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4. Extra

Here I’ll give you a few ways you can score extra FastPasses, then to wrap up the article I’m going to clue you in on what I personally like to do with my initial 3 FastPasses after rope dropping each park- basically a glimpse into my ideal morning. So without further ado let’s get some extra FastPasses.

The easisest way to obtain extra FastPasses is to flat out buy them. Yes you read that correctly. For guests staying in Club Level accommodations you can buy 3 extra FastPasses per day – minimum of 3 days. You’ll have to purchase for everyone staying in your room at a cost of $50 per person per day. These FastPasses have no restrictions and can be used at any park and can be reserved up to 90 days out. While I won’t hate on the family who buys these, I will say even if I had that much cash lying around there’s no way I’m using it for this. I mean did you even read the rest of the article?  That being said, if you want the easy way to enjoy the Parks with reduced lines (you’d also get prime seating for all fireworks shows) this is it. You just have to be able to afford club level rooms and then shell out another $200/night for a family of four in order to obtain this.

Now, the most common (and FREE) way you’re going to get an extra FP+ selection is via a paper handout from a cast member because a ride broke down while you were either on it, in line for it, or during your FastPass return window. These freebie FastPasses will usually allow you to ride any ride at the park barring the most popular ones like 7DMT (unless it was 7DMT you were screwed out of riding). Anecdotally these paper FastPasses have been known to be given out by cast members at random just to heighten a guest’s experience. So, you may just be strolling through the park minding your own damn business and get lucky (your chances are likely greatly increased by not being a huge dick to folks and having a general cheery demeanor).

My favorite way to score an extra FP+ limits you to one ride, but luckily it’s also one of my favorite rides – Pirates of the Caribbean. Here’s how you get your hands on a free FastPass for this Disney classic. Stop By the Crow’s Nest and ask to play Pirate’s Adventure – Treasures of the Seven Seas. Here you’ll be given a map and assigned to one of five adventures sending you around locations nearby to unlock things. This experience is hiding in plain sight so unless you’ve played before you’ve probably never noticed things like cannons being fired, treasure chests popping open, etc. The adventure is for up to six participants at once and each takes 20-ish minutes to complete take a look at it for yourself below.

Anyone with a park ticket or magic band can play, but if you really want to immerse yourself ask for a magic talisman to get the full Jack Sparrow-esque experience. Now for the good stuff, once you’ve completed your second map you get a free FastPass for you and your whole crew (up to 6 people). What’s even better is if you choose to do more of the five available missions you get one for those too, so you can get up to four FastPasses for playing this game. These are the paper FastPasses and are actually good a week to two. So you can ride Pirates without a wait on multiple occasions, or you can spread the pixie dust and make a stranger’s day a bit more magical. Either way it’s a cool experience and definitely worth the time it takes to get the reward -plus you get to keep the map. Now, I can’t say that I’d do this with just my wife and I, but with our 4-year old daughter in tow this is a great way to score at FastPass for one of Magic Kingdom’s coolest attractions.

You’re still here, huh? Then I guess I must deliver as promised on my ideal morning rope drop/fast pass combos for each park. Now, I must warn you that while this is all entirely possible – your mileage may vary. Especially if you’re tryin’ all of this for the first time. Also, I tend to book my trip for the less crowded times of year. Like when school is in session because fuck school, amirite? Now, this may change next year when my youngster is headed to kindergarten, but even if so I’ll be booking as soon as her school year ends (unless it’s Memorial day Weekend then we’d do the immediate week after) so there will be more crowds than we’re used to, but not a full on shit-show. So don’t take this as concrete advice because if you’re traveling during nuts-to-butts season this won’t be nearly as easy.

You’re still fucking here, huh? Okay fine!

