updated Jan 24th, 2025
Out with the old, in with the new. FastPass and Genie+ is now officially a thing of the past, and in its place comes the ultra confusing Lightning program.
The very first thing to know is that in Disneyland in California – the ONLY change that has happened since introducing Genie+/Lightning Lane Multipass is the name change. Every single other thing is exactly the same!
Genie + = “Lightning Lane Multipass”
Individual Lightning Lane =”Lightning lane Singlepass”
First Step
The very first thing you want to do is make sure you you have the most updated version of the Disneyland app on your phone. This is very important!
The next thing to know is that there are three tiers to the Lightning Lane program. Let’s break down each one and then answer any questions that may arise. For Disney’s explanation of the Genie, head here.
Tier One: Disney Genie
Cost: None
This is added to everyone’s app as a free service, and is available to anyone who has valid park tickets. It features:
- Personalized day planner
- Tip board
- Virtual assistant
- Mobile order
- Virtual queues
One of the most confusing things about this is that it’s really just an upgraded version of the app as we know it, and it remains to be seen how helpful the new features really are. You do not need to take any action in order to use the Disney Genie. However, if you do go to the app and favourite things that look the most exciting to you, it will customize it more to your group.
As always, standby queues will be available. We have found that they prioritize moving the Lightning Lane lines, leading to slower moving lines in the standby queues.
After using Genie both in Disneyland and Walt Disney World before the switch to Lightning Lane Multi-pass (the newest system), I haven’t found this free part of Genie to be of any use. Perhaps if I was new to a Park it might come in handy… but it didn’t increase the enjoyment or the ability to do things better in any way.
It also appears to be a way for Disney to add a “crowd control” element. So we find they will suggest going somewhere that never has a line to get people out of the more crowded areas. This isn’t the smartest way to do a flow at Disney – which is why you have us!
Tier Two: Disney Lightning Lane Multi-Pass
Cost: $32 USD per ticket, per day for for Disneyland (if pre-purchased) and upwards of $32-$42 USD per ticket, per day based on the day of (purchased on the app after scanning in)
Lightning Lane Multi-pass works very similar to how MaxPass worked at Disneyland pre-COVID. If you are familiar with it, than this will be much less confusing than for those who have only done the traditional FastPass system at Walt Disney World. Lightning Lane features the ability to arrive at certain attractions using the Lightning Lane entrance (previously the FastPass entrance). You can get one at a time, and Lightning Lane will give you a specific time to ride. One important new change; you can only use this service ONCE per day per attraction… meaning, you can’t use it twice (or more) for your favorite attractions, unlike FastPass.
Note – just because you can only get one at a time, doesn’t mean you can’t have more than one in your app at a time – more about that later.
Newly added to Disneyland as of Oct 2022: variable pricing. Depending on the day, the price will be between $32-$42 USD for Disneyland… for now. Check on the day you want to purchase it for pricing and availability. When ever possible – we recommend pre-adding it to ALL of your park days in your Disneyland package or on your ticket standalone purchase.
New features to Lightning Lane
There are a few added bonuses to Lightning Lane that are new features.
Personalized Itinerary
- The personalized itinerary will update through the day. One thing I do like is that you can “favourite” things you don’t want to forget to see or eat… because I ALWAYS think I’ll remember and then I’m like shoot, I really wanted a cheeseburger egg roll and now the cart is closed.
Disney PhotoPass AR Lenses
- The Disney PhotoPass AR Lenses are fun! When you upgrade to Lightning Lane multipass, you’ll also get augmented reality lenses, and you can save them to your photo reel! At certain areas in the park, pull out this lens on the app to see a Mickey constellation or the hitchhiking ghosts, for example.
PhotoPass Hack
- The PhotoPass is included! Protip: If you don’t want to drop $32 per person, per day for everyone to have Lightning Lane: Multipass purchase it for ONE person so that you all have access to the Photopass the entire time you are at Disneyland. We did this for our March trip!
Curently the attraction photos are free for everyone with a ticket.. however, if you want any Photopass photos, you will need Lightning Lane Multipass on at least one ticket.
