Category — i. Itineraries for Walt Disney World

FastPass+ Itinerary for Lower-Crowd Weeks

by Dave

Update October 2015: For travel in 2016, I’ve published a revised itinerary for the lower crowd weeks in January through May that works better than this itinerary. The new itinerary is here.

Below is my FastPass+ based Disney World itinerary for lower crowd weeks.

It does not work all dates, and some dates that it mostly works it needs some little adjustments. Check your week here.

The recommended FastPass+ that make it work are in the To-Do List, so you can book them at the 60 day window for FastPass+ sign-ups. Daily agendas are in the links:

Thanks are especially due to Josh from easyWDW. With his permission, I picked the targeted park days based on both my own practices and his daily park recommendations.

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January 14, 2014 155 Comments

Converting the Seven Night Variants of the Autumn-Winter-Spring Itinerary to FastPass+

by Dave

I have two shorter seven night variants of my eight-night Autumn-Winter-Spring Itinerary, one with a Saturday arrival, and one with a Sunday arrival.

Below are two sets of instructions for adapting these to FastPass+ and the coming entire absence of traditional fastpasses. The Saturday arrival is first, and then after it the Sunday arrival. Don’t mix them up!

If you are a Disney World resort hotel guest, you can begin booking FastPass+ 60 days before arrival (sometimes the parades and fireworks shows only become available much closer to your arrival date), so you also need to add booking the FastPass+ below to your To-Do List!

See this for more on the upcoming loss of all traditional fastpasses.

SEVEN NIGHT AUTUMN-WINTER-SPRING ITINERARY, SATURDAY ARRIVAL

First Saturday

As written, you skip Illuminations tonight and see it Friday—so that with Epcot’s evening extra magic hours you don’t have to leave the park—with 20,000 other people—after the show.
Instead, see Illuminations tonight with a Tier One FastPass+. The viewing area is as close as you’ll find to the bus stops and monorail station, so head for them the moment Illuminations ends, walk fast, don’t stop, and you should miss most of the crowds departing Epcot!
This lets you take Friday night off…and by then, you’ll need it…
For Tier 2, aim for Spaceship Earth and Mission Space Green, planning to see one before dinner and the other after. With your travel arrival schedule, 6.30p dinner time, and Illuminations FastPass+, you might not be able to do both—that’s OK.

Sunday

As I write this, there are no tiers at the Animal Kingdom.
If this is still true when you book, get FastPass+ for Kilimanjaro Safaris, Festival of the Lion King (if it has re-opened for your dates; book Kali River instead if it hasn’t), 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!
If FastPass+ is tiered when you book it, choose Kilimanjaro Safaris as your Tier One selection.
When the park opens, see Everest first thing, then the rides in Dinoland next. See this for more suggestions on your Animal Kingdom day.

Monday

Set Toy Story Mania as your Tier One selection, then book Thursday (see below).
Then come back to Monday and book Star Tours and whichever of Tower of Terror or Great Movie ride you couldn’t book for Thursday afternoon—if either–as your Tier Twos.
The next Tier Two priority, if you got both Tower or Terror and Great Movie Ride for Thursday, is Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Target late morning or afternoon for the FastPass+.
Start your day at Rock ‘N Roller Coaster.

Tuesday

As written, you have the morning off and your afternoon is focused in Adventureland and Frontierland.
If there’s no tiering, book FastPass+ for Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, and the Jungle Cruise, with return windows beginning no earlier than 12:15 and ending no later than 5.15p. Book Splash Mountain as late as you can within these windows.
If tiering is on, then you’ll need to lose the morning off, and arrive before open. Book Splash Mountain mid-afternoon as your Tier One, and see Big Thunder Mountain, and then the Jungle Cruise, at open.

Wednesday

This day is scheduled mostly in Fantasyland.
If there’s no tiering, book as your FastPass+ Enchanted Tales with Belle, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (if open) and Winnie the Pooh. Target the times for the afternoon, ending by 4.30p. See Peter Pan at park open.
If there is tiering, then set Seven Dwarfs Mine Train as your Tier One if open (Enchanted Tales with Belle if not open) and see Peter Pan at Park open. With tiering, hold on Enchanted Tales with Belle until Saturday morning.

Thursday

Thursday is largely off, but at Hollywood Studios in the evening for Fantasmic.
Book Fantasmic as your Studios Tier One. This won’t get you better seats—you’ll still need to show up early for good seats—but means you won’t be shut out from the show!
For your Tier Twos on Thursday, pick Great Movie ride (first) and Tower of Terror (later), if you can fit them tightly together around Fantasmic.
If you get only one or two of these, that’s OK. Getting these for these times will limit your walking—and also make your other Studios Day, Monday, go better!

Friday

As written, this itinerary has you at Epcot late to see Illuminations. See First Saturday for an approach that frees you up after dinner.
Pick Soarin as your Tier One FastPass+, targeting it for early afternoon.
For your Tier Twos, pick Turtle Talk with Crush, and if you missed Spaceship Earth on First Saturday, pick it. Otherwise do Living with the Land, adjacent to your Soarin time.
Go to Test Track at park open.

