When Will FastPass Return to Disney World?
Wondering when FastPass+ will come back at Walt Disney World or if it’ll be replaced by a paid ride reservation system? This post covers dates free FastPasses could return, how virtual queues reduce park capacity, and the possibility of Premier Access, MaxPass, and the Genie app as replacements that will cost money. (Updated August 12, 2021.)
Walt Disney World suspended FastPass prior to the reopening of the parks. While the official rationale for this was to use the extra queue space for the standby lines, it was actually due to physical distancing. Physical distancing is gone, attendance has increased, and wait times have gone up since then.
Consequently, there has been significant backlash to the elimination of FastPass+ among fans, hence this post. Walt Disney World has not provided any actual updates on FastPass since last year, but the rumor mill has gone into overdrive, and we have all the possibilities and theories for you. (Note: for the August 2021 updates, scroll down to the “Will FastPass+ be replaced by a different system at Walt Disney World?” section above the Runaway Railway photo.)
First, let’s answer a different but related question we’ve been hearing from guests: “Is FastPass+ already back at Walt Disney World?!” This is one we’ve actually heard asked in the parks a lot while we’ve been waiting in lines. No, Disney did not “secretly” bring back FastPass+ and forget to announce it to everyone.
Currently, the physical FastPass+ queues are being used for Disability Access Service (DAS) and select VIP guests. This priority access lane essentially includes tour groups, Golden Oak residents, and Club 33 members. We have noticed a significant increase in the usage of FastPass lines in the last two months, which is presumably attributable to more DAS passes being issued, since the number of VIP guests is relatively static.
With that out of the way, let’s turn to the titular question. Actually, this post essentially poses two different questions–let’s start with when FastPass will return? That’s the more popular topic among readers and an inquiry we’re receiving quite often.
In actuality, FastPass+ was suspended because it reduces the overall attendance limit of the parks. This is actually nothing new. Magic Kingdom, for example, used to have a higher capacity cap in the pre-FastPass days despite having fewer attractions. This might seem counterintuitive, but it’s because the FastPass system effectively allows guests to be in two places at once. With standby lines, when you’re in line, you are always physically standing in line–occupying only one spot in the park.
When guests use FastPass, they aren’t simply skipping the line. The nuanced explanation is that a “phantom version” of the guest is waiting in a virtual line for their turn to ride. (That’s right, virtual queues like FastPass+ are basically lines for ghosts!) This is why standby wait times are longer and that line moves slower when FastPass+ is utilized.
At the same time that ghost guest is in the virtual queue, the actual guest is doing whatever–shopping, dining, or even doing another attraction. Freeing up guests from standing in line was actually one of Walt Disney World’s two goals of the original paper FastPass system. In a nutshell, it would give guests more time to browse stores and eat, increasing per guest spending in the process.
In the past, this was no issue. There were plenty of stores, restaurants, shows, and other lower profile offerings to absorb the displaced crowds. The benefits of increased per guest spending brought about by FastPass coupled with guests perceiving it as a value-added perk outweighed any drawbacks.
The downsides were essentially higher staffing requirements (to support the FastPass infrastructure), reduced overall park capacity, and the need for sufficient alternative things to do. None of this was really a big deal because the parks had plenty of things to do and surplus capacity–it didn’t really matter whether Magic Kingdom had an upper limit of 110,000 or 80,000 guests if the vast majority of days only 60,000 or fewer people were visiting the park.
When Walt Disney World first reopened, the biggest impediment to the return of FastPass+ was physical distancing, which in turn put the upper limit on attendance at 35% of full capacity. If FastPass were reintroduced while full physical distancing was in place, it would further decrease overall park capacity.
However, this is no longer the problem. As noted above, Walt Disney World officially dropped physical distancing and guests have quickly followed suit. If you’ve been in the parks during the last couple of months, you know they look more or less “normal” in terms of guests spacing and congestion. You’ll even hear “please fill in all available space” from Cast Members once again.
Similarly, attendance caps are no longer much of an impediment. Walt Disney World was operating at 35% capacity earlier this year. Back at the start of summer, Disney quietly indicated they’d stop providing updates on attendance limits. Since then, Disney has refilled Park Pass reservations on numerous occasions, and there is frequently full availability for all parks every day.
