How to Use Disney’s Lightning Lane Passes | Multi, Single & Premier

At this time, Disney is trying out a new program, designed for those who can afford luxury. The new Lightning Lane Premier Pass is for guests of the Disney World Value, Moderate, Deluxe Resorts and Villas, as well as a small number of other select hotels. We’ll cover that here, but of course, as with everything Disney World, it’s subject to change.

This Lightning Lane system replaced the Disney Genie program as of July 24, 2024. For those who have gone to Disney over the years, you’ll recognize some of the new program in the old ones. It’s got characteristics of the old Fastpass program (except it’s NOT free) as well as the Genie program. Yes, the part about it not being free is a bummer, but the great thing about this new program is that you can book your rides ahead of time similar to Fastpass. In fact, you can choose attractions and arrival windows before you buy! You can also make plans for multiple days all at one time. That’s a huge improvement over the Genie program.

What do the Lightning Lane Passes do?

They shorten your wait times. Though there’s no guarantee, wait times are often 15 minutes or below.

Many rides and attractions have two lines. “Standby” is the regular queue that guests join. Lightning Lane is the special kind of queue that allows you to skip the standby line and join a shorter line at your reserved time. These lines usually bypass all the cool theming that many Standby queues have, but they can save you enormous amounts of time.

Do all rides and attractions have Lightning Lanes?

No. Not every ride or attraction is included in the Lightning Lane programs. You’ll find that the ones with the longest Standby queue wait times are included.

For those of you that enjoyed using Fastpass or Lightening Lanes for Character Meet & Greets in the past, unfortunately this is not available with this system.

Can I use both the Lightning Lane Multi Pass and the Single Pass?

Yes, you can buy and use both of these. If you do, currently we suggest you select your multi pass selections first, as these are more popular than the single pass options. By booking your multi pass selections first, you will have earlier return times.

If I buy a Premier Pass, can I also buy a Multi Pass and Single Pass?

Yes, if you wish to, it’s allowed.

What is the difference between the Lightning Lane Multi Pass, the Single Pass and the Lightning Lane Premier Pass?

The Multi Pass allows you to choose 3 multi Pass experiences before your visit. Then when you’re in the park, and after you’ve used your first Multi Pass, you can make additional ride/attraction selections (if they’re still available).

The Multi Pass is based on a one-off purchase price that is fixed by park and date. Once you have purchased the pass, there are no additional costs for using the multi pass element. And because it can now be purchased in advance (see below), you don’t need to set your alarm for 6:55 am to book your lightening lanes (or Single Passes) for the day as you did with the prior system.

The Single Pass is similar to the old Individual Lightning Lane option in the Genie program. You choose a single Lightning Lane pass from one of the allowable rides/attractions. You can purchase up to two of these per day, and of course, it’s subject to availability. As with the Multi Pass, you can buy these in advance. There are a small number of attractions that have the Single Pass.

The Lightning Lane Premier Pass is currently being piloted with very limited quantities. It’s only available to those staying in Disney World owned Resorts, and a small number of other select resorts (currently the Dolphin, Swan, Swan Reserve and Shades of Green resorts). The pass allows one time entry to each Lightning Lane experience in a single theme park. The great thing about this pass is that you can enter any Lightning Lane queue at any time, without booking it in advance.

Since Disney is in the process of testing it,  the Lightning Lane Premier Pass may be changed, but then everything at Disney World is always subject to change.

Here comes the biggest downside.

How much does the Lightning Lane Premier Pass cost?

Lightning Lane Premier Pass is super expensive, currently ranging from $129 to $449 per person, per day. The other two passes are far less expensive, but less convenient.

How much does the Multi Pass cost?

The multi pass is a one off payment (per guest) per day. The cost will depend on which date and which park you book with Magic Kingdom usually being the more expensive of the four parks, and Animal Kingdom being the least expensive. Disney advertises the feature as “from $15” per day, but the reality is Magic Kingdom is usually in the $20-30 range the majority of the time. They can be as much as $39 per person, per day currently.

Remember that the cost is per guest and every guest with a ticket (so not under 3s) will need a multi pass to be able to book lightening lanes. This means if the multi pass is $25 and there are 4 people in your party, you will need to pay $100 for the day.

How much does the Lightning Lane Single Pass Cost?

These also depend on the park and the date you book. Right now, according to disneytouristblog.com, here are the high and low price points they’ve seen lately:

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train: high $12, low $10
• TRON Lightcycle Run: $20
• Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind: high $17, low $14
• Star Wars Rise of the Resistance: high $25, low $15
• Avatar Flight of Passage: high $17, low $11

Of course, holidays may be higher, and these are subject to change.

What about park hopping?

The Premier Pass does not allow for park hopping.

The Multi Pass does allow for park hopping. If you plan to park hop, buy the multi pass for the first park. Once you have used your first multi pass in your first park you will be able to book another one. At this point you can choose if that is another ride in your first park, or a ride in the park you plan to hop to.

MONEY SAVING TIP:  As Animal Kingdom is the cheapest, starting your day at Animal Kingdom and then hopping to another park – particularly Magic Kingdom can save you up to $10 per guest per day. Note, however that you will need to enter Animal Kingdom and tap in for at least one lightning lane before the system will let you change parks.

