Our Top Tips and Strategies for Using Lightning Lane at Disneyland

Are you looking to maximize the value of Lightning Lane Multi Pass at California Adventure and Disneyland? Our top Disneyland Lightning Lane Multi Pass tips will have you using Lightning Lane Multi Pass like a pro. Have you already used Lightning Lane Multi Pass or at least read up on it and want to know more? Well, this is your next step in really getting the most bang for your Lightning Lane Multi Pass buck.

Hop To

• Before You Go
• Tips for Disneyland Park
• Tips for Disney California Adventure Park
• Tips for Park Hoppers
• Tips to Ride Again
• How to Stack
• Even More Tips!

FYI: Genie+ and individual Lighting Lanes both have new names as of July 24, 2024. Disney Genie+ is now Lightning Lane Multi Pass. The former individual Lightning Lane is now Lightning Lane Single Pass. Both services continue to work the same as they have been at Disneyland (with bigger changes hoppening at Disney World).

Keep in mind that all this information is specific to Disneyland Resort. If you are looking for Disney World Lightning Lane Multi Pass tips and strategies, we have a whole post on that with specific tips for Disney World.

The good news is that using Lightning Lane at California Adventure and Disneyland is easier than at Disney World since there is pretty good Lightning Lane availability throughout most days. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take it to its full potential and get your money’s worth! Using Lightning Lane Multi Pass is not just about getting those Lightning Lane rides, but freeing your time so you have more time to also experience other rides, shows, characters, dining and experiences in the parks and hotels. When you shave hours off wait times, you can use that time to access more rides and experience so much more of what Disneyland has to offer.

Our Most Basic Lightning Lane Multi Pass Tips

Here is how to make the best of your day in the parks with Lightning Lane at California Adventure and Disneyland. There is a lot to go over before you jump into the Lightning Lane Multi Pass advanced user status. If you feel like we are moving too fast or you have any questions or are unfamiliar with the vocabulary, back it up and visit these posts, which will bring you up to speed on Lightning Lane Multi Pass as well as Lightning Lane Single Pass:

• Answering Your Disneyland Lightning Lane Multi Pass Frequently Asked Questions
• Our Complete Guide to Disney Genie and Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Disneyland

For those of you left wanting more, our Genie Master Classes also do a deep dive into some other Lightning Lane Multi Pass topics you might be interested in:

• The Lightning Lane Master Class: Using Lightning Lane Multi Pass With a Group at Disneyland
• The Lightning Lane Master Class: Multiple Experiences Passes at Disneyland

You probably already downloaded the Disneyland app, since you'll need to link your park tickets, make theme park reservations and use the app to show tickets to enter the park. Feel free to pick up your phone and play along as we go over things to get familiar with the Tip Board, My Day tab and typical wait times. Bring a phone charger with you to the parks so you stay fully powered all day. Also, make sure you have the latest update for the day of your visit so you can access all new features.

One more post may be hopful now that MagicBand+ has come to Disneyland. You can redeem Lightning Lanes with a tap of your MagicBand.

• Complete Guide to Using MagicBands at Disneyland

Know How and When to Purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass

There are a few ways to purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass (formerly Genie+). You can buy discount theme park tickets pre-loaded with Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Disneyland through Undercover Tourist to save some money and time. It's simple and easy, and you get the best price. You can also purchase tickets with Lightning Lane Multi Pass from Disneyland directly without the savings.

No matter where you buy your tickets, you can also purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass in the park in the Disneyland app each day if you have tickets that don't already have Lightning Lane Multi Pass on them. Having Lightning Lane Multi Pass on your ticket skips a step in the morning. But if you are not sure if you want it each day, purchasing in the park is not a problem and won't really slow you down.

Purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass in the Park

Our favorite way to purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass (formerly Genie+) in the park when we do not have a preloaded ticket is to purchase it under the Tip Board or My Day. Scroll down to the green LL links. It's usually near the top.

There are other ways to purchase in the app, but some of them automatically select every valid linked ticket that has been used to enter a park. We don't necessarily want to purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass for Lily since she is not tall enough for most of the rides. Also, we only want to purchase for the froggies living on our own lily pad when visiting with other families. Using the links under My Day or at the top of the Tip Board, we can select only the party members we want to pay for who will be using Lightning Lane Multi Pass.

