ORLANDO, Fla. – If you haven’t already heard, Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run at “Star Wars” Galaxy’s Edge is offering FastPass+ reservations to fly on the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy.
Not sure what we’re talking about? Read this: Thanks, Han Solo: Fastpass+ to be added to ‘Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run’ attraction
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While this sounds amazing, this isn’t the news you’re looking for.
Now that Smugglers Run has been added to the My Disney Experience App you will start to see a message that says: “There are no more FastPass+ times for this experience, but standby may be available.” Get used to this message.
Let’s go over why this message may plague your FastPass+ selections.
In order to do this, we have to remember the hierarchy that comes with FastPass+ reservations.
At the top of the food chain, you have the vacationers, who have spent their life savings planning and traveling to the “happiest place on Earth.” If they’re staying at a Disney resort, they have a 60-day head start to set up their FastPass+ selections.
Below them are Annual Passholders. This may apply to a lot of you. Passholders have a 30-day head start to plan their FastPass+ reservations.
Then it’s the single-day parkgoers who aren’t staying for a full vacation but want to visit the parks. They have to make their FastPass+ selections the same day.
And at the very bottom of the list, we have cast members who may very well be blocked out of Hollywood Studios for the remainder of the year.
So what does this all mean? It means as long as families continue to flock down to Walt Disney World for a vacation, it will be harder for residents to obtain a FastPass+ for such a popular ride.
We went onto the My Disney Experience app and went into the month of February to see if there were any reservations left. To no surprise, they were all snatched up through Feb. 23.
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If you think about it, this has happened once before with a ride at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, where gaining passage onto the ride is harder than riding a Banshee. Ring a bell?
We’re talking about Avatar Flight of Passage. The five-minute thrill ride is almost three years old and is still averaging a three- to four-hour wait time. If you’re able to snag a FastPass+ for that ride, consider yourself lucky. You’ve won the golden ticket and have the right to brag.
Meanwhile, the rest of us will be waiting patiently for the line to move forward.
In the end, our best advice would be to check the app daily, especially if you’re a Passholder. Go forward at least 30 days from today’s date and you may just get your hands on a reservation.
If you’re going to the parks to enjoy the land and want to ride Smugglers Run, do it. It’s a great ride and it should be on everyone’s to-do list, even if you aren’t able to skip the line.
If you think about it, the line is almost entirely inside, there is so much to look at and it really goes by kind of fast. So even if you’re not able to grab a FastPass+, the line won’t kill you.