Hello dear readers! I hope that this article will convey all you need to know about Epcot and Fastpass+! This park (as well as Disney’s Hollywood Studios) use a tiered system. Epcot has 4 Fastpass+ kiosk locations for your convenience. They are located at Innoventions East & West Breezeways, Innoventions Plaza Tip Board, & International Gateway. I’ve seen other Fastpass+ cast members scattered around the park as well. The kiosk at the Tip Board is always clogged. Your best bet is to go left or right to the breezeways.
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:
- Maelstrom
- Soarin’
- Test Track
- IllumiNations: Reflection of Earth
- Meet Disney Pals at the Epcot Character Spot
Tier 2:
- Journey Into Imagination with Figment
- Captain EO
- Living with the Land
- Mission: SPACE
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends
- Spaceship Earth
- Turtle Talk with Crush
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!
I don’t know about you but I want more than one of those Tier 1 attractions so this is a difficult decision! This is a choice that will be based solely on your party. Maelstrom isn’t quite as popular now that Anna & Elsa have moved to Magic Kingdom so a Fastpass for this doesn’t make sense to me. The Fastpass area for IllumiNations is good but so are many other viewing places. Test Track 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. None of the others have this option. So now we’re down to Soarin’ & Character Spot. Soarin’ always has a long wait. If this is a must do for your party, this is the choice for you.
Here are some tips & tricks:
- Usually, the popular fastpasses (& the most quickly gone) are 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 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 (viewing areas & meet & greets usually only have 1 checkpoint). If you chicken out of Mission: SPACE, 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, here for Animal Kingdom park, or here for Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Please comment if you have any questions!
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!
