One of the great things about our active message board (link) is that frequently people will compile some great pieces of information about the parks that we would love to do but never quite find the time for. One example of this is a regular detailed rundown of Disneyland's Fastpass system by frequent photographic contributor David Michael (known as Darkbeer on Disney-related message boards around the Internet).
We felt that this information is good enough that we've slightly modified it and will be making it available as a regular part of our Disneyland Park Guide.
The best place to start a discussion of Fastpass is the official Disney description of Fastpass from the Disneyland Web site (link). While it sounds so nice and easy, the system is actually quite complex, and keeps changing. The newest change started at the beginning of 2003, with the introduction of a second "tier" of guests with the "Enhanced" or "Unlimited" Fastpass" option.
So, for purposes of Fastpass, we now have two types of guests in the park: regular guests and enhanced guests. I am going to start with the enhanced guests, since regular guests are everyone who isn't an enhanced guest.
Currently there is only one way to get this special benefit. You must buy a hotel and admission package from AAA Travel. They are the exclusive sellers of the Enhanced Fastpass feature. That's right, you cannot get this feature from anybody else, even if you buy directly from the Walt Disney Travel Company.
First, you must buy hotel and park admission from AAA Travel. Of course, they would love to sell you reservations for air, rental car, meal packages, etc, but those are extras and not required. Second, you must stay at one of the three on property Disneyland Resort Hotels: the Grand Californian Hotel, the Disneyland Hotel, or the Paradise Pier Hotel.
These packages can be much more expensive than staying at a Good Neighbor Hotel (aka local non-Disney hotels). Only you can answer whether it is worth the extra money. Some people have been known to create a "split package," in which they stay at a Disney-owned hotel for a couple of days, and then move to a Good Neighbor hotel for the rest of the trip, but purchase park admission good for the entire trip. These admission ticket will then have the enhanced feature and be good for the entire trip and not just the portion spent at an on-property hotel.
The original term for enhanced Fastpass was unlimited, but that was a bit misleading, since you can't really get as many Fastpasses as you want. What "enhanced" means is that you can simultaneously hold a Fastpass for each Fastpass attraction. For the regular guest, the expectation is that you will only have a Fastpass for a single attraction at any given time (but more on that to come).
Think of the all the Fastpass machines in a park as a computer network, with each attraction being a "node" in that network. When a regular user attempts to get a Fastpass by inserting their ticket into the barcode reader, the machine does two things. First it checks to see if you already have a current Fastpass for the same attraction (that is, a Fastpass with a start time later than the current time). If you don't, it then checks to see if you have a current Fastpass for another attraction on the same network (Fastpass attractions at Disneyland and DCA are completely separate).
The rule on what constitues a current Fastpass at another attraction is more complex and is important to getting full use out of the system. The way it works is that once you have a Fastpass for Attraction A, you will not be able to get a Fastpass at Attraction B until either starting time of the Attraction A Fastpass has passed or 2 hours has passed since the Attraction A Fastpass was issued. The easiest way to check this is to look at the bottom of the first Fastpass where it will state "Another Fastpass will be available at XX:XX."
Now, the difference for enhanced Fastpass is that when you stick your ticket into the Fastpass machine it will only apply the first test: do you have a current Fastpass for this attraction? It doesn't care about any other ride. Also, the machine prints "AAA Travel" on the Fastpass.
If you are considering applying your park admission ticket towards the purchase of annual pass, be aware that this can result in the loss of the Fastpass enhancement when you get the actual annual pass so it is probably best to wait until the last day of your trip to do this. Some have reported that the AP Processing Center can add the temporary enhancement to your Annual Pass so be sure to ask first if you want to do this earlier in your visit.
What I would do is gather all the passports after entering the park, and have one designated "runner" and then the rest of the group can go straight to Fantasyland, a non-Fastpass attraction, or just go sit down and have some breakfast. The one "runner" will then go around the park to every ride that offers Fastpass and get a set of Fastpasses for each member of the group. After he collects the entire set, he meets up with the rest of the group.
Now, sit down and sort out the Fastpasses by area and figure out which way you want to start (the starting times of the Fastpasses might help make this decision for you). An important rule to know about Fastpass in general is that the Cast Member taking your ticket at the attractoin cares only about two things: the date of the Fastpass, and the starting time. You can not use a Fastpass until the listed starting time but you can use it even if it is after the listed ending time.
So, let's say you decide to start at Tomorrowland. It is now 9:50 a.m. and you have a Fastpasses for Space Mountain at 10:00 a.m. and Autopia at 10:30 a.m. Walk on over to Space Mountain at 10:00 a.m. but before you get into the Space Mountain Fastpass line, first get another Fastpass for everybody in your group.
This is the key of maximizing your use of Fastpass. The machine will check, and since your Space Mountain Fastpass started at 10:00 a.m., and it is now a few minutes after that time, the machine will issue you a new Fastpass. Ride Space Mountain, it is now about 10:15, so go check out the shop, arcade, and the spinning marble until 10:30. Then head off to Autopia and before riding, get a new Autopia Fastpass. Note, all Fastpasses will have a return time of no less than 40 minutes, no matter how early you get them, or how quiet the park is.
You can now move to the next area, and repeat the same procedure. This way you will always have a Fastpass for each attraction, but save a lot of walking.
When you first arrive at the park have one person in your group go get a Fastpass for every attraction that offers it.
