When should I book my first lightning lane?

For individual Lightning Lane purchases, guests of a Disney Resort hotel and other select hotels* may make their first purchase starting at 7:00 am on the day of their visit. All other Guests can make their first purchase during normal park opening 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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You can buy two individual Lightning Lanes each day. You can only buy an individual Lightning Lane for each ride once per day. So each guest gets up to two distinct individual Lightning Lanes each day.

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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. If you made it at, say, 11 a.m., then your two hours will be up at 1 p.m. even if you modify the reservation at noon.

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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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Can Genie+ sell out? Yes. It can. Although it isn't common, we've seen it happen a few times during busier times of the year (like over the holidays and Spring Break).

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Is Disney Lightning Lane Worth it Conclusion. As a general rule of thumb we do find the Disney World Lightning Lane to be worth it if you can find a way to save 60 minutes per attraction at a cost of under $11.00 per attraction.

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For Individual Lightning Lanes, guests are limited to 2 Individual Lightning Lane purchases per day. With Genie+ Lightning Lanes, guests may not reserve the same ride twice in one day, and there are limits on how frequently you can reserve.

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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.

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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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You may be out of luck for purchasing Individual Lightning Lanes for any attraction if you're staying offsite on high crowd days. Rise of the Resistance used to be the clear winner of the popularity contest here, and that doesn't hold true anymore either. At all crowd levels, Flight of Passage sells out first.

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Individual Lightning Lane Selection attractions range from $9 to $20 per person per attraction. You can see the most accurate pricing here.

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You can purchase Genie+ day by day on each day of your trip using the My Disney Experience app. Genie+ is available for purchase when the clock strikes midnight on the day of your visit, but you don't need to stay up late (instead, just wake up about 15 minutes early to secure it before the 7 a.m. selection process).

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One possibility is that the company has found the “sweet spot” for pricing during popular tourist seasons, and it's $35. Another is that price points have been “reset” and $35 is now the baseline for busier days, with the number only going higher when we enter the next big holiday season.

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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.

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If you miss your window and did not successfully cancel or modify it, you will not be able to make another reservation for that attraction. We missed our arrival window for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. The reservation did not disappear right away, but when we checked 15 minutes later, it was gone.

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Disney Genie+ is a pay-to-skip-the-line service that allows you to begin booking attractions beginning at 7 a.m. each day. Arrival windows are only eligible during regular park hours, so there is no Genie+ available during Early Entry. If using Genie+, be sure to book at 7 a.m. before heading to the park.

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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. If you made it at, say, 11 a.m., then your two hours will be up at 1 p.m. even if you modify the reservation at noon.

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You can buy two individual Lightning Lanes each day. You can only buy an individual Lightning Lane for each ride once per day. So each guest gets up to two distinct individual Lightning Lanes each day.

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While you can't book more than one Genie+ reservation at once, you can hold multiple Genie+ reservations at a time by utilizing the 120 Minute Rule. This is called Genie+ stacking. You are also able to have both a Genie+ reservation and an Individual Lightning Lane entrance at the same time.

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