How to Get Six FastPass+ A Day at Walt Disney World
By Dave Shute
One of the frustrations expressed with Disney World’s new FastPass+ program is that unlike in “legacy” Fastpass program–which is now gone–guests are limited to three FastPass+ per day.
Moreover, at two of Disney’s parks–Hollywood Studios and Epcot–FastPass+ are “tiered.”
For example, you can have only one of Soarin and Test Track among your three Epcot FastPass+, and only one of Rock n’ Roller Coaster and Toy Story Mania at the Studios.
In fact, getting around these FastPass+ limits is quite easy. Just throw money at the problem.
GETTING MORE THAN THREE FASTPASS+ AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
The key is to realize that the limit is not three FastPass+ per person. Rather, it’s three FastPass+ per active ticket.
The basics are simple: buy two tickets per person, enter the park twice, using each ticket once, and you can book six FastPass+ per person.
For example, on Friday I entered the Magic Kingdom at about 3p using my four day hopper and booked at a FastPass+ kiosk the rides shown above.
Then I got on my phone, and using my annual pass–which is linked to my MagicBand–I booked the same three rides (because I was also testing using this technique to ride the same ride more than once in a day using FastPass+) another 3 times. Then I exited the park, and re-entered using my MagicBand/Annual Pass combo.
And there you have it–six FastPass+ in a day.
Then I rode them all–I just needed to keep track of which FastPass+ was on my ticket and which on my MagicBand!
(Well, actually, I used both my FastPass+ for Space Mountain, but only one each for the Jungle Cruise and Enchanted Tales with Belle–I’d seen each recently enough to not need to do them twice within an hour…hey, this was a test, not a human sacrifice!)
I did the same thing Saturday at the Studios. First, about noon, I booked the above on my hopper.
Then I booked three more on my MagicBand/Annual Pass combo. This time I was testing the ability to get more than one Tier One, and I wanted to ride Tower of Terror twice.
So I ended up on Saturday with two FastPass+ for Tower of Terror, and one each for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Toy Story Mania, Star Tours, and Voyage of the Little Mermaid.
Now this is an expensive solution to a problem most people won’t have. Families following one of this site’s itineraries and going one of its recommended weeks simply don’t need to do this.
But other families–those on very short trips, those going during one of the four or five most crowded weeks of the year, those who want to sleep in and arrive at the park after noon, but still see all the best rides–may find this approach worth thinking about.
Disney World is already remarkably expensive, and adding just another two-day ticket for a typical family of four will cost more than $750…or a little more than $30 per “extra” FastPass+.
For many, there’s no way the extra FastPass+ will be even remotely worth this extra cost–and for others value for money won’t matter, as the extra money just won’t be there.
But for others, depending on the circumstances noted above, and willingness to pay, the chance to ride Space Mountain again–or even at all–without waiting in the stand-by line will be worth it!
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66 comments
Why is it that people have to find ways to bypass rules and act greedy? This is why the new rules are now making things more difficult for those with mobility issues. Because a few greedy people have to bend or go around whatever Disney trys to put into place for a more pleasent experience for everyone. In my opinion they should just remove all fast pass systems and go back to people having to learn to be patient and just wait their turn.
I don’t like the system. it has forced us to go at deader times of the year. I have a child with disabilities and they are making it impossible for her to have fun when it is busier.
Arlene Hewson — I would put money on it that you have a Disboards account.
Hi, great idea to get more fast passes by buying a second admission. I just can’t figure out how to make it work. I’ll be staying on the property so I already reserved fast pass+ ahead of time. If I wanted to bite the bullet and buy second admissions wouldn’t I have trouble getting into park with the second ticket because the system has my fingerprint or “biometrics” as Disney calls it from my first admission? Also do you also think it would work to buy second admission ticket ahead of time and reserve fast pass plus the same way I did on line for resort guests? Thank you!
Debbie, you’ll have no trouble with the scan–I didn’t. The finger scan is not Disney’s way of keeping you from buying and using more than one ticket a day lol. They are fine with that, just as they are fine with you staying at a deluxe instead of a value! The finger scan is to keep unused days of multi-day tickets being sold to others.
