Disney CANCELLED These Lightning Lanes, and We Think We Know Why

Listen, Disney World is more than kiddie rides and merry-go-rounds. There are some pretty epic thrill rides and some action-packed entertainment in the parks. Deadpool even recently made an appearance at Disney California Adventure. DEADPOOL! Point is, there are all kinds of things to do in Disney World beside the classic rides.

Magic Kingdom

Speaking of characters in Disney parks, we have to discuss a big change that just went into effect. Were you ever lucky enough to skip the line for a long character meet-and-greet? Well, you might not get so lucky on your next trip to Disney World, and we think we know why.

OK, let’s start at the beginning. For a few years now, Disney has offered a skip-the-line service as a paid add-on. The service was called Genie+, and it has since been renamed and updated to become Lightning Lane Multi Pass. One of the biggest changes with Multi Pass is that you can purchase the service and book your first three ride reservations BEFORE your trip. If you’re staying at a Disney World hotel, you can make your selections up to seven days in advance. Everyone else can make selections three days in advance. TL;DR: Lightning Lane Multi Pass is the new way to pay to skip the lines to most Disney World rides.

Lightning Lanes in Walt Disney World

Why are we talking about Lightning Lanes and characters? Well, when the new Lightning Lane Multi Pass system went live in July, we noticed something pretty important was missing from the lineup. Not every ride and attraction is available through Lightning Lane Multi Pass, and now, one MORE attraction is unavailable with Multi Pass.

These Attractions Are Missing From the New Lightning Lane System in Disney World

Disney has removed all character meet-and-greets from the list of attractions available under Lighting Lane Multi Pass. That means no skipping the line to meet Mickey at Town Square Theater and no using the express lane at Mickey and Friends at CommuniCore Hall in EPCOT. You’re gonna have to wait in the standby line for ALL character meet-and-greets now.

Town Square Theater

Additionally, the old Genie+ perk that allowed us to watch Magic Kingdom’s Festival of Fantasy parade from a reserved viewing area is GONE. Lighting Lane Multi Pass does NOT offer any special Festival of Fantasy parade viewing.

Festival of Fantasy Parade

Now, Disney hasn’t made any official announcements about this change. We may never know exactly why they decided to take away this offering. But we have some ideas.

Disney Genie, Genie Plus, and Lightning Lanes: Here’s EVERYTHING You Need to Know!

This isn’t something you’ll find in a guidebook. Here’s the thing about Disney World meet-and-greets: they aren’t all created equally, and it’s hard to factor them into a rigid service like Lightning Lane Multi Pass.

Princess Fairytale Hall

Some meet-and-greets are random, fun surprises that aren’t advertised on the My Disney Experience app. For these types of character interactions, Cast Members try to limit the number of people in the area and close the line at their own discretion. Translation: you have to be super lucky to stumble upon one of these surprise meet-and-greets.

You never know who you might see!

OBVIOUSLY, those types of meet-and-greets would never work with a system like Lightning Lane Multi Pass. But there are other character meet-and-greets that happen pretty much all day, every day in Disney World, like the Anna and Elsa meet-and-greet in EPCOT or the Mickey Mouse meet-and-greet in Magic Kingdom. We know exactly how long these characters will be out for the day and where to find them, so why is it so hard to use a skip-the-line service here, you may ask?

We love meeting characters in the parks!

OK, we have some former Disney World Cast Members on the team here, and while we can’t comment on Disney’s exact reasoning, we have an idea about why Disney took character meet-and-greets away from the Lightning Lane lineup. Here’s the problem with using two separate lines to meet characters: it’s complicated. Unlike, say, Soarin’, character meet-and-greets involve human interaction.

Minnie at the “Mickey & Friends” Meet and Greet

That means Mickey may spend some extra time with a super sweet little baby. Or it could mean Princess Moana has to go feed Pua. Or it could mean the meet-and-greet has an unexpected pause, delay, or cancelation. And when people are paying for a service to jump to the front of the line amid any behind-the-scenes circumstances that may be happening…well, it’s tricky! Cast Members might not be able to share the exact reason for an unexpected delay at these kinds of meet-and-greets, so it’s easier to stick with just a standby line.

Cinderella

Of course, Disney could change its mind and bring back the Lightning Lane at these kinds of meet-and-greets, but in our experience, things seem to run more smoothly when there’s only one line to deal with at these kinds of attractions. In the meantime, we’re always on the lookout for the latest Disney news, so stay tuned for more.

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Did you ever use the Lighting Lane at a character meet-and-greet? Let us know in the comments!