Lightning Lanes at Disneyland: Our 2025 Guide to the New Multi Pass and Single Pass

The Lightning Lanes at Disneyland have been simplified and enhanced quite a bit in the last few years. If you remember the old FastPass system (or the more recent Genie+), you’ll be happy to hear that as of 2024, there’s a new setup for saving time in line at Disneyland: Lightning Lane Multi Passes and Single Passes. And they come with some pretty great perks.

These new passes attempt to combine the best parts of Genie+ and FastPass, including the ability to make reservations in the Disneyland app. Once you’re in the park, you can purchase either a Multi Pass or a Single Pass (or both!), and make your first reservation right away. It’s designed to make planning your day easier, as well as save some time in line!

*This post may contain affiliate links. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Planning a Disneyland vacation in 2025? Be sure to check out our guide to all that the Disneyland Resort has to offer this year!

*Looking for Lightning Lane information for Walt Disney World? While both Disneyland and Disney World utilize Lightning Lanes, the way they operate is very different depending on which side of the country you’re on! Be sure to visit our guide to Lightning Lanes at Walt Disney World for more information about how this system works in Florida.

In This Post

What Happened to Genie+?

Lightning Lanes Basics

Attractions & Experiences Featuring a Lightning Lane

Are Lightning Lanes at Disneyland Worth the Cost?

What Happened to Genie+?

In order to really understand what happened with Genie+, we have to rewind a bit…

Once upon a time, Disneyland had the paper FastPass system… a free option that allowed guests to walk up to the kiosks of their favorite rides and grab a return ticket with a set time window for return. It essentially saved their place in line while they could go and enjoy the rest of the park. It was simple and easy… and most importantly, free to all guests.

Later, MaxPass came along, allowing guests to book FastPasses right from the Disneyland app. Those who wanted the convenience of booking selections from the app (avoiding all of the walking involved in grabbing FastPasses throughout the parks) would pay a small fee, yet the paper FastPasses were still available to guests for free.

Then came 2020. During the pandemic, the entire FastPass/MaxPass system was paused and eventually retired. In 2021, it was replaced by Genie+, a fully digital, paid system that allowed guests to book Lightning Lane reservations through the app. It worked fairly smoothly at Disneyland, but at Disney World, it was a bit more complicated. Guests had to wake up at 7:00 AM every morning of their vacation just to snag ride times… which was not the most relaxing way to vacation.

Fast-forward to 2024, and Disney made yet another update… this time aiming to combine the best parts of all the previous systems. The biggest changes occurred at Walt Disney World, but Disneyland received a name change as well. We now have Lightning Lane Single Passes (for the most in-demand rides) and Lightning Lane Multi Passes (for everything else with a Lightning Lane option).

Lightning Lanes Basics

Highlights

Lightning Lanes are an optional paid add-on to your park ticket, allowing you to save time waiting in line for some of the most popular attractions. Pricing varies from park to park as well as day to day, but many feel the cost is worth it. While the mechanics can seem complicated at first, the process is fairly simple once you get started.

Unlike the original FastPass system at Disneyland, Lightning Lane Passes are a purchased add-on to your regular park ticket. They allow you to avoid the regular standby line and instead utilize a quicker “lightning lane” to save time. *Not all rides offer a Lightning Lane, so be sure to keep reading for a list of offered attractions.
Lightning Lane Single Pass is available for the most sought-after attractions in each park. (Usually just one or two attractions in each park require a Single Pass.)
Lightning Lane Multi Pass is for all of the other attractions that offer a Lightning Lane. They start at $32 per person, per day (25% discount for Magic Key holders). It can be purchased with your park ticket (usually the cheapest option), or it can be purchased on the day of your visit.

