A Resorts Gal Step-by-Step Guide
The 1-Stop Guide to Disney World Lightning Lanes (Single and Multi-Pass)
The more things change, the more they stay the same. It’s true. Disney World has made significant changes over the past few years that affect how guests tour the parks. In 2024, we’re faced with another turn of events that includes the elimination of the name Disney Genie+ and backtracking to a method similar to what was formerly used with FastPass+. The main exception is that you have to pay for it.
So we’re back to the drawing board to figure it all out. Thankfully, some of you will be familiar with how things used to work and will pick up on the new system quickly. Others might want to read over this one-stop guide several times to grasp the entire concept. We’ll start by explaining basic terminology, adding a few examples, touching on pricing, and then getting into step-by-step instructions on how it all works. That’s right, we’re taking things one step at a time.
![Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass Infographic from Disney](https://www.resortsgal.com/wp-content/uploads/disney-world-lightning-lane-infographic.jpg)
Lightning Lanes by Definition
As mentioned above, the Disney Genie+ service is out! Now it’s just Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass. Let’s try to make these a little more straightforward.
Lightning Lane Multi Pass: This is an extra cost service that can be purchased before your vacation. It will allow you to select Lightning Lanes for multiple attractions based on tiers and availability for the days you purchase it.
Lightning Lane Single Pass: Previously, we referred to this option as individual or a la carte Lightning Lanes. These are the most sought-after attractions in the park that require a Single Pass purchase.
Lightning Lanes: Lightning Lanes are a separate entrance to the ride. They allow guests to skip the standby line and experience shorter wait times. Note that we said “skip the standby line,” not the actual line. You will likely still have to wait in the Lightning Lane. However, in most cases, the Lightning Lane will be significantly shorter than the standby line.
Okay, now that we have a basic comprehension of Lightning Lanes, let’s discuss how each one works. We’ll start with an overview of Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
How Lightning Lane Multi Pass Works
Before we discuss how and when to purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass, I thought we’d start with an overview of the product. That way, you can decide whether or not you’ll want to purchase a Multi Pass and, if so, for how many days of your trip.
Realistically, if you’re visiting for a limited vacation (read: don’t do Disney World often), you’ll be able to get much more done with the service than without. So, it is of the utmost importance that you budget for the cost and figure out your group’s top priorities ahead of time.
When you purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you can pre-select up to three attractions at one theme park. You can select one attraction from the first tier and two more (or all three) from the second tier. This is a nod to the former FastPass+ system, where attractions were grouped in tiers. We’ll have a separate section below where we discuss tiers in detail.
Example: For your Magic Kingdom day, select Big Thunder Mountain from the first tier, then Mad Tea Party, and the Tomorrowland Speedway for secondary tier choices. You now have three rides where you’ve secured a Lightning Lane ahead of schedule.
Lightning Lane allows guests to experience individual attractions only once daily, making the Park Hopper upgrade exceptionally appealing to experienced guests.
Example: Say you want to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom a couple of times in one day. You can select it as a first tier Multi Pass Lightning Lane experience. After you finish riding the attraction, you cannot select it again on the same day. However, you can continue to ride it as much as you like via the standby line.
Once you’ve arrived at the park and cashed in your first Lightning Lane, you can whip out the My Disney Experience app and select a new experience. If your ticket has park-hopping privileges, you can select experiences in any park moving forward. This is where you’ll possibly want to strategize park-hopping based on available selections.
Example with Park Hopper: Let’s continue with our example of starting the day at Magic Kingdom with the following three experiences booked: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Mad Tea Party, and the Tomorrowland Speedway. After you scan your Big Thunder Mountain via Lightning Lane at 10:30 a.m. (your first scheduled Lightning Lane for the day), you open the My Disney Experience app to fill in the gap and select another attraction. A couple of big names pop up, including Muppet*Vision 3D and Slinky Dog Dash. Thankfully, someone in your party has their wits and presses select on Slinky Dog Dash for 3:00 p.m.
Example without Park Hopper: Using the same scenario above without the Park Hopper add-on, you’ll do the same thing. In this instance, however, you will only have access to other attractions at Magic Kingdom. This time, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure catches your eye, and you select it for later in the day at 4:45 p.m.
