Hiya, Kristen! Thanks for bringing your excellent question to planDisney. It sounds like you and your family will be racing to the parks for a Piston Cup amount of fun, so let's get you an answer!
At the Disneyland Resort, all Guests must have a
park reservation, a valid theme park ticket, and have scanned their park ticket and entered a theme park to book a
Lightning Lane return time or purchase a Lightning Lane Single Pass. This means that even the smallest Mousketeers must enter the park before your family can select a return time. If only one person enters the theme park, they will be the only one eligible to book a return time until the rest of their party scans in.
Kristen, I suggest arriving at the theme park as close to opening time as possible for the maximum possibilities for Lightning Lane return times. I find that I have the most options for early return times, especially for popular rides like Space Mountain and Indiana Jones, when I arrive first thing in the morning. Once you've scanned in, you can leave the park for a break and still be able to book return times while not being physically in the park. So, the most important part of a Lightning Lane strategy is getting scanned in for the day. Sometimes, my family likes to enjoy one of the
Disneyland Resort hotel restaurants, so we will leave the park before returning later for more fun.
Don't forget that with your purchase of a Lightning Lane Multi Pass, there are free
Disney PhotoPass downloads for the day of your visit. So be sure to take a Sleeping Beauty Castle photo, snap a picture with Mickey, and take the iconic photo with the Pixar Pal-A-Round wheel - all of your downloads are included and can be accessed in the
Disneyland Mobile App.
I hope this information clears things up for you, Kristen. If I forgot to turn right to go left, and you still need help, please
let me know. I would be happy to help you further!
Ka-chow!
-Melissa