Want to spend more time experiencing attractions and less time in line? Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass are paid services that offer just that. Take a look through our guide for an explanation of Lightning Lanes in Disneyland Resort and how to use them. Read through our whole guide for a primer on using Lightning Lanes or use the clickable links in the table of contents to skip around.
Are Lighting Lanes new in Disneyland Resort?
On July 24, 2024, Disneyland Resort changed the name of the ticket add-on services that allow park guest to schedule a return time for park attractions. These paid services allow guest to bypass the regular standby queue and enter a priority queue. Disneyland calls this special queue entrance a Lightning Lane. Disney calls the paid services that allow guests to access these Lightning Lanes by the names Lightning Lane Single Pass and Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lighting Lane Premier Pass.
Disney called previous versions of this or similar services (both paid and free with admission) Genie+, FastPass, MaxPass and Individual Lightning Lanes. You may hear other guests use any of these names or even “Express Pass.” This can make things confusing for guests trying to understand Lightning Lanes. Additionally, Lightning Lane Multi Pass works differently at Walt Disney World in Florida than it does at Disneyland Resort. For all these reasons, we wrote this primer on what is available to guests at Disneyland Resort today. So, here is our guide to Lightning Lanes at Disneyland Resort.
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What is a Lightning Lane?
A Lightning Lane is a designated priority queue entrance for guests who have a Lighting Lane Pass. Guests with Lightning Lane Multi Pass or Single Pass reserve a time to access the Lighting Lanes. Guests with Lighting Lane Premier Pass may access the Lighting Lane without a reservation.These entrances allow guests to bypass most or all of the regular standby queue and typically mean a relatively short wait in line.
How can I use a Lightning Lane in Disneyland?
Lighting Lanes are a paid service at Disneyland (though sometimes the same line entrance is used for people with things like Rider Switch passes). To use a Lightning Lane, you will need to purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass, Lightning Lane Single Pass or Lightning Lane Premier Pass.
Purchase a Lighting Lane Pass
You can purchase a Lighting Lane Multi Pass at the time you purchase your ticket or at the time of your visit. Lighting Lane Single Passes can only be purchased on the same day you intend to use them. Lighting Lane Premier Passes are currently in a pilot phase; you can purchase them up to two days before your visit. (We offer more detail on purchasing Lightning Lanes at Disneyland later in this article)
Enter the Lightning Lane
If you have paid for Lightning Lane Multi Pass or Lighting Lane Single Pass, you may then use the Disneyland app to schedule a one hour window to ride certain attractions. While you wait for the window to open, you may take advantage of other experiences in the park, including other attractions.
When your attraction window opens (or anytime, if you have Premier Pass) you go to the attraction and open the pass on your Disneyland app to verify your reservation. Use this to scan into the Lightning Lane entrance. Alternatively, you may use a Magic Band+ or paper ticket as long as you have a valid Lighting Lane Pass attached to your admission. If your group has linked you tickets together, your Lighting Lane passes will also be linked together. Because of this, you will be able to scan them all from one mobile device, if you wish.
After you have scanned into the Lighting Lane, you will have to wait in a queue, but your wait should be much shorter than it would be in the regular standby queue.
If you have Disneyland Lighting Lane Premier Pass, you will go through the same process of scanning in at the Lighting Lane entrance, but you will not need to make an advance ride reservation.
For all Lightning Lane passes, you may only access the Lighting Lane entrance for each attraction once per day.
But, what if an attraction is closed during my reservation?
Occasionally, an attraction might close unexpectedly during your reservation time. The good news is that Disney makes up for the inconvenience! If you used a Lighting Lane Multi Pass to make your reservation, it should be replaced automatically by a Multiple Experiences Pass. This can actually be a really good thing! To read more about Multiple Experiences Passes, check-out: How to Use a Multiple Experiences Pass at Disneyland.
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What is the difference between Disneyland Lightning Lanes Multi Pass, Single Pass and Premier Pass?
Lightning Lane Multi Pass, Lighting Lane Single Pass and Lightning Lane Premier Pass are separate services. While they generally follow the same process, the Multi Pass and Single Pass version of the Lightning Lane service are different in a key way. Lightning Lane Single Pass gets you one reservation for one attraction. Lightning Lane Multi Pass gives you the opportunity to make one reservation for each attraction in a larger bundle of attractions. There is no overlap between the attractions that are part of these two services. Lightning Lane Premier Pass gives you access to all of the attractions available through both Lightning Lane Single Pass and Lightning Lane Multi Pass. Lighting Lane Premier Pass does NOT require a reservation: you may enter each Lightning Lane attraction once per day.
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More on Lightning Lane Single Pass in Disneyland Resort
As the name suggests, purchasing a Lightning Lane Single Pass gives a guest one reservation for one single attraction. The list of attractions eligible for a Lightning Lane Single Pass is very short (typically the newest attraction per park), and the eligible attractions do NOT overlap with the attractions eligible for a Lightning Lane Multi Pass. Lightning Lane Single Pass attractions are available as part of Lightning Lane Premier Pass.
If there are multiple attractions available for Lightning Lane Single Pass, you still must purchase them each individually: they are not grouped together. Each guest may only buy a Lightning Lane Single Pass for a specific attraction once per day and may only purchase a total of two per day (each for a different attraction).
More on Lightning Lane Multi Pass in Disneyland Resort
Attractions designated for Lightning Lane Multi Pass ARE bundled together into one larger group. Lightning Lane Multi Pass is an all-day ticket add-on which allows you to reserve a time to experience each of the attractions in this bundle once per day.
