Lightning Lanes let you skip the line at Disney parks and save time and frustration. But with the price of these passes going up and up, are they still worth it?

What started as the free FastPass has morphed over the years from Genie+ to now several types of Lightning Lanes at both Disneyland and Disney World. The prices are now close to $40 for Lightning Lane Multi Pass and up to $400+ for the Lightning Lane Premier Pass! 

I’ve been a big user of these passes over the years and want to share my tips for getting the most value.

First, Are Lightning Lanes Actually Worth It?

These days I get a Lightning Lane Multipass nearly every time I go to a Disney park, and I often (but not always) get a Single Pass too. I think they are well worth it if any of the following apply to you:

• You’re going with kids who like to go on rides (and they meet the height requirements for several Lightning Lane rides)
• You’re visiting during peak crowd times
• You have limited time at each park and want to maximize what you can do in a day
• You really don’t want to wait in lines
• You have some extra budget to spare for a more pleasant experience

I think the Single Passes (for one individual ride) are often worth it, but my big exception is Seven Dwarves Mine Train in Magic Kingdom. Although this is the least expensive Single Pass, I didn’t think the ride was worth paying extra for; I think Slinky Dog Dash in Hollywood Studios is a much better ride, and it’s included with Multi Pass (although one of the toughest to get).

Will I Really Wait A Lot Less?

In my experience, YES. If you want to maximize your number of popular rides and/or keep your kids from getting too impatient in lines, Lightning Lanes are the solution.

What Are the Different Pass Types?

There are 3 types of Lightning Lanes:

Lightning Lane Multi Pass: Skip the line for multiple rides all day that offer Lightning Lanes, including if you park hop. Rides must be scheduled via the park app, and are subject to availability. You can only reserve each ride one time. Rides do sell out, so you might not get every ride you want. Costs range from $16 – $39 per day.

Lightning Lane Single Pass: Skip the line for one designated ride that is not available with Multi Pass. Each park offers 1-2 Single Pass rides, generally the most popular rides. Schedule your ride time when you purchase, and rides do sell out. Costs range from $12 – $28 per ride.

Lightning Lane Premier Pass: Skip the line for every Lightning Lane ride for a single park, no scheduling needed. You can use this pass only once per ride. Passes can sell out in advance. Costs range from $119 – $450 (this does not include your park ticket!).

How Much Does a Lightning Lane Cost?

You can see current prices up to 20 days in advance in the Disney World or Disneyland apps. (But you can’t actually purchase until your eligibility window opens – see below.)

Disneyland Lightning Lane in California – Prices have been around $36 per person per day for the Lightning Lane Multipass, or a little less if you buy your Multi Pass with your park ticket. Single Pass prices for Rise of the Resistance are around $28 per person, and around $20 for Radiator Springs Racers.

Walt Disney World Lightning Lane in Florida – Prices vary by park, but they are averaging around $27 per person per day for the Lightning Lane Multi Pass. Single Passes are around $18 each, so if you want to do these at each park too you may spend up to $50 per person per day.

Does Everyone in My Group Have to Buy One?

No, not everyone in your party needs to buy a Lightning Lane Pass if not everyone wants to use them. They are pretty “mix and match” in that way. 

And if you’re traveling with a child age 2 or younger, they can go with you in your Lightning Lane for free without having to purchase their own (assuming they meet any ride height requirements).

Do They Work with Park Hopper?

Yes, mostly. At Disneyland California, once you scan into your park and purchase Multi Pass, you can reserve your ride for either park, but you can’t reserve a time earlier than 11:00 am if you’re not in that park yet.

At Disney World, you purchase and reserve 3 rides for a single park, but once you scan into that park you can reserve rides for other parks you’re visiting later in the day.

Single Passes can be purchased for multiple parks in a single day.

At Disneyland California, the Premier Pass is valid for both parks in a single day. But at Walt Disney World Florida, each Premier Pass is only valid for one park.

How Many Rides Will I Get with Multi Pass?

This depends on a number of things including crowds, how early/late you go and when you book your rides. To maximize the number of rides, follow my tips below!

In both Disneyland and Disney World I average 5 or 6 Lightning Lane Multi Pass rides/experiences per park. In my experience, these 5 or 6 rides plus a few I wait in line for, and other non-ride entertainment, makes for a very full day.

Do I Need MagicBands?

No, you don’t need MagicBands to use Lightning Lanes. You can scan into your Lightning Lanes using the Disney park app on your phone, or in Florida with your Disney hotel key or free ticket card available at park entrances.

