Hi Andrew and welcome to planDisney!
This is an excellent question because it can get a little confusing between Genie+, Lightning Lane and
Virtual Queue. I'll do my best to explain the difference.
First, everything you need to access all of these things is right on the
My Disney Experience Mobile App. If you haven't already done so, download this app and play around with it before your upcoming vacation. It will make your Walt Disney World visit much easier by having all of these nifty tools right at your fingertips.
Virtual queues are put in place for select attractions. Currently,
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in EPCOT and
TRON Lightcycle/Run in Magic Kingdom Park are the only attractions that utilize a virtual queue. This means there is no stand-by line and you must secure a boarding group to experience these attractions. There is no cost to join a virtual queue and it can only be done on the app. If you are planning an EPCOT or Magic Kingdom Park day and would like to ride either of these attractions, you can try joining the virtual queue at 7:00 AM or 1:00 PM via the app. For the 7:00 AM opportunity, you do not need to be inside the park, but you do for the 1:00 PM opportunity. If you are unsuccessful at either of these times, all of the boarding groups are gone and you will not be able to ride the attraction. You will enter these virtual queue attractions via the Lightning Lane, which is the queue that allows you to "skip" the stand-by line.
You can also access the Lightning Lane at select attractions if you have purchased
Disney Genie+ for the day. Disney Genie+ is a service that will let you pick attraction return times for your day at a theme park. Also starting at 7:00 AM, you can choose one attraction and a return time. You can make a second attraction return time after you have used the first one, or after two hours, whichever comes first. You can keep doing this throughout the day as attraction return times are available. Not all attractions are available with Genie+, which brings me to the next option.
Individual Lightning Lane entry can be purchased a la carte. You would do this for attractions that are not offered through Disney Genie+, like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, TRON Lightcycle/Run,
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and more. Individual Lightning Lane entry can also be purchased starting at 7:00 AM on the day of your visit. Please note that Tron Lightcycle/Run is currently in a soft opening phase until April 2nd and does not officially open until April 4th.
I know this is a lot of information, so please feel free to stop back by and visit if you have any additional vacation planning questions.
Have a magical day!
Leslie