Fastpass+ is still relatively new although the idea behind Fastpass is not. Fastpass was instituted in 1999 and it was a way of holding your spot in line. You'd returned at a specific time and your wait was typically only 5 minutes or so (often no wait).
Fastpass+ is a new, digital version of this. Instead of waiting until you are in the park, and reserving rides one at a a time, you now reserve them ahead of time (60 days in advance for onsite guests, 30 for offsite). This is all done through your My Disney Experience account!
I logged on right at my 60 day mark, at midnight...in hopes of getting the elusive Anna and Elsa. Unfortunately the only available times were at the very end of our trip at 9 p.m. so we decided to skip it and we'll head straight to meet them when the park opens one morning.
There are 2 schools of thought when it comes to reserving your attractions.
1) Early Risers... in this plan you'll schedule your Fastpass+ early in the morning. You'll be there anyway, so why not? The benefit of this plan is that once you use your 3 Fastpass's, you can schedule more...one at a time via in-park Kiosks!
2)Sleeping in...in this plan you schedule your Fastpass's later in the day. This way you can either a) sleep in and still ride your favorite attractions or b)Hop on some less popular attractions early in the day when the lines are shorter.
We opted for plan 1 so that we can try for more Fastpass's later in the day! Here are our current selections. Remember that you can change them via in-park kiosks or your mobile app right up until a few minutes prior!
| FastPass #1 | Time | Fastpass #2 | Time | FastPass #3 | Time | |
| 12/14/2014 | Spaceship Earth | 6:20-7:20 p.m. | Character Spot | 7:40-8:40 p.m. | Illuminations | 9:05 p.m. |
| 12/15/2014 | Seven Dwarf's | 9:10-10:10 a.m. | Meet Ariel | 11:50-12:50 p.m. | Barnstormer | 1:00-2:00 p.m. |
| 12/16/2014 | Kilimanjaro | 9:50-10:50 a.m. | Everest | 11:40-12:40 a.m. | Dinosaur | 1:00-2:00 p.m. |
| 12/17/2014 | Enchanted Tales | 11:20-12:20 a.m. | Big Thunder | 12:45-1:45 p.m. | Splash | 3:55-4:55 p.m. |
| 12/18/2014 | Test Track | 9:35-10:35 a.m. | Turtle Talk | 11:25-12:25 a.m. | Soarin' | 12:40 -1:40 p.m. |
| 12/19/2014 | Toy Story | 9:55-10:55 a.m. | First Time in Forever | 11:05-12:05 a.m. | Disney Jr | 1:10-2:20 p.m. |
| 12/20/2014 |
Besides missing out on Anna and Elsa we really got everything else we were hoping for! We'll also take advantage of Rider Swap on some of the "Big Kid" rides :)
Up next...renting a car vs. Magical Express!
Up next...renting a car vs. Magical Express!
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so to see Anna and Elsa, you have to book the Princess Hall FP+?
ReplyDeleteYes and no...FP+ guarantees you can seem them without a wait. If you don't book FP+ then you need to get there early. As of TODAY they close the line after it gets "full" (about 60-90) minutes. Then fastpass's open up for the rest of the day...and they go fast. This could of course change at any minute.
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