It’s been one wild ride of a year as Disney World closed and then reopened, bringing guests back into a theme park like they haven’t seen previously.
Health and safety regulations have been put in place as distancing measures, mask wearing, and more have changed the way we visit Disney World. We’ve seen plenty of entertainment and experiences suspended, like fireworks and parades. Yet, Disney has slowly but surely started to reinstate some of our favorite shows, including the Festival of the Lion King and the Character Cavalcades.
Now that we have seen multiple experiences return back to Disney World, we can’t help but wonder when FastPasses will be making a grand entrance back into the parks. And, we’re breaking down everything we know about FastPasses in Disney World right now!
When Disney World discussed what would and would not be back in the parks upon reopening, the FastPass system was listed as one of the vacation-planning tools that would be suspended. All previous FastPass reservations were canceled ahead of Disney World’s reopening without any sign about when it would return.
Since then, FastPasses have not been back in Disney World as attractions were only available with stand-by lines. Instead, distancing measures were put into the lines with markers, plexiglass, and separated parties. Yet, Disney now has shifted its health and safety regulations by seating guests in every row on attractions to accommodate the growing crowds.
The lines and wait times have continued to climb, so there has been speculation about whether FastPasses would be reinstated to help with the demand in the parks. Likely, a large reason that FastPasses haven’t returned is because they would not work right now with all the social distancing measures and the modified park-hopping guidelines in place.
Guests must make a Disney Park Pass Reservation before attending their chosen park. And, Park Hopping only happens after 2 PM when guests have used their reservation at their first park. So, Disney would most likely have to limit guests to FastPass reservations at the park they scheduled a reservation for the day.
We’ve seen Disney World remove the FastPass signs from certain attractions across the parks already (though this does not mean that they will be gone for good). And, Disneyland is now following the same protocols after announcing that FastPass wouldn’t return when the parks open next month. Now that Disneyland and Disney World both have FastPasses suspended, it will most likely be a while before they return to the parks under the health and safety guidelines in place right now.
But, you can never say never, since we have seen previous experiences continue to return to Disney World bit by bit. We’ll have to keep an eye out for any details on the return of FastPass or perhaps a new system for guests visiting the parks. Stay tuned with All Ears for more Disney news!
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Do you miss FastPasses in the parks? Let us know in the comments below!
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When I purchased FastPass in 2013 we paid almost $300 but it was well worth it because we did not have to choose a ride and a Time to be in the fast pass Lane you could go to any ride at any time and get in the fast pass line and go in I will not purchase fast pass if I have to choose a ride at a certain time there is no way I am going to plan my day when I’m on one side of the park and have to rush to another side of the park for the Fastpass time that is ridiculous Cedar Point does the same thing and I hate that if they go back to the old way where you pay a little extra for your fast pass without having to choose a time and specific ride I would definitely purchase FastPass Plus again
I’m at Disneyworld right now, and I’ve seen several parties be allowed on the Fastpass line (all parks…Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom). These are otherwise healthy-looking families, with no apparent physical impairments. They walk right up to a Cast Member, say “we have Fast Passes”, the Cast Member scans their Magic Band, and on the ride they go.
Is there some sort of “secret Fastpass” program that Disney is running? I’ve seen dozens of people get priority boarding.
I can understand if they have a handicapped person in their party, but they specifically stated “Fastpass” in conversations with the Crew Member.
Hi Tom! FastPass has still not returned, but we have seen the FastPass lines used for guests with a DAS pass or guests on VIP tours.
Thanks, Morgan! I’m thinking there must be a TON of people with VIP tours. Hopefully, Fastpass will available for everyone, soon.
It could also be guests who were evacuated from another ride.
I would like to see fast pass return and bring back shows and entertainment. The shows and parades take away some of the crowds allowing people not interested in the entertainment sail right through the lines. With no entertainment, the attractions is the only game in town. We are all in a line somewhere. We spent all our time in lines. We didn’t have much time for table service. Table service would make take too much time and cost you perhaps riding 3 attractions. We really didn’t get to enjoy the atmosphere. It was a different kind of trip. If you plan for different, you won’t be disappointed.
