The FIRST Genie+ Lightning Lane You Should Grab in Magic Kingdom

Disney Genie can be a complicated system, but if you know how to use it, it can be a lifesaver on your trip.

Expedition Everest Lightning Lane

From stacking Lightning Lanes to outsmarting Genie+, there are a lot of ways that we make the most out of this extra in the parks. Sometimes that even looks like skipping Genie+ in some parks. But if you’re going to buy Genie+ for your trip to Magic Kingdom (and it is a good park to get it for), you’re going to want to know what to prioritize. So we’re giving you the scoop on how to make your selections. Let’s jump in!

First, let’s clear a few things up about how to use the new-ish system. Disney Genie is a free planning system that you’ll find in the My Disney Experience app. It will ask you for your ride and attraction preferences, and it will create a personalized itinerary for you throughout the day. You’ll be able to see projected wait times, mobile order your food, adjust your plans, and more.

©Disney

Disney Genie+ is a PAID service that is somewhat similar to FastPass. With Genie+, you’ll pay a price that fluctuates between days, and be able to make selections for various Lightning Lanes throughout your day. It starts at $15 per day, and we’ve seen it get as high as $35 per day during busy seasons.

Lightning Lane sign for Tower of Terror in Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Genie+ becomes available to purchase at midnight on the day of your trip to the park — and you can start making your first selection at 7 AM. Then, you’ll be able to make your next selection after 120 minutes (starting when the park opens), your return time window has ended, or you have used the selection and are ready to book another.

Individual Lightning Lane Selections, on the other hand, are a pay-per-ride service for the most popular attractions, which aren’t covered under Genie+. In Magic Kingdom, two rides use the Individual Lightning Lane system: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and TRON Lightcycle / Run. But keep in mind that TRON also has a Virtual Queue system, which is free to use, instead of a traditional standby line. That’s right — at least for now, you can’t just head to the TRON ride and wait in a line for it.

Lightning Lane at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Okay, so now that you understand the differences, let’s talk about which rides to prioritize with Genie+ in Magic Kingdom. We are in the parks looking at wait times and Genie+ Lightning Lanes times every day, and we can tell you that these are the Lightning Lanes that fill up the fastest. Generally, Peter Pan’s Flight is a good option to start with.

Peter Pan’s Flight

This ride is very nostalgic and well-loved, and the capacity of this ride is pretty low. That means that the line moves slower than a lot of the rides — so getting a Lightning Lane is useful!

Another good option to select is Jungle Cruise. This is also a nostalgic ride that tends to keep pretty high wait times throughout the day, so if you’re hoping to ride this one, getting Lightning is a good idea.

Jungle Cruise

While Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and TRON Lightcycle / Run are not included in Genie+, they are both rides that are very popular as well, so keep that in mind when you are making a game plan for your Lightning Lanes. Depending on how important these higher-thrill rides are to you, you might want to focus on getting these before making your Genie+ selections, if you want to do both.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

For TRON specifically, if you are going to try to use the free Virtual Queue system, I would suggest doing that at 7 AM first, since it will likely be gone in seconds — especially while it is still new. If it’s super important for you to ride, I would opt for grabbing the paid Individual Lightning Lane for this attraction first since it’s less risky. But ultimately it’s up to you to decide what your priorities are.

TRON

Overall, prioritizing the highest-demand rides is a good way to utilize Genie+, but think about what is right for you when mapping out your day. If you’re more excited about rides that don’t typically stay as high of a wait, it might still be a good idea to use Genie+ with those priorities. Pick the things that are right for your group!

As always, stay tuned to DFB for all the latest Disney tips and tricks.