Lightning Lane Multi Pass Priorities at Magic Kingdom

It’s almost time for holiday season (including Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) – one of the most crowded times of year at Walt Disney World, and therefore one of the times when most guests will consider purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass (LLMP). In order to make sure you have the most up-to-date information to make the best decisions, we’re updating all of our data-driven LLMP priority lists for every park. You can also find lists for Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, or Hollywood Studios.

Magic Kingdom is where you have most LLMP choices – there are 18 different LLMP attractions to choose from (and that’s not inflated by shows, like the lineup at Hollywood Studios). That leaves much more room for shuffling within the priority list.

This post was last updated on September 29, 2024.

Explain the Math

We can rank the LLMP attractions in each park in different ways. In this post, I am going to aggregate three of those different measures by averaging them. Easy peasy.

1. Rank by average availability, ascending – the attraction in each park that usually sells out first will get rank 1, and the attraction in each park that has book now/ride now availability the most through the day will get the lowest rank.
2. Rank by average time savings, descending – the attraction in each park where Genie+ usually saves the most time compared to standby will get rank 1, and the attraction in each park where Genie+ usually saves the least time compared to standby will get the lowest rank.
3. Rank by attraction satisfaction, descending – the attraction in each park with the highest overall average satisfaction from the past two years will get rank 1, and the attraction in each park with the lowest overall average satisfaction from the past two years will get the lowest rank.

Once I calculated all three ranks, then I averaged the three results and sorted from score that was closest to one all the way to the highest number. I used those averages to come up with the following prioritized list!

Prioritized List of Tier One Lightning Lane Multi Pass Attractions at Magic Kingdom

1. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

Availability Score = 1 out of 5
Time Savings Score = 4 out of 5
Satisfaction Score = 2 out of 5

I’m making a pseudo-math-based judgment call between the top two priorities for tier one here. Tiana is hurt by its “poor” time savings. But that’s only because the virtual queue waits haven’t been terrible. But standby waits would be much worse. And since VQ boarding groups have been filling up INCREDIBLY quickly, a LLMP reservation is frequently the only way you can experience this new and popular attraction. It’s regularly booked up into the late evening even before the 7-day booking window opens, and its satisfaction is high. And a refurb on the attraction I’m booting down to second place makes this an easy choice for now.

2. Jungle Cruise

Availability Score = 3 out of 5
Time Savings Score = 1 out of 5
Satisfaction Score = 3 out of 5

Jungle Cruise is completely unavailable for the next couple of weeks thanks to a refurbishment, but it was open when LLMP first debuted, so we can still look at its data. And back then, its time savings were higher than any other attraction at Magic Kingdom. It wasn’t selling out as fast as Tiana or Peter Pan’s Flight are now, and its satisfaction isn’t very high. Still, it mathematically ties with Tiana’s for first place and will be a big contender once it reopens in October.

3. Peter Pan’s Flight

Availability Score = 2 out of 5
Time Savings Score = 2 out of 5
Satisfaction Score = 4 out of 5

This always-favorite had previously held 2nd place in our Genie+ rankings, before plummeting down to 9th place. Now it’s starting to level out in what is probably a more reasonable rank at this tier. If we didn’t factor in satisfaction, Peter Pan’s Flight would be close to the winner on the prioritized list for Magic Kingdom. In fact, it would probably be one of the highest recommendations if we did WDW-wide rankings. But its mediocre satisfaction score drags it down.

If you’re traveling with young kids and using LLMP, it’s a good bet if you all want to stick together for the day. And while you can pretty easily rope drop Jungle Cruise if you don’t have early entry (since it isn’t even open during early entry), Peter Pan’s Flight will already have a lengthy standby queue by the time “regular rope drop” happens. If you’re staying onsite with young kids, it’s an excellent first-attraction option. But otherwise, you’ll have to find another time to wait for it, or use LLMP instead.

4. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Availability Score = 4 out of 5
Time Savings Score = 5 out of 5
Satisfaction Score = 1 out of 5

We continue our tour of the Magic Kingdom mountain range with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – vaulting ahead of Space Mountain in the switch to LLMP! This thematic coaster has the top satisfaction score of any LLMP attraction in the park (or any attraction/entertainment, besides Happily Ever After). It won’t sell out as quickly as the attractions higher on the list, and its time savings are pitiful compared to every other Tier One option (10ish minutes, on average). Those time savings should go up as we head toward the end of the year, but so will the savings at all of the other attractions.

