Hey howdy hey Jeremy and welcome back to the new and improved planDisney site! Since I have been going to Walt Disney World Resort, one thing I have really come to appreciate is the excitement of planning our trips. I love how our whole family gets involved with deciding our top attractions for our trip as well as nighttime shows and dining locations we want to try. Of course, when it comes time to make all of the reservations, a proper plan eases so much of the anxiety about what we want our “perfect” day to look like. Sounds like you are getting a great jump on planning this trip to be extra magical so let's jump in!
Disney Genie has been a huge development in planning your day in the parks. With the ability to tell Genie your interests, it has been very beneficial to navigating the parks throughout the day to make the best usage of your time. To plus this experience up, you have two options when it comes to
Lightning Lane offerings. With Genie+, you make things easier by decreasing the time you wait in line with many of the popular attractions in all four theme parks. Starting at 7:00 a.m. on the day of your park reservation, for those staying onsite at Walt Disney World Resort, you can make your first selection for your Lightning Lane reservation. After you either check-in at your Lightning Lane reservation or the arrival window has passed, you are clear to make another selection. Another option that you have is with the Individual Lightning Lane offerings. Some of the very popular attractions in the parks will give you the option of purchasing an Individual Lightning Lane access for that one attraction. This allows you to have the guarantee of your reserved spot in line for the very popular attractions such as Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in Hollywood Studios. This option is also available to Guests staying onsite in Walt Disney World Resort starting at 7:00 a.m. the morning of your park reservation.
If you are planning on staying onsite at a Walt Disney Resort Hotel, you have even more options to experience all that the parks have to offer. First off is with
Early Theme Park Entry. This allows those Guests to get into the parks earlier than those staying offsite. As of this writing the time allotted for Early Theme Park Entry is one hour prior to park open but will be changing soon to 30 minutes. If you are staying onsite at a Disney Deluxe Resort or Disney Deluxe Villa Resort, you have another option for
Extended Evening Theme Park Hours. This allows guests staying at a deluxe resort or villa resort to have extended access to certain parks for scheduled time after park close to experience a list of attractions with lesser wait times as well.
By far, staying onsite at a Disney Resort Collection Hotel will give you the greatest gift of closer proximity and more time in the parks. Benefits also come in having earlier access to schedule Lightning Lane attractions and exclusive access to extended park hours. Now all of this will most likely change to some degree by your travel date in 2023. So, keep these links handy and keep checking back to see how you can shape your schedule to maximize your time in the parks. If you have any further questions, please reach out. We love talking all things Disney and cannot wait to help create your perfect day!
Happy planning,
Nick