Hi Geri!
Welcome back to planDisney! I’m happy to help you strategize when it comes to
Lightning Lane Multi Pass for your upcoming trip!
When using Lightning Lane Multi Pass with a
park hopper, you can choose to purchase the service and book your pre-selections for the very first park you plan to visit on your park day or a park you’ll be at later in the day. There are a couple of things I consider when I’m making that decision.
First up, like you mentioned, price! I’m all for finding the best value on my Disney vacations! The price for Lightning Lane Multi Pass may vary per day AND per park. I’ve found that Lightning Lane Multi Pass tends to be the cheapest at
Animal Kingdom. And since you only need to purchase Multi Pass for one park when you have a park hopper (even though you can use it at all the parks pending availability!), you could save some money.
If you go that route, I’d recommend choosing Lightning Lanes for as early as possible for Animal Kingdom. Then on your park day, as soon as you scan into your first Lightning Lane using Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you’ll be able to book any other Lightning Lane in any other park pending availability. At that time, you can also modify any of your existing Lightning Lanes to Lightning Lanes in another park if you’d like (again, pending availability).
The next thing I like to consider is my priorities when it comes to attractions. Since you can only make your pre-selections at one park, there’s a chance you could miss out on the most popular Lightning Lanes at other parks later in the day since it’s all based on availability. So, if there’s a certain attraction I have my heart set on, but it’s at the second park I plan to go to on my park day, I might end up purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass for that park to give me a better chance at getting a Lightning Lane for that ride.
For example, if I plan to start my day at Animal Kingdom, then hop over to
Magic Kingdom and my boys REALLY want to ride
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (which is one of the most popular Lightning Lanes at Magic Kingdom), I might decide to purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass for Magic Kingdom instead. In that case, I’d plan to take advantage of those early morning hours with lower standby wait times at Animal Kingdom (ideally
Early Entry if you’re staying at a Disney World resort).
Each strategy has its own pros and cons. In the first one, you’d save money and unlock the ability to book other Lightning Lanes earlier in the day. In the second one, you’d give yourself a better chance at getting some of the most popular Lightning Lanes that may not be available later in the day.
I hope that gives you some guidance, so you can decide what works best for you! Feel free to come back here with any other questions you have as you continue to plan!
Jenn J.