Attractions with photos:
Disneyland: Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Space Mountain
DCA: Incredicoaster, Guardians of the Galaxy
Take a picture of the code on the screen when you walk out and add it when you have a second to the photo section of your app!
Things to note:
- At Disneyland, you can either add Lightning Lane Multi-Pass to all of your days before your vacation (whether a ticket only purchase or a vacation package), or you can add it to a single day. You can even go into the Parks, realize that you do want it, and add it right on the app.
- Just go through the gates, then purchase, then make your first selection.
- Note – the risk to adding it day of is that it can be more expensive per day. If you know you want it, make sure to add it to all of your days ahead of time to get the cheapest price!
Attractions included in Lightning Lane Multi-Pass at Disneyland:
Before getting to the list of what IS included, note that there are two rides that are ONLY available for the Lightning Lane Single Pass. This means that despite paying for the Lightning Lane, Radiator Springs Racers in DCA and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance are Lightning Lane Single Pass Attractions and will therefore have their own fees attached.
Disneyland
Tomorrowland: Autopia, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Space Mountain, Star Tours- The Adventures Continue
Frontierland: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean
Bayou Country and New Orleans Square: Haunted Mansion and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Adventureland: Indiana Jones Adventure
Fantasyland: “it’s a small world”, Matterhorn Bobsleds
Galaxy’s Edge: Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Toon Town: Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway (NEWLY added Oct 2023)
Disney’s California Adventure
Avengers Campus: Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! and Web-Slingers
Grizzly Peak: Grizzly River Run, Soarin’ Around the World
Hollywood Land: Monster’s, Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue!
Paradise Gardens Park: Goofy’s Sky School, The Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure
Pixar Pier: Incredicoaster, Toy Story Midway Mania!
Tier Three: Lightning Lane Single Pass
Cost: $14 – $34 per person, per attraction, per day (one time use)
(we have been watching and have noticed it’s usually between $12 and $25 per person, per ride)
This has been a more controversial aspect of the change. However, you do not need to purchase the Lightning Lane Multi-Pass in order to take advantage of this service. But it does cost a pretty penny to enjoy quick access to these two popular rides.
Also worth noting, there isn’t a set price for Lightning Lane Single Pass. They change based on the day, and which ride you’d like to experience. The app is going to be the best place for you to see how much it will cost to skip the line on your favourite ride. And note, this service is limited to TWO selections per guest, per day.
Attractions included in Lightning Lane Single Pass at Disneyland and DCA:
Disneyland: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
California Adventure Park: Radiator Springs Racers
Important to note:
Once you’ve hit “purchase” on these attractions, they are not able to be modified or canceled in any way. As previously mentioned, you can still wait in the regular standby line for these attractions.
Alright, clear as mud?
Disneyland
If you do this correctly, you can basically move from ride to ride all day long using the Lightning Lane. There are some favourite rides without it, so plan to ride those early or late in the day, or when the times dip. If you are wise with your decisions, you can ride more than 10 Lightning Lane rides in a day! Don’t try to stack, just pick one, ride it, then pick another… all day long.
If you’ve got little kids (under 40″ in particular), it may not seem worth it to have the Lightning Lane Multi-Pass.. but even using it on 2-3 rides as a family can make a big difference. You can also choose a ride that the smaller child can’t go on, and hope that the ride has “downtime”, turning it into a “multi-experience pass”, and then having the opportunity to pick a ride a second time! We’ll explain what that is shortly.
A few things that we find really helps:
- Don’t use Lightning Lane for rope drop. Start using it around 9:30am/10am. Ride 1-3 bigger rides WITHOUT Lightning Lanes, then start picking them midway through the morning. Remember – you can only pick each ride once a day.
- Set an alarm for the next time that you can make your lightning lane pass.. This is listed at the top of the “Lightning Lane” box on the bottom 3 lines of the right of your page on your app! Don’t forget to ALSO check each time you scan into a ride with Lightning Lanes to see if you can choose another one – because sometimes it’s wait 2 hours, and sometimes it’s after you scan through the next ride.
