A heartbroken guest reports that a Walt Disney World Resort cast member accused their family of lying about an Individual Lightning Lane selection. Their Avatar: Flight of Passage Lightning Lane disappeared from the My Disney Experience app after a ride on Kilimanjaro Safaris.
Avatar: Flight of Passage
Unique to Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park, Avatar: Flight of Passage is one of Walt Disney World Resort’s most popular attractions. The 3D simulator-style ride takes guests on a breathtaking journey through Pandora, the world created by James Cameron for Avatar (2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022).

“Climb atop a winged mountain banshee for a breathtaking 3D flight over Pandora’s otherworldly landscape,” Walt Disney World Resort writes. “Board your own mountain banshee and embark on a thrilling expedition, where interstellar explorers like you get an up-close look at this moon’s incredible landscape.”
“Bonding with a banshee is a crucial step in the life of a Na’vi hunter on Pandora—and flying on the back of one of these powerful creatures is an important rite of passage. Now, as a visitor to Pandora, you finally have the chance to test yourself like a Na’vi!”
Individual Lightning Lane Fiasco
Disney Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane service is a paid version of the retired FastPass service at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. Both offer expedited access to most attractions throughout Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure Park, Magic Kingdom Park, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

While most rides are available through Disney Genie+, the most popular are offered as Individual Lightning Lanes. These pricey add-ons cost between $10 and $25 per guest per attraction. As the highest-tech ride at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Avatar: Flight of Passage is one such ride.
Reddit user u/Typical_Presence_543 and their family purchased Avatar: Flight of Passage Individual Lightning Lanes for 11:00 a.m. They also utilized Disney Genie+ service, riding Na’vi River Journey and Kilimanjaro Safaris before their return time.
When scanning into those two attractions, a technical glitch forced the family to scan their MagicBands or park tickets twice. But Disney Cast Members assured them it was a known error and shouldn’t impact any other reservations.

Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse around 10:00 a.m. The Avatar: Flight of Passage Lightning Lane reservation disappeared from the guest’s app, but they’d still been charged. They even had an email receipt.
“I was now able to purchase it again but for a much later time,” the guest recalled. “I thought that was weird so I went to Guest Services. This is when it gets awkward.”
The family explained their situation to a Guest Services cast member.
“He first suggests that the transaction must not have gone through or I wouldn’t be able to purchase it again,” the guest wrote. “I showed him the confirmation email and explained it was weird because we had made several purchases successfully that morning with my linked card including Genie+ just minutes before the Flight of Passage Lightning Lane.”

“The cast member then asks for a moment to call support,” they continued. “After a few minutes the cast member came back with a noticeably different demeanor. I’m paraphrasing but they told me that ‘someone’ had scanned into Flight of Passage at 9:30 and bypassed the return time and it was not possible that I hadn’t gone on the ride or given someone my magic band.”
“I’m going to be honest with you, I’m doing this as a one-time courtesy, but I spoke to IT, and what you’re saying isn’t possible,” the cast member reportedly told the guest.
The guest was shocked and tried to explain the technical issues they experienced before Kilimanjaro Safaris and Na’vi River Journey. Furthermore, they argued they were on those rides at 9:30 a.m. and couldn’t possibly have scanned into Avatar: Flight of Passage.

“I showed him we both still had possession of our cards and bands in case they were stolen or misplaced,” the guest said. “The cast member just kept interrupting me to repeat what he said above again and again. It got to the point where I asked him what I could do to prevent it from happening again. He again insisted it was impossible.”
The Guest Services cast member gave the family new Individual Lightning Lanes for Avatar: Flight of Passage. But, the interaction left the guest feeling sour.
“It feels really awful to be accused of lying or stealing when you didn’t do anything wrong,” they concluded.
Has an Individual Lightning Lane or Disney Genie+ reservation ever disappeared from your Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort app? Share your story with Inside the Magic in the comments.
Please note that the story outlined in this article is based on a personal Disney Parks Guest experience. No two Guest experiences are alike, and this article does not necessarily align with Inside the Magic’s personal views on Disney Park operations.