UPDATED! Disney Lightning Lanes: Premier, Multi, or Single – What You Need to Know

With Premier, Multi, and Single Pass Lightning Lanes, plus virtual queue, standby, single rider, and DAS, there are a lot of confusing ways to enter an attraction at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Let’s take a look at all your options.

Lightning Lane Premier Pass

Last year, Disney introduced the limited-quantity premium service called Lightning Lane Premier Pass, which gives guests one-time entry to all Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass Lightning Lane entrances in the theme park(s) they’re visiting that day. 

At Walt Disney World Resort, Lightning Lane Premier Pass is available to guests staying at all Deluxe, Deluxe Villa, Moderate, Value Resorts, and other select hotels. Guests staying onsite can purchase Lightning Lane Premier Pass up to 7 days before the first day of their stay – and for their entire length of stay (up to 14 days).

At Disneyland Resort, Lightning Lane Premier Pass can be purchased up to 7 days in advance of a park visit. Guests visiting Disneyland with a Walt Disney Travel Company package can purchase Lightning Lane Premier Pass when they receive their park tickets 3 days in advance of their arrival (subject to availability).

Unlike Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass, guests who purchase Lightning Lane Premier Pass do not have to select a return time; they just need to scan in whenever they want to ride. This obviously allows those guests much more freedom, but will likely impact wait times for guests with “regular” Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass – and definitely for those waiting in standby queues, which are already impacted by Lightning Lane.

As with all Lightning Lane products, Premier Pass prices vary based on the date and theme park guests are visiting.

Guests can also still purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass and/or Lightning Lane Single Pass on top of Lightning Lane Premier Pass, so for example, Walt Disney World guests can buy Premier Pass for one park and the others for any (or all) of the remaining three parks.

How Much Does Lightning Lane Premier Pass Cost?

At Disneyland, Lightning Lane Premier Pass varies by date and demand within a $300 to $400 range.

Prices are displayed in the Disneyland app up to 2 days in advance of your park visit.

At Walt Disney World, prices for Lightning Lane Premier Passes vary by date and theme park, but range from $129 to $449 per pass (plus tax), with the highest prices falling on a limited number of days over peak travel periods.

Eligible Guests can view prices in the My Disney Experience app.

For comparison’s sake, Universal Express at Universal Orlando ranges from about $95 to $310 per person, per day for one park (depending on date and park) and about $135 to $330 per person per day for two parks (depending on date).

Purchasing Lightning Lane Premier Pass

At Disneyland Resort:

• Must be purchased through the Disneyland app
• Available first come, first served
• Can be purchased at 7 a.m. PT beginning 7 days before a theme park reservation
• Available to all guests with a valid ticket and reservation
• Valid for use in both theme parks (with a park hopper ticket only)
• Includes digital Disney PhotoPass (all photos from the day)

At Walt Disney World:

• Must be purchased through the My Disney Experience app
• Available to guests staying at all Disney Deluxe, Deluxe Villa, Moderate, Value Resorts, and other select hotels
• Can be purchased for the entire length of stay (up to 14 days) at 7 a.m. ET up to 7 days before arrival
• Valid for use in one park of the guest’s choice per day
• Includes digital Disney PhotoPass (attraction photos only)

Lightning Lane 101

The number one questions we get asked about is how to schedule your Disney day. And since the demise of Genie+, it’s now all about the various flavors of Lightning Lane and Virtual Queue. Fear not intrepid traveler, we have you covered. Below, find everything you need to know about Lightning Lane and Virtual Queue for both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. There’s a lot to know

We’ll start with Disneyland. You’ll find Walt Disney World further below. 

Queue Systems at Disneyland

Disney World fans may criticize Anaheim’s diminutive castle, but in the case of Lightning Lane, the resort’s smaller size is a huge asset as the expedited entry system is easier to manage in California.

