UPDATE 12/18/17: Today the rumor about Non-Disney Hotels being able to make 60-Day Advance FastPass+ Reservations was confirmed. Starting January 1st, 2018 through December 31st, 2018, Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels will offer some benefits that were not previously available to non-Disney hotels. These benefits include being able to use Extra Magic Hours and being able to make FastPass+ Reservations 60+ in advance just like if you were staying on property.
Disney Springs Area Hotels include: B Resort & Spa; Best Western Lake Buena Vista Resort; DoubleTree Guest Suites by Hilton Orlando; Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista Palace; Hilton Orlando Resort Lake Buena Vista; Holiday Inn Orlando; Wyndham Lake Buena Vista; and Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista.
It is interesting to note that so far this is only for 2018, so it looks to be a trial period and things may go back to normal after 2018 if Disney doesn’t see this to their advantage, or they could keep this after 2018 and open it up to other hotels too. Stay tuned…
ORIGINAL STORY 10/23/17: As you know one of the best perks about staying on-site at a Walt Disney World Resort is the ability to reserve your FastPass+ Reservations 60 Days in advance. Well that’s about to change. According to a source, Non-Disney Hotels will be able to make 60-Day Advance FastPass+ Reservations too.
As of now a complete list of hotels isn’t available, but Disney is giving this opportunity to a group of hotels in the Walt Disney World vicinity. Expect the ones on Hotel Plaza Boulevard by Disney Springs, and probably more. That means these hotels will have the same FastPass+ advantage as any WDW Resort currently does. Bookings will still be done the same way as now, via the My Disney Experience App.
It’s unclear as of now the motivation behind the move. Staying in a Disney resort offers many advantages over off-site hotels, but now this one is gone. This will give people who are looking to save money less reason to stay on-site. I’m not sure that this is the best move for Disney imo, but it’s a win for guests overall. This is great news for example for guests who will be staying in the new JW Marriott near Epcot, and future like hotels.
Seeing as Walt Disney World has taken a slight hit this year in attendance, is Disney trying to boost the numbers in whatever way they can? Do they have some numbers suggesting that they can allure some Orlando visitors who aren’t normally coming to Disney World by offering advanced FastPass+ reservations? I find it hard to believe that the majority of Orlando visitors aren’t already spending at least a day or 2 in WDW, and don’t think this is enough of an incentive to draw them more days. It’ll be interesting to see how this shapes the overall hotel market in Orlando.
Expect this change to happen before the end of the year…
Again this is not official as Disney hasn’t yet commented on it so, stay tuned for more details…
Your Thoughts:
I want to know what you think about Disney allowing 60-Day FastPass+ Reservations to non-Disney hotels. Do you like the change? How does this affect you and your vacation? Let us know in the comments section below!
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My name is Ziggy and I love Disney, everything Disney! I grew up on Disney and it has and continues to be a huge part of my life. I started young when my parents took me to Disney World when I was 18 months old. Little did they know that would be the first of an uncountable number of trips we would take. I have so many amazing memories going to Disney with my family and friends and it has been interwoven into my DNA.
Disney Springs Area Hotels Continuing 60 Day FastPass+ and Extra Magic Hours through 2019
Wednesday 5th of September 2018
[…] a year ago the internet lost its collective mind when it was announced that Non-Disney hotels in the Disney Springs area were going to be able to take advantage of perks that before only Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests had. As we predicted months ago, today we […]