The 5 Best and Worst FastPass+ Bypasses

The 5 Worst FastPass+ Bypasses

5) Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster

As soon as you leave the outdoor queue, FastPass+ merges with standby for a pre-show. Based on where you stand and if you keep your party together, this could affect your wait time for the rest of the queue.

4) Dinosaur

The octagon (8 sides) shaped room is where FastPass+ merges with standby at this attraction. You join up in a room to watch a safety pre-show. At this point, there isn’t a single file line. Meaning those people you skipped with your FastPass+ could just as easily pass you up when exiting said room. If it’s not the busiest of days at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, then the outside queue at Dinosaur probably isn’t running, meaning your FastPass+ only eliminates a small portion of the queue.

3) Illuminations: Reflections of Earth FastPass Viewing Location

This experience is listed as a Tier 1 FastPass+ at Epcot. That means if you chose this option, you would risk not getting a FastPass+ for Soarin’, Test Track and Frozen Ever After. This show is spectacular, but throughout the day you’ll hear that this show can be enjoyed all around the World Showcase. Besides the American Pavilion, where the America Gardens Theatre is blocking your view of the lagoon, there isn’t a bad spot to watch this nighttime spectacle. The benefit to this FastPass+ is that it’s located at the beginning of World Showcase, meaning it has the shortest distance to the main exit back to your resort. This can come in handy after a long day, making it not number 1 on the worst list. However, all things considered, I do think your tier 1 FastPass+ can be utilized better at other attractions.

2) Tower of Terror

Depending on if it’s a busy day or not at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (it will appear that way as half of the park is closed) Tower of Terror FastPass+ arguably could offer the least amount of value to a guest. The first area of the indoor queue is the hotel lobby. As soon as you pass through the lobby, FastPass+ and standby merge together just outside the library. The combined group of guests then walks through the boiler room together and you must choose to go straight or right to board your elevator. I found one way to generally be longer (the right).

1) The Haunted Mansion

Just before entering The Haunted Mansion from the outside queue, you merge with the standby line in the section near the graveyard. You may read about “Here lies good old Fred, a great big rock fell on his head”. From this point on, there is no longer a single file line until just before you board your doombuggies. The outdoor corridor, indoor corridor when entering the Mansion, the Ghost Host Rotunda and the area when leaving the rotunda are free for all areas for guests. The queue at this attraction always feels crowded and hot. Based on how quickly you move and where you stand, you may not pass that many guests at all with your FastPass+.

The 5 Best FastPass+ Bypasses

5) Star Tours: The Adventure Continues

Disney’s Hollywood Studios is in the midst of a major transition; half of the park is closed for the addition of Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. With the announcement of the closure to The Great Movie Ride on August 13th as well, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be left with just four rides until Toy Story Land opens next summer – Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Toy Story Midway Mania and Star Tours: The Adventure Continues. Just four attractions at an entire theme park means that Star Tours, as well as the other three attractions, will stay plenty busy for the time being. Star Tours also rates as a Tier 2 option on FastPass+, meaning people are given two opportunities to select this attraction as one of their three FastPass pluses. This attraction has one of the most efficient FastPass+ queues, as you don’t merge with standby until right before you board your StarSpeeder 1000.

4) Splash Mountain

The FastPass+ queue loads a good distance away from the standby entrance, which I particularly enjoy because entrances to some attractions can really become a cluttered mess at times. The queue doesn’t merge with standby until you are at the loading dock. Meaning, especially on a busy day, you’re bypassing a whole lot of people.

3) Jungle Cruise

This small intertwined standby line can get white hot during the summer, as a lack of a breeze is common in this attraction’s queue as it sits below the rest of Adventureland in terms of elevation. The FastPass+ queue is a short walking distance and is a straight shot right onto the ride. This is easily one of the most valuable FastPass pluses on property during the summer. If you use your original three FastPass pluses up in the morning/early afternoon, Jungle Cruise is likely to still be available to add on, as it’s still not the most popular attraction at Magic Kingdom.

2) Expedition Everest

One of the highest regarded thrill rides in all of Walt Disney World, Expedition Everest is a must for any coaster junkie. That means the wait time here can add up in a hurry, so FastPass+ is a nice addition here and its bypass doesn’t merge until you leave the indoor queue, less than 50 feet before you board. An extra bonus to this attraction is that it’s one of the few attractions at Walt Disney World that has a single rider line. This basically acts as an additional FastPass+ line as it is rarely utilized, because it is tucked away to the side of the attraction, and splitting up to ride an attraction, especially a thrill ride, just isn’t for everyone.

1) Peter Pan’s Flight