When Disney moved away from the FastPass system post-pandemic, it came with a wave of confusion. Any Disney Parks goer who has tried to explain the difference between Genie+ and Lightning Lane to a first timer knows the struggle. Today, the company has taken a step towards clearing that up although it may cause more confusion in the short-term. These changes have also brought news that Walt Disney World will be allowing guests to pre-reserve their Lightning Lanes. We’ll detail all of the changes in this post before adding in our own commentary. Let’s start with the news!

On July 24, Walt Disney World will introduce new, simpler names to provide more clarity for everyone. Disney Genie+ service will become Lightning Lane Multi Pass, while individual Lightning Lane will now be known as Lightning Lane Single Pass.   

WDW will also be updating Lightning Lane passes to help guests:     

• Make Lightning Lane plans before arriving, for added confidence.     
• Choose your experiences and times prior to purchasing, so you know what you’re getting. 
• Book Lightning Lane passes for multiple vacation days, all in a single day.   

Here’s how Lightning Lane passes will work beginning July 24:

Lightning Lane Multi Pass     

When you purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you may make up to 3 Lightning Lane selections in a theme park, in advance of your visit. You’ll also be able to choose available times as you make your selections. On the day of your visit, once you use a selection, check the My Disney Experience app for availability to make an additional selection.  

Lightning Lane Single Pass     

Lightning Lane Single Pass will work much like it does today, where you can secure a time to ride one of our most highly demanded attractions, but you’ll now be able to make your purchase and plan in advance.       

How to Plan Ahead 

Guests staying at a Disney Resort hotel and other select hotels will be able to plan Lightning Lane passes up to 7 days in advance, for their entire stay (up to 14 days). All other guests can plan up to 3 days in advance. 

These advance purchase windows will let guests secure some of their must-do rides and experiences after they’ve had some time to decide what dining reservations they want to book and any other plans they may need to consider.  

Guests may purchase a Lightning Lane Multi Pass, a Lightning Lane Single Pass or both. The app will also be updated to make it quicker and easier to purchase and plan, with fewer steps and a new option to purchase Lightning Lane Single Pass and Lightning Lane Multi Pass in one transaction.       

Lightning Lane passes will blend features from the current services and the previously offered FastPass+ service, giving guests the choice to plan ahead and removing the hassle of planning during their vacation.  

Disneyland Resort will also use the new Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single pass names beginning July 24. Based on the different ways we know guests visit Disneyland Resort, the way guests purchase, select and redeem Lightning Lane passes at Disneyland Resort will remain the same.    

The complimentary features of Disney Genie service will continue to be available in the My Disney Experience and Disneyland apps. As you may have noticed, both apps have also gotten a series of upgrades over the last year to make features easier to use, including making dining reservations, mobile food ordering, and more. 

Commentary

After waking up and seeing that there was no halfway to holiday update, I assumed it would be a slow news day. I was very wrong! Just to recap, there is next to no change at Disneyland Resort. Everything after July 24th will be the same as it is today except with a different name. Genie+ is now Lightning Lane Multi Pass and the ala carte selections are Lightning Lane Single Pass. This is much simpler in the long run and should cut down on confusion, albeit not immediately. I feel for the poor Cast Members who will have guests asking about FastPass, Genie+ and Lightning Lanes constantly. In short though, I’m all for the name change.

Walt Disney World is where we see the big changes. The Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass names will also be in use but they can be reserved ahead of time. Even Disney notes in the news blip above that this is similar to FastPass+, the system in place pre-pandemic. They’ve even brought back the tiers. The obvious difference is that now it costs money. There are a few other differences, as well.

While FastPass+ had guests reserving 60 or 30 days ahead, this system is only 7 or 3 days depending on if you’re staying on-site or not. This is a good change. Speaking as someone who’s planned multiple group trips, locking in ride reservations 60 days in advance was tedious. 7 days is far more manageable to get everyone on the same page.

The other big positive is that guests can hold a rolling three Lightning Lanes. With FastPass+, the three pre-reserved had to be completed before booking anything else. With this system, guests will be able to book a new Lightning Lane after using their first (or after a certain time, if they decide to keep that in place). We don’t know what availability will look like with the rolling 3 but it will be interesting to monitor from a strategy perspective.

These changes certainly add more value to staying on-site at Walt Disney World. Guests will be able to pre-reserve Lightning Lanes 7 days ahead instead of 3, meaning they get their pick of the litter. This is especially advantageous at parks without as many attractions. No shade, but that’s all of the WDW parks outside of Magic Kingdom!

Without seeing the system in action, my gut reaction is positive. This fits in well with Walt Disney World being more of a vacation destination. Those 7 AM mornings to book your first selection on Genie+ are gone, instead you’ll just do that from home once for the whole trip.

The name simplification was sorely needed too. Having Genie+ and Lightning Lane be similar services but from different movies was confusing for everyone. I’m sure the change from FastPass came because they didn’t want people to associate the offerings with being free. But keeping track of the different terms for a Disney trip is hard enough already.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see these changes become another opportunity for the company to raise the prices on the service. That’s a drum I’ve been beating for a while and will continue to do so. Raising the prices while cutting down on the amount of Lightning Lanes offered is advantageous to those who purchase and standby lines. The one problem is that the demand at $50 for Lightning Lane Multi Pass might not be that different from $25. If that’s the case, I have a hard time seeing Disney turning down that money.

Whatever route they decide to go, I view today’s announcement as good news. The lingo got simpler and a Walt Disney World vacation will be more enjoyable while there. Goodbye to Genie+, we hardly knew thee. We’ll have more information on Lightning Lane Multi Pass and the other changes as the date gets closer.

What do you think of today’s news? Let us know, along with any questions you might have, in the comments below! Planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Check out our Disney World Trip Planning Guide to help you out. Looking for discount tickets? Check out this site! If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!