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Disney Fastpass 2024 Ultimate Guide

Free printable FastPass+ cheat sheet for planning your Disney World vacation! Tips and tricks for using the FastPass system at Walt Disney World for your next trip. Fast Pass can save you time if you know how to use it! #disneyworld #vacationplanning

The Disney Fastpass system has been rebranded as Disney Genie Plus. Learn how to use the new system and get my insider tips!

little girl and grandmother smile and wave from dumbo ride

 

In this post, I’ll introduce you to Disney’s new Fastpass system and show you how to get the most out of these services at Walt Disney World. To get a detailed guide to all things Genie Plus visit my ultimate guide here!

What is Disney Genie+?

disney genie plus screenshot for jungle cruise

Genie Plus is Walt Disney World’s system to allow visitors to pay to book reservations for certain rides in the parks and drastically reduce your wait times. You can access Genie Plus in the My Disney Experience App. 

What is a Lightning Lane or FastPass at Walt Disney World?

lightning lane at soarin epcot

Photo Credit: Siera Duiser

The Lightning Lane is a separate line or entrance area for the ride. The old FastPass entrances are now used for Lightening Lane entrance or “queue”. 

You must have a Lightning Lane reservation, formally known as the FastPass reservation, to use this queue and the wait will be much shorter than the regular “standby” line. 

There are two different types of FastPass or Lightening Lane reservations at Disney World. For a detailed explanation of the differences and when is best to use them head to my  Genie Plus Ultimate Guide here!

 

Disney FastPass vs Disney Genie+

How is Genie+ different from the Disney Fast Pass system? 

Well, the first difference is cost. Fastpass was free whereas Genie+ has a cost per day.

The second difference is that Disney Fastpass required making plans as far as 60 days before your visit. With Genie+ you decide that day what attractions you’d like to experience.

And with Fastpass you’d get to pick your return window. But with Genie+ you have to select the next available time. 

How much does Disney World Fastpass Cost? 

In order to use the reservations for your Fastpass or Lightening Lane experiences you will need to purchase Genie+ for that day.

The cost of Genie Plus changes depending on dates you are visiting and which park you are visiting. For more details regarding costs of Genie Plus check out my guide here!

How Do I Buy Disney Genie Plus?

disney genie plus logo and tagline

Currently, the only way to buy Genie+ is one day at a time in the My Disney Experience app.

You can purchase Genie Plus Disney World for that upcoming day starting at midnight. 

 

When Can I Start Making Fastpass Selections?

front of hollywood tower of terror

Tower of Terror is a Genie+ Lightning Lane attraction

Provided you have your park ticket, park reservation, and Disney Genie Plus all ready to go, you can make your first Genie Plus Lightning Lane selection starting at 7 am each day, as long as you are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort. If you are staying off property you will have to wait until official park opening time at each park.

 

How Do I Make Genie+ Lightning Lane Selections? 

screenshot of my disney experience with genie plus

When you open your My Disney Experience app, you’ll see at the very top where you can tap “My Day” or “View My Day”.

Tapping this will take you to Disney Genie where you can make your Lightning Lane selections. 

disney genie plus tip board

By far the easiest way to make Genie Plus Lightning Lane selections is through the Tip Board.

I found the “My Day” section to be very confusing and not helpful – I suggest ignoring it. 

options in genie plus in my disney experience

Once you are in the Tip Board you’ll see all of your options for Genie+ Lightning Lane selections.

Note that your only option for a Lightning Lane reservation is the next available return time for each attraction. You can’t choose from multiple options like you could with FastPass. 

I’m sure you are wondering what attractions you will want to make Lightning Lane selections for first. Head to my Disney Genie Plus Ultimate Guide here for a detailed up to date list!

disney genie+ lightning lane confirmation screen

Once you make a Genie+ Lightning Lane selection you will see a confirmation screen like this.

You will be able to see any Lightning Lane selections you currently hold in the My Day part of Disney Genie. 

When can I make additional Genie+ Lightning Lane selections? 

And now it gets really confusing LOL. 

In general, you can make another Genie Plus Lightning Lane selection either when you check-in for your current selection or after 120 minutes have passed since you made your current selection. 

For example, if at 9 am you get a spot in the Lightning Lane at 4 pm for Slinky Dog Dash, you won’t have to wait until 4 pm to make another selection.

You’ll be able to make another selection 120 minutes later at 11 am. 

So it is possible to “stack” several selections for later in the day if you keep utilizing the 120-minute rule. 

stacking lightning lane reservations in genie+

Here is a screenshot of when I did this one day at Magic Kingdom. I  stacked three Genie + Lightning Lane selections by using the 120-minute rule throughout the day. 

The only exception to the 120-minute rule is if you were to make your first Fast Pass selection before the park opens.

You’d have to wait for 120 minutes after the official park opening time to make another selection. 

So if you make your first selection at 7 am (which you should!) and the park doesn’t open until 9 am, you’ll have to wait until 11 am to make another selection. Or until you use that first selection.

