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Magic Kingdom FastPass+ Guide

Magic Kingdom FastPass+ Guide

Earlier in this guide we gave an introduction to the FastPass+ system and how to make FastPass+ reservations at Disney World.  You will rarely find the high demand rides with nobody riding them, despite what you see on articles cover photo!  We’re still not quite sure how that happened at 9:10 AM.  Now we are going to cover the “what to do” in our Magic Kingdom FastPass+ guide.

Magic Kingdom is unique compared to the other three Disney World parks, in that it does not have a tiered system of FastPass+ availability.  All attractions that offer the FastPass+ option can be reserved by all guests.  As of this writing, there are 25 attractions that offer the FastPass+ program.  Remember, you can only book three FastPass+ reservations in advance.

Magic Kingdom FastPass+ Kiosk Locations

If for some reason, you choose not to use the My Disney Experience app, you’re going to need to know where the FastPass+ kiosks are in the park.  In Magic Kingdom, there are six locations.  They are located near the following attractions or shops.  The numbers in the list below correspond to the numbers in the map to the below.

  1. Mickey’s PhilharMagic
  2. Pete’s Silly Sideshow
  3. The Diamond Horseshoe
  4. Jungle Cruise
  5. Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
  6. Tomorrowland Bridge

Magic Kingdom FastPass+ Eligible Attractions

Below is a list of all the attractions that are part of the Magic Kingdom FastPass+ system, in alphabetical order.

  • The Barnstormer
  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
  • Dumbo the Flying Elephant
  • Enchanted Tales with Belle
  • Haunted Mansion
  • It’s a Small World
  • Jungle Cruise
  • Mad Tea Party
  • The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  • Meet Ariel at Her Grotto
  • Meet Cinderella and Elena at Princess Fairytale Hall
  • Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater
  • Meet Rapunzel and Tiana at Princess Fairytale Hall
  • Meet Tinker Bell at Town Square Theater
  • Mickey’s PhilharMagic
  • Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
  • Peter Pan’s Flight
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
  • Space Mountain
  • Splash Mountain
  • Tomorrowland Speedway
  • Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid

Attractions at Magic Kingdom Frequently Requiring a FastPass+ Reservation

At 25 attractions, the Magic Kingdom FastPass+ has lots of available rides.  That means you have to be picky about where you use your initial 3 reservations.  There are several attractions that require a FastPass+ reservation if you want to avoid a long line.

If you want to do any research yourself, open up the My Disney Experience app on your phone.  Right there you can see what wait times for attractions look like.  Do it for a few days, and you’ll be able to get the sense of what wait times look like throughout the day.  You can see what the My Disney Experience app wait times screen looks like below.

You can also go to touringplans.com as they have a lot of detailed forecasts and planning tools.  Some of them are free, some are not.  In our opinion, you shouldn’t have to pay for tools if you do a little leg work on your own.  Like reading this post!

FastPass+ Reservation is Essential

As you look around at the My Disney Experience app, we think it will become pretty self-evident which rides carry the big wait times.  Because we know our readers are some of the smartest folks around, the following attractions are what we think you will quickly realize you need a FastPass+ reservation for:

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – All we can say is you either need to head here at rope drop or get a FastPass+ for it.  And rope drop is no guarantee of a short wait.  The picture below is a wave of people rope dropping the ride.  And that was just the beginning, they kept coming!  We were fortunate to get there early by using the Be Our Guest breakfast strategy we talk about in our article on how to get into the parks early.  If you don’t get a FastPass+ reservation for this ride, may God have mercy on your day at Magic Kingdom.  The standby line here will be awful all day.  Count on it.  You should plan accordingly.

Peter Pan’s Flight – Not going to lie here, we’re not sure why the waits for this attraction are so long.  Maybe because its an indoor ride, maybe because it has appeal for young and old, or maybe because the amount of people you can get through the ride in an hour is low.  Maybe its all of the above.  In any case, the wait for this one is LLLLLLOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGGG!  Plan accordingly.

Like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train above, rope drop this bad boy or get a FastPass+.  Standby wait times in excess of an hour are not uncommon here.  If you have to go standby, the ride does at least have a much-improved queue that can keep your attention for a while.

Space Mountain – Sensing a theme that all the thrill rides are going to be must see and must FastPass+?  You’re correct.  Another coaster that can build long wait times.  In general, the waits here aren’t as crazy Seven Dwarfs and Peter Pan. However, you should still probably should try to get a FastPass+ reservation here.

Big Thunder Mountain – Another roller coaster that probably could use a FastPass+ reservation, but if you high tail it to Frontierland first thing you can probably get a ride or maybe two in before waits build.  However, if your park touring plan doesn’t get you back to Frontierland early, consider a FastPass+ reservation here.  Historically, we’ve had good luck with opportunistically getting a short wait time or snagging a 4th or 5th FastPass+ reservation late in the day on this attraction.

