Bonjour Brianne!
Thanks for stopping by planDisney with your questions. Summer will be here before you know it, and hopefully you'll feel as though you'll be sitting back relaxing as Cast Members at Be Our Guest Restaurant proudly present, your dinner (or lunch).
Be Our Guest Restaurant is extremely popular, for good reason. Beast's Castle is beautiful, and when you step into the Grand Ballroom you will truly feel as though you've been transported into the classic movie. Plus, where else can you try the Grey Stuff (it's delicious)? Because it's such a popular restaurant, reservations can be challenging to get. If you are a
Walt Disney World Resort Hotel guest, you'll have a bit of an advantage. You'll be able to make all of your
dining reservations 60 days before your hotel check-in day for up to 10 days of your vacation. On that 60 day mark, you'll want to be online about 15 minutes before the
reservations open up for the day at 5:45 AM EST. You'll probably have the best luck booking your favorite restaurants later in your trip since that will be further than 60 days out. Being open to a variety of times and dates is key when it comes to getting reservations to some of the most popular Disney dining locations. I'm sending a little virtual pixie dust your way for luck!
The FastPass system that you may have either heard about or used in the past, no longer exists. Instead, the old FastPass lines have been converted to Lightning Lanes. It's the same concept, but to be able to reserve a time for
Lightning Lanes there are two different options. The first is by purchasing Genie+. This feature will give you the ability to book Lightning Lane return times for over 40 popular attractions throughout all 4 theme parks. You can only book one Lightning Lane at a time, but it is definitely a way to save some time waiting in lines. Lightning Lanes for a few of the most popular attractions in Walt Disney World, like
Avatar Flight of Passage in Disney's Animal Kingdom and
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in Magic Kingdom that are not available with Genie+. Instead, guests can pay a separate fee to schedule a Lightning Lane return time at their convenience. Both Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes provide an efficient way to experience more attractions in less time. You can purchase either Genie+, Individual Lightning Lanes, a combination of both, or neither and choose to wait in the standby lines. It's really up to you.
Hope this helps. Have a magical vacation!
Diane