Hey Howdy Hey Jason and welcome to planDisney!
Jason, I am so excited to see you will be visiting Walt Disney World Resort in just a few short weeks! So exciting! With the relatively recent change to Genie+ and Lightning Lane access, there can be a little confusion, especially to those that have used the older Fastpass system, believe me, I am one of them that needed some help with the new rollout! Not to worry though, you've got a friend in my Jason and I can give you a little more information on Lightning Lanes.
Last year, the Fastpass system was replaced with the
Genie Service. Genie Service has two forms: the basic Genie and
Genie+. With the Genie, this is a free option available on your
My Disney Experience app. This will allow you to set your preferences and interests and Genie will guide you through the parks on the day of your visit navigating you towards the attractions and experiences you may be interested in with lower wait times. This is a great way to help make your day a little more efficient in the parks and reduce your time waiting in lines for attractions.
Genie+ is the next level of interaction with the Genie Service you have the option of purchasing starting at midnight on the day of your theme park visit. With Genie+, you will have access to booking Lightning Lane return windows, which are special access lines that will allow you to experience attractions with much shorter wait times. As long as you are staying at a Disney Resort Collection hotel, you will have the ability to book your first Lightning Lane attraction from your My Disney Experience app starting at 7:00 a.m. EST that morning. You will be able to book your next Lightning Lane return window 2 hours after the park opens or when you tap in for your first Lightning Lane experience. This process is the same throughout the day with your ability to book another Lightning Lane attraction 2 hours from your last return window or when you tap in to redeem your Lightning Lane experience.
One more option is available to you as well for your trip. These are
Individual Lightning Lane reservations. In each park, there are a couple of super popular attractions, like the new
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in EPCOT, that you will not have access through with Genie+. Instead, you will have the option to purchase Individual Lightning Lane reservations for these attractions which are specifically reserved times to experience them. With these attractions, you will most often have 2 ways to experience them, from either a traditional stand-by queue or by individual Lightning Lane purchase.
Purchasing Genie+ is super easy to do from your My Disney Experience app. Once you are logged on, tap the 3 horizontal lines on the bottom right and look for the tile "My Disney Genie Day". From there, you should see the option on the screen for purchasing Disney Genie+ and then you will have access to booking Lightning Lane return times.
I hope this information was helpful to clear up some of the new lingo and offerings available for your upcoming trip. Take some time and play around with your My Disney Experience app and the selections of the basic Genie Service and look for where and how to purchase Genie+. Please stop back and let us know if you have any further questions, we would be happy to help!
Have a Magical Day,
Nick