FASTPASS

Planning Around Disney World’s FASTPASS Return Enforcement Policy

by josh on May 6, 2012

Edit: DINOSAUR is back on the FASTPASS system, meaning they work there just as they do at other attractions.  I’m not sure what was going on at the beginning of April – either a fluke or they were trying to send more people than usual to DINOSAUR.

It’s been about two months since Disney began enforcing FASTPASS return times and we now have a clearer understanding of what that means.  On March 7th, Disney began enforcing FASTPASS return times.  Before that, you could enter the FASTPASS return line with your FASTPASS at any time after the return window opened.  For example, if you were holding a Space Mountain FASTPASS with a return window of 1:15pm to 2:15pm, you could return any time after 1:15pm.  That means you could ride at 9pm with your 1:15pm FASTPASS.  That’s no longer true.  Currently, you must return within your FASTPASS window with a 15 minute grace period attached at the end.  In our example above, you would need to return to Space Mountain between 1:15pm and 2:30pm.

Let’s take a look at how to maximize your FASTPASS strategy so that you can still tour efficiently, eliminate walking/backtracking as much as possible, and return within the FASTPASS windows at each theme park.

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FASTPASS at Disney World – How To Take Advantage of Disney’s Fourth Greatest Invention

by josh on October 6, 2010

Updated January 27, 2012.

What is FASTPASS?

First introduced in 1999, FASTPASS is a “virtual queuing system” offered at many of Disney’s most popular attractions.  Unlike other theme parks that charge for “front of the line access,” FASTPASS is completely free for all ticket holders.  All a person needs to take advantage of FASTPASS is the ticket they used to gain entrance to the Park.

FASTPASS is similar to the “take a number” system you may be familiar with at your local Department of Motor Vehicles.  Each FASTPASS-enabled attraction has a bank of machines near its queue entrance.  Visitors may obtain a FASTPASS by inserting their Park ticket into one of these machines, which will scan and return the ticket along with a small piece of paper known as a FASTPASS.  Instead of having to wait for a number to be called, each FASTPASS has a return time printed on it for some time in the future, allowing the user to “save” their spot in line and tour the Park freely while they wait.  Once the time stated on the FASTPASS arrives, the FASTPASS user can return to the attraction and enter the FASTPASS queue, which is designed to have a wait of ten minutes or less.  This arrangement is beneficial to both theme park guests and Disney.  Just one use of FASTPASS can save a visitor more than an hour in line, allowing them to explore the Park and see additional attractions.  Disney benefits because a person that isn’t stuck in a long line is more likely to spend money at a store, kiosk, or restaurant.

As previously mentioned, FASTPASSes are printed with a return time for some point later in the day.  Each attraction prints a certain number of FASTPASSes for each return window, which is usually one hour long.  The minimum return time is 40 minutes in the future.  For example, if you collect a FASTPASS for The Many of Adventures of Winnie the Pooh at 9:00am, chances are that it will have a return window of 9:40am to 10:40am.

Each attraction distributes a certain number of FASTPASSes for each hour-long window.  If demand doesn’t exceed supply, then the machines will continue to distribute FASTPASSes with return times that are just 40 minutes in the future.  If demand exceeds supply, then the return time will be later and later in the day as the attraction runs out of FASTPASSes for each specific window.  For example, let’s say that The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh distributes 100 FASTPASSes for each possible hour-long window.  That means 100 FASTPASSes would be distributed for 9:40am to 10:40am, 100 for 9:45am to 10:45am, 100 for 9:50am to 10:50am, etc.

If fewer than 100 FASTPASSes are distributed, then FASTPASSes will continue to give return times just 40 minutes in the future.  However, if more than 100 FASTPASSes for a window are distributed, the attraction will then give out FASTPASSes for the next window.  Let’s say that 500 people pick up FASTPASSes for Winnie the Pooh between 9:00am and 9:10am.  The first 100 people would get the 9:40am to 10:40am FASTPASSes.  The next 100 would get the 9:45am to 10:45am FASTPASSes.  The next 100 would get the 9:50am to 10:50am FASTPASSes, and so on.  By 9:10am, 500 FASTPASSes would be distributed and the current FASTPASS return time would be 10:05am to 11:05am, or 55 minutes in the future.  Thus, attractions that give out fewer FASTPASSes or have higher demand tend to run out of FASTPASSes earlier and give return times that are further into the future.

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