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Epcot FastPass – Complete Guide + Amazing Tips & Tricks!

February 27, 2018

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A mom of six through birth and adoption, family travel specialist, self-proclaimed chocolate chip cookie connoisseur, Disney lover, and, I hope to be, your new best friend.

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Epcot, a simply wonderful Disney World Park, but for a very long time was not a park that offered many rides. Well, that has all changed as more and more thrill rides keep appearing at the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT). Thus, we have compiled a complete Epcot Fastpass breakdown so you can have the most possible fun in the park. We break down which rides accept Fastpass, which ones to book and which ones to skip because there won’t be much of a line anyways. So, let’s get this party started!

Epcot FastPass – Complete Guide + Amazing Tips & Tricks!

Epcot Fastpass - Epcot ball

Epcot Rides that Take Fast Pass

  • Test Track
  • Soarin’
  • Frozen Ever After
  • Illuminations: Reflections of Earth
  • Mission: Space
  • Epcot Character Space
  • The Seas with Nemo and Friends
  • Turtle Talk
  • Spaceship Earth
  • Living with the Land
  • Journey into Imagination
  • Disney/Pixar Short Film Festival

How to Fastpass at Epcot

If you know how to use Fastpass + already and want to skip to which rides to choose click here to jump ahead. All Walt Disney World Theme Parks, including Epcot, use the Fastpass+ system which is super convenient and allows you to plan pretty far in advance. There is no additional cost.

This program has taken place of the original Fastpass system, so it is included in your admission. Beginning at 7 am Eastern Time 30 days before your visit or 60 days before your visit if you’re staying at a Disney Resort Hotel, you can make Fastpass reservations on select attractions.

Keep in mind if you’re staying at a Disney Resort Hotel, you will be able to make a reservation at this time for the entire length of your visit. While you might think not think of Epcot having very many rides and being more the kind of place you walk around to enjoy the sights, it’s still pretty essential to book your fastpasses.

The few rides they do have like Test Track and Soarin’ are huge hits and you will definitely want to skip the line. You can also make Fastpass reservations for some of the park’s shows, which is a great feature of this system.

Epcot Fastpass Tiers

Tier 1

  • Frozen Ever After
  • Test Track
  • Soarin’
  • IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth

Tier 2

  • Mission: SPACE

  • The Seas with Nemo & Friends

  • Living with the Land

  • Spaceship Earth
  • Pixar Short Film Festival

  • Epcot Character Spot
  • Journey Into Imagination With Figment

  • Turtle Talk with Crush

Step 1:

You will want to register online to make an Epcot Fastpass reservation in advance. To do this create an account on My Disney Experience and follow the steps to link all of your party’s tickets together. If you would like to make your reservations the same day as your visit, use the My Disney Experience Mobile App or visit the Fastpass+ kiosk in the park. There’s three of these kiosk locations in Innovations and one at the International Gateway. It is best to make the reservations as early as you possibly can, though.

ORG DSC01136

Step 2:

Select which rides you want to reserve for your group. Here’s how to make your decisions in Epcot! In this park, your selections are tiered. You can choose up to 3, and it’s super important you choose wisely! For Epcot specifically, your choices are tiered. This means you can pick one attraction to reserve off the Tier 1 List. Then, you can pick two to reserve off of the Tier 2 List. You can find what rides are in each tier above. 

Obviously, not everyone in your party has to attend the same attractions but do book the attractions you want to do as an entire group first. While it is best to choose off these lists wisely if you do end up changing your mind about things you can cancel or change your reservations at any time.

Step 3:

There is no physical Epcot FastPass ticket anymore. Once you choose are rides and book them, the information will be stored on the My Disney Experience profile on your entry tickets or on your Magicbands. If you’re wondering about Magicbands, they are pretty awesome and my kids get excited to wear them every visit! They’ll function as your resort key as well if you’re staying on property and keep you from ever having to fumble around for any sort of tickets. They’re free if you’re staying in the resorts, but can be purchased for at a low cost in the parks. We recommend them for anyone with kiddos to keep up after.

Step 4:

Finally, you’re actually in the park and ready to get on some rides! When it is your allotted time, head to the attraction and look for the line labeled FastPass+. There will be a Mickey RFID reader. You either touch your ticket or your MagicBand to this reader for entry. Once you have used up the 3 original reservations for your day or the return time has passed, you can book one additional fastpass for that day in any park. If you’re staying in Epcot, you can book an attraction from either tier. Once you have used this additional pass or the time allotted has gone by, you can book another additional fastpass and so on.

DSC09594

Epcot FastPass – Best Rides to Book 

Your priority in booking FastPasses is too save as much time in your day as possible. This means you will want to cut out waiting in line at the rides that tend to be the busiest.

#1 Choice for Tier 1

We have two suggestions for Tier 1 based on your family.

Option 1 – If you have small children or simply want to hit every ride possible in Epcot then Frozen Ever After is our recommendation the Tier 1 Epcot Fastpass. While this means giving up a FastPass to Soarin’ and Test Track, it will stay save you the maximum amount of time in the park. Soarin’ has recently added an extra third theatre which has decreased the wait time and Fast Track can be done as a single rider, which will save you a ton of time. 

Option 2 – Now, if you don’t have small children who love Frozen, then the best ride in the park is a tossup between Test Track and Soarin’ and lately Soarin’s wait times have been a good 20-30 minutes less than Test Track so book your Fastpass for Test Track! And, if you still want to do Frozen, hit up the ride late at night because the line seems to go down later in the evening.

What Not to Reserve for Tier 1 – Illuminations, Reflections of Earth. While it is an incredible show, the show can be seen from so many locations around the World Showcase in Epcot that there isn’t much of a need to need an advanced reservation. We have pulled up 15 minutes before showtime and had a spectacular view.

You can check out the fun of Test Track on the video below.

#1 Choice for Tier 2

Again we have two options.

Option 1 – If you want to save time and your family wants some photo ops with Mickey, Minnie, & Goofy, then the Character Spot to meet Disney pals is your best bet. This line gets very long during the day and is a great Epcot Fastpass. It does get quite small late at night so if you don’t mind seeing the characters late at night then go with another option.

Option 2 – Mission: Space has two separate tracks, the mild green and the spinning version which is orange. If you’re going to ride on the orange track, you should reserve a FastPass because it is typically about an hour wait. Your other tier 2 choice should be The Seas with Nemo and Friends.

Epcot Fast Pass - Character Spot

What Not to Reserve with Your Epcot Fastpass

While Mission: Space is worth reserving for the orange track, it’s typically not worth it for the mild green track (the ride does not spin on the green track). Turtle Talk, Nemo & Friends, Figment and Disney/Pixar Short Film Festival are 4 other options we would cross off the list as you normally don’t wait more than 10 minutes to get on these rides or see the shows.

We have compiled a complete Epcot Fastpass breakdown so you can have the most possible fun in the park. We break down which rides accept Fastpass, which ones to book and which ones to skip because there won’t be much of a line anyways. So, let’s get this party started! #epcot #disney #fastpass #traveltips #vacation #ultimateguide #park


If you need help planning and booking your magical Walt Disney World vacation, contact our friends at Tink’s Magical Vacations. They are truly Disney Experts, and not only are their services FREE, but they will save you both time and money.

Looking for more tips?

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Mama Munchkin

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  1. Trasity says:

    “If you’re staying in Epcot, you can book an attraction from either tier.”

    Does that mean if you’re not park hopping and will be in Epcot all day?

    • Mama Munchkin says:

      Hello, you can still park hop but you won’t be able to pick a FastPass for a different park until you actually arrive at the other park or finish all your fast passes at Epcot.

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