I doubt that you’ll be able to link the second tix to your account and reserve FP+ ahead of time to both–I don’t think the systems can stand that–it can’t even take two hotel rooms in the same name too well right now. Though I don’t know for sure and haven’t tried, figuring everything would be messed up. That’s why I focus here on “day of” FP+ for the seocnd ticket…
Hi Dave, your website is incredible and thank you for saving me a lot of time! My husband only survives theme parks with a precise itenary and yours have helped enormously. We are staying at Wilderness Lodge and wondered if you could give me some advice on Universal Studios please. Thurs 10th April seems the best day with all the other things planned and think I will probably buy an unlimited express 1day ticket for both parks to make the most of of our day. Should I book tickets before I go and then organise transport when I am in the resort? No doubt I may have more questions in the future and thank you in advance for taking the time to answer our questions.
Hi Teresa and thanks!!
Thursdays are usually busy at Universal, and based on its pricing of Universal Express passes for April 10, that looks true for that day too.
I’d advise double booking into a Universal Hotel (other than Cabana Bay) as doing so gives you all the privilege of UE plus more–e.g. early access to Harry Potter. See this: https://yourfirstvisit.net/2009/12/17/where-to-stay-during-your-visit-to-the-wizarding-world-of-harry-potter/
You’d still need to buy tickets. Whatever you end up doing, I’d arrange tickets and transport ahead of time.
Hi Dave, me again! Sorry I put the previous question in the wrong section! This question is about FP+! If we want to do rider swap with our son, do my hubbie & I both need FP+as well. Or can we book 2FP+ (1 for our son & one adult) then just rider swap. The reason I ask is we have a younger son and he will not always go on the same rides, so want to save some FP+ for his rides. Thanks
Teresa, it seems you only need one FP+–see this: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3220986
My family will be in the park for 5 days, could we buy a 10-day ticket without park hoppers and use 2 each day into different parks?
No, Danielle. You can only enter more than one park in a day with a park hopper (the normal and usual way) or two tickets (the wildly expensive way). You can’t use two days of a single, non-hopper ticket.
Is it true that Epcot’s Le Cellier Steakhouse is 2 table service points for both lunch and dinner now? So disappointing !!!! If so can you offer an alternative dining experience with ony 1 table service point where we can get a great steak dinner in Epcot? How is the Coral Reef?
Hi Jody!
Yup Le Cellier has been two credits for a while now.
Coral Reef is a very interesting setting, and does have a steak on the menu.
Oops ignore the below–I forgot that Yachtsman is 2 credits–thanks Marlene for reminding me!
I think it’s a bit hard to get a steak wrong, but the best steak dinner that’s near Epcot but also on the dining plan is the Yachtsman Steakhouse at the Yacht Club–which is one of the Epcot resorts just outside of Epcot, walkable or accessible by boat from the World Showcase International gateway.Hi Dave,
Thanks for the great website! My question is about trying to obtain 6 Fastpass+ per day that can be scheduled in advance. For example, I make a 5 night reservation for 4 people to stay at WDW’s Wilderness Lodge and buy four 5-day parkhopper tickets from WDW as part of a room and ticket package. With those 5-day parkhopper tickets I can make advance Fastpass+ reservations as early as 60 days in advance. What happens if I purchase four additional 5-day tickets from Undercover Tourist? Will I be able to make advance Fastpass+ reservations? Or will I only be able to make Fastpass+ reservations on the day I use those tickets at the park? Also, will I have to activate those tickets at the turnstiles of the park, so that I will have to enter the park twice, once with each ticket? Thanks in advance!
