Hi Everyone! Today I want to share the ins and outs of Fastpass+ at Disney’s Hollywood Studios with you! This park as well as EPCOT use a tiered system (more to come on that). Disney’s Hollywood Studios has several Fastpass+ kiosk locations for your convenience. A short stroll down Hollywood Boulevard will bring you to the tip board & a Fastpass+ kiosk just to the right. You will also find kiosks near The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Toy Story Mania, and Muppet*Vision3D. The area near the tip board can be congested. If you experience this, try the kiosk near Tower of Terror or Muppet*Vision3D instead.
Once at the kiosk, the cast member will scan your ticket media & link your party together. You will then get to choose your 3 fastpasses for the day. As I mentioned before, this park uses the tiered system. You will get to choose 1 from Tier 1 & 2 from Tier 2. Here’s the list of attractions available for selection:
Tier 1:
- Toy Story Mania
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
- Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage
- Fantasmic!
Tier 2:
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
- Voyage of The Little Mermaid
- Disney Junior – Live on Stage!
- The Great Movie Ride
- The American Idol Experience
- Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
- Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
- Muppet*Vision3D
- Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show
As I mentioned in my previous article, only a limited number of fastpasses are available for attractions. If an attraction is very popular or the park is particularly crowded, the fastpasses may run out quickly. If you must make same-day fastpass reservations & you have a must do ride or you anticipate large crowds, you should arrive at the park early to ensure you get that fastpass!
My advice on choosing the Tier 1 attraction is to choose Toy Story Mania, if your party wants to experience this attraction. The wait time is always, always long. And it will be longer than the other tier 1 attractions in most cases. Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage doesn’t have a long wait time, just get there early if you want a close seat. Buy a snack just before you go in & use the time for snack time. Fantasmic! has a dinner package available that will give you guaranteed seating to the show. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster has a single rider line. While this isn’t optimal, if you can’t get the fastpass & the wait time is longer than you want, the single rider line is the way to go. Toy Story Mania does not have this option.
Here are some tips & tricks:
- Usually, the popular fastpasses (& the most quickly gone) are all those in Tier 1. And since you only get to choose one, choose wisely.
- Once you’ve used all 3 fastpasses, you can get more but only one at a time. You might get another for one of those Tier 1 attractions, maybe. But don’t count on it.
- When making reservation times it’s important to remember any dining reservations, parade times, or other show times.
- Be ready when you hit the kiosk. Have a discussion ahead of time & decide what you must do. Decide on those 3 must-dos!
- You can be admitted 5 minutes prior to your reservation time.
- Your fastpass isn’t “charged” until you scan it at the second checkpoint (parades & meet & greets usually only have 1 checkpoint). If you chicken out of taking a drop at the Tower of Terror, exit the queue before the second checkpoint so that you can change that fastpass to another attraction should you choose.
- If you can’t get a particular attraction, try breaking up your party & going for times that are close together. For instance, my party of 3 might have times of 3:15, 3:20, & 3:30. We’re all still within that hour window of each other & can still ride together. This is very helpful for the more popular attractions & also when attempting to change times during your day!
- Keep in mind that you can make changes throughout the day. Should you decide to take that mid-day siesta or change your dining reservations, you can also change your fastpasses, if needed. Just remember that there are a limited number for each attraction & when they are gone, they are gone.
Obviously a little more planning required for this park due to the tiered system! Your best bet to fastpass happiness is to reserve them as early as possible. If you must do same-day reservations, get there early! If you missed any prior articles, click here to read about Magic Kingdom park or here for Animal Kingdom park. Please comment if you have any questions! Be on the lookout for my final fastpass article on EPCOT park next.
Jason Mayhew
My name is Jason Mayhew, and I am the owner of OFF On The Go. When not traveling with the website, I own my own marketing and PR company, J Mayhew Marketing. I have the best job where I get to travel the world and showcase the most amazing and unique experiences!
