make a point to get there right after opening, you just might get lucky. For my hubby’s sake, I hope we can get him a FP, but if not, we’ll be getting to the park early the day he wants to ride it.
You mention booking fast-passes for the entire trip and then AFTER copying other members of the party. I thought I read somewhere that you can link your party together BEFORE you make those selections, thus saving a step? Now that I am trying to find that article I cannot. Therefore, must I book for myself and then copy my spouse – or can we link our tickets first and save a step? Thanks for the information.
You can definitely link everybody together beforehand and hopefully book all of the FastPass+ reservations at once. The copying thing is just in case you’re searching for a FastPass+ for your whole group and can’t find any, you can then try to search for just 1 person, and if that works, you can book it and then try to copy it over to the other person/people in your group.
This website updates availability for tough to get fastpasses (based on 4 passes) every 30 minutes or so and I have seen Elsa and Anna as well as 7 Dwarves Mine Train come available within 30 days. Its also nice to see if you are booking 60 days out for your trip that and your trip is 7 days long that you can book Elsa and Anna at 63 days (currently) rather than keep changing date and trying for every day of your trip. Its so hectic once your booking window opens up!
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/fastpass_plus_availability.php
Shannon…what a great resource you’ve built here. Thank you so much.
I’m curious if anyone has any thoughts, experiences or strategies on obtaining Seven Dwarfs Mine Train FastPasses for a large party. We have 11. I’ve been jumping on them (mostly 1 at a time) when they become available, regardless of time. I’m hoping that when our trip rolls around in 20 days or so I’ll be able to change the times to make them overlap or at least be close. Thoughts?
Hi Shannon! Im just wondering if its possible to add a person to my fp selections at a later date. My mom may not have her ticket at the time I log on to select fp so I didnt know if the copy feature might possible work to add her later if needed.
Thanks
If I search for a different time on a fastpass+ attraction I already have, do I give up that fastpass? Or do I still have it until I press confirm. I just don’t want to lose it if I can’t find a better time.
Did you ever get an answer? I am wondering the same and am sitting by the computer afraid to confirm and lose my fast pass!
hi!
Wondering if you have to make fast pass reservations for children under 3?
Thanks 🙂
Nope! They can tag along with you on whatever FP+ reservations you make for yourself. (They do need to be added to dining reservations though.)
I’m able to make my 60 day fastpass reservations at 12 EST tonight for my upcoming trip (May 9). I’ve tried to do a dry run this morning and when I get to the pick a day, it is only running up until April 8 (not May 8). Will this correct itself by a full month tonight, or should I contact Disney today regarding the calendar? We’re staying onsite, and everything is linked up on my Disney experience as far I as can see. Thanks!
I am having the same issue Carey Solley was having a few weeks ago…In a few minutes, at midnight, I will be 60 days prior to my trip and able to select my FP+ reservations but it will only allow me to select 30 days out. Will this adjust itself once midnight is here or do I need to call Disney? My onsite reservation is linked to My Disney Experience. Thank you!
March 9, 2015 at 9:14 am
I’m able to make my 60 day fastpass reservations at 12 EST tonight for my upcoming trip (May 9). I’ve tried to do a dry run this morning and when I get to the pick a day, it is only running up until April 8 (not May 8). Will this correct itself by a full month tonight, or should I contact Disney today regarding the calendar? We’re staying onsite, and everything is linked up on my Disney experience as far I as can see. Thanks!
Hi, same thing happened to me. Right up until midnight the calendar was only letting me choose up to 30 days in advance, but at midnight it reset to 60 days out and I was able to make my fastpass reservations. Just make sure that your resort stay is linked with my disney experience which it sounds like you’ve already done.
Does each person get 3 Fp+ per day or per family?
So for a group of 4 do we have 12 FP+ to book or only 3?
Thanks! Your information is wonderful.
How many days you staying? From what I have seen anna/Elsa runs about 63 days booked up in advance so unless your trip is 4 days or more even logging on at midnight won’t always get you a fast pass.
How is it that I logged in at my 60-day at 11pm CST and still was not able to obtain an Anna/Elsa meet and greet? Ugh! In your experience have you known for dates & times to just “show up” at a later date (say day 55-ish)? I’m just trying to figure out if I need to monitor the FastPass site daily until our trip in May (2015). My 4 year old met them last year and she was really hoping to meet them again this year.
How many days you staying? From what I have seen anna/Elsa runs about 63 days booked up in advance so unless your trip is 4 days or more even logging on at midnight won’t always get you a fast pass.
We are staying 6 days. How can a fast pass be 63 days out when you can only begin to make fastpass choices at the 60 day mark? Any suggestions on how to obtain one? I was told that sometimes the “elusive” fastpass for Anna & Elsa shows up again around day 45 as that is the last day for payments on trips.
