Explain lightning lane to me like I'm a 3 year old

[Minuet888]

so......................I don't get it
I've tried reading things on it and I just don't get it.
There are now multiple types of lightning lanes (no I've never used genie plus nor lightning lanes)
It's possible that you buy a lightning lane and aren't even able to use it if it is sold out? (so you lose your money)
you have to specifically reserve a time?
Now there is this multi lightning lane thing? or lightning lane express something?
How is genie plus different from lightning lane? (I don't even know how genie plus works)
I need it explained to me like I am a 3 year old. Apparently I'm too dumb for this.
My son usually gets DAS. He is autistic. We haven't been back since the whole DAS refurb and everyone is mad and saying that a lot of people that used to get it don't so I am thinking for our trip we might get lightning lane or genie plus either as a backup if we aren't approved for DAS (because we won't know until right before our trip), OR in combination with the DAS. Sometimes every SINGLE line and things are just too long so while we are waiting for our DAS time to come up we can't do anything and I don't want it to start up so we might be able to go on a ride or something while waiting for a DAS time. Has anyone else done this? How far in advance do you have to reserve lightning lane? Like spur of the moment or fat chance?

Just......help.........be gentle.......please........thank you............all the feels.

 

[ezma]

I feel your frustration!!!! I just DONT buy them because I dont understand and I dont want to be on my phone all the time (we are on vacation). We were finally getting good at virtural queue , but the ride we like they done away with it.. Now we are no stranger to Disney we have been there 30 plus times ..But we cant keep up with ALL the changes from year to year ...they are always changing the rules and we cant keep up with it!!! Life is complicated enough we dont need Disney to complicated it even more! Sorry I cant help you !!! My son and I will be there in May my husband is staying home because we were just there in Oct '24...so I will attempt to buy the LLSP for Guardians..fingers crossed ... Marla

 

[focusondisney]

so......................I don't get it
I've tried reading things on it and I just don't get it.
There are now multiple types of lightning lanes (no I've never used genie plus nor lightning lanes)
It's possible that you buy a lightning lane and aren't even able to use it if it is sold out? (so you lose your money)
you have to specifically reserve a time?
Now there is this multi lightning lane thing? or lightning lane express something?
How is genie plus different from lightning lane? (I don't even know how genie plus works)
I need it explained to me like I am a 3 year old. Apparently I'm too dumb for this.
My son usually gets DAS. He is autistic. We haven't been back since the whole DAS refurb and everyone is mad and saying that a lot of people that used to get it don't so I am thinking for our trip we might get lightning lane or genie plus either as a backup if we aren't approved for DAS (because we won't know until right before our trip), OR in combination with the DAS. Sometimes every SINGLE line and things are just too long so while we are waiting for our DAS time to come up we can't do anything and I don't want it to start up so we might be able to go on a ride or something while waiting for a DAS time. Has anyone else done this? How far in advance do you have to reserve lightning lane? Like spur of the moment or fat chance?

Just......help.........be gentle.......please........thank you............all the feels.

You’ll probably get more information on the Theme Park forum instead of the resorts forum. But just the very basics:

There are 3 types of Lightning Lanes
1. Single ride. Only a few top tier rides offer this, usually 1 per park, things like 7 dwarfs mine train, Flight of Passage etc. rides are scheduled for specific times

2. Multi ride You can book any attraction that offers Lightning Lanes. You can book 3 rides at any 1 park ahead of time, then book another as you use 1. Rides are scheduled for specific times. The 3 you prebook have to be in the same park. Any more you book after those can be in any park.

3. Premier You buy for 1 park & can ride every ride that offers Lightning Lanes once, in that park only. These don’t need to be pre scheduled, you can walk up & ride each ride at any time.


All prices vary by day. Are you staying in a Disney Resort? You can book for up to 10 days of Lightning Lanes 7 days before you check in. Ex..you check in on a Saturday & are staying for 7 days. The Saturday before you check in, you can book all days of your stay.

Are you staying offsite? For you, your LL bookings depend on what date your ticket starts & how many days it is for. You can book Lightning Lanes 3 days before your ticket starts. You can book different calendar days out for as many days as you have valid admission. Ex… your ticket date starts on a Saturday & is a 7 day ticket. On Wednesday before your trip, you can book for any 7 days within the 10 day period starting Saturday.


That’s just very basic info. I don’t travel with anyone who uses DAS so can’t comment on that. But yes, I have read some posts that people use both. But I have no info on how that would work or if it’s difficult to do.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Ok, I'll try to take this slowly. Please let me know if anything is unclear. And I'm sure someone who explains it all better will be along soon anyway.