Are There Any Other Benefits?

Yes, at Disneyland California a pretty big benefit in my opinion is that Multi Pass includes all of your PhotoPass photo downloads, including ride photos and photos taken by photographers throughout the park. And only one person in your group actually needs to purchase Multi Pass for everyone to take advantage of this benefit.

In Disney World Florida, however, only your ride photo downloads are included with Multi Pass; photos taken throughout the park by photographers are not and must be purchased separately.

Maximizing Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass Value: My Strategies

Disneyland California Tips

You Can Save a Little Buying in Advance

If you know you want a Multi Pass every day you visit, buy it with your ticket (you will save a few dollars). But if you haven’t decided yet, or you don’t want to buy Multi Pass for every day, you can just buy it as soon as you enter your first park.

Familiarize Yourself With Lightning Lane Rides

Find out which rides use Lightning Lanes in the Disneyland app. Note that many rides including Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Teacups, Pixar Pal Around, and the Nemo Submarine Voyage do not offer Lightning Lanes.

Prioritize the Most Popular Lightning Lane Rides

While the most popular rides don’t usually sell out super early in California like they do in Florida, some of the most popular Lightning Lanes like Indiana Jones, Space Mountain and Guardians of the Galaxy can get late return times early in the day, so I recommend reserving these first thing if you want Lightning Lanes for them. You can go into the Disneyland app any time to view current ride wait times and Lightning Lane return times, so spending a little time looking these over in advance can help you plan.

Decide if You Want Single Passes

If you want to ride Rise of the Resistance (Disneyland) or Radiator Springs Racers (California Adventure) with kids, plan to buy the Single Passes to save hours of waiting.

Get to Your First Park Early

The earlier you enter your first park, the better times you’ll get for Lightning Lanes. You can even leave and come back after you’ve reserved your first Lightning Lane, but you must be in the park to reserve your first one. After that, however, you don’t need to be in the park to book subsequent Lightning Lanes.

Buy & Reserve Immediately After Entering Your First Park

As soon as you enter your first park of the day, immediately buy your Lightning Lane Multi Pass and any Single Passes you want, then immediately reserve your first Lightning Lane.

Prepare For Your Next Lightning Lane Booking

If your first Lightning Lane is more than 2 hours away, set an alarm for 2 hours so you know when you can book your next Lightning Lane.

If you have some time before your first Lightning Lane starts, go on some rides that don’t offer Lightning Lanes (some that come to mind: Nemo Submarine Voyage, Teacups, Dumbo, Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan). Or do activities that don’t require lines like seeing a show, eating breakfast or visiting a playground.

As you get close to 2 hours from the time you book or close to your first Lightning Lane, look at Lightning Lane return times in the app and decide what you want to book next.

As soon as your 2 hours is up, or you scan into a Lightning Lane, immediately reserve your next ride!

Lightning Lane Too Late? Keep Checking

If a Lightning Lane you want is too late in the day or unavailable, keep checking the app. Often earlier times will be released, or people will cancel, opening up better availability.

Disney World Florida Tips 

Lightning Lane strategies for Disney World are a bit more complex because of the advance booking process. Here are my tips for maximizing value!

Familiarize Yourself With Lightning Lane Rides

The Disney World website has the most current list of Lightning Lane rides and Tiers (more below on Tiers). Get familiar with the Lightning Lane rides you’re interested in, and which Tiers they fall in.

Some Lightning Lanes Are Much Harder to Get

The hardest to get Lightning Lanes are for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Slinky Dog Dash, Guardians of the Galaxy, Rise of the Resistance, Tron and 7 Dwarves Mine Train, especially during peak times. (You can still wait in regular lines for these rides however.) If it’s important to reserve these Lightning Lanes, you’ll want to give yourself the most priority you can by following these tips, because they can sell out days in advance.

Where You Stay Matters

Stay at a Disney hotel if possible. This will give you priority in reserving your Lightning Lanes.

If you’re not staying at a Disney hotel but are buying a date-based multi-day ticket (e.g. no reservations needed), know that a longer trip will net you better Lightning Lane results. 

You Can Reserve 3 Rides in Advance

You can choose 3 rides to book in advance each day (1 park only per day), and for every park except Animal Kingdom these are separated into 2 Tiers of rides based on popularity. Prioritize the rides you want in each Tier; you can reserve one Tier 1 ride and two Tier 2 rides.

