Welcome, Teddi. It's so nice that you found us here at planDisney! Let's get your Lightning Lane question answered.
At 7 a.m. EST on the morning your
Lightning Lane booking window opens, you will be able to purchase these passes for any eligible Guests connected to you through the
My Family & Friends list who have toggled on the option to view and make plans together. So, on that first morning, when you go through the process, you should be able to select the first six Guests, and then the next day, you should see all 8.
Even though your window hasn't opened yet, you can still check to see when everyone is eligible to purchase (and if it looks like they are connected to you properly). First, open the
My Disney Experience mobile app and access the main menu by clicking the three horizontal lines (☰) in the bottom right-hand corner. Then, click the "Lightning Lane Passes" tile. Since for this exercise it doesn't matter which product you choose, just select the "Purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass" button. Then, select the date in question, your park, any options you're interested in, and then scroll down and click the blue "Continue" button. On this screen, you will see the Guests connected to you and when they are eligible to purchase for that particular day. Don't worry about the "Not Eligible" heading for now. They will be listed as eligible on the date and time this screen tells you. You can repeat this for any dates in question (as long as you can select them on the calendar).
Now, I want to give you all of your options, so I'm going to bring something to your attention. When you're staying at a
Disney Resorts Collection Hotel, you do have the option to book Lightning Lanes for your entire stay (up to 14 days) once your window opens. You could book the first six Guests for the entire trip on the first morning, then book the remaining two the next day.
Just keep in mind that with this option, some attractions and return times may no longer be available by then. However, if your main goal is simply to ride together, overlapping return windows will still work perfectly. For example, if one group has
Slinky Dog Dash from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and the other has 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., your entire party can still ride together during that overlap time of 9:30-10:00.
If that sounds overly complicated, though, just forget I said all of that! The simplest option is to book only the first day for the initial six Guests and then book the rest of the trip once all 8 Guests are eligible together.
Teddi, best wishes with getting all of your desired Lightning Lanes. And remember, availability can and does change when people change their plans. So if at first you don't get exactly what you want, you can always try to modify at a later point to see if availability has opened up. If you have any other questions,
feel free to send them my way!
Ka-chow and see ya real soon,
Matt