My opinion, as you increase the capacity you must add back the FP system. Going to Disney is an expensive vacation, and pre-pandemic, I looked beyond the expense and basked in my magical vacation. LOVED IT and couldn’t wait until the next trip. I’m not sure I can justify the expense if we aren’t able to get on specific rides or if we are spending half the day in long lines. We were there at the end of October and stood in several rides over 60 minutes; with the increased capacity and no FP option, that will be 90-120 minutes this summer. Please bring them back, even if we have to pay a premium.
We were just at DHS yesterday and I have to say without the fast pass line getting priority the regular line moved very fast and we were through most very quickly. Its odd that as long as you are moving you feel like your making progress.
We just got back from Disney yesterday. It’s wonderful to walk around with no mask on. All though you will wear them in stores and waiting on rides. Also there are a lot of people going through the fast pass line. Scanning bands and going through. It actually worked for me in April as well. Not sure how. Walked right through on flight of passage twice.
People scanning bands and going through the FP line can be going through there for a variety of reasons. My mom uses the DAS (Disability Access Service) pass, which we go to the FP line at our return time. People could also be on a VIP tour, it could be guest recovery (if they were on the ride before and it broke down), or they could be members of Club 33 (and perhaps Golden Oak, too, but I’m not entirely sure about that one).
One thing I have observed while watching vloggers is that posted wait times are often time longer than their actual wait in line.
The elimination of fast passes and the long wait times are part of the new revenue greed at WDW. Wait times are long and can exceed the total park hours in any given day. This requires the park guest to purchase additional park tickets to experience all of the venues. This is why fast passes have been eliminated.
We have been enjoying Disney world 2-3 times a year since 2004 as AP holders from MD. and our last trip on February 5th-12th was so disappointing we decided not to renew our AP’S, without the fast passes waiting in lines outside in the heat, humidity and rain with a mask for a hour or more compared to being inside the queue with a fast pass was totally unacceptable. My hope is that once the shows start back up and fast passes are brought back the long lines will diminish and maybe return but until then we will live by the memories of what Disney was not as it is now.
I would like to see fast pass return. Without it you spend a lot of time in line. You really don’t have time to enjoy the atmosphere of the parks running from one line to another. Additionally with the wait times on the ap, I have found that some family members say, “we don’t have to do that” or “the lines too long, its not worth it.” We didn’t ride the Navi River Journey because the lines were too long and not worth it. I’ve never been on it. It would have been nice to ride it once. Without fast pass, we don’t have time for table service meals especially at Hollywood Studios. Studios will get worse with the opening of the Star Wars “cruise”. They are going to be getting onto the attractions at Galaxy’s Edge ahead of the rest of us. Luckily, they can’t go around the rest of the park. Bring back fast pass or fast pass +. Thank you
I won’t return until FP is back. I have two little kids who can’t wait in long lines and with FP we never did. It makes me genuinely sad.
This is not accurate. We are at Disneyworld right now. Fast Passes are being used. I saw the Fast Pass Line being used at Aerosmith, Smuggler’s Run, and Toy Story Mania just name to name a few yesterday at Hollywood Studios. Also, we saw it today at Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom. Most were families with no disabilities. One was being led by a castmember probably on a VIP tour.
Based on how you described it, it sounds like you didn’t use any FastPasses yourselves but rather just observed what LOOKED like other people using them. Just because you saw people using FastPass queue areas doesn’t mean those people had FastPasses. Disney World has been using those areas to allow for more physical distancing in attraction lines. And yes, VIP tours often use those FastPass queues as well.
I was just there and people definitely had some kind of fast pass. At Kilimanjaro Safari, I heard cast members asking people if they had them, then led them through the FP line. Same thing at Frozen Ever After.
Same in January- lots of Fastpass line use- a cast member confirmed the D33 members, which is their upper income club, still had the use of the Fastpass system that comes with that membership- so if you have I don’t know, around 30,000 a year of something to join then you get to use the FP line, otherwise pray because in January during low season it was way over an hour for ALL the major rides after about 20 minutes after gate opening. It sucked. I did enjoy somethings at Disney World but I spent at least six-seven hours in lines easily during the day and I won’t be back until it changes.
You know that people with disabilities don’t have to use a wheelchair or other device all the time, right? You don’t know what’s going on with other people. FP lines are used for DAS pass, VIP tours, Club 33, and guest recovery.
