FASTPASS
Encyclopedia
Disney Fastpass is a virtual queuing system created by the Walt Disney Company. First introduced in 1999 (though the idea of a ride reservation system was first introduced in world fairs), Fastpass allows guests to avoid long lines at the attractions on which the system is installed, freeing them to enjoy other attractions during their wait. The service is available at no additional charge to all park guests.
may be able to carry 2,000 guests per operating hour. During a 12-hour operating day, 24,000 guests can experience this attraction. Similarly, a live theatrical show with a theatre capacity of 3,000 guests that has five shows during the day has a capacity of 15,000 guests. When Fastpass is installed on the attraction, a certain number of those seats (in the theatre, on the ride vehicles, etc.) are set aside. The remainder are made available on a "stand-by" basis to other park guests.
At the start of the operating day, the enabled attraction's wait is pre-set at a given time (for example, 45 minutes). The number of Fastpasses available is evenly divided into time intervals (usually five minutes, but sometimes three minutes). As guests obtain Fastpasses for the attraction, time intervals are depleted, moving the return time to later in the day. For an average attraction, the Fastpass wait will generally stay near this initial pre-set time.
In the case of very popular attractions, such as Splash Mountain
or other major thrill rides, time intervals are depleted quickly, resulting in longer virtual waits. Sometimes, all the time intervals will be depleted early in the day, at which point Fastpasses are no longer obtainable for the given attraction during that day.
In normal practice, only one Fastpass ticket can be held at a time. Another Fastpass ticket can be obtained either at the start of the current Fastpass ticket's return time or after two hours, whichever is earlier. If a guest attempts to obtain another Fastpass before these times, an informational ticket will be printed indicating when the next Fastpass ticket can be obtained. An exception to this is the World of Color show, which distributes tickets early in the day for the evening performances; guests may still obtain standard Fastpass tickets for other attractions even if they hold a ticket for World of Color.
The presence of Fastpass on an attraction does not imply that Fastpass tickets will be offered on any given day. During less-crowded operating days, the system may not be used on certain attractions as the stand-by wait is expected to be short enough to make Fastpass unnecessary. Fastpass is generally not used at all during separate-ticket events, such as Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party or Grad Nite
, or during special after-hours events for resort guests or annual passholders, although exceptions do occur.
Fastpasses are also given for any ride any given time, when a guest visits a ride that malfunctions (such as: the soundtrack and the ride not being in sync on Space Mountain, power malfunctions on the Indiana Jones Adventure
,if the launch system fails for the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
, or if someone cannot fit on the ride), thus making Disney unable to uphold safety guidelines.
Vacations to Disneyland which were booked through AAA Vacations
in 2006 came with park admission tickets which could be used to collect Fastpass tickets from multiple attractions at one time. Under this exclusive program, a guest could hold multiple Fastpass tickets per park ticket for multiple attractions at the same time. This Multi-Fastpass feature was discontinued as of January 2007, and all AAA ParkHopper tickets since then have been Standard Fastpass.
A bug in the first implementation of Fastpass allowed guests to get a pass by using tickets other than Disney's own admission media. Old tickets and even passes for other parks would result in the machines printing up another Fastpass. This has since been corrected; a ticket will come out stating "This card has not been scanned for admission".
Epcot's Mission: SPACE
was the first attraction built with Fastpass in mind, with a specific queue area for it. Earlier attractions were retrofitted for Fastpass by rerouting the queue area
to allow a shorter line near the boarding area.
Fastpass is used mainly on the most popular park attractions, such as Space Mountain
, Test Track
, Expedition Everest
, Soarin' and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror; therefore, the rides that offer Fastpass service vary over time. Smaller attractions would not benefit from Fastpass due to short or fast-moving lines.
On August 30, 2007, the Walt Disney Company filed a patent for using Short Messaging Service on mobile devices as a way to get and use FastPasses in the park. The patent additionally indicated that guests staying at Disney hotels would be allowed to make early reservations for attractions using their in-room television.
Disney's World of Color show at Disney California Adventure uses Disney's Fastpass as the only method of getting tickets for entering the Paradise Park viewing area unless you have gotten reserved seating vouchers through a World of Color dining package at select Disney California Adventure table service dining locations or a World of Color picnic package.
At the Disneyland Resort
, the Dream Fastpass entitled guests to one priority entry to each attraction with Fastpass access in both Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure
parks. At Walt Disney World
, Dream Fastpasses were good only for the park in which they were awarded (for example, an award in the Magic Kingdom
was good only for that park's attractions).
Throughout the summer of 2011 (dubbed Disney Soundsational Summer) guests staying at any of the three Hotels of the Disneyland Resort will receive two complimentary FastPasses per person. These passes will allow guests to enter the FastPass line at any time they chose (similar to the Dream FastPass) and hence skipping the line for the attraction.
