The New Disney “Fastpass”: Goodbye Genie+, Hello Single and Multi Pass

Exciting Changes Coming to Disney’s Ride Reservation System

In just a few weeks, Disney is replacing Genie+, the current ride reservation and line-skipping system.

Overall, the new system is expected to be easier for visiting guests to understand and offers significant benefits for those staying onsite. Booking a Disney resort for your vacation is highly recommended.

​Here’s a brief guide to the new Disney “Pass” System. As always, if you need help planning your vacation, contact one of our trusted vacation planners.

New Nomenclature:

• Lightning Lane Multi Pass: Replaces Genie+ lightning lane service, which provided a bundle of rides for variable pricing per day, per park.
• Lightning Lane Single Pass: Replaces individual lightning lane service, previously purchased per ride (e.g., Seven Dwarves Mine Train).

Major Changes:

1. Less 7 AM Vacation Wakeups
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The new system allows ride reservations to be made prior to your vacation. Resort guests can plan their reservations up to 7 days before check-in for their entire stay (up to 14 days). Offsite guests may purchase up to 3 days in advance, per day, with reservations starting at 7 AM Eastern Standard Time. This provides a clear advantage to staying onsite.
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• Note: There are caveats to booking windows for off-site guests based on date-based and other ticket types (annual pass, etc). For simplicity, we won’t cover that here. Again, we highly recommend staying onsite.

2. Less Screen Time
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​The new system allows up to 3 Lightning Lane Multi Pass selections in a theme park before your visit. You can view ride times as you make your selection—a huge perk compared to the blind 7 AM selection with Genie+. You can make 3 selections per person per day of Multi Pass purchase. Additionally, you can purchase up to 2 Lightning Lane Single Pass selections per day. Your Single Pass selections do not have to be for the same theme park.

• Example: If you purchase one day of Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you get 3 ride selections. If you purchase five days, you get 15 selections (5 x 3).
• If you purchase the maximum of 2 Lightning Lane Single Pass selections per day, you can have up to 5 Lightning Lanes pre-booked each day (with set times) prior to your park arrival.

3. More Opportunities for Popular Rides
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​Rides will be available in tiers based on popularity, similar to the old Fastpass system. Before your vacation, you can choose 1 Multi Pass experience from tier 1 and up to 2 Multi Pass experiences from tier 2 from one theme park. Once you redeem a selection on the day of your park visit, you can choose a Multi Pass experience from either group (based on availability) at any theme park. This aims to offer more same-day ride availability and better time management for guests.

When Does This Start?

Opening day is July 24th for all guests. The pre-arrival window will not go into effect until July 24th, so many guests will join on the first day. Guests visiting Disney on July 24th, onsite guests arriving July 25-31st, or onsite guests arriving July 27th will be making reservations the first day.

​Expect several tweaks over the first few weeks, but once things settle, refer back to our onsite/offsite windows for reservation times.

How Much Does It Cost?

The exact cost is not yet known. Traditionally, Genie+ has ranged from $20-39 per day per person. It’s assumed the price will also vary based on season/demand.

Hopefully, this breakdown helps you understand Disney’s newest pass system. For more information, including helpful tips for choosing your lightning lanes, consider booking with one of our trusted travel agents. Email [email protected] for more details or fill out the short interest form here.

Guest post by Natalie Tapley, a Travel Advisor with Travel Bug Company. Contact her at [email protected] for your next custom vacation.