UPDATED November 3, 2025

Planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Then you’ll want to be IN THE KNOW about Disney World’s Lightning Lanes!

Disney World’s Lightning Lanes provide access to “Lightning Lanes” for rides so guests can bypass Standby lines for select attractions through an extra purchase made on the My Disney Experience app. This optional service helps guests maximize their time in the four Disney World theme parks:  Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. 

Rise of the Resistance Lightning Lane

There are three types of Lightning Lane services available for purchase:

• Lightning Lane Multi Pass;
• Lightning Lane Single Pass;
• And Lightning Lane Premier Pass. 

As of July 24th, 2024, the skip-the-services that were previously part of Disney Genie changed to Lightning Lanes. What was previously Disney Genie+ is now Lightning Lane Multi Pass, and Individual Lightning Lanes are now Lightning Lane Single Pass. Additionally, a new third all-inclusive Lighting Lane option debuted on October 30th, 2024: Lightning Lane Premier Pass.

When Disney made these changes, the company shared that the benefits are that guests can now:

• Make Lightning Lane plans before you’re in the parks, “for added confidence:”
• Choose experiences and times prior to purchasing, so you know exactly what you’re getting with your purchase;
• Book Lightning Lane passes for multiple vacation days, all at once, if you wish!

On this page, we are discussing what YOU need to know specifically about Lightning Lane Single Pass. (You can learn about Lightning Lane Multi Pass HERE and Lighting Lane Premier Pass HERE.)

Lightning Lane Single Pass

Guests may opt to purchase Lightning Lane Single Passes via the My Disney Experience app. (This service was previously known as Individual Attraction Lightning Lane Selections via Disney Genie.) Lightning Lane Single Pass is essentially a pay-per-ride service. Guests pay a fee to utilize the Lightning Lane for an individual, in-demand attraction.

Tower of Terror Lightning Lane sign

Lightning Lane Single Pass also offers the added bonus that you can make your purchase before your trip in order to in plan advance!

Those staying at a Disney World Resort hotel (and select other hotels) can purchase and select their first 3 Lightning Lane Single Passes up to seven days in advance of their check-in day for their entire stay (up to 14 days), with all other guests being able to purchase and select their first 3 Lightning Lane Single Passes three days in advance.

Note that you may hold a maximum of TWO Single Passes per day, they can both be purchased in advance if you prefer (pending availability), AND they can be located in TWO different parks (though, be aware that your Disney World theme park ticket must include the Park Hopper add-on option to be able to visit both attractions in two different parks in one day).

The full list of attractions that are currently available for Lightning Lane Single Pass in Walt 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

How much do Individual Attraction Selections cost in Disney World?

Here is a look at the price range we have seen for the rides that qualify for pay-per-ride in Disney World:

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – $10 – $19 per person
• AVATAR Flight of Passage — $11 – $19 per person
• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – $15 – $25 per person
• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind — $14 – 23 per person
• TRON Lightcycle / Run — $19 – $22 per person

Planning Ahead

Disney World Resort hotel guests (and guests of other select hotels*) may purchase Lightning Lane passes up starting at 7AM seven (7) days IN ADVANCE of their check-in day for their entire stay (up to 14 days). All other park guests (including Disney World Annual Passholders) may purchase Lightning Lane passes at 7AM three (3) days in advance of their first park day.

Disney Genie+ allows you to book the Lightning Lane for rides.

Again, you may purchase a maximum of TWO Single Passes per day, they can both be purchased in advance if you prefer, AND they can be located in TWO different parks (though, be aware that your Disney World theme park ticket must include the Park Hopper add-on option to be able to visit both attractions in two different parks in one day).

Eligible Hotels for the 7-Day advance planning are:

• Disney World Resort Hotels 
• Shades of Green Resort
• Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotels

So, you can purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass, a Lightning Lane Single Pass, or both depending on your preferences and needs — and these can both be purchased in one transaction.

TRON Lightcycle / RUN Lighting Lane

Disney shares that these advance purchase windows allow people to “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.”

How Do I Purchase Lightning Lanes?

Whether you’re staying off property or not — and in-turn booking your Lightning Lanes seven days in advance or three — there are still some required steps as well as things we’d advise to prepare in advance, no matter which type of Lightning Lane you are trying to purchase:

• REQUIRED STEP: In order to purchase a Lightning Lane pass, you are required to have valid theme park admission for everyone in your group for whom you wish to make Lightning Passes. (Please be aware that select ticketholders — including Disney World Annual Passholders — may also be required to have a Park Pass Reservation.)
• REQUIRED STEP: Have your whole party loaded into and linked together on the My Disney Experience App before 7:00AM on the day you’re eligible to start booking Lightning Lanes, so you can move through the process quickly. (We’ll walk you through this in the next section.)
• WE ADVISE: If you plan to purchase both Multi Pass and Single Pass for each day of your trip, do both for each day at the same time.
• WE ADVISE: Have a plan of action. Read up on attractions and know which rides you want to shoot for as far as Lightning Lane Multi Passes go, and especially which Lightning Lane Single Pass options you wish to purchase.

