Hi Abbey, welcome to planDisney!
In a few days you'll be able to say one of my favorite phrases, "I'm going to Walt Disney World next month!" Your countdown is getting real now. Does your cast of characters have
valid admission,
theme park reservations for each park day, and a
method of theme park entry (MagicBand, Disney MagicMobile pass, or admission card)?
Let me know if you have any questions about those Disney details, but for now let's dig a little deeper into Disney Genie+ service.
Disney Genie+ service reduces the amount of time spent standing in line by giving Guests access to
Lightning Lane entrances at over 40 attractions throughout the four theme parks. Options for obtaining Genie+ include purchasing tickets with Genie+, adding Genie+ for the duration of your tickets in advance (available with certain ticket types), or purchasing Genie+ each park day as early as 12:00 a.m. in the
My Disney Experience mobile app (three small lines at the bottom right of the home screen --> My Genie Day --> scroll down to "Get Disney Genie+ for Today"). Make sure that everyone in your party has Genie+ by 6:45 a.m. on your first park day so you can book your first Lightning Lane attraction at 7:00 a.m.
Now let's talk strategy for large parties. As soon as you are able, make sure everyone in your party is connected as
Family and Friends in My Disney Experience. Doing this in advance of your trip will help streamline all reservation processes, including Genie+ Lightning Lane bookings. The next thing to do is assign at least two Lightning Lane captains. These should be individuals with their own My Disney Experience accounts that are relatively tech-savvy. At least two captains are needed because Lightning Lanes can be booked for up to 12 individuals at a time. Since you are a party of 14, multiple captains are needed to ensure everyone in your party gets a similar arrival window for Lightning Lane attractions. Here's an example of how this might work.
At 6:59 a.m. on your first park day, Lightning Lane Captains 1 and 2 are standing next to each other, logged into their My Disney Experience mobile apps. They have already decided which Magic Kingdom attraction they will book first (Jungle Cruise) as well as which seven members of the group they are responsible for. At 7:00 a.m., both captains click the three small lines on the bottom of the app's home screen and "Tip Board." They scroll to Peter Pan's Flight, quickly compare that the Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane arrival times showing on each phone are similar, and click "Book Experience." They then each select the seven members of the party for which they are responsible and complete the booking. As soon as everyone taps into Peter Pan's Flight, the Lightning Lane captains will again stand next to each other and book the second Lightning Lane attraction. My goal is always to book my next Lightning Lane attraction before experiencing the first. The Lightning Lane captains continue in a similar pattern throughout the day. It's even possible for the captains to reserve different attractions if the big group wants to split up at any time. Just make sure the arrival times are similar so you have the option of coming together for another group attraction later.
Plan magic; planDisney.
Jennifer