Is Disney World Going to Charge for FastPasses? It’s Certainly Possible

in Disney, Walt Disney World

FastPass+ entrance at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Credit: Inside the Magic

Heads up, Disney World fans. Paid FastPasses could be coming sooner than you think.

Walt Disney World Resort is a vacation kingdom. It’s the Most Magical Place on Earth, where dreams come true and where tourists are willing to spend thousands of dollars to ensure that their vacations are as perfect as possible. While a good percentage of Disney World Guests are locals and Annual Pass holders, a majority will only ever visit Disney World once a year, once every few years, or even once in their lifetime.

So naturally, these Guests are willing to pay the big bucks for experiences they might never have again.

This is where paid FastPasses could come into play.

Currently, Walt Disney World allows Guests to reserve FastPasses completely free. If you’re unfamiliar, a FastPass gives Guests the ability to reserve a one-hour window for an attraction, during which they can arrive at that attraction, wait in a shorter queue, and experience the ride with a much shorter wait than if they hadn’t used a FastPasses and had to wait in the regular line.

If you are staying in a Disney Resort, you can book up to three FastPasses per person, per day, up to 60 days in advance of your vacation start date. If you are not staying in a Disney Resort, you can book up to three FastPasses per person, per day, up to 30 days in advance of your vacation start date. But either way, this version of FastPass is entirely free and allows Guests to access the FastPass system from their phone using the official Walt Disney World app, My Disney Experience.

My Disney Experience App

Can Guests pay for more FastPasses at Disney World?

As of now, FastPasses are free. But there are certainly paid experiences that Guests can book, which will give them the ability to have more FastPasses or even skip the line altogether. These aren’t exactly marketed as paid FastPasses, but once you read a bit more into them, it’s easy to tell that part of the appeal of booking these experiences is riding attractions without waiting in the regular queue.

Walt Disney World Tours

Disney offers a variety of tours throughout Walt Disney World Resort. Some of these tours even include riding attractions at the four theme parks — Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom — without waiting in line.

For example, Disney’s Keys to the Kingdom tour takes Guests to select attractions in Magic Kingdom, which gives them a behind-the-scenes look at the history of the Park. It costs $99 per person, but if you value learning about Disney history (and want to experience some attractions), this could be worth it. This is just one example of a tour offered at Walt Disney World that guides Guests through the Park and lets them ride at least one attraction without waiting in line.

On the other end of the spectrum is the option to book a VIP tour. For several hundred dollars, you have the opportunity to book a VIP tour guide for you and your travel group. While there are many benefits of having a personal tour guide with you as you navigate the Disney World theme parks, admittedly, many Guests book these VIP tours to get to ride attractions for several hours in a day without having to wait in a single line. Aside from booking a private VIP tour guide, you can even book a VIP tour dedicated to attractions, from thrill rides to classic Disney attractions. So even though these aren’t marketed as paid FastPasses, you are essentially paying a large price to cut the line.

Club Level Benefits

Additionally, paying for FastPasses is a lesser-known benefit of staying at Club Level at a Disney Resort hotel. That’s right — Disney has already implemented the option to purchase additional FastPasses at Walt Disney World, but only for sure Guests. Suppose you stay at Club Level (the most luxurious rooms at Disney’s Deluxe Resort hotels, which offer added benefits like lounges with buffets of food throughout the day). In that case, you can pay $50 per person per day to book an additional three FastPasses in advance, with a three-day minimum. This means that if you are staying at Walt Disney World with the most expensive and luxurious accommodations, you can pay an additional fee to guarantee that you can ride the attractions you want to ride while on vacation.

Walt Disney World Grand Floridian
Credit: Disney

Related : Is Disney No Longer Giving Guests “FastPasses” Following Ride Breakdowns?

Are Free FastPasses a Thing of the Past?

Disney’s Paid FastPass Systems Around the World

While paying for FastPasses at Walt Disney World might sound ridiculous, the concept isn’t that far-fetched. The idea isn’t that far-fetched for seasoned visitors or those who don’t understand why Disney would charge for a FastPass. Disney has been implementing paid FastPasses at other parks around the world for quite some time…only not in the way, you might think.