First I’m going to list the ride or rides I plan on rope-dropping (trying to keep total time under 30 minutes for these so I can get to my first FP+ quickly and begin the modifying process). I’ll then list my 3 initial FastPasses in order of use ( booked at 60 day window), then I’m going to tell you the ride I’ll keep “on-deck.” Which is basically just my fourth Fastpass, but this could also be a substitute for one of my initial 3 should one of those be having technical difficulties. For my on-deck ride I’ll also list my opinion on the probability of scoring a same-day FastPass for it during off-peak times. The goal is to have that FP done prior to lunch say 1pm. Got it? LET’S GO!

Animal Kingdom:

Rope Drop: Na’vi River Journey

FastPass Plus: Flight of Passage, Kali River Rapids, Kilimanjaro Safari

On-Deck: Dinosaur  On-Deck Likelihood: moderate

Notes: Before My Kali River FP+ I’d use the Single-Rider line to jump on Expedition Everest

Epcot:

Rope Drop: Soarin’

FastPass Plus: Frozen Ever After, Mission Space, Spaceship Earth

On-Deck: The Seas with Nemo and Friends  On-Deck Likelihood: high

Notes: After riding Soarin’ I’m headed to Test Track for the single-rider line prior to starting my FP+ allotment

Hollywood Studios plus Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge:

Rope Drop: Tower of Terror then Rock n Roller Coaster

FastPass Plus: Slinky Dog Dash, Star tours

On-Deck: Toy Story Midway Mania On-Deck Likelihood: Moderate

Notes: Toy Story Land should still fill up quickly, everyone who isn’t going to Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge is probably taking their kids to TSL. If you’re in that boat you’ll want to rope drop Toy Story Midway Mania, Then try to squeeze in Alien Swirling Saucers before using your FastPass on Slinky Dog Dash. If you didn’t get the Slinky Dog Fast pass and Toy Story Land is your priority make sure to rope drop Slinky Dog then go to Toy Story Midway Mania directly after.

For Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge there is no Fast Pass System.  You will need to arrive early (minimum of two hours before park opening) If you want to be one of the first to visit Star Wars Land. If that hullabaloo doesn’t float your boat then hopefully you’ve made reservations for one of the following: Oga’s Cantina, the build your own droid experience at Droid Depot or the build a lightsaber experience at Savi’s Workshop. If so, just proceed to Galaxy’s Edge up to one hour before your reservation time and you will be let in. Otherwise you’re gonna do some waiting. Luckily there will be a via the My Disney Experience app (MDX). When you arrive check the app to see if Star Wars Land is open for more guest if so proceed to the Land and fend for yourself in line (shoulda made that reservation). If the Land is not currently accepting guest the app will prompt you to join a boarding group (ie waitlist). You will be assigned a boarding group and once your group is called (via push notification thru the MDX app) you will have two hours to enter Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. While you’re waiting for your group to be called you can use the rest of the park like normal.  If it’s later in the day when you finally are let in I’d suggest riding the Millenium Falcon first as it has the highest capacity and should churn thru guest fairly quickly. If you arrived early enough to be one of the first inside I would go to Oga’s Cantina first as you can only be there for a max of 45 minutes and there is a finite amount of space at the cantina. Then immediately get in line to ride the Falcon. The build your own Lightsaber and Droid experiences will be popular but there is a cost involved so you can put those as your third stop should you want to do them ($200 and $100). If not just then either explore the rest of Batuu time permitting. We’ll keep tweaking this as we learn more about the flow of the Disney World version of Star Wars Land.

Magic Kingdom:

Rope Drop: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain

FastPass Plus: Peter Pan’s Flight, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Space Mountain

On-Deck: Jungle Cruise  On-Deck Likelihood: high

Notes: During the opening hour you can basically walk-on to any attraction that isn’t 7DMT, every motherfucker in the place will be speed walking to the Mine Train so if you have no desire to ride it take full fucking advantage of the situation. Also, the reason I head to Frontierland first is to can knock out two headliners in a matter of 20-30 minutes (12-15 of those walking thru and then riding Splash which has an 11 minute run time).

So that’s it, hopefully this guide will benefit you in some way during your next trip to the house of mouse. Let us know what you think in the comment section or shoot us an email: info@notclub33.com

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