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.
Typically Disneyland Genie Plus does not sell out at the theme parks but on rare days when the attendance mix at the theme parks leans heavily towards vacationing guests the service may sell out.
There are fewer rides on Genie+ at Disney California Adventure than at Disneyland, so those tend to go faster than they do at Disneyland. Can Genie Plus sell out? Yes. We see Genie+ sell out multiple days during the weeks around Christmas and New Year's Eve, as well as in early April during spring break.
Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek said in an August earnings call that a significant number of visitors pay for the add-on service. He noted that now about 50% of the people that come through the gate actually buy up to that Genie product, which I think you can see the result of in our yields.
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.
If you are going to Animal Kingdom or EpcotWhile we really, really think Genie+ is worth it at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, we feel just as strongly as to it not being as necessary at Animal Kingdom and Epcot. But, while it isn't necessary, it can definitely make touring those 2 parks a lot, lot easier.
If you are going to Animal Kingdom or EpcotWhile we really, really think Genie+ is worth it at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, we feel just as strongly as to it not being as necessary at Animal Kingdom and Epcot. But, while it isn't necessary, it can definitely make touring those 2 parks a lot, lot easier.
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.
How does the 2-hour rule work? 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.
If you arrive at a ride early, you can tap into the Lightning Lane five minutes BEFORE your window. You won't even need to talk to a Cast Member to take advantage of these grace periods. Just scan into the Lightning Lane like normal and go! However, if you're later than 15 minutes, you may just be out of luck.
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.
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.
On the Disney Genie+ Service webpage that I linked, it does indicate that on average guests experience about two to three attractions per day with Lightening Lanes using Disney Genie+ Service. However, this is an average, and as long as you stay within the guidelines I mentioned above, you are good to go!
Let me describe the difference between Disney Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes. Disney Genie+ is a magical upgrade to your ticket that allows you to select Lightning Lane entrances at over 40 attractions throughout the theme parks. These Lightning Lane entrances allow you to skip the regular standby line.
Typically, Genie Plus prices is around $20 per person, per day on average ,but if you're visiting during peak times or multiple parks, it'll be higher.
You can only make one Genie+ selection at a time, but you can hold overlapping Genie+ selections because there is a two-hour window before you're able to select another one. You can also purchase an individual Lightning Lane selection that overlaps with a Genie+ selection.
While we really, really think Genie+ is worth it at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, we feel just as strongly as to it not being as necessary at Animal Kingdom and Epcot. But, while it isn't necessary, it can definitely make touring those 2 parks a lot, lot easier.