Hi James, welcome to planDisney!
Our pal Mickey Mouse is counting down the days until you arrive at Walt Disney World Resort this week. Be sure to stop by and see him at
Town Square Theater in Magic Kingdom Park or give him a wave during the
Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade.
There are four ways Walt Disney World Resort attractions can be accessed: standby queue, Genie+ Lightning Lane, Individual Lightning Lane, and/or virtual queue. Standby queue wait times vary depending on the date, time of day, and attraction. I just took a quick glance at current EPCOT standby queue wait times in the
My Disney Experience mobile app (location icon on the bottom menu --> Wait Times --> Filter by park) and they range from 5 minutes for Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros to 95 minutes for Remy's Ratatouille Adventure.
Lightning Lane entrances allow Guests to bypass the standby queue and guarantee a limited wait time.
Disney Genie+ service gives you access to the Lightning Lane entrance at over 40 attractions throughout the four theme parks. Genie+ can be purchased after midnight each park day via the Tip Board of the My Disney Experience mobile app (three small lines at the bottom right of the home page --> Tip Board). I recommend purchasing by 6:45 a.m. so you can book your first Genie+ Lightning Lane attraction at 7:00 a.m. on the dot. You are eligible to book your next Genie+ Lightning Lane attraction as soon as you've redeemed your first reservation or at the time listed on your Tip Board banner. My family typically invests in Disney Genie+ service for our Magic Kingdom Park and Disney's Hollywood Studios park days. We prioritize our must-do attractions and are usually able to make at least four Genie+ Lightning Lane reservations each day.
For a separate, smaller list of the most popular Walt Disney World Resort attractions, an
Individual Lightning Lane purchase is required to access the Lightning Lane entrance. There is an associated cost per person per attraction, which depends on the attraction as well as the date. Guests staying at a Disney Resorts Collection hotel can purchase an Individual Lightning Lane at 7:00 a.m.; all other Guests can purchase at park opening. You can purchase a maximum of two Individual Lightning Lanes each day and you cannot purchase two Individual Lightning Lanes for the same attraction.
EPCOT's newest attraction,
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, does not currently have a standby queue and can only be accessed via the
virtual queue or an Individual Lightning Lane purchase. Guests with a theme park reservation for EPCOT can use their My Disney Experience mobile app to join the virtual queue at 7:00 a.m. (three small lines --> Virtual Queues). If at first you don't succeed, try again at 1:00 p.m.
I hope this information helps you maximize the magic during your upcoming visit, James. If I can help clarify any of the Disney details, please don't hesitate to
reach out.
Plan magic; planDisney.
Jennifer