Welcome to planDisney, Matthew! This is a great question, and with your trip to Walt Disney World coming up next week, I'm happy to clarify some of the finer points of
Lightning Lane return times and how they will work once your entire party is together, enjoying the parks.
You've got the right idea. If half of your party is staying at a
Walt Disney World Resort Hotel, those guests can make their Lightning Lane selections 7 days before check-in for the length of their stay. The rest of the group, who are staying off-property, will have their own booking window that opens 3 days before the start date of their tickets. Booking eligibility is tied to each person's ticket and lodging, so you won't be able to use the on-property window to pre-book for the off-property folks, but you can absolutely sync up once you're there.
Once your trip starts and you're in the parks using those first Lightning Lanes, you can make additional reservations for the entire group together, as long as everyone is linked in Family & Friends in the
My Disney Experience app. When you're ready to book more return times, select "Change Party" when you start a new selection and include all the linked guests who are eligible at that time. That will include everyone, no matter where they're staying!
I have a few coordination tips to help your bigger group! Remember that your Lightning Lane return time is a window, and as long as the on-property group has a return window that overlaps with the off-property group, you'll be able to ride together! For example, if one group has a 1:00 PM-2:00 PM return time for
Slinky Dog Dash, and the other group has a 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM return time for the same attraction, you can all ride together between 1:30 PM and 2:00 PM! You can also modify your existing return times, so keep checking back to see if any windows open up that would allow everyone to ride together.
Have a magical day, Matthew!
Jessica