9 Rides or Attractions You Really Should FastPass at Magic Kingdom

The FastPass+ option has become increasingly popular at every Disney theme park, but at the Magic Kingdom, there are some FastPass necessities in order to assure a ride on some of the busiest rides or the Princess Meet & Greet. You will find that even on lower crowd days, Fast Passes come in very handy. It would be a good idea to get Fast Passes for the following.

9. Fairytale Hall-Meet & Greet the Princesses-Fantasyland—Why stand in line for hours to meet Anna & Elsa, and some of the other Disney Princesses? You can reserve your special visit with a Fast Pass. For some children and adults, a meeting with one of these Princesses is the highlight of their day at the Magic Kingdom. It is especially helpful for small children who get tired easily just standing in a long line. The Fairytale Hall Meet & Greet is very popular, but with your Fast Pass, your meeting will be even more enjoyable and magical.

8. Space Mountain—Tomorrowland—Space Mountain is an inside dark thrill ride that takes you on a journey through the galaxy in a rocket-shaped vehicle. On this futuristic ride you will experience high-speed dips, turns, and curves, and it takes place in the dark with only some streaming rays of light from comets and meteors to light your way. You will feel the push and pull of gravity as you careen wildly through this space age adventure. The lines for this ride are usually quite long, and although, you are inside for most of the queque, a 45-minute is not unusual, so save some time for other attractions and get a Fast Pass.

7. Tomorrowland Speedway—Tomorrowland—Believe it or not, this ride in a miniature gas-powered race car always has a long line, mostly because it only holds an adult and one child. There are plenty of cars traveling the curves and straightaways of this fun-filled trip, however I would strongly advise a Fast Pass reservation for this ride.

6. Pirates of the Caribbean—Adventureland— Even though you might catch “Pirates” at a slow time, it’s still advisable to get a Fast Pass. Climb aboard a small wooden boat and travel back in time to a place where pirates ruled the seas. You’ll be caught in the middle of a battle between Capt. Barbosa and the Black Pearl and a Spanish fortress, with cannonballs exploding all around you. As you boat slowly moves along the water, you will witness the pillaging and plundering of what was once a peaceful village by a bunch of marauding buccaneers. Just before you exit the boat you are serenaded by Capt. Jack Sparrow, who is sitting amongst piles and piles of precious jewels, gold doubloons, and other loot taken from other villages and ships. He is singing his rendition of “A Pirate’s Life For Me” as your boat slowly passes by.

5. Splash Mountain—Frontierland—There are times when Splash Mountain is not overly crowded, but also times when there is a 45min to an hour wait time. It’s a good idea to reserve your Fast Pass for this ride. You step into a hollow log for a trip down a log flume, through the whimsical world of Disney’s full length live action film, “Song of the South”. You’ll travel down waterfalls, and visit places like Critter Cave, the Fishing Place, and the Old Swimmin’ Hole, while being entertained by the antics of Br’er Fox, Br’er Bear and Br’er Rabbit. Just before the end of the ride you climb up a waterfall, then plummet down a thrilling 5-story splashdown. The colorful, audio animatronics and musical tunes bring out the joy and happiness in us all and this truly is a “laughing place”.

4. The Haunted Mansion—Liberty Square—The Haunted Mansion ride is not really considered a thrill ride, but it is a bone-chilling dark inside ride where you board a doom buggy for a tour of this dilapidated mansion which is occupied by 999 ghostly spirits. The macabre music and ghoulish narration is guaranteed to give you goose bumps. Disney Imagineers did a fantastic job of designing this attraction to mildly scare, but not terrify. The grim grinning ghosts are more entertaining than frightening. This is a very popular attraction, and if you don’t mind passing up the interactive queque, I would strongly recommend a Fast Pass.

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3. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad—Frontierland—Hop on board a runaway mine train for the “wildest ride in the wilderness”. A Fast Pass is highly advised for this thrill ride, a speedy, rollercoaster-type attraction designed for the whole family to enjoy. It does, however, have very sharp turns, curves, and exhilarating dips that cause many exciting screams from the passengers. Even the youngest riders, who meet the height requirement, are delighted with this rollicking mine train adventure.

2. Peter Pan’s Flight—Fantasyland—This ride is a Fast Pass must, because there is almost always a long line at this very, very popular attraction. It is a Disney original and has always been a “must do” for any Disney visitor. “Peter Pan’, the animated classic, is still on top of the charts of the all-time favorite Disney films, and the ride lives up to the high standards of Walt Disney himself. It is the only ride at Walt Disney World where you ride vehicle, a flying ship, which is suspended from the ceiling, and all the sights are below and at eye level. It is a truly wondrous ride over the rooftops of London and into the skies to a land with Indian maidens, mermaids, and the home of the lost boys. You will also encounter Capt. Hook, Mr. Smee, and a tick-tocking crocodile. Watch the faces of the riders as they come off the ride; smiles all around. You will want to experience this ride again and again.

1. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train—Fantasyland—This attraction is the latest addition to the New Fantasyland, and it is another Fast Pass must. The lines are always long, sometimes up to 2 hours. Your vehicle is a large wooden mine car which takes you swiftly across rolling stone bridges, through a forest, and into the Seven Dwarfs diamond mine, where they are digging for diamonds and singing their favorite “Heigh Ho” melody, when it’s time to go home. This ride system is the first of its kind at Walt Disney World. The mine cars sway back and forth as you encounter surprise dips, sharp turns, and sharp banks. There is a ride restriction, but it is definitely an attraction for the whole family. Adults and children alike exit this ride smiling, laughing, and anxious to ride again.

There are so many rides, attractions, parades, and live stage performances to enjoy at the Magic Kingdom, so try to schedule those Fast Passes around these scheduled events. It’s hard to decide which Fast Passes to reserve, but if you don’t get the ones you want, keep trying. Fast Passes can become available at any time, because some people never make it to their scheduled Fast Pass time. At first I thought the Fast Pass+ option was going to ruin the spontaneity of our Disney vacations, but now that we are better informed on how to use them, our visits are even more exciting.

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Photo courtesy of Disney Photo Snapper