Hi there, Gabrielle. Thanks for visiting planDisney!
Your visit to
The Happiest Place on Earth is coming up fast and I love that you are preparing to maximize your time! You are correct - as soon as you scan your admission ticket for the first time on the day of your visit, you can select your first
Lighting Lane (Single or Multi) Pass return time. The earlier your arrival at the park, the better the likelihood of earlier return times. Gabrielle, I like to book my Lighting Lane return times for the most popular rides (Space Mountain, Tiana's Bayou Adventure,
Toy Story Midway Mania!, etc.) first thing in the morning because if I wait until later in the day, sometimes the return time won't be until hours later.
Gabrielle, if you have a park hopper ticket, did you know you can select Lighting Lane return times for either park after scanning into the first park? For instance, if you start in
Disneyland Park, you can book Lighting Lane return times for Disney California Adventure Park for arrival after 11:00 AM (currently, the earliest time to park hop). So once, you finish your must-do rides in one park, start booking for the next one!
I hope this information helps plan a most magical visit! Please let me know if you have any other questions!
See you real soon,
Melissa