Welcome to planDisney, Shannon! It sounds like you've got some plans for park hopping on your upcoming visit to the Walt Disney World Resort; this is a great way to see more and experience more in a single day! I've recently had experience using the new
Lightning Lane Multi Pass system while park hopping, so I'm happy to chat with you today about how to make the most of the system (and your time!).
Shannon, if you're staying as a guest at a Disney Resort hotel, your
eligibility window for purchasing Lightning Lane passes will open 7 days in advance of your check-in date; if you are staying at an offsite hotel, your window begins 3 days ahead of your park visit or the start date of your date-based ticket. When you make your purchase, you will be prompted to select a theme park and make your initial selections at that theme park; in your case,
Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park. Once you've tapped in to redeem your earliest Lightning Lane, you will be eligible to select a new attraction at any of the four theme parks since you will have a ticket that includes the
Park Hopper Option (subject to availability). So yes, even if EPCOT is not open yet, you can start stacking return times for when you arrive later in the day!
I did this exact scenario on my most recent visit; we arrived for
Early Theme Park Entry and once redeemed our first Animal Kingdom Lightning Lane, made a new selection for an available
EPCOT attraction. We continued this process after the other two redemptions, so when we arrived to EPCOT, we had three new Lightning Lane passes ready for use! In addition, don't forget you can also purchase up to two Lightning Lane Single Pass attractions in any of the four theme parks on the same day with your park hopper ticket. I opted to purchase both
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in EPCOT and
TRON Lightcycle/Run in Magic Kingdom since I knew I would be hopping to both parks that same day! This is a great way to ensure you experience all of the best thrills in multiple destinations!
Shannon, I hope this helps you to race from park to park and minimize your wait times for your favorite attractions! If you have any other planning questions before your visit, come on back to
planDisney and let us know! We're always here to help!
See you real soon,
Alison