Hello, Paul. Welcome to planDisney! I'm so happy you found us on our happy and helpful little corner of the internet!
Currently, to take advantage of the 7-day booking window for any of the Lightning Lane Passes, you must be staying at a
Disney Resorts Collection Hotel or select other hotels listed on the
Lightning Lane page of the website. Furthermore, at this time, you must be in the United States or Canada to purchase these passes through the My Disney Experience mobile app. So, as long as that all applies to you, in your scenario, the 7-day window would open up for your check-in day and your check-out day at the Disney Resort hotel, meaning you'd have the 7-day booking window for those first 2 days of your trip. The rest of the days would open 3 days before the first day of your ticket.
While I usually stay onsite as a
Disney Vacation Club member, I
do stay offsite from time to time and, while there are no guarantees, I still often get the Lightning Lanes from Lightning Lane Multi Pass that I want. They are just typically available for later on in the day. Here are a few other things to keep in mind when trying to secure reservations through Lightning Lane Multi Pass:
1. For every Lightning Lane you use on the day of your visit, you can book another, and you won't have to worry about whether it's in Group 1 or Group 2. Plus, you can usually do this once you tap into the ride, meaning you don't have to wait until after you've ridden the attraction. Just note that some rides have two touchpoints. If so, you can usually book another ride after tapping into the second touchpoint.
2. Keep checking back for availability. This applies to both before your theme park day
and during it. People are always changing their plans, and by refreshing your screen, you may see availability pop up for your desired attraction that wasn't there before.
3. The earlier the times you book on the day of your visit, the sooner you're able to make another reservation. So, making your times as early as possible is a great way to ensure you have the best odds of making as many reservations throughout the day as possible. And don't forget, those additional reservations can be made at
any of the theme parks as long as you have the
Park Hopper Option on your ticket (subject to availability).
Now, if you're looking to purchase Lightning Lane Premier Pass, which currently covers all of the Lightning Lanes in a single park, you still have a very good chance of being able to secure them for each day as long as you are ready at 7 a.m. EST when your window opens. In fact, as of writing this answer, Premier Pass for all four theme parks is still available for today, and the parks have been open for a while already. Of course, this could change at very busy times of year, but don't count it out ahead of time!
Paul, best wishes for getting the Lightning Lanes of your dreams. If you have any other questions,
I'm here for you!
A dream is a wish your heart makes,
Matt