Magic Bands and Fast Passes

[AmandaChan]

So I apologize in advance for asking any silly questions but we just booked and it was unexpected and now I am figuring out the FP deal.

I understand you can make selections 60 days in advance if you're staying on site.

It will be loaded to your magic band.

You can do it from your mobile device.

so are there no longer FP kiosk in the parks?
You have an hour window to arrive at your attraction. Say we plan on going to Mk on a Tuesday. I can make a FP 'reservation' for The Little Mermaid ride for like, that tuesday at 1030 am? Then we usually get a FP for Splash Mountain, do I make a 'res' for that for around 2 pm maybe? I don't understand and I want to make sure I have it down pat before it's time to start planning.

If someone can direct me to a dumbed down thread explaining all of this in great detail I would appreciate it lol. Thanks!

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Yes, you can "reserve" your FP+'s starting 60 days in advance.

Yes, they will be attached to your Magic Band, and at each attraction you will scan your band to "use" the FP+.

This is where is can get tricky, and depends on how you like to tour the parks. Basically, pick the 3 attractions you'd most like to do and book them. Just like the "old" FP system, you will have an hour-long window in which you can use your FP+.

The advantage to booking them in advance is that there will be more choice of times and attractions. But, there are FP+ kiosks in the parks, so you can make changes or book them right there if you want.

Once you have used your pre-planned 3 FP+, you can also visit one of these kiosks to book another FP+ (just like old days, once you've used what you've got, you can get another).

[Goofy4TheWorld]

Well, the new system (called FastPass Plus or FP+) is a moving target right now, meaning Disney is regularly tweaking it, so the fine details are something subject to change.

The old FastPass system (FP) has now been totally replaced with the new FP+ system, there are no longer FastPass machines at the parks. The entire billion+ dollar FP+ system is all managed on each Guest's "My Disney Experience" (MDE) account on the Disney World website. You can access your MDE account via a Desktop/Laptop here, or you can access your MDE account using the MDE app available for Android and Apple phones & tablets. You may also access MDE using kiosks that Disney has installed throughout the parks for public use (I assume there are basically just public computers but I have never actually used one) and I think Disney still has the CMs that roam around with iPads in their hand to assist guests with MDE issues.

You get to make 3 FP+ reservations each day for whatever attraction/show/parade you want, and just like with FPv1.0, there is a separate line for FP entry to each attraction, and now there are reserved seating for people who use a FP+ for a parade or a show. The creation of FP+ resulted in a large increase in the number of "FastPass rides", it's not just for the E-ticket attractions like it was in the past.

The system requires that you reserve 3 each day or none at all, it won't allow you to reserve only 1 or 2. The 3 FP+ reservations must be at the same park. In your scenario, you would already have your FP+ reserved for Mermaid and Splash as well as a 3rd selection before you enter the park. The MDE website & app make it VERY easy to adjust your times based on your needs, so you will be able to space things out to fit your typical park style (commando vs relaxed). Just like before, the FP+ window will be one hour, and unlike the old FPv1.0 system, the one hour window is pretty strictly enforced, meaning you can't be late!

As your day goes along, you may make changes to your FP+ selections in either time or attraction choice via any of the methods listed above to access MDE. If you walk up the Splash to use your FP+ and see that the Standby line is only 15 minutes, you could use your smart phone to change your FP+ to a different attraction or for a later time if you wanted to ride the same attraction multiple times, and then just ride Splash using the standby line. Note however that you cannot make multiple FP+ reservations for the same attraction.

Now, a week or so ago Disney through a monkey wrench in things and announced a convoluted system where you can obtain additional FP+ selections once you have used your three reserved choices. However, obtaining a 4th (or 5th or 6th) choice could not be done on your own, you had to use a kiosk or a CM iPad I think, but it definitely could not be done using your own phone. This kinda forces you to consider keeping all of your FP+ reservations for earlier in the day so that you can obtain additional FP+ choices once inside the park, but some people may decide it isn't worth the trouble.

Now, that was exhausting! I will stop here, but later on I may post about how to obtain a FP+ reservation for Restroom breaks.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I will stop here, but later on I may post about how to obtain a FP+ reservation for Restroom breaks.

I wonder if they will limit those to 3 a day too!