Lightning Lane Multi Pass

How to Purchase: A Lightning Lane Multi Pass can be purchased as soon as you enter a theme park via the Tip Board in the Disneyland app. You can then make your first reservation based on available times.
How to Make Selections: Once you’ve redeemed your selection (or once it’s been two hours since you made your initial reservation), you can book your next multi pass attraction. Reservations are made one at a time throughout the day.
Modify or Cancel Selections: If you change your mind or need to make adjustments, you can modify your selections on the Disneyland app.
Availability: Selections are subject to availability, and Lightning Lane entry can only be used once per attraction, per day.
Photo Perks: With a Multi Pass, guests gain access to unlimited downloads of Disney PhotoPass photos, including those taken by professional photographers. Disney PhotoPass Lenses are also included.

Lightning Lane Single Pass

Disney has a lot of popular attractions, but there are one or two in each park that are by far the most sought after. These rides still offer a Lightning Lane, but it’s an additional add-on that is separate from the Multi Pass. Single passes work just like multi passes and can be booked once you have entered the park. And just like Multi Passes, there’s a limit of one Lightning Lane entry per ride, per day.

Attractions & Experiences Featuring a Lightning Lane

Disneyland Park

Lightning Lane Multi Pass

Autopia
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Haunted Mansion
Indiana JonesTM Adventure
“it’s a small world”
Matterhorn Bobsleds
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
Space Mountain
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

Lightning Lane Single Pass

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

California Adventure Park

Lightning Lane Multi Pass

Goofy’s Sky School
Grizzly River Run
Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!
Incredicoaster
The Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure
Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!
Soarin’ Around the World
Toy Story Midway Mania!
WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure

Lightning Lane Single Pass

Radiator Springs Racers

Are Lightning Lanes at Disneyland Worth the Cost?

Many certainly have mixed emotions on this topic. After all, Disney’s FastPass service used to be complimentary to park guests, and Disneyland Park guests did not have to purchase MaxPass in order to take advantage of the FastPass paper system in place at both Disneyland Park and Disney’s California Adventure. And if that wasn’t enough… not every attraction is available with the Lightning Lane Multi Pass. Top-tier attractions come at an extra cost if you want to skip the standby line.

Lightning Lane Pros:

You no longer have to walk to your favorite attraction just to get a FastPass. While the paper FastPass option was free in Disneyland and California Adventure, it did require a lot of extra walking. Walking to an attraction to get a ticket to get in line later certainly wasn’t my family’s idea of fun. It is part of what made MaxPass an attractive purchase, as it allowed you to get your FastPasses on the app for a small fee.
On a typical day in the parks, a Lightning Lane Multi Pass or Single Pass could save you a lot of time. Time is money when it comes to a day at Disney, so saving an hour or two of waiting in line could make all the difference… especially if you can manage to save that kind of time on multiple attractions.

Lightning Lane Cons:

It isn’t free. A Lightning Lane Multi Pass will cost $32+ a day per ticket. This could add up quickly on a family vacation!
There will be days when a Multi Pass or Single Pass simply isn’t worth it. There is most definitely a “sweet spot” when it comes to utilizing this service. If the parks are really quiet and lines are short, paying to skip a 15-20-minute wait won’t be worth it. And if the parks are slammed, many of the selections will book up so quickly that you will be left with nothing to choose from.
Be prepared to spend some time on your phone. This was my biggest complaint when I purchased MaxPass for my 2019 Disneyland vacation. Since all of the reservations need to be made via the app once inside the park, it’s easy to spend a lot of time on your phone trying to get the next available time slots.

Things to Consider Before Purchasing Lightning Lanes at Disneyland:

Weigh the pros and cons for your family on your specific vacation. What will the crowds be like during your visit? Are there a lot of attractions on the Multi Pass list that you don’t want to miss?
Consider adding the Lightning Lane Multi Pass (or Single Pass) on specific days rather than your entire vacation. You don’t have to purchase a Multi Pass for your entire vacation. Purchasing it for specific days allows you to pick and choose based on which park you are in and how busy the parks are.
Don’t be afraid to mix and match. Disney does not require you to purchase a Multi Pass to take advantage of the Single Pass. You may choose to opt out of both, purchase one or the other, or take advantage of both. The choice is yours on each day of your vacation.