It really must have been “dumb luck” that we obtained one last year.
When you are staying on-site, you log in at 60 days out from your FIRST day, but you can make your FP+ picks for your whole trip, up to 10 days from that first day. So in essence, you can make your FP+ reservations for 70 days out. Or maybe it’s 69. I’m too tired to math. Anyway, this is why it is usually suggested to do at least one MK day later in your trip and try to get your FP+ for A&E and/or SDMT for later in the trip.
Can you book 10 days out if you are only staying on property 2 days? I’m at Wilderness Lodge days 1&2 of my trip then the Dolphin days 3-7.
The Dolphin allows booking FP+ reservations 60 days ahead of time, just like a Disney resort.
We’re still 146 days out from our trip, but when I try to make FastPass+ reservations for Elsa & Anna, do I only make them for my daughter, since she is the one who wants to interact with them? Or do my husband and I need FastPasses as well to go in with her?
Everybody who wants to enter the building (including at least 1 adult) needs to have a FP+.
Just wondering about fast passes for parades and fireworks. How fast do they book up? It seems that the available fast passes on the app are different than what I see online. We leave a week from tomorrow 🙂
Love your website. Thanks for all the excellent info!
I have a FP+ question. What happens if some of my party decide to sit out one of our prebooked FP+ attractions? Once the time window expires on the third pass, will a fourth pass still become available for the full party even if one is “forfeited”?
Yep! The 4th FP+ can be booked after the first 3 have been used or expired.
Awesome! Thanks, Shannon.
Has anyone tried to have 2 computers open at the same time to book FastPass reservations faster?
Just wondering. I heard that when I am making my FP reservations, I can only book one “thrill” ride for each park per day. Is this true? So that would mean I couldn’t book, for example, Space Mt and Splash Mt for the same day???
Depends what park you are looking at. Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom have no restrictions on which rides you can pre-book for your three FastPass+ reservations. If you wanted to book Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and Seven Dwarfs with your three reservations, you are completely welcome to it. EPCOT and Hollywood Studios have tiered reservations. At each park you can pre-book ONE (1) Tier 1 attraction (usually the top attractions like Soarin/Test Track/Illumintions at EPCOT or Tower of Terror/Rockin’ RollerCoaster/Toy Story/Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios) and TWO (2) Tier 2 attractions (basically anything else). So when planning your day at EPCOT, just know that you can’t pre-book both Soarin’ and Test Track (which arguably have the two longest lines in the park). Hope that helps!
You rock! Our trip is 21 days away and I was just able to snag 5 Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Fastpasses using the “copy” feature you suggested. I’ve been popping online at random times over the last week and all of a sudden it showed up as an option. THANK YOU!!!
Hi Shannon,
My dad has decided to surprise my mom and my girls and meet us down in December. He is an AP holder so I know I can make his passes 30 days out (which I have already started) but I am doubtful that I will be able to get him an Anna and Elsa fastpass to match all of ours. I am wondering if I am unable to get one what are the chances that a CM would just let him in with us? He will not be in any pictures I just want him to be able to see my girls faces when they meet their favorite princesses (well Queen too)
Thanks for the tips! The copy function worked perfectly for our tip in December. I tried at 60 mark for 2 day trip for mid-December and couldn’t get either Anna or Elsa or Mine train and I logged on at Midnight. I was so disappointed. Then tried for the second leg of our trip on 12/23 and booked Mine Train for family of 5 and Anna and Elsa for me and daughter using copy function. I had no availability as a family but it worked that way. Awesome advice. I’m wondering if free dining timing results in less fast pass since there may be more people staying on site? Couldn’t get anything for 12/17 but 2 days before Christmas I got both hard to get attractions. Found it odd, just a comment. 🙂
Shannon, Thank you! Your tips and wonderful information helped us get Ana & Elsa on the day we wanted and at the time we needed which is right after our daughters vist to BBB. We actually found it easier than we thought considering we’re scheduling for Dec 19-23.
Does fast past cost extra? I’m completely new to fast pass. How many fast passes can you get?
If you want a fp+ for the MSEP, do you book a different experience for the same time period (like the parade is at 9 p.m., you would book, say Pirates, for 8:30 – 9:30, and then try to change it when the MSEP becomes available at 30 days? Thanks! Love your website and podcasts! It’s the only podcast I have ever listened to.
You could do it that way, yes. You certainly wouldn’t want to book a FP+ for something you really want to keep during the time you want the MSEP FP+, but you could book something you don’t want or just book everything earlier in the day.
Totally just snagged Anna and Elsa FastPasses!!! We leave in 18 days for Disney!!! That was the only fast pass I wanted and hadn’t gotten yet! Whoo hoo!!!
