Disney World’s 10 Big Lightning Lane Changes for 2026

There are major changes to Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Walt Disney World, with the pre-arrival priorities at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios changing, along with the rankings or importance of buying the paid FastPass service at each of the four parks. Here’s what you need to know before you buy LLMP (or decide to skip it) in 2026.

If you’re going to do Lightning Lane Multi-Pass, purchasing pre-arrival up to 21 days in advance is of paramount importance. Depending upon whether you’re staying off-site or on-site, you’ll have 3-day or 7-day windows for making ride reservations.

The latter is for the length of your stay and extends up to two weeks, hence the 21 days in advance. For the most part, guests are booking Lightning Lanes roughly 3 days to 10 days in advance, and that’s reflected in availability (or lack thereof) for popular attractions.

Choosing Lightning Lane Multi Pass ride reservations requires balancing two sometimes competing factors: availability of the best attractions and earliest return times. If you’re staying on-site and making selections 5 or more days in advance, you’re likely to have the option to book almost every attraction. The bigger issue is return times, which can be more important than ride priority.

While you can make attraction selections in advance with Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you can also make subsequent selections on the day of your park visit. Once you redeem a selection, you can use the My Disney Experience app to check availability for another Lightning Lane Multi Pass experience, and then add that to your plans.

We call this the “rolling 3 rule,” which is to say that you can always have 3 Lightning Lane selections (subject to availability). With the rolling 3 rule of LLMP, you can make your next ride reservation as soon as you’ve used one. As is probably obvious, this means that it behooves you to make selections as early in the day as possible to give you more runway for subsequent selections.

The good news is that not every selection you make needs to be for early in the morning. The best practice is making as early of arrival times as possible for at least one attraction in order to “unlock” that 4th ride faster. If you’re only getting late morning or afternoon return times, it often makes more sense to aim for one lower priority Tier B selection in order to prioritize for a mixture of return time and ride priority.

In practice, this means that you may not want to book Soarin’ Across America in advance if your only return time is in the late afternoon, unless you can also get a “burner” Tier B attraction (like Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival) with a return time before 10 am to unlock that 4th selection. That’s actually less of an issue at EPCOT than at DHS, where neither Toy Story Mania nor Tower of Terror have return times before 10 am in the next 13 days!

Along these lines, here’s what you need to know before booking Lightning Lane Multi-Pass in Summer 2026 and beyond, or buying the paid FastPass replacement in the first place. This includes ride reservations we recommend emphasizing to get the most mileage out of Lightning Lane Multi Pass…

Magic Kingdom is #1 Again

We’re going to start by zooming out and viewing the parks as a whole, and the biggest change for 2026 is that Magic Kingdom has restored ride capacity with reimaginings completed. We had hoped that this would result in the end of tiers, but thus far, that has not been the case. The actual result has been improved Lightning Lane inventory and selections aren’t booking up as quickly as they were.

This comes in part thanks to improved reliability and uptime for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, but is mostly about Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and Big Thunder Mountain reopening from lengthy closures, following a trio of refurbishments before those. During this time, DHS quietly crept into the #1 spot for Lightning Lane Multi-Pass thanks to better availability and more overall time saved.

With Big Thunder and Buzz both back, this is actually the first time that Magic Kingdom has had every Lightning Lane Multi-Pass attraction online simultaneously for an extended amount of time since the switch from Genie+ to Multi-Pass. The end result of this is better availability, including more options for same-day selections.

Magic Kingdom once again has the deepest ride roster of any park with 18 Lightning Lane Multi Pass attractions. Of those, about a dozen can be worthwhile. Not only that, but if you play your cards right, utilizing savvy strategy for time slots and booking in order of these rankings, you should be able to score at least a half-dozen of those in a day. That’s a higher number than DHS, even if the quality isn’t quite comparable.

DHS is Worth It Even More

Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the park with the highest average standby wait times, the #1 overall Lightning Lane Multi-Pass attraction, and easier same-day availability for tier two attractions and ride reservation refills if you leverage the rolling 3 rule and put a little elbow grease into your refresh game.

For all of these reasons, we usually have a great experience with Lightning Lane Multi-Pass at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. You can save a ton of time with LLMP, and it’s potentially still the #1 park if you’re looking to avoid stress or do a midday break.

