I can’t make ride reservations help we are 30 days out”

Sarah,

Thanks for asking your question to planDisney!

If I had to guess, I would assume that you are looking to make your FastPass reservations for your upcoming trip?

As it happens, the old FastPass attraction reservation program is no longer running. The now-defunct program where you would book up to 3 attraction reservations per day ended a little over a year ago, and it has been replaced with the new Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes programs. These are both day-of attraction reservation systems, so you cannot book something days or weeks ahead of time. So that is good news, in that you are not late to the party!

Here are some of the program basics.

Regardless of where you stay, every guest who opts to use these programs would do so on the actual day they are going into a park.

Genie+ can be purchased on the date of use, starting at 12:01 am that day (Orlando time). Genie+ Lightning Lane attraction times can be reserved starting at 7 am, the day of the visit. There is no difference in that start time for guests, whether they are staying at a Disney Resort hotel or not.

Individual Lightning Lane times can be reserved starting at 7 am, the day of the visit, for guests staying at Disney Resort Hotels and other select hotels. All other guests can start making Individual Lightning Lane reservations at the time of park opening.

The difference between these two is that the Genie+ program lets you reserve one ride at a time for many of the popular attractions in each park. There are over 40 attractions to choose from across all four parks, so there are a lot of options. Basically, after you complete your first reserved ride time, you can make your next selection. The Individual Lightning Lane program, on the other hand, lets you reserve a ride time for one or two of the most popular attractions at a given park. These two programs run independently.  

BONUS TIP #1
Where do you buy and select Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane reservations?
Just open your My Disney Experience App on your smartphone that morning, and you will see prominent links to make these purchases.

BONUS TIP #2
Since you are in the United Kingdom, I will let you know that trying to get Genie+ while still outside North America likely will not work. While you don't have to be sitting inside the Magic Kingdom to pick Lightning Lane times, or to book the Genie+ service, you do have to be in North America at the time of purchase.

Please feel free to write me back directly with any follow-up questions that you might have.

Have a Magical Vacation!

Doug