Magic Key holders now get a 20 percent discount on Lightning Lane Multi Pass. That is a nice perk. But if Magic Key holders are visiting with regular ticket holders, the discount only applies to the Magic Key holders. Also, a Magic Key holder using a different admission ticket pays full price. The discount is only for Lighting Lane Multi Pass. No discounts on Lighting Lane Single Pass.

Arrive Early

Our favorite time of day in any theme park is the first hour after park opening. When you arrive early, you have short to no wait times and cool temperatures. You get the best value for your theme park ticket and Lightning Lane Multi Pass if you arrive at or before park opening, as opposed to arriving in the afternoon when lines are long across the resort. If you can arrive before rope drop, here are our tips:

• Enter a theme park ASAP. The service doesn't work until you've entered a theme park for the day.
• Purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass if you don't already have it on your ticket, and make your first Lightning Lane selection as soon as you enter the park. But don't necessarily use it right away unless you have limited time in the park. Save it for the end of its window (or modify it for later).
• Ride the rides without Lightning Lane in the morning.
• Use the standby line for rides with Lightning Lane that you’ll want to hit more than once (such as Guardians) now without a long line and then use Lightning Lane Multi Pass to ride again later.
• Use your Lightning Lanes at the end of the one-hour window in the morning and take advantage of other short lines while your space in line is secure at a Lightning Lane.
• Don't blow through all your Lightning Lanes in the morning. Save some for the afternoon and evening when all the park lines are at their peak. That is unless you are hopping or only have a half-day in the park.
• Take advantage of getting a nice morning PhotoPass photo of the group before roller coaster hair and long lines happen. It's included with Lightning Lane Multi Pass. Remember to link attraction photos in the app too!
• If you are staying at a Disneyland hotel and have Early Entry access, you can book your first Lightning Lane Multi Pass ride as soon as you enter the theme park. Then focus your first hour on riding rides without Lightning Lane Multi Pass or the rides that are most popular on Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
• Book a late breakfast so you can take advantage of short waits at park opening and work up an appetite.
• If you are in the park early, book rides that are likely to not open right away. What? Seriously, if you are in the park before Rope Drop, book Indiana Jones Adventure or Toy Story Midway Mania! Those rides sometimes have a delayed opening. If they do not open right away, you'll receive a Multiple Experiences Pass and can then re-book those rides and save the pass for later.

All Disneyland theme park guests must enter a theme park to start making Lightning Lane selections. That goes for Disneyland Resort hotel guests too. So let’s say you are planning on having breakfast first before heading into the park, if you have time, hop into a park and then leave and go to breakfast. But this way you can start reserving Lightning Lanes before you enter the park after the meal. The Monorail turnstile counts as a park entrance, BTW, if you are planning on breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen and want a shorter walk to scan in.

We usually book a late breakfast or brunch after 10 a.m. so we can take advantage of the morning in the park and then sit down for a good breakfast. During breakfast, we set up our next rides. If you choose a character breakfast, let the characters come to you, saving you time in the park later when you don't have to wait in line to meet them.

Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Disneyland

You can hop on the Tip Board right now and during theme park hours to see in real-time what the wait times and Lightning Lane distribution look like. This can help you prioritize your ride selection for morning, afternoon and evening.

Disneyland usually has about 13 rides on Lightning Lane Multi Pass. None of them have Lightning Lanes that are distributed as quickly as the most popular rides at Disney World. But some rides get distributed faster than others. It's good to know that so you can choose them strategically. If you arrive early, you'll want to take advantage of the short lines for all the attractions without Lightning Lane Multi Pass.

Your priority rides include Indiana Jones Adventure and Space Mountain. These two move the fastest in this park, but even they can have availability in the evening on less-crowded days. They move faster at peak times. So, you can book one in the morning and ride the other at park opening, or choose a ride window a long way off when you know you have a longer wait for something else, a long meal to eat or a break from the park. Space Mountain is usually open during Early Entry. Sometimes Indiana Jones has a delayed opening, which means you might score a Multiple Experiences pass and can immediately book it or another ride.

The next fastest distribution times can be Matterhorn Bobsleds, and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. But watch out for Haunted Mansion and "it's a small world" during their holiday overlays. Those two rides move faster than usual during the overlays or after coming back from refurbishment. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway and Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin can also fall in this mid-level group. On nights with fireworks, Toontown closes in the evening for a few hours, so that can mess with the last two rides and their distribution/availability.

Save Star Tours, Pirates (temporarily on Multi Pass) Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, "it's a small world" and Autopia for the afternoon and early evening as those are the slower movers of the group and often have upcoming Lightning Lane windows with a short wait.

