Hi there, Paula!
Welcome to planDisney! I love that you are hoping to maximize magic while minimizing waits during your upcoming vacation. You're my kind of Mouseketeer!
Walt Disney World Resort's system for bypassing standing queues has significantly changed from its inception in my youth. I vividly remember my family scampering to the far corners of each theme park to collect paper Fastpasses for our favorite attractions each day. Happily, the only steps required for
Walt Disney World's new Lightning Lane system can be completed digitally in your My Disney Experience app. I was lucky enough to visit The Most Magical Place on Earth just after the new system debuted, so I'm happy to share a bit of my experience with you so that you can confidently utilize it yourself during your upcoming vacation!
Lightning Lane entry is currently available as a Multi Pass and a Single Pass. A Lighting Lane Multi Pass can be purchased for multiple (select) attractions in each theme park while a Lightning Lane Single Pass is purchased individually for Walt Disney World's most popular attractions. If you are a Guest of a Disney Resort hotel, you'll be able to purchase your passes in the My Disney Experience app 7 days before you check in for the length of your vacation. If not, you'll have access to Lightning Lane purchases 3 days before you visit.
When purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass you will be able to select 3 available experiences and entry windows in a single theme park at the time of purchase. Please keep in mind that some theme parks have a tiered attraction system in place that will limit which 3 attractions you are able to reserve in advance. Although you will only have 3 guaranteed Lightning Lane passes initially, once you redeem your first pass you will be eligible to make another reservation in any theme park and at any tier. Happily, this policy continues for the rest of the day. Each time you redeem a pass you will be able to reserve another from the available list. Lightning Lane Single Pass follows the same purchasing process. You will select the theme park and attraction for which you would like to bypass the standby queue before choosing your desired entry window from the available times.
A few things worth noting:
- Not all attractions are offered on the Lightning Lane system.
- While your purchase of Multi Pass will allow you to experience multiple attractions with a single purchase, Lighting Lane Single Pass is only valid for one attraction.
- Guests can purchase Lighting Lane Multi Pass and up to 2 Lightning Lane Single Passes per day.
- The price of Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lighting Lane Single Pass varies per park and per day.
- Guests with the Park Hopper option can use their Multi Pass in multiple theme parks at no additional charge, but the initial 3 Lighting Lane entries must be made in the same theme park.
- Lighting Lane entry times can be modified.
- My Top Tip: Availability constantly changes, so if a desired attraction or time isn't available initially I encourage you to keep checking back. Things periodically open throughout the day as people modify their plans.
I hope this information was helpful, Paula, and that you are able to move through attraction queues faster than Lightning McQueen! If you have any additional questions about your upcoming vacation, feel free to stop back by. I'm always happy to help!
Thinking Happy Thoughts,
Lizzie