Along with the attendance limits increasing, wait times have been growing. That might be why you’re reading this article to begin with–because you’re visiting Walt Disney World and are desperately missing and wishing for the return of FastPass. We hear you and agree with you. Some of the standby lines are pretty miserable right now, with long waits extending into overflow queues without any shade.
The lack of FastPass+ was definitely more tolerable last year and in early 2021 when lines moved quickly and constantly, and wait times were shorter. (We actually preferred no FastPass when crowds were super low.) Now, it’s a different matter entirely. FastPass cannot return soon enough!
Naturally, the core problem in bringing back FastPass has morphed over time. Like so many other businesses around the United States, Walt Disney World is short-staffed. This labor shortage means Walt Disney World doesn’t have the attractions Cast Members necessary to support the FastPass+ infrastructure. It also means Disney doesn’t have the other Cast Members necessary to reopen enough other experiences that would help soak up the “ghost guests” displaced by FastPass.
This problem is starting to be resolved. In the last month, Walt Disney World has significantly increased dining capacity and also is in the process of bringing back several shows. However, several others remain gone for various reasons, and some–like Finding Nemo: the Musical, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, and Fantasmic–may not return until 2022. That appears to be more of monetary decision than a staffing one.
That’s a long-winded explanation and maybe you just wanted a one-sentence answer, but we believe understanding the why of FastPass+ being unavailable is important. The point is that the parks are sufficiently staffed and capacity is has been close to fully restored via the reopening of more in the parks. That thus paves the way FastPass being restored or replaced.
With that said, what’s possible and when it happens are two different things. As we’ve said before, think of Walt Disney World like an ocean liner: you turn the wheel slowly, and the big ship pivots gradually. Everything takes time from decision to implementation. There will almost certainly be a lag between announcement and when it’s back. As for when an announcement will be made, we suspect one will come sometime in August 2021–possibly as soon as the Walt Disney Company’s quarterly earnings call.
If you’re looking for a specific date when a version of FastPass will return to Walt Disney World, the most likely return date is on or around October 1, 2021.
This one is based upon the start of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary and new fiscal year. While Walt Disney World is gradually bringing back offerings between now and that date, it is the most significant milestone on the horizon, and Disney is waiting to debut a lot–from new entertainment and nighttime spectaculars to early entry and extended evening hours–until that date.
With that said, there’s still a remote possibility that Walt Disney World gets cold feet on the FastPass replacement and doesn’t launch it until January 2022.
Given the latest rumors–which are literally flying in every direction right now–this seems highly unlikely. The only reason it’s presented as an option is because plans can fall through. Based upon the current chatter, the FastPass replacement plans are going to congeal at the last possible minute, with the specifics still being debated and determined. Which brings us to the second question of this post…
Will FastPass+ be replaced by a different system at Walt Disney World?
Probably. Everything is subject to change until officially announced by Walt Disney World (even then, plans sometimes change!), but we’d be willing to put money on the prior incarnation of FastPass+ never coming back to Walt Disney World.
Some form of virtual queue will unquestionably return, but the FastPass+ system and branding could be retired and replaced by something else entirely. Whatever it is, that new ride reservation program will almost certainly have an upcharge component–or be a paid system completely.
There are a couple of possibilities for what paid FastPass will likely look like at Walt Disney World. For the first, see Paid Premier Access Replacing Free FastPass at Disneyland Paris. The new system has rolled out there and essentially combines Standby Pass, which is a free and hybrid virtual and physical queue, with a paid line-skipping option.
This system is now what exists for Disneyland Paris and Shanghai Disneyland, and a version of that is rumored as coming to both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. While the specifics will almost certainly differ for Florida with tweaks made given Walt Disney World’s unique size, scale, on-site hotels, and status as a vacation destination, the contours could be similar.
For another possibility, check out Disneyland’s MaxPass system. The primary advantage of MaxPass is that it allows you to be more dynamic in your plans for the day, making FastPass reservations as you go, adjusting your schedule on the fly based upon your actual progress (and crowds) in the park, rather than making than months in advance. Despite the downside of being paid, MaxPass allows for more spontaneity, which is a breath of fresh air.