Second Saturday

Book your FastPass+ for late morning.
If you were not able to book a FastPass+ for Enchanted Tales with Belle on Wednesday, and if there’s tiering, have it be your Tier One ride today, and see Space Mountain at park open
If there’s no tiering, set as your FastPass+ Space Mountain, Enchanted Tales with Belle if you haven’t booked that yet, or Space Mountain if you’ve seen Belle. At park open, repeat your favorite ride from what you’ve seen so far!

SEVEN NIGHT AUTUMN-WINTER-SPRING ITINERARY, SUNDAY ARRIVAL

First Sunday

As written, you skip Illuminations tonight and see it Friday—so that with Epcot’s evening extra magic hours you don’t have to leave the park—with 20,000 other people—after the show.
Instead, see Illuminations tonight with a Tier One FastPass+. The viewing area is as close as you’ll find to the bus stops and monorail station, so head for them the moment Illuminations ends, walk fast, don’t stop, and you should miss most of the crowds departing Epcot!
This lets you take Friday night off…and by then, you’ll need it…
For Tier 2, aim for Spaceship Earth and Mission Space Green, planning to see one before dinner and the other after. With your travel arrival schedule, 6.30p dinner time, and Illuminations FastPass+, you might not be able to do both—that’s OK.

Monday

Set Toy Story Mania as your Tier One selection, then book Thursday (see below).
Then come back to Monday and book Star Tours and whichever of Tower of Terror or Great Movie ride you couldn’t book for Thursday afternoon—if either–as your Tier Twos.
The next Tier Two priority, if you got both Tower or Terror and Great Movie Ride for Thursday, is Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Target late morning or afternoon for the FastPass+.
Start your day at Rock ‘N Roller Coaster.

Tuesday

As written, you have the morning off and your afternoon is focused in Adventureland and Frontierland.
If there’s no tiering, book FastPass+ for Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, and the Jungle Cruise, with return windows beginning no earlier than 12:15 and ending no later than 5.15p. Book Splash Mountain as late as you can within these windows.
If tiering is on, then you’ll need to lose the morning off, and arrive before open. Book Splash Mountain mid-afternoon as your Tier One, and see Big Thunder Mountain, and then the Jungle Cruise, at open.

Wednesday

This day is scheduled mostly in Fantasyland.
If there’s no tiering, book as your FastPass+ Enchanted Tales with Belle, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (if open) and Winnie the Pooh. Target the times for the afternoon, ending by 4.30p. See Peter Pan at park open.
If there is tiering, then set Seven Dwarfs Mine Train as your Tier One if open (Enchanted Tales with Belle if not open) and see Peter Pan at Park open. With tiering, hold on Enchanted Tales with Belle until Saturday morning.

Thursday

Thursday is largely off, but at Hollywood Studios in the evening for Fantasmic.
Book Fantasmic as your Studios Tier One. This won’t get you better seats—you’ll still need to show up early for good seats—but means you won’t be shut out from the show!
For your Tier Twos on Thursday, pick Great Movie ride (first) and Tower of Terror (later), if you can fit them tightly together around Fantasmic. If you get only one or two of these, that’s OK. Getting these for these times will limit your walking—and also make your other Studios Day, Monday, go better!

Friday

As written, this itinerary has you at Epcot late to see Illuminations. See First Saturday for an approach that frees you up after dinner.
Pick Soarin as your Tier One FastPass+, targeting it for early afternoon.
For your Tier Twos, pick Turtle Talk with Crush, and if you missed Spaceship Earth on First Saturday, pick it. Otherwise do Living with the Land, adjacent to your Soarin time.
Go to Test Track at park open.

Saturday

As I write this, there are no tiers at the Animal Kingdom.
If this is still true when you book, get FastPass+ for Kilimanjaro Safaris, Festival of the Lion King (if it has re-opened for your dates; book Kali River instead if it hasn’t), 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!
If FastPass+ is tiered when you book it, choose Kilimanjaro Safaris as your Tier One selection.
When the park opens, see Everest first thing, then the rides in Dinoland next. See this for more suggestions on your Animal Kingdom day.

Second Sunday

Book your FastPass+ for late morning.
If you were not able to book a FastPass+ for Enchanted Tales with Belle on Wednesday, and if there’s tiering, have it be your Tier One ride today, and see Space Mountain at park open
If there’s no tiering, set as your FastPass+ Space Mountain, Enchanted Tales with Belle if you haven’t booked that yet, or Space Mountain if you’ve seen Belle. At park open, repeat your favorite ride from what you’ve seen so far!

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January 13, 2014 5 Comments

Converting the Autumn-Winter-Spring Itinerary to FastPass+

by Dave

The following revisions to my Autumn-Winter-Spring Itinerary adapt it to FastPass+ and the coming entire absence of traditional fastpasses.

