Welcome to planDisney, Melissa!
How exciting that you're planning a visit to
The Most Magical Place on Earth! With a
new system for bypassing stand queues in place, it's such a good idea to know the basics before you arrive. Happily, I was able to use the new
Lightning Lanes passes during my recent vacation, so I'd love to invite you to
be my guest as I share what I learned from my experience.
One of the highlights of the new Lighting Lane passes is that they can be purchased in advance. I loved knowing that I would definitely be able to enjoy my favorite attractions without waiting days before I set foot in a Walt Disney World Resort theme park. The
purchase timeline varies based on where a Guest plans to stay during their visit to The Most Magical Place on Earth. Guests of Disney Resort hotels are eligible to purchase Lightning Lane passes for the length of their stay beginning 7 days before they check-in, while all other Guests are able to make daily purchases 3 days before their visit. Regardless of when the Lightning Lane Multi Pass purchase is made, you will be able to select 3 attractions and entry windows in the same theme park from those available at the time of purchase. Please keep in mind that some theme parks have a tiered system in place that will limit which 3 attractions you can select for your first 3 attractions.
As you mentioned, you will only
have 3 guaranteed Lightning Lane passes initially, but once you redeem your first pass of the day, you will be eligible to make another reservation in any theme park and at any tier. Happily, this policy continues for the rest of the day (or for as long as there is availability). Each time you redeem a pass you will be able to reserve another from the available list. If you find that a desired attraction or time isn't available initially, I encourage you to keep checking the My Disney Experience app. In my experience, things periodically become available throughout the day as people change their plans. Although I began the day in Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park, I was able to secure both a Tiana's Bayou Adventure and Slinky Dog Dash Lightning Lane pass simply by being persistent!
As a bonus tip: At this time, once you redeem your first Lightning Lane pass of the day, not only can you make a new reservation, but you're also able to modify your other original passes to another theme park if desired.
I hope this information was helpful, Melissa. If you need further assistance with the details, feel free to
stop back by. I'm always happy to help!
Thinking Happy Thoughts,
Lizzie