Something WEIRD Is Happening With Genie+ Prices

If you’re going to Disney World soon and you have questions about Genie+, you’re not alone.

The paid skip-the-line system can be confusing, especially for those who were used to the old ways of FastPass+. With all of the different rules and price points, there’s a lot to learn before you just open the My Disney Experience app and start booking. And if you’re trying to get a better feel for Genie+, we’ve got something you should know!

Recently, Disney (finally) opened up a brand new ride — TRON Lightcycle / Run at Magic Kingdom, and it has been POPULAR. The virtual queue for the ride can fill up in seconds, and the Individual Lightning Lane can sell out quickly each day.

It’s still Spring Break season, and things are especially busy because Disney opened TRON the week before Easter, so that could be contributing to some of the situation surrounding this new ride.

Given that TRON is brand new, you’d likely expect its Individual Lightning Lane to be priced THROUGH the roof. Disney certainly had the opportunity to price that Individual Lightning Lane really high considering it is one of the only ways to get on the ride other than by scoring a boarding group through the virtual queue. That’s why Disney’s latest choice might strike you as…strange.

If you need a short refresher — Individual Lightning Lanes are offered at select super popular rides that aren’t included in the “standard” Genie+ service. To purchase Lightning Lane access to these, you’ll need to buy it separately from Genie+. You’re essentially buying the ability to ride that attraction ONCE without a significant wait (you’ll use the Lightning Lane).

Currently, the list of rides with Individual Lightning Lanes includes Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, TRON Lightcycle / Run, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Rise of the Resistance, and Flight of Passage. Over the past few months, we’ve seen the prices for these rides range from $10-$25. The price of an Individual Lightning Lane varies by date, park, and ride.

So what’s happening with TRON? Well, oddly enough, TRON Lightcycle / Run hasn’t (currently) had the most expensive Individual Lightning Lane in Disney World.

“Okay then,” you’re probably thinking, “the most expensive Individual Lightning Lane MUST have been at Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind because it’s the next newest ride in the parks.” But you’d once again be…wrong!

So far, the ride that has had the MOST expensive Individual Lightning Lane price is…drumroll, please…Rise of the Resistance in Disney’s Hollywood Studios! Wait…what?!

Yup, it’s true. The most expensive Individual Lightning Lane we’ve seen so far was Rise of the Resistance priced at $25. It has hit that price several times in the past and has also hit that price more recently.

Yes, the Individual Lightning Lane for Rise of the Resistance, a ride that has been open since December 2019, has been MORE expensive than the one for TRON Lightcycle / Run. Even during the first official week of operation for TRON Lightcycle / Run, Rise has been clocking in at $25 per person, while TRON has only been priced at $20 per person.

You might expect that the newest rides would be the most expensive, but that just isn’t the case here.

The interesting thing is that things were a little different for Cosmic Rewind initially. Back in 2022, it was announced that Cosmic Rewind would have a pay-per-ride price of $17 on its opening day. At that time, it was the highest pay-per-ride price we had seen at Disney World. Rise of the Resistance ended up hitting $20 as a high in October of 2022 and later hit $25 as its new high.

But Cosmic Rewind has since been cheaper than Rise of the Resistance, coming at around $17 during the Spring Break season (compared to Rise’s $25). That price difference (with Rise consistently priced above Guardians) has been in place for a while. Interesting…

One possible theory is that guests are willing to pay more for Rise of the Resistance because it operates with a standby line. Cosmic Rewind and TRON use a virtual queue, so guests may feel that they get the best value by avoiding the “worst” line with Rise. During the busiest seasons, we’ve seen Rise have a multi-hour standby wait (we’re talking OVER 5 hours).

Perhaps the number of available Individual Lightning Lanes also varies between these attractions, and that limit may impact things. Or perhaps it’s that Rise is just that popular based on the guest surveys and data Disney has collected.

Whatever the reason, it looks like you’ll need to budget a little extra for your Hollywood Studios day on your next trip! We’ll make sure to keep you updated on all the Genie+ news and pricing in the coming weeks, so stay tuned to AllEars.