First thing to know is when you can buy/make reservations. If you are staying in an onsite hotel, you can book/buy ALL your Lightning lanes 7 days in advance of your resort check in for the length of your stay. So, if you check in on a Sunday and are staying for 6 days, you can buy/make your reservations at 6am EASTERN the Sunday before for all 6 days. If you are staying offsite, your booking window shrinks to 3 days before your first park day. So, if Sunday is your first park day, you can buy 3 days before and I THINK you can book for the length of your active ticket.

Let's start with LLPP - Lightning Lane Premier Pass. This is the super expensive one. You buy it for ONE park per day (you can not park hop with it). With the premier pass, you get to use the lightning lane 1 time for every single ride that has lightning lane in the park. You don't need ride reservations, you just go to the ride, scan in, and jump in the lightning lane (the lane that used to be Fast pass, then Genie+, and now lightning lane).

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Lightning Lane Single Pass - this is only good for 1 specific ride. Each park has 1-2 designated single pass rides. Animal Kingdom is Flights of Passage, Epcot is Guardians of the Galaxy, Studios is Rise of the Resistance, and MK is 7 Dwarves and Tron. You can purchase 1 ride on these for each day and you can hold up to 2 single lightning lanes per day...so if you are park hopping, you can get an LLSP for Guardians and Flights of Passage or if you are staying in MK all day, you can get one for both rides. But you CAN'T get 2 rides on Guardians in 1 day. Does that make sense?

These are booked in the same window (7 days out for onsite and 3 days out for offsite). You book them in the app. On the home page of the app you should see something that says book lightning lanes or Let's plan your day. Click into that, select the date you want to book the LLSP for and then the park. That should pull up a list of rides and times available. Click on the ride you want and the time you want. It will then push you through to pay for your choice. You will have to pay for each DAY separately. Please note the LLSP has a specific return time (unlike the premier pass). So, you pick an available time and you have an hour window to get to the ride and scan in. You can scan in 5 minutes early or up to 15 minutes late. You can also modify your time during the day by going in to see what else is available.

I have found that for Single Pass, much like dining reservations, it is best to book the end of your trip first. There is more availability generally than the first couple of days but always check.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Lightning Lane Multipass - this is sort of the middle of the other two (not 1 ride and not ALL rides). With multipass, you can hold up to 3 ride reservations at a time AND you can park hop (although I think you need to make your initial 3 reservations in the same park.) The list of rides eligible for multipass is long at each park. Note - the rides that are designated as single pass are NOT eligible to be booked with multipass.

You have the same booking window as the previous 2. Go into the app, select the date, and the park you want your first ride reservation to be in. It will pull up the list of rides and times. You select your 3 rides and times and then check out. Again, you have to do each day separately. You can also modify times if you didn't get exactly what you want AFTER you pay for your day. Please note that Multipass has tier levels. Some rides are Tier 1 (like Space Mountain, Remy, Frozen). You can only make an initial reservation for ONE tier 1 ride. Your other two reservations have to come from the tier 2 list. Also, shows and character meet and greets no longer have LL available (unlike the old fast pass and I think Genie+).

During your park day, as soon as you scan into your first ride, you can make a reservation for another ride. It can be in the same park or in a different park. And you can pick from any tier. If you don't see a ride or a time that you like, play the refresh game. Different rides and times will pop up throughout the day. You will have the same return time window as single pass - an hour (so 10:15-11:15). You can scan in 5 minutes before or up to 15 minutes after your return window (so really your 10:15-11:15 window can become 10:10-11:30). You can also overlap return time windows with multipass. I have held reservations for Haunted Mansion from 10:15-11:15 and Thunder mountain from 11:00-12:00 for instance.

The cost for ALL of the different levels of lightning lane is variable and will depend on the day/time of year/etc. They also differ from park to park.

I hope this helps a bit. Again, please ask about anything you don't understand. I'll try to answer or someone who is much smarter than me will probably be along to help and correct whatever mistakes I have made above.

 

[BlueGreen5]

There are three types of lightning lane passes: multi-pass, single-pass, and premiere pass. These replaced Genie+, so, as far as you are concerned, Genie+ doesn't exist anymore.

Let's start with the very basic principle: the "lightning lane" on a ride is something physical: it is a much shorter queue that is blocked by a cast member and only accessible to those who are allowed to access it (like those with a lightning lane pass or DAS). Everyone who simply walks up to a ride gets in the back of the longer "standby" line.

