As of December 18, 2013, in a new—and perhaps enduring—change, there will be couple of differences at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park
- The old Fastpass machines at the Animal Kingdom will be turned off—no paper Fastpasses will be available until further notice, just FastPass+
- Off-site guests will be able to use FastPass+, although they won’t be able to book them ahead of time—just the day of their visit.
As I write this, while you can only book three FastPass+ per day, you can still book all three of your FastPass+ as headliners, which makes planning much easier…if this changes I’ll revise what follows.
Below, I’ll make suggestions for how to handle this in one and two-day itineraries at the Animal Kingdom for on-site guests, and then suggest differences that off-site guests should pursue.
This is a moving target, so things may change. Those who experience this directly: please weigh in with what you discover in the comment form below!
FASTPASS+ PRIORITIES AT DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM
FastPass+ will be available at Disney’s Animal Kingdom for the following rides:
- Character Greetings at the Adventurers Outpost
- DINOSAUR
- Expedition Everest
- Festival of the Lion King
- Finding Nemo – The Musical
- It’s Tough to be a Bug!
- Kali River Rapids
- Kilimanjaro Safaris
- Primeval Whirl
Of these, the prizes for families with kids old enough to enjoy all the best of Walt Disney World are Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest. These rides are wildly popular and build long lines quickly.
After those, on really hot days, Kali River Rapids will be a high priority. You get just soaked on this ride, making it a popular cooling tool late in the day.
Right now, it’s not that hard to see most of the other options. But I expect Dinosaur, Festival of the Lion King (while it’s still open) and Finding Nemo to become harder to see, especially on busy days, simply because many will pick these as their FastPass+ options.
(If your kids are young, you likely want to avoid Everest, Dinosaur, and It’s Tough to be a Bug, and put the Character Greeting as a higher priority.)
FASTPASS+ ITINERARY FOR ONE DAY AT DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM FOR ON-SITE VISITORS
Book up to 60 days ahead of time via MyDisneyExperience FastPass+ for Kilimanjaro Safaris, Festival of the Lion King, and Finding Nemo—The Musical, for 10.30a or later. If you can, set Nemo for the morning, and the other two in the afternoon. This will lead to less backtracking later!
Arrive at the park at least 45 minutes before the scheduled opening—earlier if during a high crowd week.
When you are let in—typically these days about 15 minutes before the scheduled opening—head immediately to Expedition Everest, ride it, and ride it again if you wish, using if necessary the single-rider line. (You do Expedition Everest at open rather than through FastPass+ because its regular queue is much better than its FastPass+ queue.)
The rest of the morning, while keeping an eye on your return times for your FastPass+ for the nearby Finding Nemo—The Musical, see what interests you in Dinoland: Dinosaur for sure, and, if they appear of interest, the nearby Primeval Whirl and TriceraTop Spin.
After lunch, keeping in mind any FastPass+ return times and the 3.45p parade, see the rest of the shows, rides, and walk-through exhibits, saving Kali River for the end of the day.
Because your later Fastpass+ are both in or near Africa, coordinate them with seeing Pangini Forest trail and also Rafiki’s Planet Watch and its associated Wildlife Express Train. (If time presses, Rafiki and the train are quite skippable.)
FASTPASS+ ITINERARY FOR TWO DAYS AT DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM FOR ON-SITE VISITORS
Two days at the Animal Kingdom is a bit of a luxury.
The first day, plan to take the morning off, and 60 days in advance or sooner for the afternoon FastPass+ Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and, at the end of your planned time there, Kali River Rapids.
At the park, see between these the parade, Flights of Wonder, Panagani Forest Trail, Maharajah Jungle Trek, Flights of Wonder, and It’s Tough to be a Bug
For day two, FastPass+ beginning 60 days in advance for the morning but 10a or later Festival of the Lion King, Finding Nemo-The Musical, and Dinosaur. Make Dinosaur the earliest of these.
