by Heather LaPuma

Hello Tiggerific Travelers!
Lets break down how to create your plan your days in the parks! This is going to be a long post, so bear with me and keep reading!

This article assumes that you have already decided which days you are going to be spending in each park and you’ve already made your dining reservations.

Here are some basic tips for making the most of your park days.

  1. Arrive before the parks open. Most people sleep in because they are on vacation, but you can get more done in the first hour than the entire rest of the day. During the hot times of year, getting out early is also fantastic for taking advantage of milder weather early in the morning.
  2. Plan the first part of the day fairly strictly (see touring plans below) and then be more flexible the rest of the day.
  3. Use FastPass+ to make ride reservations for the rides with the longest waits.
  4. Consider taking a mid-day break after lunch and then returning to the parks in the evening. This helps keep people from getting warn out and cranky. It also helps avoid the busiest, hottest time of the day in the parks. Even adults need nap and cool-down time. Hit the pool and take a nap in your air-conditioned room.

Booking Fast Pass Plus Reservations

All guests Walt Disney World Resort Guests can make 3 FastPass+ reservations per day. You can only make your reservations in 1 park. In general, reservations can be made at midnight however please note that if the Magic Kingdom closes after midnight, then you have to wait until the Magic Kingdom closes on the night on which you are making the Fast Pass reservations. This time does not include extra magic hours. Reservations can be made on a computer or on the My Disney Experience App and all guests can also make use of kiosks in the parks to make or change FastPass+ reservations on the day of their visit.

Please note the following differences for making reservations for on-site vs. off-site guests.

  • On-site guests (and people staying at the Swan and Dolphin Hotels) can make FastPass+ reservations for their whole trip up to 60 days in advance of their trip’s start date, beginning at midnight eastern time.
  • Off-site guests can make FastPass+ reservations up to 30 days in advance of the day they plan to be in the park (which means off-site guests will have to be online for multiple nights in a row).

Some tips about using FastPass+

You can’t make your first 3 FastPass+ reservations for the same ride twice.
Your first 3 FastPass+ reservations must be for all different rides.

However, you can get more FastPass+ reservations after you use the first 3.
Once your first 3 FastPass+ reservations are used, you can then go to a kiosk and get a 4th. Once your 4th FP+ is used, you can go to a kiosk and get a 5th. These additional FastPass+ reservations can be in the same park or a different park and can be for the same ride over and over, if you want. There are plans to add this functionality to the My Disney Experience app but for now, you must go to a kiosk.

Don’t use FastPass+ reservations unnecessarily.
If you arrive at an attraction to use a FastPass+ reservation and the standby line is short (5 or 10 minutes), skip the FastPass+ line, get into the standby line and then change that FastPass+ to something else to use later. You can make the change on your phone or at a FastPass+ kiosk.

Plan to spend more than 1 day at Magic Kingdom.
If time allows, you will probably want to spend 2 days at Magic Kingdom (maybe even 2.5 days). If you arrive at rope drop (I suggest arriving 30-45 minutes before park opening), make use of the first couple of hours to ride without FastPass+ reservations and then use FP+ to ride later in the day, you’ll be able to accomplish all of the attractions you’d like at Magic Kingdom.

Link your tickets

All guests should make FastPass+ reservations online ahead of time. In order to do that, you need to have tickets on your My Disney Experience account. If you are staying on-site and bought a package for your trip (which includes a hotel and tickets), they’ll already be in your account.

If you are staying off-site and/or bought tickets separate from your on-site hotel room, you need to link them by going to MyDisneyExperience.com, logging in and then clicking “Link Existing Reservations and Tickets.”

Lets check out the best rides for each park!

Magic Kingdom

FastPass+ Opportunities Magic Kingdom

These are the attractions that offer FastPass+ at Magic Kingdom:

  • Fantasyland – Barnstormer, Dumbo, Enchanted Tales with Belle, It’s a Small World, Mad Tea Party, Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Meet Ariel at her Grotto, Meet Anna and Elsa at Princess Fairytale Hall, Meet Rapunzel and Cinderella at Princess Fairytale Hall, Peter Pan’s Flight, PhilharMagic, Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
  • Tomorrowland – Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Space Mountain, Tomorrowland Speedway
  • Frontierland – Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • Adventureland – Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, Magic Carpets of Aladdin
  • Liberty Square – Haunted Mansion
  • Main Street, U.S.A. – Meet Mickey at Town Square Theater, Meet Tinker Bell at Town Square Theater
  • Fireworks and parades – Main Street Electrical Parade, Wishes, Festival of Fantasy Parade

FastPass+ Priorities – Magic Kingdom

You will have to make 3 FP+ reservations, even if you only want 1 or 2 (if you choose 2 attractions, the system will automatically pick another for you so you’ll end up with 3). However, if you arrive to Magic Kingdom less than 3 hours before the closing time and want to make FP+ reservations at 1 of the kiosks, you will likely be restricted to making just 1 or 2 FastPass+ reservations.

