OK, Disney fans. It’s time to dig deep into the depths of your memory. We’re going back in time to the days of FastPass+, Disney’s (old) skip-the-line service. Under the FastPass+ system, you could book ride reservations BEFORE your trip, giving you access to shorter lines throughout the day. Why are we bringing this up right now? Well, Disney just implemented some HUGE changes to its current (paid) skip-the-line service, and some of the new features sound pretty familiar.

The new skip-the-line system is essentially a rebrand of Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes, now called Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass, respectively. There is a LOT to learn when it comes to the new system, and we’ve got reporters testing every possible Lightning Lane planning scenario so that YOU can be prepared for your next vacation. We’re sharing all our findings right HERE, LIVE with you! Let’s dive in.

What’s Changing:

As of July 24th, Disney World has officially switched over to Lightning Lane Multi Pass  and Lightning Lane Single Passes. Under the new system, you can:

• Make Lightning Lane plans BEFORE you’re in the parks
• Choose experiences and times prior to purchasing so you know what you’re getting with your purchase
• Book Lightning Lane passes for MULTIPLE vacation days, all at once

Genie+ is now called Lightning Lane Multi Pass. This is an optional, PAID service available on the My Disney Experience app. Lightning Lane Multi Pass users are able to bypass standby lines and utilize the Lightning Lane (previously known as the FastPass line) at select attractions in the parks by paying a single fee for multiple attractions. 

When purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you can make up to THREE Lightning Lane Multi Pass selections in a park ahead of your visit. Additionally, you must choose from a list of available times as you make your attraction selections, and you can continue to hold up to three Lighting Lane Multi Pass selections at a time.

If you’re staying at a Disney World hotel (and select other hotels), you will be able to purchase and select your first three Lightning Lane Multi Passes up to seven days in advance of your check-in day for your entire stay (up to 14 days). If you are not staying in a Disney World hotel, you can purchase and select your first three Lightning Lane Multi Passes three days in advance.

Now, this is where things get interesting, so pay attention. Starting now, Disney is also using a tiered system for ride selections. (Remember how we said this sounded like FastPass+? Well, this might sound familiar!) Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios all use this tiered system to group their rides, and from those initial three advance selections, you can choose one experience from a higher-tiered group and two experiences (or all three) from a lower-tiered group. Tiers do not apply at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Here is the current breakdown:

Magic Kingdom

You may choose ONE attraction from the following:

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Jungle Cruise
• Peter Pan’s Flight
• Space Mountain
• Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

You may choose ONE attraction from the following:

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Jungle Cruise
• Peter Pan’s Flight
• Space Mountain
• Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

You may choose TWO attractions (or all 3) from the following:

• 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

EPCOT

You may choose ONE attraction from the following:

• Frozen Ever After
• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
• Soarin’ Around the World

You may choose TWO attractions (or all 3) from the following:

• Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival
• Journey Into Imagination with Figment
• Living With the Land
• Mission: SPACE
• The Seas with Nemo and Friends
• Spaceship Earth
• Turtle Talk with Crush

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

You may choose ONE attraction from the following:

• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
• Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
• Slinky Dog Dash

You may choose TWO attractions (or all 3) from the following:

• Alien Swirling Saucers
• Beauty and the Beast — Live on Stage
• Disney Junior Play and Dance!
• For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
• Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
• Muppet*Vision 3D
• Star Tours
• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
• Toy Story Mania!

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

You may choose THREE attractions from the following:

• 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
• Na’vi River Journey

Now, you can also choose to use Disney’s pay-per-ride service. With Lightning Lane Single Pass, you can pay a fee to utilize the Lightning Lane for an individual, in-demand attraction. The only major change here is that you can make your purchase before your trip in order to plan in advance! Just like the Multi Pass, you can select your first THREE Lightning Lane Single Passes up to seven days in advance if you’re staying at a Disney World hotel. All other guests can purchase and select their first three Lightning Lane Single Passes three days in advance.

The full list of attractions currently available under Lightning Lane Single Pass in Disney World is as follows:

Magic Kingdom:

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
• TRON Lightcycle / Run

EPCOT:

• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

Animal Kingdom:

• Avatar Flight of Passage

Hollywood Studios:

• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

We are testing EVERYTHING there is to know about how these changes will work, so keep reading to see how this new system works!

Book These Rides FIRST With Disney World’s New Lightning Lane Multi Pass System!

LIVE Lightning Lane Experiments:

Today is the day, people! Genie+ is OUT and the new Lightning Lane Multipass is HERE! Here’s a quick look at us booking our day in Magic Kingdom today.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure was an option to choose here, but we did get a notification that it was unavailable for the day. pic.twitter.com/stPlnG9z8p

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) July 24, 2024

Experiment #1:

Our task:

• Buy Multi-Pass and make Magic Kingdom Reservations for 7/24
• Add an Individual Lightning Lane

Our questions:

• Can you hold two Tier 1 Lightning Lanes at once AFTER you have used a Tier 2 Lightning Lane reservation?
  • Yes! After we used one of our Lightning Lanes, we were able to book Big Thunder Mountain Railroad so we had both Big Thunder and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at once. Tiers are only applicable for advance reservations. Once the park opens on the day of your reservations, the tiers don’t apply anymore.

• Park hopping – can you reserve in another park before you have hopped?
  • Yes! Not only can you book an attraction in another park you can also MODIFY one of your existing reservations for another park. This is a huge perk that did not exist with Genie+.
• Does refreshing the Lightning Lane screen help you get more time options?
  • Yes! We were able to get earlier times when we refreshed than when we booked at 7AM.

Just like with Genie+, refreshing can help you. Here’s a Tier 1 ride with much earlier times available than when we booked at 7AM! pic.twitter.com/5kTgjT37ex

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) July 24, 2024

Experiment #2:

Our task:

• • • Buy Multi-Pass and make reservations for EPCOT for 7/31
    • Buy a Single Pass for Guardians

This was our process of booking a week in advance for our Lightning Lanes in EPCOT! Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is a separate price from the EPCOT Multipass for the day. pic.twitter.com/gldTjG8veP

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) July 24, 2024

Disney’s New Lightning Lane System Has One HUGE Problem

Experiment #3:

Our task:

• Try for the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Virtual Queue
• Buy Multi-Pass and make EPCOT Reservations for 7/24
• Try to make a reservation that conflicts with our 11:30 advance dining reservation at Spice Road Table

Our questions:

• Does the system warn you about a conflict between a Lightning Lane and your advance dining reservation?
  • The system warns you in a sense by showing you your advance dining in the screen while you’re making your Lightning Lane selections, however, it allows you to make these overlapping reservations.

We’ll be answering ALL your Lightning Lane questions and trying EVERYTHING under the new system, so stick around for more!

Everything You Need to Know About Lightning Lanes in Disney World

What do you want to know about this NEW system? Let us know in the comments!

The post HUGE CHANGES Hit Disney World Today – Come With Us To Test Them Out! first appeared on the disney food blog.