Let’s look at the required steps in a little more detail…

STEP 1: Purchase Disney World Theme Park Admission

First things first: In order to purchase a Lightning Lane pass, you are required to have valid theme park admission for everyone in your group for whom you wish to make Lightning Passes.

STEP 2: Download the My Disney Experience App and Connect Your Traveling Party

To connect your party, the first thing you will need to do is make sure you download the free My Disney Experience app on your phone, as this is the app that you will use to purchase Lightning Lane passes.

It is crucial to connect/link everyone in your traveling party on your Family and Friends list in the app, to ensure that the selections you make are for everyone in your party. If you are unfamiliar with the process of linking your traveling Party, we explain the process here.

STEP 3: Making and Purchasing Your Lightning Lane Selections

To make and purchase your Lightning Lane selections, login to the My Disney Experience app, and you will find the Purchase option on the home screen, as seen in the image below: 

©Disney

From there, you will be prompted to Select Your Date, and then Select Your Park. The list of parks will appear, and you can choose the first park you plan to start your day in. Here, you’ll see Magic Kingdom as our starting example, with prices for that specific date populated — you will see both Lightning Lane Multi Pass AND any Lightning Lane Single Pass options. (In the screenshot below, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and TRON Lightcycle/Run are both of the Single Pass options, designated accordingly.)

©Disney

Each park has a dropdown menu with the prices of Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass (and as a reminder, you may purchase both types of passes at the same time).

From here, the app will prompt you as needed so you can make all of your ride selections! Here is a video that shows ride selection the process, and you will also see how you may be redirected if a certain selection is unavailable:

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

We have an additional video example for advance Lightning Lane purchases here: 

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

How Do I Use Lightning Lane Single Pass in the Parks?

The process for using a Single Pass and Multi Pass are the same: On the day of your visit to a park, head to the entrance for your Single Pass ride at the appropriate time (as scheduled when you purchase. You’ll see a Lightning Lane entrance sign. (Just ask a Cast Member if you don’t find it easily.)

Just look for the Lightning Lane entrance!

Before you officially enter the queue, you’ll scan your Key to the World card (if you are a Disney Resort guest), your valid park ticket, your MagicBand/MagicBand+, or Disney MagicMobile by simply pressing it against the scanner. And then?

Scanning into a Lightning Lane at Disney World

You’re in the LIGHTNING LANE and ready to ride!

Frequently Asked Questions

Are standby lines still an option for attractions that offer Lightning Lane Single Pass?

Traditional standby lines are still available (as are Virtual Queues for select attractions, when in use). The purchase of Lightning Lane Single Pass (as well as Multi Pass and Premier Pass) is completely optional.

What Time Do Purchases and Reservations Open Up 7 Days Ahead of Time and 3 Days Ahead of Time Respectively?

As Disney states, “Guests can purchase Lightning Lane passes for days they have valid theme park admission starting at 7:00 AM Eastern Time on their first day of eligibility.” 

Can You Purchase Multi Pass and Reserve a Lightning Lane Single Pass at the Same Time?

Yes, you may reserve your Lightning Lanes (both Multi Pass and Single Pass) at the time of purchase. 

Do Lightning Lane Single Pass Reservations Open at the Same Time?

Yes, the availability for both Multi Pass and Single Pass Lightning Lane opens at the same time. 

Do Lightning Lane Single Pass Selections Count Towards My Multi Pass Selections?

No. If you hold a Lightning Lane Single Pass for a pay-per-ride attraction, it does NOT count as part of your 3 Lightning Lane Multi Pass selections.

Be aware that you may hold a maximum of TWO Single Passes per day, they can both be purchased in advance if you prefer (pending availability), AND they can be located in TWO different parks (though, be aware that your Disney World theme park ticket must include the Park Hopper add-on option to be able to visit both attractions in two different parks in one day).

I am not staying at a Disney World Resort hotel. How does this affect my ability to book Lightning Lanes?

As noted above, those staying at a Disney World Resort hotel (and select other hotels) can purchase and select their Lightning Lane passes up to seven days in advance of their check-in day for their entire stay (up to 14 days). All other ticket holders can purchase and select their first 3 Lightning Lane Multi Passes three days in advance. BUT if you’ve got date-based admission tickets, don’t be disadvantaged by thinking you can only book one day of Lightning Lanes at a time. If you have tickets for four consecutive days, for example, you can book all four days’ worth of Lightning Lanes three days before your first park visit.

Annual Passholders and those with non-date-based tickets are still only able to book day by day, so keep that in mind.

Do I Need a Park Pass Reservation to book Lightning Lanes?

