Flights of Passage WITHOUT an Animal Kingdom FastPass

updated on Aug 28, 2019

One of the best ways to navigate the Animal Kingdom fast pass plus system is to know what rides are worth a fast pass, and which are better to just join the crowd. Rides like Flights of Passage can pose a complicated issue for the Animal Kingdom fast pass, and sometimes its better to save those precious fast passes for more viable options such as Everest. By using one of these methods to getting on flights of passage without a fast pass, you will be maximizing your time and fun at Animal Kingdom and getting more out of your day so you can enjoy more of Disney.

Without an Animal Kingdom fast pass, getting on flights of passage without a fast pass can be an absolute mission, even when using proper Animal Kingdom fastpass strategies. Whether you are into theme park rides or not, the new Flights of Passage ride at Walt Disney World’s Pandora the World of Avatar will have you flying. Yes…it is just that good, spectacular even, an absolute wonder of which Walt himself would be proud, one of the best rides at Animal Kingdom. The only problem is, unless you are a resort guest, it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to get a fast pass for this ride. Without a fast pass, be prepared to wait in line anywhere from two to four hours, unless you are using these 15 Disney Fastpass secrets. Now, is Flights of Passage spectacular enough for a two to four hour wait? Eh? Probably not, is anything that spectacular?

Lucky for you lovely readers, over the past year I have developed a fail-safe plan to getting on Flights of Passage without a fast pass, and without waiting for 4 hours in the hot Orlando sun. This is just one of the many Disney secrets of surviving theme parks Walt Disney World.

There are two ways to go about getting on Flights of Passage without an Animal Kingdom fast pass…

Option A) The Morning Plan to getting on flights of passage without a fast pass

Whenever the park is meant to open, show up 1 hour before…and by show up I mean…be at the entrance gate, through security and ready to go. That means if the park opens by 9:00am, be there by 8:00am. If the park opens at 8:00am, be there at 7:00am…get it? Ok great. Here is one of my Disney fast pass secrets for you, as a result of the amount people visiting Pandora, Disney’s Animal Kingdom has been letting guests into the park starting about 35-45 minutes earlier than opening. So if the park opens at 9:00am, somewhere around 8:20, guests will begin to enter the park. From here you can calmly and casually walk (and I mean it, you really do not need to run) straight to the entrance to Pandora via Pizzafari and Tiffins. Most of the park will be roped off until 9:00, so do not get too excited, you are not getting on flights of passage without a fast pass just yet.

Once you are at the Pandora rope, feel free to hang out in the ever constantly growing queue/crowd. Around 8:30am (or half an hour before park opening), Cast Members will begin to slowly move the crowd into the Flights of Passage line. I will not lie to you…this part is by far the most hectic. People will run, they will push and scream and yell and complain…don’t be those people, it will not get you onto the ride any faster. Eventually the people will spread into a single file line all the way up to the entrance of the ride and BOOM, you are there. You should be able to get on and off the ride by 9:10am and have the rest of the day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom to yourself. Congratulations, you just conquered getting on flights of passage without a fast pass, you might even have enough time to grab breakfast with Donald at Tusker House Restaurant or take advantage of the morning and Kilimanjaro Safari’s best time for riding.

Check out this list of Character Breakfasts for Adults

*Pro Tip* Running will get you nowhere so there is no point, all that stress of being the in-crowd a$$hole will only save you 10 minutes or less. Each Flights of Passage ride holds 48 guests, there are 2 theaters, so 96 guests can ride at once. Just relax, you will get on… I promise.

Option B) The Night Plan to getting on flights of passage without a fast pass

The good old, show up during Rivers of Light two minutes before the park closes trick again, eh. Ok, so say you are not a morning person, no big deal, getting on flights of passage without an Animal Kingdom fast pass at night is still possible. All you need to do is to not really care about seeing Rivers of Light…or maybe you only needed to see it once…this plan is for you. It is Disney’s rule that if you get into line for a ride or experience anytime before park close, you get to ride that ride…no matter how long the line. This leads us to our night plan for getting on flights of passage without a fast pass and how to beat wait times at Animal Kingdom. I use this method frequently which you can see in my guide to maximizing time in magic Kingdom.

When the majority of guests in the park have made their way to the Rivers of Light show, and around 5 minutes before the park closes, make your way to Pandora the world of Avatar and find the Flights of Passage line…now join it. There may be a few people already in line for the ride at this point, but realistically…not that many. With fast passes being complete for the day, the only line moving into the ride is yours. As I said above, 96 people per ride and just your line. You should get on and off the ride within 45 minutes, but most likely less. Congratulations, you just beat the Disney Animal Kingdom fast pass problem and once again you’ve found the best time to ride flights of passage without a fast pass…this time at night!

So there you have it…Two fail-safe ways of getting on Flights of Passage without a fast pass, one of my best Disney fast pass tips, because it saves your fast pass for Animal Kingdom rides outside of Pandora. Myself…I am a morning girl, plus I am a sucker for Rivers of Light. Which way works best for you?