One of the most popular rides in the park is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. It has a Lightning Lane Single Pass and a free standby line. We have a whole post on the best strategies for accessing this ride.

In the morning, you can hit a lot of Fantasyland rides before lines form. Jungle Cruise is another good ride to hit early (or late, during Fantasmic!). If you are not using Lightning Lane Multi Pass, ride "it's a small world" early because the standby line can get longer after 11 a.m.

Tips for Using Lighting Lane at California Adventure

Our top tip for using Lighting Lane at California Adventure is to start your day in this park. Arrive at park opening. This park has nine Lightning Lane Multi Pass rides. (10 during Halloween Time when you can book each version of Guardians each day.) Having fewer rides with Lightning Lane Multi Pass means they can be distributed a little faster than at Disneyland. Why? There are fewer of them to go around. But again, don't worry. You'll still have a great selection most of the day.

Know what rides to prioritize. By afternoon or early evening, you may not see any availability for Guardians, Toy Story Midway Mania! and WEB SLINGERS, which all have lower morning wait times. Book these rides first or ride them early.

Middle level rides include Soarin' and Incredicoaster.

The lower priority rides are Grizzly River Run, except on hot days, Goofy's Sky School and Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! The Little Mermaid is also a low-priority choice. If you acquire any Multiple Experiences passes, Pixar Pal-A-Round, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree or Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters may be good replacement options. Those are also great rides to hit in the first hour of park opening. Of course, you can save your Multiple Experiences passes for hopping to Disneyland. Or use them to ride a favorite ride a second time at Disney California Adventure.

The most popular ride in this park has a Lightning Lane Single Pass for a separate fee. Radiator Springs Racers is not included in Lightning Lane Multi Pass. But it has a standby line and a Single Rider line.

The default park in the app is Disneyland but you can tap "Change Park" to switch to Disney California Adventure.

During Halloween Time, book Guardians of the Galaxy first. Then book the Monsters After Dark scary version once it becomes available (if you're brave enough). The ride closes about 2 p.m. and reopens as Monsters After Dark about 3 p.m. Once distribution ends for the normal daytime Guardians ride, then Monsters After Dark becomes available to book. Lines can get scary long for the limited-time Monsters After Dark version.

Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Disney California Adventure & Disneyland: Tips for Park Hoppers

If you are park hopping, that's when Lightning Lane Multi Pass really pays off with up to 22 ride choices. For us, it's all about setting ourselves up for success in the second park when afternoon crowds are highest. Nobody likes to enter a park and encounter long wait times. But you if have set up one or more Lightning Lanes for just after you park hop, you’ll skip to the front of the line! But there are a few new changes in place for park hoppers who book Lightning Lanes.

If you are booking a Lightning Lane Multi Pass or purchasing a Lightning Lane Single Pass when park hopping, you have to watch the times if you want to book a ride in the other park before you can hop at 11:00 a.m. You will not be able to book or purchase until the ride you want to select has a distribution time of 11:00 a.m. or later. You can keep watch of this under the Tip Board for the other park.

Here are our best park-hopping strategies:

• Arrive in the first park before rope drop (everyone can enter the theme parks about 30 minutes early).
• Book your first Lightning Lane Multi Pass and set your alarm for two hours in case you don't use it ride away)
• Use a combination of finding the shortest standby lines and using Lightning Lane Multi Pass in the morning.
• Modify your first Lighting Lane Multi Pass to later if you need to. Modifying does not reset the two-hour clock.
• If you use your Lighting Lane, rebook the next one immediately.
• At about 9:30 or 10 a.m., book your first Lightning Lane for the other park. (The ride must be showing a ride window that is at or after 11 a.m.) Set an alarm for two hours later to remind yourself to book the next Lightning Lane unless you can ride before two hours is up.
• Park hop, as early as 11 a.m.
• If you acquire any Multiple Experiences passes, save them for the second park (find out more under "Take Advantage of ride breakdowns”).
• Start in Disney California Adventure. (Why? You can whip through most of the rides you want by hop time, and Disneyland usually has more Lighting Lane options as the day goes on.)
• If you don't see a time that works for you, book one anyway, and then modify (not cancel) it to a time that does work or a different ride. Why? When you modify, it does not affect the time you are next eligible to select a new ride.

One of our favorite tips for using Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Disneyland is to start your day in DCA. Why? You can accomplish a lot in that park in the morning, especially if you rope drop or can take advantage of Early Entry. By using Lightning Lane, Single Rider (for Radiator Springs Racers) and a few other time-saving strategies, you can accomplish everything you want to do in that park in the first few hours of the day. Then when you hop to Disneyland, there is still plenty of Lightning Lane availability in that park.