It depends on the type of ticket you hold. As of January 9th, 2024, Disney World no longer requires a Park Pass Reservation for MOST guests. Anyone who buys a regular date-based ticket from Disney (either on its own or as part of a vacation package including a Disney World Resort hotel reservation) no longer has to reserve their park visit in advance. Date-based tickets are what Disney describes as the “standard” ticket option offered to guests.

However, select guests including — but not limited to — Disney World Annual Passholders and Cast Members STILL REQUIRE Park pass Reservations (with some exceptions, which you can find here). Disney has provided the list below to show the tickets types that still REQUIRE Park Pass reservations:

“No Theme Park Reservation Required

• Date-based 1-day ticket
• Date-based multi-day ticket
• Vacation package with date-based tickets

Theme Park Reservation Required:

• Student group tickets
• Sport and Convention tickets
• Disney Military Salute Ticket
• Annual Pass
• All other ticket types not mentioned above”

ESSENTIALLY: If you have a ticket type that requires a theme park reservation, then you MUST make your theme park reservation before being able to purchase Lightning Lanes. 

May I make repeat Lightning Lane Single Pass selections for the same attraction?

No; you may only use a Lightning Lane once per day at any given attraction. The is true for both Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass. Additionally, Lighting Lane Premier Pass only grants one time entry for every included attraction.

Will the System Warn You if You Have Overlapping Plans Such as Advance Dining Reservations?

According to Disney, the system with “recommend arrival windows that work with your plans” including Advance Dining Reservations to avoid overlapping bookings.

However, our personal experience has been different, in a sense. When booking our Lightning Lanes, we were NOT able to book passes for the exact time of a preexisting dining reservation (i.e. If we had a 12PM reservation, we could not book a 12PM Lightning Lane Multi Pass or Single Pass), but we were offered and able to book time slots that conflicted with preexisting advanced dining reservations. 

For example, we were presented the option to book a Lightning Lane Multi Pass for Living with the Land for an 11:10PM-12:10PM window, even though we had an advance dining reservation for Spice Road Table at 11:30AM. 

©Disney

The same was true of Lightning Lane Single Pass, as we were able to purchase one for Rise of the Resistance that was valid from 12:35PM to 1:35 PM even though we had an Oga’s Cantina advance dining reservation for 12:45PM. 

©Disney

Fortunately, though, as we made our Lightning Lane selections, the My Disney Experience app showed us all the plans we had going on that day. This way, you can see your dining reservations while choosing your Lightning Lane times.

Is Park Hopping an Option Using Lightning Lane Single Pass?

YES. You may hold a maximum of TWO Single Passes per day, they can both be purchased in advance if you prefer (pending availability), AND they can be located in TWO different parks (though, be aware that your Disney World theme park ticket must include the Park Hopper add-on option to be able to visit both attractions in two different parks in one day).

Can My Family Use the Rider Swap Service with Lightning Lanes?

Yes! First, Rider Swap is an option available for people who have some members of their group that can’t or don’t want to ride an attraction. For example, if there are 5 people in your group and one person is not tall enough to go on a ride, everyone (all 5) would go up to a Cast Member and request a Rider Swap. The Cast Member will scan your MagicBands or park ticket, and then most of the group would wait in the standby line to ride the attraction while one person waits with the person who can’t ride. When the people who waited in line are finished riding, they can switch places with the one who waited behind, and the person who stayed behind would get to ride without waiting in line. This person (the one who waited) can bring one other person with them to ride (even if that other person already rode it with the first group).

Rider Switch sign at Space Mountain

If I am traveling to Disney World from another country, does that affect my ability to plan in advance?

Yes. We asked a Disney World Cast Member and were told, “Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass features will be available to Guests from other countries*; they will be able to begin their pre-arrival planning on the My Disney Experience Mobile App after they reach the United States.”

This means that international visitors may not purchase Lightning Lane passes or take advantage of the preplanning options until they arrive in the United States, even if the 7-day planning window begins before that time.

*There is a caveat, however; Cast Members have confirmed that Canadian visitors may continue to use the My Disney Experience app “after the launch of the pre-arrival purchasing and planning for Lightning Lane passes.” Translation: Both those in the U.S. AND Canada can plan their Lightning Lanes ahead of time with the My Disney Experience app.

Can Lightning Lane Single Pass selections be Changed and Modified?

Single Pass Lightning Lanes times may not be modified. 

Are Lightning Lane Single Pass Eligible Rides also Available for Multi Pass?

No, the Walt Disney World rides eligible for singles passes — Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Tron Lightcycle/Run, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Rise of the Resistance, and Avatar: Flight of Passage — are NOT available as Multi Pass Lightning Lanes.

We are continually using the Disney World Lightning Lane system, and sharing EVERYTHING that we learn along the way with you! For even more on Disney World Lightning Lanes, check out our Lightning Lanes Playlist on DFBGuide!

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