Lightning Lane Multi Pass is the new name for the former Genie+ paid skip-the-line offering. Lightning Lane Multi Pass goes into effect on July 24th at Walt Disney World, and we are putting together a series of FAQ articles to help you plan for the change and learn more about the system. For an overview of the changes, check out our earlier article. We have other articles that cover what attractions are included with the “new” service including attraction tiers, and what experiences have been removed from skip-the-line status.
In this article, we’re going to cover everything you need to know about when you can purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass based on what ticket type you have, and where you’re staying during your Walt Disney World vacation. We’ll also discuss limitations for international visitors.
Lightning Lane Multi Pass Pre-Arrival Timing
Perhaps the biggest change from Disney Genie+ to Lightning Lane Multi Pass is the ability to book up to 3 Lightning Lane experiences before you arrive at Walt Disney World. This will give guests the ability to plan their day ahead of time, knowing what to expect when they arrive at the parks.
That said, there are different pre-arrival timing windows based on your ticket type, and whether or not you’re staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel or not. Here’s everything you need to know!
What Time Can You Make Selections?
All guests, regardless of ticket type or resort stay, will be able to book Lightning Lane Multi Pass selections starting at 7am on the day when their eligibility begins. This means that while the early morning 7am wake-up call will still be a thing, it doesn’t have to be every single morning of your vacation (probably).
Because the purchase of the Lightning Lane Multi Pass product and initial selections are done at the same time for pre-arrival purchases, the 12am midnight purchase timeframe for Disney Genie+ goes away when Multi Pass rolls out. Of course, you’ll be able to purchase and make selections at any point after 7am of your first eligible day.
The next question is: when are guests eligible to make selections? The answer to that varies by ticket type and resort stay status. We’ll start with guests who are staying at an eligible Walt Disney World Resort hotel.
Resort Hotel Guests
All guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel or qualifying partner hotel will be able to purchase and make Lightning Lane Multi Pass selections up to 7 days before their check-in day. Importantly, Resort Hotel guests will be able to make selections for the length of their stay, up to 14 days.
Guests will be able to book for all days of their ticket, whether or not the ticket is part of a package, or if it’s a standalone ticket. Note that resort stay status supersedes other qualifiers such as ticket type. That means that Annual Passholders with a valid resort stay will be able to start planning at the 7-day mark.
If you cancel your resort stay, your Lightning Lane experiences will be canceled automatically within 24 hours. This is similar to how FastPass+ operated. Note that your purchase of Lightning Lane Multi Pass will remain, and is non-refundable, but that your Lightning Lane selections will be wiped out and you won’t be able to make new selections until your next validity period.
What hotels currently qualify for Lightning Lane Multi Pass selections at the 7-day mark? Here’s a list provided by Walt Disney World:
International Guests
International Guests will not be able to make Lightning Lane Multi Pass purchases or selections from outside of the United States – regardless of ticket type or resort stay status. There is no ability to purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass or make selections on the Walt Disney World website. The features are only available in the My Disney Experience app, and only from within the United States.
Other ticket rules and resort stay status still apply once you’ve entered the United States.
Date-Based Tickets
For guests with date-based tickets and no Walt Disney World Resort hotel stay, Lightning Lane Multi Pass purchase and pre-arrival selections can be made up to 3 days before the start of the eligibility period for the date-based ticket. Critically, guests with date-based tickets can plan for the length of the ticket validity period.
As an example, let’s take a look at someone who has a 4-day theme park ticket that begins on a Wednesday. The 4-day ticket is valid from Wednesday through the next Tuesday based on existing date-based ticket rules.
A guest with a date-based ticket will be eligible to purchase and begin pre-arrival selections 3 days before the start of their ticket eligibility period. Going back to our example, that means that the guest would be eligible to begin the pre-arrival planning at 7am on Sunday, and they would be able to purchase and make Multi Pass selections for the length of their ticket validity period.
Tickets Requiring Theme Park Reservations
The next ticket type that we’ll explore is guests with tickets that require theme park reservations. This includes Annual Passholders. This ticket type is likely going to be at the greatest disadvantage under the new Lightning Lane Multi Pass system.
In short, guests with tickets that require theme park reservations can purchase and make Lightning Lane Multi Pass selections up to three days before each reservation. Unlike the date-based tickets which lock you into a specific visitation window, tickets that require theme park reservations are not as restricted (regardless of intention for use). This means that you’ll be able to book on a rolling basis, and not for the length of your intended use period.
An example would be an Annual Passholder visiting from Boston for a week and staying off-site. They don’t qualify for the 7-day + Length of Stay because they’re staying off-site, and they don’t have a date-based ticket, so that particular Annual Passholder would need to wake up every day at 7am up to 3 days before their intended visit to purchase and make selections for Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
Note that while we used an Annual Passholder in this example because it is probably the most common type of theme park reservation ticket type, the rules in this section of the FAQ would also apply to Student group tickets, Sport and Convention tickets, Florida Resident Discover Disney Ticket, Disney Military Salute Ticket, and more.
Additional Rules for Annual Passholders
Beyond the info provided above for guests with tickets requiring theme park reservations, there are also some rules specific to Annual Passholders that are unique. As with the ticket type above, Annual Passholders are able to purchase and make selections for Lightning Lane Multi Pass up to 3 days before their planned visit. That 3-day validity period will be on a rolling basis too, as it would be impractical to offer Passholders the ability to purchase for the entire length of their ticket validity like Disney is offering for date-based tickets.
The additional rules that come into play for pre-arrival purchase and planning have to do with an Annual Passholder’s ability to visit most Walt Disney World theme parks without a reservation after 2pm. Here are two examples to understand it better.
Let’s say that I want to visit Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Sunday, Disney’s Animal Kingdom on Monday, and Magic Kingdom on Wednesday. For my visit to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, I won’t be arriving at the park until 3pm at the earliest, so I don’t need to make a theme park reservation. Even without a valid theme park reservation, I’ll still be able to purchase and make selections for Lightning Lane Multi Pass on Thursday at 7am (3 days before my visit), but I won’t be able to make selections for any time before 2pm because I don’t have a theme park reservation.
For my visit to Disney’s Animal Kingdom on Monday, I can purchase and make selections for Lightning Lane Mutli Pass on Friday at 7am (3 days before my visit), and because I have a theme park reservation for Disney’s Animal Kingdom, I have access to the full day of availability.
Finally, my Magic Kingdom visit on Wednesday is on a “Good to Go” date. That means that I am not required to make a theme park reservation to enter Magic Kingdom at any point during the day. In that scenario, the Lightning Lane Multi Pass system will treat me like I have a theme park reservation and offer me full-day availability. Again, because of the rolling calendar system, I won’t be able to purchase and make my Magic Kingdom Multi Pass selections until Sunday at 7am.
Again, if you have a linked Walt Disney World Resort hotel stay, that takes precedence over your ticket type rules.
Here’s an overview of the pre-arrival purchase and selection timeline for Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
We’ll have more information about how to purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass, along with step-by-step screenshots, once the feature launches on July 24th.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!