Lightning Lane Toolkit
Table of
I created this guide because like you, I hate waiting in line. Especially 1) on vacation and 2) an expensive, busy vacation.
Less time spent in line = more time for the things that matter: being present, putting our arms around our sweaty kids, and *hopefully* sipping on a salty margarita.
You're on your way to a laid-back, thoughtful vacation. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.
With love and Lightning Lanes,
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Dana
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Dictionary
THE LIGHTNING LANE
The Lightning Lane (or LL for short) is the faster line that lets you skip the regular standby line for most attractions in Walt Disney World.
LIGHTNING LANE MULTI PASS
Multi Pass is replacing Genie+ and is the new optional service you can buy to skip long lines by using…you guessed it: the Lightning Lane.
When you buy this, you can pre-book 3 Lightning Lanes before you get to the park.
You'll choose the attraction AND the one-hour window, or "return time", to use the Lightning Lane.
LIGHTNING LANE SINGLE PASS
Single Pass are the few rides that aren’t included with the Multi Pass, but you can buy and pre-book them a la carte with a limit of 2 per day. “LLSP” for short.
New! Pre-book
With either pass, now you’re able to pre-book your Lightning Lanes before you even get to the park.
Resort guests can book 7 days in advance, everyone else can book 3 days in advance. Woot woot!
Psstt...you can buy Multi Pass, Single Pass, or both!
let's start with the basics
A TYPICAL WAIT IN A Lightning Lane IS ONLY 5-10 minutes (!!)
BUY & Pre-book
When you purchase your Multi Pass, you choose 3 attractions in one park.
Choose 1 ride from Tier 1, and 2 (or all 3) rides from Tier 2. More on this later!
Like a dining reservation, you get to choose a return window if it's available.
When you buy a Single Pass, you can choose up to 2 attractions per day.
01.
Scan & BOOK MORE
Here's the cool part: you can book another Lightning Lane once you scan into a Multi Pass ride.
This next Lightning Lane can be in any tier or any park, as long as it's available!
No complicated time rules, just simply book a new Lightning Lane after you use one. That's it.
02.
If you have a Park Hopper ticket, you can book your next Lightning Lane in the park you're hopping to!
How It Works
The pre-booking windows open:
- 7 days in advance for Disney resort guests plus Swan, Dolphin, Swan Reserve, and Shades of Green. See the full list here.
This starts from your check-in date, not your first park day. You can book for your entire trip for up to 14 days. - and 3 days in advance for non-resort guests.
The 3 days starts from your first park day. If it's a date-based ticket, you can book for the entire length of your ticket.
Pre-Book Timeline
Seven Dwarfs' Mine Train (38")
TRON: Lightcycle / Run (48")
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (40”)
Jungle Cruise
Peter Pan’s Flight
Space Mountain (44”)
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (40”)
MULTI PASS
SINGLE PASS
Magic Kingdom
The Barnstormer (35")
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Haunted Mansion
“it’s a small world”
Mad Tea Party
Magic Carpets of Aladdin
Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Mickey’s PhilharMagic
Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
Pirates of the Caribbean
Tomorrowland Speedway (32")
Under the Sea ~ The Little Mermaid
OPTIONAL: UP TO 2
BOOK 1 FROM THIS TIER
BOOK 2 (OR ALL 3) FROM THIS TIER
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (42")
Frozen Ever After
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
Soarin’ (40")
Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
Journey into Imagination with Figment
Living with the Land
Mission: Space (40")
The Seas with Nemo & Friends
Spaceship Earth
Turtle Talk with Crush
OPTIONAL: UP TO 2
BOOK 1 FROM THIS TIER
EPCOT
BOOK 2 (OR ALL 3) FROM THIS TIER
SINGLE PASS
Hollywood Studios
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (40")
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (44")
Slinky Dog Dash (38")
Smugglers Run (38")
MULTI PASS
SINGLE PASS
Alien Swirling Saucers (32")
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 (40")
Tower of Terror (40")
Toy Story Mania!