Design theory
Each attraction inside a Disney theme park has a certain capacity, or a maximum number of guests that attraction can handle in a given operating day. For example, a ride-through attraction like the Haunted MansionHaunted Mansion
The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride located at Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland. A significantly re-imagined incarnation of the ride, known as Phantom Manor, is located in Disneyland Paris...
may be able to carry 2,000 guests per operating hour. During a 12-hour operating day, 24,000 guests can experience this attraction. Similarly, a live theatrical show with a theatre capacity of 3,000 guests that has five shows during the day has a capacity of 15,000 guests. When Fastpass is installed on the attraction, a certain number of those seats (in the theatre, on the ride vehicles, etc.) are set aside. The remainder are made available on a "stand-by" basis to other park guests.
At the start of the operating day, the enabled attraction's wait is pre-set at a given time (for example, 45 minutes). The number of Fastpasses available is evenly divided into time intervals (usually five minutes, but sometimes three minutes). As guests obtain Fastpasses for the attraction, time intervals are depleted, moving the return time to later in the day. For an average attraction, the Fastpass wait will generally stay near this initial pre-set time.
In the case of very popular attractions, such as Splash Mountain
Splash Mountain
Splash Mountain is a themed log flume attraction at Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort, based on the characters, stories and songs from the 1946 Disney film Song of the South...
or other major thrill rides, time intervals are depleted quickly, resulting in longer virtual waits. Sometimes, all the time intervals will be depleted early in the day, at which point Fastpasses are no longer obtainable for the given attraction during that day.
Operations
Disney Fastpass tickets are dispensed by machines outside each attraction that uses them. The guest inserts his/her park ticket into a reader on the machine. The machine then returns the admission ticket and a Fastpass ticket will be printed. This ticket will show the time window at which the guest may enter the special priority line at that attraction. The time period given is normally one hour for rides (30 minutes in the Paris parks), and 15 minutes for theatrical presentations. It will also show when another Fastpass can be obtained.In normal practice, only one Fastpass ticket can be held at a time. Another Fastpass ticket can be obtained either at the start of the current Fastpass ticket's return time or after two hours, whichever is earlier. If a guest attempts to obtain another Fastpass before these times, an informational ticket will be printed indicating when the next Fastpass ticket can be obtained. An exception to this is the World of Color show, which distributes tickets early in the day for the evening performances; guests may still obtain standard Fastpass tickets for other attractions even if they hold a ticket for World of Color.
The presence of Fastpass on an attraction does not imply that Fastpass tickets will be offered on any given day. During less-crowded operating days, the system may not be used on certain attractions as the stand-by wait is expected to be short enough to make Fastpass unnecessary. Fastpass is generally not used at all during separate-ticket events, such as Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party or Grad Nite
Grad Nite
Disney's Grad Nite is an event hosted in April, May, or June for graduating high school senior classes who can gather for an exclusive, all-night party at Disneyland and at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom featuring live performances by some of the...
, or during special after-hours events for resort guests or annual passholders, although exceptions do occur.
Fastpasses are also given for any ride any given time, when a guest visits a ride that malfunctions (such as: the soundtrack and the ride not being in sync on Space Mountain, power malfunctions on the Indiana Jones Adventure
Indiana Jones Adventure
Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye is a dark ride motion simulator attraction based on the Indiana Jones films. Guests accompany intrepid archeologist Dr. Indiana Jones on a quest for the Jewel of Power through a dangerous lost temple, then board military troop transport vehicles...
,if the launch system fails for the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith is an enclosed steel roller coaster ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort and at the Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris...
, or if someone cannot fit on the ride), thus making Disney unable to uphold safety guidelines.
Changes in implementation
At first, a guest could only hold a single Fastpass at a time; if a guest tried to insert a park ticket into another Fastpass machine before the time shown on their previous Fastpass, the machine would generate a ticket with a message printed on it stating that it was not yet time to obtain another Fastpass. Since the initial rollout of Fastpass, the rules have been relaxed a bit, and now additional Fastpasses can be had sooner after one another (maximum 2 hour interval between obtaining two Fastpasses), but still only one Fastpass per attraction per park ticket in every interval.Vacations to Disneyland which were booked through AAA Vacations
American Automobile Association
AAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
in 2006 came with park admission tickets which could be used to collect Fastpass tickets from multiple attractions at one time. Under this exclusive program, a guest could hold multiple Fastpass tickets per park ticket for multiple attractions at the same time. This Multi-Fastpass feature was discontinued as of January 2007, and all AAA ParkHopper tickets since then have been Standard Fastpass.
