Maelstrom, the boat ride at Epcot’s Norway pavilion, is the latest Disney attraction to introduce the computerized system developed to free guests from standing in lengthy wait lines.

And to top off a year during which the patented free guest service has grown by more than 20 percent, Disney’s FASTPASS has earned a Themed Entertainment Association “Thea Award” for Breakthrough Innovation. Earlier, the Florida Engineering Society honored Disney’s FASTPASS for its ingenuity and innovation by bestowing it the 2000 Governor’s New Product Award.

“This definitely is a significant year for our FASTPASS program,” said Dale Stafford, vice president, operations planning and development, at Walt Disney World Resort. “With the expansion of the system to Maelstrom and Living with the Land at Epcot, all the parks now offer Disney’s FASTPASS at four or more attractions. That means more choices for our guests, more opportunity for them to turn their time in our parks into fun.”

The FASTPASS system, which was launched in July 1999, is available free to all guests at the most popular attractions. Other additions to the roster of FASTPASS attractions in 2001: “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Play It!” at Disney-MGM Studios and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom. Disney’s FASTPASS also is available on popular attractions at Disney theme parks in California, Japan and France.

Disney studies show that guests using FASTPASS at multiple attractions are gaining 1½ to 2 hours of time that would have been spent in line for those attractions, and they are using that time to see and enjoy approximately 25 percent more attractions during their visit.

At FASTPASS attractions, guests can choose the regular wait line or put any valid theme park ticket into a special machine and receive a FASTPASS ticket denoting a one-hour window of time when they can return and enter the attraction with little or no wait.

Currently, Disney’s FASTPASS is offered on the following Walt Disney World attractions:

• Magic Kingdom: Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, The Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan’s Flight, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Epcot: Test Track, “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience,” Living with the Land, Maelstrom
• Disney-MGM Studios: Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith, Tower of Terror II, Star Tours, “Voyage of the Little Mermaid,” “Jim Henson’s Muppet*Vision 3-D,” “Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!”, “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Play It!”
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom: DINOSAUR, Kali River Rapids, Kilimanjaro Safaris, “It’s Tough to be a Bug”

FASTPASS, Step-By-Step
Disney’s FASTPASS is a revolutionary guest enhancement at Walt Disney World Resort enabling guests to have an alternative to waiting in lines for many of the most-popular attractions. There is no additional charge to use the FASTPASS service. Here’s how it works:

1. Ticketed guest or annual passholder enters the park main entrance gate.

2. Guest visits any attraction offering the FASTPASS service. Here, guest has the option of waiting in the regular standby line or choosing FASTPASS. To assist, there’s a digital clock denoting regular wait time and the return time for FASTPASS.

3. If the FASTPASS option is chosen, a guest inserts his or her theme park ticket into the FASTPASS machine. Out comes the free FASTPASS denoting when to return to the attraction. Holders of FASTPASS are given a one-hour window for their return -- for example, 10:05-11:05 a.m. That means the guest cannot enter the attraction using FASTPASS before 10:05 but is free to return at any time during the designated one-hour window.

4. Upon returning at the designated time, the guest heads straight for the FASTPASS entrance and proceeds directly to the attraction pre-show or boarding area with little or no wait.

5. Guests are able to get as many FASTPASS tickets in a day as they want. However, they must use their current FASTPASS ticket or wait two hours before getting another FASTPASS ticket.