Last week, the Lightning Lane Pass system debuted at Walt Disney World following the retirement of the Disney Genie+ skip-the-line system. Since then, we’ve kept an eye on how guests are using the Lightning Lane Pass system, and the significant shift in strategy to secure some of the top rides at Walt Disney World. In this article, we’re going to take a look at the top 10 toughest Lightning Lane attractions to secure at the Walt Disney World theme parks.
Top Lightning Lane Multi Pass Attractions
We’ll start with Lightning Lane Multi Pass attractions. These are the attractions that are part of the buffet skip-the-line offering. With Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you have access to dozens of attractions with a single purchase, based on availability.
Some of the attractions are quite popular, but that means that they are tough to secure. To make things a little bit more fair, Disney World has introduced attraction tiers at three of the four Walt Disney World theme parks. To learn more about attraction tiers, check out our articles below before reading on:
Ok, with some of the background info out of the way, let’s take a look at a list of the toughest Lightning Lane Multi Pass attractions to secure. Note that this information is based on observation and data from thrill-data. Another caveat is that we’re simply discussing traditional rides here. There is some weird data for shows, particularly at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but those are usually very easy to standby with zero to little wait, so we’re excluding those from our list below.
One final bit of housekeeping before we jump in. Below each attraction name is a list of “Same-Day”, “3-Day”, “7-Day”, and “10-Day” availability. This is a listing of average return windows at various checkpoints before your visit. For example, if you’re visiting on August 8th, your 3-day window would be August 5th, your 7-day window would be July 31st, and so on. Your purchase window is determined by where you’re staying, and your ticket type. If all of this sounds foreign to you right now, visit our Lightning Lane Pass page to poke around various articles and FAQs to become more familiar with the system. Keep in mind that the data is average availability. It’s very possible that you’ll see better availability the more times that you refresh and try to modify your selections.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
- Same-Day Availability: None
- 3-Day: None
- 7-Day: None
- 10-Day: Afternoon/Evening
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is, by far, the toughest Lightning Lane Multi Pass attraction to secure. If I had to guess, it’s more of a supply thing right now than a demand thing. Actually, there is probably some serious supply throttling going on with the entire system, but that’s a discussion for another article. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is still only offered via Virtual Queue as of publish time, and Disney is likely still a little bit cautious with handing out skip-the-line passes en masse given ongoing (but improving) reliability concerns.
Over time, we’ll likely see Tiana’s Bayou Adventure settle into the top 5 or top 7 attractions, but not necessarily the very toughest to secure, and by such a wide margin. If you’re visiting during the remainder of 2024, it’s possible that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will remain your top priority given the newness of the ride and capacity throttling. Anything into 2025 and beyond, I’d wait for a reshuffling before putting Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at the top of your list in pen just yet.
Slinky Dog Dash
- Same-Day Availability: None
- 3-Day: Evening
- 7-Day: Afternoon/Evening
- 10-Day: Morning/Afternoon
The traditional number one toughest ride with previous skip-the-line systems is Slinky Dog Dash. We assume that it will return to number one either later this year or early next year, but for now, place it at number two on your priority list.
If you’re doing a day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you’ll want to book Slinky Dog Dash as early as possible during your pre-arrival planning. For more about when you can book, check out our article below:
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
- Same-Day Availability: None
- 3-Day: Afternoon/Evening
- 7-Day: Morning/Noon
- 10-Day: Morning
The next few attractions are pretty close as far as the data is concerned, but we’ll give Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure the nod given poor (read none) same-day availability. Technically, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is the hardest attraction to secure at EPCOT, Multi Pass or Single Pass. Just like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, there is an asterisk next to that bit of data. No, Disney is not artificially holding back capacity (any more than they are system-wide), but Test Track is closed currently for a reimagining, which puts extra strain on the other top attractions at the park.
We don’t know when Test Track will reopen, but we do know that it will be a Tier One attraction when it does reopen (likely sometime in 2025). When Test Track reopens, it will be a magnet for standby and Lightning Lane guests alike, especially given the new car smell that a reimagined attraction brings for a few months after reopening.
In the meantime, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure takes the top spot, although other options like Frozen Ever After aren’t a bad choice either, based on personal preference.
Toy Story Mania
- Same-Day Availability: Evening/Scarce
- 3-Day: Evening
- 7-Day: Afternoon
- 10-Day: Noon
Toy Story Mania and Tower of Terror are essentially tied in both Lightning Lane stats and average wait times. We’ll give the slightest edge to Toy Story Mania, but you will likely choose both during your pre-arrival purchase selections.
Tower of Terror
- Same-Day Availability: Evening/Scarce
- 3-Day: Evening
- 7-Day: Afternoon
- 10-Day: Noon
Tower of Terror can experience some extreme wait times, and if the attraction is operating at anything less than 100% capacity, you’ll be glad to have a skip-the-line Lightning Lane Pass for this attraction.
