Hiya, Matthew! I am always glad to meet a fellow Georgian here at planDisney. With your trip to the Most Magical Place on Earth just around the riverbend, let's see if we can help with the
Lightning Lane passes so you can enjoy the gadgets and gizmos aplenty.
The simple answer to your question is you do not need to buy a Lightning Lane pass for your son on Friday for him to be able to join you on Saturday. In addition to the passes being non-refundable, you can easily include different Guests each day.
To purchase passes, open the
My Disney Experience app and select the Lightning Lane passes tile at the top of the screen. Select the date and the theme park. The next screen will ask whom you would like to include and will show all who are eligible. Click on the boxes by the names of each person joining you. Follow the prompts to pick your attractions and arrival times and complete the purchase. You buy each day independently, so you can get your passes for Friday with your smaller group and then purchase passes for Saturday with everyone included.
Now, let's talk timing and eligibility. Since you want to be together on Saturday, I recommend waiting until you are eligible to purchase Lightning Lane passes for this day. It is just simpler.
If you all arrive by next Saturday, you can purchase the passes today if you are staying at a
Disney Resorts Collection or other qualified hotel. Hakuna Matata!
If you are not staying at
Walt Disney World, you can purchase Lightning Lane passes three days before the first day of your
theme park ticket. If you have purchased a multi-day ticket, once your ticket window opens at this three-day mark, you can buy passes for every theme park day of your trip.
If your theme park tickets have the same start date, you can book your Lightning Lanes together. This is true even if you are not going to the theme park that first day or only want Lightning Lane passes for days later in your trip. If your theme park tickets have different start dates, you will have to wait until three days before the latest tickets are valid to book your passes together.
If you are unsure about your theme park ticket dates, you can check them on the app. Open the app's home screen (the "≡"at the bottom of the screen) and select the "My Tickets & Passes" tile. Everyone's tickets in your
Family & Friends list appear here, scrolling from right to left. The date each ticket is valid is listed under the barcode.
I hope this information is helpful, Matthew. If you have any questions and would like to follow up, please feel free to
ask me directly to continue our conversation. We'd be happy to see you anytime at
planDisney!
I also hope you have a magical trip with your family! It is a wonderful time to go with all the
Halloween treats and the
EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival.
See 'Ya Real Soon!
Jana