Hi Arthur,
Thanks for bringing your thought-provoking scenario to planDisney. I love a good logic puzzle and the new
Disney Genie and Genie+ services give Guests multiple ways to achieve the ultimate goal of less waiting and more doing on a
Walt Disney World Resort vacation.
With the purchase of Disney Genie+ service, you can make your first
Lightning Lane selection at one of over 40 attractions across all
four theme parks beginning at 7:00 a.m. in the
My Disney Experience Mobile App. When making a Lightning Lane reservation, you must select the return time that is currently available. Once a Lightning Lane reservation has been made, there is an option to add another Guest to the reservation, depending on availability. The most popular attractions like Slinky Dog Dash at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Peter Pan's Flight at Magic Kingdom park tend to move through arrival times more quickly and are even known to run out of reservations. In your scenario, let's say the party of two made a 9:00 a.m. reservation for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and the party of four made a 10:30 a.m. reservation for Jungle Cruise in Magic Kingdom park. The two riding Space Mountain are able to book their next Lightning Lane attraction as soon as they have touched their
MagicBand, ticket, or
MagicMobile device at the second touchpoint of that attraction. By that time, the Jungle Cruise return times would likely be for the afternoon, which means they'd be unable to join their 10:30 a.m. reservation. To summarize, your scenario is possible but unlikely due to the two-hour time spread between making the reservations.
When strategizing your day with Genie+, Arthur, I recommend making your first Lightning Lane reservation at 7:00 a.m. for the most popular attraction that everyone wants to ride. I shared my specific
recommendations for each park with another Guest recently, which you may find helpful. If only part of your party wishes to ride a certain attraction later in the day, the rest of the family can look for a different Lightning Lane reservation with a similar arrival time, join a standby line, enjoy a show, take a snack break, or shop for souvenEARS.
I do hope you'll come back to planDisney with more scenarios. We're all Ears!
Choose magic,
Jennifer