Hi there, Eric!
I'm happy to help with your question today. I'm so glad you made your way to planDisney. We are tried and true Disneyland planning enthusiasts and have tested out the systems to give you the best possible advice. Let's take a look at those Lightning Lanes to set you up for a successful and magical visit to the Happiest Place on Earth!
I love adding the
Lightning Lane Multi Pass to my ticket. It grants you access to the Lightning Lane on select attractions once per day, which are essentially queues with shorter wait times. I say "select attractions" to note that not all rides offer Lightning Lanes, and there are a few - Rise of the Resistance and Radiator Springs Racers - that require a
Lightning Lane Single Pass, which is different from the Multi Pass, but we will get into that in a bit! I know it can all seem a bit hard to follow, but I promise it will all make sense once we walk through it and you are using it yourself in the parks.
Let's talk about how it works. When you scan into the parks, you can make your first Lightning Lane selection. This is a one-hour return window within which you can hop in an attraction's Lightning Lane. You will open up the Disneyland App, tap the "+" in the bottom navigation bar, and select "Book Lightning Lane Entry". This will take you to the Tip Board, where you will see current wait times and the available return windows for attractions with Lightning Lanes. You can even toggle at the top to "Show Only Lightning Lane Experiences" to make it easier to make the selection. If you have all of the tickets linked for your family in your account, you can make the same selection for everyone at one time. You can make your second selection as soon as you tap into the first or two hours after you've made your first selection. I try to set an alert for myself at the two-hour mark, but your app will also tell you when you can make your next choice if you forget. For Mousketeers under 3 who do not require theme park tickets, they do not require Lightning Lane passes as well, so your 21-month-old should be all set to ride with you on any attractions that do not have a height requirement. If you have a favorite ride that you'd like to ride twice and have already used your Lightning Lane, you can just hop in the standby queue as usual.
Lightning Lane Single Passes for Rise of the Resistance and Radiator Springs Racers are purchased individually and are separate from what's included with your Multi Pass. When you scan into the parks and purchase a Single Pass, you would select the next available window. With either the Single Pass or the Multi Pass, you can cancel or modify to another available time through the app as well. I will say for some of the more popular attractions like Big Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain, you may want to book these earlier in the day, as the return window will move later and later in the day as Guests book Lightning Lanes for those. They go more quickly, so to speak.
Finally, there is one more option - the
Lightning Lane Premier Pass. The Premier Pass is an additional cost on top of your ticket, but allows access to each Lightning Lane, including Rise of the Resistance and Radiator Springs Racers, one time during your park day without having to pre-book a return window. This means you can just walk up to join the queue!
Eric, I know that was a lot of information. I hope it helps plan a very magical visit for you and your family! If you have any more questions, we are always here to help!
Tara