Hi Karoline, welcome to planDisney!
Large parties are big fun when it comes to Walt Disney World Resort vacations. To help capture all of your magical memories, I highly recommend purchasing
Memory Maker at least 72 hours before your arrival. Memory Maker - Advance Purchase saves you money and includes unlimited downloads of all the Disney PhotoPass media linked to you and up to 25 members of your
Family and Friends list. I also encourage a fun game of "who made the funniest face on Splash Mountain/The Haunted Mansion/Frozen Ever After/etc." Winner gets bragging rights until the round of competition!
Thanks for letting me know you and your cast of characters are already connected as
Family and Friends in My Disney Experience. That gives everyone with a My Disney Experience account the ability to view and make plans for each other.
Disney Genie+ service can be purchased anytime after midnight on each park day via the Tip Board of the
My Disney Experience mobile app (three small lines at the bottom right of the homepage --> Tip Board). I recommend purchasing by 6:45 a.m. so you can book your first Genie+ Lightning Lane attraction at 7:00 a.m. At any time during the day, it is possible to book two (or more) different Lightning Lane attractions for separate groups of people in your party. Let's dig into those Disney details.
To book a
Genie+ Lightning Lane reservation, you'll again go to the Tip Board of your My Disney Experience account. Make sure the correct park is selected at the top, scroll to your desired attraction, and select the LL Disney Genie+ Box with the next arrival time listed. One person can book a Lightning Lane attraction for everyone on their Family and Friends list (including children) with valid admission, a theme park reservation, and Disney Genie+ service for that day. If two groups wish to book different attractions at the same time, I recommend having two people logged onto the Tip Board of their My Disney Experience mobile apps at the same time. If experiencing different attractions at the same time is the priority, they should stand side-by-side and look for attractions with matching next arrival times. When a match is found, they'll each be able to complete the reservation for a specific subgroup of people, even if they're not including themself in the reservation. One person can make both reservations on one device, though you risk arrival times shifting during the booking process.
Kindly note that next available arrival times for attractions fill up at varying rates. Slinky Dog Dash at Disney's Hollywood Studios, for example, tends to run out of reservations in the early morning whereas Star Tours rarely runs out. If experiencing certain attractions is the priority, I recommend taking whatever next arrival time you can get. Depending on the circumstances, you can make your next Genie+ Lightning Lane reservation after tapping in at your first attraction or at the time listed on your Tip Board banner.
I hope this is helpful information, Karoline. PlanDisney panelists are happy to talk park day strategies any time!
Choose magic,
Jennifer