Disney has introduced a paid ‘FastPass’ replacement — here’s what ‘Lightning Lanes’ cost
There’s officially a new way to skip the regular lines at Disney. Genie, Genie+ and Lightning Lanes have launched at Walt Disney World as of today, Oct. 19.
Disney’s free FastPass program is now part of the Disney history books and in its place is a new mix of paid and complimentary services.
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From what it costs to how it works, here’s what you need to know about Disney’s new way to skip the lines.
$15 to skip lines with Genie+
Disney Genie+ costs $15 per day at Disney World. It provides access to what used to be referred to as FastPass lines and will apply to more than 40 attractions at Walt Disney World. And while this is functionally a lot like what a paid FastPass would have been, the actual term FastPass has been replaced with “Lightning Lane.”
While we don’t have a launch date for this service at Disneyland quite yet, Genie+ will cost $20 per person per day when it launches in California and will apply to more than 15 rides. The Disneyland price is on par with what MaxPass cost prior to the 2020 park closure, and this service actually functions much like MaxPass worked at Disneyland.
Examples of attractions that will be available for Lightning Lane via Genie+ include Haunted Mansion, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
At Disneyland, Genie+ will also include unlimited PhotoPass downloads, and at Disney World, it will include some augmented reality lenses. We tried some of them out when we visited Disney World in October for the kickoff of the 50th-anniversary celebration, and the lenses are pretty fun.
Similar to how MaxPass operated at Disneyland, you can select another Lightning Lane attraction and return time (if available) as soon as you use the one you had selected. If the one you selected is for a popular attraction that doesn’t have return availability until much later in the day, Disney states you can select a new one after two hours even if you haven’t yet used the one that only had availability much later in the day.
For those that like to park-hop, you will be able to use it across multiple theme parks in one day.
Related: Here’s what is new for Disney World’s 50th anniversary
A la carte Lightning Lane access starts around $7 each
For the highest-demand attractions, you’ll have to pay a separate amount to access those Lightning Lanes. You can do that with or without the purchase of Genie+.
According to Disney, these a la carte attractions include:
- Magic Kingdom: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- Magic Kingdom: Space Mountain
- Epcot: Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.
- Epcot: Frozen Ever After
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Animal Kingdom: Avatar Flight of Passage
- Animal Kingdom: Expedition Everest
The pricing will vary from day to day, but the examples we were given are roughly what we expected based on the pricing that was used at Disneyland Paris. In the examples provided, pricing ranges from around $7 to $15 per ride per person. And for day one of Lightning Lane today, prices were indeed in that realm with Rise of the Resistance coming in on the high-end and Everest on the low-end.
This a la carte option is only available for two different attractions each day — though you can split them between parks, doing one in Magic Kingdom and one in Hollywood Studios as an example, assuming you have park-hopper tickets.
Disney occasionally makes changes to which Lightning Lane attractions are included with Genie+ and which must be purchased a la carte. You can check the latest updates on the Lightning Lane pages for Disney World and Disneyland.
New free Genie service will help optimize your day
There’s also a long-awaited free service coming soon to all Disney World and Disneyland guests: Disney Genie.
The new Disney Genie service will be available within the My Disney Experience and Disneyland apps. Its goal is to help Disney guests maximize their day by displaying estimated future wait times for attractions, making suggestions on their day’s specific itinerary based on their plans and stated preferences and centralizing their dining reservations, virtual queues and “lightning” access plans.
These won’t be static recommendations but will update in real-time based on wait times, their changing goals, ride availability and more.
Disney Genie will leverage decades of Disney data and technology to help guests plan their best Disney day and reduce the time spent in lines.
Related: Guide to visiting Disney World
Old-fashioned lines are still available
With all of this talk of Genie, Genie+ and individually available paid Lightning Lane access add-ons, you may start to wonder if you can still just decide to buy a regular ticket and get in line to ride something.
Thankfully, the answer is yes — standby lines are still available. The obvious difference is that those lanes will now probably move a bit slower than they used to because you’ll have to alternate with people using Lightning Lane access. But since this is a paid service, compared to the old free FastPass, the impact on the standby queue may be less than in the past.
Beyond the old-fashioned physical lines, virtual queues continue to be available at no extra cost for the new attractions. At Disney World, a virtual queue is being used for the new Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.
When can you buy Genie+ and request Lightning Lane access?
Disney has said that date-based ticket guests will be able to purchase Genie+ in advance of their visit, but a la carte Lightning Lane attractions won’t be available until the day of the visit.
At Disney World, Genie+ users can select a return time for your first desired and included attraction of the day beginning at 7 a.m. on the day of your trip. At Disneyland, you’ll have to wait until you’re physically in the park to select a return time for your first ride. That’s true regardless of where you are staying for your vacation.
However, there is a little extra perk for those who are staying in Disney World resorts.
If desired, Disney resort guests can make their first individually purchased Lightning Lane attraction selection beginning at 7 a.m. (such as for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train). Non-resort guests can’t do this until the park officially opens — which may be an hour or two later depending on the day and selected park.
Disney has not ruled out the possibility that annual pass holders will one day be able to purchase a Genie+ add-on for their pass, but that is not available currently and may or may not happen down the road.
Bottom line
Genie+ and Lightning Lane are officially a thing now at Walt Disney World. Early reports online are that the waits for the Lightning Lanes for popular rides are much shorter than the standby queues, though may still include a few minutes of waiting as the old FastPass lines did.
When recently speaking about all these new options and planning features, Disney says that the “one size fits all approach doesn’t make sense” for its guests anymore.
Thankfully, the fee of $15 per person per day for Genie+ likely doesn’t add a huge amount to the total overall cost of a trip to Disney World. It’s certainly a much more affordable option than several thousand dollars per day for a Disney VIP tour, which was the only real way to bypass the increasingly long standby lines earlier this year.
For a family of four that is spending three days in the Walt Disney World parks and wants these perks, Genie+ will add $180 to the trip cost. Purchasing two a la carte Lightning Lanes per day for top-tier rides would add approximately $265 to their trip, based on an average of the examples given. That $445 is a lot of money and could be a deal-breaker for some.
But for others, it’s a lot more affordable than some other skip-the-line options. Time (and a TPG test coming soon) will tell how much time using Lightning Lane really saves.
Walt Disney himself once said, “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things.” And this time, that means the end of the FastPass era and the beginning of a more a la carte approach to a day spent at Disney theme parks.
Additional reporting by Madison Blancaflor.
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| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
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There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.