OPTIONAL: UP TO 2
BOOK 1 FROM THIS TIER
BOOK 2 (OR ALL 3) FROM THIS TIER
DINOSAUR (40")
Expedition Everest (44")
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 (38")
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Naʻvi River Journey
no TIERS HERE! CHOOSE ANY 3
Animal Kingdom
MULTI PASS
Avatar: Flight of Passage (44")
SINGLE PASS
OPTIONAL: UP TO 2
When is it worth it?
I get it, you hate waiting in long lines. But this new system costs $$ so the big question: when is it worth it?
PLANNING A DAY IN MAGIC KINGDOM (ESP WITH KIDS!)
VISITING DURING SPRING BREAK, THANKSGIVING, OR CHRISTMAS
...then YES, it's going to be worth it!
but if you're...
OKAY WITH GETTING UP EARLY to rope drop
WANT A CHILL DAY WITH LESS PARK TIMe, if any
only visiting animal kingdom (and again, will wake up early)
...you can get away with skipping it on these days.
PARK HOPPING
if you're...
NOT STAYING AT A DISNEY RESORT
PLANNING ON RIDING ONLY 1-2 THINGS
Strategies & Best Picks
Find your dreamy Lightning Lanes
- how popular they are (as in, how rare day-of availability will be)
- how much time they'll save you vs. the regular standby line
- what your family wants to ride
now for the good stuff
Magic Kingdom
EPCOT
Hollywood Studios
Animal Kingdom
Best Advanced Picks
1. TIANA'S BAYOU ADVENTURE (40")
2. PETER PAN'S FLIGHT*
1. Haunted MAnsion
2. Pirates of the Caribbean
3. Many ADV Of Winnie the Pooh
3. Jungle CRUISE**
4. Buzz space ranger spin
5. Under the sea - little mermaid
**temporarily closing on August 26, 2024
1. REMY'S RATATOUILLE ADVENTURE
2. FROZEN EVER AFTER
1. MISSIOn: SPACE (40")
2. SPACESHIP EARTH
3. THE SEAS W/ NEMO & FRIENDS
3. SOARIN' (40")
4. LIVING WITH THE LAND
5. JOURNEY INTO IMAGINATION
1. SLINKY DOG DASH (38")
2. ROCK 'N' ROLLER COASTER (44")
1. TOWER OF TERROR (40")
2. TOY STORY MANIA!
3. ALIEN SWIRLING SAUCERS (32")
3. MICKEY & MINNIE'S RUNAWAY
4. STAR TOURS (40")
*ANY SHOW*
1. Na'vi RIVER JOURNEY
2. KILIMANJARO SAFARI
3. EXPEDITION EVEREST (44")
4. DINOSAUR (40")
5. KALI RIVER RAPIDS (38")
Take advantage of staying on property
If you're staying at a Disney resort, take advantage of getting the hard-to-get Lightning Lanes first by putting them towards the end of your trip.
You can plan for the beginning of your trip to be "lighter", less ride-heavy days. Think: pool time, character meets, Disney Springs, and rest days.
THE EARLIER THE BETTER
In a nutshell: there will be a more Lightning Lanes available at 9:30am versus 11:30am, 12:30pm, and so on.
So if you have the choice between:
9:15am Toy Story Mania
11am Tower of Terror
4pm Slinky Dog Dash
VS
12pm Tower of Terror
1pm Slinky Dog Dash
2pm Toy Story Mania
...go with the first option. When the LL for Toy Story Mania is used, you can book another Tier 1 ride (like Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway)
THE ART OF THE OVERLAP
Since the cart holds your selections for 5 minutes, try toggling back and forth with different times until they're close to what you're shooting for. Worst case, just book them and try and modify the times later.
Magic Kingdom
coming soon
coming soon
coming soon
Click below to see example itineraries on a day using a combination of Multi Pass, Single Pass, and standby.
This is just an estimated guess and will be updated as I test these out!
