Don't let the new FastPass system stress you out!

 Recently Disney changed the Fast Pass system.  I know this has raised many questions, even with Disney veterans like me! I was stressed out, and  VERY opposed to this new system.  I think I pouted over it even more than my 5 year old pouts over bedtime!  (that's pretty bad)
How could Disney do this to me??  Oh the drama!
 I recently got to put this new system to the test with my family. Once I pulled myself together and gave it a chance I actually liked it (most of it anyway). I should take the advice I give to my children more often.  This new system was like the new food I put on their plates.  You have to try it before you say you don't like it :)

Figuring out the new system can be overwhelming so here are some tips!
After your vacation is booked (call me for that part :))  you want to make sure you log onto www.mydisneyexperience.com    Here you can set up an account if you don't already have one.  This will help you keep track of everything in one place:  hotel reservations, dining reservations, Fast passes and more!   You will just  have to enter your reservation number.

First customize your magic bands!  You need to do this before your vacation is 30 days away.  If you don't, you will get boring grey bands.  They will still work fine.  They just aren't as much fun as these!

These new bands are your room key, theme park tickets, they hold info for your Fast passes and you can even add the ability to charge purchases to your credit card.  They are pretty comfortable and water proof.  I really liked the bands.  It was much easier to me than trying to keep up with tickets and paper fast passes. 

You can make dining reservations from this site.  If you are my client I can do this for you as early as 180 days in advance, and those most popular restaurants book up fast!  If you want this pineapple  bread pudding let me know and I'll reserve it for you.  YUM!

 

Now for those very important FastPasses!  I NEVER thought I'd want to plan my fast passes 60 days in advance.  How do I know which park I want to be at each day, much less what time I want to ride splash mountain??  What if it rains and I want to go to Epcot instead??  Isn't vacation for having fun and being spontaneous??  Before my trip I really wanted to throw a hissy fit over these fast pass changes, and believe me my kids have taught me how to throw a good one.  Now I know it's not so bad. 

The one bad thing is deciding in advance which park you want to go to each day.  (once again I can help with this - I can tell you what the crowd levels will be like at each park).  The good news?   if you want to change it once you are there you can!  Of course the best FPs for that day may already be gone, but there will still be some good options if you want to change.   The My Disney Experience App makes it easy to change your FastPasses and check wait times for rides in the park.  I LOVE the app!

When booking your FPs 60 days in advance you can book 3 for each day.  They do have to be in the same park.  There are some rides listed that you do not want to waste a FP on - for example I love Mickey's philharmagic, but it does not usually have much of a wait and would be a terrible waste of a FP.  Instead go for the roller coasters or Peter pan. 

 

When reserving your FP online it will give you just a few times to choose from.  pick the one you like best and then you can go back and change or look for more times. They don't show you all the times in your first option.  After playing with the system a good bit I found out it is easy to change your times and their are usually a lot more options than you see at first, 

 

Once you have used your 3 FP for the day you can get more!  This is the best change they have made to the new FP+.  You will have to go to a kiosk in the park to get your FP, but there are cast members there to help and it is easy.   When you get these extra passes that is the best time to get a FP for shows or parades.  They are great options, but I would not waste my first 3 of the day on one.

 

There are a few things I still don't care for with the new system.  I do not like the categories they use for FP at Epcot and Hollywood studios.  I still hope they will change those.  While it was nice to have 3 FPs at the start of the day, I miss some of the spontaneity of deciding what should we do next!  You can still tour the park this way, but you may have to wait in more long lines. 

 

Stay tuned in the next few weeks for tips on dining plan, changes to the memory maker package and tips on going with small kids!