Onto the three types of lightning lane passes:

First, the premiere pass because it's the easiest to understand. This one is expensive. You just get in the lightning lane for whatever ride you want, when you feel like it. You are limited to ride each ride once per day.

Single-pass is also fairly easy to understand. This is just a one-time use pass that you buy a la carte to enter the lightning lane on certain rides. There are not a lot of rides that offer single-pass (for instance, in Magic Kingdom, it's just Tron and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train). None of these rides are available in the multi-pass, so if you want to enter the lightning lane on them, you must buy the single-pass.

Multi-pass can be used as many times as you possibly can in a day. There are about 17 attractions in Magic Kingdom that are available to select in the multi-pass (per above, none of them are the single-pass rides though). When you select an attraction, you are given a one-hour window to return to ride the ride. This is your "return window" in which you must get in line to ride the ride. After you get in line for the ride, you can select another ride until you run out of time in the day.

With multi-pass, there are a limited number of return windows for each ride in a day so that the "shorter" queue doesn't get as long as the standby queue. So, it's possible that a really popular ride will run out of return windows before you have the chance to select one. They will not refund your money if the ride you really wanted to ride was not available. You can ALWAYS enter the standby queue on a ride, even if you have a multi-pass, and there will always be a standby wait time posted to help you make the decision.

For multi-pass, you are entitled to select return windows on your first 3 rides when you purchase it. If you are staying in a Disney hotel, you can purchase your multi-pass 7 days in advance, which gives you priority over those who purchase it day-of on those 3 advance selections.

Hope that helps!

 

[lanejudy]

My son usually gets DAS. He is autistic. We haven't been back since the whole DAS refurb and everyone is mad and saying that a lot of people that used to get it don't so I am thinking for our trip we might get lightning lane or genie plus either as a backup if we aren't approved for DAS (because we won't know until right before our trip), OR in combination with the DAS.

You can request DAS up to 60 days prior to first park day.
You can't purchase LLMP/LLSP/LLPP until 7 days before arrival if onsite (or 3 days before if staying offsite).
So you should know whether he will have DAS prior to when you can purchase LLs.

You can use DAS and LLs in combo, especially if there are attractions he will want to re-ride or if there are attractions he will not ride (in which case LL for others is helpful).

 

[Tom_E_D]

I'm not going to repeat what others have said, but offer a few minor corrections/comments.

The time to buy Lightning Lanes (all three types) begins at 7:00 AM Eastern, not 6:00 as reported above. If staying onsite, you can book for length of stay up to 14 days (not 10 days as reported above).

You can't buy a Lightning Lane Single Pass and then lose your money if the attraction is "sold out." You will be offered a one-hour return time when buying it. If you accept that time, you complete the purchase. If you don't accept the time, you do not have to buy it. You can try to modify the time before making your decision, but ultimately you will know what time you will get if you buy it. If the attraction is already completely sold out for that day, they won't let you buy it. You won't get use a lightning lane to ride the attraction, but you do not lose any money.

For Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you will choose the three attractions you want to book first, subject to the tier rules mentioned in another post above. You will be offered times for those three attractions. As with single pass, you can try to modify the times, but ultimately will have to decide whether to buy or not based on the three attractions and times offered. Not all attractions may be available when you try to buy LLMP. When making additional LLMP reservations after you start using them, not all attractions may be available. But you will know your first three booked attractions before you buy, so you won't lose your money and get nothing. You may just not get as much as you were hoping for.

Lightning Lane Multi Pass is very complicated. A three year old could not understand all of the ins and outs. Most of us adults don't (and I include myself in that category even though I know more than most.)

 

[mickeyluv'r]

so......................I don't get it
I've tried reading things on it and I just don't get it.
There are now multiple types of lightning lanes (no I've never used genie plus nor lightning lanes)
It's possible that you buy a lightning lane and aren't even able to use it if it is sold out? (so you lose your money)
you have to specifically reserve a time?
Now there is this multi lightning lane thing? or lightning lane express something?
How is genie plus different from lightning lane? (I don't even know how genie plus works)
I need it explained to me like I am a 3 year old. Apparently I'm too dumb for this.
My son usually gets DAS. He is autistic. We haven't been back since the whole DAS refurb and everyone is mad and saying that a lot of people that used to get it don't so I am thinking for our trip we might get lightning lane or genie plus either as a backup if we aren't approved for DAS (because we won't know until right before our trip), OR in combination with the DAS. Sometimes every SINGLE line and things are just too long so while we are waiting for our DAS time to come up we can't do anything and I don't want it to start up so we might be able to go on a ride or something while waiting for a DAS time. Has anyone else done this? How far in advance do you have to reserve lightning lane? Like spur of the moment or fat chance?