As Walt Disney World is a different beast than the other parks, it’s possible the new paid FastPass system cherry picks components of both Premier Access and MaxPass and repackages them under different branding. In practice, this might mean bundle booking access for certain attractions plus a la carte paid FastPass for a handful of select headliners.
What remains to be seen is whether the FastPass replacement is integrated into the Disney Genie app announced a couple of years ago. Disney Genie promised a revolutionary new digital offering that would enhance the way you plan for and experience a trip, with optimized itineraries, real-time tips and updates, recommendations for experiences it thinks you’ll love, and help navigating the theme parks with added convenience and comfort.
It was originally set to debut last year, but that didn’t happen for obvious reasons. According to Walt Disney World, the Disney Genie app is still coming, but it’s unclear when it’ll be released. From the outset, details about Disney Genie were vague to the point that it seemed undefined, so it’s also entirely possible that the paid FastPass system will use the Disney Genie branding, and that’ll be the total extent of Disney Genie (meaning it won’t be a standalone app at all, but rather, a feature within My Disney Experience).
In any case, the debut of that app plus the “temporary suspension” of FastPass+ offers an opportunity for a soft reset of Walt Disney World’s ride reservation system, with the paid replacement coming in Fall 2021 via Disney Genie. Walt Disney World undoubtedly wants a slice of that money-making pie. There have been rumors of paid FastPass for years, and at some point, those will be brought to fruition. If Walt Disney World’s goal is to introduce paid FastPass with minimal guest friction, it’s easiest to go from nothing (standby lines only) to something.
Ultimately, we’re on board with a wholesale overhaul of the FastPass+ system, but not a system that is pay to play only. Hopefully whatever comes to Walt Disney World contains a free option along with added access for on-site resort guests. Again, we should reiterate that this post is almost entirely speculation and rumor. All Walt Disney World has announced is that FastPass+ is temporarily suspended. We’re simply guessing that it’ll be replaced by a hybrid of Premier Access and MaxPass, with Disney Genie being the system and/or branding.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
When do you think FastPass+ will return to Walt Disney World? Or do you think it’ll never back back, replaced by something else instead? Thoughts on the possibility of Premier Access, MaxPass, or a mashup of the two coming to Walt Disney World? Do you prefer fast-moving standby lines only, or the FastPass and standby combo? Interested in how Walt Disney World will implement the new system? Agree or disagree with our assessment? Other thoughts or concerns? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
My 10 year old came up with what I think is a great idea for Fast Passes. Now-before I get started, please note we always stay in value resorts, so the pay-to-play portion of this idea isn’t something that actually benefits us the most.
Deluxe- 4 ast passes a day then can add on 1 more at a time (like before)
Moderate- 3 a day then can add 1 at a time. W/ an option to pay to upgrade
Value- 2 a day then can add 1 at a time w/ an option to pay to upgrade
Good Neighbor- 1 a day then can add 1 at a time w/ option to pay to upgrade.
Off property- pay for them (my add on is that they would be an exhorbant price like every other theme park in order to push people to stay on property)
Disney exists to make a profit. I think this plan would make them the money they want from fast passes by either forcing you to stay in an on property hotel (and a more expensive one than you stayed in before if you want the passes) or to make the money off of you with the ridiculous Universal-style pricing of their line skipping option. It would also continue to make people LESS angry by throwing the bone of some freebie fast passes and the promise of being able to add more once yours are used.
Agree with everybody here and said so a few times previously. A note on paid fast passes – it’ll be for the rich, insane or Disney fanaticals only. DLP is 15e each per ride (for anything good). So anyone thinking a few dollars a day is already in Fantasyland. We’re a family of 4 so 45e to FP BTM once just isn’t an option. SO long Disney. It was (terrific) fun while it lasted and we have some great memories but any new ones, we’ll create elsewhere.
Edit: We WON’T do…not will do!
