Last Updated on October 30, 2024 by Happily Ever Park Hoppers
Using Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Walt Disney World
Using Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Walt Disney World resort is not as hard as you think it might be. This post will walk you through the entire process of booking and using lightning lanes in the parks, as well as Lightning Lane strategies.
Pre-Booking Lighting Lane Selections
As a reminder with the new Lightning Lane Multi Pass system, guests can pre-select three Lightning Lane attractions prior to their arrival. Guest staying at a Disney Resort Hotel, Shades Of Green Resort, Walt Disney World Swan/ Dolphin/ Swan Reserve can make their selections 7 days before their resort check-in date. All other off-property guests and Annual Passholders, not staying at a Disney resort hotel can make their selections three days in advance.
On the day your booking window opens at 7am EST, open up the My Disney Experience app. From the home screen, you will see the button to purchase. You will then select the day in which you want to make reservations for, and then the park.
*When you select the park it will show you the price for that specific park, PER person, before tax. Once you’ve made your selections, you will pay for that day’s Lightning Lane Multi Pass to complete and finalize those selections.
Subscribe and stay up to date on all things Disney
Follow Happily Ever Park Hoppers on Social Media!
Other Great Topics
Looking for personalized help?
Making your Lightning Lane selections
Once you’ve selected your date and park, you’ll then be able to select the (3) advanced attractions you want to reserve. Select your (1) Tier 1 attraction & (2) Tier 2 attractions, you’ll then see the return times for each attraction. Keep in mind that you can make all your advanced selections from Tier 2 if you wanted to.
*If the attraction is marked as “Currently Unavailable” that means it’s either sold out or under refurbishment.
Keep in mind that you CAN pick your return times (as long as there is another available). If the time you’re given doesn’t line up with your plans or doesn’t make geographical sense (⬇️ read more below about strategy), you can click “MODIFY TIME” to see what other return times are available. Make sure you hit “SAVE NEW TIME” to lock in that new time slot.
Once you’ve finalized your selections, scroll to the bottom and hit “CONTINUE”. You’ll then be taken to the payment screen where you will pay for that day’s Lightning Lane selections. After the confirmation screen, you then can continue making Lightning Lane selections for the other days of your vacation.
Let’s talk about Park Strategy
There are two things that you should consider when making your advance selections.
1. Location
2. Time
Because of these two factors, you should have some kind of game plan as to what your first/second/third/fourth choices are for each park. I like to stay organized with my “Dream Sheet” or a “wish list” where I prioritize what rides I’m going to focus on.
- Location: You should have a general idea of where each of your top priority rides are when making your selections. That way when you see what return times are available, you can modify the times as needed to make sense in your day and geographically.
Pro Tip: If you aren’t familiar with the park layouts, I suggest having the park map open on a computer or another device so you can visually SEE where these rides are and if there would be enough time for you to get from one to the next.
- Time: Because you can always hold (3) Lightning Lanes at a time and you can make a new selection immediately after using your first selection. Having an early morning selection helps you be more efficient throughout the day.
- This is what is known as a “Filler Ride“. Having a Lightning Lane selection that may/may not be your highest priority but a ride that has the earliest return time, so that you can start making more as early as possible the day you’re in the park.
- Location & Time: You also don’t want to make selections that are back-to-back and on complete opposite ends of the park. If your goal is to move efficiently & effectively through the parks with minimal zigzagging, you want to be mindful how how much time you will be in each land and try to give yourself enough time to accomplish what you want to do in that section of the park.
Using your Lighting Lanes
When it comes to actually using your Lightning Lanes IN the parks. It’s pretty easy to navigate. Tap in, use, and book another. There is no waiting period. There also are no more Tier rules once you tap in and ride your first ride! In other words. Once you use your first Lightning Lane, you could potentially have (3) Tier 1 attractions at the same time ⬅️ This is why having that Filler Ride early in the morning really is crucial to your park strategy.
There are also no more single park restrictions if you have a Park Hopper ticket. Once you tap into your first advance selection, you can start making your “in-park selections” for any park.
Also, know that you CAN modify a Tier 2 attraction for a Tier 1 AFTER you’ve used your first selection. This is helpful for when you made your advance selections and you either didn’t get the ride you wanted or if your focus is to ride all the E-Ticket attractions that are Tier 1. After you’ve tapped in to your first selection, you can go in and modify a Tier 2 attraction for a Tier 1.
*Getting rid of a Tier 2 attraction for a Tier 1 attraction is known as a “Discard Ride”
- Hypothetical Scenario:
- Your advance selections are:
The Barnstormer @ 9:05 – 10:05 am (Filler Ride)
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure @ 1:55 – 2:55pm
Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid (Discard Ride) - On your park day. Tap in to The Barnstormer. Immediately go into the app and make your next selection for say, Space Mountain. Then go in and modify your discard ride (this being the Little Mermaid) and pick up Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. You now have (3) Tier 1 attractions.
- Your advance selections are:
KEEP IN MIND that this is a hypothetical situation. Depending on how quickly the rides are going, you may not able to grab all of the Tier 1 rides, especially in other parks with less fewer rides. This is why it’s important to know the Sell Out Order.
Thrill Data is a great site that tracks the daily Lighting Lane Sell out data.
Modifying your booked Lighting Lanes
If you make a selection for a ride but the return time is later in the day. KEEP CHECKING BACK. Keep checking, keep refreshing. Just make sure you are MODIFYING your current selection. That way if you find a more desirable time or ride, you can quickly pick up that new time or ride.
Another rule that no longer applies once you tap in and use your first Lightning Lane selection is that all your selections need to be in the same park. After you use your first Lightning Lane, you can modify your other selections to another park (so long as you have a Park Hopper ticket).
I hope this helped you get a better understanding of how the Lightning Lane Multi Pass system works. If you have any questions that were not answered here, please drop a comment below!
Spreading magic one post at a time
Kristin