Just......help.........be gentle.......please........thank you............all the feels.

It may help to watch some videos. They often do a decent job of showing how to use/book LL that are not easily explained in writing, especially if you are a visual/auditory or kinesthetic learner. (Kinesthetic = someone who learns best by doing what they are trying to learn)

 

[Minuet888]

Lightning Lane Multipass - this is sort of the middle of the other two (not 1 ride and not ALL rides). With multipass, you can hold up to 3 ride reservations at a time AND you can park hop (although I think you need to make your initial 3 reservations in the same park.) The list of rides eligible for multipass is long at each park. Note - the rides that are designated as single pass are NOT eligible to be booked with multipass.

There are three types of lightning lane passes: multi-pass, single-pass, and premiere pass. These replaced Genie+, so, as far as you are concerned, Genie+ doesn't exist anymore.

I'm not going to repeat what others have said, but offer a few minor corrections/comments.

The time to buy Lightning Lanes (all three types) begins at 7:00 AM Eastern, not 6:00 as reported above. If staying onsite, you can book for length of stay up to 14 days (not 10 days as reported above).

ok wow, so much info! Thank you so much to everyone that responded!
it will be our 25th anniverwsary trip, a 2 1/2 week trip and we are splurging/doing it big, so I might think about just buying the lightning lane premiere pass.
Do those ever sell out?
We are planning to stay on site at the Contemporary
I understand it varies by date (We are planning middle of May 2026), ballpark how much is a lightning lane premire pass? like a couple hundred each person or a couple thousand each person (big difference).
Also how many rides have lightning lane in each park? All of them? Just a couple? (that would also make a big difference)
Again I thank you so much for your info and time (I think my issue is I am a hands on learner and have to see the computer application that runs lightning lane in order to understand how to actually "do"it.

 

[Tom_E_D]

ok wow, so much info! Thank you so much to everyone that responded!
it will be our 25th anniverwsary trip, a 2 1/2 week trip and we are splurging/doing it big, so I might think about just buying the lightning lane premiere pass.
Do those ever sell out?
We are planning to stay on site at the Contemporary
I understand it varies by date (We are planning middle of May 2026), ballpark how much is a lightning lane premire pass? like a couple hundred each person or a couple thousand each person (big difference).
Also how many rides have lightning lane in each park? All of them? Just a couple? (that would also make a big difference)
Again I thank you so much for your info and time (I think my issue is I am a hands on learner and have to see the computer application that runs lightning lane in order to understand how to actually "do"it.

This webpage has lots of data about lightning lane premiere pass, including prices for the next few weeks: https://www.thrill-data.com/premier-pass/wdw

This Disboards thread lists days that premiere pass has sold out: https://www.disboards.com/threads/lightning-lane-premier-pass-llpp-history-of-sellout-dates.3962591/

I doubt it will sell out in the middle of May, but who knows.

One list of attractions can be seen here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/p...-world-starting-july-24.3948850/post-66012777

Premiere Pass includes all the Single Pass and Multi Pass attractions in a park.

 

[ShaneDJ]

And more info (specific to LLPP):
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/lightning-lane-passes/lightning-lane-premier/

 

[Dave006]

Do those ever sell out?

Yes LLPP has sold out for days around Thanksgiving week, around Christmas week through the first days beyond NYE. And now around Presidents week starting around Valentines day and still selling out days this week.

I understand it varies by date (We are planning middle of May 2026), ballpark how much is a lightning lane premire pass? like a couple hundred each person or a couple thousand each person (big difference).

It ranges and MK is the most expensive at $449 per day but who knows what it will be by May 2026. The other parks are lower.

Also how many rides have lightning lane in each park?

The number of LL vary by park. MK has 20 attractions today, Epcot has 13 attractions today, HS has 14 today, AK has 10 today. There may be additions / subtractions by May 2026.

Again I thank you so much for your info and time (I think my issue is I am a hands on learner and have to see the computer application that runs lightning lane in order to understand how to actually "do"it.

Well then you need to download the Disney MDE app to your smartphone. The LLPP option is easy, you just purchase for one park and day at a time, and then you just tap in any Lightning Lane attraction in any order.

Dave

 

[elvispursley]

I’d recommend watching some videos on YouTube. I never used Genie + and was so lost, especially after I got up to speed with Genie + and it literally changed a month before our trip last year. I’ e found that Molly from Mammoth Club and Rob from Ear Scouts do a really good job explaining the basics of lightening lanes (booking and using) and using it in all the parks and differing situations.

