Genie & Lightning Lanes Archive
This guide to Genie+ and Lightning Lanes at Walt Disney World explains paid FastPass, with answers frequently asked questions about ride reservations, line-skipping, and itinerary tools for Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. Plus, tips & tricks, how to use the 120 minute rule to strategically stack and save time! (Updated May 23,
Along with the release of 2024 vacation packages, Walt Disney World has teased pre-planning capabilities coming to the Genie+ service and Lightning Lanes. This post covers what little we know so far, plus extensive commentary about what this could mean, why it’s happening, winners & losers, and more. Walt Disney World recently made several updates
Individual Lightning Lanes are pay-per-ride line-skipping access to the most popular rides at Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood, and Animal Kingdom. This guide covers pricing, when reservations sell out, how to book ILLs, and differences from the Genie+ service. Plus, the best ones to buy–and why we don’t recommend others. (Updated May 7, 2023.) The first
Animal Kingdom has 11 attractions with Genie+ access, which is the fewest of any park at Walt Disney World. On top of that, only a handful of those are actually worth using the Lightning Lane to skip the line. This guide ranks the rides in terms of time-saved and how quickly each reservation books up.
One big complaint about Genie+ is that it “forces” Walt Disney World guests to get up early in order to book their first ride reservation at 7 am. This post tests whether that theory is accurate, with a look at Lightning Lane availability later in the morning and when you actually “need” to make first
With higher crowds & wait times, you need superior strategy for saving time waiting at Walt Disney World. That’s the purpose of this post, breaking down the best & worst options–Genie+, Lightning Lanes, extra hours & rope drop–to beat long lines at Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, EPCOT and Animal Kingdom. (Updated April 29, 2023.) Our
Actual versus posted wait times for rides at Walt Disney World has been a known issue for years. Many fans have reported significant disparities during their days in Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom–and wondering why inaccuracies persist despite this being a known “problem.” (Updated April 25, 2023.) Let’s start with some background
In the last two months, Walt Disney World has seen huge swings in crowds. Along with that, the cost and experience of using Genie+ and Lightning Lanes has varied considerably. This covers the “top 10” times we’d recommend skipping paid FastPass based on our testing, and the sometimes-superior alternatives to buying line-skipping access. Let’s start
Early Entry at Magic Kingdom is a good way for on-site guests of Walt Disney World hotels to get a head-start, accomplishing a few attractions with low waits. This photo report offers morning strategy on a 9/10 crowd level day, best options for accomplishing the most during the Extra Magic Hours replacement, plus how this
Genie+ reached a new record high price at Walt Disney World during the weeks around Easter 2023, before plummeting post-peak of spring break. This post covers when the paid FastPass service sold out (and didn’t!), crowds, Lightning Lane availability, and our commentary about this pricing structure and what it could mean going forward. (Updated April
Magic Kingdom is the best park for buying Genie+ at Walt Disney World on peak dates in 2023. For this day with Lightning Lanes, I tested my strategy for skipping standby lines to see how much time could be saved when Park Hopping to Magic Kingdom. This Genie+ photo report walks you through my step-by-step
