How To Use Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane

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Inside: How to use Disney World’s Genie+ system; how to make individual attraction selections at Disney; What is Disney’s Lightning Lane

With the news of FastPass+ being retired and the new Disney Genie, Lightning Lane, Genie+ and Individual Attraction Selections (did your eyes just glaze over there?). There’s a lot new going on at Disney World to plan for! 

This post will be focused on Disney World in Florida, but there are similar things happening at Disneyland in California as well.

First, let’s break down the terminology: 

Disney Genie= Free planning tool within the already existing My Disney Experience

Lightning Lane= the ride entrance that you use for Genie+ or Individual Attraction Selections (the old FastPass+ entrance)

Genie+ = Ability to reserve times on certain rides (similar to the old FastPass+ system) for a cost of $15 per ticket per day.

Individual Attraction Selections= schedule a time to ride some of the most in demand attractions. Pay per selection, and price varies depending on the attraction/time of year. 

Is it incredibly confusing that Disney Genie is a free tool and Genie+ is a paid service? Yes. Also the name Individual Attraction Selections doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but here we are!

Let’s break down what you need to know about each, and how to make the most out of your time in the park.

Genie+

Genie+ is basically an evolution of FastPass+ with 3 key differences: 1. It costs money, 2. You make your selections day-of instead of 30-60 days in advance, and 3. You can only make one selection at a time (kinda).

It’s worth noting that you do not have to purchase Genie+ for your whole trip! You have to purchase Genie+ after 12am on the day you wish to use it, you cannot add it in advance!

How Does It Work?

Before you get to Disney, you should have made your Park Pass Reservations for the day (if you are not using date based tickets). This is key because not only do you need them to get into the park, you also need them to make Genie+ reservations as well. 

You will be able to reserve your first ride at 7am on the app. You will be able to make your next selection either after you’ve checked in for your first selection, or 120 minutes after you’ve made your first selection. For example:

If you go on the app at 7am and reserve Jungle Cruise for 11am, you can make another selection at 9am for a second ride.

When you go to make your selection for the ride, you’ll only see the next available slot for that ride, unlike the old FastPass+ system where you could select from multiple times.

There’s no limit to how many Genie+ selections you can make in a day, but you can only select each ride once (for now, this may change in the future).

Attractions Available On Genie+

Magic Kingdom:

• Peter Pan’s Flight
• “It’s a small world”
• Mickey’s PhilarMagic
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Mad Tea Party
• Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant
• The Barnstormer
• Tomorrowland Speedway
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
• Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
• Jungle Cruise
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Haunted Mansion
• Space Mountain
• Meet Princess Tiana & other visiting princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
• Meet Cinderella & other visiting princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
• Enchanted Tales with Belle
• Meet Mickey at Town Square Theatre
• Meet Ariel in her Grotto
•  
• Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade

EPCOT:

• Spaceship Earth
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends
• Turtle Talk with Crush
• Soarin’
• Living with the Land
• Journey into Imagination With Figment
• Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
• Mission: SPACE
• Test Track
• Frozen Ever After
• Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure

Hollywood Studios:

• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
• Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage
• Disney Junior Dance Party!
• For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
• Toy Story Mania!
• Slinky Dog Dash
• Alien Swirling Saucers
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
• Muppet*Vision 3D
• Star Tours – The Adventure Continues
• Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
• Meet Olaf at Celebrity Spotlight
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway

Animal Kingdom:

• Na’vi River Journey
• It’s Tough to be a Bug!
• Kilimanjaro Safaris
• Festival of the Lion King
• Feathered Friends in Flight
• Kali River Rapids
• The Animation Experience at Conservation Station
• DINOSAUR
• Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
• Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!
• Meet Favorite Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost

As with FastPass+, you don’t NEED a Genie+ pass to ride most of these within reasonable wait time. Grab my Genie+ Priority Guide FREE download so you can decide which rides to proritize

Other Genie+ Perks

Besides the ride selection, there are some other (minor) perks available in the Disney app:

• Special audio experiences
• Augmented reality photo lenses

Individual Attraction Selections

This is an additional paid option, either on top of or instead of the Genie+ service. The price will vary depending on the day and the ride, but they seem to cost between $7-$15.

(I’ll be calling it IAS for short now… until Disney gives this a better name!)

How Does It Work?

If you are staying in a Disney World Resort hotel, you can make your selections at 7am. If you are staying off property, you will have to wait until the park is open.

The limit is 2 per day, and there are only 2 rides available in each park for purchase. That being said you can’t purchase a ride twice in the same day. 

You do not have to decide in advance, you could buy spur of the moment!

Attractions Available For Individual Attraction Selection

Magic Kingdom:

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
• TRON Lightcycle / Run

EPCOT:

• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

Hollywood Studios:

• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

Animal Kingdom:

• Avatar Flight of Passage

Thanks to our friends at Rope Drop Radio for this photo

How Will Genie+ and Individual Attraction Selections Work With Park Hopping?

Park hopping is visiting more than one Disney park per day, and to use Genie+ you will have to purchase the “multiple parks” option in order to use it when you park hop. The rules still apply to both Genie+ and IAS (one at a time for Genie+ and only 2 rides per day with IAS).

Read more about Park Hopping at Disney World to decide if it’s right for you!

Will Disney Still Use Virtual Queues?

Yes, definitely! Disney is currently using Virtual Queues on TRON Lightcycle/Run and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. As of now the only way to ride these rides is to buy the IAS or use the free virtual queue option as there are no stand by lines.

What If I Don’t Have A Smart Phone/Data?

We don’t know! There is (spotty) free wifi at the parks so you can use that if data is a concern, but if you plan on traveling without a smartphone all together, it may be difficult or impossible to use these new systems. 

Final Thoughts

While using Genie+ and buying individual attraction selections can help you ride more rides during your trip, it can be costly! If you are trying to do Disney on a budget, you can skip it!