Hi Peter and thanks!! So far as I can tell you can’t–only three can be booked in advance! And yes you do have to go thru the turnstiles twice…
Hi Dave;
With regard to Jody’s question about using 2 dining credits for Le Cellier…I totally agree with your comment about the great steak at Yachtsman Steakhouse at the Yacht Club resort; just make sure that Jody knows that dining at Yachtsman Steakhouse is also 2 credits on the Disney dining plan
Oh good point Marlene…
Dave,
Your advice on buying the two tickets to get more fast passes is great. Let me explain why. I bought my Disney World tickets through Expedia before realizing I could not link those tickets to my Magic Band at the My Disney Experience website. We will be staying at Art of Animation. I tried to get a refund from Expedia by explaining that their ticket vouchers prevented me from scheduling my fastpass plus rides in advance. No deal, they wouldn’t give a refund. I made about 10 calls to Expedia and Disney and the bottom line is that the only way I can made fastpass plus reservations in advance is buying them directly from Disney. Obviously, making my selections in advance is important. It must be important to a lot of others as well, or why would Disney go to the trouble of allowing their on-site guest to make their reservations 60 days in advance? So, I called Disney and asked if I could purchase the extra tickets. They said ‘yes’. I then asked if I would be entitled to the extra fastpassplus. They said ‘no.’ I expected that answer. But, as you point out, the fastpassplus tickets are connected to the ticket and not the person. So, I will end up doing exactly what you did by using both the hard ticket and magic band. The only problem I could forsee is if they ever eliminate the hard ticket cards. For those who whin about using this tactic, get a life. If I pay double the price of admission, I should be entitled to double the fastpassplus tickets.
John, thanks for the update, and let me know how it goes!!
Hi John,
I had a similar experience with some chicanery involving booking elsewhere than directly through the Disney site.
My child and I are planning to make our first Star Wars Weekend in May. When we heard about booking FP+ rides and attractions in advance, we were ecstatic. We went through a travel site I won’t name (it rhymes with “crooked.com”) and were assured that we’d have full access to FP+ if we booked at the Swan.
Now, all you YOU probably can see where this is heading. The Swan, while arguably “on” Disney property, is not, of course, an “on-site” Disney property. We had even called the Swan directly as part of our due diligence before booking and were also misled.
In the end, we were on the hook for nearly $300 in cancellation fees, and then we STILL had to pay full freight through Disney. Moral of the story: You can never do enough research. Thanks for this site, Dave.
We loved fastpass when we were in disney only 2 weeks ago at one if the busiest times of the year. On our first day in the magic kingdom we had completed all but 2 rides just by being sensible and planning ahead. The trick is to stay connected via the mobile app and change your fast pass if the queue is 15 mins or less and just queue the ride you originally booked instead. Plan so that you essentially fastpass a ride then queue a ride then fast pass and so on. After your three you can book 1 more at a time (in a different park if you wish) but don’t expect the popular or new rides to be available by then so do them earlier in the day. Book new rides (mine train) as soon as you can – don’t wait till a couple of days before. Totally different experience down the road at universal where you will queue for hours for each ride unless you express but even then your wait time is no guaranteed to be less than half of the normal queue time which if it is 2.5 hours to start with is still a hefty 1.25 hour wait with grouchy kids. There are ways to get the unlimited express I am aware but you still don’t get the same walk up and ride of disney fastpass.
Thanks, Jess!!
We just got back from WDW over the New Year and went double-banded for the whole week. I didn’t find this page until after we returned, so I was just taking an educated guess that it would work. It did! The finger printing is not a spy-level database, just a way to link one person to one ticket. If Disney can gather more from the fingerprint, they’re not admitting it, which is exactly what allows us to do this.
Given the amount I was spending on flights and resort, I definitely consider the extra admission costs to be well worth it to not wait in any lines during the busiest week of the year. Rather than thinking of it as doubling the coast of admission it was more like adding 9 percent to the total cost of the trip (the percentage would be higher for people who live close enough to WDW to drive).
