On July 24, 2024, Walt Disney World once again changed its skip-the-line experience by discontinuing the Disney Genie+ system and introducing a new version of Lightning Lane. The new Lightning Lane resembles the pre-Covid Fast Pass system by allowing guests to schedule times to visit their favorite attractions in advance of their theme park day. While it is no longer a free service like the Fast Pass, the fees associated with Lightning Lane seem minimal, especially when compared to the costs of skip-the-line services at some other theme parks.

As someone who loves to plan ahead, I was thrilled when these updates were announced. I feel that the new Lightning Lane system simplifies the overall experience and offers a better way to manage your time in the parks. This means less stress and more magical memories as you make the most of your day at Walt Disney World!

There are two types of Lightning Lane passes available: Lightnight Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass. The Multi Pass allows a guest to hold reservations for three rides at once, while the Single Pass allows one reservation. Most attractions are included in the Multi Pass, but a few require a separate Single Pass.

With a Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you have the ability to preselect your first 3 rides. As you use them on your park day, you can then start adding more reservations to your Lightning Lane queue. You can continue to book more attractions each time you use one of your three reservations.

If you have a park hopper ticket you can book attractions in more than one Disney World park on the same day, but your first three selections must all be in the same park. For example, if you have a park hopper ticket and plan to spend the first half of your day at Hollywood Studios and the second half at EPCOT, your first three Lightning Lane selections should be in Hollywood Studios. After you scan into your first Lightning Lane reservation, you can then start booking attractions in EPCOT for later in the day. You also won’t be able to access Lightning Lane in other parks until you scan into the first park.

Each park has a handful of rides that are not available with Multi Pass. For those, you’ll use the Lightning Lane Single Pass or Virtual Queue, if applicable.

Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT have divided their attractions into two tiers. Animal Kingdom does not have tiers. For your first three advanced reservations, you can only book one ride from Tier 1. The other two (or all three, if you choose) have to be from Tier 2. After you use your first Lightning Lane reservation of the day, you can then reserve additional attractions from any tier.

• Tier 1
  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • Jungle Cruise
  • Peter Pan’s Flight
  • Space Mountain
  • Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
• Tier 2
  • 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 In. Laugh Floor
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Tomorrowland Speedway
  • Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid

• Tier 1
  • Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
  • Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
  • Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
  • Slinky Dog Dash
• Tier 2
  • 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 Adventure Continues
  • The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
  • Toy Story Mania!

• Tier 1
  • Frozen Ever After
  • Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
  • Soarin’ Around the World
• Tier 2
  • Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
  • Journey Into Imagination with Figment
  • Living with the Land
  • Mission: SPACE
  • The Seas with Nemo and Friends
  • Spaceship Earth
  • Turtle Talk with Crush

• 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
• Na’vi River Journey

Pricing for the Lightning Lane Multi Pass will vary from park to park and from day to day. So far, prices have been in the $25 to $30 range. Expect prices to rise during busier times, and possibly come down a little on slower days.

There are currently only a few attractions available with a Lightning Lane Single Pass. With the Single Pass, you select the ride you would like to ride, pick your one-hour time window, and purchase the pass. You can purchase up to two Lightning Lane Single Passes per day, but can only purchase one for the same ride in a single day.

• Seven Dwarves Mine Train
• TRON Lightcycle / Run

• Rise of the Resistance

• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

• Avatar Flight of Passage

Lightning Lane Single Passes vary in price depending on the day and the attraction but are typically in the $10-25 range. Again, busier seasons like the Holidays may see an increase in these prices.

To reserve your Lightning Lane selections, you will use the My Disney Experience app. On the home screen, you’ll find the option to reserve Lightning Lane passes. You can purchase a Multi Pass, select your first 3 rides, and purchase a Single Pass in one transaction if you choose.

Everyone in the party who wants to ride must purchase a pass (except children under 3 years old who don’t need a pass). To simplify things, you can have one person from the group make bookings for the entire party to ensure you all receive the same arrival windows for each ride. Make sure that person has all party members registered and linked to his or her My Disney Experience account before attempting to reserve Lightning Lane passes.

Once your selections have been made, the app will automatically create an itinerary for you. You can modify your ride choices and time slots before paying, or accept the itinerary as is, pay, and then modify it later.

If you’re staying at a Disney Resort Hotel or select partner resort you can book 7 days prior to your arrival date. At that time, you can also book Lightning Lanes for each day of your trip, up to 14 days in advance. Reservations open at 7:00 AM and can be very competitive, so you’ll want to make sure to set an alarm to be ready to book at precisely 7:00!

If you’re not staying at a Disney Resort Hotel or select partner resort, you can book 3 days prior to your first park day, but you can only book one day at a time. You will need to be ready by 7:00 AM again to reserve each day of your trip individually.

If you aren’t able to snag the attractions and time slots you want at first, keep trying. Other guests will cancel and rearrange their reservations throughout the day and things may open up. Just keep checking the app!

Once booked, the Multi Pass and the Single Pass function in the same way. You will receive a return time for the selected ride or attraction. This will be a one-hour window. When it’s time, enter the attraction through the Lightning Lane line and touch your magic band, park ticket, or mobile phone (if using Magic Mobile through the My Disney Experience App) to the touchpoint kiosk.

You can’t tap in too early, or show up after your time window, or you will be denied entrance to the attraction. If you miss the window for a ride and the reservation expires, you’ll have to cancel it in the My Disney Experience app before you can try to book the ride again.

The Lightning Lane line will meet up with the standby line close to the start of the ride. While you will still have a bit of a wait using Lightning Lane, it should be significantly shorter than the standby wait time.

Try to make your first Multi Pass reservation as early in the day as possible so you can ride the first attraction and start booking additional rides sooner.

You can only use a Lightning Lane pass for each ride once per day. If you want to ride it again, you will need to wait in the standby line.

You do not need to purchase a Multi Pass in order to purchase any Single Passes, and vice versa. You may purchase one, both, or neither!