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Paid FastPasses have arrived at WDW.

On October 19, 2021, Lightning Lane debuted at WDW. It's been a frustrating ride for users as bugs plagued its early days with strange recommendations. And with rides going in and out of standard Lightning Lane to accommodate different crowd sizes, it can be confusing to navigate.

“Lightning Lane” (sadly, no correlation to Lightning McQueen) was a package deal with the release of the new virtual assistant, Genie Service. The service is available to everyone as a feature on the My Disney Experience App and can help you plan out your day based on the best times to visit your "must do" attractions. The premium version, Genie+, costs $15 per person per day and gives you access to the next available Lightning Lane pass, one attraction at a time for all available attractions. You can purchase Genie+ beginning at 12 a.m. the first day of your visit, which means no more booking months before your trip. The process of selecting your first Lightning Lane pass begins at 7 a.m. for guests staying on property, and when the park opens for everyone else.

Photo source: Living by Disney

Lighting Lane essentially works like paper FastPasses did: you pick the next available time to return to the ride. Once you use that ticket (or wait 120 minutes from when you booked it - whichever comes first), you’re free to grab another and repeat the process at any attraction in the park as long as they’re available. The only difference is that Genie+ service takes place on the My Disney Experience app, so you don’t have to run around the park getting paper tickets.

The attractions eligible for Lightning Lane on Genie+ are:

Magic Kingdom

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin

• Dumbo the Flying Elephant

• Haunted Mansion

• “it’s a small world”

• Jungle Cruise

• Mad Tea Party

• Magic Carpets of Aladdin

• Mickey’s PhilharMagic

• Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor

• Peter Pan’s Flight

• Pirates of the Caribbean

• Splash Mountain

• Goofy’s Barnstormer

• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

• Tomorrowland Speedway

• Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid

• Space Mountain

Epcot

• Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival

• Journey into Imagination with Figment

• Mission: Space

• Soarin’ Around the World

• Living with the Land

• Spaceship Earth

• Test Track

• The Seas with Nemo & Friends

• Turtle Talk with Crush

• Frozen Ever After

• Remy's Ratatouille Adventure

Hollywood Studios

• Alien Swirling Saucers

• Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage

• Disney Jr. Play & Dance

• Frozen Sing-Along Celebration

• Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular

• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run

• MuppetVision 3D

• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith

• Slinky Dog Dash

• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue

• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

• Toy Story Mania

• Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

• Celebration of the Festival of the Lion King

• DINOSAUR

• Expedition Everest

• It’s Tough to Be a Bug!

• Kali River Rapids

• Kilimanjaro Safaris

• Na’vi River Journey

• The Animation Experience at Conservation Station

• Feathered Friends in Flight!

Still with me? Well, there’s one more caveat: Some rides, like the more popular e-ticket attractions, are not included in Lightning Lane. These premium attractions will cost an additional fee, anywhere from $7 to $20 per person, and only two of them can be purchased each day. You can also only purchase an individual pass for a ride once, meaning you can't book two passes for the same ride on the same day. Currently, there is only one ride per park that has individual Lightning Lane passes, but this is subject to change at any time. However, you do not need to purchase Genie+ to purchase these individual passes. So you can choose to go standby for most of the day, and just buy an individual Lightning Lane pass for the rides with the longest lines.

In our experience, you can easily get everything you want to do done in a day without buying any individual Lightning Lane passes. Early park entry and rope drop are the best times to do these attractions if you don't want to pay extra for them. Genie+ is very helpful to have if you don't want to wait in standby lines all day, but I wouldn't recommend purchasing individual Lightning Lanes in most cases.

The attractions that must be purchased as individual Lightning Lane passes are:

Magic Kingdom

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Epcot

• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

Hollywood Studios

• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

• Avatar Flight of Passage

So for a party of four, you’re looking at an extra $116+ per day for both Genie+ and at one individual Lightning Lane pass. That’s another park ticket or food for the day, which is A LOT considering all the glitches that occur.

Have you tried Lightning Lane and/or Genie Service at WDW? Let us know about your experience!