This same scenario then begins to repeat itself. Next, you will visit the Mad Tea Party at 11:30 a.m. Subsequently, you would select your next Lightning Lane. As the day goes on, the pool of Lightning Lane options will get smaller and smaller. Any ride you’ve experienced via Lightning Lane Multi Pass will no longer show as an option. Additionally, availability will drop as more guests use experiences in the park. Therefore, it’s crucial to be aware of the most important attractions for your group and secure them sooner rather than later.
There is so much information about this offering that it can be overwhelming. At this point, you should have an idea of how the service works, the benefits of using it, and the advantages of using it with a park-hopper ticket. Now, let’s discuss the Single Pass option, which is entirely different and has nothing to do with the attractions that make up Multi Pass.
How Lightning Lane Single Pass Works
A handful of rides across the four Walt Disney World theme parks offer a Lightning Lane Single Pass. These are the “elite” rides that the majority of guests want to ride. In a few instances, you won’t be able to ride these attractions unless you purchase a Lighting Lane Single Pass or secure a virtual queue.
Example without Park Hopper: On your Magic Kingdom day, you purchased Multi Pass and selected Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Mad Tea Party, and the Tomorrowland Speedway. You also have the option to purchase a Lightning Lane Single Pass for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Tron Lightcycle / Run.
Of course, your family wants to experience both. For Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, your alternative is to wait in the standby line to experience the attraction. However, for Tron Lightcycle / Run, your only alternative is to secure a virtual queue at 7:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. If you don’t secure the queue or purchase the Single Pass, you cannot ride it.
At this point, though, costs are adding up, so you decide to wait in the standby queue for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and roll the dice on the virtual queue for Tron. If you don’t get the virtual queue for Tron Lightcycle / Run at 7:00 a.m. on the day of your visit, you resolve to immediately purchase the Single Pass based on availability. If it’s no longer available, you will try again for the virtual queue at 1:00 p.m.
Again, this is just one scenario. The most important thing to know is that the highest priority attractions are not part of Multi-Pass and require a Single Pass purchase. Rides like Tron and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind do not have traditional standby lines. So you have to secure a virtual queue or purchase the Single Pass to experience them. In most cases, you will want to do both and experience them twice.
Additionally, you can only purchase two Lightning Lane Single Pass per day. Since Magic Kingdom is the only park with two eligible Single Pass attractions, the Park Hopper option looks more appealing again for those who are thrill-seekers and don’t care to incur the extra expense.
Example with the Park Hopper: Using the same scenario, you’re at Magic Kingdom and have plans to ride Snow White Seven Dwarfs at rope drop. You’ve selected your three rides with Multi-Pass, purchased Tron Lightcycle / Run with Single Pass for 12:00 p.m., and you’ve purchased Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance for 6:00 p.m. at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
As you can see, you can get a lot done with park-hopping between two parks and purchasing Single Pass options. So now that you have an idea of how Multi Pass and Single Pass works, let’s look at eligible attractions for each park. Then, we’ll discuss how and when you can make these purchases.
![Magic Kingdom with the castle at night](https://www.resortsgal.com/wp-content/uploads/magic-kingdom-lightning-lanes.jpg)
Lightning Lanes and Tiers for Magic Kingdom
Lightning Lane Multi Pass experiences at Magic Kingdom are divided into two tiers. This park has two attractions that fall under the Lightning Lane Single Pass option. Below, we’ve listed the attractions for both Multi Pass groups and Single Pass options. Remember, on your initial selection, you can select one attraction from Tier 1 and two from Tier 2. (Disney doesn’t call these groups tier 1 and 2 on their website, but we feel like it’s best to differentiate them in a way that makes them understandable.)
Tier 1 Lightning Lane Multi Pass:
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Jungle Cruise
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Space Mountain
- Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Tier 2 Lightning Lane Multi Pass:
- 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
If you want to use Lightning Lane, you will have to purchase the following Single Pass options individually. Remember that you can ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train anytime during operating hours via the standby queue. However, Tron requires that guests obtain a virtual queue if they do not purchase a Single Pass.
