Hello there, Daniel! Welcome to planDisney, and thanks for your question!
It looks like your trip to the Disneyland Resort is coming up in a little less than a month - how exciting! This is a great time to start thinking about which attractions you want to experience during your visit.
In reference to your question, there are a few ways to access attractions at the Disneyland Resort. First is the standby line - this is just the main queue for the line and is available for every attraction at both parks (except one - Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway - which I'll detail more below). These lines all have differing wait times depending on the attraction and the day, but you can see current wait times for standby lines through the
Disney Genie Service on the
Disneyland Mobile App. This service is free to all Guests and can also give you tailored attraction and dining recommendations based on your interests!
In addition to all the complimentary features that come with the Disney Genie service, you can also choose to purchase the Disney Genie+ service (I think of this like an upgrade to the Disney Genie service - you still get access to all the great Disney Genie features plus some extra magical perks!).
With the
Disney Genie+ service, you now have access to the
Lightning Lane entrance for attractions. There is a
large list of attractions that offer Lightning Lane entrances, which are shorter than the main standby lines. To utilize this feature, you can select the next available arrival window from the Disneyland Mobile app for one selection at a time after park entry on the day of your visit. Just note that you won't be able to purchase the Disney Genie+ service until you scan your ticket into the park on the first day of your visit.
You also have the option to purchase
Individual Lightning Lanes for three of the most popular attractions at the parks. You can purchase Individual Lightning Lanes in Disney California Adventure Park for
Radiator Springs Racers in Cars Land, and in Disneyland Park for
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in Galaxy's Edge and
Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway in Mickey's Toontown. These are completely separate purchases from the Disney Genie+ service - in fact, you don't even need to purchase the Genie+ service for these, but instead, purchase them per rider for each attraction.
Finally, there is one exception to "every attraction has a standby line" that I said above, and that is Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway. As I mentioned, you can purchase an Individual Lightning Lane to experience this attraction if available (they sell out quickly!), but otherwise, you would need to utilize the
Virtual Queue to access the attraction during your visit. Again, these go quickly!
I hope that was helpful information for you, Daniel, and thanks again for your question! As you continue to plan for your trip, please feel free to write us back with any follow-up questions you might have.
Have a Magical Day,
Greg