Disney's Hollywood Studios Lightning Lane Tips and Strategies

Lightning Lane is a great system that lets you make your theme park visit easier and more fun. There are two different options for Guests to utilize – Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass. The Lightning Lane service can be found in the My Disney Experience mobile app. Lightning Lane does have a cost. This service allows you the opportunity to use Lightning Lane entrances at select attractions and experiences at the Walt Disney World theme parks. (These are the former FastPass+ queues.)

With Lightning Lane, Guests are able to enjoy ride one attraction or see one show once per day. If you’d like to experience the attraction again within the same day, you’ll need to use the standby line.

Lightning Lane varies in pricing, based on the date the Guest is visiting, much like theme park tickets currently do. Pricing is lower on less busy days and it will cost you more to use the Lightning Lane service on busier, peak days.

Disney has also introduced individual park pricing for those looking to take advantage of Lightning Lane. Guests at Walt Disney World will now be able to purchase Lightning Lane based on how they want to visit. Guests who purchase Lightning Lane will be able to use this service at either a single park OR if you purchase the Park Hopper option, you can use it for that too. In addition some Walt Disney World theme parks may offer lower pricing for Lightning Lane than other parks.

This means that say Guests who are only visiting, say Disney’s Hollywood Studios for the day will only need to purchase the service for that specific park. But, let’s say that you are Park Hopping. So, you’re visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom in the same day; you’ll then need to purchase the multi-park option for Lightning Lane Multi Pass.

Experiences may vary by date and are subject to change or closure. There’s limited availability for experiences. Also they may not be available at all on the date of visit. Or it is possible they are not available at the specific time you are looking for. Also, in order to be able to use Lightning Lane, Guests will need to have valid admission.

How Will Lightning Lane Work?

Lightning Lane Multi Pass 

When you purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you will have the ability to make up to 3 attraction selections in a theme park, in advance of your visit. You’ll also be able to choose available times as you make your selections.

On the day of your visit, once you use a selection, you’ll be able to check the My Disney Experience app for availability to make an additional attraction selections.

Lightning Lane Single Pass

Guests will need to purchase access for Lightning Lane entrances individually for the most popular attractions. Guests may purchase and select an arrival window one at a time for up to 2 of these attractions a day. (If available.) This option is available for all Guests, no matter whether you’ve already purchased Lightning Lane Multi Pass or not. The pricing varies by attraction, and can even vary by day. Guests will find out the cost of the Lightning Lane Single Pass access in the My Disney Experience app.

Lightning Lane Premier Pass

Walt Disney World is bringing in a brand new line-skipping pass called Lightning Lane Premier Pass! This new option will let you enter any Lightning Lane WITHOUT having to book the attraction in advance! Lightning Lane Premier Pass includes one entry to each Lightning Lane entrance at any time during the day.

At Walt Disney World, Lightning Lane Premier Pass includes all Lightning Lane attractions (including Single Pass) in one park for one day at Walt Disney World. Lightning Lane Premier Pass ranges from $129-$449+tax per person. Lightning Lane Premier Pass will be available in very limited quantities for Guests staying at Disney Deluxe Resorts, Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts and other select hotels. Eligible Guests can purchase Lightning Lane Premier Pass up to 7 days before the first day of their Resort stay, for their entire length of stay (up to 14 days), starting at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Here’s how to use it:

Go to the Lightning Lane entrance and tap in using a MagicBand, MagicBand+, Disney MagicMobile pass, Key to the World Card or ticket card that’s linked to your valid theme park admission.
You’ll skip the standby line and join the Lightning Lane for that attraction.
Enjoy Lightning Lane experiences in the park when you want.
View your Lightning Lane Premier Pass in the My Disney Experience or the Disneyland app including which ones remain available and which ones you’ve already redeemed.

Lightning Lane Premier Pass will debut at the Walt Disney World Resort on October 30. There are no changes to how Lightning Lane Multi Pass or Lightning Lane Single Pass work.

How Can You Plan Ahead?

By having the opportunity to pre-plan your selections, it will allow Guests the chance to choose times that work best for your schedule, like working with dining reservations or any other plans that have been pre-planned.

Guests staying at a Disney Resort hotel and other select hotels will be able to plan their attractions up to 7 days in advance beginning at 7:00 a.m., for their entire stay (up to 14 days). All other Guests will have the opportunity to plan up to 3 days in advance beginning at 7:00 a.m.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Lightning Lane Tips and Strategies

Getting the most out of both Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Individual Pass first involves preparation. For Lightning Lane, you definitely want to have completed your purchase before you try to make your first booking. You need to buy through the My Disney Experience app starting at midnight.