We had a set of color bands that the resort gave us which I was able to book 3 FP+ per day 60 days in advance of arrival date. Then I bought a second set of tickets (retail $1704 for my family of 5, but was able to use a few tricks to get it to about $900) and linked them to a set of gray bands (purchased separately about $65). With this set I reserved 3 FP+ per day 30 days in advance (had to book each day separately for this set, so I just did it at midnight for 7 straight nights). We still “rope dropped” every park but with 6 FP+ lined up ahead of time we were able to guarantee every big ride and ended up riding most multiple times over the week. Plus we had double the capacity to get “additional” passes once the first three were used. Not much was left usually during such a busy week, but I just took anything at the Kiosk and then played around on the app and was usually able to upgrade the original choice (one time from Muppets to Toy Story Mania!).
At HS and Epcot this strategy is the only way to guarantee Test Track & Soarin’ / Toy Story Mania & Rock n Roller. Not really necessary at AK, but my kids enjoyed getting multiple rides on Everest and Kali. At MK there is always something available and even saving 20 minutes on a lesser attraction adds up. The biggest benefit to this was that by never waiting in line we were able to enjoy more time at the resort pool and go to bed at reasonable hours knowing that we “did it all”. On days that we went to the Water Parks we were able to enter MK and HS (second trip to each park) around 6:30 pm knowing that we could revisit all the favorites in very efficient manner.
This really worked out so great, even ways that I didn’t plan but was able to recognize on the fly. For instance, when Rope Dropping HS wasn’t good enough to avoid long line at Toy Story Mania, we were able to adjust and just knock off several other attractions, including Rock n Roller with NO line while everybody else rushed TSM. No worries, we knew we had a FP later for both TSM and RockRoller. At Epcot, our kids loved the hidden gem Sum of All Thrills in Innoventions which does not have a FP. So on our return trip to Epcot, rather than rope dropping one of the biggies, we rope dropped Sum and had it to ourselves (later it would be 45-60) knowing that we had FP later for both Soarin’ and Test Track (which we had already done twice each on the previous visit).
In summary, double banded is an expensive way to double FP capacity (or more importantly reduce waiting time to nill), BUT all things considered it may not be as expensive as you think. It may be less necessary on less crowded weeks, but even then I would consider it as a way to basically pack two Disney trips worth of action into one trip and buy yourself extra time to do other things such as resort pool, Downtown or whatever your preferences are.
Thanks, Dan!!!
Dave, just curious, did you and your whole family exit and enter using the other set of bands?
I ask because my mother and father are
Going with us this year and we all have 10 day passes, but I know them 2 will want to stay at the resort at least 3 out of the days. Can my two kids use their 2 bands with fast passes when they choose to stay at the resort?
Autumn, the bands are linked to individuals for entry into the park. Once folks are in the park, they can be swapped/shared, but not if they have not been used for park entry. So if the folk taking the day off enter the park and then leave, leaving their bands behind, you can do this. But not if they just stay in the hotel.
Dan, curious how you where you bought the second set of tickets and how you got the discount? We are going in April. Hate waiting in line. Love planning ahead. Thanks, Laura
Laura: I had bought some one-day passes at a preschool silent auction a while back for very little (maybe $15 each) and those acted as Day One. As you know ticket prices are front-loaded, so Days 4-7 are minimal, so I was really just paying full freight for Days 2 and 3. I then bought 10 $100 gift cards at $95 each at a wholesale club (BJs) for a little more off. Even at Full Price, I’d think about it depending on when you go and if it sounds like your game-planning style.
Dan, thanks for this, I was wondering too!!
hi there Dave
Great Advice…I hate lines with a passion and even considered the VIP tours to help with lines
We are going to Disneyland in December of next year….(Family reunion)
Do you have similar info or know of a good guide for Disneyland
thanks so much
Kobie
Kobie, thanks. No, I don’t track the DLR sites enough to be able to recommend one.
I have previous bands from a past trip. They r linked to my disney experience. We are going again in a few months. We are from Canada so they will not ship us bands. Can I use previous bands to get some extra FP? Or no bc they are all connected to same account?
Kelli, no. FP+ are tied to tickets, not bands.
There is a less expensive way to get six FPs for at least one day – take the DVC tour. They gave us all 3 fast passes that didn’t require advanced registration. Best day ever!
🙂 Susan!!
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