Hi Karin!
Welcome to planDisney! I’m so happy you stopped by with such a great question. My family likes to use
Lightning Lane passes to help us get to our favorite attractions faster than fast and quicker than quick, as my pal Lightning McQueen would say!
Karin, Guests staying at a hotel in the Disney Resorts Collection or other select hotels have the advantage of
making their pre-arrival selections and purchases seven days before checking in for the entire length of their stay, while everyone else can purchase three days before visiting the parks. You can purchase Lightning Lane passes for your whole group as long as you are connected via your
Family and Friends List, but you can only purchase for others staying at those Disney resorts seven days before your check-in date. Your
My Disney Experience account will recognize who else is linked to a Disney hotel reservation, and only those individuals will be shown as eligible guests at the seven-day mark.
If you'd like to purchase for your entire party all at one time, unfortunately, you will have to wait until all Guests are eligible - three days before visiting the parks. You could also book for those eligible seven days before checking in and then try to have others make the same plans when their eligibility window opens, but this might be a bit tricky. If those plans don't initially line up, you can always try to modify them leading up to your park visit and even once you've arrived.
Don't forget that once in the parks, you have a "use one, get one" benefit with Lightning Lane Multi Pass, based on availability. This means that after you redeem your first Lightning Lane of the day, you can then grab another one. Additionally, you can also modify your previous selections and even modify or add Lightning Lane selections for other parks if your theme park tickets include the
Park Hopper Option after using your first selection. Both before your trip and during your vacation, you can manage all of your Lightning Lane selections through your
My Disney Experience Mobile App.
Karin, I hope this has been helpful and that you enjoy making many magical memories at Walt Disney World Resort during your upcoming stay! If you have any other questions, please stop by to see us again here at planDisney - we're all ears!
Cheers,
Kristi