The new Lightning Lane system at Walt Disney World is much simpler than the infamous Genie+ program, but is it really as effective as it seems?
Earlier this summer, Disney introduced a new system designed to drastically cut white times by introducing a new line-skipping program. With the use of the new Lightning Lane and Lightning Lane Multi Pass, guests can now easily access their favorite rides and attractions — For a price.
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Genie+ was consistently a headache for hundreds of guests, and many found it to be more of a hassle than a value. As a result, Disney now has a new take on the Lightning Lane that is a far more straightforward approach, but something is oddly familiar.
Lightning Lane: FastPass+ with a Fee
If you are a longtime Park Hopper like this writer, you’ll notice some very distinctive similarities between Disney’s new Lightning Lane and the original FastPass+ program from 2014 to 2021, with one or two major differences.
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Disney’s FastPass+ allowed guests to schedule specific times for popular attractions, reducing wait times. Using a mobile app or a kiosk, guests could enjoy a multitude of rides, attractions, and experiences at the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, just to name a few. Fastpasses were also complimentary for Disney resort guests.
Unfortunately, due to the greed and meddling of former Disney CEO Bob Chapek, FastPass+ and the Magical Express service went the way of the dodo and were soon eliminated from the parks after 2021. Minus the complementary status, the new Lightning Lane system seems to follow the same patterns.
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That’s all well and good, but the question likely on most potential Disney park guests’ minds is, “Is it worth it?” Paying upwards of $20 to guarantee a spot in line sounds more like putting our favorite rides behind a paywall than a quality of life improvement, but sometimes it can make a difference.
What Disney Doesn’t Tell You
The new Lightning Lane passes can be purchased individually, or guests can purchase a single pass for one ride or a Multi Pass for any Disney park attraction. What Disney doesn’t tell guests is that while every attraction has a Lightning Lane entrance, not all attractions are available through the My Disney Experience app.
At the time of writing, guests could purchase a Lightning Lane Multi Pass for the Magic Kingdom for $27, which would grant each individual guest three passes for whatever attraction they’d like. However, only Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and TRON Lightcycle/Run are available for a single pass.
Considering that both individual Lightning Lanes are priced at $11 and $20, respectively, the Multi Pass option is the better deal. However, 27 additional dollars is still a large fee for even a single guest. Imagine what it must be like for a family of four or more.
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The pay-to-play model is rarely a good look, and putting beloved rides behind a price tag comes off as immensely greedy on Disney’s part. This is especially true since this new system replaces something guests at the Disney resort hotels used to get for free.
This writer isn’t going to lie and say that spending a little extra to ensure a seat on Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT wasn’t worth it (especially since he missed the virtual queue), but it’s still another paywall guests have to deal with. Disney’s virtual queue and good old-fashioned standing in line are still an option, but that doesn’t mean all guests are going to want to do that.
I’ve been to WDW dozens of times in the last 25 years. I’m done. Everything that was free is now ridiculously expensive…AND NOT WORTH IT! Bob Iger was supposed to fix Chapek’s mistakes. He’s made everything worse!
Disney’s wanted money the people running it are looking for ways to get rid of free and get more money th.
The loss of making it a magical experience is becoming a way they are wanting
We bought annual passes this year, out of state. So the changes hit us hard, we were using DAS and Genie+. We will not renew. Our grand kids love all of it, but at over $20K the past two years, NO.
We just finished 4 days in the parks and found LL incredibly helpful. We rode everything we wanted and didn’t wait in long lines. This did include using all paid LL.