Hello Andrea,
Thanks for stopping by planDisney with your question! It's less than a month until you get to join
The World's Most Magical Celebration!
I love the flexibility that adding the
Park Hopper Option gives. It's so much easier to
make dining reservations when you know you can split your time each day between different parks. Make sure you take some time out during the day to relax and enjoy your resort as well. Oh, and you'll also want to spend some time at
Disney Springs for a delicious meal, or even just a sweet treat (there are so many options), and some unique shopping experiences.
Disney Genie+ is going to help you reduce the time you spend waiting in lines, so you'll have more time to just soak in the magic. Beginning at 7:00 AM each morning, you can make your first Lightning Lane selection for the day.
You can only make one selection at a time. Your second selection can be made either 1) after you've checked into your Lightning Lane or 2) 120 minutes after park opening, whichever comes first. So, let's say you are visiting Magic Kingdom and the park opens at 8:00 AM. At 7:00 AM you were able to book a Lightning Lane for
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad for 9:15 AM. Once you check into that ride, you can make another Lightning Lane selection, even before you've hopped onto the wildest ride in the wilderness. However, let's say
Peter Pan's Flight is on your "must do" list, but the earliest available return time is 2:00 PM. That's fine, go ahead and get it, but you won't be able to make another selection until 10:00 AM, two hours after Magic Kingdom opens. If you are planning to park hop, you can make selections in for the park you are spending the evening in as well. You'll just need to wait 120 minutes between selections or check into your ride, and you'll want to make sure you give yourself plenty of time to travel to that second park so you don't miss your return window.
There are also some fun extras that you get with Genie+, including special photo filters as well as fun-facts and stories about the attractions. Be sure to bring your headphones with you so you can enjoy listening to some of those.
Hope this helps. Have a magical vacation!
Diane