Arrive at the park at least 45 minutes before the scheduled opening—earlier if during a high crowd week. At open, immediately head to your favorite between Everest and Kilimanjaro from day one, re-ride it, then head to Dinoland and ride the rides there until your Dinosaur FastPass+ is ready.
Catch your other FastPass+, and see what you missed on day 1!
CHANGES TO THE ANIMAL KINGDOM FASTPASS+ STRATEGY FOR OFFSITE VISITORS
During this test, off-site guests will only be able to make FastPass+ bookings in the park, and only using Disney objects—that is, not their own cell phonse or iPads.
Right now, from what I’ve seen on the web, the places off-site guests can sign up for FastPass+ are near
- Creature Comforts, on Discovery Island
- Disney Outfitters, also on Discovery Island
- Expedition Everest, in Asia near Dinoland
- Kali River Rapids, in the heart of Asia
- Primeval Whirl, in Dinoland
(I’m surprised there’s nothing in Africa…)
I don’t know how this will unfold. I expect at the beginning of the test it’ll be a zoo, as off-site guests go to the old Fastpass machines, learn they don’t work, and then mob these off-site FastPass+ distribution points.
If the test sticks around for a while, then, as the word gets out—and it took years for people to understand that the old FastPass system was free with your ticket, not an extra-charge perk—more and more off-site guests will head to the distribution points as soon as the park opens, to lock in their FastPass+ for the day.
FastPass+ One Day Strategy for Off-Site Visitors.
FastPass+ priorities are the same for off-site as for on-site visitors, so here’s what I’d suggest:
- At open, head straight towards Everest.
- If the FastPass+ booking line there is short, then book your FastPass+ for the day (same list as in the one-day itinerary above: Kilimanjaro Safaris, Festival of the Lion King, and Finding Nemo—The Musical, for 10.30a or later, with Nemo for the morning, and the other two in the afternoon). Then ride Everest.
- If the Everest FastPass+ booking line is long, then skip it, ride Everest, and make your way to Kilimanjaro along the path that passes near Kali River Rapids. Check the FastPass+ booking line here; if short, do it; if long, keep going and ride Kilimanjaro stand-by. Then get your FastPass+ for the rest of the day booked after you are off Kilimanjaro, likely at Discovery Island.
- Then follow the rest of the one-day itinerary above, adapting it for your actual FastPass+ and their times
FastPass+ Two Day Strategy for Off-Site Visitors.
Off-site visitors with two days at the Animal Kingdom should start both days by arriving 45 minutes or more before the scheduled park opening.
On day one…
- Start as above—head for Expedition Everest, book FastPass+ there if the booking station is not busy for Kilimanjaro, Kali River at the end of the day, and Finding Nemo. Skip this step if the line for FastPass+ is long. Either way, ride Everest.
- If you did not book FastPass+ before Everest, then book after at either the Everest or Kali River Rapids stations, if not too busy. If they are too busy, then then head for Kilimanjaro.
- If you leave Kilimanjaro without FastPass+, then get them next.
- The rest of the day, see as much of the Animal Kingdom as you can.
On day two, start at whichever of Everest or Kilimanjaro was your favorite, getting FastPass+ at Everest or on the way to Kilimanjaro if the lines aren’t too long, or after if they are. Prioritize for your FastPass+ any key rides or shows you didn’t see on day one, and then anything you want to re-ride!
OK, that’s what I got. Josh of EasyWDW.com published a slightly different approach here that’s also worth a look. I’ll revise these suggestions as experience proves necessary!
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Thanks, Dave! I’m still going to tell my hubby that we have to be there before 9….maybe that’ll get us there at least by 9 ;o). Also, we’re going to upgrade to FL season passes, so I’ll keep reminding myself that we DONT have to do it all on this trip! I’m definitely a “do/see everything” kind of person. I love your site and really appreciate your speedy replies. Thanks for all of your help.
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Thanks, Andrea!!
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Andrea, you may face lines at Kilimanjaro, but yes otherwise you’ll be OK with a late arrival. AK is tricky to time, as you are at the mercy of the show schedule–especially Nemo. But 3ish sound perfectly doable.
