The My Disney Experience app is a fantastic tool to help you plan your Disney World vacation both before you arrive and while you’re in the parks.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Not only can you use your hotel key right on your app, but you can also book your Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass selections seven days in advance of your trip when you’re a hotel guest or three days in advance for all others. However, we ran into an issue recently when one of our team members was trying to pre-book their Lightning Lanes. We have the solution that you need to know about!

OK, before we dive into what went wrong, we should give you a bit of background. Lightning Lane Multi Pass is an optional paid service available through the My Disney Experience app. It allows you to skip the standby lines and enter the Lightning Lane (previously known as the FastPass line) at select attractions. You pay one base price for multiple attractions, hence the name Lightning Lane Multi Pass. You can also pay for some additional, more popular rides separately, and those individual express passes are called Lightning Lane Single Pass.

When purchasing Lightning Lane Multi Pass, you can make up to three Lightning Lane Multi Pass selections in a park in advance of your visit. Additionally, you can choose available times as you make your attraction selections and can continue to hold up to three Lighting Lane Multi Pass selections at a time.

Lightning Lane

So, what’s so special about booking your Lightning Lanes ahead of time? Well, the earlier you can book those reservations, the more likely you are to get the rides (and times) you want. Some of the rides available through Multi Pass are POPULAR, meaning they sell out pretty quickly.

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway Lightning Lane

Got all that? Great, now let’s tell you what went wrong. Recently, our team member went to book their Lightning Lanes seven days in advance (since they were staying at a Disney hotel), but there was an issue — the app showed that they wouldn’t be eligible to book until later in the week, which wasn’t correct. However, everyone ELSE in their party could book those Lightning Lane reservations at the proper time. How odd!

©Disney

This is a huge issue, of course, because some of these Lightning Lane reservations can go FAST, even seven days in advance, so not getting to book them until three days in advance (like non-hotel guests) when you’re supposed to be getting that hotel guest perk can really affect the selections you’re able to make. Our team member hopped on the phone to chat with guest services…only to find that the wait was 171 minutes! 

©Disney

However, they ended up getting the issue resolved after chatting online with an agent, but was still on the phone for an hour and 20 minutes. We’re not entirely sure what that Cast Member did behind the scenes to fix the issue, or what caused it in the first place, but thankfully, it was fixed and now shows Lightning Lanes can be booked at the correct time, seven days in advance.

©Disney

So, if you’re planning to book Lightning Lanes seven days before your trip, or three days before if you’re not staying at a Disney hotel, be sure to check your app the day BEFORE that window opens to ensure that your app is saying you’ll be able to book on the correct date. The last thing you want is to go in right at 7AM and find out and then see that there’s a glitch!

©Disney

If you do notice an issue, we recommend trying to get the issue solved via live chat FIRST, as the wait time is often much shorter online. Oh, and we have a few more quick tips if you need some more help purchasing Lightning Lanes! Whether you’re staying off property or not — and in turn booking your Lightning Lanes seven days in advance or three — there are some required steps and things we’d advise to prepare in advance:

• REQUIRED STEP: In order to purchase a Lightning Lane pass, you are required to have valid theme park admission for everyone in your group for whom you wish to make Lightning Passes
• REQUIRED STEP: Have your whole party loaded into and linked together on the My Disney Experience App before 7AM on the day you’re eligible to start booking Lightning Lanes so you can move through the process quickly.
• WE ADVISE: If you plan to purchase both Multi Pass and Single Pass for each day of your trip, do both for each day at the same time
• WE ADVISE: Have a plan of action. Read up on attractions and know which rides you want to shoot for as far as Lightning Lane Multi Passes go, and especially which Lightning Lane Single Pass options you wish to purchase

As always, be sure to stay tuned to DFB for all the latest Disney news!

Our FULL Overview on Everything You Need to Know About Lightning Lanes is HERE!

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Have you ever run into an issue with Lightning Lane Multi Pass or Single Pass? Tell us in the comments!