On July 24, 2024, Genie+ became Lightning Lane Multi Pass, and Individual Lightning Lane became Lightning Lane Single Pass, but at Disneyland, the name change was the only difference.

Guests can purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass, Lightning Lane Single Pass, both, or neither.

Here’s the difference between the two types of Lightning Lane:

Lightning Lane Multi Pass Attractions – Disneyland Park:

• Autopia
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
• Haunted Mansion/Haunted Mansion Holiday
• Indiana Jones Adventure
• “it’s a small world”
• Matterhorn Bobsleds
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
• Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run
• Pirates of the Caribbean (will be removed as of July 1, 2025)
• Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
• Space Mountain
• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
• Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

Lightning Lane Multi Pass Attractions – California Adventure Park:

• Goofy’s Sky School
• Grizzly River Run
• Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission: Breakout
• Incredicoaster
• The Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure
• Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sully to the Rescue
• Soarin’ Around the World
• Toy Story Midway Mania
• Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure

How to Purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Disneyland:

1. When purchasing park tickets through the Disneyland website or authorized travel professional, choose Lightning Lane Multi Pass as a ticket add-on option.
2. Guests who already have tickets may be able to upgrade to include Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
3. Purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass after entering a theme park on the day of your visit via the Disneyland app.

Lightning Lane Multi Pass starts at $30 per ticket per day (prices and availability vary by date).

Lightning Lane Single Pass Attractions (not available with multi pass):

• Radiator Springs Racers at California Adventure Park
• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disneyland Park

On Sept. 28, Radiator Springs Racers was $21 per guest and Rise of the Resistance was $26 per guest. Prices and availability can change at any time. 

Know Before You Go:

• Valid admission and a park reservation are required to purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass
• Lightning Lane Multi Pass is subject to availability; there may be days where sales are stopped.
• Prices, terms, and entitlements are subject to restrictions and change or cancellation without notice.

How to Purchase Lightning Lane Single Pass:

After entering a theme park, you can use the Tip Board on the Disneyland app to purchase a Lightning Lane Single Pass and get the next available arrival window to ride (subject to availability). The app’s Tip Board will show availability and prices on the day of your visit.

NOTE: It’s helpful to click the Show Only Lightning Lane Experiences button at the top.

What to Know About Lightning Lane Before You Go:

• Valid admission and a park reservation are required to purchase Lightning Lane Single Pass
• Limit one Lightning Lane entry per attraction per day.
• Attractions are subject to change or closure, are limited in availability, are not guaranteed, and/or may not be available at all on the day of your visit or at the time of selection or redemption. Availability can change throughout the day.
• Price, terms, and entitlements are subject to restrictions and change or cancellation without notice.

Virtual Queues at Disneyland:

A Virtual Queue (VQ) is a free service that may be used for select attractions or experiences. Often, when VQ is in place, standby options are limited or unavailable.

Follow these steps to join a Virtual Queue:

1. Check Availability – Log in to the Disneyland app at one of the distribution times. Select “Virtual Queues” on the home screen to view the current status and next steps for joining a VQ. The app will indicate when there is no availability for a specific distribution time or if a backup group is available.
2. Enroll Your Group – As long as your Disney account is linked to your group‘s park ticket, you can enroll everyone in the VQ at the same time (subject to availability).
3. Enjoy the Experience – When your boarding group is called to return, you’ll receive a notification via the Disneyland app to go to the experience within your designated return window.

Currently, there is only one Disneyland attraction using Virtual Queue:

World of Color at California Adventure Park

• To access the VQ, guests must have entered a theme park with a one-park ticket or Park Hopper ticket.
• Guests with a valid ticket and theme park reservation for the same day may be able to join the VQ beginning at noon (subject to availability).
• Guests with a VQ selection will receive a notification through the Disneyland app to enter one of the marked entrance points (Blue or Yellow) approximately 45 minutes before the show begins.

