Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers.

Exterior queue for the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.

Lightning Lane, the newest incarnation of Disney’s ever-evolving line skipping service, is offered at the Disneyland Resort in California, as well Walt Disney World. This post is going to focus on Lightning Lane at Disneyland, as there are a few differences from its Florida counterpart.

While the service is fairly simple in application, figuring it out can be downright confusing to casual guests who either haven’t been to the park in a while. For starters, as of October 2024, there are now three levels to Lightning Lane, each with their own price-point, perks and usage limits. They are:

Lighting Lane Premiere Pass (LLPP)
Lightning Lane Multi-Pass (LLMP)
Lightning Lane Single Pass (LLSP)

In the post below, I’m going to discuss these three tiers and their details. Topics such as what they cost, how to use them, what you can and can’t do with them, which attractions are included, and more, will be covered. Let’s get into it.

Lightning Lane Single Pass Cost & Info

A scene from the Rise of the Resistance ride at Disneyland.

Lightning Lane Single Pass (or…LLSP) is currently only offered at two attractions - Rise of the Resistance (ROTR) in Disneyland and Radiator Springs Racers in Disney California Adventure. These attractions often see the highest average wait times and thus, are not included with Lightning Lane Multi-Pass (which we’ll discuss later).

LLSP allows you to purchase one-time access to these attractions, up to twice in a single day. So if you’re in Disneyland for the day and want to ride ROTR twice, you can purchase LLSP at the attraction both times. Conversely, if you have a park hopper, you can purchase it for ROTR and Racers, once each.

No matter how you slice it, you’re limited to two LLSP purchases per person, per day. Also, there is no set price for LLSP, as it’s subject to dynamic pricing, meaning it fluctuates based on crowd levels for a particular day.

The exterior race track of Radiator Springs Racers in DCA.

On average, the cost of “Rise” is usually set at $26. The absolute lowest I’ve seen it at was $22 and highest was $30. At “Racers”, the average tends to be $22. Though I’ve seen it hit the $25 mark in the past, and I’ve seen it as low as $17 on more than a few occasions.

Keep in mind that this is per person and LLSP is your only recourse for utilizing their Lightning Lanes. Again, they are not included in Lightning Lane Multi-Pass. However, they are included with Lightning Lane Premiere Pass, which we’ll discuss in greater detail below.

In the past, several other attractions, including WEB Slingers and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway were a part of LLSP, but were moved to LLMP once the initial hype died down. Currently, LLSP is not offered at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Disneyland’s newest attraction.

Lightning Lane Multi-Pass Cost & Info

Space Mountain at Disneyland illuminated at night.

Lightning Lane Multi-Pass is the main arm of the service, the one in which most guests will purchase. It includes all Lightning Lane Disneyland attractions, with the exception of the two discussed above. You can view of full list of attractions here, but a few notables include:

Matterhorn Bobsleds
Space Mountain
Indiana Jones Adventure
Haunted Mansion
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission BREAKOUT!
WEB Slingers
Soarin’ Over the World
Incredicoaster
Toy Story Mania

At Disneyland, you can buy LLMP at the time of your ticket purchase at the set price of $32 per ticket, per day. For example, if you’re purchasing a three-day ticket and want to add LLMP to it, you’ll be charged $96 (32 x 3 = 96) for the add on.

The exterior of the Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout attraction at DCA.

When purchasing ahead of time, there’s no way to purchase just one or two days of that three-day ticket. You must pay for all three days up front. Likewise if you’re purchasing a two, four, or five-day ticket. If you’ll only want LLMP on certain days, you’ll need to purchase day-of, and there’s a major downside to that.

Purchasing day-of puts you at risk of paying more for the service, as day-of pricing is subject to demand, with the average cost at $36-$39 per ticket. Provided, if your goal is to only use it for one of your three-day (or more) visit, it’ll be much less than buying all three days.

Note that once you’ve completed your ticket purchase, you cannot go back and add LLMP onto it later. Once purchase is complete, you’ll have no choice but to purchase the service day-of. Be sure of what you want to do prior to buying your tickets.

A scene from the Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railway attraction at Disneyland.

Using LLMP gives you potential access to each Lightning Lane eligible attraction. I say “potential” because you’re not guaranteed access to any attraction, as it may be closed for refurbishment, temporarily out of service, or simply out of return times for the day.

Using LLMP is relatively simple. You access the portal using the Disneyland app (you must have the app in order to use the service), tap “Book Lightning Lane Entry”, then select the attraction and return time that works best for you. Return times are in one-hour windows.

Once you’ve selected a return time, you cannot select another until:

Two hours have passed
You’ve scanned into the attraction
You cancel the current selection

A scene from the it's a small world attraction at Disneyland.

Note that unlike at Walt Disney World, you cannot select a specific return time window. If the presented return time for the attraction you want doesn’t work for you, you’ll need to refresh or check again at a later time.

Generally speaking, cast members are trained to hold you to your return time. If you arrive early, you likely won’t be allowed through. However, there was an instance where I arrived early to an attraction, thinking I was on time, and the CM let me go anyway. Don’t count on this, though, as I’m pretty sure it was her last day (or close to it).

Likewise, if you’re late, there’s a 50/50 chance of the CM letting you in. If you’re late due to a conflicting dining reservation, show the CM a screenshot of it and you’ll likely be allowed in. Otherwise, ask nicely and they may throw some magic your way.

