Disney is often referred to as “The Happiest Place on Earth” but I can think of few things less enjoyable than crowds and waiting in line for long periods of time surrounded by young children. It’s all a little draining and there’s also nothing better than watching my kids wave at the characters or seeing their eyes light up when they watch the fireworks. I just took my two older kids to Disneyland and we spent one day at Disneyland, and a second day at Disneyland and Disneyland California Adventure. I tried two Disney Lightning Lane Passes, and while both passes get you into the standby line where you’ll wait just a few minutes, the experiences (and pricing) were quite different. I want to share my experience and which one I’d opt for the next time we visit Disney. 

 

A Guide to Each Disney Lightning Lane Pass at Disneyland

 

Disneyland and Disney World both offer Lightning Lane options to skip long lines on select rides.  I’ve never been to Magic Kingdom, but grew up going to Disneyland and have been dozens of times. Disneyland’s Lightning Lane replaced the old free FastPass system and comes in three tiers. I’ll break those down in a minute. We were able to experience both the Multi-Pass and Premier Pass, and ultimately I would probably just do the Multi-Pass until my kids are all old enough to go on everything. We had a great day and ultimately saved so much time with this line-skipping service. When we used Multi-Pass, and I felt like we didn’t take full advantage of the Premier Pass. 

 

Things to Note

You can only use each attraction’s Lightning Lane once per day, and the pass only works on select attractions. So if your kids want to go on Small World twice, you’re waiting in the regular line once. 

The Lightning Lane Passes only work on select rides, so if your want to go on Peter Pan’s Flight and Pirates of the Caribbean, there isn’t a Lightning Lane option. 

Lightning Lane Passes are valid at both parks, so it’s worth getting a park hopper ticket to maximize the Premier Pass. 

 

Where to Stay at Disneyland

 

Lightning Lane Single Pass

Lightning Lane Single Passes are a pay-per-ride for the most popular attractions, and is typically $18–$28 per ride depending on demand. I did not purchase a single use Lightning Lane pass and would not recommend it since the multi-pass doesn’t add much more of an additional cost and gives you access to every Lightning Lane ride in the park. If you only want to access one Lightning Lane ride during your visit, this option would work for you. 

You can only purchase this pass while inside the park the day of your visit, and will receive the next-available return time. 

 

Lightning Lane Multi Pass

The Lightning Lane Multi-Pass is a daily add-on giving access to all Lightning Lane rides at both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. This pass starts at $30, which is why I can’t imagine paying $18 for one ride when this gives you access to every Lightning Lane ride in the park. It also includes unlimited PhotoPass downloads which is a fun perk.

You can only schedule one Lightning Lane ride at a time, and are given a one hour window to return. You cannot book the next one until you’ve scanned into the first, or two hours after booking your last one (whichever comes first). You may not be able to get into some more popular rides for as many as four hours, so that would limit your ability to use Lightning Lane on another ride while waiting for that ride. If your goal is to get on every single lightning lane ride, and you’re there for all the faster rides, this will get you pretty far, but not on everything in the park. 

 

How to Purchase

You can purchase this pass whenever you buy your tickets, or via the Disneyland app once you enter the park. I would recommend purchasing it ahead of time. 

 

How to Use the Lightning Lane Multi-Pass

You’ll want to schedule your first ride right when you enter the park. 

Choose the next available return window that is offered. 

Schedule your next ride once you’ve scanned into a ride, or two hours after making a reservation, if you’re waiting more than 2 hours. 

Not all rides offer lightning lane, so study the map and which ones do offer it, and squeeze in those other rides while you’re waiting for another Lightning Lane ride. 

 

Who This Pass is For

I would recommend this pass to anyone who wants to go one some popular attractions and doesn’t want to wait 45 minutes for them. If you have young kids, this is a great option, but note which rides are their favorite. You’ll be able to get on Mickey’s Runaway Train, Small World etc. 

 

Who This Pass is Not For

I would only use this pass at one park per day. If you’re doing park hopper, you probably won’t get enough done. But it would be worth doing one day at each park and getting the Multi Pass each day. 

 

What to Wear to Disney

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The Disneyland Rides We Went on with the Multi-Pass

The day we had Multi-Pass, I was alone with my two girls, and we arrived at around 9AM. There were some rides that weren’t conducive to being solo with two young children. Neither of them are tall enough to ride Autopia alone, so that wasn’t an option. My younger daughter is newly 5 and doesn’t like fast rides. She was willing to try Thunder Mountain but was not a fan, and we called it on the fast rides after that. 

We were able to go on all the italicized rides below, spent an hour at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, and sat down for an hour to wait for the Paint the Night Parade, and saw the fireworks, too. My girls were also able to pin trade, spend way too long looking at Stuffies, and we didn’t feel rushed at all, which was really nice. So we were able to do a lot in one day! 