My family uses disability access services at WDW this service is for individuals who could not otherwise stand in line (people who experience panic attacks, sensory issues, or who may need to exit the line for a bodily emergency without warning… these will typically be invisible disabilities because mobility issues have other services available) this service uses the fast past line but it is not a fast pass. The person goes to the cast member and asks for a return time- they wait the current time of the queue and then return and use the fast pass line to board. The other people using it right now are those who paid for the mega dollar private tours with the cast members in plaid vests.
As a longtime huge Disney fan, introducing Fastpass was the best thing Disney has ever done. It makes the parks, rides and entire experience far more enjoyable when your not waiting endless hours in sweltering Orlando temperatures to ride only 3 or 4 rides a day. It is one of the major reasons we have continued to purchase annual passports over two decades. Hoping that Disney will come their senses and restore this popular feature.
I’m fine with NOT having Fast Pass back. It really jammed up the wait times. Attractions like Peter Pan, Buzz Lightyear, Little Mermaid and Haunted Mansion are continuous moving attractions and don’t need Fast Pass. I can understand for other rides like Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain.
100 percent agreed. We were there during spring break and every park was at current Disney capacity limit. While the lines were long, every single ride was accessible to us. The longest we waited for anything was 60 minutes- for Flight of Passage, and we have never been able to obtain a FP for that in the past as we don’t tend to plan our trips months in advance. So our typical standby wait when the FP line inflates the standby line is about 90 minutes and that is only doable at the end of the day. We actually rode FoP twice. The second time was only a 40 minute wait. And when we were at Magic Kingdom, we rode 13 rides from 1:00 to 10:00. That included Big Thunder (3 times!) , Seven Dwarfs, Haunted Mansion, Pirates. We only didn’t do Space Mountain because I tended to get a little more motion sick while wearing a mask and Space is a bit jerky for me, but we definitely could have managed the 40 minute wait. And Splash was crowded because the day was really hot, but again, we could have ridden it a bit later, but I didn’t want to get wet when it got cooler. So instead we did multiples on Big Thunder. But a ride like Peter Pan, forget about it in other years. With FP operating, PP had 90 minute waits every single day we were there last February (and we always go during a moderate crowd time, never spring break until this year). . But without FP, it was never more than 30 minutes actual queue time. Every park was this way. We rode every thing we wanted and the lines were long but always much shorter than a standby line when FP is running. Imagine what it will be like when all the attractions are actually open, spreading out the crowds even more? Plus, oh my gosh, the freedom to ride what you feel like when you feel like it, rather than being tethered to the “schedule” and thus, the phone. So much spontaneity has been lost at Disney due to the need to schedule everything so far in advance.
One thing I have observed while watching vloggers is that posted wait times are often time longer than their actual wait in line.
I’m a bit disappointed that Disney has provided the option of virtual queues or virtual fast passes yet. I feel that virtual queues/FPs would be an ideal way to maximize social distancing and minimize the aggravation of waiting in long lines.
I have a walking disability due to a stroke sustained over 8 years ago. Fastpasses have been my best bet for touring Disney parks during the 4 visits since then. Without them I have trouble standing in long lines. I can’t wait for them to come back to schedule my new son-in-law’s first trip ever to Disney. My daughter’s early honeymoon trip was cacelled due to the closing last year and we are also waiting until everyone is vaccinated.
Get a DAS pass for your disability. It allows you to get a return time, much like a fast pass. Also, there will always be the “anti-vaxxers” out there who don’t care about getting vaccinated.
Crowds have been growing as have the lines. I find 35% capacity very hard to believe. The loss of different types of tours, events and entertainment as well as the on going construction and refurbishment has put additional pressure on the things that are open. A lot has now become “forget it.” It is not worth waiting in some of the ridiculously long lines. While I have some trips booked, I’m considering using the DVC points for a place to stay and forgetting about the Walt Disney World parks until fast passes return. If Disney increases park capacity further, I expect that there will be a lot of unhappy guests looking for a better use of their vacation time and dollars.
Disneyland had MaxPass, they didn’t have FastPass. I know it may be nit-picking but they did not work the same.
Club 33 members are also able to skip lines.