Hi Shaista!
Welcome to planDisney! I see your very merry holiday vacation is about to begin, and I bet you're super excited! Now is the perfect time to review those little details and get your Donald Ducks in a row. I'm happy to share a bit more about Lightning Lane passes as you consider whether or not they're a good fit for your travel party during your visit.
I just recently returned from my latest vacation with my family earlier this month, and we purchased
Lightning Lane Multi Pass four out of our five park days. It's a great option for my family as my three boys want to see and do it all while in the parks. Lightning Lane passes help us save valuable time by bypassing the standby line for select rides and attractions - especially on some busier days like you may find during this week of Christmas.
Shaista, when you're deciding what to purchase, you'll notice there are three different types of Lightning Lane passes.
Lightning Lane Premier Pass is the newest option and is exclusively available to Guests staying at a
hotel in the Disney Resorts Collection. While this is the most expensive option, it gives you Lightning Lane entry to each ride in a single park once per day without having to pre-book your return times - giving you the ultimate flexibility and the chance to experience just about everything the park has to offer. My family chose to stick with Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass as these gave us a chance to select some of our top "must-do" rides and attractions. Both Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass are available to all Guests visiting Walt Disney World Resort, regardless of where you are staying. However, Guests staying at a Disney Resort Hotel have an advantage and can begin pre-purchasing their passes up to seven days before checking in, while all other Guests must wait until three days before visiting the parks.
With Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you can pre-purchase and pre-select return times for three attractions in a single park. You can see your available options and make your selections before confirming your purchase, so you'll be sure that you're happy with the choices. At each park except Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park, you'll notice that the rides are broken into "groups," and you can pre-select one "Group One" attraction. Once you are in the parks and redeem your first selection, you can "unlock" the ability to add additional rides and attractions (even from Group One!) with a "use one, get one" benefit for the day - based on the availability of attractions.
If your tickets include the
Park Hopper Option, you can start modifying choices or selecting rides from a different park after using your first Lightning Lane. My best tip is to make sure you book at least one Lightning Lane return time early in your day, as redeeming that first one opens up more flexibility with the system! You'll find Lightning Lane Single Pass is available for one or two of the most in-demand rides in each park, and you're allowed to purchase up to two Single Passes per day. These can be for the same park or different parks than your Multi Pass selections.
Shaista, I hope this information has been helpful and that you enjoy a wonderful visit! If you have any other questions, please stop by to see us again here at planDisney!
Cheers,
Kristi