More Changes to Disney’s FastPass+

If you have kids, or know anyone who does, you’ve probably heard by now that Disney implemented a new FastPass+ system for their parks a few months ago. But, more changes were made this week to Disney’s FastPass+ which will benefit those who aren’t staying at Disney Resorts or are Annual Passholders. Starting this week, all Disney Parks ticket holders are able to choose their FastPass+ selections online through My Disney Experience 30 days in advance of their visit. Hallelujah! Previously, only those staying at a Disney Resort or Annual Passholders could do this ahead of time leaving regular ticket holders with the leftover FastPass+ selection to choose from once they arrived to the park the day of their visit.

House of the Mouse

My iPhone Snapshot of Our FastPass+ Selections

Kids on the curb awaiting FastPasses

Once we secured our FastPass+ rides, yes, the process was seamless. Limited maybe, with only 3 FastPasses a day, but seamless. Still, this new FastPass+ system seemed to be best for the Disney obsessed…those who come to the parks repeatedly throughout the year and always stay at Disney Resorts. The only problem? That left plenty of other Mickey-loving individuals out of the convenient new system, including us. Regardless, we still had a magical day at the Kingdom once we got going with lunch among knights, sweet Mickey treats, silliness at PhilharMagic, and a trip Under the Sea.

A Magical Day at Disney

But I think I literally jumped for joy when I heard I could reserve our FastPasses online this week. It’s perfect timing as we are headed back to Disney World in a minute. As soon as I heard, I jumped online, loaded up all ticket numbers for everyone in our party (grandparents are joining us this time), and chose 3 days of FastPass+ rides. Voilá! Time saved already once we hit the parks. The system works like a charm and is actually a bit addicting as you can change your selections as many times as you like. Here’s what your FastPass+ selections will look like on your phone through your My Disney Experience App…

Our FastPass+ Selections…and yes, Ariel is my profile pic. She’s clearly the most fabulous princess.

I’ll test this all out again with these new changes on my next trip and report back. In the meantime, here are a few things to remember about all these new changes at Disney…

• Reserving FastPass+ In Advance: Any Disney Park ticket holder can now reserve FastPasses online 30 days in advance of their trip, Annual Passholders can reserve up to 7 days within any 30-day period—for 1 park per day, and those staying at a Disney Resort hotel can reserve for up to 7 days or the length of your hotel stay (whichever is longer) up to 60 days prior to check-in. So, Disney Resort guests win here.
• My Disney Experience App: If you don’t have it, get it. It’s your lifeline at WDW and gives you almost all the info you need on the park. Plus, through this app and website you can choose your FastPass+ rides or make changes and have note of the scheduled ride times right on your phone. Plus, you get to choose a character as your profile picture. How much fun is that?
• FastPass+ Kiosks: In case you aren’t interested in loading yet another app onto your phone, Kiosks are located throughout the park to make FastPass+ selections or change them throughout the day.
• MagicBands: These bands really are magic….magically convenient as they can give you access to the parks and grant you FastPass+ entrance at your chosen rides. For Disney Resort guests, they are complimentary, can also open your hotel room, and can pay for food and merchandise in the park (with credit card linked) all with one swipe. Recently, these bands have been made available to regular ticket holders and are on sale for $12.95 (plus tax) in the parks…however these versions cannot be linked to your credit card for purchases throughout the park. We still think they’re worth it so you don’t have to dig through your Mary Poppins bag for your park pass each time you enter a FastPass+ line.

Our usual M.O. is not staying at a Disney Resort. We tend to choose the more modern hotels partly because we just feel like we need a Disney timeout when we are outside of the actual parks. I get the convenience of the WDW shuttle but this Mommy needs a break from characters after a long day in the park…and from what I understand, your interaction with them at the Disney resorts starts first thing in the morning with a wake-up call from Goofy. But with all of these new changes, it’s pretty clear that staying at a Disney Resort will offer visitors the most convenient & efficient overall Disney park experience from FastPass+ reservations to park purchases…and with two little ones, I’ll all about making life more convenient & efficient. So it sounds like Disney Resorts are in my future. I’ll just have to remember to cancel that wake-up call.

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