Hi Stephanie, and welcome to planDisney! As Elsa sings in Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, “When we’re together, that’s my favorite place to be.” There’s nothing better than being at Disney with family and friends, so let’s make sure you’re all set to make Lightning Lane selections for everyone!
Earlier this month I was in a similar situation with my friends. While most of us were staying at a
Disney Resort hotel, one of our friends wasn’t since she’s local. This meant we became eligible to book
Lightning Lane Passes on two different days (seven days ahead of check-in for Disney Resort guests and three days ahead of each park day for everyone else).
While there isn’t a perfect way to navigate this situation, I’ll share how we approached it! When my booking window opened, I made Lightning Lane selections for everyone except my local friend. This included both Lightning Lane Single Pass and Multi Pass. Then, when my friend’s booking window opened, I chose attractions and return times as close as possible to the selections we already had. Sometimes the exact return time wasn’t available, but I often found one that overlapped partially. For example, first I booked Space Mountain from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM and then I booked Space Mountain from 10:10 AM to 11:10 AM for my friend. This made it easy for us to enter the Lightning Lane entrance together between 10:10 AM and 10:30 AM. In my experience, you also have a short grace period after your return window ends, giving you a little wiggle room.
Now, there were a couple of times when I wasn’t able to get the same, or even overlapping, return times. In those cases, I booked the closest return time I could get, even if it was a few hours later. When we got to the park on those days, we headed to one of the
Guest Experience Team kiosks in the park. Look for the Cast Members in blue shirts, often under a blue umbrella. Sometimes they can work some magic and adjust your Lightning Lane Passes. While it’s not guaranteed, they’ll try their best to make sure you’re set up to have a practically perfect day together!
Before I go, I wanted to mention two fun things to look forward to during your visit. First, new for this year, Disney Resort hotel guests get
complimentary admission to a water park on check-in day! This is a great way to cool off as temperatures rise in May, 100% on the Mouse.
The second thing is the
EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, which will be happening in May. It’s one of my favorite events because the park looks like Isabela Madrigal used her magical gift to cover EPCOT in beautiful flowers! I’m always in awe of the different
Disney character topiaries throughout the park. There’s also a fun
Garden Rocks Concert Series and delicious festival-exclusive bites at the Outdoor Kitchens. Keep an eye on the
Disney Parks Blog for the festival foodie guide, which should be released in the coming weeks!
I hope you have a magical stay at Disney World with your family and friends! If you have any other questions, we’d love to have you back at planDisney.
JoAnna