This article is your complete guide to the question, is Lightning Lane worth it at Disney World? In short, yes, we think the Lightning Lane system at the Disney Parks is worth it if you can save 60 minutes for every $11 spent on the Lightning Lane Multi-Pass or Lightning Lane Single Pass selections. While this can be difficult to do without the proper game plan, it is possible! Disney has come out to state that it’s intended to help guests skip 2-3 lines per day. However, getting your money’s worth on Single Pass Lightning Lane return times could be easier since these attractions typically have a lower cost but higher average wait times.
SPECIAL NOTE: If you’re looking for the best time to visit Disney World, check out our Disney Crowd calendar!
We find the Disney World Lightning Lane to be worth it if you save 60 minutes for every $11 spent on the Multi-Pass or Single Pass Lightning Lane selections (previously known as Disney Genie+ and FastPass). The reason is that it typically costs the average guest $11.00 per hour to be in the Disney World parks. This is based on the price of a four-day Disney World ticket sold by The Park Prodigy divided by a 12-hour day in the parks. So, for this reason, we believe guests should aim to save at least 60 minutes for every $11.00 spent on the Multi-Pass or Single Pass Lightning Lane to make it worth it. However, because Disney will only allow you to hold three Multi-Pass return times at a time and two Single Pass lightning lanes per day, you must have a game plan to get the most out of it!
The only way that makes the Premier Pass worth it for your Disney Vacation is if you can pay the lowest price, it’s offered at $129, and you go on at least one ride per hour. But to do this, you need to be at a park where there are at least 12 attractions! This means that the only parks worth purchasing the Premier Pass would be Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
The Lightning Lane has a typical wait time of around 5-10 minutes. And it will always have a much shorter wait time compared to the standby line. It’s important to know that the LL will merge with the regular line before you get on the ride. But you will still wait a substantially less amount of time than waiting in the regular line, especially when you use the pass for some of the most popular rides like Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Hollywood Studios, which we will break down below.
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Remember, the goal to make the Lightning Lane worth it over a standby queue is by saving more than 60 minutes per $11 spent!
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A: Multi-Pass allows you to avoid long lines on up to 3 select attractions at a time with a dedicated return time, Single-Pass allows one attraction with a dedicated return time (two total per person, per day), and Premier Pass allows any attraction once without a return time. While each version has its own set of rules, you can purchase them all the same way on the My Disney Experience App!
A: Yes, we consider the Single Pass Lightning Lane to be worth it for Rise of the Resistance, as guests can save up to 77 minutes for an average additional cost of $20 per person. However, when you consider that it costs the average guest $11.00 per hour to be inside any of the Disney World theme parks, you’d have to pair this hour with another ride to make it worth the additional cost. We also recommend participating in rope drop or Early Entry and getting this ride done first thing in the morning. And you can save so much time by avoiding long lines and without the added cost!
A: We think the Multi-Pass Lightning Lane is the better option of the two. There are a lot of variables to this answer. Most have to do with cost and park hopping. The Premier Pass comes with an extremely high price point and is only able to be used in one park per day. That means if you have a park hopper ticket, you have to either only use this service for one part of your day or purchase another Premier Pass or another pass for the other park. While the Multi-Pass is a more affordable price, and you will still be able to experience most of the Lightning Lane attractions!
Our Disney World Crowd Calendar is the best tool to help you get the most out of your time in the parks. We break down park crowds, park hours of operation, ticket prices, and average temperature. We also break down the best time to visit Disney World based on specific times of the year and special events.
Are you planning a trip to Walt Disney World? Be sure to speak with a Disney World Travel Agent for the most recent deals and promotions. The Park Prodigy will provide a Free Quote for all Disney World Vacation Packages. The Park Prodigy can also help you save up to $20 per ticket when purchasing your Walt Disney World Tickets, and we offer promotional discounts for special events such as Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party Tickets and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Tickets.
Don’t forget to check out our wonderful friends over at Theme Park Today, as well!