Lightning Lane Single Pass Options:
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- TRON Lightcycle / Run
![the entrance of Epcot near Spaceship Earth](https://www.resortsgal.com/wp-content/uploads/epcot-lightning-lanes.jpg)
Lightning Lanes and Tiers for Epcot
Lightning Lane Multi Pass experiences are divided into two tiers at Epcot. The park has one attraction that falls under the Lightning Lane Single Pass option. Below, we’ve listed the attractions for both Multi Pass groups and Single Pass options. Remember, on your initial selection, you can select one attraction from Tier 1 and two from Tier 2.
Tier 1 Lightning Lane Multi Pass:
- Frozen Ever After
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
- Soarin’ Around the World
Tier 2 Lightning Lane Multi Pass:
- 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
If you want to use Lightning Lane, you will have to purchase the following Single Pass option individually. Cosmic Rewind requires that guests obtain a virtual queue or a Single Pass in order to ride it.
Lightning Lane Single Pass Options:
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
![a picture of Echo Lake at Disney's Hollywood Studios](https://www.resortsgal.com/wp-content/uploads/disney-parks-hollywood-studios-1.jpg)
Lightning Lanes and Tiers for Disney’s Hollywood Studios
At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Lightning Lane Multi Pass experiences are divided into two tiers. The park has one attraction that falls under the Lightning Lane Single Pass option. Below, we’ve listed the attractions for both Multi Pass groups and Single Pass options. Like the previous parks, you can select one attraction from Tier 1 and two from Tier 2 for your initial selection.
Tier 1 Lightning Lane Multi Pass:
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
- Slinky Dog Dash
Tier 2 Lightning Lane Multi Pass:
- 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!
If you want to use Lightning Lane, you will have to purchase the following Single Pass option individually. Note that Rise of the Resistance has a regular standby queue that you can join anytime during the park’s operating hours.
Lightning Lane Single Pass Options:
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
![a scenic photo that represents Disney's Animal Kingdom](https://www.resortsgal.com/wp-content/uploads/animal-kingdom-lightning-lanes.jpg)
Lightning Lanes at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Disney’s Animal Kingdom does not have multiple tiers for Lightning Lane Multi Pass. The park has one attraction that falls under the Lightning Lane Single Pass option. You can make all three initial choices from the Lightning Lane Multi Pass group.
Lightning Lane Multi Pass:
- 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
Lightning Lane Single Pass Options:
- Avatar Flight of Passage
Note: Attractions are subject to availability.
Purchasing Lightning Lanes (Multi Pass and Single Pass)
Now that you have a good idea of how the Lightning Lane system works let’s look at when you can purchase it. This will depend on how you’re visiting Walt Disney World.
Disney Resort Hotel and Other Select Hotel Guests: You can purchase passes up to seven days before your stay. Lightning Lane passes will be available for the days that you have valid theme park admission, beginning at 7:00 a.m. (Eastern).
This resort benefit is for guests of the following resorts:
- Disney Resort Hotels
- Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
- Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
- Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
- Shades of Green Resort
All Other Guests: You can purchase Lightning Lane passe and choose experiences and arrival window three days in advance. However, there are a few stipulations based on your ticket type.
Reference Disney
- Guests with date-based theme park tickets (which require the Guest to choose a start date at the time of purchase) can purchase 3 days before the first day of their ticket for the total number of valid admission days on their ticket.
- Guests with other ticket types can purchase 3 days before their park visit.
- Annual Passholders* can purchase 3 days before their park visit.
Other ticket types apply to a variety of tickets, including group sales, school tickets, etc. In this case (and with annual passholders), you’ll have to select experiences one day at a time. Here is an example.
- Visiting on Monday, July 1st (Make Reservations Friday, June 28th)
- Visiting On Tuesday, July 2nd (Make Reservations Saturday, June 29th)
- Visiting on Wednesday, July 3rd (Make Reservations Sunday June 30th)
It’s important to mention that if you’re a resort guest, that status trumps your ticket type, and you fall into the category of being able to book seven days in advance for the duration of your resort stay.
