Last updated: February 24, 2025. Please email us if you find any errors.
Are you planning your Disney World vacation and feeling overwhelmed with the options and not sure how to navigate the parks? Disney can often leave guests, first-timers, and repeaters, overwhelmed. Having this EPCOT plan in place will help to ensure your day’s success! Let’s get started!
EPCOT is one of the easier Disney World theme parks to navigate. It’s basically made up of two large areas with small areas inside. Take a look at the map below to help understand the layout.
- World Celebration
- World Showcase
EPCOT can be done in one day if you’re looking for a broad overview of the park. If you’re looking to dive deeper into the countries inside World Showcase, or enjoy one of the four festivals offered each year – Festival of the Arts, Flower and Garden Festival, Food and Wine Festival or Festival of the Holidays – plan for two days.
What You Need to Know About Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass Before Visiting EPCOT
Table of Contents
Lightning Lane Multi Pass
Lightning Lane Multi Pass is a paid service at Walt Disney World that replaced the old Genie+ system and works a bit differently.
Lightning Lane Multi Pass can be purchased each day of your trip and must be purchased for each person in your party who wants to ride using the Lightning Lane.
Attractions are selected on the official Walt Disney World app (My Disney Experience) with a specific return time when you can join the Lightning Lane line.
Lightning Lane is a separate lane at participating attractions that allows guests to skip the standby line (regular queue).
Guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel will be able to purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass 7 days prior to your check-in date, for the entire length of your stay (up to 14 days). You can purchase for as many or as few days as you want during your stay.
Guests not staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel have a few options, depending on which type of ticket you’ll be using. For date-based tickets, you will be able to purchase 3 days before the first day of your ticket, for the length of your visit. Any other type of tickets (Annual Passholder, Cast Member, etc) will need to book 3 days ahead for each day of your visit.
Note: At this time, international guests outside of the USA and Canada will not be able to pre-book selections until they are in the USA.
Pro Tip: You can choose your experiences and times before purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass to make sure there is availability that works for you.
You can select 3 rides in one park on your booking day: one from Tier 1, and two from Tier 2 (based on which theme park). After you use your first selection each day, you can choose another selection in any park, in any tier. After you use your second selection, you can again choose another, so that you always have 3 rides lined up.
Tips for Success:
Always check your My Disney Experience app as soon as you scan into a Lightning Lane and select your next attraction. The app tells you when you can choose the next attraction.
For a complete list of Lightning Lane attractions and priorities visit our Lightning Lane Priorities – Epcot Attractions. For the EPCOT touring plan, please continue reading.
Lightning Lane Single Pass
Some of the more popular rides in each park are not included with your Lighting Lane Multi Pass purchase. These few attractions are called Lightning Lane Single Pass. Confused yet? We know, the names make it extra tricky! But we promise, it will all come together for you!
Lightning Lane Single Pass can purchased in your My Disney Experience app, as a per person, per ride add on – for each ride offered. This can be purchased at the same time as Lightning Lane Multi Pass, for any park.
Those rides are: (Subject to change)
- EPCOT – Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
- Hollywood Studios – Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
- Animal Kingdom – Flight of Passage
- Magic Kingdom – TRON Lightcycle Run and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Prices change based on park and date attending.
EPCOT Park Strategy with Lightning Lane Multi Pass
Here’s your EPCOT plan. Let’s get started!
Remember, you can select your experiences 7 days before check-in day for Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests, and 3 days prior for date-based tickets.
Note: there are two tiers for the rides at EPCOT.
• Select your first 3 rides for Lightning Lane Multi Pass: Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure from Tier 1 – Spaceship Earth and Living with the Land from Tier 2.
• Buy Lightning Lane Single Pass for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, if wanted. This can be done at the same time as buying your Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
If possible, try to select ride times earliest in the day, so you have more time to choose additional experiences as you use your first 3.
Arrive at least one hour before park opening: Park hours can be found in your My Disney Experience app or on the Disney World website.
Once you’re scanned in at EPCOT:
• Ride Spaceship Earth with Lightning Lane
• Select Lightning Lane for Frozen Ever After
• Ride The Seas with Nemo and Friends standby
• Ride Living with the Land with Lightning Lane
• Select Lightning Lane for Soarin’ Around the World
• Ride Journey Into imagination with Figment standby
• Fill time with The Seas, Turtle Talk with Crush, and meet characters
• Ride Soarin’ Over the World with Lightning Lane
• Select Lightning Lane for Mission: SPACE (beware of motion sickness!)
• Visit the countries around World Showcase
• Ride Frozen Ever After with Lightning Lane
• Select Lightning Lane for Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
• Ride Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure with Lightning Lane
• Ride Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros standby
• Ride Mission: SPACE with Lightning Lane
• Watch Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival with Lightning Lane
• If you purchased the Lightning Lane Single Pass for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, ride that within the one hour time frame you chose
Other Entertainment
EPCOT offers much more than attractions to fill your magical day. The offerings change from season to season, and with the various festivals as well.
Each festival offers an evening concert series in the American Gardens Theater in the American Pavilion, as well as other entertainment throughout the park, both in World Celebration and World Showcase.
Nightly, you’ll want to gather around the World Showcase lagoon for the evening fireworks show, Luminous: The Symphony of Us. Times can be found in your My Disney Experience app.
Plan to arrive for the concerts and fireworks an hour beforehand for the best views. You can add them to the above touring plan as the time fits in.
For additional Park Touring plans visit the following:
For additional information on Lightning Lanes search “Lightning” in the top right. Here are links to a few of our favorites.
- A How-To Guide for the New Lightning Lane System (and How To Cut Costs Elsewhere to Balance the Price Increase)
- Lightning Lane Priorities – Magic Kingdom Attractions
Ready to book your next magical vacation? Contact your favorite Love of the Magic Vacations Travel Advisor or email hello@LOTMV.com
Don’t forget to join our Disney Besties Q&A Facebook Group where you’ll find all the helpful tips and answers you need for your next Disney vacation.
