Plan Ahead with Lightning Lane Entry at Walt Disney World Starting July 24

[traveler9]

We just got back from our trip and I think we accidentally stumbled on a hack that I don't remember anyone mentioning, but apologies if this is already common knowledge. On our arrival day, we had figment booked from 8pm-9pm and went to ride it and it was down. No big deal, we just grabbed a snack and watched some fireworks. But, when I woke up the next day, in addition to the 3 passes I had booked, I had an anytime pass that was good for a tier 2 ride at any of the parks all day. We tested it and were able to use it on TSMM, no problem. I wanted to test this "hack" again the next day, and the Railway was down when I went to look in the afternoon and was done making passes for the day and I was still able to get a pass for 8-9pm. And magically, when I woke up the next day there was an anytime pass in addition to the 3 I had booked, and this time I was able to use it on tier 1 and 2 because Railway is a tier 1. So, it seems like if you have a pass booked for the last window of the day and the ride is down when the park closes, it gives you an anytime pass for the following day. Hopefully I articulated that right, we just got back from driving 14 hours home yesterday so I'm still recovering

I did this on my last trip at MK even though I never went to the park (had spent the day at HS). Since you can hold 3 at a time I booked Barnstormer, Dumbo, and Magic Carpets all for the last hour that MK was open since it closed 1 hour later. A lightning storm rolled through, all 3 were shut down, and I had 3 anytime passes for tier 2 rides the next day.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

We just got back from our trip and I think we accidentally stumbled on a hack that I don't remember anyone mentioning, but apologies if this is already common knowledge. On our arrival day, we had figment booked from 8pm-9pm and went to ride it and it was down. No big deal, we just grabbed a snack and watched some fireworks. But, when I woke up the next day, in addition to the 3 passes I had booked, I had an anytime pass that was good for a tier 2 ride at any of the parks all day. We tested it and were able to use it on TSMM, no problem. I wanted to test this "hack" again the next day, and the Railway was down when I went to look in the afternoon and was done making passes for the day and I was still able to get a pass for 8-9pm. And magically, when I woke up the next day there was an anytime pass in addition to the 3 I had booked, and this time I was able to use it on tier 1 and 2 because Railway is a tier 1. So, it seems like if you have a pass booked for the last window of the day and the ride is down when the park closes, it gives you an anytime pass for the following day. Hopefully I articulated that right, we just got back from driving 14 hours home yesterday so I'm still recovering

Ahhh, the late night lotto!. I did this in 2019 with FP+ when it was clear that Fantasmic wasn't going to run that night due to weather. We were done for the night and heading out, so I booked us all into the show. Got a set of passes for our whole crew to use the next day with our MNSSHP ticket during the 4-6pm window.

Assuming it works the same was it did in the olden times, yes, it's specifically when a ride goes down in the last hour of operation that the anytime pass is good the next day at any park. Given this is the case, it's always worth booking those last rides in the the evening, even if you aren't riding. PP's suggestion of Barnstormer, Carpets, and Dumbo is an excellent trio for MK as they usually have availability and will go down in a thunderstorm. Obviously doesn't work all the time, but it's a nice perk when you hit the late night lotto. The fact that the new system allows you to hit x3 is that much better!

 

[NicoleLarson]

We just got back from our trip and I think we accidentally stumbled on a hack that I don't remember anyone mentioning, but apologies if this is already common knowledge. On our arrival day, we had figment booked from 8pm-9pm and went to ride it and it was down. No big deal, we just grabbed a snack and watched some fireworks. But, when I woke up the next day, in addition to the 3 passes I had booked, I had an anytime pass that was good for a tier 2 ride at any of the parks all day. We tested it and were able to use it on TSMM, no problem. I wanted to test this "hack" again the next day, and the Railway was down when I went to look in the afternoon and was done making passes for the day and I was still able to get a pass for 8-9pm. And magically, when I woke up the next day there was an anytime pass in addition to the 3 I had booked, and this time I was able to use it on tier 1 and 2 because Railway is a tier 1. So, it seems like if you have a pass booked for the last window of the day and the ride is down when the park closes, it gives you an anytime pass for the following day. Hopefully I articulated that right, we just got back from driving 14 hours home yesterday so I'm still recovering

I'm curious if this would work if you don't have LL day 2. We are only getting LL day 1 but not for any other park. Would I still get an anytime LL the next day? I might try this out and see what happens, if something goes down.

