Are you making a MAJOR mistake when you visit Disney World?
Magic Kingdom
The Lightning Lane system at Disney World is fresh off a brand-new overhaul with the creation of the Lightning Lane Single Pass and Lightning Lane Multi Pass. The change has caused some confusion, and Disney World newbies are especially susceptible to making Lightning Lane mistakes. We’re here to help and make sure those mistakes don’t happen!
While Disney has put into detail how to use the new Lightning Lane options, mistakes can still easily be made. We’re going to go over some of the biggest issues you might run into when using Lightning Lanes and how you can avoid these mistakes.
Not Booking at 7AM Seven Days Out
According to Disney, “Guests can purchase Lightning Lane passes for days they have valid theme park admission starting at 7:00 AM Eastern Time on their first day of eligibility.” This applies to both Lightning Lane Single and Multi Passes for guests staying at Disney World resorts.
Goodbye Genie+
With that said, guests without a hotel reservation have a three-day window to book. Either way, rookies might not take advantage of their hotel reservations by not booking seven days out, or they might ignore the 7AM time slot for when their window opens.
©Disney
Here’s what every pro KNOWS about Disney World — it’s a competitive jungle. People are always vying for dining reservations, the best seats at shows, ride queue positioning, personal space, time with characters…you name it. While the majority of guests are able to coexist, that doesn’t negate the fact that everything you do at Disney World presents competition in some form.
That can definitely be said about Lightning Lanes. When those time slots open up, people WILL take advantage of them. So be one of those people or risk missing out. Know when you’re eligible to book, set an alarm in your calendar, and come out ahead.
Not Connecting Your Family to My Disney Experience
We live in the digital age, and the Disney Parks have fully embraced that reality. At Disney World, the My Disney Experience app is heavily used, and you’d be hard-pressed to do much without it.
©Disney
The app is your go-to wallet for dining reservations, PhotoPass, park tickets, and Lightning Lane reservations among other things. In short, it’s very, very difficult to do Disney World these days without the app. Fortunately, you can and SHOULD link your entire party to each other to manage everyone simultaneously.
©Disney
Linking a party together also ensures that every single member of the group is accounted for with Virtual Queues and Lightning Lanes. If you DON’T connect your family on My Disney Experience before you book your Lightning Lanes, you run the risk of missing someone or wasting time figuring out how to make sure everyone is accounted for. The best piece of advice we can offer is once you have your tickets set, immediately connect your family on the app and bypass the unnecessary stress.
Forgetting About Dining Reservations
Look, we get it. Planning a Disney World trip is super overwhelming, and it’s incredibly easy to overlook things and make simple mistakes. With that said, try to remember when and where you’re booking those big dining reservations.
Mickey!
Rookies might forget about their existing dining reservations and book over one (or more) of them. It’s an easy mistake to make, but, fortunately, Disney might’ve already come up with a solution.
Don’t miss your dining reservations!
With the change, the new Lightning Lane system will show you when you’re about to book over a dining reservation… making this an easily avoidable mistake. Now it will still let you do it — but we definitely recommend you don’t. Look, if you’re set on the time being allocated toward something, we won’t try to sway you on which you should prioritize. We do, however, want to note that if you follow the previous two pieces of advice, it’s very likely you can have your cake and eat it too — literally! Make a note of your itinerary well before you go and get familiar with it so that you’re ready to tackle Disney World and have the best vacation ever!
Everyone IGNORES This Disney World App Feature, but It’s a Lightning Lane GAME CHANGER
How are you faring with the new Lightning Lane changes? Do you think they’re a step in the right direction? Let us know and continue to follow us here at DFB for all the latest Disney World tips, news, reviews, and more!
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What are some Lightning Lane tips you have for Disney World rookies? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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When I went to WDW in 2022 I did try to get dining reservations 60 days out but nothing was available. I checked many times each day and never was able to get them. With people booking ahead of time with lightning lane choices I feel we will run into the same problem. At least previously with genie+ everyone going to a park that day was on the same page. Don’t care for the new system!