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If you have been to Disney recently, you probably have noticed the new way of obtaining fast passes (now called Lightning Lane Selections). The new way/system is called Genie Plus. On my most recent trip to Disney World, I got to experience using it firsthand. I want to share some of my tips for using Genie Plus at Walt Disney World.

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What is Genie Plus?

Genie Plus is a paid service where you can make your lighting lane selections (formally called Fast Passes) to bypass the Stand By Lines. It costs $15 (plus tax) per person per day. UPDATE – The cost Genie Plus will vary from $15-$22 depending on the day.

All 4 parks have rides/attractions, in which you can make lighting lanes selections. Just recently, Disney added some Character Meet n Greets to the lighting lane selections. Click here for the list of rides/attractions. 

You can only use the lighting lane option 1 time for each ride per day. If you want to ride that ride again, you will have to stand in the regular line/stand-by lane. 

Please note not all rides/attractions may not have lightning lane selections. They are some rides that do have lightning lane selections, but they cost extra. These rides are part of the Individual Lighting Lane.

Individual Lightning Lanes 

There are certain rides that have lighting lane selections. However, they are not included in the Genie Plus service. These are called Individual Lighting Lanes which you will purchase separately or al carte. You do not need to purchase Genie Plus to purchase the Individual Lighting Lanes. The pricing varies during the time of year and time of day. 

The only thing is you can only purchase 2 of these per day. Click here to see the rides that are part of the Individual Lightning Lane. With some of the new rides coming soon to Walt Disney World, I feel that the rides available as Individual Lighting Lanes will change.

If you want more information on Genie Plus, you can go to Disney World’s Offical Webpage. 

Now let’s get into my tips. Please note these tips are based on my personal experience (January trip 2022) using Genie Plus and may not work for everyone. 

Tip #1 Know the Times When You Can Make Your Lightning Lane Selections

You can make your first lighting lane selection at 7 am on your park day using the Walt Disney World My Experience App. Please note you can only make one at that time except for the Individual Lightning Lanes. You can purchase your two for that day during that time if you are a Resort Guest. If not, you can make those selections (Individual Lightning Lane) when the park opens. 

The next time you can make your Lighting Lane Selection is 2 hours after the park opens( the park where your first selection is located) or after you redeem the lighting lane selection. 

For the rest of the day, you can make your next selection 2-hours after your last selection or as soon as you use your lighting lane selection if you do not hold any others (not including the Individual Lighting Lanes). You can only make 1 selection at a time.

When I used Genie Plus, it told me the exact time I could make my next selection. I love that!

Tip#2 Plan Out The Rides You Want to Get Lightning Lane Selections

If you decide to get Genie Plus, I recommend planning out which rides you want to get lightning lanes and which one you should claim first. I say this because some do fill up more quickly than others.

I personally studied/watched the availability of lightning lanes thru the My Disney World Experience app weeks in advance to see which rides filled up the fastest. This helped me determine the ride I wanted to select first. It also helped me plan out rides I could choose later in the day.

It does not cost to look at the available times of lighting lane selections. As you see in the picture below, my nuiMOs (Belle, Minnie, and Eeyore) enjoy looking and planning out Genie Plus Lightning Lane Options.

The availability of lighting lanes depends on the crowd levels in the parks. Around the holidays, I noticed that more rides filled up more quickly than on a non-busy day. 

Tip #3 Make Sure Your Have Your Friends and Family List Updated/Sync 

This will make it easier to make selections for your group, and it also allows for one person to make the selections so your group will get all the same lighting lanes. This is done thru the My Experience App.

In my family, I am the designated planner. I am in charge of making the selections. 

Tip #4 Know When The Time You Can Remedemm/Use Lighting Lane

It is important to know your window to redeem/use your lighting lane (1-hour window.) If you miss your window, you are out of luck. Also, you will not be able to rebook for the same ride. With Genie Plus, you can only make a lighting lane selection for rides 1 time per day. 

Tip #5 Refresh the Screen

Refreshing the screen allows you to see the most current times, and it can help you snag the time you need to fit with park day. 

At 7 am on my park day, I kept refreshing, waiting for a time for Test Track after 2 pm. This is because we were starting the day at Magic Kingdom. You cannot park hop until 2 pm. 

I also did the refreshing method for my second selection. I was trying to get a time that we would be in Hollywood Studios. Yes, my hubby and I parked hopped to 3 parks in 1 day! We were trying to see the rest of the 50th Anniversary Statues (future blog post).

Sometimes an attraction will have nothing available, but when you refresh, a time slot could come available if someone cancels their lightning lane selection and/or if Disney adds more times.

To refresh in-app, when you are on the Genie Service Tip Board with times, you simply pull down the screen with your finger and let go. Once you let go, it should refresh.

Tip #6 Do Not Forget About the Photo Pass Lenses Included in Genie Plus

I totally forgot about the photo lenses included with Genie Plus while we were at the park. I had a lot to do during our park day and it slip my mind. When I finally remember, it was too late. They are kinda similar to how the filters on Snapchat and Tiktok work.

Access to these lenses will be in the app (Walt Disney World My Experience) on the day you have Genie Plus access. They will make so great selfie moments and magical memories.

Tip #7 Always Check with Disney for Any Updates or Changes to Genie Plus

With this being a new service, things might change or be updated. They had been a few changes already in the past couple of weeks. With some new rides coming to Disney World, they may change what rides will be included in the Genie Plus and/or the rides that are the Individual Lightning Lane options.

My hubby and I enjoyed using Genie plus to make lighting lane selections. It helped us save some time on some popular rides. We got to make 3 selections- Test Track, Millennium Falcon, and Soarin. We could have selected more but had a dining reservation that coincided with the available times.