In other words, Magic Kingdom moved back into the #1 spot because it got better, not due to DHS getting worse. To the contrary, both improved! Disney’s Hollywood Studios benefits from Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets, the Mandalorian Mission for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, and Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live all debuting for Summer 2026.

EPCOT is Essential…Or Is It?

EPCOT used to be the distant #3 park for Lightning Lane Multi-Pass. It is now more useful here than ever, thanks to the reimagining of Test Track, improvements to Frozen Ever After, increased accessibility of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, and the new Soarin’ Across America.

All of this has, in turn, increased the popularity of Lightning Lane Multi-Pass at EPCOT. More reasons to buy LLMP mean that more guests are doing exactly that and, in turn, that you’re at more of a disadvantage if you don’t. That makes Lightning Lane Multi-Pass popularity something of a self-fulfilling prophecy, as it becomes more of a non-negotiable for another park.

At the same time, both Test Track and now Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure have Single Rider lines. If you’re willing to split up your group, things get a lot easier. Add to that Early Entry and/or Extended Evening Hours, and it’s still pretty easy to knock out all of EPCOT without line-skipping. That’s doubly true in the summer months, when “Diet EPCOT” makes the park less popular.

Animal Kingdom is More Skippable

Animal Kingdom has always been far and away the last place park for Lightning Lane Multi-Pass, and we strongly believe most guests should skip LLMP here most days. And if availability is any indication, most guests do–despite the lower price!

This is now doubly true in 2026, as DINOSAUR is closed. There’s little reason to buy Lightning Lane Multi-Pass here, as it’s pretty easy to beat the crowds by simply arriving early or staying late. With even a modicum of strategy most days, you can experience Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and Kali River Rapids with 30 minute or less waits.

Na’vi River Journey is pretty much the only worthwhile LLMP at DAK. Strategically, we’re fans of getting the earliest possible return time for Na’vi River Journey and doing Avatar Flight of Passage via the standby line during Early Entry. By the time you’re done, you should be able to hit Na’vi River Journey via the Lightning Lane and then continue on to other attractions–most of which will still have short waits.

Personally, I might be inclined to make this my only Lightning Lane selection in Animal Kingdom. After tapping into Na’vi River Journey, you can book all subsequent selections in a different park and then use those during the middle of the day when standby lines are longer. That is, assuming you have Park Hopper tickets. If you don’t, LLMP at DAK is utterly pointless.

Bluey is Lightning Laneless

The hot ticket of 2026 at Animal Kingdom is Bluey’s Wild World, which is a friction-filled dance party out at Conservation Station. Thankfully, it does not have a Lightning Lane, which is a good thing as it’d make this experience even more of a logistical nightmare.

This is nevertheless worth noting because Bluey’s Wild World is going to be priority #1 for many young families, and the easiest way to experience it will be rope dropping it. Knock out a couple of rides during Early Entry or regular rope drop, and then board the Wildlife Express Train by 10 am or so.

Based on recent field testing, albeit more limited than I’d like, my experience was that the line for Bluey’s Wild World was shortest first thing in the morning, spiking to 40 minutes at around 10:30 am, then back down around lunch, then up again in the early afternoon, before another lull ahead of closure. Even with a minimal wait, expect Bluey’s Wild World to eat up about 70 to 90 minutes of your day.

New #1A at Magic Kingdom

The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness returned this summer after a 16-month closure! As with Test Track before it, we missed the mark in predicting its popularity, calling Big Thunder Mountain Railroad a “lock” for the #3 spot once the tumbleweeds settle, behind Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Peter Pan’s Flight.

Although that could always change over time, it’s now a month later and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is now the clear #1 attraction in Group A (hence #1A). Oh, and same goes for Test Track 3.0 at EPCOT, which is still going strong one year later.

Our basis for that prediction was that the ‘new ride smell’ would wear off Big Thunder Mountain Railroad faster due to a lack of substantive changes. What we under-indexed was the degree to which lowering the height requirement from 40″ to 38″ and smoother track would make a difference.

On the lower end, this means families with young children can experience BTMRR roughly 12-18 months earlier. On the opposite end of the spectrum, people my age and older can now enjoy Big Thunder even when we don’t need kidney stones dislodged. Our revised assessment is that the refreshed Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will have staying power and remain in the top spot indefinitely.

