Is it worth taking the time to understand Disney Genie and Lightning Lanes before you head out to a domestic Disney theme park? In my opinion, absolutely. On the simplest level, Disney Genie and Lightning Lanes are essential tools and services that help you make the most of your time at Walt Disney World and the Disneyland Resort. Before we go any further, let’s get some definitions of the services out of the way.
- Disney Genie: This free service builds a personalized itinerary including suggestions like the order of your rides, meals, and experiences inside the parks. Essentially, it’s there to minimize your wait times and maximize your fun. You can also see your currently booked theme park plans, including hotel stays, dining reservations, and any Lightning Lane bookings.
- Lightning Lane Multi Pass: This is a paid add-on where you can book times to get on your favorite rides and use the Lightning Lane entrance to bypass the stand-by line when it’s your turn.
- Lightning Lane Single Pass: This is also a paid add-on. You’re buying skip-the-line entry for the most in-demand attractions not part of the Lightning Lane Multi Pass rides. You can purchase up to two single passes per day.
One final note before we really dive in. Disney Genie and Lightning Lanes are integrated with Disney’s existing Disneyland and My Disney Experience apps. To get the most out of your day using Disney Genie or Lightning Lanes, update the app for the corresponding park you’re visiting. This ensures you have the latest version for the best experience.
For those who haven’t visited the parks since before the arrival of Disney Genie, the most important thing to know is that Lightning Lanes replaced Genie+, which replaced Disney’s previous FastPass+ “skip the line” service inside the Disney parks.
What is Disney Genie?
Disney Genie is a complimentary trip-planning service that builds a personalized itinerary for your family based on your preferences. From more general interests like princesses and Star Wars to specific choices like a favorite Disney ride or must-see show, you tell Genie how you want to spend your day. Then, it’ll create a custom itinerary with suggestions that will help you spend less time in line. This also means you’ll spend more time having fun.
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You can make a list of favorite restaurants and attractions on your “tip board,” secure dining reservations and mobile Disney food orders, book virtual queues for applicable attractions, and get help from a virtual assistant. If you only care about rides, you can view current and forecasted wait times for the day too.
Disney Genie is also flexible. Because the program can access real-time information, it will continuously update your itinerary throughout the day based on your location and current wait times.
If you are more of a “go with the flow” Disney trip planner, Disney Genie will make your job that much easier. You don’t have to look up showtimes, operating hours, or wait times because Disney Genie does it all for you and maps out your day. And if you have a list of must-do attractions, you can make Lightning Lane selections as needed to ensure you don’t miss out on those.
What is Lightning Lane Multi Pass?
In addition to the complimentary Disney Genie service, you can purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass to reserve an arrival time at nearly 50 attractions at Walt Disney World and more than 20 attractions at Disneyland. Once you’ve secured your entry times, use the Lightning Lane entrance to bypass the standby queue. This means you’re getting on your favorite rides without a lengthy wait.
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Lightning Lane Multi-Pass at Walt Disney World
Lightning Lane Multi Pass prices are based on when you’re visiting. When you can purchase and make Lightning Lane reservations is also based on where you’re staying or what type of ticket you have.
Guests staying at a Disney Resort hotel or select other hotels (Walt Disney World Swan, Dolphin, and Swan Reserve, plus Shades of Green), can purchase passes up to seven days in advance of check-in. You can begin booking Lightning Lane passes for the days you have valid park admission starting at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
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If you’re not staying at a Disney Resort Hotel, you can purchase Lightning Lane passes up to three days in advance of your park visit. You can also book Lightning Lanes starting at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
When your booking window opens for Lightning Lanes, you can choose up to three multi pass experiences at one theme park. Then, once you’re in the park and you go on your first multi pass experience, you can make another Lightning Lane selection. If you have a Park Hopper add-on to your ticket or have an annual pass, you can choose from multi pass experiences in the three other parks that was not your original starting park.
Other benefits that come with purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Walt Disney World are that you get digital downloads of some attraction photos and videos, plus access to Disney PhotoPass Lenses.
