Key Points

• Walt Disney World visitors can choose to pay for shorter lines through Lightning Lanes or wait in longer standby lines for free.
• Three Lightning Lane options are available: Single Passes for specific popular rides, Multi Passes for reservations at most other rides, and Premier Passes for on-demand access to all Lightning Lanes within a park.
• While Lightning Lanes can significantly reduce wait times, especially during peak seasons, free strategies like rope dropping, staying until park closing, and using single-rider lines can also be effective.

Anyone visiting Walt Disney World has a decision to make: Do you pay for shorter lines or wait with the masses?

You will pay either way, with time or money.

To save time, guests can buy passes for expedited queues, known as Lightning Lanes. There are three passes to choose from – Single, Multi and Premier – and several factors to consider when deciding on the right one for you, if you pick one at all.

Until now, only Disney World resort hotel guests and guests of other select hotels could purchase the Premier Pass, but starting Jan. 21, it will be available to everyone.

(Disneyland in California also has Lightning Lane Passes, but they operate slightly differently.)

Here’s everything you need to know about Lightning Lanes at Disney World.

How does a Lightning Lane work?

A Lightning Lane is an express lane. You still have to wait your turn, but the queue is shorter and faster than regular lines open to everyone.

At Disney World, most rides and some shows have a Lightning Lane.

Different types of passes allow access to different attractions' Lighting Lanes. Only the Premier Pass provides access to every Lightning Lane within a park.

Single and Multi Passes have specific, hourlong return windows for guests to experience attractions. Premier Passes allow you to visit attractions on demand, whenever you’d like on your pass day.

No matter which pass you buy, you can only use it once at each attraction. If you want to experience the attraction again, you’ll have to wait in the regular line.

Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Premier Pass come with digital downloads of select attraction photos.

All three Lightning Lane passes are purchased and managed through Disney World’s free My Disney Experience app.

What is a Lightning Lane Single Pass?

Lightning Lane Single Passes are attraction-specific, à la carte passes for the most popular rides in each park.

• Magic Kingdom: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, TRON Lightcycle / Run.
• EPCOT: Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom: Avatar Flight of Passage.

Guests may purchase up to two Lightning Lane Single Passes per person, per day.

What is a Lightning Lane Multi Pass?

Lighting Lane Multi Pass is a reservation tool for all the other attractions with Lightning Lanes, except Single Pass attractions. (It’s a hybrid of Genie+, which Multi Pass replaced last summer, and Fast Passes, which went away with the pandemic.)

The passes are priced by park. Guests with Park Hopper tickets buy Multi Passes for whichever park they’re starting at on a given day. You may hold up to three attraction reservations at a time and can book your first three ahead of your visit.

For Animal Kingdom, guests may prebook any three Lightning Lane attractions except Avatar Flight of Passage because Single-Pass attractions are not included with Multi Pass.

For Magic Kingdom, EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, guests have two buckets of attractions to choose from during their advance booking window. Let’s call the first bucket Group A. These are some of the most in-demand attractions in each park, aside from the Single-Pass ones which are excluded. Everything else falls in Group B, which also has some very popular rides, like Haunted Mansion in Magic Kingdom and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios. You can prebook one Group A attraction and two Group B attractions. Or you can choose three Group B attractions and nothing from Group A. You just can’t reserve multiple Group A attractions before your park visit.

Whichever attractions you choose, make sure your first Lightning Lane reservation is early in your park day because once you use it, you no longer need to worry about what’s in Group A or Group B. At this point, you could also dump your remaining reservations and book all Group A attractions instead, if desired and available. Guests with Park Hopper tickets may also book attractions in other parks after they’ve used their first Lightning Lane.

Every time you use a reservation, you may book a new one from the list of what’s available. If the app says no times are available for a specific attraction, refresh or try again later. Availability changes as fellow guests change their plans.

What is the difference between Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Premier?

