Hiya Shelli - welcome to
planDisney!
I'm so glad you stopped by with your question for our team of panelists - we're here and ready to help!
I can tell by your question that you are a planner, just like us! Individual Lightning Lane selections are a great way to ensure you can experience your favorite attractions with a reduced wait time compared to the normal standby queue. I've used them on my last few trips and they've been a great way to save some time so we can experience more of the
Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Celebration!
I completely understand your question, and I think the way the
My Disney Experience Mobile App displays Lightning Lane reservations as being for an entire "party" might lead people to believe that everyone needs to use their reservation at the exact same time. It makes sense though - if you had a dining reservation for six people you usually wouldn't be able to show up as a party of two and say that the rest of your party will be dining one hour later!
Luckily, access to an attraction's Lightning Lane does
not require that all members of your party enter the queue at the same time. So, as long as everyone eventually enters the attraction's Lightning Lane queue before the end of your return time window, you'll be all set! This was my personal experience using Lightning Lanes last month, and I just confirmed this by chatting with a friendly Walt Disney World Resort Cast Member. I will suggest that if you think there is a chance that some of your party might not be able to enter the Lightning Lane queue before the end of the window, you may want to create a separate party with a later return time for those Guests to ensure they don't miss out on the attraction. Also, if the reason you might need to stagger entry is for supervision of Guests who do not want to ride the attraction, be sure to check out the
Rider Switch Service which can help make these situations a bit easier to manage.
I hope this good news is helpful as you continue planning for your upcoming vacation!
Please let me know if other questions pop up that we can help answer for you, Shelli.
Ryan J.