At 7 a.m., Guests are able to start making their first Lightning Lane Multi Pass reservations and their Lightning Lane Single Pass reservations at that time. You will want to start choosing your attractions as close to 7 a.m. as possible for the best selection.

To optimize the number of attractions you’ll be able to see, you’ll want to start booking your next Lightning Lane attraction as early as possible in the day and AS SOON AS you scan through that final touch point at the attraction.

How to Purchase

Available for existing ticket holders or Annual Passholders. Purchase via Lightning Lane service in the My Disney Experience mobile app.

Use our Lightning Lane Guide to learn more!

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Disney Lightning Lane General Information

Lighting Lane is a great system that lets you have quicker access to select attractions or entertainment experiences during your Walt Disney World vacation, for a nominal fee. You can find out more details about the Lightning Lane system, in our Lighting Lane Guide.

Attractions Tips

Attractions

Currently, Lightning Lane Single Pass attractions are:

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

Currently, Lighting Lane Multi Pass is available for the following Disney’s Hollywood Studios rides, shows, and experiences.

Choose up to one experience from this group:

Choose your other 2 experiences—or all 3—from this group:

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Lightning Lane Tips and Strategies

Here are a few tips to help you decide which experiences to choose.

General Strategy

If your group wants to experience all that the park has to offer, you will want to make a Lightning Lane reservation for Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run or Slinky Dog Dash. Since these are all popular attractions, you may need to make a tough decision of which one to use Lightning Lane for first and which ones to consider standing in line for. All three will have long standby lines. If possible, our suggestion is to get the Lightning Lane reservation for Slinky Dog Dash and then if Lightning Lane reservations are not open later, ride Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway in the standby line. As far as other Lightning Lane options, you may want to consider Toy Story Mania!, Tower of Terror, or Star Tours – The Adventures Continue.

Groups with Small Children

When visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios with small children, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway should be your first priority. After that, consider Toy Story Mania. Then, you have a few choices, mostly involving shows. Some of these decisions will, of course, be made based on the interests of your family. You are likely to save the most time by using Lightning Lane for are Disney Junior Dance Party! and For the First Time in Forever – A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration.

Thrill Seekers

While the current total number of attractions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios might seem a little small, this park is often a favorite for the thrill seekers visiting Walt Disney World. To maximize your time as a thrill seeker, your should use Lightning Lane for Slinky Dog Dash instead of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. (We suggest using the Single Rider Line for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run in this instance.) Of course, you’ll want to make sure you’ve purchased the Lightning Lane Single Pass option for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, as well.

For your thrill seeking additional Disney’s Hollywood Studios Lightning Lane selections should include Star Tours – The Adventures Continue and Tower of Terror.

Ride Rock n’ Roller Coaster either in the standby line, if you can’t get a Lightning Lane reservation for it later, or they do also offer a Single Rider line.

Shows

Disney’s Hollywood Studios features several fantastic shows, and you may choose to schedule one or two with a Lightning Lane reservation. If you do so, there are a few things you need to know as you are planning.

First, the Lightning Lane time listed for the show will be your arrival time, not the show time. For example, you may have Lightning Lane time of 10:35am-10:50am for Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage. This means you need to arrive between those times and will get seating for the 11am show. The show then lasts 25 minutes. So even though your Lightning Lane time ends at 10:50, you will be busy until almost 11:30am.

Due to the number of shows available in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you need to be careful not to accidentally book Lightning Lane reservations on top of each other.

More Tips and Tricks

As an extra help, Guests are able to use the My Disney Experience app to check your My Day itinerary or Tip Board to see when you’re eligible to make another selection.
For quicker access to select attractions and entertainment, when using Lightning Lane, you should choose the next available attraction arrival window.
When booking those Lightning Lane reservations, you should “stack” reservations close to each other. This means that you can experience numerous attractions in quick succession. Be sure you give yourself enough time to experience the attractions and travel to the next. You’ll then want to start making your next reservation as soon as you use your first reservation.
Guests are also able to book a Lightning Lane reservation for a park that they have not yet park hopped to. So if you are planning on hopping at Walt Disney World, you can make a reservation for an attraction in the park you’re planning to hop to before you begin your travel to save time upon arrival.