Fastpass, for those who aren't quite sure, is a way of making a reservation for a ride time. It is most often used when the regular (stand-by) line is getting longer than someone might want to wait on. You can head over to the Fastpass machines, usually located next to the ride entrance, insert your park ticket, and receive a slip of paper with a time window of when you can come back and bypass the stand-by line, waiting only in a line with the other guests who share your Fastpass reservation time. There are a limited number of Fastpass reservations available for any given time window for a ride.
Now, bear in mind that just the existence of Fastpass is not what is going to make your life easier; it's the incorporating it's use into your plans for the day. As you head to the park that day, think about the needs of your family - the different attractions that each family member wants to experience and the different needs that each family member has. Here are some ways that my own family has used the Fastpass system. Use them to spark some thoughts and ideas about how this system can benefit your own family.
The Toy Story Midway Mania! ride is a very popular one at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort. In fact, I have seen people sprint from the front gates, as the park opens, across the grounds to get to that ride first, because the line can get so long. I have even seen people sprint to the Midway Mania! Fastpass kiosks, the wait has been so notorious in the past. I also know that, as Hollywood Studios opens, there are Disney characters waiting to meet people, take pictures, and sign autographs right in front of the Sorcerer's Hat in the middle of the park. So, when my family entered the park the last time we visited, my wife and kids headed straight for the Meet 'n' Greets while I broke off to the right and picked up Fastpasses for the Toy Story ride (I did need each family member's ticket so that we could each get a Fastpass). There was no crazy running, no pushing past people, and no frustration. I rejoined my family just a few minutes later. The kids were having a fantastic time - getting to meet Donald and Daisy, Pooh and Tigger, etc and I had Fastpasses in hand for later that day. Granted, I didn't run to the Fastpass kiosks, so mine were already scheduled for 2:30pm, but that was okay. Now we were able to make a plan. We decided that we would eat lunch at around 1:30, and then head over to the Toy Story ride. With our lunch time planned, we were able to loosely plan out our morning as well as the early afternoon. We knew when to make sure the kids had snacks and/or drinks to keep them feeling good and happy, as opposed to letting people get tired, hungry, or frustrated before trying to figure out what our next move would be. Think about how much that would have helped, also, if I was using a visual schedule or a first-then chart with one of my children. Simply amazing! It was quick, easy, and efficient and that one Fastpass made a huge difference in our day. Plus, it's totally fun to walk right past a 90 minute-long line to join up with the 20 minute Fastpass line. Hey, it's not like we didn't wait the 90 minutes ourselves. In fact, we waited longer. I got the tickets at 9am and we ended up coming back at 3pm. That's a 6-hour wait! It's just that while we waited, we met characters, went on rides, saw shows, and ate a meal and a snack.
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Mike Cohen is a Disney Travel Agent and owner of Travel With Magic, an Academy Travel affiliate, specializing in Disney Destinations. Discover the magic Mike can work for you by getting in touch at TravelWithMagic.com, by emailing at mike@travelwithmagic.com, or by calling him at (315) 450-2869.
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