But wait…

Joining the Virtual Queue for World of Color is recommended but it is not required to view the show. Additional viewing for each performance is located around Paradise Bay on a first-come, first-served basis.

If the VQ reaches capacity, visit the Paradise Bay viewing area 30 to 45 minutes before showtime to check in with a Cast Member for walk-up viewing options.

Virtual Queue Tips & Tricks:

• Log in to the Disneyland app a few minutes before the Virtual Queue opportunity scheduling time and continue to refresh the screen so you can click the “join” button as soon as possible.
• Select one member of your party to access the Virtual Queue for everyone in your party NOTE: If multiple people in your party try to join at the same time, it may reduce your chances
• If more than one Virtual Queue is offered, assign a different person from your group to each attraction (if you’re theme parking solo, go for the most important one first)
• Make sure you have notifications enabled on the Disneyland app to receive VQ updates, including callback details and daily distribution times.
  Know Before You Go
• Each guest can enter the Virtual Queue for a given experience once per day (subject to availability)
• If more than one attraction is using Virtual Queue, Guests must enter the VQ one at a time.
• Guests can hold one VQ for an attraction and one for entertainment or two entertainment offerings at the same time. (got that?)

If you thought all that was confusing, hold on to your hats and glasses because Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World is a wild ride!

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Queue Systems at Walt Disney World Resort

Walt Disney World guests can also purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass, Lightning Lane Single Pass, both, or neither.

WDW Lightning Lane Multi Pass:

As with many things at Walt Disney World, the Lightning Lane Multi Pass system is bigger (and more complicated) than its California counterpart, but hopefully, we can help.

The most significant difference is that guests who purchase a Multi Pass at Walt Disney World can choose up to three Multi Pass experiences and arrival windows before their visit.

Once in the park, they can make an additional selection (subject to availability) as soon as they scan into the first one. After their first Multi Pass experience, guests with Park Hopper tickets can choose from available Multi Pass experiences in any park.

WDW Multi Pass Experiences:

Another difference at Walt Disney World is that Multi Pass experiences are divided into two groups. When making their pre-arrival selections, guests can only choose a maximum of one experience from Group 1 (most “E-Ticket” attractions). They can select the other two experiences (or all three) from Group 2.

When purchasing a Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you’ll be prompted to choose up to three available Multi Pass experiences and arrival windows.

Multi Pass Experiences in Magic Kingdom Park

Group 1:

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

Group 2:

• 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

Multi Pass Experiences in Epcot

Group 1:

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

Group 2:

• 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

Multi Pass Experiences in Hollywood Studios Park

Group 1:

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

Group 2:

• 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

Multi Pass Experiences in Animal Kingdom Park

Lightning Lane Multi Pass selection works differently in Animal Kingdom (because of course it does!) Here, There are no “groups,” and guests can choose any three of these Multi Pass experiences:

• 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 (replaced by “Zootopia: Better Zoogether” in winter 2025)
• Kali River Rapids
• Kilimanjaro Safaris
• Na’vi River Journey

Walt Disney World Lighting Lane Single Pass Attractions (not available with multi pass):

Walt Disney World guests can purchase up to two Single Passes per day (subject to availability).

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom
• Tron Lightcycle / Run at Magic Kingdom
• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Epcot
• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Hollywood Studios
• Avatar Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom

At about 2 p.m. on Sept. 28, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was $11 per guest; Flight of Passage, Tron, and Guardians of the Galaxy were not available for purchase. Prices and availability can change at any time.

How Much Does Lighting Lane Cost at Walt Disney World?

At Walt Disney World, prices for Lightning Lane Multi Passes vary by date and theme park, and prices for Lightning Lane Single Passes vary by date and attraction. The My Disney Experience app will show the prices for each date, park, and/or attraction.

As an example, these are Lightning Lane prices for Sept. 28, 2024:

• Magic Kingdom – $27 per guest
• Epcot – $19 per guest
• Hollywood Studios – $24 per guest
• Animal Kingdom – $17 per gues

Previously, there was an option to purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass for all four parks, but now you only need to purchase for your first park of the day and you will automatically be able to make selections at other parks as long as you have a park hopper ticket.