How to Ride Your Favorite Lightning Lane Rides More Than Once

You can only use your Lightning Lane to book your favorite ride once per day. But once is not enough sometimes. How can you ride again without waiting in a long standby line? Here are a few strategies that work for us:

• Use Single Rider if available (only at select rides).
• Ride early morning or late at night. You can walk on rides such as Indiana Jones Adventure, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: BREAKOUT! or Toy Story Midway Mania! at park opening. Save the Lightning Lane for these rides for later.
• Use Multiple Experiences passes (if a ride breaks down during your return window, you'll receive one of these) to ride your favorite ride again.
• Use Rider Switch — Have a small child who is not tall enough or brave enough to ride? Let the attendant know and you can set up the first riding party and the second party, which includes the first babysitting person (and up to one other, which can include a member of party one). When the babysitter gets to ride, one lucky person gets to go twice! The babysitter's Lightning Lane will be noted as a Rider Switch. If the person is in a waiting period to book another ride, that will be released so the whole group can select the next ride together.
• If you visit during Halloween Time, you can book a Lightning Lane for Guardians in the morning and then book the Halloween version, Monsters After Dark for the afternoon or evening.

Hacking the Disney Lightning Lane Multi Pass Stacking Strategy

You may hear the term "stacking." What does that mean? You can usually book only one Lightning Lane selection at a time. However, there is an exception. Lighting Lane windows are given out on a rolling basis. You'll get the first available Lightning Lane. But if the window you choose is more than 120 minutes away, then in two hours, you can choose another. If that window is over two hours away, you can book another even before you use the first two. So you might have three Lightning Lanes lines stacked up in your app for the afternoon or evening.

We use stacking a little before we hop to the afternoon park. But it's also easy to do if you take a break from the theme parks for a bit.

We recently stayed at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel and Spa. We rope-dropped Disney California Adventure. It was an enjoyable and efficient morning. By mid-morning, we left the park for character dining brunch at Storytellers Café, followed by pool time. From the time we redeemed our last morning ride, through breakfast and pool time, until we hopped to Disneyland we used Lightning Lane Multi Pass to select rides for the afternoon at Disneyland.

You don't have to be in a park to make selections. You just have to have entered a park to make them! Wait until the ride you want to reserve shows a distribution time that is 11 a.m. or later when park hopping. We set an alarm every two hours to remind us to set up the next Lightning Lane. We looked for rides in either park that were temporarily closed to reserve them to score a Multiple Experiences pass. Those can be used for all kinds of rides and have no time limit until the park closes. When we dried off and headed back to Disneyland in the mid-afternoon, we had multiple rides ahead of us without a wait. It was a very efficient but also relaxing day!

Know When You Can Make the Next Ride Selection

Knowing when you are eligible to make a new Lightning Lane selection is one of the most important parts of the stacking strategy. You can make a new Lightning Lane Multi Pass selection:

• As soon as you have entered a theme park.
• As soon as you redeem the previous Lightning Lane, or
• If it's been 120 minutes since you booked a ride window that was more than 120 minutes away (even if you have not used it yet), or
• If you tell the cast member at the Lightning Lane entrance that some people are doing Rider Switch.
• You do not have to be in a park to book. Once you enter a park, you can leave and book from anywhere you have a cell or Wi-Fi signal.
• Lightning Lane Multi Pass attractions are unaffected by Lightning Lane Single Pass purchases, which have no waiting periods attached to them.

You should also know when you can redeem your Lightning Lane:

• You can scan in at the Lightning Lane entrance as soon as you see the "redeem" button, about 5 minutes before your window begins.
• If you are running late, you can usually redeem about 10 to 15 minutes late. But try not to be too late because some rides, such as Matterhorn Bobsleds or Guardians, can have a long line just to scan in later in the day.

Set Alarms

Set an alarm or timer on your phone for two hours away as soon as you book a Lightning Lane that is far off. That way, you won't froget to make the next one. You can maximize the number of Lightning Lane selections you can make.

