Hi Andrea, welcome to planDisney!
You've found the right team of Disney experts to tackle your toughest questions about planning your upcoming Walt Disney World Resort vacation. You are just days away from your arrival at
The Most Magical Place on Earth, so let me explain some magic!
Individual Lightning Lanes can be purchased à la carte for select Walt Disney World Resort attractions. Guests with valid admission and a
theme park reservation linked to their My Disney Experience account can purchase up to two Individual Lightning Lanes per day via the Tip Board of the
My Disney Experience mobile app (three small lines at the bottom right of the app's home page --> Tip Board --> "Change Park," if necessary --> Scroll to desired attraction --> Click "LL Individual Lightning Lane" box). Guests staying at a Disney Resorts Collection hotel can purchase Individual Lighting Lanes at 7:00 a.m.; all other Guests may purchase at park opening.
I understand you have a ticket with the
Park Hopper option, Andrea. When it's time to purchase your Individual Lightning Lane(s), available arrival windows for the park for which you have a theme park reservation will span the entire day. Arrival windows for the other three parks will start at 2:00 p.m., which is when park hopping hours begin. Let's see what this could look like on the morning of a sample park day.
Let's say you have a theme park reservation for Disney's Hollywood Studios and want to purchase an Individual Lightning Lane for
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Let's also say you're staying at a Disney Resorts Collection hotel. At 7:00 a.m., purchase an Individual Lightning Lane for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance for a one-hour arrival window beginning at 10:00 a.m. As soon as that's done, purchase your second Individual Lightning Lane for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind for a one-hour arrival window beginning at 2:30 p.m. As a general note, I recommend booking an arrival window for your second park no earlier than 2:30 p.m. so you have plenty of time to walk to the attraction from the park entrance. Your Individual Lightning Lanes can potentially be all set by 7:05 a.m., especially if you have a method of payment saved to your My Disney Experience account.
I hope you find this answer provides the clarity you seek and deserve, Andrea. PlanDisney panelists share because we care and I am personally invested in your efforts to secure Individual Lightning Lanes during your trip. Consider me
on call for any follow-up questions before, during, or after your vacation.
Plan magic; planDisney.
Jennifer