New Lightning Lane Access Plan to Debut at Walt Disney World on July 24

 by Beth Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

June 25, 2024

 

That scream you just heard was probably me from miles away from Disney World, tearing my hair out over today’s announcement that Disney’s Genie+/Lightning Lane/skip the line access plan will be changing yet again.  And while it’s being touted as simplifying the program…. I’m not sure my friends and family see it that way.  

For people who don’t come to Disney often – as in, for some of them it’s a once in a lifetime trip, and for other family members, it’s a once every 15 years trip – it’s again making the planning of a trip more convoluted. I can’t begin to tell you how many incoming guests I’ve had to explain the system to over the past few years, and try and walk them through it.  The verbiage alone has overwhelmed some of them, and they’ve just turned their phone over to us and said, “Please handle it.”

For those of you who haven’t been to the parks in a while, Lightning Lanes are the descendants  of the old, free FastPass and Fastpass+, and a way to pay to skip the longer stand-by lines. Individual Lightning Lanes are the pass for specific, individual attractions. There are only one or two of those in each park.  

 

More than a year ago, Disney touted the fact that they would be updating the system, and now, the modifications are here.

Of the new changes, Disney says, “On July 24, Walt Disney World will introduce new, simpler names to provide more clarity for everyone. Disney Genie+ service will become Lightning Lane Multi Pass, while individual Lightning Lane will now be known as Lightning Lane Single Pass.”

   
Those are Genie’s simpler names?  Alrighty, then.

 

The big bonus, and one that park guests have been begging for, is the ability going forward to make reservations for rides ahead of time, pre-booking attractions up to a week out for hotel guests, and three days out for off-site guests, rather than at 7 a.m. the day of your visit, as Genie+ currently allows. You can also choose your ride times with the new system.

 
In short, the Genie+ service where you book multiple rides throughout the day will now be called “Lightning Lane Multi Pass,” and the Individual Lightning Lane purchases (i.e., the “fancy rides” that you book à la carte, one at a time like Tron) will become “Lightning Lane Single Pass.”

Pricing will continue to vary by date, attraction and park.

Disney also dropped a YouTube video of how to tackle the new changes.

According to Disney, here’s how Lightning Lane passes will be changing,  beginning July 24:

   

Lightning Lane Multi Pass    

 

When you purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you may make up to 3 Lightning Lane selections in a theme park, in advance of your visit. You’ll also be able to choose available times as you make your selections.

  

On the day of your visit, once you use a selection, check the My Disney Experience app for availability to make an additional selection.

  

Lightning Lane Single Pass  

   

Lightning Lane Single Pass will work much like it does today, where you can secure a time to ride one of our most highly demanded attractions, but you’ll now be able to make your purchase and plan in advance.  

     

How to Plan Ahead 

 

Guests staying at a Disney Resort hotel and other select hotels will be able to plan Lightning Lane passes up to 7 days in advance, for their entire stay (up to 14 days). All other guests can plan up to 3 days in advance. 

 

These advance purchase windows will let guests secure some of their must-do rides and experiences after they’ve had some time to decide what dining reservations they want to book and any other plans they may need to consider. 

 

Guests may purchase a Lightning Lane Multi Pass, a Lightning Lane Single Pass or both. The app will also be updated to make it quicker and easier to purchase and plan, with fewer steps and a new option to purchase Lightning Lane Single Pass and Lightning Lane Multi Pass in one transaction.

 

Lightning Lane passes will blend features from our current services and the previously offered FastPass+ service, giving guests the choice to plan ahead and removing the hassle of planning during their vacation.  

 

To dive into even more details, visit our website for the latest information on how to purchase, select and use your Lightning Lane passes.

 

Disneyland Resort will also use the new Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single pass names beginning July 24. Based on the different ways we know guests visit Disneyland Resort, the way guests purchase, select and redeem Lightning Lane passes at Disneyland Resort will remain the same. 

   

The complimentary features of Disney Genie service will continue to be available in the My Disney Experience and Disneyland apps. As you may have noticed, both apps have also gotten a series of upgrades over the last year to make features easier to use, including making dining reservations, mobile food ordering, and more.

