*Note that Lightning Lane works differently at Disneyland in Anaheim. This information is for Walt Disney World in Florida
Lightning Lane Basics
Lightning Lanes allow you to bypass the longer standby queue for most attractions at Walt Disney World and they come in three flavors: Multi Pass, Single Pass and Premier Pass.
What is Multi Pass?
Lightning Lane Multi Pass is a service you can purchase which allows you to access the Lightning Lane at most rides and shows. While you do have to manually book access to each attraction using the app and you can only book each attraction once, you can use it in all four parks and there are no other limits on how many attractions you can book.
What is Single Pass?
Some of the most popular rides at each park are not included with Multi Pass. Access to the Lightning Lanes for these rides can be purchased individually and you will secure a specific time slot when you buy it. You are limited to purchasing two Single Pass attractions per person, per day.
What is Premier Pass?
If you don’t wish to schedule your attractions, this service allows you to access each Lightning Lane at your chosen park once per day at any time you wish. Unlike Multi Pass, you are limited to one park only, but all the Single Pass Lightning Lanes are also included. Although it is significantly more expensive, this is by far the easiest way to access Lightning Lanes.
How to Use Lightning Lane Multi Pass
While Single Pass and Premier Pass are fairly straightforward, getting the most out of the Multi Pass version of Lightning Lane requires planning and some knowledge of how the system works. Before you arrive, you can choose to purchase Multi Pass for one or more days of your visit starting at 7:00 AM on your first day of eligibility.
Before you even pay for the service, you will have the opportunity to select your first three attractions and see the available return windows for each one. These are the windows of time (typically one hour) during which you can enter the Lightning Lane for that attraction. Each time you use a Lightning Lane, you will be free to book another one for any available attraction.
For this reason, it is beneficial to have earlier return windows for your Lightning Lanes so that you can book additional attractions sooner and fit more of them into your day. Also, the most popular attractions will sometimes run out of their initial supply of Lightning Lanes early in the day, so it is important to secure Lightning Lanes for these rides as quickly as possible if they are on your must-do list.