A bug in the first implementation of Fastpass allowed guests to get a pass by using tickets other than Disney's own admission media. Old tickets and even passes for other parks would result in the machines printing up another Fastpass. This has since been corrected; a ticket will come out stating "This card has not been scanned for admission".
Epcot's Mission: SPACE
Mission: SPACE
Mission: SPACE is a motion simulator thrill ride at Epcot. It simulates what an astronaut might experience aboard a spacecraft on a mission to Mars, from the higher g-force of blastoff to the speculative hypersleep....
was the first attraction built with Fastpass in mind, with a specific queue area for it. Earlier attractions were retrofitted for Fastpass by rerouting the queue area
Queue area
Queue areas are places in which people queue for goods or services. Examples include checking out groceries or other goods that have been collected in a self service shop, in a shop without self service, at an ATM, at a ticket desk, a city bus, or in a taxi stand.Queueing is a phenomenon in a...
to allow a shorter line near the boarding area.
Fastpass is used mainly on the most popular park attractions, such as Space Mountain
Space Mountain
Space Mountain is the name of a space-themed indoor roller coaster attraction located at all five Magic Kingdom-style Disney Parks. Although all five versions of the attraction are different in nature, all have a similar domed exterior façade that is a landmark for the respective park.The name can...
, Test Track
Test Track
Test Track is an attraction at Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, sponsored by General Motors The ride is a simulated excursion through the rigorous testing procedures that General Motors uses to evaluate its vehicles, culminating in a high-speed drive around the...
, Expedition Everest
Expedition Everest
Expedition Everest - Legend of the Forbidden Mountain is a roller coaster attraction at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando...
, Soarin' and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror; therefore, the rides that offer Fastpass service vary over time. Smaller attractions would not benefit from Fastpass due to short or fast-moving lines.
On August 30, 2007, the Walt Disney Company filed a patent for using Short Messaging Service on mobile devices as a way to get and use FastPasses in the park. The patent additionally indicated that guests staying at Disney hotels would be allowed to make early reservations for attractions using their in-room television.
Disney's World of Color show at Disney California Adventure uses Disney's Fastpass as the only method of getting tickets for entering the Paradise Park viewing area unless you have gotten reserved seating vouchers through a World of Color dining package at select Disney California Adventure table service dining locations or a World of Color picnic package.
Fastpass promotions
During Disney's Year of a Million Dreams promotion (January 2007-December 2008), many guests received a special Dream Fastpass. Cast members awarded Dream Fastpasses to guests standing at predetermined random locations inside the park, at predetermined times (usually within the first few hours of opening). The Dream Fastpass was a card hung on a lanyard with a removable tab for each enabled attraction. Guests could enter the Fastpass return line whenever they chose, where they handed over that attraction's tab.At the Disneyland Resort
Disneyland Resort
The Disneyland Resort is a recreational resort in Anaheim, California. The resort is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks and Resorts division and is home to two theme parks, three hotels and a shopping, dining, and entertainment area known as Downtown Disney.The area now...
, the Dream Fastpass entitled guests to one priority entry to each attraction with Fastpass access in both Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure
Disney's California Adventure
Disney California Adventure, or simply California Adventure, is a theme park in Anaheim, California, adjacent to Disneyland Park and part of the larger Disneyland Resort. It opened on February 8, 2001 as Disney's California Adventure Park. The park is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and...
parks. At Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...
, Dream Fastpasses were good only for the park in which they were awarded (for example, an award in the Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom Park is one of four theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort located near Orlando, Florida. The first park built at the resort, Magic Kingdom opened Oct. 1, 1971. Designed and built by WED Enterprises, the park's layout and attractions are similar to Disneyland in Anaheim, California...
was good only for that park's attractions).
Throughout the summer of 2011 (dubbed Disney Soundsational Summer) guests staying at any of the three Hotels of the Disneyland Resort will receive two complimentary FastPasses per person. These passes will allow guests to enter the FastPass line at any time they chose (similar to the Dream FastPass) and hence skipping the line for the attraction.
See also
- List of Disney's Fastpass equipped attractions
- Single riderSingle RiderSingle rider lines are an opportunity at various theme parks to reduce the amount of time waiting in line for an attraction. When a single-rider line is in use, empty seats on the ride vehicles are filled using individuals from the line, thus ensuring that every vehicle is carrying the maximum...
- Disney's PhotopassDisney's PhotopassDisney's PhotoPass is a professional photography service offered at Disney theme parks, water parks, and resorts. Photographers positioned at locations in the theme parks, dining events at the resorts, and at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Downtown Disney are linked to a free card containing a...
- E ticketE ticketThe phrase E ticket refers to an unusually interesting, thrilling or expensive experience. It derives from the admission ticket system used at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom theme parks before 1982, in which the E ticket admitted the bearer to the newest, most advanced, and/or most popular rides...