lightning lanes & virtual queues
“Virtual Queue”, “Boarding Groups”, “Lightning Lane”, “Single Pass”, “Multi Pass” – There are a lot of terms you may hear as you are preparing for your Walt Disney World vacation. Unlike your regional amusement park where you can just walk in with no plan and ride whatever you want, Disney has implemented some unique services and processes that can help make your vacation more efficient, but can also make you frustrated if you don’t understand them. This is an overview of some of those services and, whether you love them or hate them, learning what they are and how to use them will help to make your vacation more magical.
What is a lightning lane pass?
Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass are a paid service that allows you to bypass the standby line at many rides and attractions at Walt Disney World resulting in shorter wait times. To use the Lightning Lane queue requires a reservation, and you can make these reservations after you have purchased either a Multi Pass or Single Pass through the “My Disney Experience” app.
Multi Pass works for most of the attractions at the parks. You can only use a Lightning Lane pass once per attraction per day, but can use as many passes as possible on different attractions each day.
Single Pass is used for the most popular attraction or two in each park, which are not included in the Multi Pass. It can be purchased alongside, or separately, from Multi Pass and allows the rider to use the Lightning Lane queue to ride the attraction a single time.
how much does a lightning lane multi pass cost?
The price of a Lightning Lane Multi Pass varies by day and by park, but costs somewhere between $16-$40 per person per day. The cost depends on how busy the park is expected to be. Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios are typically the most expensive parks, while EPCOT and Animal Kingdom are generally less expensive. If you have a Park Hopper ticket and want to be able to use Multi Pass at multiple parks you can do that after you have tapped into the first Multi Pass attraction at the park where you originally purchased the Multi Pass.
In addition to the ability to make Lightning Lane reservations, Multi Pass also gives you free on-ride photo downloads, access to some Disney-themed photo lenses, and access to audio tales.
The price of a Lightning Lane Single Pass also varies by day and attraction, but typically costs from $10-$25 per person per attraction.
when can i book my lightning lane reservations?
Your Lightning Lane booking window is based on where you are staying and what type of ticket that you have:
* If you are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort (including the Swan, Dolphin & Shades of Green), you can start booking your Lightning Lane reservations at 7:00 AM (EST) 7 days before your check-in day for all days of your vacation (up to 14 days).
* If you are a non-resort guest with a date-based ticket you can start booking your Lightning Lane reservations at 7:00 AM (EST) 3 days before the first date of your ticket for all days of your vacation.
* If you are a non-resort guest with another type of ticket (annual pass, etc.) you can start booking your Lightning Lane reservations at 7:00 AM (EST) 3 days before the date of your visit, and must book day-by-day.
If you are coming from another country, with the exception of Canada, you will be unable to book your reservations until you are in the United States.
how do i book my lightning lane reservations?
Prior to making your Lightning Lane reservations make sure that your entire travel party is linked in the My Disney Experience app.
At 7:00 AM when your booking window is open you can go into the My Disney Experience app (reservations may only be done in the app on your phone, not on a computer) and select the date and party members that you want to include in the reservation. Then you will be shown a list of available rides and times to select from.
If you are purchasing a Multi Pass at Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom and EPCOT you are able to select one ride from Tier 1 and two rides from Tier 2. At Animal Kingdom there are not tiers, and you can select any 3 rides. The app will automatically generate times based on your other plans, but you have the option to modify the times if you would like. However, you only have 5 minutes to make your selections, so it might be best to choose what they offer you and then go in and modify the times later.
If you are purchasing a Single Pass for a ride (or two) on that day, and have the same travel party, you can select it from the list as well. If not everyone in your party wants to go on the Single Pass ride (be sure to check height requirements) then you will need to make a separate transaction for the Lightning Lane Single Pass for that day and only select the members of your party that will be riding.
After you have booked and paid for your first day it will ask if you want to book another day. If you are a resort guest or a non-resort guest with a date-based ticket you can go ahead and book reservations for every day that you want to for your entire vacation.
how do i change or book more lightning lane multi pass reservations?
You can modify your Single Pass or Multi Pass reservations in the My Disney Experience app at any time by selecting modify on the reservation. This allows you to change the reservation time or even change to a different attraction.
When you make the initial Multi Pass reservations everyone in your party will be included, so if anyone doesn’t want to, or can’t, ride that attraction, you can go in and modify the reservation for those individuals to ride something else.
After you have tapped into your first Multi Pass ride for the day you can make another reservation for any ride at any park (if you have a Park Hopper ticket). Tiers no longer matter at that point, and you can even modify your existing tier two reservations to tier one attractions . You should always have three Lightning Lane Multi Pass reservations, so as soon as you have tapped into a Lightning Lane attraction be sure to go into the app and make another reservation.
what is a virtual queue?
A Virtual Queue is used on a couple of Disney’s newest attractions instead of using a traditional Standby queue. Instead of standing in a physical line you are assigned a Boarding Group, and when your group is called you have one hour to return to the ride and check in.
There are currently no rides using Virtual Queue, but it may return as Disney builds new attractions!
How do i join a virtual queue?
The Virtual Queue is first available to join at 7:00 AM. You will go into the “My Disney Experience” app, click on the three lines in the lower right corner, select Virtual Queues and then select Join Virtual Queue. On busy days the Virtual Queue may be filled within seconds, so you have to be ready at exactly 7:00 AM.
Once you enter the Virtual Queue you will be given a Boarding Group number. They will also give you an estimated wait time, although these are generally not super accurate. You can check the app at any time to see what Boarding Group they are on, and you should receive a notification through the app when your group is called. After your group is called you will have one hour to check in at the attraction.
If you miss out the first time you will have another opportunity to join the Virtual Queue at 1:00 PM. In order to be eligible to join everyone in your party must have already entered the park where the ride is located (Magic Kingdom or EPCOT) that day. At 1:00 you will follow the same procedure to join a group, but luckily these groups tend to last a little longer. You still want to join as soon as possible because even if you get a Boarding Group it is not a guarantee that you will get to ride.
All of this can seem overwhelming, but taking some time before your vacation to understand the My Disney Experience app, do some research on available attractions, and make Lightning Lane reservations for your “must do” experiences can help you to have a great, low stress trip.
If Lightning Lane passes don’t look like they fit within your budget, that’s okay. Utilizing Early Theme Park entry for resort hotel guests, understanding how to use the Virtual Queue, choosing your park days to avoid crowds as much as possible, and even taking a mid-day break so that you can stay late at the parks are all free ways to make the most of your vacation.
We would love to answer any questions that you may still have, so feel free to reach out and we will help you plan a magical Walt Disney World vacation!
