Guests staying at Walt Disney World Resort (WDW) can get FastPass tickets 60 days in advance of their visit. This is a significant advantage as it provides guests with the best opportunity to get Fast Passes that are in high demand such as the Flight of Passage at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Guests not staying “onsite” can only get their FastPasses 30 days in advance of their visit to the WDW parks. Unfortunately, FastPasses for popular attractions are often not available to guests booking within the 30-day window.
There is a loophole that actually allows guests not staying at the resort to get FastPasses a full 60 days in advance of their visit. The method involves booking accommodations at the WDW resort, getting FastPasses 60 days in advance, then canceling the hotel stay.
FastPass Rules
How the FastPass System Works – An Overview
FastPasses allow guests of Walt Disney World to bypass the line for an attraction. When a guest acquires a FastPass, they will be given a 1-hour time slot during which to visit the attraction, say from 1:30-2:30 p.m. When the visitor returns to the attraction during this window, they can use the FastPass entrance which typically has little to no wait.
Guests are only permitted to have one FastPass at a time. When that FastPass is used up (by going on the attraction or after the expiry of the FastPass), visitors are eligible for an additional FastPass. There is one exception to this rule, however. For each day a guest is visiting the Parks, they can select 3 FastPasses in advance by registering their ticket under their My Disney Experience account at disney.go.com. There is a limited number of FastPasses available and the most popular attractions usually go quickly. Therefore, it is recommended that visitors get their FastPasses as early as possible.
Getting FastPasses 60 Days In Advance (Resort Guests)
For guests staying onsite, that is, at one of the Disney owned properties, they are eligible to get FastPasses 60 days in advance of their check-in date. This is a major advantage because it means greater availability of FastPasses for the most popular attractions.
Getting FastPasses 30 Days in Advance (Guests Staying Offsite)
Guests staying offsite can obtain their FastPasses 30 days in advance of each visit to the park. For the most popular attractions, FastPasses are often unavailable. Clearly, Disney has designed it this way to encourage guests to stay onsite.
FastPass Hack – Step By Step
There is a loophole that allows guests not staying onsite to get FastPasses 60 days in advance. This process involves making an accommodation reservation at one of the WDW hotels, getting FastPasses, then canceling the hotel reservation. Guests must be careful not to cancel their hotel reservation too early, however, as it could result in the FastPasses being canceled as well. The steps to acquiring FastPasses 60 days in advance without staying onsite are listed below:
- Purchase WDW Tickets: Sign up for a My Disney Experience account at disney.go.com and purchase tickets. This should be done more than 60 days prior to your visit to WDW.
- Reserve an Onsite Hotel: Make a hotel reservation at any of the WDW resorts, through the Disney website, making sure both the reservation and your tickets appear under your My Disney Experience account.
- Obtain FastPass Tickets: 60 days in advance of your arrival date at the resort, use My Disney Experience to select three FastPasses for each day you intend to visit the resort.
- Cancel Reservation: Cancel your hotel reservation at least 6 days before the check-in date, but only after you are within 30 days of your last visit to the Parks. For example, suppose you had a hotel check-in date of September 25 and you intended to visit the parks from September 26 to 30. You would need your reservation on or before September 19 to be eligible for a full refund of your hotel stay. However, if you were to cancel before August 31, you would be more than 30 days out and begin to lose FastPasses. Therefore, the safe cancellation window in this example would be August 31 to September 19.
This is a loophole that Disney has not yet closed. It is a popular technique among budget travelers because it allows them to take advantage of getting FastPasses 60 days in advance while not needing to stay at a Disney hotel. Travelers to Walt Disney World Resort in Orland, Florida should also consider these Disney money saving tips.