5 Things Lightning Lane Experts Would Never, Ever Do in Disney World

Disney4me · August 7

Genie+ is NO MORE in Disney World, and it’s Lightning Lane’s time to shine!

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Goodbye Genie+

Disney World’s new skip-the-line service is called Lightning Lane Multi Pass (formerly Genie+) and Lightning Lane Single Pass (formerly Individual Lightning Lanes), and we’re figuring it ALL out so we can tell you how to master it on your next vacation. We have tons of blog posts and videos up on our YouTube channel already, but if you’re more focused on the mistakes to avoid, these are the 5 mistakes Lightning Lane experts would NEVER do, and you shouldn’t either (because you’re well on your way to becoming an expert)!

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Wait to Purchase Lightning Lanes

To begin, we’re going to advise you against WAITING to purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass and/or Lightning Lane Single Pass! Both are available to Disney World hotel guests at 7AM ET 7 days before the beginning of their trip, and are available to all other guests 3 days before the beginning of their trip. And trust us when we say, you’ll want to book as SOON as you can!

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You’re able to make up to 3 selections for both Multi Pass and Single Pass and can lock them in before you purchase so you know what you’re getting, but that doesn’t mean that times won’t still go fast for popular attractions. Wait too long after 7AM, or decide to book closer to your trip, and some of the higher priority rides may already be gone (or their best times may be no longer available).

Prioritize Less Popular Rides

Your selections are held for 5 minutes when 7AM hits, and that’s fantastic, but it also means that the FIRST one you need to select is the most popular ride on your list. It’s more likely that times for those attractions will fill up first, so get those under a hold ASAP!

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Introducing NEW Lightning Lane systems!

7AM is a great time to book Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Jungle Cruise, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Frozen Ever After, Slinky Dog Dash, or Na’vi River Journey for Lightning Lane Multi Pass as those tend to go more quickly than the other options.

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Buy the WRONG Lightning Lane Option

If you’re a Lightning Lane expert, you’re definitely not going to buy the wrong option! When you go to make your Lightning Lane purchase, you’ll be given the choice between buying Lightning Lane Multi Pass or Lightning Lane Single Pass. While the app does a good job of describing which one is which and what you can get out of each one, don’t panic and select something at random!

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It’s also important to note that there is no park hopping option, and that’s because if the park ticket you’ve already purchased allows for park hopping (or you have an Annual Pass), you’ll automatically be able to select return times in another park ONLY WHEN you’ve used up at least ONE of your original selections during the park day. For example, if you select Big Thunder Mountain Railroad as your first selection, your other two pre-selections for Multi Pass MUST be in Magic Kingdom. However, once you redeem one of those three selections in Magic Kingdom, you can choose to make another selection in ANY park.

Buy Lightning Lanes Too Often

One mistake that you may not think about is buying Lightning Lanes too often! If you’re coming to the parks during a slower season and wait times aren’t too bad, you may not need it for every day of your vacation, and you CAN choose to purchase either for one day or your trip or for the entire thing. Generally, we recommend getting Lightning Lane Multi Pass for Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, but Animal Kingdom and EPCOT can be a bit of a toss-up. If things are looking to be relatively busy, we recommend only grabbing Lightning Lane Single Pass for Animal Kingdom and EPCOT (with heavy emphasis on Animal Kingdom).

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Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass are incredibly useful for avoiding lines during holiday seasons or summer break, but those random weekdays when there aren’t many visitors? It’s likely you won’t need it, and why spend extra money on your already expensive vacation? However, if waiting in any sort of line is torture to you and you’d rather pay money to skip it all together, then it may be very worth it to keep everyone happy on your trip!

Thinking You Don’t “Have” To Be Up at 7AM

Since you’re planning in advance, it’s very easy to forget how important that 7AM booking time is! You may fall into the comfort zone, thinking “well, planning a few days in advance is already enough time, right?” WRONG! Don’t fall for this trap!

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Trust us, these will go FAST! If you’re not interested in the larger attractions, yes, you’d probably be fine to book later in the day, but you’re paying so much money to take advantage of this feature, don’t slack on the start time and miss your chance to get the best times! This is especially true if you’re not staying at a Disney World hotel and can only book 3 days in advance. Hotel guests have already had their selections booked for 4 days, so don’t let ANY more time pass you by!

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Lightning Lanes!

We know, we’re all still getting used to this system, so things are still a little confusing, but we’ll continue to update you all as we run tests with this new system, so be sure to stay tuned to DFB!