FASTPASS: How to Use Disney World's Time Saving Ticket

Walt Disney World in Florida is known as "The Most Magical Place on Earth" for countless reasons. Yes, they provide a clean and well-themed world of fantasy for both kids and kids at heart, but they also go the extra mile to spread a little magic to guests. Every so often, Disney parks will introduce a new concept or new technology that revolutionizes the entire theme park experience - like FASTPASS.

Among those experience-enhancing innovations, FASTPASS is king. It's a free service that allows ticketholders to bypass hours of waiting in line for the parks' most popular attractions. Here's how it works:

1. Find your thrill (or relaxing ride) of choice and look for the marquee that reads "FASTPASS Distribution." Under the marquee heading, a one-hour window will be displayed digitally. That is the time that you would return to ride if you were to get a pass right then. If the time is acceptable, step up.

2. There will be a number of waist-high stations, each of which will likely have a short line. Get in one, but make sure you have tickets for each person in your party who will ride.

3. Take your theme park ticket (and the tickets of those in your party) and insert it into the top slot. Have your other hand positioned below the chute found just below. A little slip of paper will shoot out, and your ticket will emerge from the top slot. Pull it out and repeat for each ticket.

4. Now, get out of the way. People behind you are waiting. Jeez.

5. Look at the slips that spat out of the FASTPASS machine. Each should be labeled with the name of the ride, followed by two times - which specify your one-hour ride window. You can return any time in that window.

6. Go out and enjoy other rides, attractions and goodies. Grab a bite, ride a few rides with short lines, get that obscure Clarabelle Cow autograph.

7. When your window opens, go back to your FASTPASS attraction and look for your entrance, which is not the STANDBY line. Your line should be labeled "FASTPASS Return." Each member of your party should flash your pass to the attending cast member and enter the queue. Try to ignore the sneers of those sweat-soaked tourists who decided that FASTPASS is a nuisance. They are beneath you.

8. Somewhere along the way, a cast member will take your pass from you and blend you into the front of the STANDBY line. Try not to make eye contact. Standbyers are very jittery after they've waited for three days for a 45-second ride.

9. Enjoy the ride!

Aside from the simple how-tos, here are a few other random tips about using FASTPASS:

1. At the bottom of your ticket, it will tell you when you can get another FASTPASS. Although you are not limited to a certain number of passes per day, you can only have one every few hours (usually two hours, though it may vary). Even if you have not been able to use your previous pass, you can get a new one once that time rolls around.

2. Passes are finite each day - meaning they will run out. For the most popular attractions, even those picked up during the early morning often will display late-afternoon return times. By noon, the top attractions are usually out of them.

3. Pick and choose where you will use the FASTPASS system. Although it is available for rides like The Jungle Cruise, lines for that ride rarely reach unbearable wait times. On the other hand, rides like Splash Mountain and Space Mountain might build up waits of several hours on peak attendance days.

4. If you decide not to use a FASTPASS, don't ditch them. Go back to the attraction and look for a family who might use them - like one with a child who is disappointed because the line is too long, and their flight leaves in three hours. Spread the magic.

5. To max out rides on your favorite attraction, get there early, go straight to your ride and get a FASTPASS. Then, get in the STANDBY line. Chances are, your window will open by the time you've come back to the entrance.

Regardless what you've heard, FASTPASS is not a hassle, and it literally saves several hours of waiting during a multi-day trip - if not on a single day. Use it!