The entrance to the Storybook Canal Boats ride at Disneyland.

It’s important to note that while a majority of the most popular rides are included with LLMP, not all of them are. These include:

Every attraction in Fantasyland (with the exception of “it’s a small world”)
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage
Jungle Cruise
Disneyland Railroad & Disneyland Monorail
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (eventually will be)
Jessie’s Critter Carousel
Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind
Every attraction in Paradise Gardens (with the exception of Goofy’s Sky School)

In 2024, after Splash Mountain was shuttered and Haunted Mansion went down for a long term refurbishment, the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction was “temporarily” added to LLMP to offer more value to the service, with the promise of its removal once the aforementioned rides were once again online.

A scene on the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland.

As of November, Haunted Mansion is once again on LLMP and I expect Tiana’s Bayou Adventure to be added in the coming months (probably after the holidays). While it’s possible Disney will keep their word and remove Pirates from Lightning Lane, I’m expecting the opposite.

Since its inception, Disney has been trying to make Lightning Lane as appealing as possible. They’ve added several attractions to the line up that, due to their reputations as “people eaters”, didn’t necessarily need LL. The most infamous being the Little Mermaid attraction in DCA.

These moves were done in order to add a perception of additional value to LLMP. Including Pirates, in my opinion, was always part of the plan and the two neighboring attractions being closed was the perfect excuse. Pirates will likely remain on LL, especially with the addition of Lightning Lane Premiere Pass.

Lightning Lane Premiere Pass

The Finding Nemo Submarine Lagoon at Disneyland.

The premiere tier is the newest (and most expensive) arm of Lightning Lane at Disneyland, debuting in the final months of 2024. I’ve already written about LLPP extensively in another post you can view here so to avoid repetition, I’m just going to cover the basics.

LLPP is the top tier, offering guests a similar, yet different service as opposed to LLMP. With premiere, every LL attraction is included, including Radiator Springs Racers and Rise of the Resistance, which aren’t included with LLMP.

Perhaps the most notable difference of premiere is the ability to access each attraction whenever you want. Unlike LLMP, you’re not beholden to return times, though you’re still limited to one-time use at each attraction.

A ride scene from the Little Mermaid attraction at Disney California Adventure.

This service is especially advantageous for those with a one-day park hopper ticket. Premiere Pass gets you on every LL attraction in both parks for the same price. But you must have a park hopper ticket to take advantage. Otherwise, you’re restricted to a single park.

This means you could, in theory, go through each LL attraction in quick succession, enabling you to potentially ride every attraction in one day with relative ease. If you only have one or two days at the park and have money to burn, this service is a great option.

Like most Disney upgrades, LLPP doesn’t come cheap. For the remainder of 2024, LLPP will set you back a staggering $400 per ticket, per day. In 2025, the price will vary between $300 - $400, based on daily demand.

Early reports from those who’ve used premiere pass have been mostly positive, with the main gripe being the cost. Again, if you’re short on time and rides are your priority, you may want to give premiere pass serious consideration. Again, read my post on LLPP for more details.

Is Disneyland’s Lightning Lane Worth It?

The exterior of the Haunted Mansion attraction at Disneyland.

Whether or not Lighting Lane is worth it is a matter of perspective and personal preference. Personally, I’ve done the parks with and without Lightning Lane Multi-Pass, and had a great time under each scenario. It all depends on you and what you want to achieve.

As discussed above, if you’re limited on time with only a day or two in the parks, and you’ve never been to Disneyland or rarely go, I would definitely recommend purchasing Lightning Lane. The premiere level, specifically, if you have the money to spend.

More and more, the days of there being “slow periods” at Disneyland are slimming. There are still a handful, but nowhere near what it was pre-covid. Lightning Lane is often loathed by Disney fans but considering today’s crowd levels, it’s almost a necessity on some days.

A ride scene from the Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railway attraction at Disneyland.

That said, I only recommend Lightning Lane to those who don’t visit very often and prioritize attractions. If you tend to visit often and prioritize other elements and offerings, then I would say there are better things you could spend your money on.

I’ve had a range of experiences with LLMP. Some days were good, as I was able to tackle many attractions. Other days, it was so over-sold that return times were often multiple hours out, severely hampering the number of rides I could access.

For my wife and I, we prefer not to spend the extra money on LLMP and just remain vigilant on checking wait times in the Disneyland app. Conversely, I almost always purchase LLSP at Rise and Racers once each during our visits, as those queues are rarely not long.

A night photo of Fantasyland in Disneyland.

You just need to sit down with your group and decide what’s most important to you. Don’t concern yourself too much with time of year and potential crowd levels, as those have largely been craft-shoots in the post-covid era. For the most part, Disneyland is always busy.

If you’ll for sure want to ride Racers and Rise and don’t want to wait long, be sure to budget LLSP (if you’ve mostly skimmed through this post, I listed average price-points for these above). From there, if your group wants to hit up as many rides as possible, then LLMP or LLPP (if budget allows it) are the way to go.

If you’re planning a vacation to Disneyland, be sure to visit Get Away Today. They’re simply the best Disney vacation planners out there, and offer a wide-range of hotel and ticket packages. Additionally, they’re one of the few places where you can make payments on Disneyland tickets. They’re highly reputable, and will take care of you every step of the way.