Im totally new to this FP online thing but they thing im scared of is that I know what we r doing for the week we r in florida but I dont plan on what day we r doing what because I check weather to see what days we can do what due to rain so what would happen if I plan on a certain day for the FP 60 days out but when the time comes for us to go to the park and they r calling for an all day rain event so then we cant do the park that certain day but will be able to the next day would I b able to move those FP to the next day and not loose them?
when it comes to the 60 day mark to make your fast pass and you have a hopper pass for every day that you are at disney….are you still only able to make 3 choices for a one park even though you will be hopping thru out the day to another park
The 3 FP+ that you make ahead of time have to be made in 1 park per day but once you’re there and all 3 are used or expired, you can get a 4th in any park at a kiosk. Once that’s used, you can get a 5th, etc.
This is the unfortunate reality of it all. When planning our trip, we had a choice of staying off site in a huge room (more like an apartment) and be comfortable OR stay onsite in a teeny tiny room just so we can ride the MineTrain. Seems ridiculous but when it comes down to it, we have been waiting to ride Mine Train for years (yes, I know it hasn’t been open for years but the concept and building of it has taken years).
I can’t hold on the hope that maybe the lines will be short (even at rope drop you’re looking at high wait times) and risk it. My kids are so excited to ride it. When my daughter saw it on TV she got excited and said, “I want to ride that a lot”. I had to explain to her we’ll be lucky if we ride it once. Sad but true.
We were there late August, got in at rope drop, 8am EMH, and by the time we got to the Mine Train the wait was already 55 minutes! That is crazy. So, we just didn’t ride that day. I’d say go straight there, do not pass go, do not collect $200, just get there ASAP!!!
We were there late August through early September. On our first day at MK, we stood at the front of the line for rope drop, and like you, hit a lengthy wait by the time we hit the front of the queue. We were approximately 20 people away from boarding when the ride broke down, and we waited for about thirty minutes before abandoning the line in favor of continuing our touring plan. We returned during Wishes later, where we still waited approximately 50 minutes. My understanding from the Cast Member I spoke with is that the SDMT, like any other ride with advanced animatronics, experiences frequent breakdowns, so the line may not diffuse by the end of the evening.
I second the tip about going during the after-hours parties, though! We attended the Halloween party on September 1 and were able to walk on in about 10-15 minutes (this was at the tail end of the stage show, but before HalloWishes). It’s time you could certainly be using to see the unique shows and characters that do not make appearances during other times of the year, but that was fine with my kids – the bad guys scare the pants off of them, even at 5 and 8! For us, it was time well spent.
We visited in June (high peak time!) and stayed offsite. Our family of 5 was able to get FP+ for SDMT by booking 1-2 people at a time and getting overlapping ride times. We were also able to ride it at rope drop by going straight there with only about a 15 min wait time! It is imperative to arrive at MK around 8am to be near the front of the crowd and then go directly to SDMT at rope drop. We repeated this plan for 2 different days at MK and were happy to experience SDMT 4 times! We would have loved to ride it even more!
I went the very first day the seven dorfs ride was opened and it was chaotic to say the least. We arrived early in the morning to rush to the ride once the rope droped. Even when running there the wait was over 3 hours. Right of the back, i knew it would be busy but oh my. So we didnt ride it right away. During the day at the park it started to rain and there was maybe one streak of lighting and with the ride being outside it was closed down. And florida weather it can rain for 5 min and be sunny right after. So knowing this we hung out around this area until the cast members started to let people on the ride. My group and i ran to get there and only waited about 45 minutes. It was great!
So my advice is if you are unable to get a fastpass for this ride hope the weather works in your favor. And knowing Florida its not too hard to happen.
First-timer here—don’t think I’ve seen this question anywhere. Re Magic Kingdom FP–when reserving, how do we calculate how much time to allow between attractions, if we have a choice? Say Peter Pan, the mining train, & a mountain ride for example ?
This is good advice. I got on at midnight, but FP+ didn’t open until 1:00am for me for some reason. I directly went to our last park day and got Anna and Elsa and 7DMT for 4. We have 9 park days so that might have helped us in getting it for the last day.
Also, I got an email about October changes and you said Hollywood Studios closes early on 10/6, but the WDW website says it is 10/7. I hope it is 10/7 because we start our trip at Hollywood on 10/6 for the evening and Fantasmic!
Just be careful when you book the hard to get ones late at night. I was on at midnight, was able to book Anna & Elsa and the Mine Train FPs for the entire family for the last day of our trip. Unfortunately, I just realized this week that it was the day we checking out/flying out, not our last day in the parks. 🙁 Since we have two other days at MK, including the MNSSHP, we’re going to try to wait out Anna and Elsa first thing and then worst case, our flight is mid-afternoon and our FPs are for morning, so we may end up extending our tickets an extra day to squeeze it in before we leave for the airport. So much for a relaxing last day at Disney…
Two things to add:
The phone copy function has a bug and will drop your reservation without warning if it can’t find an exact match (e.g., if you have A&E, but there are no more spots when copying, you and the copy will be replaced with something else). I wouldn’t use the app until that’s fixed to copy.
