The 3 Things I Learned While Testing Lightning Lane Multi Pass
Walt Disney World has launched its new Lightning Lane service. So it’s out with the old (Disney Genie+) and in with the new (Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass). Yesterday, I spent most of the day testing the new service, which meant spending a lot of time in the My Disney Experience app. By the end of the day, I had looked at so many numbers and practiced so many scenarios that even I was frazzled.
While most of the user experience was positive, the deeper I dove into the details, the more I found myself second-guessing things. That’s not how you want to feel when you provide experience-based information to help others plan their Walt Disney World vacation. At the end of my work day, I closed my laptop and vowed to leave it until morning. So here we are after a good night’s sleep. Today, I want to share a few things I learned about the new Lightning Lane system that I didn’t know before yesterday.
#1 It Doesn’t Cost Anything Extra to Park Hop (At This Time)
Okay, this was a huge positive! When I initially prepared our Lightning Lane guide, I assumed (wrongly) that park-hopping would be an extra fee. Previously, when you purchased Genie+, you had to buy the multi-park option if you wanted to use the service in multiple parks. This was like a thorn in the side, especially if you had already paid for park-hopper tickets.
So, at the time of launch, you can automatically select new attractions in other parks AFTER you’ve used your first entitlement. To make it clear:
- You must reserve your initial three (3) Lightning Lanes in one theme park.
- After scanning/using your first Lightning Lane, you can then select a new Lightning Lane in another park as long as you have park-hopper tickets.
Let’s hope the system remains this way. It makes the service 100% more attractive for those who enjoy park-hopping.
#2 You Can Overlap Times When Reserving Lightning Lane Multi Pass
When Disney announced they were dropping Genie+ and changing to a system that sounded familiar to the former FastPass+, the wheels in my head started spinning. I wondered if we would be able to select overlapping Lightning Lane times. However, I saw nothing about this topic in all my research leading up to the launch.
I was elated that you can select overlapping times with Lightning Lane Multi-Pass. This is a huge advantage not only for planning your initial selections but also when adding new ones. For instance, in the morning, you could select Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh as your initial rides between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. For your Magic Kingdom Lightning Lane strategy, you might rope drop Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and then ride Peter Pan’s Flight before cashing in on Winnie the Pooh at 10:00 a.m. After scanning your Lightning Lane for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, you might begin shifting your next round of Lightning Lanes to Adventureland and Frontierland.
Overlapping times will make touring where you’re at more feasible, and you’ll save time (and weary feet) by not constantly back-tracking. Of course, this will all depend on availability, which right now doesn’t look great and led to most of my frustration yesterday. But at this time, I don’t want to be too critical on the availability front. This system is new, and it will take some time to work out a few things. I feel confident that this issue will be resolved. If not, we’ll discuss it in future articles.
#3 This Stuff is Complicated, Even for a Disney Pro
It’s one thing to pick up my phone, purchase a couple of Lightning Lanes, and quickly form a plan when my friends and relatives visit the parks with me. I probably shouldn’t say this, but it almost always goes smoothly. However, we hit a few snags in massive crowds the week before Easter when Kristen and her family visited. I usually try to avoid those times, but it’s unavoidable when you’re traveling around school schedules. During those exceptionally crowded times, plans often go awry, and you have to adjust and roll with the punches. Or you can always leave and relax at the resort, where you’ll usually find me.
Regardless of when you visit, learning everything you need to know about planning a Walt Disney World vacation is difficult. This stuff is complicated even if you only focus on what you need to know to tour the parks efficiently. Secretly, I think that’s why there are so many repeat visitors. Some personality types love to plan and find the challenge invigorating. They visit again and again to hone their skills and master every aspect, incorporating more unique experiences. No two trips are the same. I know because I’m one of them.
When it was first announced that Disney was changing the Lightning Lane system and guests could now pre-plan their initial rides, I knew I had to come up with something to help our readers. So, I developed a spreadsheet with built-in formulas for the rides that offer Lightning Lanes. This is my gift to you and anyone who visits this website searching for planning information.
I hope it will help you save time and a few headaches while simplifying your planning process. When it’s time to reserve your Lightning Lanes, you’ll have a written plan to reference with desired time ranges for each day of your trip. You can sign up below, and we’ll email you a copy of the Resorts Gal Ride Selector with detailed instructions.
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