Disney Genie, Genie+, and Lightning Lane FAQ for Walt Disney World

Aug 19, 2021 in "Disney Genie"

Posted: Thursday August 19, 2021 7:06am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney Genie, Genie+, and Lightning Lane Frequently Asked Questions for Walt Disney World

Learn more about Disney's announcement and launch of Disney Genie.

FAQ Updated June 10, 2024

1. What is Disney Genie?

Disney Genie is a digital service that is part of the My Disney Experience app available at no additional cost. The service is designed to plan your day at the Walt Disney World theme parks, including a personalized itinerary that maps out the entire day based on your preferences. Disney Genie will display current and forecasted future wait times.

2. What is Disney Genie+?

Disney Genie+ is an option within the Disney Genie service that makes the former FastPass line available at select attractions, now called Lightning Lane. Certain headline attractions are not part of Genie+, and Lightning Lane access at those attractions will require an Individual Attraction purchase.

3. What are Individual Attraction Purchases?

Attractions not included as part of Genie+, such as Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, will require an individual attraction purchase for access into the Lightning Lane. Prices will vary by date, attraction and park. Throughout the year, prices may be lower on some days and higher on other days. This option may be purchased at up to 2 different attractions each day.

4. If I don't want to buy Genie+ or individual attraction purchases, can I still ride?

All attractions will still have a standby queue or a virtual queue.

5. When did Disney Genie and Genie+ launch at Walt Disney World?

Disney Genie+ launched on October 19 2021.

6. What is the difference between Genie and Genie+?

Disney Genie is the planning service that creates itineraries and is free for all visitors. Genie+ is a paid option to provide Lighting Lane access to certain attractions.

7. What is a Lightning Lane?

The Lighting Lane is the new name for the FastPass queue, and can be accessed via Genie+ at participating attractions, or via an Individual Attraction purchase at a limited number of high-demand attractions.

8. How much does Disney Genie cost?

The basic Disney Genie service is free to all guests visiting Walt Disney World.

9. Is Disney Genie a new app?

Disney Genie is accessed via My Disney Experience, the existing Walt Disney World app available for iOS and Android.

10. When can I add Genie+ to my ticket?

Genie+ at Walt Disney World now starts at $15, and may go as high as $39 per person per day (plus tax), depending on the date and park. You can purchase through My Disney Experience on the day of your visit. Pre-arrival purchase is not possible. WDWMAGIC provides detailed pricing data and historical trends for Disney's Genie+ and Lightning Lane purchases at Walt Disney World.

11. What attractions are available for Lighting Lane access via Genie+?

Magic Kingdom

Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane Selections

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Haunted Mansion
“it’s a small world”
Jungle Cruise
Mad Tea Party
Mickey’s PhilharMagic
Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
Peter Pan’s Flight
Pirates of the Caribbean
The Barnstormer
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Tiana's Bayou Adventure
Tomorrowland Speedway
Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid

EPCOT

Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane Selections

Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
Journey into Imagination with Figment
Living with the Land
Mickey & Friends
Mission: SPACE – Green
Mission: SPACE – Orange
Remy's Ratatouille Adventure
Soarin’
Spaceship Earth
Test Track
The Seas with Nemo & Friends
Turtle Talk with Crush

Disney's Hollywood Studios

Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane Selections

Alien Swirling Saucers
Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along
Disney Jr. Dance Party
For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Muppet*Vision 3D
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
Slinky Dog Dash
Star Tours
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Toy Story Mania!

Disney's Animal Kingdom

Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane Selections

Celebration of the Festival of the Lion King
DINOSAUR
Feathered Friends in Flight!
It’s Tough to Be a Bug!
Kali River Rapids
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Na'vi River Journey
The Animation Experience

12. How many Disney Genie+ selections can I make and when can I make subsequent selections?

You can make one selection at a time throughout the day. Once you use one, you can make another. Your first Disney Genie+ Lighting Lane selection can be made at 7am, regardless of whether you are staying at Walt Disney World Resort hotel or offsite.