If you are a Disney World resort hotel guest, you can begin booking FastPass+ 60 days before (sometimes the parades and fireworks shows only become available closer to your arrival date), so you also need to add booking the FastPass+ below to your To-Do List!

See this for more on the upcoming loss of all traditional fastpasses.

First Saturday

As written, you skip Illuminations tonight and see it Friday—so that with Epcot’s evening extra magic hours you don’t have to leave the park—with 20,000 other people—after the show.

Instead, see Illuminations tonight with a Tier One FastPass+. (“Tier One,” where applicable, means from the list that says “select up to one of these.”) The Fastpass+ viewing area is as close as you’ll find to the bus stops and monorail station, so head for them the moment Illuminations ends, walk fast, don’t stop, and you should miss most of the crowds departing Epcot!

This lets you take Friday night off…and by then, you’ll need it…

For Tier Two (“Tier Two”: “Select up to Two of These”) aim for Spaceship Earth and Mission Space Green, planning to see one before dinner and the other after. With your travel arrival schedule, 6.30p dinner time, and Illuminations FastPass+, you might not be able to do both—that’s OK.

First Sunday

As I write this, there are no tiers at the Animal Kingdom.

If this is still true when you book, get FastPass+ for Kilimanjaro Safaris, Festival of the Lion King (if it has re-opened for your dates; book Kali River instead if it hasn’t), 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!

If Animal Kingdom FastPass+ is tiered when you book it, choose Kilimanjaro Safaris as your Tier One selection.

When the park opens, see Everest first thing, then the rides in Dinoland next. See this for more suggestions on your Animal Kingdom day.

Note that the First Sunday itinerary in addition to the Animal Kingdom also has you going to Hollywood Studios for the evening to see Fantasmic.

If you move seeing Fantasmic to Thursday, you’ll lose an off-day, and have to buy another ticket day, but will avoid having to buy a hopper—and hoppers are much more expensive than added days once you pass 4 ticket days!

If you do this, then book Fantasmic Thursday as your Studios Tier One. This won’t get you better seats—you’ll still need to show up early for good seats—but means you won’t be shut out from the show!

For your Tier Twos on Thursday, pick Great Movie ride (first) and Tower of Terror (later), if you can fit them tightly together around Fantasmic. If you get only one of these, that’s OK. Getting these for these times will limit your walking—and also make your other Studios Day, Monday, go better!

Monday

Set Toy Story Mania as your Tier One selection, and Star Tours and whichever of Tower of Terror or Great Movie ride you couldn’t book for Thursday (see First Sunday above for why Thursday)—if either–as your Tier Twos.

The next Tier Two priority, if you got both Tower or Terror and Great Movie Ride for Thursday, is Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Target late morning or afternoon for the FastPass+.

Start your day at Rock ‘N Roller Coaster.

Tuesday

As written, you have the morning off and your afternoon is focused in Adventureland and Frontierland.

If there’s no tiering at the Magic Kingdom, book FastPass+ for Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, and the Jungle Cruise, with return windows beginning no earlier than 12:15 and ending no later than 5.15p. Book Splash Mountain as late as you can within these windows.

If tiering is on, then you’ll need to lose the morning off, and instead arrive before open. Book Splash Mountain mid-afternoon as your Tier One, and see Big Thunder Mountain, and then the Jungle Cruise, at open.

Wednesday

This day is scheduled mostly in Fantasyland. If there’s no tiering, book as your FastPass+ Enchanted Tales with Belle, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (if open) and Winnie the Pooh. Target the times for the afternoon, ending by 4.30p. See Peter Pan at park open.

If there is tiering, then set Seven Dwarfs Mine Train as your Tier One if open (Enchanted Tales with Belle if not open) and see Peter Pan at Park open. With tiering, hold on Enchanted Tales with Belle until Saturday morning.

Thursday

This day shows as your off day, but see First Sunday for the thought of going to the Studios this evening, instead of then.

Friday

As written, this itinerary has you at Epcot late to see Illuminations. See First Saturday for an approach that frees you up after dinner.

Pick Soarin as your Tier One FastPass+, targeting it for early afternoon.

For your Tier Twos, pick Turtle Talk with Crush, and if you missed Spaceship Earth on First Saturday, pick it. Otherwise do Living with the Land, adjacent to your Soarin time.

Go to Test Track at park open.

Second Saturday

Book your FastPass+ for late morning or early evening so that you have the option of taking the afternoon off…

If you were not able to book a FastPass+ for Enchanted Tales with Belle on Wednesday, and if there’s tiering, have it be your Tier One ride today, and see Space Mountain at park open

If there’s no tiering, set as your FastPass+ Space Mountain, the Main Street Electrical Parade (you’ll also watch the Castle Show Celebrate the Magic and Wishes from this same spot—I got this idea from Josh), Enchanted Tales with Belle if you haven’t booked that yet, or Space Mountain if you’ve seen Belle. At park open, repeat your favorite ride from what you’ve seen so far!

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January 12, 2014 2 Comments