Which Lightning Lanes Should You Choose This Summer?

We’re in the middle of Walt Disney World’s epic May.

The parks are unveiling more than ten new attractions and experiences.

With so much in flux, the old rules no longer apply, especially with Lightning Lanes.

So, which Lightning Lanes should you choose this summer?

Let’s examine this conversation with fresh eyes and a focus on new options.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

We’ll start with Lightning Lane Multi Pass’s equivalent of easy mode.

In 2026, the fewest changes are occurring at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Well, that’s not quite true. Many changes have happened, but most of them were closures.

As such, they don’t help you now. As for the new stuff, there’s just one thing.

Disney hasn’t announced that Bluey’s Wild World will participate in Lightning Lane.

Since this offering is really more of a character greeting, that’s unsurprising.

So, Animal Kingdom’s options are largely status quo…but less.

This park doesn’t split its attractions into tiers, unlike every other park at Disney World.

Here are your current Lightning Lane Multi Pass options:

• Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
• Feathered Friends in Flight!
• Festival of the Lion King
• Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond!
• Kali River Rapids
• Kilimanjaro Safaris
• Naʻvi River Journey
• Zootopia: Better Zoogether!

Some of these choices are obvious. Na’vi River Journey comes with the park’s second-longest wait.

Meanwhile, Expedition Everest and Kilimanjaro Safaris are two of the best rides.

Therefore, these three are my suggested reservations.

However, if you prefer Kali River Rapids on a hot summer day, I get it.

In that scenario, you should swap out Expedition Everest.

Besides, you can choose Single Rider for that one anyway.

You may feel tempted to book the Zootopia show. Don’t give in, though.

This new attraction has the lowest average wait time at the park!

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Here’s a park that you would expect to have some complexity.

After all, Hollywood Studios hosts several E-ticket attractions.

However, we’re focusing on the ones to prioritize this summer.

Conveniently, this park either has opened or is about to debut several rides.

So, that makes our discussion much simpler than usual.

Here’s the top tier of Lightning Lane attractions:

• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets — Opening May 26
• Slinky Dog Dash

Ordinarily, Slinky Dog Dash is a no-brainer if you can get it.

Some of you may still feel that way, but I favor the new hotness.

As such, I’d recommend the new mission of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run if you’re a Star Wars fan.

Otherwise, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets is the clear choice.

During the Aerosmith era, the wait time was often an hour.

So, I’d expect at least that for The Muppets this summer and probably more.

Since it’s a new experience, you’ll want to ride it at the first opportunity.

If you prefer Smugglers Run, that’s totally fine, though. RnR may offer Single Rider.

In the second tier of Lightning Lane, we have:

• Alien Swirling Saucers
• Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage
• Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live! — Opening May 26
• For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
• Indiana Jones™ Epic Stunt Spectacular!
• The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure
• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
• Toy Story Mania!
• The Twilight Zone™ Tower of Terror

All these options are great (seriously), but from an efficiency perspective, the choices are clear.

You should pick Tower of Terror and Toy Story Mania! if possible.

If not, Alien Swirling Saucers is the best fallback option in terms of time savings.

EPCOT

As I mentioned in the companion article, EPCOT has just finished its reboot.

The park has recently updated Frozen Ever After, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, and Test Track.

Guess which three rides comprise the park’s top tier of Lightning Lane options!

Yup, you’re picking one of those three. Based on recent park trends, the choice is clear.

Since Test Track reopened, its average wait has hovered around 75-80 minutes.

Ratatouille and Frozen Ever After aren’t like that. Plus, their renovations proved minor.

Disney overhauled Test Track completely. So, you’ll want to ride it. Pick this one!

In the second tier, your choices are:

• Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
• Journey Into Imagination With Figment
• Living with the Land
• Mission: SPACE
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends
• Soarin’ Around the World
• Soarin’ Across America — Opening May 26
• Spaceship Earth
• Turtle Talk With Crush

Let me be clear here, too. You want Soarin’! It’s a no-brainer.

I’m frankly shocked that Disney isn’t moving Soarin’ Across America to the top tier.

So, as long as they’re leaving it here, do everything you can to book it!

As for your second choice, the numbers suggest Mission: SPACE.

However, I’d argue that you should book Spaceship Earth first thing in the morning.

The anchor EPCOT ride’s wait times are the longest then.

If you enter the park through the front gate, you’ll be here in ten minutes.

Then, once you’ve passed the Lightning Lane check-in, you can start looking for other reservations.

By adopting this approach, you can maximize the value of your Lightning Lane purchase.

Magic Kingdom

This fact may surprise you, but Magic Kingdom uses a tiered system, too.

Here are the attractions in the top tier:

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Jungle Cruise
• Peter Pan’s Flight
• Space Mountain
• Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

Remember that you can only use one, which makes this conversation challenging.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad’s waits aren’t as long as others on this list.

However, you’ll probably want to prioritize it since the new version is so different.

Should you prefer to get the most bang for your buck, choose Jungle Cruise or Peter Pan’s Flight.

Historically, I’ve recommended Peter Pan’s Flight due to the ride’s short length.

Personally, I feel ridiculous standing in line for an hour for a two-minute ride.

Should you agree, pick that one. Big Thunder’s wait during its first week back was 53 minutes.

All things considered, that’s quite reasonable, and it should come down from there.

Magic Kingdom’s Second Tier

Your other two choices will come from this list:

• The Barnstormer
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant
• Haunted Mansion
• “it’s a small world”
• Mad Tea Party
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Mickey’s PhilharMagic
• Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Tomorrowland Speedway
• Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid

Since Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is very different now, I’d suggest it.

In terms of maximizing efficiency, your best bet is The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

If you’d prefer something *ahem* better, Haunted Mansion is the call.

Thanks to the massive throughput for Pirates of the Caribbean, you should be okay there.

You don’t need to prioritize it, as you can usually snag a Lightning Lane that day.

The same logic applies to It’s a Small World as well.

So, there you have it. These are the ideal Lightning Lane choices for your park visit.

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