All About Disney's Fast Pass.

In a Nutshell:

Anybody can use FastPass to reduce time spent waiting in lines.

There is no extra cost.

Fast Pass is like making an appointment or reservation to come back later and cut to near the head of the line.

Fast Passes are obtained from dispensing machines near the entrances of participating rides and attractions.

Not all rides use FastPass

Overhead signs at the dispensing machine area indicate the time to come back and ride with your Fast Pass.

Each person riding (except infants) must have his/her own Fast Pass for that ride.

You may get another Fast Pass about two hours later* or when the Fast Pass you have is ready for use, whichever comes first. (*sometimes less, as little as 45 minutes, during less busy times.)

We suggest that you get your first and third Fast Passes for the most popular rides you wish to go on.

For some rides you can get another Fast Pass sooner than the Fast Pass you already have says. After an hour, give it a try.

During busy times the Fast Passes for some rides can become "sold out" for the day.

If a ride is out of service you may come back any time later that day.

Something must come out of the machine. If not, try with your ticket upside down, see the nearby attendant if you still have problems.

Count your park tickets and Fast Passes before leaving the machine. Do not leave the machine if your park ticket does not come out.

If your park admission ticket is old and does not work, ask the nearby attendant for a Fast Pass or (at Guest Relations) exchange the ticket at no cost for a more modern ticket.

Young children not needing park admission tickets stay with adults and don't need their own Fast Passes.

Sometimes people congregate at the Fast Pass entrance waiting for their Fast Passes to mature. Just skip past them.

Disney may offer additional Fast Passes for sale in the future.

How does it work?

How much time does it save?

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Terminology:

Distribution Area -- Where you get your Fast Pass. Each participating ride has its own area near the ride entrance.

Fast Pass Return -- Where you come back to use your Fast Pass

Stand By -- The regular or normal line, for people not using a Fast Pass.

Queue -- Waiting line.

Window -- The 45 minute to an hour time period (ten minute period for some stage shows) when you should come back to use your Fast Pass.

Busiest Rides Early

As a strategy we suggest that you get your first, third, and fifth Fast Passes for the most popular rides you want to go on. This is not because of the Fast Pass rules but rather because as the day goes on, the time before popular ride Fast Passes mature get longer and longer. When the return time is park closing time, the machines for that ride stop issuing Fast Passes. Meanwhile for the less busy rides you can sometimes get Fast Passes before the time stamped on a Fast Pass you already have.

Thus, if your second and fourth Fast Passes are for not quite so popular rides, you will actually be able to get the first five Fast Passes almost as quickly as someone who fetched them in a different order but with less of a chance of finding the machines "sold out".

Something Must Come Out

If nothing comes out of the Fast Pass machine, a malfunction has occurred. Try again, inserting your park pass upside down or backwards*. If you still have difficulty you should immediately look for an attendant. If the machine did print a valid Fast Pass and a jam-up occurred, you may be denied another Fast Pass for as long as two hours and five minutes.

If the machine denies you a Fast Pass, you will always get a slip of paper with an error message on it.

Also, be sure to get back your park ticket(s) before leaving the machines.

If your park ticket does not come back, stay with the machine and shout for the attendant to come over. It is a good idea to copy down in advance all the numbers and codes on your park ticket as this may help in replacing the ticket if it is lost.

*The machines normally work no matter which way you insert your park pass but occasionally the magnetic stripe is not read correctly.

Every Two Hours (sometimes less)

At least as of November 2003 Disney brochures simply state that each Fast Pass shows the time you can fetch another. We found that the worst case time was two hours and five minutes.

The "two hour rule" is often misunderstood so I will give a few examples:

o   At 1:45 PM you get a Fast Pass for Splash Mountain and the return time is 2:50 to 3:35 PM. You may get another Fast Pass at 2:55 PM (approximate maturity give or take a few minutes).

o   At 10:30 AM you get a Fast Pass for Rock 'n Roll Coaster and the return time is 3:15 to 4:15 PM. You may get another Fast Pass at 12:35 PM* give or take a few minutes. (*Sooner, perhaps only 45 minutes after the fetch (11:15 AM for this example) if the park and/or the ride it is for is not too busy.)

They don't actually record the time you ride. The system is timed so that after using the Fast Pass properly, you will always succeed in getting the next one if you hadn't already done so.

Fast Pass is not meant to get you into the ride sooner, you always have to come back later.

Never insert another park ticket into a machine if a park ticket does not come back out.

If your park admission ticket does not seem to work, try turning it over and re-inserting it. Fast Pass machines should read your ticket no matter which way it is inserted but sometimes one of the read heads is dirty and does not read the ticket properly. If you have an older admission ticket or hopper pass that does not fit in the turnstiles, there is someone at the Fast Pass machines to give you a Fast Pass. You may also exchange an older pass or ticket with no extra charge at the ticket window or at Guest Relations before entering the park, they will give you a ticket with the same number of days remaining that fits the turnstiles and Fast Pass machines. If you want to keep the old ticket as a souvenir, ask before trading it in. You may be required to forego further admissions or FastPass privileges in exchange for keeping the old ticket.

Check the Fast Pass when it comes out of the machine. If something is not quite right, the pass will have a large black patch marked "Not A Valid Fast Pass". It is not a good idea to have admission tickets not being used for the day loose in your pocket. To reduce problems from possible turnstile problems earlier in the day, Fast Pass machines may some day mark tickets as used which may lead to the waste of a day's admission if you insert the wrong ticket.