Lightning Lane Multi Pass at the Disneyland Resort
Using Lightning Lane Multi Pass at the Disneyland Resort is slightly easier than using it at Walt Disney World. At Disneyland, the service price starts at $32 but varies based on the date. It’s good for both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure.
You have two different options for when you can purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Disneyland. The first is before you arrive as a ticket add-on option. If you already have tickets, but don’t have Lightning Lane access, you may be able to upgrade your ticket to include the service. You can also purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass when you enter the theme parks on the Disneyland app.
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At Disneyland, you do not have to preselect your attractions before arrival, and booking attractions for everyone using the service starts once you scan your ticket into either park.
Pro-tip: if you plan to ride the Monorail into Disneyland Park, you can start making Lightning Lane selections from the Monorail station at the Downtown Disney District since you scanned your park ticket to access the station.
Anyone who purchases Lightning Lane Multi Pass also gets unlimited PhotoPass downloads from your entire park day. I love this benefit because it means I have access to all of my on-ride photos, character meet-and-greet pictures, and any other photos taken by PhotoPass photographers around the parks.
What is Lightning Lane Single Pass?
Lightning Lane Single Pass is a set number of la carte skip-the-line passes you can purchase. These rides are not included with Lightning Lane Multi Pass and are typically the most popular rides in each park at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. You can view a full list of individual Lightning Lane selections for Disney World here and Disneyland here.
Frequently Asked Questions
How will Disney Genie and Lightning Lanes affect my next Disney trip?
The traditional standby lines, pre-reserved dining reservations, and mobile ordering aren’t going anywhere. You can rest easy knowing that if you don’t want to deal with Disney Genie or Lightning Lanes, you don’t have to. But to really get the most out of a trip to Walt Disney World or Disneyland, you should try to integrate one or both of the services into your daily planning.
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You can mix and match Disney Genie, Lightning Lane Multi Pass, and Lightning Lane Single Pass to create your perfect theme park trip. For example, you could use Disney Genie every day to build your plan for the day and not spend any additional money. If it’s more important to you not to wait in any lines, you can purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass, Lightning Lane Single Pass selections, or both. It all depends on how you want to do Disney.
How does this affect attractions that use a virtual queue?
Lightning Lane Single Pass selections are especially helpful for Disney attractions or nighttime shows that use a Virtual Queue like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Disney World and World of Color – ONE at Disneyland.
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The Virtual Queue process hasn’t changed in that any rides that use Virtual Queue don’t have a standby line. Currently, if you don’t get a Virtual Queue Boarding Group, you don’t get to ride. If you don’t want to take your chances using the Virtual Queue system, you can pay to schedule an arrival time to get on the ride with a Lightning Lane pass.
How does Lightning Lane Multi Pass compare to Disney’s previous ‘skip-the-line’ services like FastPass+?
Since 1999, Disney has utilized some version of a FastPass system. Disney World first used FastPass+, a complimentary service that allowed you to reserve time slots to visit attractions without waiting in the standby line, much like how Lightning Lane Multi Pass allows you to do, but for an additional fee. At Disneyland, you could visit participating attractions and get a paper FastPass ticket for free, or pay a daily fee for MaxPass, which worked almost exactly like Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
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There is no longer a complimentary skip-the-line service, which is sure to leave some guests understandably upset. To get the most out of your day, consider using Disney Genie, which combines your preferences with current and forecasted wait times to suggest attractions, dining options, and more that are close by, meet your interests, and have short wait times. If you want to spend money for an even more tailored experience, you can. The good news is, it’s totally up to you.
What if I still have questions about Disney Genie and Lightning Lanes?
Both Disney World and Disneyland have a dedicated Disney Genie page that describes the service in detail and answers some common questions. Disney World’s can be found here and Disneyland’s is here. If you have specific questions about Disney Genie or Lightning Lanes, you can also ask a question to one of Disney’s expert planDisney panel members.
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Carly Neil and Megan duBois also contributed to this story.
