Welcome to planDisney, Katherine! Thanks so much for swinging by with your question today.
Disney Genie+ is one of my favorite tools for planning out a perfect day at Walt Disney World Resort. I love that I get to make my
Lightning Lane selections right there in the moment and choose exactly what I want to do on the day that I'm doing it! I have a strategy that I use when I'm park hopping, especially when my second Theme Park of the day is going to be
Disney's Hollywood Studios, and I'm happy to share my tips with you.
The first thing you will want to do is make sure that you have purchased Disney Genie+, which is available each day beginning at midnight. If I'm awake at that time, I'll purchase it then but I always make sure to have that transaction complete before 7:00 am, which is when you'll be able to make your first selections. Once 7:00 am rolls around, start checking for Lightning Lane times after 2:00 pm at Disney's Hollywood Studios by changing the Theme Park you're looking at on the Disney Genie Tip Board. I know this might seem counterintuitive because you're planning to visit
EPCOT first thing in the morning, but this is my preferred strategy for a few different reasons. Morning wait times are usually pretty low, so you'll be able to able to ride a lot of attractions in those early hours. When you arrive at Disney's Hollywood Studios in the afternoon, it's likely that you will encounter higher wait times there so getting your Lightning Lane selections for this time of the day will be pretty beneficial. I would start by looking for
Slinky Dog Dash,
The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, or
Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway.
Since you are able to book new Lightning Lane selections every 120 minutes after the Theme Park opens, which is 8:30 am for Disney's Hollywood Studios, you will be able to select your second Lightning Lane beginning at 10:30 am, and then every two hours after that. That means if you make a selection as soon as you're able to each time that window opens up, it's possible that you can arrive at Disney's Hollywood Studios at 2:30 pm with as many as four Lightning Lane selections lined up and ready to go.
Because you're beginning your day at EPCOT, I also recommend purchasing an
Individual Lightning Lane selection for
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. When you purchase a selection, you are given the opportunity to choose what time you want to ride so you can ensure that you get a window before you're planning to leave the Theme Park. If you want to really maximize your day, you can also purchase an Individual Lightning Lane selection of
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance for later in the evening. This is really stacking up to be an epic Disney day!
I hope this answers your question, Katherine, and please let us know if there's anything else we can do to help you plan your magical vacation.
Jessica