Screenshot from the Disneyland Paris App My Facebook newsfeed has been filled today with links to articles about Disneyland Paris getting rid of free FastPass and switching to a paid system. Most people are jumping to the conclusion that the same thing will happen at Walt Disney World. I decided to do a little bit of digging, and here’s what I’ve found out so far.
I have the Disneyland Paris App on my phone (because I like to dream about someday) and it was pretty easy to find solid information there. It is true that free FastPasses will no longer be available. That doesn’t mean you will always need to wait in long lines without paying. Sometimes a Standby Pass could be available. If the line becomes too long, the passes might be offered. You can reserve one Standby Pass at a time, and when it’s your time you’ll have 30 minutes to ride. Standby Passes may not be available all days.
The new option that has everyone worried is Disney Premier Access. The top rides will be available. If you want to ride one of them but the line is too long, purchase Disney Premier Access through the Disneyland App and skip the line. You’ll be able to ride just the one time. Each person in your party will need to buy Disney Premier Access to ride, unless someone is under three years old. Your purchase will allow you to ride one ride, one time. It’s not cheap, it will cost between $9.46 and $17.74 per person, per ride.
What does this have to do with Walt Disney World? As far as we know, nothing. The FastPass+ page is still on the Walt Disney World website. It states at the top, “As a result of the COVID-19 impact on operations, the FastPass+ service is suspended for the time being.” If the service wasn’t going to be brought back, the page would most likely have been removed.
There is always a possibility that paid FastPasses will at some point be offered at Walt Disney World. I’ve seen many people today point to the MaxPass program at Disneyland, which is also temporarily suspended. These people say that paid FastPass was a thing at Disneyland before the closure, so it must be coming to Walt Disney World, right? The problem with that logic is that MaxPass is not a paid FastPass service. You pay for the ability to make the FastPass reservation on your phone while you’re there. If you want to walk to the attraction and make your reservation that way you can. MaxPass also includes your PhotoPass downloads, which makes it a great deal.
The truth of the matter is that we have no idea what Disney has planned for the future of FastPass+ at Walt Disney World. There hasn’t been as much as an official hint. Things could return to the way they were before, there could be a mix of paid and free, we might have to pay for the service, or it could be eliminated altogether. Until Disney addresses the issue, it makes no sense to speculate. I’ve seen many people add someone’s thoughts as fact today, and that doesn’t help anyone. When there’s solid information on the future of FastPass at Walt Disney World, I will let you know.