Disney World’s FastPass in 2019

I recently had the opportunity to visit Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park. It was a beautiful summer day and the park was extremely busy. As thousands of people gathered on the wooden walkways and benches to secure their view of the famous geyser, it reminded me a bit of guests lining up on Main Street at the Magic Kingdom to watch a parade.

Minus the sea of Mickey ears of course.

Perhaps Disney was still on my mind at that moment because I had just selected my 60-day FastPass options earlier that morning. By “earlier” I mean WAY earlier, like 5AM. When I told my husband of my early morning plans the night before he asked me the obvious question. “Do you really need to do that?”

I said “yes” of course, but now I’m not so sure. Did I really need to do that? More importantly, do you? Today’s post explores some of the issues influencing Disney World’s FastPass in 2019.

Overview

Let’s start with the basics.

If you’re not familiar with FastPass, it’s essentially an appointment system that allows visitors to claim a place in line for various attractions before reaching Disney World. Guests receive three FastPass choices per day, with the opportunity to claim more once they’ve used their initial set. FastPass options are included with park admission so there is no additional charge to use them. Guests access the FastPasses through their Magic Bands or Disney-issued cards. Choosing your FastPass selections wisely could potentially save you 3 or more hours in line per day.

At least in theory. Let’s explore some of the reasons why it’s getting more difficult to determine the real value of a FastPass in 2019. Or in other words, why you may just want to hit the snooze button for your early FastPass windows this year.

Tiers

The first reason why I’m reconsidering the early morning FastPass selection relates to tiers. Disney currently organizes its FastPass attractions into groups or tiers in three of its four theme parks (Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios). Guests choose one attraction from tier one and two more from tier two. It’s Disney’s way of ensuring everyone with a park ticket gets a FastPass for at least one of the most popular rides.

The issue with tiers is that it often prevents you from getting three really great FastPass picks per park. At Epcot and Hollywood Studios in particular, you don’t really need a FastPass to save time in line for the majority of tier two options. This becomes even more true later this year when Hollywood Studios moves the popular Rockin’ Roll Coaster and Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attractions to tier one.

So although you get to pick three attractions per park, you’re often only getting one that will really save you time. Is one FastPass attraction per park worth getting up early for?

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

Another reason the FastPass benefit is difficult to value, particularly this year at Disney World, is due to the upcoming opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. This new section of Hollywood Studios is scheduled to open on August 29. When it does, it will offer just one new ride entitled Millennium Falcon Smugglers’ Run. A second and more highly anticipated ride (Rise of the Resistance) is not scheduled to open until December 5. Neither of the attractions will be offered as FastPass selections at Disney World this year.

In other words, it’s not like getting up at the crack of dawn for your FastPass window is going to save you any time in line for a new Star Wars attraction this year. In fact, you’re probably better off saving your sleep now and getting up crazy early once you’re on vacation instead.

Extra Extra Magic Hours

Speaking of getting up crazy early, the introduction of Extra Extra Magic Hours at Disney World later this year also muddies the value of FastPass selections. Starting September 1 and continuing through November 1, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom will open at 7AM EVERY DAY and Hollywood Studios will open at 6AM. (YIKES!)

These early morning hours are only available to guests of Disney World resorts or other nearby hotels (such as Disney Springs resorts or Disney World Swan and Dolphin). Disney discerns who’s eligible for the perk by scanning Magic Bands or Disney-issued cards upon park entry.

FastPass is not available during Extra Magic Hours. In theory you shouldn’t need them, because the lines should be moving quicker anyway. For this reason, I think the overall value of the Extra Magic Hours at Hollywood Studios this year has the potential to be greater than whatever options you can get through the FastPass system.

Top Attractions Are Hard to Get

One final reason it’s difficult to assess the value of a FastPass at Disney World in 2019 is the increased amount of competition for the most popular attractions. Disney extended its 60-day FastPass benefit to multiple non-Disney hotels this year. The company also opened a new hotel tower and has plans to add more rooms later this year. New rooms means more competition for the same limited number of FastPass options.

In fact, unless you’re planning to visit the parks for four or more days, you may not be able to secure a FastPass selection for some attractions at the 60-day mark anyway. Please note this is only true for a very small number of rides, including Slinky Dog, Flight of Passage and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

The good news is that the vast majority of other attractions are still available at the 60 or even 30-day marks. That means you can still leisurely schedule your FastPass picks for your trip, you just don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to do so.

Conclusion

So with that high note, I’ll wrap it up.

I’m still not entirely sure it was a wise decision for me to trade sleep for FastPass picks during my trip to Yellowstone. The difficultly of planning around new FastPass tiers, Extra Magic Hours, increased competition and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge certainly makes me wonder.

While I’m grateful for the FastPass picks I did get, I also realize they won’t make or break my Disney World trip. They won’t for you either. You will have a great vacation whether you follow my early bird lead or defer your actions until reasonable daylight hours.

Speaking of which, after our tour of Old Faithful and friends we wandered into the beautiful and impressive West Thumb geyser area of Yellowstone. While gazing across the massive Yellowstone Lake from the maze of wooden pathways I just happened to pause in front of the Mimulus Pool.

Looks more like Mickey to me, don’t you think?

Maybe it was the right decision after all.

Add a little magic to your world.