We hope you’re still with us because we’re about to crank up the degree of difficulty.

When Can I Purchase Lightning Lane?

Guests staying in select hotels can purchase Lightning Lane Multi Passes up to 7 days before their stay. All other Walt Disney World guests can purchase passes up to 3 days before their park visit.

All guests can purchase Lightning Lane passes for days they have valid theme park admission starting at 7 a.m. ET on their first day of eligibility.

Hotel Guests (Purchase 7 Days in Advance)

Guests staying at the following eligible hotels can purchase Lightning Lane passes (and choose experiences and arrival windows) starting 7 days before the first day of their stay (and for the entire length of their stay up to 14 days).

• Disney Resort hotels
• Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
• Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
• Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
• Shades of Green Resort

All Other Guests (Purchase 3 Days in Advance)

Not staying at an eligible hotel? You can still purchase Lightning Lane passes (and choose experiences and arrival windows) in advance, but you’ll have to wait until 3 days before arrival.

However, the rules vary based on admission type (because, of course, they do):

• Guests with date-based theme park tickets (which require the guest to choose a start date at the time of purchase) can purchase 3 days before the first day of their ticket for the total number of valid admission days on their ticket.
• Guests with tickets that are not date-based may purchase Lightning Lane passes 3 days before their park visit for any day within the 3-day purchase window.
• Annual Passholders can purchase 3 days before their park visit.

Know Before You Go:

• Valid theme park admission is required to purchase Multi Pass or Single Pass.
• Depending on the type of admission and the date of your visit, you may also need a theme park reservation. Be sure to check the theme park reservation requirements.
• Limit one Lightning Lane entry per attraction per day

Okay, we’re heading into the home stretch!

Virtual Queues at Walt Disney World:

Just like at Disneyland, guests have the opportunity to join a Virtual Queue at daily distribution times on the day of their visit. Also, just like at Disneyland, select one person to access the VQ and check for an available boarding group for everyone in your party.

• 7 a.m. – Valid admission is required, and select admission types may also need a theme park reservation.
• 1 p.m. – Guests must be inside the theme park where the Virtual Queue will be used.

Currently, there are no Walt Disney World attractions using Virtual Queue, but they can be added at any time.

Is Lightning Lane Worth It?

Walt Disney World guests were extremely frustrated when they lost the ability to pre-book expedited entry, but now that it’s back, is it worth it?

We entered Magic Kingdom at about 9 a.m. ET (before rope drop) on June 30, and several Multi Pass Experiences weren’t even available until much later in the day – for Haunted Mansion, it was 10 hours later!

However, at about 1 p.m. ET on Aug 13 (now that schools have started), many Magic Kingdom attractions showed Multi Pass available at earlier times, so if you’re able to avoid holidays and summer, you’re likely to have better options.

And even though you are only likely to ride 3 or 4 attractions with Lightning Lane Multi Pass, it does make the lines much more manageable on busy days. So it’s worth it from that regard. The question you should be asking yourself is if you can afford the extra fee per person in your party to add this service.   

Okay, Let’s Review:

Seat, seat belt, carry-on items, safety strap, fear of heights, keep your hands and arms inside at all times, anything else? Oh yeah…

• Lightning Lane Multi Pass (formerly Genie+) provides expedited entry to select attractions (based on availability). The cost is per person per day, and the pass can be purchased in advance for Walt Disney World but can only be purchased after entering a theme park at Disneyland.
• Lightning Lane Single Pass (formerly Individual Lightning Lane) provides expedited entry to select attractions not available on Multi Pass at a separate per-person-per-attraction (AKA a la carte) price.
• Virtual Queue provides free access to select attractions, but guests must request to join the Virtual Queue via the official park app at specific times each day.

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