We will do a 14 hour travel day to Orlando (from home to airport – 2 planes – about 14 hour day for us) and spend thousands on WDW until some sort of fast pass is introduced. I am not interested in standing in 60+ min lines all day,not to mention bus line ups, food line ups, merchandise store line ups, etc…. That isn’t even fun! We have always utilized fast pass to the ultimate max we can get out of it. We have gotten good at it! Spending 10-12 hours in lines all day and riding 5 attractions is not an option for us. I would much rather go somewhere else. I will miss the magic, but my money is spent better on a more fun vacation.
We cancelled our reservations for November and opted for Gatlinburg instead.
In addition to all the perks you listed, the Magical Express luggage service is gone.
The decrease in service leaves my husband and me feeling unappreciated and our business taken for granted.
With what we would have spent at WDW, we can stay and dine very nicely in Gatlinburg. We’ll even have some money to spend on tee shirts and fun stuff for the kids and grands.
It’s our 40th anniversary and we want to do it right. WDW can’t offer that any longer.
Does Disney track the number of adults and children who contract Covid while there.? Even vaccinated youth . Planning a trip in October but this does not seem reassuring.
Disney is simply losing its way by slashing all the perks for on-site guests (at once)… no more free transportation from the airport, no more free early magic hours for the average guests (not being able to afford deluxe hotels), no more free fastpass+ tickets but paying out of pocket to get a reasonable waiting time to ride the attractions you’ve already paid for to ride, etc etc. Disney got greedy and is abusing the Covid-19 pandemic to push through some very big customer unfriendly options trying to squeeze more dollars out of already-paying-top-dollar-customers. In my view there is no customer interest in mind at disney at the moment… planned our last family holiday and very much thinking about canceling that as well and spending these insane amounts of money elsewhere…
I was just in the parks the last 4 days and think it was overall less “magical” without early magic hours and fast passes. I won’t go back until some sort of fast pass exists. It was nice to know you could ride 3 rides without having to wait in a super long line! You basically have to rope drop and be at the gate a full hour early if you want to have any chance of riding the popular rides, and then after the first hour of the day you’ll be in longish rides the rest of the day at MK and HS (thankfully AK and Epcot were very reasonable). Thanks to planning we were able to do every ride and experience that were on our “must do” list this trip, but, it wasn’t the same as when there were fast passes and magic hours. It was more of a slog, and overall a dimmer experience. I don’t regret going, and made great memories, but I’m waiting for the next visit!
The WDW Fast Pass Program was designed to allow a park guest and their family to better manage their park day. Advance planning is key to any vacation and especially a WDW vacation. The problem is that current Disney Park Management does not want park guests to plan and manage their day and it is by management design. The current wait times are very long because of the way management handles the park crowds. There are no parades, no shows, no entertainment, no walk-up food service, no extra magic hours, and no fast passes. Park guests have no alternative but to access a park based on the new park pass program and then just stand in an available line for a ride. If the park is crowded, a park guest cannot even hop to another park until after 2:00pm and provided they have pre-purchased a park hopper ticket. Once park guests gain an understanding that they have no control over their day, once inside the Disney Park “Bubble”, they will not return to to WDW.
We used the Disneyland maxpass system a few years ago and decided we love it and want DW to go to this system. The problem I see is this: at DL, we could see all in two days, so adding the $15 per day per person was not a big deal. But at DW we tend to book 4-7 days, and at some parks we only need a fastpass for 1 or 2 rides. Not sure we would do for every park. I guess it would come down to when we go and how long we plan on being there.
Planning a trip for January 2022 but my husband says no, unless fast pass comes back. We stay at a value report (6 trips) and adding anything to the cost to Disney trip will be too much for this middle class family. It may be the end of family trips and will have to wait until adult children can pay their own way. Sad.
I agree that a paid option, or hopefully partially paid option, is what will be coming. I’m not thrilled with it, but I’m willing to pay a modest amount for priority access. I’m hoping it falls into the $15-25 per person per day range. I know that there had been a program where guests at Club Level could pay an additional $50 per person per day for extra FastPasses. I would think that pricing would be based on the success of that program. If it was a common add on for Guests at that level Disney may consider the value of 3 FPs $50. If it wasn’t popular they may realize that they need to revisit the price point. I do know that if they model it after Universals’ pricing, which is reasonable given that it is a local market benchmark, I won’t be paying an extra $100-200 per person per day. I think that Boo Bash ticket sales has proven that no matter the price point there will always be a market for Disney parks. The market just may not be middle class families any more
I disagree that the free “paper fastpass” option at Disneyland is an acceptable baseline for WDW or that the way they price MaxPass is a good model.