  • Autopia (not an option for one of the girls to ride solo)
  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
  • Haunted Mansion
  • Indiana Jones Adventure (kids aren’t big enough)
  • It’s a Small World
  • Matterhorn Bobsleds (closed)
  • Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railroad
  • Millenium Falcon Smugglers Run 
  • Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
  • Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
  • Space Mountain (my 5 year old is too little) 
  • Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (my 5 year old would hate this)

 

Lightning Lane Premier Pass

The Lightning Lane Premier Pass offers unlimited lane access across both parks. You will get access to all Lightning Lanes, one ride each per day, with no return windows. There’s no checking in or tracking wait times via Disneyland’s app. Just go on ride after ride throughout the day. This pass is great if you want to get on as much as possible, but it’s really expensive. Pricing averages from $299-$400 per person per day. We paid $350 per day so the added cost was substantial, but I decided that it was worth the splurge. My intention was 1. to test both passes and 2. to get on as much as possible. If I knew we weren’t going to split up and really conquer my daughter’s favorite rides, I wouldn’t have done it. 

At the end of the day, it was worth it for us because we got to the parks at 11AM, which was later than we had planned. We were able to do a decent amount at both parks, and saw two parades and the fireworks. 

The only real negative (aside from the price) is the one ride per day. I think if you’re paying that kind of money, you should be able to go on each ride twice, or capped out with x number of Lightning Lane rides to use at your leisure. 

How to Purchase

You can purchase this Lightning Lane service exactly seven days before your park entry date and no sooner. I imagine that it could sell out during peak times, but I tracked the app for two weeks leading up to our trip, and not one day sold out, so that felt promising. 

 

The Disneyland Lightning Lane Rides We Went on With the Premier Pass

I had my sister with me the day we had the Premier pass, so we split up and I was able to take my older daughter on Rise of the Resistance. I really regret not going on Tiana or Space Mountain since she wanted to go on both, but my sister wasn’t comfortable splitting up for that long. 

  • Autopia 
  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
  • Haunted Mansion
  • Indiana Jones Adventure (kids aren’t big enough)
  • It’s a Small World
  • Matterhorn Bobsleds (closed)
  • Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railroad
  • Millenium Falcon Smugglers Run (we weren’t interested in this)
  • Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin (we weren’t interested in this)
  • Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
  • Space Mountain (we could have and should have done this!)
  • Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (we could have and should have done this!)

So overall, we hit almost every ride, and had we not left right after the fireworks, or had we not gotten to the park so late, we easily could have fit in Space Mountain and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. 

We also went to California adventure the same day! 

The CA Adventure Lightning Lane Rides We Went on With The Premier Pass

We also went to California Adventure and were able to make it on a few rides, saving 45 minutes for Toy Story Midway Mania, which the kids loved. It always felt really good when we could avoid a 45 minute line. 

  • Goofy’s Sky School (not a chance – hate heights)
  • Grizzly River Run (we didn’t want to get wet)
  • Guardians of the Galaxy (didn’t care about this one)
  • Incredicoaster (kids aren’t big enough)
  • The Little Mermaid 
  • Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!
  • Soarin’ Around the World (I thought this would make my younger daughter nervous)
  • Toy Story Midway Mania (*make this Lightning Lane a priority)
  • Web Slingers (we didn’t care about this one)

OK, now that I went over this list, the pass kind of feels worth it if you want to splurge, do just one day, and get on as much as possible. But it’s only worth it if you want to go on most of the rides there. 

 

Are the Lightning Lane Bands Worth It? 

My kids loved them, so if you’re doing it for the fun and magic of it, yes. But they are only truly worth it if you’re doing the Premier Pass because you don’t have to check into rides with your phone. If you’re pulling out your phone to sign into the next ride after checking in, everyone’s tickets are in your Disneyland App deeming the wristbands unnecessary. They’re fun though! Although mine randomly fell off at some point and I didn’t notice, so I lost it. My girls’ bands each fell off, but we noticed and put them back on. So yes, they’re fun, but no, they’re not worth it. 

 

 

Which Lightning Lane Pass Is Worth It? 

Ultimately, it depends on how much you want to do in a single day, but I’d argue that we had a great experience with the Multi-Pass. You’ll still save time and experience shorter waits. Sure, you’ll be on your phone more often making ride reservations, but it didn’t take that much time, and was kind of fun. 

 

Lightning Lane Tips and Tricks

  • If booking a ride far out, use the 2-hour rule to slip in another earlier reservation .

  • Modify instead of cancel to preserve your booking window 

  • Top-tier rides like Indiana Jones and Guardians sell out fast, so monitor the app and try to get on those rides as early as possible. 

  • If you have little kids with you, take advantage of Rider Switch works. Just let a cast member know that you have a young child that can’t or won’t go on a certain ride. One adult will go on the ride while the other waits, and then you switch. 

  • Make use of Multi‑Experience Pass if a ride closes during your window. This is a replacement experience within the app. 

  • Bring a portable charger—using the app all day will drain your charger.