Hi Ann!
Welcome to planDisney! I’m happy to help you out as best as I can!
First things first…you will book and purchase all of your
Lightning Lane services by using your
My Disney Experience app. So, make sure you have that app downloaded on your phone, and you’re linked to your whole travel party via the
Family & Friends List.
You won’t need to worry about booking any Lightning Lanes until your booking window opens. If you’re staying at a
Disney World resort or select good neighbor hotel, your booking window for your entire trip will open beginning at 7 AM Eastern, 7 days prior to your check-in date. If you’re staying off property, your booking window will open at 7 AM Eastern, 3 days prior to the start date of your ticket for date-based tickets.
I recommend having a list of which Lightning Lanes you’re hoping to snag all ready to go prior to that booking window opening. That way, at 7 AM that morning, you won’t need to worry about which attractions you want to book. You’ll just be able to click through it all!
You can find a list of all the
attractions that offer Lightning Lanes at this link. When purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you can select 3 Lightning Lane pre-selections each park day. You can choose one tier 1 Lightning Lane and two tier 2 Lightning Lanes -or- you can choose three tier 2 Lightning Lanes. I personally like to make my pre-selections based on my priorities and how popular the attractions are.
You can also book up to 2 Lightning Lane Single Passes per park day. These attractions are not included in Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
On the morning your booking window opens, each park day will be a separate transaction. I prefer to start with the park days toward the end of my trip first, then work my way backward to give myself a better chance at getting the return times I want. You can also go back and modify your Lightning Lanes (pending availability) if anything opens up that works better with your schedule.
I like to aim for the earliest possible return times when choosing my pre-selections. Every single time you scan into a Lightning Lane on your park day, you can book any other available Lightning Lane. So, I like to open up the ability to book my next Lightning Lane as early as possible in the day.
Of course, if it’s within your budget and you’d rather not worry about booking Lightning Lanes throughout your day, you can consider purchasing Lightning Lane Premier Pass (again, pending availability). Using that service makes for a super laid-back day because you scan into any available Lightning Lane in the park whenever you’re ready…no need to worry about a return time!
I hope that gives you some guidance! If you have any follow-up questions, feel free to come back and visit us. We’re happy to dive a little deeper into Lightning Lane planning and strategizing as you decide which parks you’re visiting and which attractions you want to prioritize!
Jenn J.