 

[Miffy]

Just to be clear about the LL Premier Pass--the pass is for one park for one day only. And you get to ride each ride only once. I'm mentioning this because only someone with truly unlimited funds would be purchasing LLPP for every day of a 2.5-week trip. And if you do have unlimited funds, consider doing a VIP tour or two instead.

OP, since you're going for 2.5 weeks, you'll do fine getting regular old LLMPs and LLSPs. The Disney site lists what's available at each park.

I agree with a PP--YouTube videos are helpful.

 

[jimmymc]

In all of Disney's infinite wisdom, they have invented three types of lightning lanes: Single Pass, Multi Pass, and Premier Pass. We'll go through each one by one.

Single Pass is for the most popular attractions on property. You select the ride, date, and time, and you get to skip the line once. If the ride goes down during your time, you can use it later in the day if there's availability or get a refund. The rides included in single pass are Seven Dwards and Tron in MK, Guardians Cosmic Rewind in Epcot, Rise of the Resistance in Studios, and Flight of Passage in AK. You can only do each ride once per day, and two single passes total per day. These passes can be booked for your entire trip at 7 am, 7 days ahead of your check in date for guests staying on property. Off-property and local guests can book at 7 am 3 days ahead of their park visit.

Multi Pass covers the rest of the rides with lightning lane entrances. You pick a theme park and can select up to 3 rides ahead at the park you buy Multi Pass for. Once you use the first pass, you can book another ride. You can then keep booking new rides every time you use your next pass. Each ride can only be done once per day on multi pass. If you have a park hopper ticket, then rides booked after your initial 3 can be at any park. You can keep booking as many rides as there is availability for. Like before, these passes can be booked for your entire trip at 7 am, 7 days ahead of your check in date for guests staying on property. Off-property and local guests can book at 7 am 3 days ahead of their park visit.

Premier Pass is the simplest, but also the most expensive. You get to use every lightning lane once, at one park, at any time. So if you buy it for Magic Kingdom, you get to skip the line one time at every attraction, including those which normally require a single pass. No need to book times, just show up at each ride when you want. These passes can also be bought 7 or 3 days in advance, but it's less urgent because you don't need to book specific times. They can sell out, so still book them as soon as you know you want them.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Do those ever sell out?
We are planning to stay on site at the Contemporary
I understand it varies by date (We are planning middle of May 2026), ballpark how much is a lightning lane premire pass? like a couple hundred each person or a couple thousand each person (big difference).
Also how many rides have lightning lane in each park? All of them? Just a couple? (that would also make a big difference)
Again I thank you so much for your info and time (I think my issue is I am a hands on learner and have to see the computer application that runs lightning lane in order to understand how to actually "do"it.

1. Yes. But the sell out dates have been a bit odd so far.
2. Others have posted good links.
3. Look at My Disney Experience to see what rides/shows have LL, and how long the standby waits get. Keep in mind though, many of the Lightning Lanes are somewhat useless. If you book a LL for Philarmagic, for example, you are NOT going to see the show any earlier, except maybe on very rare occasions.

If you buy the multipass, you will be able to book 3 attractions before you arrive. Animal Kingdom only has 5 LL that will save you time in line: Flight of Passage (not part of multi-pass), Dinosaur- currently 15 min wait/no prebooking needed, Everest 40min/passes avail, Safari - 45 minutes/passes available to book, and Na'vi 65min/not available. So really only Na'vi and maybe Flight of Passage are important to prebook. You could also always wait in 1 standby, skip a ride, or do what many do and ride one major attraction early in the morning.

If you buy LLMP for AK and the LL for flight of Passage, you'd pay $32 per person. If you buy Premier pass for AK, you'll spend $119 per person, which is quite a bit more! In MK, it is sometimes $400 per person. For a family of 4, that's $1600 PLUS tax.

Also look carefully at Epcot, because that park also only has a few big attractions. Much of the park does not get long waits, like Imagination rarely has a long wait.

The waits posted online are also often inflated, meaning the actual wait is often a little or a lot shorter than what is posted. Mid-afternoon they are somewhat accurate, late in the day waits tend to be inflated. Also, LL is not instant ride access. Disney does not post how long the LL wait will be, but it is not zero. Sometimes it is very short, other times it could be 20+.

 

[Miffy]

And, one more thing--in case you're not already aware--purchasing LLs (MP, SP, and PP) and even a VIP tour, do not give you entrance to the parks. You still have to have park tickets, either single park or hoppers.

 

[fatmanatee]

This is a pretty neat chart summarizing the main points.

https://www.instagram.com/theparkprodigy/p/DFLOVo-xjHq/