     

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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

 

Get The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution by Ray Keating. More information at

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Want to Ride the New Guardians Ride at EPCOT? Make Sure Your MDE is Ready Now!

 by Beth Keating

News/Analysis

DisneyBizJournal.com

May 19, 2022

 

While some EPCOT guests, such as annual passholders and D23 members, have been able to get a sneak peek at the new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind ride, the coaster will officially open to the general public in just a week, on May 27.  (By the way, see Ray Keating’s DisneyBizJournal.com review of the ride here.) If you want to maximize your chances of getting to save the galaxy with the Guardians, there are a few things you need to know before hitting up the park.

 

For starters, when the ride opens, there will not be a stand-by line, which means that you will either have to buy your way onto a Starjumper via a limited number of Individual Lightning Lane openings, or you will have to snag one of the free virtual queue spots, either at 7 am or 2 pm. 

And, no doubt about it, those seats will go faster than a jump to lightspeed. So, if you show up at EPCOT expecting to stroll over and hop on a line and shuffle your way to the front, you’ll be disappointed if you haven’t booked a ride in advance. Best to make your acquaintance with the ins-and-outs of your My Disney Experience (MDE) app now, so that you are not let down on the morning of your visit. You can’t waste time fiddling with setting up links when everyone else is blazing their way through the virtual queue request that day.

 

This week, Disney Parks Blog released information on how the virtual queue system will be set up for this ride.  (By the way, make sure you have both a valid ticket and a park reservation for the day and for EPCOT before attempting the process.)

 

Virtual Queue  

 

Beginning at 7 am on the day of your park reservation, you will be able to check for an available (free) boarding group via the My Disney Experience app, and request access to the virtual queue. (Go find this spot on your app NOW, so you don’t waste precious time that morning!)  You can actually request access before you leave your resort, or on your way to the park, but the countdown begins precisely at 7 am. If Remy’s Ratatouille and Rise of the Resistance, both of which used virtual queues upon their opening, are any indication, the spots will be gone in mere seconds. No kidding.  

 

If you and your travel party are successful in obtaining a boarding group, the MDE app will assign you a boarding group number, and you will wait for that group to be called before making your way back to the ride, sometime later in the morning. (You’ll get a notification on your phone via the My Disney Experience app when it’s time to come back, but keep checking so you know when your time is getting close, so that you don’t get on line for a different ride or sit down to eat and miss your window accidentally.)

 

If you weren’t successful in getting one of those coveted spots at 7 am, you can try again in the afternoon.  At 1 pm, you can again request a boarding group on the MDE app via the virtual queue, through the same process, but the only catch is that for the afternoon requests, you must actually be inside of EPCOT to join the virtual queue.  (And if you already rode in the morning, you can’t request a second ride during the afternoon boarding groups.) 

 

One last shot at a boarding group exists at 6 pm, but only if you are staying at a Disney Deluxe Resort, Disney Deluxe Villa Resort or other select hotels. On certain dates, Disney offers extended evening theme park hours to those guests, and Deluxe hotel guests can make use of the third shot at getting a boarding group on those days. (Deluxe hotel guests do not need to be in EPCOT to request to join during the 6 pm boarding group process).   Additional information, including tips for getting into the virtual queue, is available at disneyworld.com/virtualqueue.  

 

Individual Lightning Lane 

 

If you don’t mind shelling out the additional cash, you can also try for an “Individual Lightning Lane” entry.  Guests can purchase Individual Lightning Lane entry in the My Disney Experience app by using the Disney Genie service on the same day of their visit. (Prices weren’t released yet for the ride, and they do vary by day and season, but as a comparison, the top tier Rise of the Resistance is currently $15 per person.)  Individual Lightning Lane is subject to limited availability, and again, those seats go – well, lightning fast.  Guests at Disney resort hotels can purchase Individual Lightning Lane rides starting at 7 am on the day of their visit.  Other guests can make their purchase when the park opens. For more information on Lightning Lane access, go to disneyworld.disney.go.com/genie/lightning-lane/. 

 

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is billed as a “family-thrill attraction” that is a completely new generation of storytelling rollercoaster, with the “first ever reverse-launch.” Located in World Discovery at EPCOT, it’s also one of the largest indoor coasters in the world, and the Starjumper cars rotate 360 degrees in the dark to direct guests’ attention to the action going on around them in both projections and set pieces during their intergalactic chase. A selection of six different songs provide the soundtrack to the ride, and guests don’t know in advance which song they’ll be treated to.  Kids must be at least 42 inches tall to ride.

 

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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

 

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