Hello Aibl! Welcome to planDisney, and thanks for sending us your planning question today. You'll be arriving at Disney World in just a few days, woo hooo! How very exciting.
Ka-chow! You've got a great strategy to use
Lightning Lane passes to speed by the stand-by line on some of your favorite attractions. My family loves taking advantage of this option, as we find it helps us pack so much more into our Disney day. I think you'll love it, too! Let's talk about when you should make that purchase.
As you know, your booking window opens on Monday. But don't fret if you aren't quite ready to make your Lightning Lane decisions. You can absolutely wait. You could even purchase Lightning Lane passes the same day you visit the park, if you wish! However, I would encourage you to do so as soon as you can decide. Here's why.
One of the
benefits offered to guests staying at a Disney Resort, is that they are eligible to purchase Lightning Lane passes a few days before off-site guests are allowed to do so (they can purchase 3 days in advance). The earlier you book, the more availability. So this gives you a larger selection of attractions to choose from, and return times to potentially reserve. Some of the most popular attractions, like
Slinky Dog Dash at Hollywood Studios or Tiana's Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom, often have their Lightning Lane passes sell out fairly quickly. That's where booking as early as possible would be an advantage to you.
But if you aren't quite certain of your park days, who in your party to include, or which attractions you'd like... hakuna matata, Aibl! You could even wait until the same day, and purchase a Lightning Lane pass the same morning you plan to use it. Again, just be aware that the earlier you make that purchase, the greater the availability will be.
My tip for using Lightning Lane Multi Pass is to book at least one of your three selections for the earliest time of day possible. As soon as you tap in to that attraction, you can immediately hop on to the
My Disney Experience app and reserve another selection for the day (subject to availability)! Even better, those same day additional Lightning Lanes are not subject to any category restrictions. It's a great way to maximize the value of your Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
One last idea before I go... a no-cost method of saving time standing in line! When you start to get hungry, hop on the app and place a
mobile food order. I often do this while we are in line for an attraction, and select a pick-up time that is about 30-40 minutes away. Afterwards we hop off the ride and head straight in, skipping the line and snagging our food from mobile pick-up. It's like magic!
I'm sending pixie dust your way, and hope you have an amazing time at Walt Disney World! Please feel free to visit us any time, we're here to help.
See ya' real soon!
Tami