Disney Fastpass Service, FastPass+, and MaxPass are systems created by the Walt Disney Company to speed up customer access to certain attractions and amenities at the Disney resorts and theme parks. First introduced in late 1999 as a virtual queue, The systems all allow guests to avoid long lines at the attractions on which the system is installed, freeing them to partake of other attractions during their wait. There is generally no extra fee for the service. The original FastPass system is still featured at all of the parks except Walt Disney World, which uses FastPass+. The system continues to use a virtual queue where guests are given a paper ticket with a designated time, instructing them when they would arrive at the head of the queue. However, each park may have slight variations on the FastPass concept.
Disneyland
features the original FastPass system alongside MaxPass. Disney's Fastpass service is available at no additional charge to all park guests, while MaxPass costs a day.
MaxPass
On August 30, 2007, the Walt Disney Company filed a patent for using SMS as a way to get and use Fastpasses in the park. The patent indicated that guests staying at Disney hotels would be allowed to make early reservations for attractions using their in-room television. Originally, all the Fastpass tickets are free as long as the guests purchased their park tickets. However, on January 11, 2017, Disney announced Disney's MaxPass for the Disneyland Resort. The new system works in conjunction with the original Fastpass system. It is the first virtual queue system from Disney that is not free, costing /day or $75/year upon launch in 2017. On January 6, 2018, Disney increased the price to US$15/day, and US$100/year. It is included with select Disneyland Annual Passports. The system allows users to receive a Fastpass return time on their smartphone through the Disneyland mobile app when they are inside the parks. Guests who buy the MaxPass system are also able to download their PhotoPass pictures for free. Also, in March 2017, Shanghai Disneyland introduced Disney Premier Access, a similar system to Disney's MaxPass.
Fastpass promotions
Throughout the annual Disney Soundsational Summer promotions of 2011–2012, guests staying at any of the three hotels of the Disneyland Resort received two complimentary Fastpasses per person. These passes allowed guests to enter the Fastpass line of any Fastpass attraction at any time they chose, similar to the Dream Fastpass.
Disney FastPass+
FastPass+ allows guests to reserve and plan a visit in advance to parks at Walt Disney World. Reservations are available for select attractions, Character Greetings, entertainment, and viewing areas for parades and fireworks. The system allows guests to make reservations up to 60 days in advance, and change at any time. FastPass+ is a reservation and scheduling system, unlike the old paper Fastpass system, which was a virtual queuing concept. Additionally, guests are encouraged to reserve FastPass+ sections with their group and are allowed to change the group's FastPass+ reservation. Currently guests staying at an onsite Disney resort can make reservations up to 60 days in advance while all other guests can schedule reservations up to 30 days in advance, assuming tickets are linked to their account. Annual Passholders can hold Fastpass+ reservations for up to 7 different days in the 30-day window. If a Passholder is staying at a Disney resort onsite, they have 60 days to make reservations for the entire length of the stay. Guests can make three reservations in advance for each day, and all three must be at the same theme park. Disney's Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Disney's Hollywood Studios separate the attractions available for reservation into two tiers. Guests are restricted in the combination of attractions they are able to reserve in these parks to ensure better reservation availability for others at the parks' most popular attractions. Guests may make a further reservation via an in-park kiosk or the My Disney Experience app after they have used their initial three selections subject to availability. They may continue to make further reservations after using each reservation, until all reservation slots have been allocated for the day.
Other parks
Shanghai Disneyland is moving towards a digital style much like the one used in California. Under the name "Premier Access," the system is believed to be a response to ticket scalping of the physical paper tickets. As of 2020, Tokyo does not have any alternative or paid options above the standard FastPass. During the Disney Soundsational Summer promotions of 2011–2012 at Disneyland Resort Paris, guests who stay in the Disneyland Hotel or in club-level accommodations of hotels received an untimed single-use Fastpass voucher for each day of their stays, usable any time except between 13:00 and 16:00. Guests in Castle Club accommodations at the Disneyland Hotel or suites in any hotel instead received a VIP Fastpass, which can be used repeatedly for the full length of stay with no time restrictions. In each case, the Fastpass is usable only on rides with Fastpass facilities.
