Hiya there, Jamie. Thanks for reaching out to us at planDisney! We may all be a little mad here, but we love to help answer
Disney vacation planning questions nonetheless.
Alice once said, "Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." And if she can believe all that, we can believe in our ability to find a solution for you! So don't panic.
If you are staying at a
Disney Resorts Collection Hotel, you are eligible to make
Lightning Lane reservations starting at 7 a.m. EST, seven days before your arrival date. To ensure you have access to this benefit, you’ll want to make sure you are listed as a registered Guest on the reservation. To do this, select "
My Plans and Tickets" from the My Disney Experience dropdown menu. Find your reservation under "My Plans, Reservations and Tickets" and check to see if you are listed. If you are not, select "Change Reservation," then click "Change" next to your travel party, and follow the prompts to add yourself. If you run into any issues, I would suggest
contacting a friendly Cast Member at the resort to help get to the bottom of it!
Afterward, you'll want to confirm that you are eligible to purchase Lightning Lanes on the same date as the rest of your travel party. So, click the "Lightning Lane Passes" tile on the
My Disney Experience mobile app, click "Purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass," select a date, a park, and the product you're interested in purchasing. On the next screen, you should be able to see yourself and everyone connected through the
My Family & Friends list, and when they're eligible to purchase that product on that date.
On the off chance that you are not staying at a Disney-owned resort and the other members of your travel party are, they
will have access to purchasing Lightning Lanes seven days before their arrival date, and you would have to wait until three days before the start of your theme park ticket. If this is the case, my suggestion would be to have them book their Lightning Lanes when their window opens, and then, when yours opens, look for Lightning Lane times that overlap.
For example, if they book
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure for 9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m., you don’t have to get the same window. As long as your Lightning Lane window overlaps theirs at some point, you’ll be able to ride with them during the overlapping time. So, if you get a 9:55 a.m.-10:55 a.m. window, you can all ride together at 9:55 a.m.! As the Cheshire Cat reminds us, "If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there," and that flexibility can really work in your favor here.
Jamie, sometimes technology decides to act like it's in the middle of the Mad Hatter's tea party, but there are always solutions. Best wishes for getting the Lightning Lanes of your dreams. If you have any other questions,
I’ll be here for you!
It's always tea time,
Matt