Disneyland Resort FAQs with Mouse Brief: Is a Disneyland Lightning Lane Multi-Pass the same as a Multiple Experiences Pass? Which one is better?
Is a Disneyland Multiple Experiences Pass the same as a Lighting Lane Multi Pass?
The short answer is no, but the details might help you save time in line, so let us get into it.
There are lots and lots of lines at Disneyland Resort. There are also a number of options for saving time in those lines, and the options can get confusing. A Multiple Experiences Pass and a Lighting Lane Multi Pass are two of those options.
The others are Lighting Lane Single Pass, Lighting Lane Premier Pass, virtual queues, special tours and mobile ordering queues. (That last option is related to food rather than attractions.) If you want to learn more about each of those, click each option above and follow a link to their dedicated guide.
For this post, we are going to focus on just Lighting Lane Multi Pass and the Multiple Experiences Pass at Disneyland Resort. We will take you through how to get them, how to use them and what differentiates the two.
What is a Lighting Lane Multi Pass at Disneyland Resort?
Lighting Lane Multi Pass is a special ticket add-on at Disneyland Resort. You have the option of adding this line reservation service to your regular admission for an additional daily fee. With Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you are able to make reservations to enter the priority access queues for select rides.
Let us put it another way. Certain attractions at Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park have a special kind of speed line called Lighting Lane. This Lighting Lane, or priority access queue, exists in addition to the regular standby line. Any guest can enter the standby queue. In that regular queue, they will wait in line for (approximately) the posted wait time and then experience the attraction.
If you pay to add a Lighting Lane Pass to your Disneyland Resort ticket, you can use the Lightning Lane rather than the regular standby lane. The Lighting Lane should be shorter and move more quickly than the standby queue. Through the Lighting Lane, you should be able to board the ride with a much shorter wait.
If your Lighting Lane Pass is a Lighting Lane Multi Pass, you must make a reservation for when you will enter the Lighting Lane at each attraction. Lighting Lane Multi Pass includes a certain bundle of attractions (not every attraction). You may make one reservation per included attraction per day. Your reservation is for a specific one hour window, and you can only enter each Lighting Lane during that window (with a little wiggle room).
For our full guide to Lighting Lanes, please visit Disneyland Lightning Lanes: How to Super-Charge Your Visit
What is a Multiple Experiences Pass at Disneyland?
A Multiple Experiences Pass is not something you can buy. It is more like a consolation prize, but what an awesome consolation prize!
Guests are usually given a Multiple Experiences Pass as compensation after something has gone wrong. For example, you might get a Multiple Experiences Pass if you have waited in a long queue and an attraction is closed for maintenance issues just as you are about to board. In this scenario, your pass would be issued at the discretion of a cast member; they would scan your ticket media (usually a screen on your mobile device) to add the pass.
A far more common scenario occurs when an attraction shuts down during your Lighting Lane reservation window. In this case, your reservation for a particular attraction is canceled and automatically transforms into a Multiple Experiences Pass. You are able to make a new reservation in place of the canceled one, and you now have a Multiple Experiences Pass to use.
The Multiple Experiences Pass shows you a list of eligible attractions (the list differs depending on the pass). You are able to select one of those attractions to enter at any time during the day. You will scan your pass as you enter, and it will be used up. A Multiple Experiences Pass is for one-time use, but it does not count against the one Lighting Lane per attraction per day rule. This, and the ability to use it without making a reservation, makes it a very valuable consolation prize!
For this reason, we highly recommend reading our complete and extensive guide to Multiple Experiences Passes: How to Use a Multiple Experiences Pass at Disneyland. If you get one, we want you to use it well.
Disneyland Lighting Lane Multi-Pass vs Multiple Experiences Pass
Alternative Names for Each Pass
Lighting Lane Multi-Pass is the official Disney name for that particular pass. However, you may hear other guests refer to the pass by names like FastPass or MaxPass. These are names for similar but older versions of Lighting Lane Multi-Pass. Up until recently, Lighting Lane Multi-Pass was called Genie+ (which is different than Genie). None of these other services are currently in use, but sometimes the names still come up. Express Pass is the name for a comparable service at another theme park.