In most cases, you are eligible for another Genie+ Lightning Lane selection as soon as you tap into the Lightning Lane entrance at the chosen attraction. If you do not tap into the attraction, you are eligible for another Lightning Lane selection at the end of the arrival window for the current selection or 2 hours after your prior election was made.

Suppose your first Lightning Lane selection is further out than 2 hours from park opening, for example, 2pm. In that case, you can make a second Lightning Lane selection 120 minutes following the official park opening time.

Example. At 7am, you book a Lightning Lane selection for Haunted Mansion at 2pm in Magic Kingdom. The park opens at 9am, so you are then eligible to make another Lightning Lane selection for a ride time from 11am. This means at 11am you will have two Genie+ Lightning Lane reservations.

In short, assuming the park opens at 9am, your latest booking times will be: 7am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, 7pm, 9pm.

Using the above booking times, and assuming that your first reservation is for later in the day, it may be possible to stack three or more Genie+ Lightning Lane reservations at one time.

13. How many Individual Attraction purchases can I make?

You can schedule a time to arrive at up to two highly demanded attractions each day using the Lightning Lane entrance.

14. What attractions are not part of Genie+ and require an Individual Attraction purchase?

Magic Kingdom

Individual Lightning Lane Selections

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Space Mountain
TRON Lightcycle Run

EPCOT

Individual Lightning Lane Selections

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

Disney's Hollywood Studios

Individual Lightning Lane Selections

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

Disney's Animal Kingdom

Individual Lightning Lane Selections

Avatar Flight of Passage

15. Do I have to buy Genie+ before I can make an Individual Attraction Purchase?

No. Individual Attraction purchases can be made via Disney Genie without needing the Genie+ add-on.

16. When can I purchase Individual Attractions for Lightning Lane access?

Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests can purchase up to 2 individual attraction selections for Lighting Lane access at 7am on the day of visit. Available to Disney Resort hotel Guests and Guests of Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotels and Shades of Green.

Non-resort hotel guests can make a purchase when the park opens.

17. When can I make Genie+ selections?

At Walt Disney World, all guests can make the first Genie+ selection at 7am on the day of the visit via My Disney Experience.

18. Will Genie+ and Individual Attraction purchases be available during Extended Evening Hours and Early Entry for Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests?

No, only standby lines will be in use during these times.

19. Do I have to purchase Genie+ for the entire length of my trip?

Genie+ is purchased on a day-by-day basis, and is not linked to a trip length.

20. Can I pay to ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance or Remy's Ratatouille Adventure?

For Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, you will be able to buy Lightning Access as an Individual Attraction purchase.

21. How does Genie+ and individual attraction purchases work for Annual Passholders?

Genie+ can be purchased by Walt Disney World Annual Passholders on the day of the visit. No discounts are available.

22. What has happened to FASTPASS and FastPass+?

The original FASTPASS and FastPass+ have been retired and replaced by Disney Genie and Genie+.

23. Can I modify a Genie+ selection?

Yes. Using the My Disney Experience app, guests can now modify an existing booking without first canceling a reservation and making another booking. This only applies to Lightning Lanes that are part of Genie+, and not those that are Individual Attraction Purchases

24. Can I book an Individual Attraction Purchase at the same time as a Genie+ Lightning Lane selection?

Yes. It is possible to have a Genie+ reservation at the same time as an individual attraction purchase. Disney Genie will detect this and advise you that you have an existing plan in the same window, but it will let you make the reservation.

25. What payment methods can I use to buy Disney Genie+ and Individual Attraction selections?

My Disney Experience accepts the following payment methods:

Disney Gift Card
Disney Rewards redemption Card
Credit or Debit Cards - Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Diners Club, JCB and UnionPay
Click to Pay

26. How can I find out pricing for Genie+ and Lightning Lane selections?

WDWMAGIC now provides detailed pricing data and historical trends for Disney's Genie+ and Lightning Lane purchases at Walt Disney World.

Whether you're planning a family trip, or you're a Disney enthusiast who wants to stay informed, our platform empowers you with invaluable insights in a single at-a-glance page. Try it out now at https://www.wdwmagic.com/genieprice.htm

Discuss on the Forums

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peter1143521 days ago

There are automated ways to record exactly how long guests waited for attractions. This can’t be used to post estimated wait times but is used to verify their accuracy.

