Fastpass - Information

What Is FastPass?
The idea of FastPass is this, it's a way to grab a place in line for an attraction without having to stand in that line the entire time. It's a sort of virtual queuing system that holds your place in line so you can do other stuff. When your virtual position gets near the front of the line it's time for your body to show up and jump in its place.

How Does It Work?
Imagine a ride or show that could take in 1,000 guests per hour. With the FastPass system a certain percentage of of that 1000-guest-per-hour capacity is put aside and reserved for the FastPass system. Those reserved spots, let's say 500, are given out as FastPass tickets to guests who go to a kiosk and request one.

Once you grab your ticket you'll be assigned one of those 500 reserved spots and a time to come back and enjoy the ride. When you return, you won't wait in a long line (usually). You'll still have a short wait as you're not going directly to the head of the line here but you'll often bypass the bulk of the wait time compared to waiting in the regular "standby" line.

As more guests grab up FastPass tickets for any given ride, the return time gets pushed back later and later into the day until all of those reserved spots are used up. With this in mind, it's best to get your FastPass tickets as early as possible, especially for the most popular of attractions.

What Does It Cost? What Are The Limits?
There is no added cost to use FastPass and it's included for all guests with park admission. The only limit is how many FastPasses you can get at any one time and throughout each day. Once you get a FastPass you cannot get another FastPass until the time on your FastPass ticket passes. So don't think this is a way to go and get 20 FastPass tickets all at once.

How Do I Get A FastPass?
It's easy! Look for a FastPass distribution sign near the entrance of the attraction you want to go on. It will list the "return time" on the sign so this tells you what time you will come back if you choose to get a FastPass. If you are okay with the return time you enter your admission ticket into the FastPass kiosk and it will return your admission ticket and a printed FastPass ticket. You'll do this for each person in your group.

Hang onto that ticket, it's like cash so if you lose it you lose your spot. On that note, you can give it to others if you want! When the return time comes up just show up and you'll enter a special FastPass line and give your ticket to a Cast Member. This line should go much faster than the standby line.

Important Notes
You can only use a FastPass on the day it was issued and only within the return time window that is printed on the ticket. If you're with a group then every single person in the group needs their own FastPass ticket to enter the attraction. You can't get a new ticket until the time listed on your current ticket. FastPasses do run out, especially on popular rides.

So What is FastPass+ Then?
FastPass+ is a new system that is offered in Florida's Walt Disney World but is not yet available at Disneyland (but you can bet it will be eventually). With the FP+ system, you get a waterproof wristband that is your room key, your resort charging system for all purchases, your park admission, and your FastPass ride scheduler.

With this highly advanced system you can schedule your FastPass selections online and weeks in advance of your trip to the park. It also works with every ride and attraction, not just select attractions like the Disneyland FastPass system. Some people love it, others hate it. For now, it doesn't exist at Disneyland but you can bet we'll be updating this article when it is.