Welcome to planDisney, William! I'm so glad to be able to answer your question today. Planning your
Lightning Lane return times is a big part of your trip to Walt Disney World, so I'm happy to walk you through exactly how it will work for you when the time comes to make that purchase.
When it comes to Lightning Lane, each day is its own separate transaction. You can't load a full week into one cart and check out in one purchase. In the
My Disney Experience app, you'll pick a date and park, choose your Lightning Lane Multi Pass, and optionally add Single Pass for that same day, and then check out for that specific day. When you're done, you can immediately repeat the flow for the next date.
The booking process is designed around day-by-day planning. Even though you're able to book for the length of your ticket or your hotel stay when your booking window opens, the app still processes one day at a time. Think of it like a quick series of mini cart checkouts: complete Day 1, then tap the prompt to "Plan Another Day," and complete Day 2, and so on until your week is set. It's really quick once you've got the rhythm of it! Remember: you can combine a Multi Pass and up to two Single Passes in the same transactions, but only for that one day.
Timing-wise, if you're staying at a
Disney Resort Hotel or select partner hotels, your booking window opens 7 days before check-in for the length of your stay. Guests staying elsewhere can book 3 days before the start date of their ticket. Those windows just control when you can start planning, not whether you can pay for a whole week at once, so you'll still check out day by day in the app.
So, you can plan the whole week in one sitting if you'd like, but expect a separate checkout for each park day. Here's a tip from the pros: if there are some big headliner attractions that you'd like to plan for on your trip, like
Slinky Dog Dash or
Tiana's Bayou Adventure, try planning those toward the end of your stay. You'll find that availability is much more open the further into the future you're able to book!
I hope this answers your question, William, and please let us know if there's anything else we can do to help you plan your magical vacation.
Jessica