Fastpass+ and Magic Bands

Both will be coming soon to a portal near you at Walt Disney World, and are in testing phases as I write this.

Fastpass+ is based on RFID technology.  Once this is phased into daily life at WDW, fastpass will change forever.

With Fastpass+ you will make your + reservations before you leave your home.  These reservations are made using the My Disney Experience portion of Disneyworld.com. 

Your fastpasses will be loaded on to your stylish new Magic Band.  Offered in blue, green, yellow, red, pink, purple and iconic gray, these bands are the new rage online, whether they be loved or hated.

So that is what is coming soon (within the next year it should be fully rolled out and running at WDW, Disneyland will get the technology at a later date).

Let’s start with My Disney Experience, or MDE, which can be found on your computer, on your tablet, or on your iPhone or android phone.  With this app you can link your hotel reservations, dining reservations (ADR’s) and ticket numbers.  You can look up park hours, fastpass availability (using the Here and Now feature, which is only available while you are at the World).  You can Plan and Manage all of these reservations, edit or view your profile, family and friends and more under your account, and even have help and support.

The MDE or MDX as Disney calls it is buggy, and doesn’t always work well, but when it does, it is nice.  I now have my dining reservations for two different trips available on my phone and my computer, and these reservations even show the confirmation number.

So you have entered or linked your reservations, so what is next?

Next is Fastpass+ testing, and with this comes the MB’s (Magic Bands) in their rainbow of colors.  + is in testing right now.  Specifically testing is being completed in August by those guests staying at Pop Century, Yacht Club, Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Contemporary Resorts, so if you are at one of those resorts and are travelling in August, there is a good chance you are part of the testing.

If you are part of the testing you can expect an email approximately 17 days before you depart for Orlando.  This email will invite you to join the testing.  You then go to the MDE (MDX) site and in the Planning section you should have a link for Magic Bands, and another link for Fastpass+.

By clicking the Magic Band link you should be able to select the color for your magic bands, and link it to a person in your reservations.  You will need to do this for everyone over ate 2 in your reservation.  If you fail to customize your bands, you will be issued the iconic gray band upon hotel check-in.

After you have customized your Magic Bands, it is time to select your Fastpass+ attractions.  This is done by selecting the Fastpass+ link on MDE (MDX), whether you do it on the app or online, it doesn’t matter.  If you are NOT part of the test you will not be able to select these Fastpasses, nor will you be able to customize bands.  Instead you will get a pop up telling you to link your hotel and dining reservations.

Currently, with the Fastpass+ testing, you can only select three fastpass attractions, and they must be within the same park.  No attractions can be repeated.  So you can’t make these reservations for Soarin’, Test Track and Soarin’, nor can you make them for Tower of Terror,  Rock ‘n Roller Coaster and Peter Pan.  In the first scenario an attraction is being repeated.  In the second scenario there are two attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and one at Magic Kingdom.  No park hopping is allowed with Fastpass+. 

I suggest that if you are park hopping you arrive at your first park by opening, and have all of your fastpass+ selections for the park you will visit in the afternoon.  This way you can enjoy shorter queues in the mornings, and use those coveted fastpasses for afternoon attractions.

It is important to know the selection process for your Fastpass+ attractions.  First you will select the attraction, then you will select your times.  After selecting your three attractions, occasionally they pop up with a fourth offering.  Take this offering whether you want it or not.  Then, when you are all done, you can CHANGE that fourth fastpass to something you want.

So you are NOT part of the test because you are not staying at one of the required hotels.  Or you are not going in August.  What does this mean for you?

Well it means that patience is the key.  Rumors abound that this will all roll out before the end of 2013.

Our Fastpass Plus Experience