Welcome back to planDisney, John!
Walt Disney World Resort is ready to welcome you home this summer. This
Little Book of Magic will help get you excited about all there is to enjoy during the 50th Anniversary Celebration. I'm glad to hear you're planning to take advantage of the Disney Genie+ service. Let's make sure your magic carpet is on course to maximize the magic on your upcoming Walt Disney World Resort vacation.
On your Disney park days, your magic lamp is your smartphone. The Disney Genie is housed in the
My Disney Experience mobile app, and you've never had a friend like him! With the purchase of Disney Genie+ service for your party of 15, everyone is eligible to book return times for over 40 attractions throughout the four theme parks. These
Lightning Lane selections, all included with a Genie+ purchase, are linked to each individual's
My Disney Experience account or profile. Lightning Lane bookings can be made by anyone with a My Disney Experience account and the My Disney Experience mobile app for anyone on your
Family and Friends list.
For large parties, I recommend multiple people download the app so they can help with the Lightning Lane reservation process. A big reason for this is that the Lightning Lane booking process currently allows you to select up to 12 members of your Family and Friends list at a time. If one person is trying to book a Lightning Lane experience for 15 people, they may book an arrival window for the first 12 people and find that the arrival window has changed by the time they book for the remaining three people. In this instance, my recommendation is to split the group up into two, smaller groups and assign a group captain for each. The group captains would simultaneously book the desired attraction for their group; the timing ensures a similarly matched arrival window.
I recommend a similar reservation process when booking separate attractions for various members of your party. In this case, the group captains for the group of 10 and the group of 5 would want to compare arrival windows for various attractions in the My Disney Experience app side-by-side. If the goal is to ride specific attractions, they should grab the next available arrival window for the desired attractions. If the goal is to have similar arrival windows so the large group doesn't have to split up for long, they should look for attractions that are showing similar arrival windows.
Each individual may book their first Lightning Lane selection as early as 7:00 a.m. each park day. The two-hour rule only applies to Guests that have a Lightning Lane arrival window that opens more than two hours after the time of booking. If necessary, individuals should have no problem making separate bookings for a separate group of Family and Friends in the My Disney Experience app back-to-back. If you need any assistance with Lightning Lane bookings while in the parks, stop by a big, blue umbrella to speak with a member of the Guest Experience Team.
Anyone in your party with the My Disney Experience app can make Lighting Lane reservations for the children in your party, as long as they appear in their Family and Friends list. The individual that manages their profiles will also need to make sure their Family and Friends list is shared. To do this online, they click "update" next to their name in their Family and Friends list and "Share My List."
Come visit us at planDisney again soon!
Jennifer