There are several key differences between Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Premier. The most obvious are price and flexibility. Premier Passes cost much more because you’re paying for the convenience of being able to use any Lightning Lane within a park on demand, without having to book times. Just show up. This includes Single Pass attractions.

You’re still limited to one-time use at each attraction. You're also limited to the park you buy the Premier Pass for because, unlike the Multi Pass, you can’t use your Premier Pass in other parks when park hopping, at least at present.

The Premier Pass is still being piloted. It is only available to guests staying at Disney Resorts Collection hotels, Shades of Green Resort, and Walt Disney World Dolphin, Swan and Swan Reserve. However, starting Jan. 21 it will be available to everyone, like Multi Passes and Single Passes.

How much do Lightning Lane passes cost?

Lightning Lane Pass prices vary widely by type and date. Single Passes also vary by attraction while Multi Passes and Premier Passes vary by park. Prices are visible on Disney World’s app several weeks out from the current date.

Through the end of January, Single Passes start at $11 for Snow Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train, typically the least expensive Single Pass. Multi Passes start at $15 for Animal Kingdom, the least expensive park for Multi Passes and admission.

Here are the starting prices for Premier Passes through the end of January:

• Disney's Animal Kingdom: $119


• EPCOT: $169


• Disney's Hollywood Studios: $269


• Magic Kingdom: $329

When can you buy Lightning Lane passes?

Guests staying at Disney Resorts Collection hotels, Shades of Green Resort, and Walt Disney World Dolphin, Swan and Swan Reserve may purchase Lightning Lane passes up to seven days ahead of their resort arrival day. They can purchase passes all at once for each day of their stay, up to 14 days.

All other guests may purchase Lightning Lane passes three days ahead of their park visit. Guests with date-based, multiday tickets may purchase all their passes at once, three days ahead of their first park day. Most tickets are date-based tickets.

Is the Lightning Lane worth it?

Worth it is subjective, but if your heart is set on a high-demand ride and a Single Pass is within your budget, it may be worth buying because waits for those rides regularly top an hour.

Also, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Tiana's Bayou Adventure use a virtual queue instead of traditional stand-by lines. If you rely solely on the free virtual queue and don’t snag a spot, you may not get to experience the ride at all during your visit.

Multi Passes can be worth it, especially during busy times of the year at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom, the most visited theme park in the world. They can also be helpful at EPCOT if Frozen Ever After and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure are high on your to-do list. Both of those lines get very long. The same goes for Test Track, but that's closed for reimagining until late summer. Depending on the time of day, Soarin’ Around the World waits aren’t too bad for a Group-A level attraction. Other ride queues move pretty quickly in EPCOT.

Multi Passes aren’t really needed for Animal Kingdom if you rope drop – which is getting to the park before it opens so you can be among the first guests inside – or stay until the park closes after a lot of families head home in the afternoon. But the passes can still save time on popular attractions like Kilimanjaro Safaris, which may make them worth it to you.

Lightning Lane Premier Passes are not needed. They are more of a want than a need. If you can easily afford them and they will make your trip easier, they may be worth it to you, but you can absolutely enjoy a full park day with the other types of passes or no passes at all.

How to save time in line at Disney World

There are several ways to save time without Lighting Lanes.

• Rope drop to be among the first people in the parks.


• Stay until park closing, after other guests have left.


• If rides are your priority, go during parades and nighttime spectaculars.


• Use single-rider lines where available, but know that your party will be split up.


• Use Disney World’s app to check wait times and strategize accordingly.


• Take advantage of extra park time if you’re staying on the property. Guests staying at Disney resorts get 30 minutes of Early Theme Park Entry. Deluxe resort guests also get Extended Evening Hours at certain parks on select nights.


• Visit during traditionally less crowded times of the year, like most of September.


• Consider an after-hours event instead of a regular park day. After-hours events typically have much shorter lines for rides, though waits for rare character meet-and-greets can be lengthy.

(This story has been updated with new information.)