New #1B at Magic Kingdom

After a lengthy closure that recharged the ride, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin has reopened with enhanced gameplay thanks to new ride vehicles, blasters, interactive targets, real time displays, and new scoring. Unsurprisingly, this has also resulted in increased demand for Lightning Lanes and higher wait times.

This could subside over time, but I’d bet against it. I’ve now played the new Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin over a dozen times, and cannot get enough of it. The gameplay loop is addictive, thanks to satisfying shooting mechanics and an engaging scoring system.

My expectation here is that the gap between Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh will grow greater as more guests experience this refreshed ride and want to replay it during their day. (The two attractions are currently neck and neck.)

If you’re visiting when Magic Kingdom is busier, scoring a reservation for Space Ranger Spin is also worthwhile since the overflow queue is outdoors and offers limited shade. We’d also add that no attraction in Magic Kingdom has greater re-rideability, so doing this during Early Entry or regular rope drop and having a Lightning Lane is the smart choice.

Soarin Gets Stronger

Soarin’ Over the World was already one of the more competitive Multi-Pass attractions at Walt Disney World after its downgrade to Tier B with last year’s reopening of Test Track. The new film has given Soarin’ Across America even more of a boost.

As of right now, Soarin’ Across America is easily the #1B attraction at EPCOT, and one of the top secondary selections in all of Walt Disney World. This isn’t a huge change given its status before, but it is worth pointing out the popularity here and how this could impact your initial and subsequent selections, Park Hopping plans, or even the decision to purchase LLMP at EPCOT in the first place.

Muppets > Mando

As hinted at above, there’s usually a ‘new ride smell’ that accompanies any attraction update, whether that be a wholesale ride reimagining or even minor enhancements. How long that lasts depends on the degree of the change and guest reception.

This is why it’s surprising that the new Mandalorian mission hasn’t moved the needle on Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run at all. Given its underwhelming performance at the box office, this is not a complete shock, but the difference is that the mission updates are actually good. (I haven’t seen the movie and have zero interest, so I can’t speak to its quality.) What I can say is the MFSR upgrades are fantastic and make the attraction much more enjoyable!

Despite that, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run has inexplicably gotten less popular since the new mission launched, which is more attributable to the debut of Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets than anything else. The Muppet Makeover of RnRC has seen a big boost, and is now the #2 ride in Tier A. It remains firmly behind Slinky Dog Dash, but the gap isn’t as big as it once was. Meanwhile, MFSR sits in distant fourth place, beat out by the all ages Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

Toy Story (5) Mania

The next change is almost inexplicable, which is that Toy Story Mania has emerged as the clear #1B Lightning Lane at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It was previously neck and neck with Tower of Terror in Tier B, but now enjoys a decisive lead. Our best guess is that this boils down to excitement over Toy Story 5, which is projected to set box office records.

Toy Story Mania has limited to no availability between 3-days and 7-days with regularity, which is also true with Tower of Terror. It’s an even bigger issue at Disney’s Hollywood Studios because Slinky Dog Dash routinely has return times in the second half of the day. Meaning that you might have trouble getting any ride reservations at DHS with a return time before 10 am, which can really limit your availability to leverage the ‘rolling 3’ rule.

With the Toy Story 5 hype training only accelerating, we don’t expect demand for Toy Story Mania to die down over the course of this summer, and without any changes to the attraction. Imagine if they added that Taylor Swift song–it’d surpass Slinky Dog Dash! (Unless they also added it there.)

Ultimately, several of these changes do move the needle on when and where you might want to purchase Lightning Lane Multi-Pass at Walt Disney World. Just in the last month, the ride roster has improved at 3 of the 4 parks and there can be more value in line-skipping, especially if you put in the effort to leverage the rolling 3 rule.

At the same time, summer is a slower time of year at Walt Disney World. Lower average standby wait times reduce the “need” to purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass in the first place. It still can be valuable, but it’s not nearly as essential as during busier times of year. Those of you planning trips in mid-October and into 2027 are the ones who could really benefit from the above. Assuming it doesn’t all change again!

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YOUR THOUGHTS

How would you rank your ride priorities with Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Walt Disney World? Surprised by Big Thunder and Muppets moving up, or Millennium Falcon not moving at all? Do you agree with our assessment that getting earlier return times matters a lot for the ‘rolling 3’ rule? Are you planning on buying LLMP or skipping it? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!