Times When Paying For Rides Can Save Your Disney Day

A Walt Disney World trip isn’t cheap, but sometimes paying a little extra can make a huge difference in your experience. We will share a few times when we think paying extra can save the day.

Although we don’t like adding additional costs to our trip, sometimes paying slightly more can drastically change the overall experience.

Individual Lightning Lanes

Individual Lightning Lanes is one feature that Guests can choose to pay extra money for throughout their Walt Disney World vacation. This is part of Disney Genie and is found on the My Disney Experience app.

The cost of Individual Lightning Lanes varies from day to day. The price ranges from $10 to $30 per ride per person.

Individual Lightning Lanes, when purchased, allow Guests to bypass the standby lines for some of the top rides at Walt Disney World. When is it worth paying extra for this feature? There are a handful of times.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Comic Rewind- EPCOT

Of the times right now, we think purchasing an Individual Lightning Lane can save the day is when wanting to experience Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. This is the newest ride at Walt Disney World. A thrilling coaster featuring the first ever reverse launch and omnicoaster vehicles that constantly keep Guests in action.

The main reason we think paying for an Individual Lightning Lane for this ride is that it is one of the two ways that Guests can experience it during their trip. The other option is to get a boarding group for the virtual queue. As it is a top ride in all of Disney, spending some extra money to guarantee a ride is worth it for many Guests during their trip.

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance- Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance continues to be one of the most popular attractions in all of Walt Disney World. Through this experience, Guests are placed in the middle of the action as they work alongside the Resistance.

Because Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance continues to be so popular, wait times continue to be long each day. If experiencing this ride is essential to our trip, paying a little extra to skip the standby line is worth it.

Because of all the moving parts, this ride breaks down a lot. Paying extra for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance can save the day. It could be a big meltdown if you wait for a long time in the standby line only to have it break down.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train- Magic Kingdom

If you have little ones that have to ride the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, we think it is worth the extra money to purchase an Individual Lightning Lane. This family-friendly coaster continues to see highly long lines each day. As little ones aren’t always patient in long, hot lines being able to skip this stress is worth that extra money.

Even though Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is an excellent ride for the whole family, it is also very short. Purchasing an Individual Lightning Lane is also a great choice.

Avatar Flight of Passage- Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Avatar Flight of Passage in Disney’s Animal Kingdom is another ride we would purchase the IAS for during our vacation. Like Rise of the Resistance, Avatar is extremely popular and consistently sees wait times higher than 90 minutes.

Early in the morning, this ride moves quickly, but within the first hour of Disney’s Animal Kingdom opening, you will see the wait time rise to 90 plus minutes.

Since we enjoy this ride and prefer to spend only a short time in line while visiting Animal Kingdom, we will pay to use the Lightning Lane.

As these are four of the most popular rides in all of Walt Disney World, paying some extra to ride them can save the day. It allows you to choose when to experience the ride and lessens the overall stress.

Genie+

Genie+ is another feature that Guests can choose to add to their Walt Disney World tickets. Also found in the My Disney Experience app, Guests can purchase Genie+ for specific days of their trips. The price for Genie+ ranges from $15 to $30 per day per person.

With the purchase of Genie+, Guests can bypass the standby lines for over 40 attractions throughout Walt Disney World. We know that many Disney appreciates the free feature of Fastpass+, but there are times when Genie+ can save the day.

Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom is the Disney Park that Genie+ can add so much to your experience. Because there are so many rides and experiences to choose from, we can always find some time to pick.

With a handful of popular rides such as Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan’s Flight, and Pirates of the Caribbean, Genie+ can save us a lot of time in line throughout our day in Magic Kingdom.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Using Genie+ in Disney’s Hollywood Studios is another Disney Park where we feel spending the extra money can save the day. Although it can be hard to use Genie+ for all the headliners if you have a plan of action, Genie+ is still worth it.

Guests can save a few hours waiting in line during busy days by using Genie+ for Slinky Dog Dash, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and Rock n’ Roller Coaster.

We don’t always think the Genie+ is necessary, but there are days when spending the extra money can save a lot of time and the overall magic of your day.

Spending additional money during our Walt Disney World trip isn’t always something that we feel is necessary. We have learned that sometimes, spending a little extra on features such as Individual Lighting Lanes and Genie+ can save our day.