Examples
coming soon
Multi Pass:
9am Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
10:15am Haunted Mansion
11:15am Tiana's Bayou Adventure
Single Pass:
9:15am Seven Dwarf's Mine Train
8:30am Ride it's a small world during Early Entry
9am LL Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
*book Big Thunder Mountain for 10:15am*
9:15am Get breakfast at Friar's Nook while using Rider Switch for LLSP Seven Dwarf's Mine Train
10:15am LL Haunted Mansion
*book Pirates of the Caribbean for 11:15am*
10:40am LL Big Thunder Mountain
*book Jungle Cruise for 6pm*
11:15am LL Tiana's Bayou Adventure
*book Magic Carpets of Aladdin for 11:30am*
11:30 LL Pirates of the Caribbean
11:45am LL Magic Carpets of Aladdin
12pm Lunch at Jungle Navigation Co.
MAGIC KINGDOM
7am: Book Slinky Dog Dash for 9:30-10:30am.
9:30am Scan into Slinky Dog Dash and book Tower of Terror for 2:35-3:35pm. Ride low standby waits.
11:30am Using the 2-hour rule, book Remy's Ratatouille Adventure for 5:20-6:20pm.
1:30pm Using the 2-hour rule, book Test Track for 4:40-5:40pm.
2:35pm Scan into Tower of Terror, park hop to EPCOT.
4:40pm Scan into Test Track and book Soarin' for 5:10-6:10pm.
5:10pm Scan into Soarin' and book Frozen Ever After for 6:10-7:10pm.
5:20pm Scan into Remy's Ratatouille Adventure followed by Frozen Ever After at 6:10pm.
Park HOPPING EXAMPLE
UPDATE THE APP
Booking Day Checklist
GET LINKED
BOOK 'em
Keep track of what you need to book your Lightning Lane day with a list of current Lightning Lanes (and their tiers) to choose from all in one place.
Plan your dreamy Lightning Lanes
DOWNLOAD
YOUR DREAMY
LIGHTNING LANES
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Video Tutorial
Press play for a video walk-thru on pre-booking your Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass. I will update this as certain kinks get worked out!
Looks best fullscreen!
- Your entire party will automatically be selected for Multi Pass rides. If certain people want to ride something else, you can modify it to a different attraction and time for the people you select.
- The cart will save for 5 minutes in the app, so take a deep breath. Book as close to your dreamies as possible, you can always modify later.
- Set up your My Day tab in advance so that your 3 picks are starred and easier to find. You can start "My Day" under the My Disney Experience app once your tickets are purchased and linked.
Extra Tips
Questions and Answers
CAN INT'L GUESTS Pre-book?
Bit of a bummer: if you're visiting from out of the country (except for Canada!) you won't be able to purchase Lightning Lane Passes until you arrive in the US. Sounds like this is related to international laws and may change.
HOW DOES PARK HOPPING WORK with ll passes?
As long as you have a Park Hopper ticket, you can book a Lightning Lane in the park you're hopping to after you scan into your first pre-booked Multi Pass.
HOW DOES THIS WORK WITH RIDER SWITCH?
Everyone who wants to use the Lightning Lane in the first group would ALL need to have a Lightning Lane booked. Ie: you can't cheat the system and only book for 1 parent, and then switch.
WHAT ABOUT MY BABY? DO THEY NEED MUlti PASS?
The only ones that need to buy Multi Pass are people over 3. Since under 3 doesn't need a ticket = no Multi Pass. They will just use the LL with you!
HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN I BOOK FOR AT A TIME?
COMING SOON
CAN I HAVE A MULTI PASS AND SINGLE PASS WITH OVERLAPPING TIMES?
COMING SOON
LIGHTNING LANES
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Hey there! I'm learning this new Lightning Lane system right alongside you. This guide (as of July 23rd, 2024) is what I know SO FAR from combing through information and data, combined with past experience I've had with the older FastPass+ and Genie+ system.
On July 24th, I will be pre-booking Lightning Lanes for our own trip coming up and will be able to give more details on the payment/booking process.
From now until August 5th (and beyond), I will add more itineraries and tips. Thank you for being patient!
xo, Dana.