April 29th, 2024
Hello Readers,
I am a fast pass kid. Some of you might remember what a “fast pass” at Disney World meant before Covid. It was an amazing slip of paper to get on rides quicker. The fast pass essentially went to the families that could run the fastest across the park to go grab the next fast pass ticket available for ride. But, ever since covid started, fast passes disappeared, at least how they used to exist. Genie+ and Lightning Lane have replaced the fast pass system. Many of you might be wondering “what is Genie+ and Lightning Lane?” Well, I am here to explain it as best as possible, but to put it simply, these are passes that allow you to go into a lane that will get you onto a ride more quickly, but it costs money.
So, this first question is the most important and will determine some decisions for Genie+:
In my opinion, if you buy genie+ for Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, you are good. Animal Kingdom and Epcot do have some cool rides, but Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios have the most rides if you are looking to save some money. Below are instructions on how the Genie+.
So those are the steps for Genie+. But remember how I said that Genie+ works on most rides, but not all rides, that is where Lightning Lane comes into play. Lightning Lane is something separate that is the “fast pass” for the elite rides. These elite rides are TRON (Magic Kingdom), Seven Dwarves Mine Train (Magic Kingdom), Gurdians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (Epcot), Avatar Flight of Passage (Animal Kingdom), and Star Wars Rise of Resistance (Hollywood Studios).
So again, this important question:
So, there are a couple different options that you can do to get on an elite ride. If you are willing to spend between $15-$25 to ride one of the elite rides, then keep on scrolling to learn how to buy lightning lane. If you are not willing to pay, then you can either stand in the standby line for the rides listed or use a virtual queue which essentially gives you permission to stand in line. Virtual Queue only works for Tron and Cosmic Rewind and keep in mind that with virtual queue, you will still be standing in line for an hour or more. Also, keep in mind that TRON and Cosmic Rewind ONLY have virtual queue if you don’t but the lightning lane.
Here is a graphic of how virtual queue works for Tron and Gurdians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind:
For the rides that you do not buy lightning ride and they do not have the service of virtual queue, you can enter the standby line at the time that you wish, and the estimated wait time will be posted.
If you do end up buying lightning lane for any of the elite rides instead of doing the virtual queue or standby line, here are the instructions:
I went to the parks a few weeks ago and these are my wait times with Genie+/ Lightning Lane to see an example of how the genie+ and lightning lane have worked for me:
| Ride | Estimated Wait Time Without Genie+ or Lighting Lane | Actual Wait Time with Genie+ or Lightning Lane |
| Thunder Mountain- Genie + | 45 minutes | 6 minutes |
| Tron- Lightning Lane | 1+ hour | 18 minutes |
| Space Mountain- Genie+ | 70 minutes | 22 minutes |
| Seven Dwarves- Lightning Lane | 90 minutes | 12 minutes |
| Haunted Manion- Genie + | 35 minutes | 18 minutes |
| Buzz Lightyear- Genie + | 60 miutes | 5 minutes |
| Cosmic Rewind-Lightning Lane | 1+ hour | 15 minutes |
Buying Genie+ and Lightning Lane allows you to get on more rides in less time. It has saved me hours of waiting in lines. But, if you do not buy these options you are definetely not out of luck because of virtual queue and standby lanes.
And some last-minute tips and summary points
-With genie+ and lighting lane you will enter the ride line that is titled lightning lane regardless of whether it is genie+ or lightning lane
-You can choose to buy the genie+ but not the lightning lane and vice versa
– Genie+ DOES NOT include 5 of the rides which are the Elite/most popular
– Only TRON and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind have virtual queue, every other ride in the parks will have a standby line
-If you are willing to spend a little more money, genie+ and lightning lane will allow you to ride many more rides than if you use standby lines or virtual queue
I hope this little guide has helped you to figure out the new “fast pass” system that Disney has now adopted.
Sincerely,
The Eternal Traveler