[steamboat willy]

Yes, but after completing, you can book another!

[faline]

Just got back from Disney. I never used any of the fastpass+ kiosks but I'm not sure I would have wanted to stand in the lines that I saw for them either!

[Goofy4TheWorld]

Just got back from Disney. I never used any of the fastpass+ kiosks but I'm not sure I would have wanted to stand in the lines that I saw for them either!

Maybe they will soon allow you to use one of your three FP+ reservations to get a FP for the line at the FP kiosks?

[faline]

Maybe they will soon allow you to use one of your three FP+ reservations to get a FP for the line at the FP kiosks?

From the lines I saw, that might have been helpful!!

[Kplaster]

So we can't make say 2 of our FP+ for early in the day at one park and then 1 at a different park later in the day... say after dinner? Kind of defeats the purpose of the park hopper if I have to stay in 1 park all day to use my FP+.

[faline]

So we can't make say 2 of our FP+ for early in the day at one park and then 1 at a different park later in the day... say after dinner? Kind of defeats the purpose of the park hopper if I have to stay in 1 park all day to use my FP+.

Currently, your first 3 fastpasses must all be in the same park. The good news is that after you 3rd fastpass expires, you can use the kiosks in the second park you visit to acquire an additional fastpass.

[hauntedmansiongirl]

I'm glad that they're tweaking things based on visitor feedback! Maybe by September all of the bugs will be worked out!

[Imalismom]

Another thing, Disney TELLS you the time you can pick. You cannot say, I want Splash at 2pm.

When I made mine online with MDE, they gave me three sets of choices, for all three rides, not separately.

[TheHD]

Another thing, Disney TELLS you the time you can pick. You cannot say, I want Splash at 2pm.

When I made mine online with MDE, they gave me three sets of choices, for all three rides, not separately.

That's true, but you can modify each selection after that to almost any time slot afterward. At least I could right at the 60 day mark. I'm sure the times become limited over time.

[Katzateer]

I generally liked the FP + experience. I don't like having to pick all 3 at same park.

You have to use all 3 before you can get an additional one. I park hop a lot so not crazy about that.

The only day I got an extra FP for a busy ride after using my first 3, I got 1 late (after 10). The most popular rides didn't have FP available. The kiosks looked crowded but move quick and were easy to use.

If you get to a park early, don't use your FP until later in the day. I was able to get on rides early. By afternoon, it was a loonnngg wait. With my FP+ I walked on the 3 rides.

[AmandaChan]

Wow! I didn't realize you can't make two in one park and one in another. Then you have to use the kiosks after you have used up your FP.

And to be honest, if we ever did do a FP for a ride before when we park hopped it's not like we had the FP until we arrived at the park anyways. By that point we are just ready to kind of relax, eat, and ride basically whatever we can walk on anyways.

So my question is ---- at what point do you no longer have the chance to make your FP res on your APP???

[faline]

You can make your 3 initial fastpass+ reservations on your My Disney Experience up to 60 days in advance and can tweak them, delete them, or change them up to the same day you are going to use them. For example, on our last trip, I had 3 fastpass+ reservations for one park - I think it was Animal Kingdom, but we had already done what we wanted in that park and decided to go to Magic Kingdom instead. That morning, I cancelled my 3 fastpass+ reservations at Animal Kingdom and made a new set of 3 reservations at the Magic Kingdom.

Once those 3 were used, I would have been able to use the kiosks to book additional fastpass+ reservations - similar to the way the old system worked.

[TheHD]

. That morning, I cancelled my 3 fastpass+ reservations at Animal Kingdom and made a new set of 3 reservations at the Magic Kingdom.

Were you able to get high-volume FP selections on the same day for MK, i.e. Space, splash, etc.? Or just limited attractions?

[faline]

I don't have my information with me at the moment so don't recall what I chose. It did seem to me that a long list of available options did pop up when I did that. I know I did not select Space or Splash Mountain that day and don't recall if they were on the list for the day or not.

[TheHD]

Ok, thanks. I can see this scenario coming up for me soon. We arrive at rope drop and I have a few days with early FP selections, so I can see to where I may not need the FPs.

[steamboat willy]

So can we just wait until the night before, knowing which Park we're going and do our Fast Pass's then?