Similarly, other guests might refer to Multiple Experiences Pass as MEPs, Multi Experience Passes or other variations on the same name. These are all just different ways of saying the same thing.
What is the Cost for Each Pass?
Both passes require that you have valid admission for the day.
Lighting Lane Multi-Pass is an additional fee on top of that admission: it can vary depending on the date and when you purchase it.
A Multiple Experiences Pass is given to you for free at Disneyland’s discretion. Your payment is essentially the inconvenience you faced for which the Multiple Experiences Pass was awarded.
Note that you will not be given a Multiple Experiences Pass just because an attraction you wanted to access with Lighting Lane Multi Pass ran out of reservations. Disneyland does not guarantee that you will be able to experience all of the attractions in the Lighting Lane Multi Pass bundle. They will not give you a Multiple Experiences Pass if you run out of time to ride an attraction or cannot get a reservation.
Where Can Use Each Pass Be Used?
Both passes can be used in either park where you have valid admission. You must have valid admission to that park for that day.
A Lighting Lane Multi-Pass has a set list of attractions. You may make one reservation for each of the attractions on the list. The Lightning Lane Multi Pass does not work on attractions that are not on the list.
Remember that an attraction might have a Lighting Lane and still not be accessible by Lighting Lane Multi Pass. Lighting Lane Single Pass provides access to different attractions, and Lighting Lane Premier Pass provides access to more attractions than Lighting Lane Multi Pass. We explain it all here.
A Multiple Experiences Pass can be used at any of the attractions listed on the pass itself. The list of eligible attractions will vary from pass to pass. You can read about how to find the list of eligible attractions and how to choose the best one in our guide.
When Can Each Pass Be Used?
Both passes must be used before the parks close for the day.
A Lighting Lane Multi-Pass requires you to make a ride reservation for each attraction in advance. The ride reservation is a one hour window in which you may scan into the Lighting Lane entrance.
A Multiple Experiences Pass can be used at any time before park closing. You do not need to make a reservation or arrive during a certain time window.
Are the Passes Reusable?
Yes and no. A Lighting Lane Multi Pass allows you to make one reservation per included attraction per day. So, you can use your Multiple Experiences Pass multiple times over the course of a day, but each time, you will use it for a different attraction.
A Multiple Experiences Pass is valid for one use. Once you scan into an attraction using your Multiple Experiences Pass, it should disappear. Multiple experiences (it’s in the name!) are listed as options on the pass, but you must select one of them.
However, you are able to get multiple Multiple Experiences Pass on any given day. If you have more than one Multiple Experiences Pass linked to your account at any given time, be sure to check which one you are scanning when you enter an attraction. Remember, each pass has its own list of eligible attractions. You do not want to use a pass with an extensive list when the one with a more restricted list would suffice.
Furthermore, you may use both a Lighting Lane Multi Pass and a Multiple Experiences Pass on the same attraction on the same day. There is no restriction on this. You may also use more than one Multiple Experiences Pass on the same attraction on the same day. We take you through these different scenarios in detail in How to Use a Multiple Experiences Pass at Disneyland
Disneyland Multiple Experiences Pass vs Lighting Lane Multi Pass: Which Pass is Better
In comparing these two passes, hopefully you can see the value of the Multiple Experiences Pass. However, the Multiple Experiences Pass is also priceless, in that it cannot be bought. You do probably increase your changes of acquiring a Multiple Experiences Pass if you have purchased Lighting Lane Multi Pass. Indeed, we seem to end up with several Multiple Experiences Passes every time we use Lighting Lane Multi Pass.
In the end, we hope this comparison is helpful for you in understanding how to get and use each pass. But, there is not really a scenario where you will be making a choice between the two.
Thank you for reading all about whether Lighting Lane Multi Pass and the Multiple Experiences Pass are the same.
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