Africa
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Pandora: The World of Avatad
Rafiki’s Planet Watch
Fastpass+ and MyMagic+
Planning a Trip ⇒ Fastpass+ and My Magic+
My Magic+ debuted in 2013 as the new way for guests to plan and make adjustments to their Walt Disney World vacation. It’s a relatively new system, so guests that have not visited Disney since 2013 should try to familiarize themselves with it before their visit to get the most out of their vacation.
My Disney Experience
My Disney Experience is a website and app where guests can control everything about their vacation. This included making dining reservations, Fastpass+ reservations, viewing and downloading Photopass pictures, viewing your vacation itinerary, and accessing your park tickets.
Fastpass+
Fastpass+ replaced the old paper Fastpass system and gives guests much more control over their daily plans. The Fastpass+ reservation system gives guests the ability arrive at an attraction and go straight to the font of the line. Guests can make three Fastpass+ reservations a day for the park of their choosing. All Fastpass reservations for the day must be made in the same park and each reservation gives guests a one hour window to redeem their Fastpass. Guests staying at a Disney Resort can book Fastpasses 60 days in advance, while everyone else can book them 30 days in advance. The reservations can be made through the My Disney Experience App or website and can be adjusted at at any point up until they are used.
After using the first three Fastpasses guest have the ability to book an additional Fastpass (based on ability). Once that one is used another can bee booked, and so on. Guests staying at a Disney Resort can book Fastpasses for the length of their stay. Everybody else can only make Fastpass+ reservations for 7 days at a time.
Some parks use tiers where guests can pick one attraction from the top tier (most popular attractions) and two from the lower tier. Here’s a breakdown of the attractions that are part of the Fastpass+ system and some tips on how to wisely use your Fastpasses:
Magic Kingdom
- The Barnstormer
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
- Enchanted Tales with Belle
- Haunted Mansion
- “it’s a small world”
- Jungle Cruise
- Mad Tea Party
- The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Meet Ariel at Her Grotto
- Meet Cinderella and Elena at Princess Fairytale Hall
- Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater
- Meet Rapunzel and Tiana at Princess Fairytale Hall
- Meet Tinker Bell at Town Square Theater
- Mickey’s Philharmagic
- Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- Splash Mountain
- Tomorrowland Speedway
- Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid
When it comes to the Magic Kingdom, it’s best to use your Fastpasses on the headline attractions: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, or Space Mountain. These are going to have the worst lines so you’ll save the most time using a Fastpass on them.
Avoid using Fastpasses on shows and high capacity attractions like Haunted Mansion, “it’s a small world,” Mickey’s Philharmagic, Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, and Under the Sea. These attractions don’t typically have long waits, so you’d be wasting your Fastpass.
Everything in between is really based on personal preference. It might be worth it using a Fastpass on one of them if you’re a big enough fan of the attraction.
Epcot
- Tier One
- Epcot Forever
- Frozen Ever After
- Soarin’
- Test Track
- Tier Two
- Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival
- Journey Into Imagination
- Living with the Land
- Mission: SPACE
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends
- Spaceship Earth
- Turtle Talk with Crush
Epcot uses a two-tier system for selecting Fastpasses. Guests can choose one attraction from the first tier and two from the second. Frozen Ever After is the best use of a tier one Fastpass since it currently has the longest lines. Test Track and Soarin’ aren’t bad selections but stay away from using a Fastpass on Illuminations. There are great spots all around World Showcase to watch Illuminations and using a Fastpass here guarantees you won’t be able to get a fourth Fastpass.
You’ll be best served using your second tier Fastpasses on either Mission: Space, Spaceship Earth, or Meet Disney Pals at the Epcot Character Spot. Everything else will have zero to short waits during most times of the year.
Hollywood Studios
- Tier One
- Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run
- Slinky Dog Coaster
- Tier Two
- Alien Swirling Saucers
- Beauty and the Beast-Live on Stage
- Disney Junior Dance Party!
- Fantasmic!
- For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
- Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
- Muppet*Vision 3D
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
- Star Tours – The Adventure Continues
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
- Toy Story Mania!
- Voyage of The Little Mermaid
Selecting Fastpasses at Hollywood Studios is easy if you follow our advice on not choosing shows. We suggest selecting Slinky Dog Coaster, but any tier one selection will work well into a Hollywood Studio strategy. If you get a Slinky Dog Fastpass, do Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway at rope drop and save Smuggler’s Run for at night. Slinky Dog usually has the shortest wait at night if you don’t have a Fastpass.
For Tier Two, you’re left with Toy Story Mania!, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Star Tours, and Tower of Terror to choose from if you exclude the shows. We’ll leave this choice up to your personal preference. Don’t use a Fastpass on the Alien Swinging Saucers.
Animal Kingdom
- Tier One
- Flight of Passage
- Na’vi River Journey
- Tier Two
- DINOSAUR
- Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
- Festival of the Lion King
- Finding Nemo – The Musical
- It’s Tough to be a Bug!
- Kali River Rapids
- Kilimanjaro Safaris
- Meet Favorite Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost
- Primeval Whirl
- Rivers of Light
- UP! A Great Bird Adventure
The best way to use Fastpasses at Animal Kingdom is to go with Flight of Passage (if available) Kilimanjaro Safari, and either Expedition Everest or Kali River Rapids. Kali River Rapids is probably a better use of Fastpass then Expedition Everest as long as it’s hot enough that you don’t mind getting soaked. The remaining attractions are shows or attractions that generally have shorter wait times.
Magic Bands
MagicBands are your connection to everything at Walt Disney World. A MagicBand is a wristband with an embedded RFID chip. It will act as your park pass (for park entry and Fastpasses), room key, photopass card, and their room charge card. Effectively, your MagicBand is meant to replace any other cards you would need to carry. Disney Resort guests will see the most benefit here since room charges and the room key functionality are only available to them.
MagicBands are complementary to Disney Resort guests and Annual Passholders. They can pick from a variety of colors and customize the MagicBands with names on the My Disney Experience website. MagicBands are then mailed out, so you’ll have them before you leave for your vacation.
Guests not staying at a Walt Disney World Resort can purchase MagicBands if they like while at Walt Disney World. There are many different types available for purchase that feature different characters and attractions. There are also limited edition MagicBands that cause different effects when connected with the MagicBand readers in the park.
One of the benefits of the MagicBands, besides their practicality, is the additional experiences they unlock in the parks. For example, guests riding Seven Dwarfs Mine Train will have a customized video of their ride added to their My Disney Experience Photopass Account.
