When most people think of how to get on a ride at Disney World, they probably think of two options—waiting in line or using FastPass+. And while those (and specific variations of those) tend to be the most important, there are actually a variety of other options you might have when you’re putting together your plans for the parks.
This is a “back to basics” article. Some readers will be familiar with every one of these options, but many (maybe even most) readers will be hearing about one or two for the first time. And while there is overlap in some of these, I’ve separated them where I think it’s important people treat them differently for planning purposes. Read on to learn all the ways to get on rides at Disney World!
FastPass+, Extra Magic Hours Replaced
This post contains old information pertaining to FastPass+ and Extra Magic Hours, which have since been replaced. FastPass+ has been replaced by Genie+ and Lightning Lanes. Extra Magic Hours have been replaced by Early Theme Park Entry and Extended Evening Hours. This post might be updated at a later time.
Available for Everyone
These first eight options are available to every guest. Two at the end of this section are paid, however.
Standby
Standby is the way most of us are familiar with getting on rides. You go to the ride, see the posted wait time, and wait in line for about that amount of time before you get on the ride. Standby is generally the worst way to get on a ride, with a few special case (next on this list) excepted.
Rope Drop
“Rope drop” is when a park and its rides are actually opened to guests. If you are one of the first people at the park on a given day, you will walk right onto your first ride with next to no wait. And if you have the appropriate strategy after that ride, on many days you’ll stay “ahead” of the crowds for several rides after that.
Technically, rope drop is just standby at the beginning of the day, but it’s worth understanding that rope drop is much more powerful (and complicated) than just walking into the park and picking a line. Here are our Disney World rope drop posts:
For this post, I’d also include morning Extra Magic Hour as a part of rope drop. Morning Extra Magic Hour allows Disney hotel guests an exclusive morning hour in a park on select days. Morning EMH is covered in those rope drop posts, but we also have a separate post for Magic Kingdom Morning Extra Magic Hour.
There’s also the strategic “breakfast rope drop.” This only works in rare cases, but if a restaurant inside a park takes breakfast reservations before the park opens and the restaurant is on the “other side” of the rope, guests can sometimes finish their breakfast quickly and be among the first people to line up for a ride, beating the regular rope drop crowd.
In practice, this is mainly (only?) a strategy at Be Our Guest breakfast at Magic Kingdom these days. Guests finishing their breakfasts before the park opens can usually line up for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Click through to that review for a discussion of if/when that’s a good idea.
Last Ride of the Day
Like rope drop, Last Ride of the Day is technically standby. In this case, we’re talking about getting in the standby line right as the park is scheduled to close. At Disney parks, standard practice is to allow guests to line up for a ride up until the time the park closes. I’ve never heard of Disney closing a line early because it got too long, but it’s definitely theoretically possible.
This is a risky strategy because (1) the ride might always break down right as the park is closing, and (2) you need to confirm the ride hours, because they might not always extend to the very end of the day. You also might miss a nighttime show if that happens to occur at the time the park is scheduled to close.
Related to Last Ride of the Day is evening Extra Magic Hour. Evening Extra Magic Hour allows Disney hotel guests to spend extra time in a park on select evenings.
Advance FastPass+
FastPass+ is Disney World’s “skip the line” system. Each day of your visit, you’re allowed to book three FastPass+ reservations at a single park. We have a ton of content about FastPass+, anchored by these five posts:
It’s also worth adding here that guests of Disney World club levels have access to a special set of bonus advance FastPass+ reservations, for a price.
Same-Day FastPass+
Most of you probably know you can get a fourth, and then a fifth, and then a sixth, etc.…FastPass+ after you use your first three for the day…but many of you don’t. No matter the wait for the ride—I’ve done this with rides with four hour waits—there’s always a chance you’ll find a same-day FastPass+ for it.
Again, consult those FastPass+ posts linked above for more on this, or check out my Magic Kingdom One Day Plan to see how we use same-day FastPass+ to get on many of the attractions at that park.
Single Rider
If your party is fine being split up for a ride, you can use one of the four single rider lines at Walt Disney World: Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (Hollywood Studios), Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run (Hollywood Studios), Test Track (Epcot), and Expedition Everest (Animal Kingdom).
These lines will have each member of your party riding with another group that didn’t quite fill the ride vehicle, so you will not be riding together. But as our post on single rider lines at Disney World discusses, you’ll usually have a much shorter wait in these lines than in regular standby lines.
Ticketed Events
Ticketed Events are the first paid option on this list. There are several of these and they vary in what parks offer them, what rides, are included, and whether they’re any good for rides at all.
With these events, you’ll technically be waiting in standby lines, but depending on the event, these lines may be essentially empty for most of the event.
Here are the major ones:
After Hours (Good for Rides) — Magic Kingdom After Hours, Animal Kingdom After Hours, Hollywood Studios After Hours (currently not scheduled)
Early Morning Magic (Good for Rides) — Magic Kingdom Fantasyland Early Morning Magic
Holiday Parties — (Not Good for Rides) — Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
I’m also going to include the Frozen Ever After Dessert Party in this category.
VIP Tours
Tours are the other paid option. There are two types of tours—VIP and non-VIP. Non-VIP tours might include a ride or two, but that’s not really the point of the tour (and you might have your guide explaining it to you, rather than taking a “normal” ride).
For the most part, VIP tours are meant for getting you onto rides quickly and they are expensive. There are two sub-types of VIP tours—private, and pre-scheduled. Private tours start at over $400 per hour and allow you to customize your itinerary for your group. Pre-scheduled tours include a fixed set of rides and are priced at around $350+ per person. Read more about VIP tours at the Disney website.
Special Cases
These next three ways to get on rides don’t apply to everyone or aren’t always in use.
Disability Access Service
I don’t have firsthand experience or any expertise with Disability Access Service, but the basic idea of the program is that it’s Disney’s way to accommodate individuals with disabilities who may not be able to wait in all or certain lines at the parks. You can read more about it at WDW Prep School or on the official Disney website.
Rider Switch
Rider switch is a service that is most commonly used when a group has one (or more) members who fail to meet the height requirement for a ride but cannot be left alone while others ride. A standard example is two parents with one baby trying to ride Flight of Passage.
Rather than forcing them both to wait in line three hours separately, Disney allows them to sign up for rider switch. Parent A will wait in full line for the ride while Parent B watches the child, then Parent B will get to use the FastPass+ line (this is the perk of rider switch) while Parent A watches the child. You can read more about Disney World Height Requirements and Rider Switch.
Boarding Passes
So far, Disney World has only used boarding passes once—for Rise of the Resistance. Under the boarding pass system, you need to get a boarding pass for a ride ASAP at the start of the day. Your group is “called” later in the day and that’s when you go and line up for the ride.
All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered
Don't be overwhelmed by Disney World planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way.
Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.
When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And don't forget to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!
Don't forget to master your Disney World Genie+ and Lightning Lane strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Epcot Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Animal Kingdom Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, and Hollywood Studios Genie+ and Lightning Lanes.
Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.
Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you're interested in saving, there's no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.