When it comes to the complicated world of booking Walt Disney World Lightning Lane rides, it’s easy to miss your intended targets with everyone vying for that coveted spot on Space Mountain or Mickey’s Runaway Railway to name a few. While Lightning Lane reservations for popular attractions such as Slinky Dog or those in Pandora Land may be hard to come by, there are plenty other places to use your line skipping options.
First things first, if you aren’t sure how how the Disney Genie+ system with Lightning Lane works, be sure to read this before continuing.
If you’re already a pro, here are some rides where many people don’t think to use a Disney World Lightning Lane reservation, but are rides where you can really save some time in line by doing so.
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Magic Kingdom Lightning Lane Best Bets
Magic Kingdom is a park that will give you the best bang for your buck when it comes to using the Walt Disney World Lightning Lane (LL). Everyone will be vying for that Space Mountain, and Thunder Mountain LL. But, there are so many other rides that are also worthy of the Lightning Lane.
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin: A must for the Walt Disney World Lightning Lane
The mountains of Magic Kingdom tend to be the more popular Disney World Lightning Lane attractions and are grabbed rather quickly. However, there is one ride where we always use the Walt Disney World Lightning Lane: Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. This fast-paced laser target shooting ride in Tomorrowland can sport some tremendous lines but is often over looked as a Lightning Lane candidate.
That’s unfortunate because we’ve seen this line grow to over an hour long, and to be honest, the queue is loud and overwhelming to be in for too long! Last time we had to wait in the main queue, we quickly became overwhelmed and exhausted by the loud alarms, and even louder “distress” calls broadcasted through the speakers.
However, by using the Lightning Lane, this ride practically becomes a walk on, and you get to the alien shooting action even sooner! Be sure to remember your score on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, because you’ll want to be able to claim bragging rights!
No Wait to Join the Ghostly Haunts at Haunted Mansion
The Haunted Mansion in Walt Disney World has been drawing crowds into it’s spooky interior since 1969, so it comes as no surprise that the line can get quite lengthy, even today. As it is a Walt Disney original, everyone must step inside and join the happy haunts at least once.
Typically, we have a nice quick service lunch at Columbia Harbour House, in Liberty Square, then find ourselves with a long line between us and the famous doombuggy. With a quick book of a Disney World Lightning Lane reservation (which we are often able to book during lunch to use as soon as we are done,) the wait often goes from 30-40 minutes, to just having to wait for the pre-show to finish in the group ahead. But don’t worry, that will give you time to take a look at the whimsical headstones to the left of the entrance.
Jungle Cruise, a Pun-Filled Delight with Disney World Lightning Lane
Pun-filled jokes, laughable tour guides, and “wild” animals! The chance to embark on the touted 4-month cruise around the magical waters of Magic Kingdom’s Jungle Cruise bring in the crowds day after day. We have been in the park at an overall crowd level of 2, and still had the Jungle Cruise reach wait times of over an hour!
However, by using one of your Lightning Lane reservations for cruise the Jungle, you can watch waits magically drop from hours to minutes. The only downside of using a Walt Disney World Lightning Lane on this ride is that you miss all the comical puns and jokes hidden inside the queue line. So, we suggest sticking it out at least once in the regular queue.
Bouncing through the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
This ride may be short, but it can form a long line. If waiting 60+ minutes so your little ones can hop with Tigger isn’t appealing, try booking the Disney World Ligthning Lane instead. The line is likely to be even shorter than the ride itself.
Like the Jungle Cruise, you will want to do the regular queue with Winnie the Pooh at least once. This will give you, and your kids a chance to see the interactive elements in the queue.
Avoiding Long Lines at EPCOT
EPCOT is a park with many headlining attractions that are perfect for the Lightning Lane. But, where do you use it after those are done? We recommend these suggestions.
Avoid the Wait at EPCOT’s Spaceship Earth with Lightning Lane
While the list of EPCOT attractions is growing, we still recommend that you reserve a Disney World Lightning Lane reservation for Spaceship Earth. For one thing, the park’s biggest attraction, Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind, is available only through a virtual queue, and Disney World Individual Lightning Lane, allowing you to book a position of your choosing.
That leaves a handful of rides with long waits for your Lightning Lane Reservations. If you arrive at park opening, particularly if you utilize Early Theme Park entry, it’s easy to hit both Test Track and Soarin’ with little wait. That means your first Lightning Lane reservation of the day can go toward Frozen or Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. Since Spaceship Earth’s Genie+ reservations are typically available well into the day, you can easily use a subsequent reservation to avoid the line at this ride.