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Followup question: If I’m able to get us there at rope drop, about what time do you think we’d be finished for the day? We’d like to see most of the animals, shows, and most attractions, just not Everest and Kali. Probably just a couple of characters like Pocahontas and Rafiki. I’m thinking maybe 3ish?
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The problem is, I don’t really see us getting there well before open. My hubby and kids aren’t really early risers–especially on vacation. I’m hoping to get there by 9:30 at the earliest. I will shoot for as early as possible. I was thinking we’d be ok since we’re not really going to be hitting the big rides.
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We’re going to WDW for 4 days in Oct with 2 and 5 yr olds. Won’t be doing the MNSSHP, we will have park hoppers. The last day of our trip we plan to visit AK (it’s on 10/29 which is a recommended day) then hop to MK for a dinner res @ BOG (7:30) and to watch MSEP and Wishes since our 2 MK days close at 7. Trying to decide if I should use my FP+ for AK or save them for MK (possibly a FP+ for the MSEP and hang tight for wishes since we won’t be able to stake out a spot bc of our dinner reservation). I know we’ll do Kilamanjaro, but not Everest and not Kali. She says she wants to do Dinosaur but will likely chicken out. When we were there in Oct. 2009 we had no prob getting into Lion King or Nemo. Wondering if it would be a waste to use them. Also, we’re eating at Chef Mickey’s so that Mickey/Minnie meet and greet isn’t priority. It may be important to add that we will not likely be there at rope drop–hopefully by 930 or 10. Our small ones aren’t early birds. So, what do you think?
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Andrea, use your FP+ at MK–you can do AK fine without FP+ so long as you arrive well before open! See this for an example itinerary (page down til you get to “Ideal Morning Touring without FastPass+”): http://www.easywdw.com/cheatsheets/ak_cheatsheet_easyguide.pdf
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Thanks Dave! So, do the “pre-booked” FastPasses mean that you cannot get FastPasses on site (additional ones)?
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Shana, ultimately yes that will be true–just the three FP+. It’s not fully rolled out, however–at least as of today.
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Hi Dave, we got Magic Bands in the mail and we are supposed to book FastPass+ reservations for our February 23 trip. Of course, the 60 day window is tomorrow for us…how incredibly convenient!! I’m feeling overwhelmed with figuring out what to book and when. I can only book 3 per day, correct? Does that mean that we will not get any FastPasses on site? Where can I find your FastPass recommendations by park? We are doing 2 days at MK, 1 at AK, 1 at HS and 1.5 at Epcot. Do you generally recommend using the FastPass+ for character meet and greets? We are going with our 5 year old daughter and regardless of FastPass, I need to make sure we get to see all the princesses!
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Hi Shana, you can find my recommendations in the seocnd half of this page but they are a little out of date, and meant for older kids: https://yourfirstvisit.net/2013/08/20/what-you-need-to-know-now-about-fastpass/
For a revised approach to the Animal Kingdom, see this: https://yourfirstvisit.net/2013/12/16/fastpass-itineraries-for-disneys-animal-kingdom/
Epcot and HS now allow only one “headliner” and 2 more per day. For Epcot, with your 1.5 days, I’d do as the headliners Soarin one day and Illuminaitons the other. The character greetings there for princesses are not on the FP+ system.
At HS, use your headliner on Toy Story Mania
MK is not restricted right now–you can spend all three FP+ on headliners. With two days and thus 6 FP+, fpr the princessing I’d do Enchanted Tales with Belle and perhaps two Princess Fairytale Hall–one Cinderella and one Rapunzel.
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Oh, I’m glad they didn’t take away paper Fastpasses before we went. My 7-year-old never would have been able to ride Everest 8 times in 2 days (and 6 of those rides were in one day!). It will be interesting to see how this pans out!
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Yeah, Mandy, that re-ride point , and the ability to get FP+ in only one park per day, are among the biggest concerns about FP+…
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