Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Fastpass machines will also be available at 9 a.m., and the Fastpass line will begin
operating at about 9:35 a.m.
unofficial
TIP
Use Fastpass if the wait in the regular line is more than 30 minutes.
Whatever time you obtain a Fastpass, you can be assured of a period of time
between when you receive your Fastpass and the beginning of your return window.
The interval can be as short as 30 minutes or as long as 7 hours depending on park
attendance, the popularity of the attraction, and the attraction's hourly capacity. As
a general rule, the earlier in the day you secure a Fastpass, the shorter the interval
between time of issue and the beginning of your return window. If on a day that the
park opens at 9 a.m., you pick up a Fastpass for Splash Mountain at, say, 9:25 a.m.,
your recommended window for returning to ride would be something like 10-11 a.m.,
or perhaps 10:10-11:10 a.m. The exact time will be determined by how many other
guests have obtained Fastpasses before you.
To more effectively distribute guests over the course of a day, the Fastpass ma-
chines bump the 1-hour return period back 5 minutes for a specific number of passes
issued (usually the number is equal to about 6% of the attraction's hourly capacity).
When Splash Mountain opens at 9 a.m., for example, the first 125 people to obtain
a Fastpass will get a 10-11 a.m. recommended return window. The next 125 guests
are issued Fastpasses that can be used between 10:05-11:05 a.m., with the next 125
assigned a 10:10-11:10 a.m. time slot. And so it goes, with the time window drop-
ping back 5 minutes for every 125 guests. The fewer guests who obtain Fastpasses for
an attraction, the shorter the interval between the receipt of your pass and the return
window. Conversely, the more guests issued Fastpasses, the longer the interval. If an
attraction is exceptionally popular and/or its hourly capacity is relatively small, the
return window might be pushed back all the way to park closing time. When this hap-
pens,theFastpass machines stopissuingpasses.Itwouldnotbeunusual,forexample,
for Radiator Springs Racers at Disney California Adventure to distribute an entire
day's allocation of Fastpasses by 10 a.m. When this happens, the machines simply
shut down and a sign is posted saying that Fastpasses are all gone for the day.
FASTPASS GUIDELINES
• Park tickets must be activated at the front turnstiles (or Downtown Disney
monorail station) before being used to obtain Fastpasses, so you can't send
one family member into the park while the others snooze. However, once
