Last weekend I did the unthinkable……I spent three days at Walt Disney World Theme Parks without a single Fastpass+ reservation! (Insert gasp of horror!)   Our trip wasn’t last minute, either, but by the time I logged on to make them, there weren’t any!   And guess what, you guys?  We had a FANTASTIC time!

Photo by Matt Stroshane

Disney Without FastPass+

I know some people out there agonize over every detail of their Walt Disney World vacation until it makes planning what is supposed to be the most magical vacation of all time, into something that is a big headache before you even arrive!  This doesn’t mean that I don’t love the concept of Fastpass+, I do, but I do not stress out if I can’t get the ones that I want.

Now, how have I managed to keep a positive attitude about this?  Well, I will tell you.  I follow my number 1, non-negotiable Walt Disney World rule–GET TO THE PARKS EARLY!  I follow this rule even when I do have pre-scheduled Fastpasses, but especially when I do not.

We visited Magic Kingdom on Saturday, arguably the busiest day of the week, and arrived at the park at 7:20 for the 8:00 opening time.  Not only do I arrive early to make sure I can ride the rides I want without the long lines, but also because the Magic Kingdom Welcome Show is one of my favorite things about Walt Disney World.  If you’ve never seen it, I highly recommend you do.

Magic Kingdom Welcome Show Photo by Kelly Melody

Upon entering the park, we headed to Fantasyland along with everyone else, but we parted ways when they rushed to line up for The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and my two young daughters and I headed for the Mad Tea Party teacups.  Of course there was no line, and we hopped right on!  The Cast Members even told us that we could stay on if we wanted to ride again!  An hour after opening, Fantasyland was completely empty!  We were the only people on the path from Gaston’s Tavern to Storybook Circus!

No one in Fantasyland, means no lines for rides!

Under the Sea with Ariel, Dumbo, Prince Charming’s Royal Carousel, it’s a small world, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Tomorrowland Speedway, and The Magic Carpets of Aladdin had no wait time when arriving at their entrances.  Jungle Cruise was only a 15 minute wait, but seemed shorter than that.  While our family isn’t quite ready for the big thrill attractions yet, at 9:30 AM, the My Disney Experience app was reporting wait times of 10-15 minutes for Splash Mountain and Space Mountain.  I’ve never been able to reserve a Fastpass+ for parade viewing, and I’ve always scored a front row seat; it just takes a little extra time to scope out my spot and save it.   As you can see, you can accomplish a whole lot at Magic Kingdom without a Fastpass+ by arriving early!

Epcot was a similar scenario.  At 4:00 PM, we rode Spaceship Earth without a wait.   With wait times being over two hours to meet Anna and Elsa while they were at Magic Kingdom, we were completely floored when we only waited for 10 minutes to meet them in their new Royal Sommerhus!  While we didn’t ride the new Frozen Ever After or Soarin’ attractions, the wait time for each was 70 minutes; totally doable without a Fastpass+!

No line to meet Anna and Elsa!

All of this to say, don’t count yourself out when you can’t score those coveted Fastpasses!  There’s still a lot of Disney to do without the wait!

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