One of the most common Disney planning questions is “what rides do I need a FastPass for?” Typically, there are a few standard answers as several rides are always guaranteed to have a long wait time in each park. Other choice can be a bit more personal as they are often determined by the age of the riders in your party. Below I will discuss the most popular and most useful rides to FastPass and a few I would say to skip the FP on.

 

Magic Kingdom

 

FastPass Musts:

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train- The wait time here will always be up over 90 mins. Always. It’s the newest attraction at Magic Kingdom and one of our favorite rides. Its generally a family friend coaster so younger rides should still enjoy it.

Peter Pan- This family favorite and Disney classic can still build up a very long wait time of about 60 minutes. Since this is a great ride for the entire family, I always say use a fast pass!

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The mountains: Space, Big Thunder and Splash- All 3 of these classic roller coasters will have at least a 60 min wait time, so take one or all depending of the likes of your party. Space mountain is in my opinion the rockiest coaster in the park, so I would not suggest it for all guests. Big thunder and splash are a bit easier to take and can be done by most party members.

 

For younger riders: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean are always smart FastPass uses.

 

FastPass skips:

The Mad Tea Party, The Prince Charming Carrousel,  Dumbo (this one has an indoor playground with a buzzer system instead of a line- so worth the wait!), The Barnstormer, Small World,  Under the Sea, Aladdin’s Magic Carpets and Mickey’s PhilharMagic almost never require a FastPass as they lines are often no longer than 10 to 15 mins

 

Now to the trickier parks for FastPass planning. Disney implemented a “Tier” system for these parks where several rides are categorized as “Tier 1” and the rest as “Tier 2”. Each guest is only allowed to book one Tier 1 ride at a time. As you can probably guess, the most popular rides are all Tier 1 rides. This means you need to prioritize your ‘mist ride” ride for a FastPass. Keep in mind, once you have used your first 3 FastPass reservations in the day, you can make another reservation, and if lucky, snag another Tier one ride.

 

Epcot:

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FastPass Musts

 

Tier One Selections:

Frozen Ever After- an easy choice if you have little ones who, like most little girls, love Elsa and Anna.

 

Test Trak or Sorin’- it’s a toss up. For me, these are the two best rides in all of Disney. My family loves these rides. Since we can only FastPass one of them, my suggestion is to grab a pass for one, and ‘rope drop’ the other (that means go to that ride as soon as they start letting guests into the park).

 

Tier 2 ride options:

You can basically pick any of these as your next two FastPass options without losing a “better choice”. My kids always enjoy the Spaceship earth (not to be confused with the sometimes sickening Mission: Space ride!) and younger riders will love The Seas with Nemo and Friends

 

FastPass skips:

Turtle talk with Crush (cute for younger kids, but it’s a show so you do not need a FastPass, just how up before it starts and you should be guaranteed a seat), Living on the Land, Journey into Imagination with Figment

 

Hollywood Studios

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FastPass Musts

Tier 1 Rides: All Toy Story land rides are in this category, so picking any one of these will be a time saver in this park, but the true winner is Slinky Dog. The line for Slinky will likely be 60-90 mins every day, followed closely by Toy Story Mania. The wait time for Alien Swirl will likely be around 30 min, and that’s a doable wait time in my opinion.

 

Tier 2- for most riders in Hollywood studios the tier 2 choices are easy:

Aerosmith’s Rockin’ Rollercoaster- this is a true, upside-down fast and loud coaster. It will not be for everyone in your party!

 

Tower of Terror- This Twilight Zone inspired, broken elevator style ride will be too much for some. It made my tummy drop so hard I almost couldn’t take it!

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Star Tours- If you have a Star Wars fan in the family- this is an easy choice. Its currently (until August) the only Star Wars ride I the park, so grab a FastPass, enjoy the ride and may the force be with you!

 

FastPass Skips:

Any of the stage shows. Yes, the lines will be long as it gets closer to show time, but the seating areas are huge, so your chances of getting in to each performance are pretty good. In December, I walked right into the Frozen Sing along show as it was about to start and got 6 seats all together towards the back of the theater. Every seat has a clear view, and the show is hilarious so don’t skip this one!

 

Animal Kingdom

FastPass Must:

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Tier 1

Avatar Flight of Passage- This is possibly the longest wait time in the history of wait times. At one-point last year, the wait was almost 4 hours. FOUR HOURS, for one ride. Typically, the wait is around 120 mins.  If you want to get a FastPass for this one, be up and booking your FP selections at the stroke of 7 am est. at 60 days out. It’s hard to get a FastPass for this one, but keep checking, cancellations come up.

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If you can’t get Flight of Passage, the next best tier 1 option is Na’vi River Journey in the Avatar area.

 

Tier 2 Options:

Kilimanjaro Safari- Easily one of my favorite experience, and less of a “ride”. It’s a drive thru jungle safari adventure thru the African animal enclosure. My advice is to go early in the morning or at dinner time if you want to see the animals most active. Afternoons tend to be their “nap time”.

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Expedition Everest- A family favorite coaster. It’s fast with steep drops and sharp turns but its not too overwhelming for younger riders either. It’s a good time…. Just look out for the Yeti!

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Kali-River Rapids- If you don’t mind getting a little wet (and if it’s a typical Florida day, you wont mind the relief) this water raft ride is a great choice. What kid doesn’t love to see their parent get soaked by a waterfall!

 

FastPass skips:

Kid friendly rides like Triceratops Spin, Primeval While and stage shows like Up Bird adventure and It’s tough to be a bug, will have short wait times at most.

 

One last FastPass tip:

Don’t forget, while you can start your day with just 3 booked FastPass rides, you can book one more (per person) after the original 3 have been used. After you use that one extra FP, another can be booked, and on and on it goes. If you keep checking in on My Disney Experience as the days goes on, you can have plenty of opportunities to grab a FastPass for other popular park rides!

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