Lightning Lanes at Disney World: Complete Guide to Disney’s New System Replacing Genie+
The Lightning Lanes at Disney World have recently been simplified and enhanced. The previously known Disney Genie+ is now referred to as Lightning Lane Multi Pass, while the Individual Lightning Lane has been renamed as Lightning Lane Single Pass. And these name changes come with some amazing changes as well.
These updated Lightning Lane passes offer a combination of features from Genie+ and the previous FastPass+ service, including the ability to book experiences in advance. This means that you no longer have to stress out at 7:00 AM while on vacation, trying to secure all your desired experiences at once. Instead, you can do some of your planning ahead of time from the comfort of your home, making it much simpler to organize your itinerary around any scheduled reservations or experiences during your trip!
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Planning a Disney World vacation in 2024? Be sure to check out our guide to all that the Walt Disney World Resort has to offer this year including the opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, the return of the Disney Dining Plan, and more!
What Happened to Genie+?
In order to fully understand what happened with Genie+, we have to go back to the beginning… Once upon a time, Disney World offered the complimentary Fastpass+ for guests to utilize before their vacation. Essentially, guests were able to reserve their place in line for up to three attractions weeks before their trip began. While some appreciated the convenience and ability to plan ahead, others missed the spontaneity of not having to plan their park days weeks in advance. But for the most part, this complimentary service allowed guests to pre-plan their days with little stress once inside the parks.
During the pandemic, Fastpass+ was suspended and eventually replaced with Genie+ in 2021. This brand-new paid service allowed guests to make same-day reservations for attractions, but it required them to wake up early at 7:00 AM to book their desired experiences. While a modified version of this system worked fairly well at Disneyland, it received mixed reactions at Walt Disney World as many popular attractions were fully booked in seconds. Not only that… getting up super early in hopes of snagging a reservation was something guests had to do every single morning of their vacation.
As of July 24, 2024, Walt Disney World is making yet another change. Essentially, they are combining the two previous services in hopes of addressing all of the issues. The Genie+ system is being renamed and adjusted to allow guests the ability to pre-book their attractions before their vacation once again!
There are now two types of passes guests can purchase… a Lightning Lane Multi Pass and a Lightning Lane Single Pass.
Lightning Lanes Basics
The biggest change coming to Disney World is the ability to pre-book your experiences. You won’t be booking weeks in advance like the old FastPass+ system, but being able to book days before your park visit is a major improvement. Gone are the days of waking up super early trying to snag your reservations for the day!
Highlights
- Plan Ahead: You can now plan your Lightning Lane visits in advance with the new system upgrade. This includes both the Multi Pass and Single Pass options. Resort guests can make plans up to 7 days ahead of arrival, while non-resort guests can do so up to 3 days in advance.
- More Flexibility: Before you buy, customize your experiences and schedule. This means you can easily plan around your existing commitments and restaurant bookings.
- Book Multiple Days: Eligible guests will be able to make reservations for multiple vacation days all in a single day.
Lightning Lane Multi Pass
Lightning Lane Multi Passes work a lot like the old Genie+ but with the ability to pre-book before your vacation. There are many attractions to choose from in each park except for 1 or 2 major attractions that are available only with a Single Pass. Pricing is fairly consistent with the old Genie+ prices and varies based on the park and date. On July 24, 2024, prices ranged from $18 at Animal Kingdom up to $29 at Magic Kingdom.
- Choose up to three experiences and arrival windows before your park day. *Limit one Lightning Lane entry per attraction, per day.
- Once you’re in the park, you can make additional selections as you use your existing reservations. Guests can hold three reservations at a time.
- Those with Park Hopper tickets can select experiences in other parks.
- Enjoy photo perks by receiving digital downloads of select attraction photos and videos from your day. Guests also receive access to Disney PhotoPass Lenses.
Lightning Lane Single Pass
Like the former Genie+ system, there are a few select attractions that aren’t available with a Multi Pass. Guests have the option of purchasing a Lightning Lane Single Pass for these extremely popular attractions before the day of their visit and can purchase up to two passes per day. Pricing is fairly consistent with the old Genie+ prices and varies based on the attraction and date. On July 24, 2024, prices ranged from $12 for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train up to $25 for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
Attractions & Experiences Featuring a Lightning Lane
All four theme parks offer Multi Passes and Single Passes. Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios feature a two-tier system where guests choose one experience from the first group and two (or all three) from the second group. Animal Kingdom has fewer attractions, so all three choices are made from the same group. Each park also features one or two attractions that are available with a Single Pass only.
Magic Kingdom
Lightning Lane Multi Pass
- Choose up to 1 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
Lightning Lane Single Pass
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- TRON Lightcycle / Run
Epcot
Lightning Lane Multi Pass
- Choose up to 1 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
Lightning Lane Single Pass
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Hollywood Studios
Lightning Lane Multi Pass
- Choose up to 1 experience from this group:
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s 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*Vission 3D
- Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
- Toy Story Mania!
Lightning Lane Single Pass
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Animal Kingdom
Lightning Lane Multi Pass
- Choose up to 3 experiences:
- DINOSAUR
- Expedition Everest – Legen 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
Lightning Lane Single Pass
- Avatar Flight of Passage
How to Purchase & Use Lightning Lanes at Disney World
When to Purchase:
- Disney Resort guests are able to purchase passes up to 7 days in advance of their stay. *Resorts include all Disney Resort hotels, Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel, Walt Disney World Swan Hotel, Walt Disney World Swan Reserve, and Shades of Green Resort.
- Non-resort guests are able to purchase passes up to 3 days in advance of their visit.
Passes can be purchased for days you have valid theme park admission beginning at 7:00 AM Easter Time on your first day of eligibility, and you can make reservations for your entire vacation up to 14 days.
How to Purchase and Use Passes:
- Download the My Disney Experience app.
- Connect everyone in your travel group on your Family & Friends list. That way you can can make plans for everyone on your list that is eligible.
- When you’re ready to purchase
- Open the My Disney Experience app and tap the Lightning Lane Passes section on the home screen.
- Select a date and theme park.
- Select a Lightning Lane Single Pass, a Lightning Lane Multi Pass, or both. (Multi Pass allows you to choose up to 3 experiences, and Single Pass allows you to choose 1.)
- Follow all of the prompts to complete your purchase until you receive a confirmation.
- From there, you can tap “Plan Another Day” to purchase another day or “View My Day” for details about your selections.
- If you need to make changes and modify a reservation, tap the Lightning Lane Passes section on the app’s home screen to locate your plans. You can change your selected park and/or date in advance up until the moment you redeem your first Lightning Lane selection of the day. You can also change each elected experience and/or arrival window in advance up until the start of the arrival window. *Subject to availability.
- On the day of your visit, you can use the My Disney Experience app to book additional experiences once you redeem a Lightning Lane Multi Pass selection or once the arrival window has passed.
Are you planning your next Walt Disney World vacation? Be sure to visit our step-by-step guide for resources and valuable tips!
*To learn more about Lightning Lanes at Disney World, be sure to visit Walt Disney World’s official website for more info.