Do I Need Disney Genie Plus and FastPasses?

space mountain at magic kingdom

Space Mountain

I’m sure you are wondering if Genie Plus is worth the added cost and if you will need it for your vacation. 

Well, like the service, the answer is complicated!

My quick answer is that Genie Plus ISN’T needed at every park and during every time of year. 

Now here is my full answer to the question “Is Disney Genie Plus worth it?”

Genie Plus is almost always needed at Magic Kingdom. 

front of peter pan's flight in magic kingdom

If you want to avoid waiting in lots of long lines, I’d recommend purchasing Disney Genie Plus for your day at Magic Kingdom. 

The reason for this is that there are so many attractions at Magic Kingdom.

You’ll likely get your money’s worth out of Genie+ and be able to make many Genie+ Lightning Lane selections throughout the day!

The only times you might not need it are rainy or cold days during a less busy time of year. 

Get my picks for the best times to visit Disney World for low crowds in this post.

I recommend Genie+ at Hollywood Studios in most circumstances as well. 

galaxy's edge in hollywood studios

You’ll get a lot of use out of Genie+ at Hollywood Studios as well. 

There are many Genie+ Lightning Lane attractions at Hollywood Studios that typically have long waits during the middle of the day. 

These include the Millennium Falcon, Slinky Dog Dash, Toy Story Midway Mania, Rockin’ Roller Coaster, and the Hollywood Tower of Terror. 

Unless you are visiting with very young children who can’t go on most of these rides, you’ll probably want Genie Plus at Hollywood Studios. 

Genie Plus is only needed at Epcot and Animal Kingdom during the busiest times of the year. 

soarin sign in epcot

With fewer attractions and crowds, you likely won’t need Genie Plus at the other two parks unless you are visiting during the busy season. 

You will need a solid plan for visiting this parks to maximize your time. I suggest checking out my 

Can I Park Hop With Genie Plus? 

Yes, you can park hop and use Disney Genie Plus. 

In fact, it is particularly helpful when you are park hopping!

disney genie screenshot for park hopping

When you are in the Tip Board, click on “Change Park” and you’ll be able to select which park you’d like to hop to later in the day. 

As long as you have a ticket with Park Hopper, you can hop on over to another park starting at 2 pm, as long as that park isn’t at capacity. 

 

How Do I Use My Fastpass Reservations?

digital disney world park ticket mobile magic

Similar to the Disney Fast Pass system, when it is time to use your Lightning Lane reservation just head to the attraction and look for the entrance to the Lightning Lane queue.

You will need to check in by tapping your Magic Band. After you tap your Magic Band one more time close to the entrance of the attraction you will be able to make your next Fast Pass reservation immediately!

 

yellow disney magic band on a wrist

 

Disney Fastpass Rules and Lightning Lane Attractions

To get a full up to date list of attractions you can use Disney Genie Plus for at each park head as well as rules for using the system head to my Genie Plus Ultimate Guide here!

 

I hope that you found this post helpful! While Genie+ is more costly and complicated than Disney FastPass, it will still help you maximize your time at Disney Work parks!

If you have any questions please join the conversation on my free private Facebook group, The Budget Mouse. Or leave a question in a comment below and I will answer just as soon as I can!

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Dave T

Sunday 23rd of October 2022

Hi Leah:

Your Genie+ and LL info is fantastic ! Thank you - I am a new subscriber.

One question on old paper Fastpass... When we last went in 2013 - some of the rides we had FP for were "down" when we went back - the staff told us we could come back anytime !

I kept these - can I still present them so as to skip line on Tower of Terror that was broken for our time ?

Thanks so much !

Leah

Sunday 20th of November 2022

Hi Dave! I honestly have no idea if they will honor it but it never hurts to ask!

Chris

Tuesday 6th of September 2022

Hi, quick question. When we buy the ILL for a ride, can 1 person buy it for all parties in the group (so 5 of us, can 1 person purchase all 5 at the same time) or does each person in the group have to buy their own?

Thanks for your help

Leah

Tuesday 6th of September 2022

As long as you are all linked as Family & Friends in My Disney experience, one person can buy for everyone.

DMW

Thursday 12th of May 2022

Thank you for all the helpful information. Is the Genie+ and Lightning lanes still an option when you attend special events (Like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween)?

Leah

Tuesday 17th of May 2022

No, there is no Genie+ or ILL during special events.

Liz

Sunday 17th of April 2022

Hi Leah, I saw that you were on a families fly free webinar so I decided to check out your site. I'm traveling to Disneyworld in mid June 2022 and have a handicap wheelchair bound person in my group. Would you still recommend getting a Genie plus or lightning lane passes for certain rides? We are going to Hollywood studios, Epcot, animal kingdom, no magic kingdom since we go to Disneyland a bunch. Thanks.

Sarah

Thursday 7th of April 2022

Hi ! Please send free printable and thanks for your help!

Leah

Friday 15th of April 2022

Hi Sarah - just sign up for my newsletter here and you'll get your printable via email: https://thebudgetmouse.com/newsletter/


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