- You can MODIFY your Lightning Lane times and move it to later in the day. This no longer effects your next time as long as you modify it before the hour is over when you were supposed to ride it. We always look at moving our LL times when we select the next one – so we aren’t looking at our phones all day.
The golden ticket of LL is getting a “multi-experience” pass.
A multi-experience pass is given to you when the ride you had selected goes “down” during your scheduled time. Keep in mind that certain rides have different tiers. So if you have a Lightning Lane for “it’s a small world” and get a multi-experience pass – you aren’t going to be able to use it for Space Mountain, for example. A good strategy is to watch for the times for Indiana Jones, Space Mountain and Big Thunder. If you see a ride with a “star” AND you can select it for Genie, you have a decent chance of being given a Multi-experience pass – which you can use more than once on your favorite ride in a day! If you DO get one, pick that ride again to try to get another one, until the ride is back up. I’ve seen as many as 6 multi-experience passes given in a row for this!
Our Opinion:
We had the ability to try both Disneyland with and without LL last year. As much as we hate to admit it, once you get the hang of it, it’s going to at least double the amount of rides you can do in a day… and it’s going to make things much more enjoyable. We personally don’t think that it’s worth paying for the LL single pass.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. Can Lightning Lane Multi-Pass be purchased for all days OR only some days?
- You can purchase attached to your tickets, or easily purchase it once you’ve scanned through the gates of the Park. Click the 3 lines on the bottom right, then “my genie day” then in very teeny tiny print is says purchase Disney Lightning Lane Multi-Pass. It will review who you are buying it for, and then tell you it’s charging.
Protip: If you purchase this, screen shot in case it glitches.
2. When can Lightning Lane Multi-Pass be added to an existing vacation package?
- Up to 3 days before your trip. After that, your tickets are “vouched” and you have to add LLMP per day.
3. When can Lightning Lane Single Pass be purchased?
- Must be purchased and used on the same day; available for purchase after entering the park. You can select up to two at this time.
- Protip: While LL Single Pass can’t sell out, they CAN run out of times. You want to purchase this as early as possible to avoid this situation.
4. Can LL Multi Pass or LL Single Pass sell out?
- YES. It’s not very common, though, so don’t worry too much!
5. Can LL Single Pass be purchased without LL Multi Pass?
- Yes, you can still purchase one or two of the Lightning Lane Single Pass without the Lightning Lane Multi-Pass feature.
6. Can LL Single Pass be made for more than one Park?
- Sure can! You can purchase LL Single Passes for both (as long as you have a park hopper ticket). Remember you can’t park hop til after 11am – so it won’t let you pick a time in the other park until after 11am.
7. Can my times be adjusted?
- LL Single Pass cannot be modified or refunded.
- LL Multi Pass times can be changed if desired.
8. Can I use lightning lane more than once per day for the same attraction?
- You cannot. For example, if you use it for Space Mountain, you cannot select that ride again until it is a different day. If you wanted to ride it again, you would have to get in the standby queue.
9. Can I use Lightning Lane across more than one Park?
- Absolutely! It’s a little tricky to see the “switch Park” at the top of the screen in your app, but you can choose a ride for a different Park. Just make sure you a) have Park Hopper tickets and b) select a time after you are allowed to Park Hop.
10. What is “stacking” and how do I do it?
- Stacking is when you pick a ride every 2 hours for later in the day, making it so that you can do multiple rides back to back to back using Lightning Lane. Disneyland you often will have better success in picking the closest time to when you can ride.
- You only need to have scanned into a park in the morning to keep selecting Lightning Lane times – so even if you are back at the Hotel for a rest, you can pick one every 2 hours – so set those alarms!
11. What happens when rides have “down time?”
- If the ride goes “down” (whether because of a mechanical error, or something like lightning in the area), it will turn into a multi-experience for the same park, same tier rides.
And if you are ready to start planning a Disney vacation, feel free to contact me for a complimentary, no obligation quote! I don’t charge a fee or have hidden costs of any kind!
Have a magical day!
Erica, Heidi, Elisia and Danielle