Fast Passes have become a popular option for rides at Disney Parks. With a Fast Pass, you are able to enjoy some of your favorite rides without having to wait as long as many of the other guest at the park. While Fast Passes are awesome, you are limited to only having a certain number of passes at a time and some rides are more worth Fast Passing than others.

At Disneyland Resort, there are a total of 13 rides that distribute Fast Passes –

Disneyland:
• Autopia
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye
• Roger Rabbit’s Cartoon Spin
• Space Mountain
• Splash Mountain
• Star Tours

California Adventure:
• California Screamin’
• Goofy’s Sky School
• Grizzly River Run
• Radiator Springs Racers
• Soarin’ Over California
• Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Below, I have listed the top ten rides that I believe are most worth Fast Passing at Disneyland Resort.

10. Grizzly River Run: Because Grizzly River Run is a water ride, there is only certain times of year in which it is warm enough to yield a line long enough to Fast Pass. Furthermore, because of the large size of the ride vehicles and the fact that the loading zone is consistently moving, the line generally goes fairly quick. However, when it gets hot enough that the line is long, you will find it weaving around the structure of the ride. It is at times like these that you will find a pass will allow you to wait only 5-10 minutes before you can cool down in your river raft.

9. Splash Mountain: Much like Grizzly River Run, Splash Mountain is typically more popular during the warmer months of the year and, much like Grizzly River Run, is typically more worth the Fast Pass during these warm months. Generally, Fast Passing this wonderful ride during the warmer months will reduce your wait time to about half the time, or even less, than the stand-by line.

8. Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye: This s one of my favorite rides in the park, so many would think it would be ranked higher on the list. However, this ride has a very interesting line configuration. There are separate stand-by and Fast Pass lines for Indiana Jones while outside of the temple, but the moment you enter the temple, the lines merge together. Many times, the lines outside of the temple are both very short, but you all end up waiting for a majority of the posted wait time inside. I highly recommend Fast Passing Indiana Jones if your check and see a significant stand-by line outside, otherwise, you may as well wait in the regular line.

7. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: Tower of Terror has a very similar line structure to Indiana Jones which makes Fast Passing the ride only worth it if the line outside of the ride building long enough. That being said, this line is generally not long enough to warrant a Fast Pass, but when it is it is definitely worth it!

6. California Screamin’: This ride is by far one of my favorites in the park, so I feel like it is worth even the longer waits. However, this is one of the few lines that I believe Disney didn’t take much time to theme. While it does fit with the general feel of a roller coaster on a California pier, the line itself is nowhere near being entertaining. With a long line and not much to look at, this ride is a great one to Fast Pass. The only reason it did not rank higher for me is because it has an extremely fast single-rider line.

5. Big Thunder Mountain: Big Thunder Mountain is a popular thrill ride in Disneyland Park and is generally one of the busier rides during all times of the year. It is often nice to Fast Pass this line because it reduces your wait time to about 5 minutes, no matter how busy the stand-by line is. It is nice to be able to walk past so many people and just wait to be loaded into your train.

4. Autopia: Autopia is generally worth the Fast Pass because the line isn’t very entertaining. You spend the majority of the time outside just waiting around without much to look at, other than the loading zone for the ride itself. For that reason alone, I feel that this ride is a great way to skip the stand-by line.

3. Soarin’ Over California: Soarin’ is a long line year round. In addition, you generally have to wait for a decent amount of time because of the nature of the ride. For the most part, Fast Passes for Soarin’ pretty much allow you to walk right into the loading area for the ride.

2. Space Mountain: This is one of the most popular thrill rides at Disneyland Resort and generally has at wait time between 45 – 60 minutes during the slower months and even longer during the peak season. Most of this line is spent waiting out in the hot sun on the roof of the building that houses the ride. This line is often hot and feels like it is moving extremely slowly. Once you get inside however, you are consistently moving. Space Mountain Fast Passes allow you to skip a majority of the line and you don’t even have to wait outside, just inside. Definitely one of the most satisfactory Fast Passes.

1. Radiator Springs Racers: Radiator Springs Racers is one of the most popular rides at Disneyland Resort and consequently has one of the longest lines at the park. During my visits to the park since Cars Land has been built, the shortest line I have seen for Radiator Springs is 75 minutes. While some people may think that 75 minutes doesn’t sound long, it is incredible that this is the minimum stand-by time for most of the year. In addition, Fast Passes for this ride are generally gone around noon, so that makes it even more important to get a pass for this amazing ride while you can!

– Melissa H.