A) Having to run to the machines VS the in-app requires you to ping-pong all over the park or parks which is a much worse experience comparatively.
B) MaxPass was $15 per day per guest but that at least included all PhotoPass photos which they will never ever do at WDW. A family of four with a five day parkhopper would be paying $300 extra.
However I’m fine with shorter FP booking windows and/or limiting your initial choices to the park you have a ParkPass for while they’re using that system. I’m also good with onsite guests getting some perks such as additional initial selections. For example, everyone gets three, Values get 1 extra slot (4 total), moderates two (5 total), Deluxes three (6 total).
For a paid upgrade I honestly prefer the Eat at X restaurant/Do a dessert party and get a FP/preferred seating model. A) Presumably you were going to eat a meal anyway so you get a tangible thing in addition to the FP B) It allows people to prioritize if there’s a particular thing they want to do without commiting to the $$ of an addon for the duration of their trip. C) It’s not as inherently wealthy exclusive. Saving up for one expensive meal is a lot less than saving up for a multi-night expensive hotel stay.
Pre-Covid Disneyland even had tiers to their Fantasmic version which was awesome. You could go really fancy and eat at Blue Bayou and get the absolute best seats or you could get something cheaper from Hungry Bear and still get a guaranteed spot. (And the location was right next to the BB seats so if you got there early you could have functionally the same view.) YMMV that’s just my feelings on it.
We go to WDW at least once a year. Went last Sept and by far was the worst experience ever without fastpass. I can normally walk and refresh and get most rides when we want. We hardly got on any rides. The wait times were totally off in both directions. Won’t go back unless fastpass is reinstated. and the virtual queue was a waste for star wars. we had several phones ready right at 2 and everything was gone in seconds. Would be all for a paid fastpass and would love it if there was some way to tier it so that the more you pay, the more access you have (eg. more fastpasses than 3, or carved out availability for premium tiers, etc)
Just got back, wait times have been high, especially at Hollywood. They really need to bring this back soon. On top of that, the shortened hours limit how many rides you can get on. They need to start with the extended hours at minimum. We pay too much to sit in line all day.
Couldn’t agree more. I dont mind paying for it We stay in the 3 BR villas and buy the 3 additional and it’s worth every penny. Makes the say so much more enjoyable knowing we are getting in all the headliner rides and not waiting in any lines.
I’m ready for them to bring them back in ANY incarnation. We’ve been paying for extra FP’s for a while now since we stay Club Level and it’s been a game changer! We hardly ever wait in a line for more than 10 minutes and are getting in a minimum of 8 rides a day. Usually it’s 10. We will 100% pay for FP’s if that’s what’s available.
Just terrible!
I sincerely hope they never bring it back. When they abandoned the paper passes in favor of forcing us to sit up at midnight months before our trip just to try and book passes for favorites (often to be met with frustration from the glitchy app or website), they established that it would be the last year I got excited to go to Disney World. It became essentially impossible to ride certain rides–not just new ones, but some classics like Space Mountain too–without staying at one of their poor-value resorts and adding extra stress to my entire vacation and the months preceding.
Personally, I loved the original FastPass system, and have been hoping against hope that it never hops the continent to California. But with that said, I feel like you must be mistaken about how Disney treats capacity with regard to FastPass. It would be madness to count every pass as a physical body in the park, especially given they know precisely how many physical people pass through the turnstiles and many FastPasses go unredeemed for various reasons. Do you have any inside knowledge to confirm this, or is it an assumption?
Hi and thank you for your brilliant and helpful information. We hope to book via UK travel agent for summer 2022, in the next week or two. Do you know if WDW would automatically upgrade our park tickets to include fast passes or any new system if they reappear and also give us the opportunity to buy the more expensive option if they offer it later?