The (wake up) times, they are a’ changin’ at Walt Disney World.
Right now, there are few more important times at Walt Disney World than 7:00AM. As you likely know, that’s when you need to wake up on each day of your Disney World vacation to purchase Genie+ service and Individual Lightning Lanes. However, that all changes later this month.
Starting on July 24th, Disney is introducing a newly revamped skip-the-line ride reservation system, with Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes morphing into Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass respectively.
However, the names aren’t the biggest change. Lightning Lane Multi Pass (purchase of which allows you to book up to three ride reservations) and Lightning Lane Single Pass (purchases of which allow you to “secure a time to ride one of Disney’s most highly demanded attractions) will now allow you to make your ride reservations well in advance of your Walt Disney World visit.
If you’re staying at a Walt Disney World hotel, you can begin purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass reservations for an up to 14-day vacation 7 days before your reservation begins. If you’re not staying at a Walt Disney World hotel, you can begin doing so 3 days prior to each park day. Eligibility still opens at 7:00AM, but hey at least that’s not 7:00AM every day of your vacation.
A quick tip: Once you book your trip, calculate either 7 days out or 3 days out (depending on where you’re staying) and set a reminder to yourself to book your Lightning Lanes. While you’re at it, make sure you have every member of your party entered into the My Disney Experience app and know what rides you’re shooting for, so that everything goes as smoothly as possible once your eligibility window opens.
Don’t rejoice quite yet, however. Despite these changes, there is still a chance that you’ll need to wake up at 7:00AM on certain days of your Disney trip for a virtual queue.
In case you’re not familiar with virtual queues, according to Disney, “From time to time, a virtual queue—accessible via the My Disney Experience app—may be used for a limited number of our most highly demanded attractions. When the virtual queue is in place, a standby queue will not be available, and Guests must use the My Disney Experience app to enter the attraction or experience.”
There are usually two times a day when virtual queues can be accessed: the dreaded 7:00AM, and a second round at 1:00PM. So, for example, if you are unable or unwilling to purchase Lightning Lane Single Passes for an in-demand attraction like Tron Lightcycle/Run or Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, you’ll still need to wake up before 7:00AM to try and score a spot in the virtual queue.
While Disney’s new Lightning Lane systems will cut down considerably on the importance of waking up at 7:00AM during your Walt Disney World vacation, there’s still a chance you may need to if you’re planning on trying for a virtual queue. Stay tuned to DFB for more on the new system’s launch and effect on Walt Disney World’s rides and wait times.
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Are you excited about the NEW Lightning Lane system? Let us know in the comments below.
Julie says
Really unhappy about this new system as international guests will not be able to Bol until we are in the USA- not even international DVC members! We are going for a week long trip later this year and probably won’t get anything booked by the time we arrive. Can you do anything about this or suggest where to complain to for best effect?
Andrew Horwell says
so will guests like myself in the UK be able to get the multi and single passes 7 days beforehand?
DFB Gigi says
Hi Andrew! At this point in time, no, but we are keeping a constant eye on the situation to see if any changes will be made in the future.
Brady says
The current system allows you to get a lightning lane every two hours. So, you can get one at 7, then another at 9, etc.
This is a great system because it is more adaptable as your park day moves along.
Will the new system still allow this? Does the new system require all the lightning lanes for the whole day to be purchased all at once?
Buzz says
It’s my understanding that currently you can only have 1 VQ held, so I would have to pick Tiana or Tron at 7am and then hope to get the other one in the 1pm window. Is this right?
Kevin says
Julie, Andrew, you should be able to use a VPN with a server in the US to book Lightning Lane purchases early.
David Upton says
I be assume we just log on to a VPN from the UK to book the lightning lanes?
DFB Gigi says
Hi Buzz! You are correct. You can only hold one Virtual Queue at a time, but you can get into the 1pm Virtual Queue for one ride or the other if your first Virtual Queue falls before 1pm.
DFB Gigi says
Hi Brady! The new system allows you to purchase three Lightning Lanes in advance, but once you use one of them, you can book another and continue doing that throughout the entire day, but you can only hold three at a time at any given time.
Buzz says
Brady, that is not totally accurate. Your 1st G+ is at 7 but the 2nd (if stacking) is 2 hours from park open time. So if the park opens at 9am you cannot stack another G+ until 11am and then every 2 hours from there.
Pat says
And how much is this going to cost?
Kevin says
If I could pick thunder mountain splash or whatever you call it now and Peter pan I might buy it but since you can only pick one it defI nitly is not worth the price for Hollywood slinky toy storyr and haunted mansion is better deal