How does the stand by line work in Disney?

Standby Queue: This is the traditional queue or line quests wait in for attractions. All guests have access to the standby line during theme park operating hours. Virtual Queue: Occasionally, a virtual queue may be used for select attractions or experiences.



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Most wait times are 45 minutes or more during peak time, with top rides reaching 120 minutes or more. Seeing long wait times can be a deterrent, which is why Disney is eliminating wait times for attractions. Imagine you're in Tomorrowland and you just got off of Space Mountain. What ride are you going to go on next?

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Lightning Lane is simply the name for the line you use to skip standby! These attractions are selected one at a time using the My Disney Experience app, beginning as early as 7:00 AM. You don't choose all your rides for the day at that time, though!

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Genie+ is a paid skip-the-line service that allows guests to enter through a special line called the Lightning Lane (think of the former FASTPASS Return Entrance) rather than the standby line. Not all Disneyland attractions are available with Genie Plus, which we'll get into below.

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10 Things to do While Waiting in Line at Disney Parks
  1. Select Your Next Genie+ Selection. ...
  2. Apply Sunscreen. ...
  3. Take and Go Through Pictures. ...
  4. Have a Snack. ...
  5. Enjoy the Interactive Line Queues. ...
  6. Find Hidden Mickeys. ...
  7. Map Out Your Next Adventure. ...
  8. Play Games and Apps.


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Through our investigation and top secret interviews, we determined that Disney is paying people $1.50 for every 10 minutes they stand in line for select attractions. If Space Mountain is 80 minutes, a paid line waiter gets $12 from Disney to stand in that line.

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Disney Genie+ is a paid service that allows you to skip the standby line and use the Lightning Lane entrance at select attractions. Guests can book their first Genie+ ride selections starting at 7 AM on the day of their visit. This applies to both those who stay at a Disney Resort Hotel or stay off-property.

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There are only two attractions at Walt Disney World Resort that don't have a standby line, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and TRON Lightcycle / Run, but you do not need to purchase Disney Genie+ service to join the Virtual Queue for either of those attractions.

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The ratio we are supposed to work off normally is 4:1. 4 lightning lane for every 1 standby guest. Obviously you don't just send 4 lightning lane and then 1 standby guests but you send larger groups in multiples of that ratio.

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You can enjoy a Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane entrance once per day. If you'd like to re-ride an attraction or see a certain show again within the same day, you are welcome to use our regular standby line. Disney Genie+ prices vary by date and prices are posted the day of.

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On average the lightning lane will always have a much shorter wait time compared to the standard Disney World line, but it usually combines with the regular line before the ride. As a result, it's common to have a wait time of around 5-10 minutes, even when using the Lightning Lane.

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  • You can't really skip lines.
  • You can buy the Genie Pass to buy access to the lightning lane (or whatever they call it these days), but even with that you will still be waiting in line.
  • You can pay for a private tour which may include fast access to select rides.


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Splurge on after-hours events In 2023, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom are selling tickets for dates early in the year at prices that rival a full day's admission. “That is an enormous time saver,” said Jeffrey Merola, a Walt Disney World guidebook author and owner of Mouse Vacation Planning.

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Over the course of the last 2 years, our experience across all of Walt Disney World has been that actual wait times average about two-thirds to 75% of posted wait times most of the day. That drops to around 50% at night, if not lower.

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Disneyland Rides You Can Skip & The Ones That Are A Mistake To Miss
  • Prioritizing Attractions at Disneyland.
  • Rides To Skip—Autopia.
  • Rides To Skip—Casey Jr. ...
  • Rides To Skip—Rivers of America Boats.
  • Rides To Skip—Astro Orbitor.
  • Rides To Skip—Dumbo.
  • Rides To Skip—Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.


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Among the four parks at Disney World, Hollywood Studios has the longest wait time per attraction at 41 minutes, while Epcot has the shortest wait time at 26 minutes. The park's newest ride, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, has the longest average wait time at 127 minutes — or more than 2 hours!

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If you select a Lightning Lane through the Disney Genie and the return time is more than 2 hours after the current time and after park open, then after 2 hours you can go in and select your next Lightning Lane even though you have not redeemed your first one.

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If you have a Lightning Lane reserved for an attraction and notice it is closed during your redemption window and have not already scanned in at the queue entrance, you will receive a “multi-experience pass.” A multi-experience pass is basically a free Lightning Lane reservation that can be redeemed on one of many ...

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Genie Plus is definitely worth it for Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, and if you don't like early starts, you might consider it for Epcot and Animal Kingdom. If you are park hopping, Genie+ is even better value as it maximises the number of rides you have access to.

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Standby Skipper is an app that works alongside Genie+ to search for available Lightning Lanes, then books them for you automatically. On our last trip to Disney World, we tried it out and absolutely loved it — honestly, I have yet to meet anyone that doesn't love this app.

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It can be done, for a price... These private VIP tours are the foolproof way to skip the lines at Disney without the restrictions of FastPasses or MagicBands. The one caveat is their price—tours range from $425 to $625 an hour, depending on the season. That price doesn't include the cost of park admission.

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