Splash Mountain – Like we said with Thunder Mountain, high tail it here first thing and you can get a ride or two in early.  The only downside is, you will likely start your day off wet, potentially very wet if you are seated in the front of the log.  Hit Frontierland first though and you could knock out two high demand attractions, with relatively little wait.  Otherwise, you want to snag a FastPass+ reservation.

FastPass+ Reservation is Advisable, but not Essential

Pirates of the Caribbean – The inspiration for the successful movie franchise of the 2000’s, this attraction can see some sizable wait times.  However, in our view not sizable enough to warrant using one of your three advance FastPass+ reservations.  It’s possible to get your FastPass+ reservation same day or again, opportunistically take advantage of short wait times.  We usually advise hitting this one later in the day, sometimes after dark to find a short wait time.  One plus of the standby line here is that the queue is covered and air-conditioned.

Enchanted Tales with Belle – This is an attraction that can burn a lot of time, and that’s even if there isn’t any wait.  There’s a pretty elaborate pre-show sequence where kids get assigned parts in the show.  The show itself is long here, so if you don’t want to burn an hour here, you may want to get a FastPass+ reservation for this attraction.  It’s a good attraction to hit in the heat of the day due to the prolonged period indoors.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – Another attraction that can build a long wait time, largely due to the fact there is no height restriction and kids of all ages (even us) love to ride it.  It’s also all indoors, so during the heat of the day it can get jammed up with guests looking for a break from the weather.  The mornings tend to not be that bad.  Try and get a 4th or 5th FastPass+ for this one.  As kids start to clear out of the park after the fireworks show, you can also see a drop in wait time for this.

Jungle Cruise – Another attraction where the crowds tend to swell as the day goes on.  Seeing hour long waits is not out of the realm of possibility.  Like Pirates of the Caribbean, try to snag a late in the day or even night FastPass+ reservation for this.

FastPass+ Reservation is Optional

Beyond the attractions we listed above, we consider a Magic Kingdom FastPass+ reservations as optional.  If you can’t grab a 4th or 5th FastPass+ on one of the above attractions, then we’d still take it for the rides below.  You may be able to be opportunistic and take advantage of a short standby line for these however.

  • Haunted Mansion
  • It’s a Small World
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  • Meet Ariel at Her Grotto
  • Meet Cinderella and Elena at Princess Fairytale Hall
  • Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater
  • Meet Rapunzel and Tiana at Princess Fairytale Hall
  • Meet Tinker Bell at Town Square Theater
  • Tomorrowland Speedway
  • Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid

FastPass+ Reservation is Not Needed

Lastly, we have the attractions where you generally don’t need a Magic Kingdom FastPass+ reservation.  Can they spike a wait here and there?  Sure.  But by in large, they don’t accumulate hour plus long waits.

  • The Barnstormer
  • Dumbo the Flying Elephant
  • Mad Tea Party
  • The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
  • Mickey’s PhilharMagic
  • Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor

Picking the FastPass+ That’s Right for You

Now these are our recommendations, in a vacuum.  We don’t know what your trip goals are and what your vacation travel party is like, so our Magic Kingdom Fastpass+ Guide won’t be perfect for every situation.  That’s where you come in.

If you are planning on riding everything, this is certainly sound advice.  However, if thrill rides aren’t your thing, you probably don’t need to burn a FastPass+ on the roller coasters, since I assume you are going to skip them.  Have two little girls focused on seeing princesses?  You may be wise to get a FastPass+ for the various character meet and greets.  Only you will know for sure.

General Tips for Magic Kingdom FastPass+ Planning

As we said, get to some of the higher demand rides early, like Seven Dwarfs, Peter Pan, Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain or Space Mountain.  You can bang out a few (but not all) of the rides and use FastPass+ for the others.  We recommend trying to hit Frontierland early so you don’t need a FastPass+ for Thunder Mountain or Splash Mountain.  If you head there first, you can usually get a ride or two in with relatively shorter waits.

We actually don’t recommend going to Space Mountain early, because it is on the opposite side of the park from most of the other high demand attractions.  Save one FastPass+ advance reservation and use it here for when you get to this part of the park.

Lines for all of the high demand attractions will build to an hour plus in the first two hours of the park being open.  Some within 20 minutes of the park opening.

If it is Winter, plan accordingly with your FastPass+ reservations.  Here’s a hint, you probably don’t want to use one on Splash Mountain.  Cold and wet will not make for a fun day in the park!  And even if you plan to ride Splash Mountain, odds are not many others are, so you can just go standby.

FastPass Guides for the Other Parks

If you found our Magic Kingdom FastPass guide helpful, you may be interested in our FastPass guides for the other Disney World parks.  You can find them in the links below:

Epcot FastPass Guide

Animal Kingdom FastPass Guide

Hollywood Studios FastPass Guide

Wrapping Up

And with that, we’re done with our Magic Kingdom FastPass+ Guide!  While the list of rides is long, it is relatively simple compared to the other parks with a tiered FastPass system.  We hope you found this information useful.  If you did, we’d greatly appreciate it if you’d share it on your social media accounts!  Just hit one of the social sharing buttons on the page.  It’s quick and easy.  We greatly appreciate it!

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