Other websites (disboards) have trade threads, so if you manage to get singles at not overlapping times you can trade them with other guests to line up.
I was able to book all of the fastpasses we wanted for our upcoming trip (some not at perfect times, but I won’t complain too much about that), and when I opened my mobile app (My Disney Experience) last night to show my husband the fastpasses all say “Fastpass for 1” even though I put our entire party on there. Oddly, when I just use my browser and enter My Disney Experience online it shows all 7 members of our party. I guess I shouldn’t worry about it since we all show up somewhere, but I am nervous that we will get to an attraction and be turned away because we all are not showing up. Has anyone found this to be true? Should I call Disney about it before my trip begins?
When I made separate FP for my hubby & daughter it did this. They did show up on the Disney website just like yours. They went on their rides with no problems. I’m not sure why that does that on the MDE mobile app, just make sure to make a note in your MDE for the exact times and rides that everyone else has in case you made separate FP+ for different attractions.
When I booked our FP+ 60 days out for our recent August trip, I was online at 11:55pm, refreshing, waiting, then at 12:00am, nothing. I logged in and out, reopened the page, nothing. Tried to do it on my phone from the My Disney Experience app, nothing. So, I gave up for a bit. Then between 1:00am and 1:30am (because I was frustrated and I couldn’t sleep) I went back on and was able to get all the FP+’s that I wanted. We were even able to get 2 FP+ for separate days at MK for the Mine Train. So, I just wanted to say keep trying if it doesn’t initially work at 12:00am.
This happened to me. It wouldn’t unlock until 1:00am. I was not about to go to sleep until those fastpasses were made 🙂
In reference to a comment from a guest in search of Anna and Elsa. What does MNSSHP stand for? Curious, although we did the midnight booking, several nights in a row we struck out getting Anna and Elsa. Anything with shorter lines sounds good to me.
Thank you.
MNSSHP is Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. MVMCP is Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
So, my window opened last night. I was a so anxious to get A&E that I just took the other 2 FPs suggested. After I had the A&E I went back and cancelled the other two (they were for things we had no interest in – I wasn’t familiar with the system yet). Should I be able to add 2 additional fast passes for that day since we only have the 1. Or would I have to give up the A&E to get the other 2 (which I won’t do!!!). Right now when I try to go in, it says A&E will be cancelled if I try to add more fast passes.
just select “update. Or change fp selections”. When you select the date and park it will give you a warning that it will change or cancel your current selections. That is ok, just hit continue. Then you can select which fp you want to edit or cancel. It will keep any that you don’t select. If you don’t find any that you want, then just hit back or cancel and it will take you back to the screen before without saving any changes and keeping what you originally had. If it makes you feel better, try it on a different day/park first.
If I book 60 days before the day my trip starts can I book the FP for the entire week or just one day at a time?
You can book for the entire trip. Off-site guests who can begin booking 30 days beforehand will have to do it 1 day at a time.
You can book for the whole trip. My 60-day window opened last night, and I was able to book for our entire 14 day stay.
I am glad to hear that you were able to book your entire 14 day stay. I am there 11 days and I was on the phone with Disney 30 minutes yesterday about this issue and they told me that I could only book 10 days at my 60 day window and that I would have to wait until the following day to book my 11th. It sounds like this was not the case with you though. I hope I have the same luck!
Good luck! I only expected 10 days – but the entire window was open. A pleasant surprise! 🙂
You can book for the duration, as long as the first day of your stay is at the 60 day mark.
For Option #2 – do you have to give up a FP that you have already booked to try to find another if you have already booked your 3 for that park. I’m thinking – yes????
Yes, you would.
Also, will Anna and Elsa be at the MNSSHP??
According to Kenny the Pirate, YES! AND with shorter lines!!! 🙂
Yay!!!
So…I’ve tried step one twice now. The first time I made a mistake and went back and by 12:03 Anna & Elsa FP’s were ALL gone. We planned another trip, so that we could try again to meet them.
This time, I got online at 11:50 the night before our FP reservations could be made, and our dates were already open. A&E FP’s were already gone again, and I’m still not sure why: a. I could get FP before the right date and b. how A&E FP’s can go so quickly. What am I doing wrong?
I do not see how people who do not plan survive WDW. I am glad I am not in that boat!!! Thank you for all the info. YOU make so many family vacations amazing!!! 10 days and I will begin booking our FP+s!
What happens is, they usually go and hate it. 🙂
More room for us! 🙂
If you plan it right, it’s great!!!