Disney World has seen so many changes and additions just this summer alone!
Magic Kingdom
Over in Magic Kingdom, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure started to welcome visitors to go down the Bayou in June. The Country Bear Jamboree re-opened with a brand new show that features the Bears singing Disney tunes. Plus, TRON Lightcycle / Run no longer uses Virtual Queue! In EPCOT, CommuniCore Hall and Plaza opened, marking the completion of the EPCOT Transformation. We even got big news at D23 about changes and additions coming to all four parks! It can be hard to keep up, and we were shocked when Disney made a huge announcement about Genie+, the pay-to-skip-the-line service.
Genie+ was introduced in 2021 as a replacement for its predecessor, FastPass+. FastPass+ was a free service that allowed you to book three attractions in advance using a tier system. When Genie+ was introduced, it was confusing to some as this service was now a paid-for service that did not include all attractions, as more popular attractions utilized Individual Lightning Lane. Besides having to pay for Genie+, one of the most significant changes was that you could not make ride selections until the day of.
Genie+
Well, after three years, we started to get the hang of it. We learned all the rules, found the best “hacks,” and could plan the perfect park day around using Genie+. Well, that all changed this summer when Lightning Lane Multi and Single Pass were introduced as replacements for Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane.
©Disney
At first, we were concerned about these changes as we had learned the ins and outs of Genie+. Lightning Lane Multi Pass officially started on July 24th, 2024 and took a page out of FastPass+’s book. While Lightning Lane Multi and Single Pass are not free, ride selections can be booked in advance, and the tier system returned.
Lightning Lane changes
Those staying at a Disney World hotel can book their Lightning Lane reservations 7 days in advance; all others can book 3 days in advance.
©Disney
The EASIEST Way To Use Disney World’s NEW Lightning Lane Multi Pass System
These are HUGE changes! Now that it has been almost two months since this new service, we asked our readers how they felt about the change in the system, and 64% of readers thought that this confusing change was worth it.
One reader said, “More than anything, I’m happy about the branding change. Genie+ was confusing nomenclature. It was meant to be an umbrella term for Lightning Lanes plus other stuff, but nobody noticed or cared about the “other stuff.” While it is still a complex system, and there are lots to be said about pros and cons of advance booking, I think the names of Multi Pass and Single Pass are much clearer, and the ability not to purchase until you have confirmed three attractions times makes it a safer purchase.”
Lightning Lane
Another reader said that they have had a fair amount of success with it on their current trip and think it’s definitely better than the Genie+ system. However, they pointed out that people may not be happy with it since it is not free like FastPass+ was.
Lightning Lane
The new system is not perfect, as 36% of readers felt that the change was a failure. One reader said, “I think it has its advantages and disadvantages, but overall, it has been a good change for me.” On the other hand, one reader felt that Genie+ was better and said, “Sure, you get your three first FastPasses (referring to Lightning Lane Multi Pass) for the day on the new system, but everything good is gone by noon. Genie+ had popular rides available all day. Plus, you could stack. The new system is the same as FastPass+, except you pay for it. I didn’t like the tiers before, and I still don’t like them.”
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Lightning Lane
It takes time to adapt to new changes, especially after learning how to game the previous system. We will continue to experiment with Lightning Lane Multi and Single Pass to give you all the best tips so you are prepared for your next trip to Disney World!
We Tested the NEW Lightning Lane System in Disney World, and It’s EASIER Than You Think!
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I haven’t been able to try the new systen yet, but anything that lets me book in advance is a good thing. I wish it was further in advance, like Fastpass+ used to be, but we will take what we can get. We would have gladly paid for Fastpass+ as it was, if they would have simply never changed it at all, but I guess the optics of a move like that are bad. But IMO this whole journey was just about basically getting people to pay for Fastpass+, and I think a lot of people can see that, because they had to know how unpopular factors would be like not be able to plan in advance, and having to scramble all day in the parks on your phone. I will be fine with what I can get as long as I can get what I want at the time I want. I am not happy that ADR planning and LL planning will be so far apart, but maybe by the time we go back, the LL window will be longer.
Family of 4, 5 days in the parks….avg. $80 a day, $320 added to your tickets price. Sometimes it’s less and sometimes it’s more. Wanna hop, you get charged the highest park price. Wanna get a single pass for TRON, $80…Tiana..$80 more dollars , Yeah it nice, but ridiculously too expensive. Think about it fans, this is the largest of many money grabs ever made by Disney…Could care less if it’s confusing or not…It’s a rip off – this is all on top of the $144. you pay to get into MK this Friday. (NOT park hopping) So, I read “but overall, it has been a good change for me.” It’s a lot of change for me!
Why can’t international visitors have the same rights of the 7 day advance lightning lane booking as US citizens if staying in a Disney hotel .
It’s usually the international visitors who book for 14 days at a time rather than a week or just a long weekend, if appears very discriminatory to Disney’s international guests and they should have the same benefits if they qualify by staying on property.