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A Genie+ Timeline of What to Book When for Walt Disney World

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By: Author Felicia Goodwin

Published: January 25, 2022 Updated: June 23, 2023

A Genie+ Timeline of What to Book When for Walt Disney World

Now that Disney Genie+ is in full force at Walt Disney World, it’s important to know all of the ins and outs of the new paid FastPass-style system.

Let’s face it, the service is a bit complex and there’s a lot to remember, including specific times of what you can book when.

And that’s where we step in! We’re here to help you not only stay organized during your Walt Disney World vacation, but to also keep all of the Genie+ details straight.

That’s exactly why we’ve created a Genie+ timeline of what you can book and when, including Genie+ Lightning Lane Selections and Individual Lightning Lane Attraction Selections.

We’ve even created a downloadable PDF so you can keep the information on hand at all times during your trip.

Now, let’s get to this Genie+ timeline for Walt Disney World!

Genie+ Timeline

  • 12 a.m. (and after) — All guests with valid theme park admission and a park reservation can purchase Genie+
  • 7 a.m. — All guests with a valid Park Pass reservation to Epcot can join the Virtual Queue for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind or TRON Lightcycle / Run
  • 7 a.m. — All guests can make Genie+ Lightning Lane Selections (don’t have to be inside park)
  • 7 a.m. — Onsite guests can book Individual Lightning Lane Selections (don’t have to be inside park)
  • Park opening — Offsite guests can book Individual Lightning Lane Selections (don’t have to be inside park)
  • 30 minutes prior to official park opening every day — Early Theme Park Entry begins for onsite guests (can’t use Genie+ or book Individual Lightning Lane attractions, but this extra time is beneficial)
  • 2 hours after official park closing on select dates — Extending Evening Theme Park Hours begin for Deluxe and Deluxe Villas guests (can’t use Genie+ or book Individual Lightning Lane attractions, but this extra time is beneficial)

We go into more details below for each of these, so keep reading!

Download our Genie+ timeline.

12 a.m. (and after) — Purchase Genie+

Important Note: Length of stay purchases are discontinued as of June 8, 2022. Guests who purchased tickets that included Genie+, you will still be able to use the service during your visit.

Unless you purchased tickets that included Genie+ before June 8, 2022, you will need to use the My Disney Experience app to purchase it 1 day at a time on the day of your park visit, starting at 12 a.m. EST.

Note: When we say starting at 12 a.m. EST we simply mean that once the day changes, you can begin purchasing Genie+. You don’t have to stay up until midnight to buy it; you can buy Genie+ at anytime during the day (morning, afternoon, evening).

BUT, if you want to make your first Genie+ Lightning Lane selection at 7 a.m. along with everyone else (more on this below), you need to purchase Genie+ at some point before 7 a.m.

how to purchase genie+

7 a.m. — Join the Virtual Queue for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind or TRON Lightcycle / Run

Starting at 7 a.m. EST, all guests with a valid Park Pass reservation for Epcot can attempt to join the Virtual Queue for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Guests with a valid Park Pass reservation for Magic Kingdom can attempt to join the Virtual Queue for TRON Lightcycle/ Run.

That means, guests visiting Epcot or Magic Kingdom could potentially have 3 different things they will need to do right at 7 a.m.:

  • Join the Virtual Queue for Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Purchase Individual Lightning Lane selections
  • Make Genie+ selections

If you will be visiting Epcot and Magic Kingdom, make sure you review our recommendations on what you should first.

7 a.m. — Genie+ Lightning Lane Selections

Starting at 7 a.m. EST, all guests can begin making Genie+ Lightning Lane Selections, and you don’t have to be inside the park to do so.

This means both onsite and offsite guests who have purchased Genie+ can make their first selection at this time.

With purchase (starting at $15 per ticket per day plus tax), Genie+ allows guests to skip the Standby lines for select attractions and enter via the “Lightning Lane,” the new name for FastPass lines.

genie+ lightning lane selection booking times

When can I book my next Genie+ attraction?

Only ONE of these has to occur before you can use Genie+ to book your next Lightning Lane reservation:

  1. If the most recently booked attraction return time is MORE than 2 hours away, you can make your next Genie+ Lightning Lane reservation at the 2-hour mark. IMPORTANT NOTE: The 2-hour clock starts when the park opens. If your first booking is more than 2 hours after the park opens, you’ll have to wait until 2 hours after park opening and not 2 hours after you booked.

    OR
  2. If your most recently booked Genie+ ride time is LESS than 2 hours away, as soon as you tap into the tapstiles at the attraction, you can book your next one. IMPORTANT NOTE: some of the more popular attractions have 2 tapstiles and some will have 1. If there are 2, you must tap into both before you’ll be able to make your next selection.

    OR
  3. If your most recently booked Genie+ Lightning Lane pass has EXPIRED (meaning you missed your return window), you can make a new Genie+ selection.
Genie+ booking rules

We’ve also created charts with examples to help you understand when you can book your next Genie+ selections.

As we’ve noted in each chart, these examples are simply that. Your bookings might not work out like this.

We just want to show you the reasoning for how and when you can make your next selections. When touring, you’ll have to work within the confines of the return times. And, the more busy the time of the year, the faster those return times will be pushed further into the day.

Example of booking Genie+ selections with your first return time MORE than 2 hours after park opening

Genie plus examples for booking

Open PDF version

Example of booking Genie+ selections with your first return time LESS than 2 hours after park opening

Genie plus examples for booking

Open PDF version

The following are the eligible attractions you can book Genie+ selections for. Keep in mind that you can only pick the next available time when booking.

MAGIC KINGDOMEPCOTHOLLYWOOD STUDIOSANIMAL KINGDOM
Space MountainFrozen Ever AfterMickey & Minnie’s Runaway RailwayExpedition Everest
Big Thunder Mountain RailroadDisney and Pixar Short Film FestivalAlien Swirling SaucersCelebration of the Festival of the Lion King
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger SpinJourney into Imagination with FigmentBeauty and the Beast Live on StageDINOSAUR
Dumbo the Flying ElephantLiving with the LandDisney Jr. Dance PartyFeathered Friends in Flight!
Festival of Fantasy ParadeMission: SPACE – GreenFor the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along CelebrationIt’s Tough to Be a Bug!
Haunted MansionMission: SPACE – OrangeIndiana Jones Epic Stunt SpectacularKali River Rapids
“it’s a small world”Soarin’Millennium Falcon: Smugglers RunKilimanjaro Safaris
Jungle CruiseSpaceship EarthMuppet*Vision 3DNa’vi River Journey
Mad Tea PartyTest TrackRock ‘n’ Roller CoasterThe Animation Experience
Mickey’s PhilharMagicThe Seas with Nemo & FriendsSee Olaf at Celebrity Spotlight
Monsters Inc. Laugh FloorTurtle Talk with CrushSlinky Dog Dash
Peter Pan’s FlightRemy’s Ratatouille AdventureStar Tours
Pirates of the CaribbeanThe Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Splash MountainToy Story Mania!
The Barnstormer
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Tomorrowland Speedway
Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid
See Cinderella and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
See Princess Tiana and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
See Mickey at Town Square Theater

Read more about how to use Disney Genie+ at Walt Disney World.

7 a.m. — Individual Lightning Lane Selections for onsite guests

Onsite Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests (including those staying at Shades of Green and Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin hotels) can start making individual Lightning Lane selections starting at 7 a.m. You don’t have to be inside the park to do so.

The Individual Lightning Lane Selections are not included with Genie+. They are sold separately and are pay-per-use.

This pay-per-ride option allows you to purchase a time to ride select popular attractions at Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood, and Animal Kingdom. Once your return time is called, you can board the attraction using the Lightning Lane.

There is a maximum of 2 purchases per guest, per day. The 2 selections must be for 2 different Individual Lightning Lane attractions.

The following are the eligible Individual Lightning Lane attractions. Keep in mind that, unlike Genie+ selections, you can choose from a list of available times throughout the day when booking.

MAGIC KINGDOMEPCOTHOLLYWOOD STUDIOSANIMAL KINGDOM
Seven Dwarfs Mine TrainGuardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic RewindStar War: Rise of the ResistanceFlight of Passage
TRON Lightcycle / Run

Pricing for the pay-to-ride option varies by date, attraction, and park. The daily price will be listed next to each attraction on the day of purchase.

You can book both Individual Lightning Lane Selections at the same time. And, as long as you have a Park Hopper ticket, you can make selections at different parks.

Park opening — Individual Lightning Lane Selections for offsite guests

If you’re staying offsite, you can’t start making Individual Lightning Lane Selections until park opening — and you don’t have to be inside the park to do so.

There is a maximum of 2 purchases per guest, per day. The 2 selections must be for 2 different Individual Lightning Lane attractions.

individual lightning lane selection mine train park hopping

Keep in mind that pricing for the pay-to-ride option varies by date, attraction, and park. The daily price will be listed next to each attraction on the day of purchase.

You can book both Individual Lightning Lane Selections at the same time. And, as long as you have a Park Hopper ticket, you can make selections at different parks.

The list of available Individual Lightning Lane Selections are posted above.

Here’s how to book Individual Lightning Lane Selections at Walt Disney World.

30 minutes prior to official park opening — Early Theme Park Entry

For onsite guests (and other select hotels), they can take advantage of Early Theme Park Entry.

This simply allows these guests the chance to enter any of the 4 Walt Disney World theme parks 30 minutes before non-Disney Resort guests every day. Only select attractions are available during this time.

Important: You cannot use Genie+ or book Individual Lightning Lane Selections during this timeframe, but onsite guests should definitely take advantage of this extra time.

magic kingdom early theme park entry

These are the following resorts that are eligible for Early Theme Park Entry:

Learn more about Early Theme Park Entry.

2 hours after official park closing — Extended Evening Theme Park Hours

Guests staying at a Disney Deluxe or Disney Deluxe Villas Resort (plus other select hotels) have access to Extended Evening Theme Park Hours.

These hours allow eligible guests to stay in either Magic Kingdom, Epcot, or Hollywood Studios for 2 hours past official park closing — but only on select dates.

You will need valid admission and a theme park reservation for the same park on the same day to experience extended evening hours OR have a ticket or annual pass with the Park Hopper option and first enter the park where you made your park reservation.

Here’s which attractions are available during the extra evening hours.

Important: You cannot use Genie+ or book Individual Lightning Lane Selections during this timeframe, but onsite guests should definitely take advantage of this extra time.

spaceship earth points of light epcot

These are the following resorts that are eligible for Extended Evening Theme Park Hours:

Disney Deluxe Resorts

Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts

Other Select Hotels

  • Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
  • Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
  • Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
  • Shades of Green

Read about Extending Evening Theme Park Hours.

Downloadable Genie+ Timeline

Here’s a Genie+ timeline that you can download.

Genie+ timeline of what to book when

We’ll be sure to update this timeline if or when changes are made by Walt Disney World.

Be sure to read all of our guides on Disney Genie, Genie+, and individual Lightning Lane attraction selections.

Dave

Monday 7th of February 2022

I'm curious to know how fast the Lightning Lane really is. That is, there would be multiple people using it at all times, so is the LL fast enough to be worth it? Would it cut the wait time by at least half?

Carolyn

Sunday 30th of January 2022

I’ve been trying to understand genie + and I’ve noticed that several people are commenting that you can no longer book a LL after tapping into a ride if you have a late LL reservation.

An example I read is that if you book a genie + LL for later in the day (example at 11 am book jungle cruise at 5pm then at 1 pm book flying carpets at 2pm…. I have read that you CANNOT book another genie + after tapping into carpets, due to having a later genie +…you have to wait until 3pm, on your site I have read that in this situation you COULD book another genie LL. I have not been to the park since precovid and I’m just trying to wrap my mind around this for expectation management. My times are all hypothetical, but I guess possible due to the popularity of JC and less so of carpets.

Chelsea

Friday 28th of January 2022

Going in March and this explains everything I needed to know. Thank you!!!

Do you happen to know of Genie+ has the same rules in Disneyland too?

Allyson Koerner

Saturday 29th of January 2022

There are a few key differences. First, Genie+ costs $20 (no tax added) per ticket per day at Disneyland. Also: you can only purchase Genie+ once you scan into the park and you can't make Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane Selections until you are physically inside a park.

Terri

Friday 28th of January 2022

This was extremely helpful and informative. Thank you!

Mike D

Friday 28th of January 2022

I've been monitoring Rise of the Resistance individual lightning lanes for about a month now (we are headed there next week). We're staying off-property and can't take advantage of the 7 AM reservations for this ride. It looks like all the individual LL for this ride are gobbled up in minutes, so we're planning to get there at park opening and go to the standby line (which usually is already at 60 minutes at that point.

I really hate this two-class system of Disney property vs. non-Disney property guests. This really causes a huge disadvantage for those trying to save some money by staying off-property.

Mike D

Friday 28th of January 2022

I forgot to offer major KUDOS to WDW Prep School for his article. I have two master degrees and when I first started diving into this craziness, I struggled until I discovered this resource. Well done! Now just help me get that Rise of the Resistance ind. lightning lane reservation and I'll be set!