Welcome to planDisney, Amber! I'm so glad to hear you've got an upcoming stay at my favorite Disney hotel:
Disney's Yacht Club Resort. There are so many great resorts in the
Disney Resorts Collection but, in my opinion, you've picked the best one! Crescent Lake is my favorite location because of the convenient walking paths to both EPCOT and Disney's Hollywood Studios, and the amazing transportation options like the
Skyliner and the
Friendship Boats. I know you're really going to enjoy your stay at the end of the month!
Amber, as a resort hotel guest, you'll be able to purchase your
Lightning Lane access 7 days in advance of your arrival. Since you're checking in on January 20th, January 13th with be the magic day for you. I just completed this process a few days ago for a trip I've got coming up this week, and it's really simple! When the window opens at 7:00 AM Eastern Time, tap the "Purchase" button in the Lightning Lane window on the home screen of
My Disney Experience. From there, you can choose between Lightning Lane Single Pass and Lightning Lane Multi Pass, and continue on to make your selections. Since you can modify your return times, I recommend taking the first available times right away, and then adjusting them later if you want to. When you're in the Theme Parks, you can start booking more Lightning Lane Single Pass return times once you've used your first one, so the best strategy for packing in the attractions is to book a new return time as soon as you've used one and make sure that you're always holding three at any given time.
I hope this answers your question, Amber, and please let us know if there's anything else we can do to help you plan your magical vacation!
Jessica