There’s A Trick to the Tiers

If you want to try and reserve multiple Tier 1 rides, use a “burner” strategy. Book any Lightning Lane for a time when you will first enter the park, and as soon as you get to the park that day, head to that ride and scan in. Once you scan in, immediately reserve your next Tier 1 ride (tiers don’t matter anymore once you arrive at a park). This doesn’t have to be a ride you don’t want to do; I used The Seas with Nemo in EPCOT to then reserve Soarin’, and Star Tours at Hollywood Studios to then reserve Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

Know that for some Tier 1 rides, if you don’t reserve it in advance, you may not be able to reserve it once you scan into the park. This is most common in EPCOT for the Remy and Frozen rides. Whichever one you reserve, you likely won’t get a Lightning Lane for the other one, so if you want to ride both, plan to wait in one of the lines.

Planning a Route in Advance Helps

Once you’ve prioritized the rides you want to reserve, look at a park map to get a sense of when during the day you’d like to do each ride. I found this a necessary evil that helped our days flow great and avoid zigzagging all over the parks. Make sure to take into account any dining reservations or shows you want to see.

Which Day You Do Which Park Matters

If you are set on reserving some of the most popular rides, schedule the park days for the hardest-to-get rides later in your trip to have the best chance of getting the rides you want at a time you want. You will have more Lightning Lane availability the further out you can reserve.

The Order You Buy Your Lightning Lanes In Matters

Lightning Lane transactions are done one day at a time. Plan to purchase your days with the hardest-to-get Lightning Lanes first, and work backwards towards the parks with the easiest-to-get rides.

Don’t Be Caught by Surprise with Reservation Times

A few hours or the night before you reserve your Lightning Lanes, check out Thrill Data to get real-time availability of each Lightning Lane. This will help you see if times you want are already taken so you can potentially modify your plan.

Disney also takes into account any existing dining or other reservations you might have on your park day, so you won’t be able to overlap these times with Lightning Lanes.

You Can Make Changes After You Buy

Right after you reserve your Lightning Lanes you can modify the times and rides per person, so what you initially reserve is not set in stone, and not everyone has to reserve the same rides (although for Multi Pass you will first need to reserve the same rides for everyone in your group, but you can make changes as soon as you purchase).

You can even modify the park you’re visiting to a different park in the app, but if you modify to a less expensive park you will not receive a refund for the difference (and you’ll pay the difference to modify to a more expensive park). Lightning Lanes are nonrefundable.

Buy Your Lightning Lanes As Soon As You’re Eligible

Make sure you reserve your Lightning Lanes the moment you are eligible! This is 7 AM EASTERN TIME a set number of days before your trip:

• Disney hotel guests: 7 days in advance of your check-in day at for your entire trip.
• Multi-day ticket purchasers (non-Disney hotel): 3 days in advance of the first day of your ticket for your entire trip.
• Tickets that require theme park reservations (non-Disney hotel): 3 days in advance of your reservation day, each day.

Scan Into Your First Ride, Then Keep Reserving

Once you arrive at your park and scan into your first Lightning Lane, immediately reserve your next one. Tiers don’t matter anymore, and you can always hold 3 Lightning Lane Multipass reservations at a time.

This All Sounds Complicated! Should I Consider the Premier Pass?

I strongly believe that if you do a little research that I recommend above in advance, once you get to the parks your days will flow smoothly and you won’t be on your phone all day!

The advantage of the Premier Pass is that you don’t need to worry about most of the above strategies. However, the costs are exorbitant! For a family of 4, Magic Kingdom Premier Passes could run you $1600 for 1 day, and this doesn’t include your park tickets! For this price you could easily stay an extra night in a hotel, visit Magic Kingdom a second day and still come out way ahead financially. 

There are a couple of other downsides to the Premier Pass. You can only ride each ride once, so the value there is somewhat limited. And in Florida, if you’re staying at a non-Disney hotel and hoping to use the Premier Pass to get you on Lightning Lanes that have otherwise sold out, know that Premier Passes can also sell out before you get a chance to buy one, because Disney hotel guests still get priority. And, frankly, even though the pass can get you easily onto most rides, there is so much to do at each park besides rides, you still won’t necessarily fit everything you might want to do in a day.

Bottom line: Even if I had the extra money to spend, I think the price is too high to justify the benefit.

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Disney Lightning Lanes are a great way to save time, do more in your day and avoid frustration. With a little advance planning and strategy you can really maximize their value and get the most from your trip.