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.
And as a quick recap as seen in our in-depth guide, Genie+ costs $15-$35 per ticket per day at Disney World and $25-$30 per ticket per day at Disneyland. Individual Lightning Lane Selection attractions range from $9 to $20 per person per attraction.
Guests of Marriott properties, The Walt Disney World Swan and The Walt Disney World Dolphin, can also take advantage of early Individual Lightning Lane access. Note that you don't need to purchase Genie+ to buy Individual Lightning Lane passes. These two services are entirely separate.
And if you're wondering about Genie versus Lightning Lane, Disney Genie only provides tips to help you avoid lines. Lightning Lane grants you access to entirely separate queues. Be aware that Genie+ doesn't provide instant, unlimited access to Lightning Lanes.
And no matter how many theme parks you visit, you can only purchase two Individual Lightning Lane passes per day. In addition, like standard Genie+ rides, you can't buy passes more than once for the same ride.
All guests, regardless of where they stay, are limited to a maximum of two pay-per-ride attractions per day and can only book a particular ride once per day. What about Annual Passholders? Annual Passholders will need to purchase Genie+ on the day(s) of their visit.
At all crowd levels, Flight of Passage sells out first. And Cosmic Rewind has worse availability than Rise of the Resistance on low and medium crowd days too. We also see many more availability “drops” throughout the day for Individual Lightning Lane attractions that we do for Genie+ attractions.
In fact, usually the most popular rides are excluded for Genie+ guests. For example, Lightning Lanes aren't available through Genie+ for Disney World's Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, TRON Lightcycle/Run, Avatar Flight of Passage, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
Lightning Lane: This is the same as a FastPass queue – it's an expedited line that lets you “skip” the wait. Unlike FastPasses, which were free, Lightning Lanes are a paid service.
How much are individual Lightning Lane selections? Pricing and availability vary by date, attraction and park. For example, Lightning Lane access to Radiator Springs Racers has a big range from $12 to $20 per person, depending on expected crowds.
The Genie 120-minute rule says that you can make a new reservation at most 2 hours from when you made the last one, and this countdown timer doesn't change if you modify the reservation.
Genie+ is an add-on to the Genie service. With Genie+, you can reserve a spot in a ride's Lightning Lane, a shorter line available only to Genie+ users. You can only book one Lightning Lane at a time, however you can use it throughout the day.
A maximum of two Individual Lightning Lane purchases can be made per day, and you cannot purchase access to the same attraction twice in the same day. To purchase Individual Lightning Lane access, you do not have to also purchase Genie+.
But you can make both Individual Lightning Lane reservations that you are allowed at the same time, or at least, as fast as your fingers can work the phone. That means you can make ILLs for two different rides at 7 a.m. if you are staying onsite, or at park opening if you're staying offsite.
Missing a Lightning Lane entirely will result in you not being able to book another one for the same ride. However, once the appropriate time elapses you can book another ride. My suggestion is to be strategic with the Lightning Lane bookings and aim to keep modifying to a time you know you will make it.
As a general rule of thumb Disney Lightning Lane passes for the most popular rides at each of the Disney World theme parks can sell out within minutes after the 7:00 AM release time. This is especially true when travelling to Walt Disney World during one of the busier times of year such as the summer or the Holidays.