Disney’s Lightning Lane System explained
Yep! You heard that right, Genie+ has changed AGAIN. But don’t let that scare you! The goal of this new system is to help make things a little easier by combining the things we loved from Fastpass+ to the recent Genie+ system. This new Lightning Lane Multi Pass system is now in place and I’m going to break it down for you.
A Quick Refresher
In case you aren’t familiar with any of these systems, Disney has a paid offering that allows you to ‘skip’ the line of popular attractions by booking something called a ‘Lightning Lane’. This is a one hour time window that you are able to enter the fast line of an attraction to reduce the wait you would normally have in the regular ‘Standby’ Line.
Genie+ is what this system was called and you would pay for it individually each day for each person in your party, get up at 7am to book your first Lightning Lane, and then you could book more throughout the day as you use the ones that you book. I don’t want you to get confused, so I won’t go too far in depth about Genie+, but just so you have an idea of where we are coming from, this is what system was in place.
The Name Change
The term Genie+ is no more and instead the system is called “Lightning Lanes Multi Pass” This should hopefully clear up at least a little confusion as the thing you book is already called Lightning Lane.
There are specific rides in each park that are NOT included with Lightning Lane Multi Pass which are usually the most popular rides in the park. These ARE however, available for individual purchase and these will be called “Lightning Lane Single Pass.”
You Can check out my video for an even more in depth rundown here:
Lightning Lane Single Pass
Since these are probably the simplest to explain, we’ll start with these. Currently the rides available for Lightning Lane Single Pass are as follows:
TRON Lightcycle'/Run (Magic Kingdom)
7 Dwarfs Mine Train (Magic Kingdom)
Rise of the Resistance (Hollywood Studios)
Flight of Passage (Animal Kingdom)
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (Epcot)
It is important to note that you CAN still ride these rides in the regular line if you don’t purchase the Lightning Lane Single Pass.
You can purchase up to two different attractions per person per day, so you could do TRON and 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, but you cannot do two TRON in a single day. You are able to select your return window making planning a little easier.
Prices of these will fluctuate from ride to ride and day to day, but expect to pay around $17-$25 per attraction per person for these.
Lightning Lane Multi Pass
This is the main system that you will be using to book Lightning Lanes for over 40 attractions! The catch with this is that you don’t just get to walk up to the ride and go (That’s Lightning Lane Premier Pass, which you can learn more about HERE), you will need to book a return window (or Lightning Lane) for each ride that you wish to do.
With this system, you will be able to book up to 3 attractions BEFORE your trip and then once you use your first one, you’ll be able to book another and so on throughout the day.
It is important to know that return times WILL sell out - especially for popular attractions - so it’s a good idea to prioritize your absolute must do’s first.
Lightning Lane Pre-Selections
When you are choosing your pre-selection Lightning Lanes, you won’t necessarily be able to choose ANY ride for those three. To try and keep things fair for everyone and give everyone a chance of grabbing a ‘good’ ride, attractions for Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios will be split into two tiers.
You will be able to select up to ONE attraction from Tier 1 and up to TWO attractions from Tier 2. OR if you have littles and maybe aren’t planning on riding the big rides, you can select up to THREE attraction from Tier 2.
In Animal Kingdom, all attractions are fair game, so you can choose any combination of up to THREE pre-selection Lightning Lanes. REMEMBER - these are only attractions within the Multi Pass System. Attractions available through the Single Pass System are NOT included.
Here are the lists of how the attractions are currently broken down.
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Choose up to one experience from this group:
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Jungle Cruise
Peter Pan’s Flight
Space Mountain
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Choose your other 2 experiences—or all 3—from this group:
The Barnstormer
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Haunted Mansion
“it’s a small world”
Mad Tea Party
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Mickey’s PhilharMagic
Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
Pirates of the Caribbean
Tomorrowland Speedway
Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid
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Choose up to one experience from this group:
Frozen Ever After
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
Soarin' Around the World
Choose your other 2 experiences—or all 3—from this group:
Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
Journey into Imagination with Figment
Living with the Land
Mission: SPACE
The Seas with Nemo & Friends
Spaceship Earth
Turtle Talk with Crush
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Choose up to one experience from this group:
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
Slinky Dog Dash
Choose your other 2 experiences—or all 3—from this group:
Alien Swirling Saucers
Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage
Disney Junior Play & Dance!
For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
Muppet*Vision 3D
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™
Toy Story Mania!
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When purchasing a Lightning Lane Multi Pass for Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park, you’ll be prompted to choose up to 3 of the following multi pass experiences (as well as arrival windows).
DINOSAUR
Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
Feathered Friends in Flight!
Festival of the Lion King
Finding Nemo: The Big Blue... and Beyond!
It’s Tough to Be a Bug!
Kali River Rapids
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Naʻvi River Journey
When Can You Book?
As I mentioned earlier, you do get to purchase and book these in advance of your trip! This will vary a bit depending on what type of vacation package you have. For EVERYONE the purchase and booking window for BOTH Lightning Lane Single Pass and Lightning Lane Multi Pass opens up at 7am EST on whatever day you are eligible. You can find prices several weeks in advance through the My Disney Experience App, but they typically range from $18-$35+ per person per day. You will also be able to choose when your return times are, so make sure to choose times that work best for you.
If you are staying at a Walt Disney World owned resort, Swan & Dolphin or Swan Reserve Resort, or Shades of Green:
You can book your three pre-selection Lightning Lanes 7 days before your check-in date AND you can make your selections for the entire length of your trip up to 14 days.
If you have date based tickets and are NOT staying at a Disney resort:
You can book your three pre-selection Lightning Lanes 3 days before your first park day AND make your selections for the entire length of your tickets.
If you have an Annual Pass, Cast Member Entrance, or other non-date based ticket and are NOT staying at a Disney Resort:
You can book your three pre-selection Lightning Lanes 3 days before your park day. You will only be able to select for one day at a time, so if you are an Annual Passholder staying off property and you have 4 park days planned, you will need to wake up to do your pre-selections 4 days in a row.
This does bring a HUGE advantage to staying on property at a Disney owned resort as you’ll have the best access to the most popular attractions before everyone else.
A Few More Things to Know
Just because you book three selections before your trip, does NOT mean that you only get three for the whole day. Once you have used your first Lightning Lane, you are eligible to book another Lightning Lane. Once you have used that, you can book another! You’ll repeat this all throughout the day until you’ve ridden everything you like or Lightning Lanes sell out, so the earlier you can get your return times the better.
Your pre-selections must all be within the same park. So you cannot choose one from Animal Kingdom and two from Magic Kingdom, you must choose either all from Magic Kingdom OR all for Animal Kingdom. HOWEVER, if you do have a park hopper option on your ticket, you will be able to book a Lightning Lane for any park after you have used your first Lightning Lane of the day.
Learn My Favorite Way of Getting the MOST out of this system
Part 2
Planning TimelineMonth-by-month guide for booking your resort, tickets, dining, and Lightning Lane Multi-Pass.
Part 3
Choosing a ResortTips to select the perfect resort for your family, including upgrades and insider advice.
Part 5
First-Timer MistakesAvoid common pitfalls so your first Disney trip is smooth and magical.
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Looking for even more help with Lightning Lane Multi Pass? See screenshots, step by step tutorials, and learn my BEST tips and tricks in this ultimate guide to Disney’s Lightning Lane System.
Even better, you’ll get this for FREE when you book your trip with me! Learn more about that HERE.
