Hi Dawn,
Welcome to planDisney! I see you are preparing for an epic Disney World trip with your whole crew. Disney's new
Lightning Lane Passes are a great way to maximize your time at the theme parks, especially when visiting during one of the year's busiest seasons.
You are right on target with the idea of jumping online 7 days before the first day of your stay to purchase Lightning Lane passes for the duration of your trip. This is a fabulous
benefit offered to guests staying at a Disney Resort hotel and can help give you an edge when planning your vacation. Before I log on, I like to have a plan of which theme park I want to visit each day and my top 3 rides or attractions at that theme park so I can ensure I get these when I am going through the process of choosing Lightning Lane Multi Pass or Lightning Lane Single Pass experiences. Unfortunately, this benefit will only be available for the members of your party who are registered guests at a Disney Resort hotel.
All other guests can purchase Lightning Lane passes 3 days in advance of their park visit. If one of the guests joining you has a
date-based theme park ticket, they will be able to purchase Lightning Lane Passes 3 days before the first day of their ticket for the total number of valid admission days on their ticket. Your crew member who is a
Disney Annual Passholder will be able to purchase Lightning Lane Passes 3 days before their park visit as will guests with any other ticket types.
The good news is that there has still been a lot of availability when booking Lightning Lanes at the 3-day mark. I would recommend that the four of you who can purchase earlier than the rest of your party send your other party members the details of what you have chosen and they can try to reserve their Lightning Lanes as close to those times as possible. A few weeks ago I was traveling with friends and our passes were 30 minutes apart. A
Guest Experience Team member was able to help us get these times moved so we could ride together. You will see Guest Experience Team stations throughout the theme parks. Keep in mind that this may not always be possible but if there is a single attraction that you want to all ride together, they might be able to help you out!
Happy Planning,
Jenna