The Hardest FastPasses to get at Walt Disney World® Resort

Pandora World of Avatar at Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park

​By David Platt, your Mouse Master specialist to Disney Destinations and beyond

Today, let’s take a look at which Walt Disney World® Resort FastPasses you’re likely to have the most trouble getting:
 
Magic Kingdom
At Magic Kingdom, it’s no contest for the most coveted FastPass: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Before the new Toy Story Land and Pandora World of Avatar opened to take a bit of the pressure off, this was perhaps THE hardest FastPass to get in the entire resort. Except at busier times of year, you can probably book this one at about 60-61 days out. 
 
Epcot
Like in most parks, the newest ride is also the hottest FastPass: Frozen Ever After. The only thing that keeps Frozen Ever After from being nearly impossible to get is Epcot’s tiered FastPass structure. Guests can only select one ‘Tier One’ attraction, meaning they have to make a choice between Frozen Ever After, Test Track, or Soarin’.  While it isn’t as popular as some of the hottest FastPasses at other parks, this one can usually be booked when a 60-day booking window opens except at busier times of year. 
 
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Until recently, Hollywood Studios was pretty much a walk in the park as far as FastPasses were concerned. That all changed when Toy Story Land opened. The two new Toy Story Land rides are the hottest tickets, with Slinky Dog Dash outstripping Alien Swirling Saucers by a long shot.  Slinky Dog Dash is almost guaranteed to be completely booked at about 62-63 days out.
 
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park
Pandora- The World of Avatar was a game-changer in a lot of ways, throwing into turmoil a park that had previously been fairly easy as far as FastPasses go. The new Avatar Flight of Passage attraction is indisputably the hottest FastPass at all of Disney World right now. The standby wait time routinely tops out at about 2-3 hours. If you don’t have a FastPass booked at about 64-65 days out, you’re most likely out of luck. 
 

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Wait. Don’t FastPass booking windows open up at 60 days? How can they be gone at 65 days out?
I know what you might be thinking: how can some attractions be completely booked at more than 60 days out? Don’t FastPass booking windows only open at 60 days for on-site guests?
 
Yes, that’s accurate— but at that 60-day point, guests can book FastPasses for the entire length of their trip. Say, for example, you’re visiting for seven days. At the 60-day point, you can make reservations for the first day of your trip 60 days away—but you can also make them for every other day of your trip, up to 67 days away.  Guests with longer trips snatch up those coveted popular FastPass reservations, making them hard to come by right at the 60-day mark. Guests visiting for just a day or two may already find all the popular FastPasses gone when their booking window opens. 
 
I didn’t get a FastPass. What can I do?
Simple answer? Wait in the standby line. But if you’re willing to put in some time and effort, a FastPass is still possible. Guests change and cancel plans all the time, so random FastPasses for even the popular rides pop up occasionally. Sometimes, Disney will extend a park’s hours, meaning more FastPasses will pop up in the system. These methods require tenacity, knowledge of the best times to check for cancelations, and more than a bit of luck. 
 
If you’re willing to throw a bit of money at the problem, there are guided tours that include popular attractions. Animal Kingdom, for example, currently offers the ‘Ultimate Night of Adventure VIP Tour’ which includes instant access to the Pandora rides along with a few others. Or, for high-rollers, there’s the Disney Private VIP Tour Service where you have a personal guide who will tailor a seven-hour minimum tour so you get to do exactly what you want to do, including skipping a lot of lines.