Spaceship Earth is a fairly large capacity attraction, meaning that it moves a high number of people through rather quickly, but it does have one of the most boring queue lines in the EPCOT park, so any wait feels longer. Additionally, even with moderate crowd conditions, this line can peak to 30 or 40 minutes during the day. Using the Lightning Lane eliminates the wait and allows you to pretty much walk right on.
Lightning Lane for Living with the Land
Hardcore EPCOT fans adore this attraction, and it has a bit of a cult following. Due to this, Living with the Land can develop quite a long line, especially in the afternoon.
The ride does have a large capacity, but the slow moving boats, and long ride duration do add to the wait time.
We often try to ride Test Track and Soarin’ during Early Theme Park Entry, or at park opening, and then book another Lightning Lane for them later in the day if we desire. Because many other guests hit these rides in the morning, the non headlining rides like Living with the Land have a big spike in wait times in the afternoon.
This is why we highly recommend using a Lightning Lane for Living with the Land in the afternoon. It will turn a 20-30 minute wait into a walk on attraction.
Skipping Lines at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Hollywood Studios has quickly become one of the most visited Disney parks since the opening of Toy Story Land and Galaxy’s Edge. With large crowds and a large number of headlining attractions, odds are, you won’t get a Disney World Lightning Lane for every one. So, what do you book when the headliners run out of Lightning Lane availability?
Score a Disney World Lightning Lane for Toy Story Mania
It’s one of the biggest thrills inside Hollywood Studios, and it doesn’t have a single drop or corkscrew twist. Instead, Toy Story Mania allows you to compete in 3-D fun, battling it out with fellow riders across a series of semi-virtual carnival games.
If you haven’t experienced it yet, you might wonder why lines can reach as high as an hour or more, but once you’ve entered the midway, you’ll be glad you used the Lightning Lane. While most of the queue takes place in bright colored, air conditioned comfort, accompanied by famous toys and board games, the line can seem endless as you wind through twists and turns with no end in sight.
The nice thing about booking the Disney World Lightning Lane for Toy Story Mania is that reservations are usually available right through midday, allowing you to book more popular attractions first thing, before reservations are gone, and then save Toy Story to fill a spot later in your day.
Alien Swirling Saucers: More Fun with a Lightning Lane
Just like Midway Mania, Alien Swirling Saucers often has Lightning Lane availability all day, so you can book after you’ve captured the more popular Lightning Lanes reservations.
The swirling saucers have a short ride time, but offer a fun ride. Unfortunately the capacity of the ride is low, and sometimes it takes longer to load and unload than the actual ride time. This can cause the line to move at a glacial pace, especially when it fills up in midday.
While we love riding the saucers, we do not think a long wait is worth it, which is why we always book a Lightning Lane for this attraction.
By using the Disney World Lightning Lane, you can quite literally hop on, ride, and hop off, with no fuss and no wait.
Line Busting Picks for Animal Kingdom
Beating the Lines at Kilimanjaro Safari with Walt Disney World Lightning Lane
Kilimanjaro Safari is an absolute must do while in Animal Kingdom. On this ride, you’ll see zebras, giraffes, and even a lion or two (hopefully.) With its popularity, its not uncommon for Kilimanjaro Safari to reach lines of two hours! Unfortunately, in Animal Kingdom, people tend to focus on rides in Pandora Land or Expedition Everest when booking their Disney World Lightning Lane reservations, particularly that first reservation of the day.
By booking a Genie+ reservation for the safari, you can head straight to Flight of Passage when the park opens, use the standby line with minimal wait, and even enjoy a ride on Expedition Everest before heading to Africa to board the safari via the Lightning Lane. Of course this strategy works best if you enter the parks right at opening and even better, if you utilize Early Theme Park Entry.
Disney World Lightning Lane Cost
If you’re wondering how to purchase Genie+ and how much the Disney World Lightning Lane costs, the answers are pretty straightforward. You purchase Genie+, which gives you access to the Lightning Lane, through the My Disney Experience app. The cost is $25 per person per day, but can go up to $30 per person per day during peak times. It must be purchased each day of your trip that you plan to use it.
Also, Genie+ is priced differently depending on whether you plan to use it in one park or multiple parks. Single park rates seem to average around $18 per person per day.
