We have major news coming out of both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort concerning the way guests book return times for expedited queues. Genie+, the current system for booking return times for most rides and attractions, will be retired.
This will change the way you plan your upcoming Disney World or Disneyland vacation, so it’s time to review what these changes are and when they’ll be rolled out at each resort.
When Will Genie+ Be Suspended, and What is Taking Its Place?
At Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort, Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes as we know them will be replaced by a new Lightning Lane Pass system on July 24. Disneyland’s changes will be essentially in name only and will function similarly to Genie+…more on that in a bit. The bulk of the changes are happening at Walt Disney World, so let’s focus on that rollout.
Lightning Lane passes feature two new services called Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass, replacing Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane, respectively. Lightning Lane passes will provide guests with a way to book Lightning Lane return times ahead of your arrival. It sounds like Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass will more closely resemble FastPass+ in its ability to book return times before your vacation. Hooray! No more setting alarms on vacation just to book those first Lightning Lane selections!
This is a HUGE change in that Genie+ had no ability to allow for pre-arrival Lightning Lane bookings; all return times had to be booked day-of. As of July 24, however, that will no longer be the case at Walt Disney World.
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Purchasing Lightning Lane Passes and Booking Lightning Lane Selections Prior to Arrival
Guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel or other select hotels (Shades of Green, the Swan and Dolphin resorts, etc.) will be able to purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass starting at 7:00 a.m. seven (7) days in prior to arrival, for their entire stay (up to 14 days). So if you arrive on August 1, you can make your selections starting July 25 for the length of your stay or up to 14 days (August 14), whichever is shorter. All guests will be able to purchase Multi Pass and Single Pass together in one transaction.
For all other guests not staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel, you can make your Lightning Lane pass purchases starting at 7:00 a.m. three (3) days prior to your first park day.
If purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you will be able to book up to three (3) Lightning Lane selections (experience and time) in one theme park, in advance of your visit.
Remember how the attractions were tiered under FastPass+? Disney World is bringing them back! When you book your Lightning Lane selections in advance, you can book up to one (1) attraction from the first group of rides, and the other two (2) or all three (3) selections from the second group. If you need a refresher, here are the full list of rides available via Lightning Lane Multi Pass, organized by park and by tier:
MAGIC KINGDOM
Choose up to one experience 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
Single Pass Attractions for Magic Kingdom (Not Available with the Multi Pass)
A Lightning Lane Single Pass can be purchased for:
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- TRON Lightcycle / Run
EPCOT
Choose up to one 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
Single Pass Attractions for EPCOT (Not Available with the Multi Pass)
A Lightning Lane Single Pass can be purchased for the following attraction:
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
DISNEY’S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers 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*Vision 3D
- Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
- Toy Story Mania!
Single Pass Attractions for Disney’s Hollywood Studios (Not Available with the Multi Pass)
A Lightning Lane Single Pass can be purchased for the following attraction:
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM
When purchasing a Lightning Lane Multi Pass for Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park, you’ll be prompted to choose up to 3 of the following multi pass experiences (as well as arrival windows).
- DINOSAUR
- Expedition Everest – Legend 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
- Naʻvi River Journey
Single Pass Attractions for Disney’s Animal Kingdom (Not Available with the Multi Pass)
A Lightning Lane Single Pass can be purchased for the following attraction:
- Avatar Flight of Passage
MAGIC KINGDOM IS CHANGING THIS YEAR AND BEYOND! CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.
Using Lightning Lane Passes In the Parks
So you purchased your Lightning Lane passes and you’ve made it to Disney World. On the day of your visit with the Lightning Lane passes, once you redeem your first Lightning Lane selection, you will be able to make an additional Lightning Lane selection via the My Disney Experience app, subject to availability.
If your tickets have Park Hopping privileges, once you redeem that first Lightning Lane selection, you can book reservations for attractions at any other theme park, including the one you’re currently in, regardless of tier (subject to availability). Your first three Lightning Lane selections, however, must be booked for the theme park for which you purchased the pass.
It’s important to note that Disney also states, “Lightning Lane passes will blend features from our current services and the previously offered FastPass+ service.” It’s unclear what those FastPass+ feature are at this time beyond the ability to book in advance, but I’ll keep an eye out and update this space as we learn more. As of this writing, the two attractions that will be available for
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How Will Disneyland’s System Differ from Walt Disney World?
Starting July 24, Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane will go through the same name change process at Disneyland Resort, becoming Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass, respectively.
However, it sounds like the timing of when guests are able to purchase the Lighting Lane passes will remain the same. This, according to Disney, is “based on the different ways we know guests visit Disneyland Resort.” It looks like, as of this writing, in-advance Lightning Lane selections will not be available for Disneyland, and will continue to only be day-of selections (similar to how MaxPass operated, just with these new names).
Like I mentioned at the top, this will be a major change in how we plan in advance for our Walt Disney World vacations. Be sure to follow along for more of the latest news from Disney Experiences!
