Disney's Lightning Lane Introduced: The Story Behind the Travel Photos
- 5 hours ago
- 8 min read
Disney's Lightning Lane Introduced
So, is the current system of Disney's Lightning Lane worth it? Read on.
The services are now called Lightning Lane Multi Pass, Lightning Lane Single Pass and Lighting Lane Premier.
So, is Disney's Lightning Lane worth it? Compare and facts to "Know Before You Go:"
Want to know the history? Scroll down after our basic article and see how all of this came to be!
Disney's Lightning Lane Introduced
Disney has three basic planning features:
GENIE
Genie: this lets you create your own itinerary so that you don't forget the fun things you may want to do, like catch a parade, or a character greeting. This is a free feature within the My Disney Experience app. However, this does not get you on the express line. It's just a list of what you may want to do. The app will tell you how long the wait is for a certain attraction, and if you have your notifications turned on, you'll get a reminder to head over to an event or location.
PS: you don't have to specifically use the Genie option to see wait times. That is also a feature of the app itself. After you have chosen what you think you will like to do, click My Day and you can see your day planned out. Also, click the Tip Board for, well, more tips.
Lighting Lane Single Pass, Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Premier
The Lightning Lane passes are paid features. You have to have a park ticket and a reservation (if required) for the day you want the feature. You can make express reservations for an attraction. Decide if you want to ride one ride (single pass) or up to three (multi pass) The prices fluctuate because it depends on the day but it ranges somewhere starting at $22 or so, per person, per day. High peak times and weekends may cost more. The price might also vary depending on the park.
This is how it works:
a. Decide which day you're going to visit which park. You can still park hop (if your ticket is a park hopper ticket).
b. You can now purchase the pass in advance.
c. Decide if you want to purchase a Lightning Lane pass for just one attraction (Single Pass) or for up to three (Multi Pass). I know, there is a Premier Pass, we have that info below.
d. As you buy your pass, make the reservation for the attraction. You won't pay until you make the reservation. This way, you know you'll have the pass for the attraction you want at possibly the time you want it.
e. You can buy more Lightning Lane passes (single or multi) if they are available for the day after you ride the first time around.
f. If the ride goes out of service, sometimes the app figures it out and makes an adjustment. If not, there are several Guest Experiences carts around the parks who are there with their tablets to help you out (you don't have to trek to the front of the park to the main Guest Service window). They will scan your park ticket or magic band and help you figure it out.
Lightning Lane Premier Pass
You can buy this pass in advance. The pass allows you on almost all of the attractions, one time only, in one park. The price depends on which park and what day you are going. The price of the pass might be higher during peak times such as holidays and weekends. The price range is about $130 - $450. That's a huge range. Magic Kingdom during the holiday season will be your highest price, Animal Kingdom during the lowest peak time will be the lowest. Note, that the Premier Pass is sometimes higher than the actual park ticket. Go figure.
So there you have it: Disney's Lightning Lane system. If you think it is worth it, for go for it.
Enjoy!
Years ago (1999 to be exact), Disney World introduced its FastPass system: an express pass to get on your favorite ride or attraction. You went to the kiosk near the ride, scanned your park ticket, literally pressed a button and the machine spat out a ticket with a time on it. You went to the ride at that time, entered the express line and off you went. You had a 1/2 hour to one hour window to use it. After that, you could try to get another FastPass again for a different attraction. By the way, can you believe that one of the reasons Disney started linking your FastPass to your park ticket was because people may have been selling them around the park!
Flashback about how to kill time before your FastPass kicked in: you looked at the Times Guide (remember that??). Was there a show or maybe a parade? Not a problem. Easy to kill time that way. Finally, you could always get something to eat.
The first ride to have it was allegedly Space Mountain. Later that same year, Disneyland followed officially (although it was testing out the feature earlier). And yeah, they used the same ride: Space Mountain.