Disneyland Resort FastPass System

At Disneyland, Guests can continue to utilize the accessible version of FastPass by visiting any of the in-park FastPass distribution points near the attraction they are hoping to obtain a FastPass for. This is completely free — the only catch is you have to visit the distribution points in-person to load the FastPass onto your theme Park ticket or Annual Pass.

However, a couple of years back, Disneyland introduced MaxPass, a paid version of FastPass. For $15 per person per day, Guests can use MaxPass, which gives them the capability of booking FastPasses straight on their phone using the Disneyland app. MaxPass eliminates the need to visit FastPass distribution points. MaxPass doesn’t give Guests the ability to purchase more FastPasses. Still, booking FastPasses straight on your phone does save a lot of time since it eliminates the need to walk from land to land and scan your ticket at every distribution point as soon as your next booking window opens up. This inherently makes it possible to book more FastPasses every day since Guests can stay more plugged into their FastPass booking windows and book FastPasses for attractions as soon as possible.

Shanghai Disney Resort FastPass System

Although not the same as the system at Disneyland in California, Shanghai Disney Resort also has a paid version of FastPass available as an upcharge to Guests. Shanghai Disneyland’s regular FastPass system continues to be accessible to all Guests. Only their free FastPass system is accessible on the Shanghai Disneyland app, just like at Walt Disney World. It allows Guests to book FastPasses directly on the app without having to visit distribution points throughout the Park. So already, the regular FastPass systems at Walt Disney World and Shanghai Disneyland are the accessible version of Disneyland’s paid MaxPass system.

But here’s where it gets a little more interesting. Shanghai Disney Resort also has a paid version of FastPass, which they call Disney Premier Access. Disney Premier Access allows Guests “priority access” to attractions throughout Shanghai Disneyland — and actually, there are more attractions eligible for Disney Premier Access than for regular FastPasses. Guests have the option of purchasing Premier Access for a single attraction of their choice, or they can buy a Premier Access set that will grant priority access to several attractions. Disney Premier Access allows Guests to experience these attractions at any time of day, whereas the accessible version of FastPass only provides access to an appeal at a particular time.

Why would a paid FastPass system work at Disney World?

Well, for starters, in a way, Disney World already implements paid FastPasses — just not for everyone. The option right now is only extended to Club Level Guests. But given the systems at Disneyland Resort in California and Shanghai Disney Resort in China, we wouldn’t be surprised if Disney wants to move toward allowing Guests at Disney World to purchase extra FastPasses.

Given how popular the attractions at Disney World are, we wouldn’t be surprised if Guests would be willing to pay for additional FastPasses — or even pay for FastPasses for specific interests. Flight of Passage has been a famous ride ever since it opened at Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2017. Along with Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train at Magic Kingdom and Frozen Ever After at EPCOT, that attraction continues to be incredibly difficult to snag a FastPass for, even if you book 60 days in advance.

Plus, at the moment, the two newest attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios — Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistancedo not have FastPasses and continue to be popular. So as time progresses, it wouldn’t at all be shocking if Disney implemented FastPasses for these two attractions — or even if Disney gave the option to purchase FastPasses for them so that the ultimate Star Wars fan could guarantee their experience on both rides on their (perhaps once-in-a-lifetime) visit to Galaxy’s Edge.

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge
Credit: David Roark, Disney photographer

Related : FastPasses Will Soon Cost Money – and Fans Aren’t Happy

Dear Disney: Where Are Our FastPasses?

Keep in mind that this is just speculation, and nothing is confirmed. But we’re curious to find out how Disney will amend the FastPass system in the future as Disney World attractions continue to get more and more popular.

What do you think? Would you pay for FastPasses if they guaranteed access to your favorite Disney World attractions? Or should all FastPasses be free? Let us know in the comments.

in Disney, Walt Disney World

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