5. Space Mountain

Availability Score = 5 out of 5
Time Savings Score = 3 out of 5
Satisfaction Score = 5 out of 5

Space Mountain is having a rough summer and fall, at least as far as the math is concerned. It actually has great availability of return times, which hurts it in our calculations. And its satisfaction, while a still-decent 4.2 overall, is the lowest out of any Tier One attraction. But its time savings keep it somewhat competitive.

One thing to keep in mind here is that Space Mountain used to be a decent secondary rope-drop option if you didn’t have early entry. Something like 80% of early entry rope droppers headed to Fantasyland every morning. So standby waits took a while to build up at Space Mountain. The conversion of Tron to standby has changed that math, though. Now the Fantasyland/Tomorrowland split is getting closer to 60/40. So if you don’t have early entry, Space may be tricky to ride without LLMP or a long wait.

Prioritized List of Tier Two Lightning Lane Multi Pass Attractions at Magic Kingdom

1. Haunted Mansion

Availability Score = 2 out of 13
Time Savings Score = 1 out of 13
Satisfaction Score = 1 out of 13

Coming in the top spot (mostly thanks to character greets not being available via LLMP) is Haunted Mansion. This fan favorite tends to book up very quickly since it’s a great time-saving tier-two option – around 2 pm. And an LLMP reservation has been saving guests more than 10 minutes compared to standby during low crowd season – good enough for best savings out of any tier two option at this park. Satisfaction here is also higher than any other tier-two attraction. It’s a real triple threat that puts it squarely on top of the priority list.

2. Pirates of the Caribbean

Availability Score = 4 out of 13
Time Savings Score = 3 (tie) out of 13
Satisfaction Score = 2 out of 13

Pirates of the Caribbean still has totally fine availability, typically not selling out until about 2 hours before park close. But return times at the beginning of the day are already pretty late thanks to a bunch of advance selections heading its way. And it can save you something like 8-10 minutes compared to standby, although this varies pretty widely based on time of day and crowd level. Satisfaction is high, but it’s an attraction that you could rope drop (regular rope drop only – not early entry) or save for later at night when it’s eerier anyway, freeing you up to make other LLMP reservations.

3. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Availability Score = 1 out of 13
Time Savings Score = 3 (tie) out of 13
Satisfaction Score = 7 out of 13

Winnie the Pooh is a fun ride, but it’s short in duration and perhaps only really appealing via some form of nostalgia. I qualify for that nostalgia, so I enjoy it. In the Genie+ era, it never sold out before the park closed … but now it’s the ride that sells out before any other tier-two attraction – frequently by 11 am. Families who purchase LLMP almost always have it in their advance selections, so most availability is gone before the day even starts. Once again, it’s seen a time savings of 8-10 minutes compared to standby, but its satisfaction score is lower than either of the other two attractions higher on this list.

4. Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin

Availability Score = 3 out of 13
Time Savings Score = 5 out of 13
Satisfaction Score = 5 out of 13

Since it’s an omnimover type of attraction, Buzz Lightyear tends to have high capacity and therefore had great availability for Genie+ – but now that we’re in the LLMP era, families are flocking to it as one of their advance selections, which means return times are regularly late into the afternoon and evening by the time the day starts. It typically sells out for the day about 3 hours before the park closes. It also saves you about 5-10 minutes compared to standby in low crowds. That’ll increase as we head toward the end of the year. And satisfaction is high, especially for those competitive people who like defeating their family … and Zurg. All of that is enough to vault Buzz from 14th place in our last Genie+ update to 4th of tier two with LLMP.

5. Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid

Availability Score = 5 (tie) out of 13
Time Savings Score = 2 out of 13
Satisfaction Score = 6 out of 13

At this point, we start seeing where availability doesn’t really matter anymore. Any attraction tied for “5th” doesn’t typically sell out until half an hour before park close. At Under the Sea, you’ve got almost all-day availability, almost-below-average satisfaction (What?! Who ARE you red-headed princess haters? Make yourselves known), but surprisingly decent time savings – an average of 10 minutes in low crowds. Realistically, the attraction has been having some reliability issues this summer and fall, which led to prioritization of the lightning lane guests and inflated standby times. Hopefully this all gets addressed soon.

6. it’s a small world

Availability Score = 5 (tie) out of 13
Time Savings Score = 7 out of 13
Satisfaction Score = 10 out of 13

It’s a world of laughter, a world of tears … no? Did I make it far enough to get it stuck in your head? I hope so. It’s a classic. Sherman brothers at their best. Another attraction that clawed its way up the LLMP rankings compared to Genie+ is it’s a small world, with good all-day availability and time savings of around 5-8 minutes, but a below-average satisfaction score. Small world is typically a pretty easy ride to experience without a long wait if you time it right. Otherwise, go ahead and book a LLMP reservation if you have big fans that want to sail around the world.