When you come back, look around the Fast Pass Return entrance. Sometimes people are milling about waiting for their Fast Passes to mature and you can skip past them. Don't mistake them for a long line backing all the way out. Sometimes the Fast Pass line looks as long as the regular line from the outside but the regular line goes through a lot of zigzags and curlicues and the Fast Pass line does not.

If you send one family member to get Fast Passes for the whole family, be sure he counts the park passes afterwards to be sure none were left behind in the machine.

Once in awhile Fast Pass fetch times may vary, usually in the patron's favor, due to a system malfunction. Sometimes such an irregularity would not be discovered except by trying to fetch another Fast Pass sooner than allowed.

When you come back and hand in your Fast Pass to the ride attendant, nothing is recorded except on infrequent occasions when spot checks are made to gather statistics. Disney just hopes that not everyone with a matured Fast Pass shows up at the same time. The Fast Pass system promises little additional waiting when you use your Fast Pass, not a no-waiting guarantee. Our experience has shown the wait to rarely exceed five minutes, except if a ride was unexpectedly closed during the day.

The attendant collecting the Fastpasses may be several feet before the loading platform. This may introduce some wait time to Fast Pass guests who mingle with regular guests after that point.

There is still room in the Fast Pass system for error. Sometimes the ride operator uses the wrong formula for how many Fast Pass riders to admit. If a ride breaks down (the popular Test Track at Epcot breaks down a lot) the Fast Pass line can back up when the ride re-opens.

Not all rides have or will have Fast Pass because of the cost of the equipment and remodeling of the waiting and loading areas. For rides that tend to have little or no wait during a few hours of most days, you are simply advised to come back during those times.

Surprise Fast Passes

Once in awhile, when you fetch a Fast Pass, a Fast Pass for a different ride or attraction will also come out of the machine. This is more likely to occur during less busy days.

Expired Fast Passes

Most of the time guests have been allowed to use Fast Passes after the usage window has passed but occasionally such use is denied. There is a rule that if a ride is out of service when you return to use your Fast Pass, you may use it any time later that day.

VIP Privileges

Most rides allow isolated seats or parts of a bench to go empty if the next group of people can't all fit. Test Track at Epcot is an exception, they fill every seat whenever possible. In addition to the Fast Pass line, Test Track has a third line for "single" riders. If your group does not mind being split up, you can use this line for what is usually a shorter wait. The ride attendants make a conscienscious although not perfect effort to split up groups who use the single rider line.

Some VIP passes, called "re-entry" passes, are issued. They are used like Fast Passes but do not have a usage time stamped on them. They are used mostly to accommodate guests caught in a ride breakdown. I got one for Test Track when I took a backstage tour (extra cost) at Epcot which included some behind the scenes views of Test Track.

Currently (2003) VIP passes, privileges, and perks consume a negligible part of the capacity of rides at WDW, probably less than one percent. Often the VIP entrance is via obscure doors and corridors or by "walking up the down staircase". Rumor has it that Disney may some day take a significant part of ride capacity for VIP use, which might include guests staying at some of the pricier resorts, or guests who purchase a card or coupon book. VIP riders would probably enter via the Fast Pass line since the obscure doors and gates  would require too much supervision.

According to Corey Sandler, author of the Econoguide book series, "Universal Studios in Orlando has offered a limited quantity VIP four hour visit with line cutting privileges. Up to 15 people for $90.00 apiece or $900.00 for a group of 11 to 15 you assemble yourself (1997 prices), go with a tour guide. This tour does not include lunch."

Universal Studios no longer offers their Express Pass (similar to Disney's Fast Pass) on a free one ride at a time basis using automated kiosks (dispensers). Guests staying at one of their hotels receive unlimited "front of the line" privileges via separate entrances similar to Disney's Fast Pass lines. Guests can also purchase a coupon that allows one "front of the line" entrance for each participating ride. The cost varies with anticipated crowds.

Critics have said that selling Fast Passes and also granting extra ride privileges to resort guests, will reduce the number of Fast Passes available to all guests from the machines before the machines are "sold out", and force guests who did not purchase these books of Fast Passes to wait in lines longer and more often. We cannot blame Disney for this as Disney is a profit making corporation.

It may be noted that when Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World first opened, guests had to present a ride ticket for each ride. Most amusement parks then operated under a similar system. Disney guests could purchase a general admission ticket with no ride privileges, a general admission ticket with some ride tickets attached, or additional books of ride tickets.

In order to implement Fast Pass, Disney had to put ticket takers at the entrances to the applicable rides again. The concept of selling books of Fast Passes is an extension of individual ride ticketing. Disney had different prices for rides and the respective tickets were referred to by the letters A through E. To this day, an elaborate ride at WDW is referred to as an "E-Ticket" ride, not to be confused with "E-Night" for extended evening hours for those who purchased a separate admission ticket for that.

This writer believes that families accompanying handicapped children should have VIP privileges. This may be limited to rides the handicapped child is able to ride and to family members in his/her presence.

I heard at least as a rumor if not as a test case that Fast Pass was at one time limited to WDW on site guests. I did succeed in obtaining a Fast Pass using a resort room key a few years ago, other guests have reported the same and WDW claimed to have treated that as a malfunction and removed it shortly thereafter. The loophole would not be discovered by guests who combined their room key and park admission on a single card. It was told to me later that the loophole also allowed certain other non-Disney magnetic stripe cards to fetch Fast Passes.

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