Before you use a Fastpass, always get a new Fastpass for the same attraction.
Well, it is a bit more complicated than the enhanced option, but you can still collect Fastpass tickets for multiple attractions at one time, though it is more restrictive.
It is no wonder that Disney doesn't advertise these "tricks" I am about to talk about. First off, it hurts the marketing of the AAA Disney Hotel Travel Packages, and, second, it is hard to explain to a park guest. You will find out that many cast members have no idea about what is a "standalone" machine, or other information mentioned here. They do know the information as described on the official Web site, and the enhanced basics, since this is what Disney has taught them. They generally have no idea about the "secrets".
In the Enhanced section, I talked about looking at the Fastpass system as a computer network, so let's get an overview of the system at more of a close-up level. First off, there are two networks: one for Disneyland Park and the second for Disney's California Adventure. They are totally separate, so you can always get one at least one Fastpass for each park. Let's look at the Fastpass attractions in each park:
Disneyland
Disney's California Adventure
Now, what is not so commonly known is that not every Fastpass attraction in a park is actually connected to the larger Fastpass network for that park. Currently the two regular (and one seasonal) Fastpass machines that operate on a standalone basis are:
Finally, there are a few Fastpass attractions that offer Fastpasses year-round, but only on weekends, and weekdays during peak and holiday periods. The following attractions do not offer Fastpass during the week:
The Times Guide handed out at the turnstiles when you enter the park does list which attractions will be offering Fastpasses on that day. It has been wrong, though, so I recommend you check the status at the actual attraction.
Note: Fastpass machines are turned off when an attraction experiences a temporarly closure and are turned back on when the attraction returns to normal operation.
So, our first problem is that we are talking about different types of Fastpasses, and there is no easy way to tell them apart.
The independent machines are nice and simple. Each of the attractions has its own machine operating all by itself, and you can get one Fastpass for each of these rides without affecting any other Fastpasses you might want.
Note: All times are an example, and should not be a reflection of the time you really get on your Fastpass.
The trick with the stand-alone machines is to treat them as the "enhanced Fastpass" users treat all the attractions. Always get a new Fastpass for an attraction prior to riding it. For example, it is 11:15 a.m. and you can now ride Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin. Before entering the Fastpass line to ride, pick up another Fastpass (the window is now open), and you will be given a new Roger Rabbit Fastpass for 2:10 p.mm to 3:10 p.m., this will allow you to come back later, after 2:10 p.m. for a second ride on Roger Rabbit, and before doing so you should get a third Fastpass for later in the day.
Keep in mind that the ending time on a Fastpass is not important. The cast members check only the start time and the date, but have been told to be very flexible on the ending time.
So what can I have, before I've even used one of the "networked" machines? Well, I can have a Haunted Mansion Holiday, a Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, and a Grizzly River Run. And if you remember to pick up a new Fastpass before using one, you'll always have an current Fastpass for these attractions.
You can have, in most cases, one Disneyland and one DCA networked Fastpass in addition to the above standalone Fastpasses. Once you get one networked Fastpass, you are not allowed another "networked" Fastpass within the same park (either DL or DCA) until one of these two events happens:
It is early in the day, and you go to get a Splash Mountain Fastpass at 9:15 a.m., the Fastpass issued to you is valid from 10:20 a.m. to 11:20 a.m. In this case, you could get your next "networked" Fastpass in Disneyland at 10:20 a.m., and that would be the time printed on the bottom of the Fastpass
But let's say it is a bit later, around 10:30 a.m., when you get a Splash Mountain Fastpass and it is instead good between 2:40 p.m. and 3:40 p.m. In this case, the next networked Disneyland Fastpass would be available to you at 12:30 p.m., two hours after the Fastpass was issued. There is one additional rule in that you would not be allowed to get another Splash Mountain Fastpass, until the window opens at 2:40 pm. At 12:30 you could get a Fastpass for Autopia, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Indiana Jones Adventure, etc.
One of the most important tricks to maximize your "networked" Fastpass usage is to get a new networked Fastpass prior to using the one you already have. Let's say that you have an Indiana Jones Adventure Fastpass that will become good at 12:35 p.m. At 12:35, I would get a Splash Fastpass (let's say it is good for 2:50 p.m. to 3:50 p.m.) and then go back to ride Indiana Jones Adventure. Then at 2:35 pm (don't forget the two-hour rule), I might pick up a Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Fastpass, before riding Splash Mountain. Continue this throughout the day.
So, at any given time a regular Fastpass user can theoretically possess one Fastpass for each of the stand-alone Fastpass attractions plus one or two of the networked attractions in each park (depending on return times in relation to the two-hour rule).
Another thing to think about to maximize the number of rides you get into a day are the Single Rider Passes available on Splash Mountain, Grizzly River Run, Soarin' Over California, California Screamin', Mulholland Madness, and Maliboomer. With the exception of Soarin' Over California, use of single-rider lines is generally faster than Fastpass, so if you are willing to use them this will free up the list of attraction for which you will want Fastpasses.
Rather than thinking of Fastpass as two systems (Disneyland and DCA) think of it as five systems (Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin, Grizzy River Run, Haunted Mansion Holiday, the Disneyland networked system, and the DCA networked system) and that you can have one or two from each sytem at any given time. Never use a Fastpass for one of the five systems before getting a new Fastpass from that system.