The single pass can be purchased for any park you’ll be attending in a day.

Buying the Lightning Lane Multi Passes, Single Passes and Premier Passes

To buy, you need to have an account set up in the My Disney Experience (MDE) app. All the guests that you wish to make bookings for also need to be linked to your account (so you can create a group booking).

Ensure that you have the payment card you wish to use linked to your account prior to booking.

TIP: Link more than one card if you intend to book more than one day. My first payment card rejected the payment after the 4th day, and it was quick and easy to switch to the second card in the account.

Make a list of days you wish to book and which attractions you want to book. If you want popular attractions, book those first and for the end of your trip. It will increase the likelihood that you’ll get what you want.

In the app, You will see the option to book the Premier Pass if you’re staying in a qualifying hotel, the single pass (additional cost) or the multi pass. Select the option you wish to buy. You will need to select the date, the park and the people you are booking for.

MULTI PASS TIP: Book earlier in the day to allow you to use more later in the day.

MULTI PASS TIP: You can modify the times at any point, subject to availability. But the closer you get to that day, the less options there will be.

Can I book any 3 attractions with the Multi Pass?

No. Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios have a “tier” system. You can book 1 attraction from tier 1 and 2 attractions from tier 2. You can also book 3 from tier 2 if you don’t book a tier 1.

In Animal Kingdom there are no tiers.

TIP: Always book your tier 1 attraction first as this will be most popular.

When can I book my Lightning Lane Passes?

Resort guests are able to book 7 days from the first day of their reservation, starting at 7 am Eastern time, and for the full length of their trip (up to 14 days). You must have a valid theme park admission linked to your My Disney Experience account, and for the Premier Pass, you must also have a valid resort reservation.

Non resort guests can book 3 days in advance, for the length of your park ticket. So three days before your first day you can book multi pass for the full length of your ticket.

TIP: If you want to book the most popular attractions like Tirana’s Bayou Adventure, Slinky Dog Dash etc, it is best to book these for the end of your trip as there will be more time slots available.

Getting around the app restriction for international visitors

There is a restriction in the system which prevents non US/ Canadian guests from booking the Lightning Passes. It is not possible to use a VPN on a browser because you can only book in the app.

To get around that for android users:

1. Set your location in the MDE app to USA then close your app totally.
2. Download a GPS spoofer app and select US
3.  Re open the app
4.  Buy your pass

For iPhone users you can use the following steps:

1. Set your location in the MDE app to USA then close your app totally.
2. Disable the location settings in thr settings menu on your phone.
3. Re open the app
4. Buy your pass

What is the best way to book?

At busy times, passes can “sell’ quickly, so it is best to start with the popular rides first. By making a list of what you need to book, you will be able to book quickly.

Book the days at the end of your trip first, and work forwards. The start of your trip will have later return times, so make sure you book less popular attractions at the start of your trip.

It is easy to book your single passes at the same time, so it is advisable to pick a day, pick your multi pass selections and then buy your single pass selections.

MDE will only allow a slight over lap, so if a park opens at 9 am, your return times will likely be 9-10, 10-11 and 11-12. Once you get in and start using the passes you can modify them (availability depending) to bring them forward.

I don’t have the most ideal time slots. Am I stuck with them?

No, you can modify a pass either by changing the time, or choosing a different attraction. You will only be able to change the time for one of two reasons; There are time slots left or someone else just cancelled their pass. To modify you need to click on the attraction and it will give you the option to modify. At the top of the page you will see the next available time for the current attraction and underneath you can see the times available to book for other attractions.

By refreshing the page you will see the times change and you may be lucky in getting an earlier time.

When can I book another lightening Lane?

As soon as you touch in for your first attraction you can select the next one.

WARNING – if you skip your first attraction you will have two problems, the first is you cannot book a new pass to replace it, you will only be able to use or modify the remaining 2.

The second problem is that because you only get one multi pass for each attraction, the system will not allow you to book the same attraction twice. If you need to skip a Lightning Lane, you should cancel or modify the existing booking.

Case Study – Park hopping with multipass

When doing the 4 parks challenge I purchased a multi pass for Animal Kingdom and I selected the Safari (8-9 am), Dinosaur (10-11 am) and Navi River Journey (10:40-11:40 am) as my 3 selections. I also paid for Flight of Passage Single Pass (8:20 am).

Once I had tapped in to the safari, I was able to book another selection. As I was park hopping to Hollywood Studios, I opted to “Change Park” and then I selected a Rock ‘n Roller Coaster lightening lane for 1:40 pm.

I could have left the selections like that, but because I had used my 8-9 am pass already, this removed the overlap until 9 am, and this allowed me to modify my dinosaur lightening lane to an earlier time (9:40 am)

Once I had tapped into Dinosaur, I again changed park and I booked at 4:45 pm lightening lane for Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Once I had tapped into Navi River Journey I booked a 12:35 pm lightening lane for Tower of Terror, and I was able to modify the Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway to 2:35 pm

I continued in the same way to book passes for Epoct and then lastly Magic Kingdom.

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