7. Magic Carpets of Aladdin

Availability Score = 5 (tie) out of 13
Time Savings Score = 8 out of 13
Satisfaction Score = 11 out of 13

Magic Carpets always hovers (it’s a magic carpet joke!) around the bottom of the list at the Magic Kingdom. Unless you go on a crazy-crowded day, wait time savings here aren’t going to be huge. Satisfaction scores are not good. It’s booking up further in advance with LLMP than it was with Genie+, so it has snuck up the list by a bit. But here’s the expert-level Carpets hack. Stick your kids in the regular standby line with one adult. Then the rest of you go and enjoy some dole whips while those crazy kids wait out their carpet time.

8. Mickey’s PhilharMagic

Availability Score =  9 (tie) out of 13
Time Savings Score = 12 (tie) out of 13
Satisfaction Score = 3 out of 13

If you get really really lucky, an LLMP reservation might get you into a showing of PhilharMagic about one full show ahead of where you would’ve been with standby. But generally, it’s going to save you an average of zero minutes. And it’s available with immediate return times basically all day. The only reason it achieved this high on the list is because its satisfaction is so high.

9. Tomorrowland Speedway

Availability Score = 5 (tie) out of 13
Time Savings Score = 6 out of 13
Satisfaction Score = 13 out of 13

Tomorrowland Speedway has the dubious distinction of having the lowest satisfaction of any attraction in Magic Kingdom. Yayyyyyy. And its reservations don’t fully book up until about half an hour before the park closes. A LLMP reservation here will only save you about 5 minutes compared to standby, on average. I highly suggest organizing your park day so that you never even walk past this attraction. Otherwise, the gas fumes somehow call to small children like the sirens of the sea. And you’ll be sucked in and waiting in the hot, mostly un-shaded line. Walking the long way around is totally worth it.

10. Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor

Availability Score = 9 (tie) out of 13
Time Savings Score = 12 out of 13
Satisfaction Score = 4 out of 13

Thankfully over the past few updates, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor has been moving down the list, due to increasing availability. It’s available for most of the day and does not save any time (like literally none over the past two months). But once again, high satisfaction helps it not be the lowest on the list.

11. Dumbo the Flying Elephant

Availability Score = 9 (tie) out of 13
Time Savings Score = 9 (tie) out of 13
Satisfaction Score = 8 out of 13

On almost every day, you can get an LLMP reservation for Dumbo almost until the park closes. Satisfaction with the flying elephants also isn’t spectacular. Your time savings compared to standby will probably be something like 2 minutes on average during low crowds – and it won’t go up by much in higher crowds. This one is really only worth it if you want to ride in the middle of the afternoon on a crowded park day.

12. Mad Tea Party

Availability Score = 9 (tie) out of 13
Time Savings Score = 9 (tie) out of 13
Satisfaction Score = 9 out of 13

The good news here is that Mad Tea Party has the availability all day long. You can basically pick up reservations at any point throughout the day and have a return time that isn’t very far away (often immediate). But you won’t save much time. And you’ll get really dizzy. My anecdotal experiences say that time savings will happen only if there needs to be a … tea cup cleanup and the standby line grows while that important work happens.

13. The Barnstormer

Availability Score = 9 (tie) out of 13
Time Savings Score = 9 (tie) out of 13
Satisfaction Score = 12 out of 13

There is a very, very short period of life where young kids can ride Barnstormer but not really any other “big kid” rides at Magic Kingdom. In this short window of time, the Barnstormer can potentially be a good choice. A bite-sized introduction to the world of roller coasters. Other than that … I have no good things to say about it. It’s a hot, sunny line with a really short attraction at the end of it. An LLMP reservation likely won’t save you much time either.

What Does This Mean For You?

1. Keep in mind that any LLMP prioritization should also be paired with a savvy park touring strategy. A lot of the attractions at the top of this list are also good rope drop (or late-night) candidates, which allows you to not use reservations for them unless you want to ride them more than once.
2. Magic Kingdom is the easiest park for using and learning LLMP. There are plenty of options that will save you a decent amount of time, so you don’t have to go in with a crazy strategy. And you won’t get frustrated by everything booking up before noon. If you’re on the fence about whether your party would benefit from it or not, try it at Magic Kingdom first.
3. When character meet-and-greets were part of the Genie+ lineup at Magic Kingdom, purchasing it made even more sense. Now, strategizing around lengthy character standby waits has to be part of your strategy, even if you purchase LLMP.

 

Have you used LLMP at Magic Kingdom? Do you agree with these rankings or would yours be different? Let me know in the comments!