I go to Disney World a lot. A WHOLE lot. But there’s one thing in particular that I don’t do very often …
Cinderella Castle
That’s waiting in long lines for rides. Because I am fortunate enough to be in the parks so much, I often take the attitude that I can ride that ride anytime, so I will only jump in standby lines when they are short. But then I realize that it’s been awhile since I’ve ridden some popular rides, so I use Genie+ for a day or buy an Individual Lightning Lane to (hopefully) ride the most popular rides with shorter waits. That’s exactly what I did recently, and it reminded me that I should probably warn you about an important detail hat could derail your Disney World day!
Individual Lightning Lanes are currently available for five rides in Disney World — TRON Lightcycle / Run and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in Magic Kingdom, Rise of the Resistance in Hollywood Studios, Flight of Passage in Animal Kingdom, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in EPCOT.
TRON Lighting Lane
For Individual Lightning Lanes at Disney World, you make a reservation in the My Disney Experience app for an hourlong window when you can enter through the ride’s Lightning Lane and get on the ride without a long wait. You can only make your reservation that same day, and they come with a fee that typically ranges between $14 and $22. On this spring Saturday, I decided to go to EPCOT kind of spur of the moment. Lightning Lanes were $17 for Guardians of the Galaxy, so my friends and I decided to get one.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
It was not a crowded day in EPCOT. Wait times were moderate, the walkways weren’t packed … all in all I would call it a fairly light day for a Saturday during a festival. We planned to ride Guardians quickly about 4PM, and then head back to World Showcase for some Flower and Garden Festival food and catch the first Garden Rocks concert of the evening at 5:30PM. We tapped in for our Lightning Lane, and then, we waited …
Cosmic Rewind Queue
and waited, and waited some more. All in all, it took us 50 minutes to an hour from the time we tapped in until the time we boarded the ride. It was SUPER FUN, as usual, and we hustled on back to the America Gardens Theatre and were able to catch most of the first Garden Rocks show — albeit outside of the theater because it was already standing room only and roped off. Now, we knew this could happen. We weren’t on a tight timetable, and there was another showing of the concert we were able to catch later that evening. But I know that many of you plan your Lightning Lanes around dining reservations or other timed events, and it’s important to know that buying an Individual Lightning Lane does not promise you a walk-on.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
Sometimes for the Individual Lightning Lane rides, you do go through the line extremely quickly. I have previously moved through this queue so quickly I have felt like I didn’t get the full “pre-show” experience. But often, things back up for a variety of reasons. For example, when a ride goes down for some period during the day, people who bought Individual Lightning Lanes for it are usually told they can return at any point during the day when the ride comes back up. So if your Lightning Lane time is later in the day, the crowd waiting could include lots of folks Disney expected to ride earlier.
Cosmic Rewind
So, my recommendation is to leave at least an hour between your Individual Lightning Lane reservation and anything else you plan to do that day — like a dining reservation, a show, or even catching the parade if that’s important to you! If you feel like there’s going to be a conflict — especially with a dining reservation — talk with a Cast Member. They may be able to help you by giving you a new Lightning Lane return time or modifying your dining reservation. It’s best to do this BEFORE you miss either of those reservations, so try to think ahead and speak with someone in advance about your potential time crunch.
TRON Lightcycle / Run
And remember there’s another potential Individual Lightning Lane “shake-up” coming soon! Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is opening in Disney World this summer, and Disney has not released details yet about whether it will use Individual Lightning Lanes. That has been the pattern recently for new rides at Disney World, so we expect Individual Lighting Lanes to become available for this ride. Keep following DFB for the latest — we’ll bring you that news as soon as it’s released!
Individual Lightning Lane Rules You Should Know Before You Go to Disney World
Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!
WE KNOW DISNEY.
YOU CAN, TOO.
Oh boy, planning a Disney trip can be quite the adventure, and we totally get it! But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE Disney vacation.
Whether you're a rookie or a seasoned pro, our insider tips and tricks will have you exploring the parks like never before. So come along with us, and get planning your most magical vacation ever!
Have you ever been surprised by your wait time with an Individual Lightning Lane? Tell us about your experience in the comments!
Our handy (and portable!) ebook guides make sure you get the best deals and can plan a vacation of a lifetime.
I can understand the ‘pain’ we (3 people) spent $20 each for Individual Lightning Lane for Radiator Springs Racer. The ‘wait time’ was listed at 150 minutes, we spent 70 minutes in our line. At least the Cosmic Rewind cue is indoors with lots of things to look at.
We had the same issue and missed the concert too due to Guardian’s taking way way way long to get through the Lightening Lane.
There is another, more common way that your ILL wait time will be extended. And, that is when ILL purchasers must wait in the same line as Genie+ LL purchasers. I guess this makes sense but I now know to add extra time for my ILL 7 Dwarfs Mine Train ride. ILL’s are still the best for me. I just have to readjust my expectations. Staying flexible and readjusting expectations are essential skills at WDW. Easy enough for me.
But teaching those skills to kids is tough. WDW offers so many of these teachable life lessons.
Was there Saturday did the Lightning Lane single pass in the morning and walked right on, virtual queue was for the afternoon got stuck in there for over an hour as the ride did go down while we were in the line.