Park | Expected Average Cost of Multi Pass |
---|---|
Magic Kingdom | $24.00 |
Epcot | $20.00 |
Disney’s Hollywood Studios | $22.00 |
Disney’s Animal Kingdom | $20.00 |
Multi Park Pass | $30.00 |
Attraction | Expected Average Cost of Single Pass |
---|---|
Tron | $20.00 |
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train | $11.00 |
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind | $14.00 |
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance | $20.00 |
Avatar: Flight of Passage | $11.00 |
Disney has indicated that Multi Pass pricing will be similar to the current Disney Genie+ Pricing. We pulled average costs from Thrill-Data. While we don’t expect any significant changes, we won’t know for sure until the new system is released and we have enough data to calculate any differences.
How expensive is this vacation going to be?
Often, guests don’t calculate for all of the extras like Lightning Lanes when they begin to plan a Disney World vacation. Our easy-to-use spreadsheets offer a nickel-and-dime approach that accounts for almost everything, including Lightning Lanes!
How To Purchase Lightning Lanes (Step-by-Step)
When the time comes for you to be able to purchase Lightning Lanes, here’s how you’ll do it:
Step One: Open the My Disney Experience app on your phone and tap Lightning Lane Passes on the home screen.
Step Two: Select a date and theme park.
Step Three: Select your Lightning Lane Single Passes, Lighting Lane Multi Pass, or both. When you select a Multi Pass, you can then select your 3 experience and arrival windows. Additionally, you’ll want to select your arrival window for any Single Passes you purchase. (This means you’ll want to have a plan before you sit down to make selections.)
Step Four: You will be guided through prompts to complete your purchase.
Step Five: After confirmation, you can select “plan another day” based on the eligibility rules we discussed above.
Disney has provided an infograph that shares a few screenshots of the process for example purposes.
![Lightning Lane Infograph from Disney that shows screen previews of the updates in the app](https://www.resortsgal.com/wp-content/uploads/disney-world-pricing-infographic.jpg)
Modifying Lightning Lanes
Before we wrap things up, I want to touch on the ability to modify. You can use this feature if your plans change, and they likely will at some point.
- You can use the modification feature to change your selected part or date in advance, up until the time you redeem your first Lightning Lane selection for the day. (Selections are subject to availability.)
Example: You have plans to go to Magic Kingdom and ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at 10:00 a.m. It’s 9:00 a.m., and rain is forecasted for the next couple of hours. It would be easier to go to Epcot and do a few indoor things in the front of the park. So, you use the modification feature in the app to shift your Lightning Lanes to Epcot.
- You can use the modification feature to change arrival windows in advance up to the start of the arrival window. (Selections are subject to availability.)
Example: Using the same scenario above, you decide to stick with Magic Kingdom but not visit the park until later in the afternoon. You move your Big Thunder Mountain Railroad arrival window to later, along with any other attractions that need to change.
Key Takeaways
To sum things up, here are a few key takeaways from our one-stop Lightning Lane Guide.
- Lightning Lane changes go into effect on July 24, 2024
- Lightning Lane Multi Pass covers the majority of the attractions in each park.
- Lightning Lane Single Passes are attractions that require a single purchase to ride them via the Lightning Lane.
- At this time, you must have a Lightning Lane or Virtual Queue to experience Tron Lightcycle / Run or Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. (These attractions do not offer standby.)
- You can hold 3 Lightning Lane Multi Pass experiences at one time. Each time you redeem one, you can select another one based on availability.
- You can purchase two Lightning Lane Single Pass attractions per day. However, Magic Kingdom is the only park with two Single Pass rides, so you’ll need a park hopper ticket if you want to purchase rides in separate parks.
- The costs of both passes are date-based and will fluctuate based on the time of year you’re visiting.
- This system allows guests to plan in advance, requiring less effort while on vacation.
Final Thoughts
We hope this one-stop guide answers all of our questions for planning both Multi Pass and Single Pass options. It’s a good deal of information to consume, even for someone like me who deals with this kind of thing daily.
For more of our planning guides, you might like:
- Start Here (Our 10-Step Disney World Vacation Planning Process)
- The Ultimate Disney World Dining Handbook
- The Resorts Gal Guide to Disney World Parks
- Ranking the Disney World Resorts From Best to Worst
In the Comments
Now, it’s your turn. Did you find this one-stop guide helpful? Did it answer your questions about Lightning Lanes? Is there anything you still don’t understand? Feel free to leave your thoughts, questions, or feedback below in the comments.