Purduevian21 days ago

AI seems like overkill to actually make the wait time 1) number of people that have entered the line 2) number of people that have left the line 3) average throughput of the line over the past X minutes 4) add in whatever fluff calculations to artificially inflate based on time of day 5) add hysteresis so the number isn't constantly jumping However, I could see face tracking/ person recognition cameras being trained with AI to make the actual counts for 1,2, and 3

Disstevefan121 days ago

Well it could be old and no longer used and they just didn't remove it, or only used when the automation is down. When will they use AI to calculate wait times?

lentesta21 days ago

I think it's reasonable to do this. My meds haven't kicked in yet this morning, so I'm wondering if this guide means there's not an automated way to estimate waits yet.

Disstevefan121 days ago

If they made accurate measurements to populate the numbers in the chart, besides when there are breakdowns, this seems to be a reasonable way to estimate wait times to me. When we as guests consider getting into standby what’s the first thing we do? Look at the queue.

lentesta21 days ago

That's my understanding.

Purduevian21 days ago

Can you explain the top matrix? I'm assume there are markers in the line that cast members use to see how long the wait is from a certain point and based on LL usage? For instance if standby reaches point 4 on a light LL usage day then the wait is approximately 15 mins However if standby reaches point 6 on a heavy day the wait is approximately 35 mins?

lentesta21 days ago

1) Take a look at the doc below, from IASW. The lower left seems to indicate the percent of ride capacity allocated to LL under different crowd levels. 2) AFAIK no - just the return ratios. 3) I definitely think this gave them room to do that.

RSoxNo122 days ago

Was there any confirmation about the actual distribution percentages of Lightning Lane Multi Pass or Premier Pass? Were those numbers dropped? Is this an effect of the reduced DAS usage?

MisterPenguin22 days ago

You wouldn't see Disney saying "80% of LLs were DAS users and a majority of them didn't need it or were just scamming the system. And now that we changed how DAS was distributed, we have a lot more room for LLs to sell while at the same time, tinkering with how much people can pay to skip the line." But, from our sources... that seems to be the case.

Chi8422 days ago

How much would the change in DAS affect it though? It’s likely most of the former DAS people are now paying to access the LLs. I believe the issue was that on some of the more popular rides, 3 out of 4 people in the LLs weren’t paying for them. It wasn’t necessarily too many people, but Disney didn’t have control over who was accessing them and when.

MickeyLuv'r22 days ago

I didn't see anything in the information that mentioned the change in DAS, and how that factored into the old FP/LL and newest LL ratios. We were previously told that DAS was a big % of LL usage, so if DAS usage went down, that would be part of any change between LL usage then and LL now.

JMcMahonEsq22 days ago

I think regular folks use social media, i just don't think the type of lightening rumors that people here are exposed to, because they are following 10+ Disney related pages or bloggers, is going to get out there to your average guest. Just from quick looks at the "official" WDW Instagram and x pages they don't seem to do those types of posts (admittedly this as a quick scan only.) You might get some travel agents who would give you a generic "they could sell out" but in general, and i think this is a problem way beyond just WDW, people have a tendency to over estimate how wide spread niche information is disseminated, because our news/information/web based content now is so curated/user interest generated. People who like WDW are in these types of forums, follow bloggers who talk about WDW, follow their twitter feeds ect. We get bombarded with multiple sources from multiple parties and think that the information is widespread, since we are seeing it coming from every source we follow. But to the general public, its just not out there. Its the reason people on boards like this complain about WDW specials on ABC that talk about "new" rides or upcoming additions to parks, and say, come on we have been hearing about this for months. Sure the niche market has, but its really not until you start getting true mainstream advertising/announcements, that the majority of the market gets the news.

Disstevefan122 days ago

Fair point. The regular folks working through travel agents, I presume the agent will tell them. Regular folks use social media too, if/when LL are selling out, the word will get out quick especially if regular folks have a bad experience at the parks because LL are sold out. After thinking about it, I think Disney would not purposely lower the inventory to force demand, I think they just want to sell as many LLs as they can right now.