VIDEO: GOODBYE GENIE PLUS | Explained: Disney Switching to Lightning Lane Multi Pass

Goodbye Genie+! Disney is completely changing the way guests pay to skip the lines at its theme parks! And I’m so excited because we get to book rides in advance again like we used to with Fastpass+! And Disney has acknowledged that these changes “will blend features from our current services and the previously offered FastPass+ service, giving guests the choice to plan ahead and removing the hassle of planning during their vacation.” They said they are listening to guest feedback and these changes are how they plan to make it a better experience.

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So, first off, all these Genie+ changes we’re about to talk about will go into effect July 24, 2024. Starting with the name, Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes are changing to Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass. 

That’s where the similarities end between the Genie+ changes coming to Walt Disney World and Disneyland.

Disney says that, “Based on the different ways guests visit Disneyland Resort, the way guests purchase, select and redeem Lightning Lane passes at Disneyland Resort will remain the same.” So the only thing changing for Disneyland right now is the name from Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane, to Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single pass.

So let’s talk about the other Genie+ changes coming to Walt Disney World.

With the new Lightning Lane multi pass, you can book 7 days in advance if you are staying on property (and on that 7 day mark you could book rides for up to 14 days of your vacation). 

If you were not staying on property you could book 3 days in advance (and if you have date-based tickets you could book lightning lanes for the total number of valid admission days on your ticket.) Annual passholders and Guests with other ticket types can purchase 3 days before their park visit.

Either way, when it’s your day to book, the website opens up at 7 AM just like it used to under the old Fastpass+ system.

And it’s important to note you can only use one Lightning Lane per attraction, per day. So, for example, you can’t book 2 lightning lanes for Space Mountain for the same person on the same day.

This is all different from the current Genie+ which makes you book everything same day and there is no option to plan in advance.

Lightning Lane Multi Pass will have 2 tiers of attractions at Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT. There are no tiers at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. You can choose one selection from the first tier, and two selections from the second tier.

Here are the tiers for Magic Kingdom. 

Tier 1:

Tier 2:

Here are the tiers for Hollywood Studios.

Tier 1:

Tier 2:

Here are the tiers for EPCOT.

Tier 1:

Tier 2:

And Animal Kingdom doesn’t haven’t tiers so you can choose 3 of the following rides for the Lightning Lane Multi Pass.

Now on to Lightning Lane Single Passes. You can purchase up to 2 single passes per day. These attractions will not be available in the Multi Pass. You’d need to buy the single pass for these specifically.

At Magic Kingdom your two options right now are: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and TRON Lightcycle / Run. 

At EPCOT you have Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.

At Hollywood Studios you have Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.

And at Animal Kingdom you have Avatar Flight of Passage.

Disney says 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. So let’s say you want to buy multi pass for everyone plus 2 different Lightning Lane Single Passes for everyone, you can put everything you want in your cart and you just need to check out once. Right now with Genie+ you need to purchase genie+ in one transaction and each Individual Lightning Lane in a new transaction. So the new system is simplifying that.

So how would this work if you’re park hopping? Disney says if you’re planning in advance with your multi pass, you can only make 3 ride selections for one park. But, once you use that first Lightning Lane of the day, as soon as you scan in to use it you can go on the My Disney Experience app and choose another Lightning Lane and that one can be at any park you want as long as you have a valid park hopper ticket or a valid annual pass. 

Let’s talk about pricing. Right now, with the Disney Genie+ service it is a different price per park per day based on how busy it is. The busier the park, the more it costs and you could park hop and use it at any park if you paid for the multi park version. It seems like they’re keeping the same pricing structure for the Lightning Lane Multi Pass in that it will depend on which park you’re going to and how busy the park is. Disney says you’ll only be able to see the prices starting July 24 when you go to make your selections on the app or online.

If you’re looking to make changes after you’ve made a selection, Disney says you will be able to modify your rides on the My Disney Experience app but if you’re looking to cancel and get your money back, they did state that the Lightning Lane Multi Pass is nonrefundable.

So how is this better than the Genie plus service we’ve had the past few years?

First, the rebranding of the name. Right now we have Disney Genie which is a free agenda basically, that tells you everything you have planned for the day and shows you wait times for rides and times for shows and other attractions. Then, Genie+ is the service you need to pay extra for in order to skip the line. But when you get to the ride, the special line for you does not say “Genie+”. It says “Lightning Lane”. And then to skip the line for some of the most popular rides are not available through Genie+, you need to buy what Disney calls an “Individual Lightning Lane” that you need to pay separately for and has nothing to do with your Genie+ purchase.

So you have Disney Genie, Genie+, Lightning Lane, and Individual Lightning Lane. 4 names and a lot of confusion.

With the new changes taking effect in July, they’re dropping the Genie+ part, so we’ll have 3 names now instead of 4.

So how is this new system better from a practical standpoint? You now get to plan more of your day in advance. And that’s huge to know if purchasing Lightning Lane is worth it for you. 

Right now, you buy Genie plus at midnight and you didn’t know if you’d get to choose the rides you wanted. You need to choose them one at a time starting at 7 AM if you stay on property or at park opening time if you’re not a resort guest. With this new system, you get to choose 3 rides and select the times before you even hit purchase — which tells you if you’re spending your money on what you actually want instead of just paying for the HOPE you might get the rides you want.

And another perk of this new system and the fact you can book rides in advance is that you don’t have a to waste as much time staring at your phone for Lightning lanes while you’re actually in the parks. You get to enjoy your vacation more! Of course, if you want more than 3 Lightning lanes then you do have to use the app to see if there are any you’d like to book after you use your first Lightning lane of the day.

I’m super excited for these changes because I mostly use Lightning lanes when I’m going with extended family that doesn’t go as often to make sure they see those can’t miss rides and make it a bit more enjoyable for them. It will put my mind at ease that I can plan more beforehand and relax a bit more while I’m there.

How about you? What do you think of the new Lightning Lane system coming in July 24? If you have any questions, let me now in the comments and I’ll chat with you! Don’t forget to like the video, share it with your friends and subscribe on my YouTube channel! Hope this was helpful for you. Thanks for stopping by!

For more information about the new Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass, visit the Walt Disney World website.

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