Hi Tiffany! Welcome to planDisney. Your Disneyland Resort visit is almost here, so let’s make sure you’re ready to maximize those
Lightning Lane selections like a pro!
I can absolutely understand the confusion here, especially since Lightning Lane works differently at the Disneyland Resort than it does at Walt Disney World. At the Disneyland Resort,
Lightning Lane Multi Pass selections cannot be booked days in advance. Even if you already purchased Lightning Lane Multi Pass with your ticket, you won’t be able to begin making attraction selections until you’ve entered either
Disneyland Park or
Disney California Adventure Park on the day of your visit.
Once your ticket has been scanned into your first park of the day, you can immediately begin reserving Lightning Lane return times right in the
Disneyland app for attractions in either park. So, while you’re all set with your Multi Pass purchase, there’s nothing additional you need to do before your visit.
Tiffany, I do have a couple of Q-Tips to help you maximize your Lightning Lane strategy once you enter the parks! I highly recommend prioritizing the most popular attractions early in the day since Lightning Lane return times for headliners can disappear surprisingly quickly. Attractions like
Space Mountain,
Indiana Jones Adventure, and
Incredicoaster are usually among the first to run out of return windows. Arriving early also gives you a huge advantage since standby wait times are often much shorter during those first few morning hours.
Here’s one more Lightning Lane Q-Tip for you: you can often hold more than one Lightning Lane reservation at a time. After booking a return time, you’ll be eligible to make another selection once you either redeem your current reservation or two hours pass from the booking time (whichever comes first). For example, if you book a return time for
Matterhorn Bobsleds at 9:00 a.m. for later in the afternoon, you can still grab another reservation, like
Haunted Mansion, once that two-hour window opens. I personally like setting alarms on my phone or smartwatch so I never miss my next booking opportunity.
Tiffany, you’re already off to a great start for your upcoming Disneyland adventure! Between Park Hopper access and Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you’ll have a lot of flexibility to experience attractions across both parks throughout the day. . If you have any additional questions, please visit us here again at planDisney!
Happy adventuring,
David