Disclaimer: This was our 2026 April Fools article. You can enjoy our previous years April fools articles below.
- EXCLUSIVE: Disney Launches New "Genie X" Service To Go Alongside Genie+
- Walt Disney World Quick Service Restaurants Must Now Be Booked 60 Days In Advance
- New 365-Day EPCOT Festival Announced For 2025 With Lightning Lane Booths
- Lightning Lane "Power Pass" Coming To Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World has announced that Lightning Lanes are coming to their complimentary bus service around the resort, starting this summer.
You might have noticed some construction work at Walt Disney World Resort hotel bus stops over the last couple of months - we can now reveal that Disney are building a separate queue at each stop, which will debut as Lightning Lanes.
How It Works
The middle door of the buses will be the dedicated Lightning Lane entry point. Once guests have exited, those in the Lightning Lane queue will board through the middle door after any wheelchair users have been accommodated. There will be a touch point where you scan your ticket or MagicBand to board, overseen by the driver. Once all Lightning Lane guests have boarded, general boarding can commence.
Lightning Lanes can only be booked on the day. So if you rock up to the bus stop and find a queue stretching into the distance, it might be worth reaching for your phone and booking a Lightning Lane slot - guaranteeing your place on the next bus and, if you're very lucky, an actual seat.
Pricing
When the service launches this summer, pricing will be as follows:
- Disney Resort to/from Magic Kingdom - $22 per guest
- Disney Resort to/from EPCOT - $19 per guest
- Disney Resort to/from Disney's Hollywood Studios - $21 per guest
- Disney Resort to/from Disney's Animal Kingdom - $18 per guest
- Disney Resort to/from either Water Park - $16 per guest
- Disney Resort to/from Disney Springs - $19 per guest
Disney have confirmed that those base prices excludes sales tax and gratuities. It's unclear, as it excludes gratuities , whether you can add it a tip when you purchase a Lightning Lane or whether we have to carry around a few singles.
Disney's Official Stance
Disney say that since taking away Disney's Magical Express, resulting in guests having to pay extra for the bus service to get from the airport to Walt Disney World, that bit of magic was missing from the within the resort itself, so bringing Lightning Lane to the complimentary bus service within Walt Disney World was the next logical step.