A Lightning Lane Multi Pass does not guarantee you will be able to access all of the included attractions. There is a waiting period between reservations: once making a reservation, you must wait until you have used that reservation or until two hours have elapsed before making another. Sometimes, an attraction’s reservations with run out.
Again, there is no overlap between the attractions in these two services, and not all attractions at Disneyland Resort have Lightning Lane.
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More on Lightning Lane Premier Pass in Disneyland Resort
With Lightning Lane Premier Pass, you can enter each Lighting Lane attraction in Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park through the Lightning Lane entrance once per day. The Lightning Lane Premier Pass includes all of the attractions included in both Lightning Lane Single Pass and Lightning Lane Multi Pass. Unlike Lighting Lane Multi Pass and Lighting Lane Single Pass, you do NOT need a reservation to access the Lightning Lane. You simply enter the Lighting Lane when you wish (limited to once per attraction per day) when you wish.
You can use the “My Day” section of the Disneyland app to keep track of which attractions you have visited with the Lightning Lane Premier Pass and which ones are still available.
Lighting Lane Premier Pass was introduced in October 2024. We have an article on this new offering here.
How Do I Buy Access to Lightning Lanes in Disneyland Resort?
You can purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass at the time you buy your ticket or on the day of your visit. If you purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass with your ticket, it will apply to the length of your ticket. You will pay for a Lightning Lane Multi Pass for all of the days on your ticket at that time. If you purchase your Lightning Lane Multi Pass after you have entered one of the parks, you are purchasing it for just that day.
At this time, there is no discount for buying multiple days of Lightning Lane Multi Pass at the same time. However, purchasing in advance will allow you to avoid future price increases for the service.
If you are confused by these ticket add-ons, we recommend that you you read our ticket guide here. The guide has specific information about purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass. For advice on the value of Lightning Lane Multi Pass, look here.
You may purchase Lighting Lane Premier Pass up to two days before your visit, subject to availability. Lightning Lane Premier Pass is currently in the pilot stage, and this may change.
You can only purchase Lightning Lane Single Pass on the day of your visit and only for one attraction at a time.
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Is Virtual Queue another name for Lightning Lanes?
A Lightning Lane is different than a virtual queue. A virtual queue is a service that allows you to use the Disneyland app to request a spot at an attraction, show or activity to be experienced later. You may take part in other experiences while waiting. Disney only offer virtual queues for a select few attractions. These are usually rides that have very recently opened or popular shows.
This explanation probably seems very similar to Lightning Lanes, but a virtual queue is different than either of the Lightning Lane passes in a few key ways. First, the ability to join a virtual queue is free with admission: this is not a paid add-on. Second, you cannot choose what time you will experience the attraction. The virtual queue service assigns preferred seating for shows and “boarding groups” as the virtual queues fill. Third, when joining a virtual queue for an attraction (as opposed to a show like World of Color), you are not usually assigned your time for experiencing the attraction in advance. Instead, you are assigned a “boarding group.”
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More on Boarding Groups and Virtual Queues
Virtual queue boarding groups are “called” in order over the course of the day. The Disneyland app shows you an estimated wait time for your boarding group time, but this is not always accurate. Instead, you are notified when your time arrives. When your group is called, you have an hour to go to the attraction. Not all boarding groups are called.
For more on virtual queues, check-out our Virtual Queues Guide.
What About Multiple Experiences Passes?
A Multiple Experiences Pass (sometimes called Multi Experience Pass or MEP) is another way to access priority lines at attractions. It is not something that can be purchased, and it is distributed at Disney’s discretion. To learn more about the Multiple Experiences Pass, we recommend this detailed post. We often get Multiple Experiences Passes while using Lightning Lane Multi Pass, so we do recommend reading that article if you are considering Lighting Lane Multi Pass.
Are There Other Priority Queues at Disneyland Resort?
Other services that bypass traditional standby lines include Rider Switch and Single Rider Line. In the case of some services like Rider Switch, you may see some guests using the Lightning Lane entrances too.
Genie+, Individual Lightning Lanes, MaxPass and FastPass are no longer in use at Disneyland Resort. Some of these resemble current services, so you may hear other guest mistakenly use these old names. None of these are available. However, Genie (no plus) is a itinerary planning service that is in use and free with admission.
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How Do I Get Ready to Use Lightning Lanes?
There are some good ways to prepare to use Lightning Lanes before your visit.
First, download the Disneyland app. This is good advice for anyone visiting the Disneyland Resort, but it is especially key if you are even thinking about purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass. Take some time to click around the app, you should see plenty of information about Lightning Lanes on the Home Screen alone
Second, review the list of attractions included in Lightning Lane Multi Pass or Lightning Lane Single Pass. Decide whether either service would be useful to you. You may also want rank these attractions in order of priority, because even a Lightning Lane Multi Pass does not guarantee you will be able to ride them all.
Third, review your ticket options and decide whether you might like to purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass at the time you purchase your tickets.
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Enjoy Your Visit to Disneyland Resort!
Whether you choose to use Lighting Lane Passes to save time in line or not, we hope you have a great visit to Disneyland Resort. Even waiting in lines can be fun at the Happiest Place on Earth.
We hope this guide to Lighting Lanes at Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park has been helpful to you.
The services at Disneyland Resort are always evolving, and we want to help you feel comfortable with them. Lightning Lanes, virtual queues, Rider Switch and Single Rider Lines are not difficult to use once you get the hang of them. We hope this primer on Disneyland Lightning Lanes helps you feel more prepared to make a decisions about whether to buy these services and how to use them.
For more detailed advice on planning your Disneyland Resort visit, read our step-by-step guide here.
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