Modify Plans Rather Than Canceling Them

Be careful when you cancel a ride selection to rebook something else when you have stacked times. Let's say at 11 a.m. you picked Guardians for 1 to 2 p.m. At 1 p.m. you selected Soarin' for 2 to 3 p.m. But at 1:30 p.m., you realize you might not make Guardians in time and want to cancel and rebook that ride for later. Even though your 120-minute waiting period for Guardians has ended, you cannot rebook Guardians until you redeem Soarin' or 3 p.m. rolls around. Why? You are still in a waiting period for Soarin' and cannot make any more selections, even to replace canceled rides. If you cancel Guardians, you will not be able to rebook it until those times or you cancel Soarin' to remove yourself from the waiting period. Yep, we learned that lesson the hard way.

Enter the "Modify Plan" option. You can modify your selection to the first available time for the same ride or a different ride in the same park. Is someone new joining you for the new time? You can edit your party size during that change. The benefit to modifying over canceling is that modifying does not affect the time you are next eligible to book a new ride. It doesn't reset the clock. This way you don't lose the ability to replace a ride like you would in the above cancel scenario if you are in a two-hour waiting period for a different Lightning Lane selection.

If your time to ride expires, you can now tap "Cancel Plan" to reschedule it. As long as there's still availability for that ride. (And you are not in a different waiting period for a different ride.) That's why it's better to modify before it expires. You can also try asking at the ride if they can accommodate you before you cancel. Present your tickets for scanning.

Use Rides with Later Return Times Strategically

If you are choosing a ride that won't be available for a few hours, do it when you have a plan to enjoy a meal, wait in a different ride, see a show or take a break during that time.

Use the Toggle Switch to View Only Rides with a Lightning Lane

On the Tip Board, you can now toggle between viewing all the rides in a park or just the rides that offer Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass. That way you can find and book your next ride faster and easier.

More Expert Tips to Save Money with Lightning Lane Multi Pass at California Adventure & Disneyland

We green frogs are all about budgeting and saving money on a trip. We feel that Lightning Lane Multi Pass (formerly Genie+) is a great value for most families, especially since it includes PhotoPass. If you are a PhotoPass photo buyer, then you will save right there. Here are tips to save money and get the most for your money with Lightning Lane Multi Pass.

• If you just want Lightning Lane Multi Pass for the PhotoPass photos, then just buy for one person.
• Don't buy for toddlers. Your little ones are not tall enough for most of the Lightning Lane Multi Pass rides. Ages 2 and under do not need a park ticket. They can just hop along on Lightning Lane Multi Pass rides without a height requirement.
• Save with discount multi-day Lightning Lane Multi Pass tickets.
• Use Rider Switch if you have small children. Parent 1 and older kids can ride first. Parent 2 and up to one older kid can sign up for Rider Switch. The older kid can ride with Parent 1. Then when it's time for Parent 2 to ride, the big kid can join Parent 2 to ride again to skip the line while Parent 1 babysits the tadpoles. Let the cast member know you are doing Rider Switch before you scan in. Immediately book your next ride.
• Use when park hopping to get the most Lightning Lane Multi Pass rides for your money.
• Only use Lightning Lane at California Adventure or Disneyland select days of your trip. Focus on Lightning Lane Multi Pass rides and PhotoPass photos the days you have it. Focus on other rides, shows, parades and table-service dining on the days you don't have it.
• If you know you want to use Lightning Lane Multi Pass every day, purchase tickets with Lightning Lane Multi Pass to lock in the lowest price as the price to purchase each day can vary.
• Since Lightning Lane Multi Pass is a cost per person, per day, find ways each person can save money to pay for Lightning Lane Multi Pass. Bring snacks from home and refillable water bottles. Drink free water at restaurants instead of soda. Find small ways to save at home before your trip so you can splurge on Lightning Lane at California Adventure and Disneyland.
• If you want to avoid the cost of Lightning Lane Multi Pass, look at our post on the best time to visit Disneyland. That way you can predict the lowest crowd levels, arrive at rope drop, take advantage of short lines during nighttime entertainment and the last hour of park opening and follow our Disneyland Park Plans.
• Take advantage of Disney PhotoPass! Lightning Lane Multi Pass comes with unlimited PhotoPass downloads for the day. That includes on-ride photos as well as shots from professional PhotoPass photographers around the park. Our PhotoPass post has all the details so you can take home hoppy memories with everyone in the shot!
• Be sure to update to the latest version of the Disneyland app before your visit.

Have you uncovered any other tips for using Lightning Lane at California Adventure and Disneyland? Share them in the comments sections below. You can save on multi-day Disneyland Resort Lightning Lane Multi Pass (formerly Genie+) tickets when you purchase from your favorite froggy friends. Ribbit!

Related: Tips to Maximize Time at Disneyland

Keep Hopping!