Haunted Mansion
- Same-Day Availability: Evening
- 3-Day: Evening
- 7-Day: Afternoon
- 10-Day: Morning/Noon
We head back over to Magic Kingdom and an attraction that you’ll want to make the top of your list for Tier Two selections. Haunted Mansion is a classic attraction, and a pretty clear #2 selection at Magic Kingdom behind whatever Tier One attraction you’re able to secure. As a matter of fact, the data actually puts Haunted Mansion ahead of many Tier One attractions! Of course, you’ll still want to pick from the Tier One list, even if Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is sold out (and it likely will be).
Frozen Ever After
- Same-Day Availability: Afternoon/Evening
- 3-Day: Afternoon
- 7-Day: Noon
- 10-Day: Morning/Noon
Frozen Ever After is your clear #2 Tier One attraction at EPCOT while Test Track remains closed. Things should become a little bit easier once Test Track opens, but until then, the tier system at EPCOT makes the value proposition of purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass a tough one. There might be some opportunity strategy of choosing an early-morning Lightning Lane Pass for a quick redemption to then secure Frozen Ever After on the same day, but we’ll have to put that to the test before we recommend it. As of right now, if Remy’s Ratatouille is sold out, or you prefer Frozen Ever After, it’s a good attraction to secure.
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
- Same-Day Availability: Afternoon/Evening
- 3-Day: Noon
- 7-Day: Noon
- 10-Day: Morning
There are a number of attractions on this list from Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which indicates that it is a tough park to effectively use Lightning Lane Passes at. Indeed, we put the Lightning Lane Pass system to the test on debut day at the park and found availability a bit frustrating. Unfortunately, our experience may have been a best-case scenario given the uniqueness of using it on the first day. Now, pre-arrival availability will likely make the Lightning Lane Pass system unwise for a big chunk of guests visiting Hollywood Studios.
For more on our experience, check out our article below:
Na’vi River Journey
- Same-Day Availability: Afternoon/Evening
- 3-Day: Morning/Afternoon
- 7-Day: Morning
- 10-Day: Morning
The clear top Lightning Lane Multi Pass priority at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is Na’vi River Journey. Of course, if we’re talking about the highest-priority rides, including Lightning Lane Single Pass (which we will in a bit), you have to include Avatar Flight of Passage, but Na’vi is also a very popular ride at Animal Kingdom.
Kali River Rapids
- Same-Day Availability: Afternoon
- 3-Day: Morning/Noon
- 7-Day: Morning
- 10-Day: Morning
We probably could’ve ended this list at a top 9, but that’s less exciting than a top 10, so we’ll include Kali River Rapids here, but it could be any number of rides at the four Walt Disney World theme parks. Kali River Rapids’ popularity will ebb and flow with the weather. Like any water ride, it is more popular during the unrelentingly hot summers, and less popular as the temperatures dip below 65° or so during the “winter” months.
Here’s an at-a-glance table of the top 10 Lightning Lane Multi Pass attractions, listed by difficulty to secure.
Top 10 Lightning Lane Multi Pass Attractions
Attraction | Same-Day Availability | 3-Day | 7-Day | 10-Day |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure | None | None | None | Afternoon/Evening |
Slinky Dog Dash | None | Evening | Afternoon/Evening | Morning/Afternoon |
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure | None | Afternoon/Evening | Morning/Noon | |
Toy Story Mania | Evening/Scarce | Evening | Afternoon | Noon |
Tower of Terror | Evening/Scarce | Evening | Afternoon | Noon |
Haunted Mansion | Evening | Noon | Afternoon | Morning/Noon |
Frozen Ever After | Afternoon/Evening | Afternoon | Noon | Morning/Noon |
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster | Afternoon/Evening | Noon | Noon | Morning |
Na’vi River Journey | Afternoon/Evening | Morning/Afternoon | Morning | Morning |
Kali River Rapids | Afternoon | Morning/Noon | Morning | Morning |
Lightning Lane Single Pass Attractions
We have a little bit less analysis to do here given how similar availability is for all of these rides. In short, you’ll have really good success if you’re staying on site and able to book at the 7-day mark, and a little bit less success if you’re booking at the 3-day mark. You’ll typically find almost no same-day availability, on average. Of course, if you spend some time refreshing and refreshing, you might get lucky, as with any selections that don’t follow the averages outlined in this article.
Attraction | Same-Day Availability | 3-Day | 7-Day | 10-Day |
---|---|---|---|---|
Avatar Flight of Passage | None | Morning/Afternoon | Morning | Morning |
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train | None | Afternoon/Evening | Morning | Morning |
TRON Lightcycle Run | None | Evening | Morning | Morning |
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind | None/Scarce | Noon/Afternoon | Morning | Morning |
For more coverage of the Lightning Lane Pass system, check out our Lightning Lane Pass page below, which contains all of the news we’ve covered so far, along with FAQs and reviews of Disney World’s new skip-the-line system.
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!
SO ….. if you don’t purchase multi pass , can you still enjoy a trip to WDW?