Does Disney World Have FastPass? Everything You Need to Know About Lightning Lane

What is Lightning Lane?

Lightning Lane is Disney’s way of helping you spend less time queuing and more time enjoying the park.

Rather than joining the standard standby queue, Lightning Lane gives you access to a much shorter queue for selected attractions and there are three different types of Lightning Lane available, depending on how you want to experience the parks.

Lightning Lane Single Pass

Think of this as paying for one individual attraction.

Single Pass is reserved for some of Disney’s most popular rides, including attractions like:

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
TRON Lightcycle / Run
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

You can purchase up to two Single Pass attractions per day, subject to availability.

If there’s one ride you absolutely don’t want to miss, this can be a brilliant option.

Lightning Lane Premier Pass

This is Disney’s premium option.

Rather than selecting return times throughout the day, Premier Pass lets you experience every available Lightning Lane attraction in one chosen park, once each, whenever you like.   It is the most expensive option, but for families visiting during busy periods or anyone wanting maximum flexibility, it can be worth considering.

Lightning Lane Multi Pass

This is the option I recommend most often to my own clients.

With Multi Pass, you’ll pre-book three attractions before your park day begins.

At Magic Kingdom, EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, you’ll choose:

One attraction from Group 1
Two attractions from Group 2

Animal Kingdom works slightly differently, as there isn’t a Group 1 and Group 2 system.

(I’ve included my handy guide below showing which attractions fall into each group.)

When Can You Book Lightning Lane?

One of the biggest advantages of staying at a Disney Resort Hotel is getting earlier access to Lightning Lane bookings.

Staying at a Disney Resort (or selected partner hotel)

Purchase and choose your Lightning Lane selections 7 days before check-in.
You can book for the length of your stay (up to 14 days).
Booking opens at 7:00am Eastern Time.

Staying off-site

Purchase and choose your selections 3 days before each park day.
Booking also opens at 7:00am Eastern Time.

Those extra few days can make a huge difference, especially during school holidays when the most popular attractions disappear quickly.

My Favourite Lightning Lane Strategy

This is the strategy I recommend to most of my clients.

Rather than making your first Lightning Lane booking for as soon as the park opens…

Rope Drop your first attraction.   Arrive before opening (“rope drop”) and head straight to one of the busiest rides while queues are still low. Then, make sure you book your first Lightning Lane for a little later in the morning.

Here’s the clever bit… As soon as you’ve scanned into your first Lightning Lane attraction, open the My Disney Experience app and you’re now able to book another attraction. So although you started the day with three bookings, you can keep replacing the ones you’ve already used.

If you stay on top of it throughout the day, you’ll often have three Lightning Lane experiences lined up, massively reducing the amount of time you spend queuing.

Is Lightning Lane Worth It?   This is probably the second most common question I get.

My answer? Usually Yes.

If you’re travelling during:
UK school holidays
Easter
Christmas
Half-term
Summer

…the time you’ll save can be well worth the additional cost.

If you’re travelling during quieter periods, it’s a little more personal. Some guests are happy to queue, while others would rather spend the extra money to fit more attractions into their day. There’s no right or wrong answer, it just really depends on how you like to holiday.

Final Thoughts  -  Lightning Lane can feel a little overwhelming when you first start researching Disney, but once you understand how the system works, it’s actually one of the best ways to maximise your time in the parks (It’s also one of the reasons I love helping clients plan Disney holidays).

Everyone travels differently and I enjoy helping families build a strategy that suits them . If you’re planning a Walt Disney World holiday and would like some advice, I’d be more than happy to help.