The FASTPASS system employed at Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios is designed to enable guests to cut down their wait times for major attractions at the two theme parks. Not every guest takes advantage of the passes – but everybody should.
Without FASTPASS, you’ll spend many hours waiting in line for rides such as Peter Pan’s Flight – with it, you’ll breeze straight to the front of the queue. Here’s our guide to making the most of the system.
How does FASTPASS work?
FASTPASS is simple and straightforward to use. Just follow the basic steps below:
- Head to a FASTPASS-enabled attraction and find the FASTPASS distribution area, which is usually located close to the normal (“standby”) entrance.
- Check the standby wait time – if it’s 15 minutes or less, you’re probably better off just joining the queue rather than using FASTPASS.
- If there’s a lengthy queue, check the current FASTPASS return time, which is displayed above the distribution point (it will be a half-hour window, e.g. 1pm to 1.30pm).
- If you’re happy to return to the ride during that slot, then grab a FASTPASS. You can do this just by swiping or scanning your entrance ticket in one of the FASTPASS machines. Keep the pass somewhere safe.
- When the start of your FASTPASS return window is reached, return to the attraction and head straight for the FASTPASS entrance.
- Skip through the much shorter FASTPASS queue and enjoy the ride!
Important FASTPASS restrictions
- The main restriction that applies to FASTPASS is that you cannot get another FASTPASS in each park until the start of the time window on your current pass. For example if you hold a FASTPASS for Peter Pan’s Flight for 1pm to 1.30pm, you won’t be able to grab a pass for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad until 1pm.
- The other important restriction is, of course, that you should return to the ride during your allotted time slot. Cast Members are fastidious about enforcing the start time on FASTPASSes, although many will not enforce the end time. This may change over the coming years, with other Disney resorts now rigorously enforcing FASTPASS expiry times.
Which rides is FASTPASS available for?
Disneyland Park:
- Big Thunder Mountain
- Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast
- Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Space Mountain: Mission 2
- Star Tours
Walt Disney Studios:
Tips for making the most of the FASTPASS system
We recommend making extensive use of FASTPASS to improve your experience at Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios. Here are a few essential tips to maximise the benefits of the system:
- Don’t throw away your admission ticket – you won’t be able to get a FASTPASS without it.
- Grab another pass as soon as your current FASTPASS window starts – you don’t have to return to the attraction as soon as your FASTPASS window starts. Instead, grab a pass for another ride first – you can do so as soon as the window starts, so you’ll still have half an hour to make your way to the ride before the pass expires.
- Focus on low-capacity rides – some rides, notably Peter Pan’s Flight at Disneyland Park and Flying Carpets Over Agrabah at Walt Disney Studios, suffer from chronically low capacity. Making these your priority when using FASTPASS – other rides, such as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Space Mountain: Mission 2 will have shorter queues early in the day and later on, so the biggest FASTPASS benefits are to be had during the afternoon period.
- Get passes for the most popular rides early – FASTPASSes for the most popular attractions, particularly Peter Pan’s Flight and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, can run out early on busy days. This causes two problems. Firstly, you may not get a pass at all if you head to the ride early in the afternoon or later. Secondly, if you do get a pass (even by mid-morning), you may find that it is for much later in the day. Not only is this inconvenient, but it will also prevent you from using FASTPASS on any other attractions for much of the day. Instead, head to these rides early and grab a pass.
- Use FASTPASS for repeat rides – if you’re heading, for example, to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror early in the day, you may find that it has a short standby queue. Don’t let this stop you from grabbing a FASTPASS. By the time you’ve exited the ride, the queue may be long, and you’ll be able to enjoy a repeat ride using your pass.
- Focus on the rides that DON’T have FASTPASS early on – try and experience the low-capacity attractions that don’t employ FASTPASS as early as possible. At Disneyland Park, this applies primarily to Dumbo The Flying Elephant, while at Walt Disney Studios Crush’s Coaster suffers from lengthy queues throughout the day. Hit these attractions first if you want to ride them.
- Don’t miss out on cool queue lines – FASTPASS is a great system, but one of its side effects can be missing out on the great queue lines that add to the experience of some Disney’s best attractions. Some FASTPASS lines bypass the bulk of the queue – notably that for Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril – while others simply encourage you to race straight pass some great theming elements. Slow down and enjoy the view, or wait until later in the day to enjoy the standard line without waiting for hours.
- Nominate a single person to collect FASTPASSes – a simple way to improve your touring times is to nominate one person to rush to an attraction and grab FASTPASSes for your entire group, before racing back to catch up with rest of the party.
Premium FASTPASS options
We’re not fans of paid-for queue jumping systems, which strike us as profiteering on the back of low-capacity rides. However, you may want to consider using any of these premium FASTPASS options that are offered by Disneyland Paris:
- Disney Hotel FASTPASS – on-site hotel guests will receive one free pass per day, which can be used during a pre-defined time window at any FASTPASS-enabled attraction.
- VIP FASTPASS – available only to guests staying in the most expensive suites at Disney’s on-site hotels, these passes offering unlimited queue-jumping benefits on FASTPASS-enabled rides. Some are restricted to use at particular times of day.
- Premium FASTPASS – available on selected days from the receptions desks at the Disneyland Hotel and Disney’s Hotel New York, these passes offers the same benefits as the VIP FASTPASS system at a cost of €60 per day.