Top priority for FastPass+ at Magic Kingdom

  • Meet Anna and Elsa at Princess Fairytale Hall (Possibly the hardest to get fast pass and longest line! Frozen Fever!!!)
  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
  • Enchanted Tales with Belle
  • Space Mountain
  • Peter Pan’s Flight
  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • Splash Mountain

Second priority for FastPass+ at Magic Kingdom

  • Meet Rapunzel and Cinderella at Princess Fairytale Hall
  • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
  • Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  • Haunted Mansion
  • Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid
  • Barnstormer
  • It’s a Small World
  • Meet Ariel at her Grotto
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Jungle Cruise
  • Tomorrowland Speedway

Third priority for FastPass+ at Magic Kingdom

  • Dumbo
  • Mad Tea Party
  • Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
  • Magic Carpets of Aladdin
  • Meet Mickey at Town Square Theater
  • Meet Tinker Bell at Town Square Theater
  • Main Street Electrical Parade (reserved area)
  • PhilharMagic
  • Wishes (reserved area)
  • Festival of Fantasy Parade (reserved area)

Epcot

FastPass+ opportunities – Epcot

FastPass+ attractions are split into tiers at Epcot. You can pick one from Tier 1 and two from Tier 2. You can’t pick 3 things from Tier 2 as an alternative.

Tier 1 – choose 1 of these

  • Soarin’*
  • Test Track*
  • IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth
  • Living with the Land

Tier 2 – choose 2 of these

  • Mission: Space*
  • Turtle Talk with Crush*
  • Spaceship Earth*
  • Character Spot
  • Captain EO
  • Journey into Imagination with Figment
  • The Seas with Nemo & Friends

* indicates a good choice for your FastPass+

Here’s the thing about Epcot: I’m not sure you’ll need a FastPass+ reservation for anything other than a top tier ride (Soarin’ or Test Track). In other words, the Tier 2 items are not really needed unless you plan to show up later or you’re visiting during a really busy time. However, the FastPass+ system will require you to pick two Tier 2 reservations.

Top priority for Epcot

  • Tier 1:
    • Soarin’
    • Test Track
  • Tier 2:
    • Mission: Space
    • Turtle Talk with Crush

Second priority for Epcot (FP+ not usually necessary for these)

  • Tier 2:
    • Spaceship Earth

Third priority (FP+ not recommended for these)

  • Tier 1:
    • IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth
    • Living with the Land
  • Tier 2:
    • Captain EO
    • Journey into Imagination with Figment
    • Character Spot
    • The Seas with Nemo & Friends

Hollywood Studios

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FastPass+ Options – Hollywood Studios

FastPass+ attractions are split into tiers at Hollywood Studios.

You can pick one from Tier 1 and two from Tier 2. You can’t pick 3 things from Tier 2 as an alternative. 1 from Tier 1, 2 from Tier 2.

Tier 1 – choose 1 of these

  • Toy Story Midway Mania*
  • Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster*
  • Fantasmic!
  • Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage
  • The Great Movie Ride

Tier 2 – choose 2 of these

  • Tower of Terror*
  • Star Tours*
  • Voyage of the Little Mermaid*
  • For the First Time in Forever: A “Frozen” Sing-Along Celebration*
  • MuppetVision 3D
  • Disney Junior – Live on Stage
  • Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
  • Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show

* means I think this is a good use of a FastPass+ reservation (more info below)

FastPass+ priorities – Hollywood Studios

You will have to make 3 FP+ reservations (reservations are in 1 hour blocks of time, except for shows which are a shorter period of time), even if you only want 1 or 2 (if you choose 2 attractions, the system will automatically pick another for you so you’ll end up with 3). However, if you arrive to Hollywood Studios less than 3 hours before the closing time, you will likely be restricted to making just 1 or 2 FastPass+ reservations.

Top priority for Hollywood Studios

  • Tier 1:
    • Toy Story Mania
    • Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
  • Tier 2:
    • Tower of Terror
    • Star Tours

Second priority for Hollywood Studios

  • Tier 2:
    • Voyage of the Little Mermaid
    • For the First Time in Forever: A “Frozen” Sing-Along Celebration

Third priority for Hollywood Studios (not a recommended use)

  • Tier 1:
    • Fantasmic! – in the early stages of FP+ testing, this gave people prime seats to watch the show. Now it gives people the ability to skip the standby line but the prime seats are given to people who book the Fantasmic Dining Package. Since this is in the same tier as 2 very popular rides, it’s not recommended.
    • Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage
    • The Great Movie Ride
  • Tier 2:
    • MuppetVision 3D
    • Disney Junior – Live on Stage
    • Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
    • Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show

Animal Kingdom

FastPass+ at Animal Kingdom

Choosing FastPass+ at Animal Kingdom is the easiest park for making decisions. The shows and character meets usually have plenty of space, so your priority should be to make your reservations for Expedition Everest and the Kilimanjaro Safaris.

Top priorities for FastPass+ at Animal Kingdom Expedition Everest Kilimanjaro Safaris

Second priority for FastPass+ at Animal Kingdom Festival of the Lion King (You still have to show up early.) Kali River Rapids DINOSAUR (Very scary!) Primeval Whirl

Third priority for FastPass+ at Animal Kingdom Finding Nemo – The Musical It’s Tough to Be a Bug Meet Favorite Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost