Lightning Lane is Disney's name for a skip-the-line service that replaced FastPass at Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney World in Florida. The rules and procedures surrounding Lightning Lanes can be confusing on both the west coast and the east coast, especially since the offerings have frequently changed over the years and are different at each destination.
Disney's new CEO, Josh D'Amaro, addressed concerns over the differing rulebook for Lightning Lane reservations at Disneyland and Disney World. Keep reading to see D'Amaro's full quote and for the context of his remarks within what guests experience. We also break down whether there could be future changes to this service. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including Disney World hotel refurbishments in 2026 and 2027 and the verdict for a proposal to evaluate Disney's disability pass.
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Disney's Differing Policies for Lightning Lanes
For Disneyland Resort's Lightning Lanes, guests can purchase select Lightning Lane services prior their park visit, but they cannot actually reserve their access to specific attractions until they enter the park on the day of their visit. They can also purchase the service the day of. Certain ticket types, including the Magic Key Annual Pass, require a purchase the day of.
For Walt Disney World's Lightning Lanes, guests can purchase Lightning Lane services and make their attraction selections several days prior to visiting.
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The Walt Disney Company held its annual shareholder meeting on March 18, 2026. This was the same day Josh D'Amaro became Disney's new CEO, taking over for Bob Iger. At the end of the meeting, D'Amaro answered questions from shareholders.
One shareholder asked why the Lightning Lane procedures aren't the same at both destinations:
“Why are Disney World’s and Disneyland’s Lightning Lane reservations so different? Disney World allows us to reserve at 7 AM*, regardless of if we’re in the park. Why isn’t that offered at Disneyland?” This question directly addresses the previous change that Disney made to differentiate between the two resorts after Lightning Lane replaced Genie+. See the details below.
*The rule is 7 AM, 7 days prior to a guest’s Disney resort check-in date if staying on-property; or 7 AM, 3 days prior to a guest’s park visit if not staying at a Disney resort
D'Amaro's response pointed to the differing approach the company brings to what, on the surface, seem like identical products at similar places.
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Disney CEO Addresses Lightning Lane Procedures
Josh D'Amaro is new to the CEO role, but not new to Disney. He's been with the company for almost three decades, and was most recently Chairman of Disney Experiences, where he oversaw the theme park sector of Disney's business during the transition away from Lightning Lane's predecessors, FastPass+ and MaxPass. He would have been an active part of the Lightning Lane products' launch, subsequently observing guest response and making adjustments over the years.
In response to the shareholder's question about the different Lightning Lane policies for Disneyland and Disney World, D'Amaro said that “they're obviously both incredible destinations, but they do operate in really different ways, and our Lightning Lane systems are designed to reflect how guests experience each of those resorts.”
In summary, D'Amaro pointed out that more guests plan ahead to visit Disney World's 43 square miles of property while guests participate in a more “day-of” mindset within Disneyland's smaller footprint.
D'Amaro also said he knows Disney has “a fair amount of guests who visit both parks,” understanding the shareholder's concern for trying to learn two groups of procedures.
These remarks speak to Disney's efforts to not apply a one-size-fits-all approach to its theme park operations, but rather to localize the guest experience by studying travel behavior at each respective destination.
D'Amaro's full quote about Lightning Lanes is below.
“Okay, good question. We have a fair amount of guests who visit both parks, so it's not surprising that this question would come up.
“Walt Disney World and Disneyland, they're obviously both incredible destinations, but they do operate in really different ways, and our Lightning Lane systems are designed to reflect how guests experience each of those resorts.
“So for example, at Walt Disney World, our guests typically plan farther in advance. They have more theme parks to choose from. Over at Disneyland, that resort is contained within a more compact footprint. It has two theme parks. They're located side by side, and there's a lot of dynamic day-of flow between attractions and the parks.
“For guests who choose to use Lightning Lane, our objective, it's the same regardless of which resort you're visiting: We want to offer a convenient and an optional way to reduce time spent waiting in line and add flexibility to the day in a way that fits how each resort actually operates.
“Like everything, we're always evaluating guest feedback. We're looking at how guests use these products. We look at operational performance. All of this to make sure that we're giving our guests the best experience that we possibly can.”
During the same meeting, D'Amaro revealed 9 big announcements about future expansion and changes.
Will Disney Make Any Changes to Lightning Lane?
The current setup of Lightning Lane at Disneyland and Walt Disney World is actually the result of a change to differentiate between the two resorts. Coming out of the reopening period after the 2020 closure, both resorts did not bring back FastPass and launched Disney Genie+ in late 2021.
Then, after watching the service in action at both resorts, it became clear that the version of the service was working more efficiently at Disneyland in California than at Walt Disney World in Florida. In California there is a far larger locals population who would not purchase Genie+ during each day of the visit and in Florida more guests are vacationers who want to pay to skip the lines for big rides.
The Disney solution was to roll out a new name for the service on both coasts, but keep the same day reservations at Disneyland and change to advanced reservations for Walt Disney World. They made this change in July 2024.
The current Lightning Lane product at both resorts fits the population of guests visiting those resorts. The Walt Disney World version is a good in between from the rigid nature of pre-booking FastPass+ weeks in advance and the day of chaos of Genie+. Previously, some guests could book FastPass+ up to 60 days in advance. You also had to use all three pre-booked passes before considering making a third pass. Now, you can make day-of reservations with Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World immediately after redeeming the pass for your first ride.
Disneyland's same day Lightning Lane continues to work well as not all guests visiting want to purchase the offering.
Guests still miss the free FastPass offerings on both coasts, but it feels like we are not going back to that any time soon. They have also more recently introduced a more premium line skipping option that does not require ride reservations and costs hundreds of dollars per day per person.
You can see our tips for Lightning Lane at Disneyland and tips for Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World. Stay tuned as we are constantly covering any changes to the offering.
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