Although it was a paper ticket back in 1999, technically, you were in Disney's first virtual queue! What fun! But don't start any merriment yet. As Disney updated its technology (debuting the My Disney Experience app in 2012 for Disney World and in 2015 for Disneyland), it was time to update the FastPass system as well. So, in 2014, FastPass + was introduced at Disney World. I remember talking with a cast member who was helping to test out that program and was he excited! The Magic Band had just been introduced in January 2013 and we were visiting in July of that same year. Obviously, Disney was experimenting with it the year before they officially launched FastPass +. The new thing back then was that the FastPass would load onto the Magic Band, as well as the app.
Meanwhile, over in California, in 2017, Disneyland introduced Max Pass, which could be accessed on the app. Now, you didn't have to walk to the park, find a machine, stand in a real line and get a ticket to get into a virtual line. But there was a cost: you could pay per day or for the whole year (yeah, I know!). Disney was obviously thinking about what other theme park companies were already doing: offering a paid express system, instead of its current complimentary process.
The FastPass system perfect, but I guess they were trying to make sure something like Space Mountain stayed attainable.
FastPass + was an interesting system. It was done First, Disney categorized their attractions. You made reservations on the app and selected rides from each category. Some categories allowed you to choose 2-3 rides and some categories were a bit more exclusive: you could only choose one. Once you used up your passes, you could make new reservations, providing that time slots were still available. During the years 2014-2020, this was the system in place. I think Disney was hoping that FastPasses would be more accessible to more people, but I am not sure it worked out that way. I know I had a hard time trying to get my favorite attractions.
It was no matter because when the parks reopened in July 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, the FastPass + system did not.
Apparently, there was no express system in place until Lighting Lane and Genie + came along in October 2021 confusing the heck out of us! Many theme parks already had a paid express service: pay extra to get on a faster line to the attractions. . This was the end of the complimentary express lane system. (The virtual queues for new attractions don't count: they weren't express, that was the only way you could ride, by scheduling your time in the line).
Genie + was complicated and confusing, but basically, you could buy either an express pass for one ride or buy a package and book up to 3 (once again with some of the rides categorized). You could book a certain amount of attractions in a category. Some attractions were more premier than others, so you could only book on ride in that category. While Disney was experimenting, the rules kept changing (you should have seen the lines at Guest Services) and everyone was frustrated.
In fact, the frustration level was so great, that name Genie + only lasted for about 2 ½ years. By July 2024, some (not all) of the kinks had been ironed out. But, when the pixie dust had settled, the entire system was called Lightning Lane with 3 categories.
Introducing a new system during the pandemic era, and the phasing in of reopening the parks was just interesting timing. Who would pay for a pass when no one was in the park? So revision after revision after revision began, which led to confusion after confusion after confusion. Disney's Lightning Lane and Genie+ were not worth it because the lines weren't long. Attendance was severely limited.
One complaint was that as Disney park goers, we liked the fact that there were some differences. Other theme park companies had long instituted their paid express passes, sometimes with prices that were higher than the park ticket itself. In fact, Universal's express pass can cost more that an annual pass, depending on when you buy it.
Disney fans figured that we paid high enough prices for an admission ticket but you could reason that it used to be a good deal: rides, parades, shows, character greetings, exclusive merchandise and treats. Not having too many extra fees made the parks different and we felt special. Yes, the lines were long, but the Fast Pass was free and repeat park goers quickly figured out ways to navigate the park time-wise and maximize how they spend the day.
But Disney probably needed the money. Or they figured they would do what everyone else did: just try to make more money. Regardless, now getting on an express line for most attractions was going to cost us.
Not only did Disney restructure the program, they changed the name and process so many times that it was frustrating. Finally, they arrived at what they felt was a better solution. And guess what? After complaining all over social media, fans just finally sucked it up and decided to run with it. Paid express passes to popular rides are sold out fast during peak times and people are actually buying the Premier passes. Go figure.
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