Also, I apologize, I know this has been said before but can someone remind me what time the morning of your LL can you start to modify? Park open?

 

[Dave006]

I'm curious if this would work if you don't have LL day 2. We are only getting LL day 1 but not for any other park. Would I still get an anytime LL the next day? I might try this out and see what happens, if something goes down.

You don't need LL for your next park but you do need a park ticket to actually use your bonus LLMPs.

Also, I apologize, I know this has been said before but can someone remind me what time the morning of your LL can you start to modify? Park open?

Technically any time. After 7 AM should provide you the best results.

Dave

 

[NashvilleMama]

I'm going mad and can't figure out why the system won't let me do this - does it always force you to group your LLs back to back? I see an open spot in the morning for multiple rides before our lunch ADR, but when I try to book one it forces me back to the "block" by the other two in the afternoon. Is this a thing? It's not an availability issue as it's been persistently showing a.m. options to me for days (e.g. Frozen or Indiana Jones) just so we can try and knock out a LL first thing....

 

[Gentry2004]

I'm going mad and can't figure out why the system won't let me do this - does it always force you to group your LLs back to back? I see an open spot in the morning for multiple rides before our lunch ADR, but when I try to book one it forces me back to the "block" by the other two in the afternoon. Is this a thing? It's not an availability issue as it's been persistently showing a.m. options to me for days (e.g. Frozen or Indiana Jones) just so we can try and knock out a LL first thing....

Do you have an AP or ticket that requires a park reservation? I've seen people mention this happening because they needed to make a park reservation. If that's not it you can probably just wait and modify the morning of.

 

[NashvilleMama]

Do you have an AP or ticket that requires a park reservation? I've seen people mention this happening because they needed to make a park reservation. If that's not it you can probably just wait and modify the morning of.

Yes, I have an AP with that park reserved already....

 

[NashvilleMama]

Yes, I have an AP with that park reserved already....

omg! That was it - my park reservations were gone?? I just double checked them and am 100% positive I had made those. That solved the problem, THANK YOU!!

 

[cdirazonian]

Hi. Can you please type slowly and explain this to me since I will be booking in a couple of weeks for our 10 day stay LOL

Why did you put attractions out at a later time from the beginning?

Late reply, sorry, been in parks.

This might confuse you more (IDK if I’m explaining this good, but here goes.)

The system gave me our 3 picks but started earlier than we wanted & not in the order I really wanted. System wouldn’t let me rearrange because there wasn’t enough time available between them. But once I moved one time totally out of the way (to 3pm) there was enough room to start rearranging start times, etc.

I wanted our selections in a different order & to start at a different time from what was given

So I took one time slot (Tiana’s) selection and put it in for around 3pm.

Then went back & had some wiggle room for our other 2 selection time slots.

Once I had those were I wanted them the system let me place the selection I put at 3pm back into an earlier slot. I made sure selection 1 & 3 had atleast 1hour between them for the system to let me place the 3pm selection back in

Sounds more complicated than it really was..basically I knew where in the park I wanted us to start & knew what we wanted to try to book next after each ride approx what time we’d be in the areas for our other selections.

Here’s an EXAMPLE (MK time slots were farther apart but I did similar for each park day and the others were 55 - 1 hour apart)

I wanted and was able to get

1. Dumbo @ 10:40
2. Tiana’s @ 11:50
3. Haunted Mansion @ 1:00

The system gave me Tiana 1st thing in morning but I didn’t want it then, I wanted to start in fantasyland. Do dumbo then goofy train, then go to Tiana and then Big Thunder. So I threw Tiana out to 3pm and rearranged other times. After riding Dumbo got a LL for Big Thunder for around the time of Tiana’s…etc & so on

I did have a plan before I even tried to book our LL & I was always at the end of our time slots getting onto the rides, but it worked out great.

But again this is a slow period, who knows what the holidays will look like.

Hope this helps…and wasn’t too confusing.

 

[cdirazonian]

Should I book everything and then go back and modify?

I don’t think so, no. I’ve read on here that it’s been harder to rearrange everything after you’ve paid & tried to go back in.
That’s why I did it before even paying. And the 5 minutes the system gives was enough time for me to do everything. But I did go into it with a plan already written down, lol

I can’t see trying to figure out our day as I was booking the LLs, IDT i would have had enough time to do it that way.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

For the individual LLSP, can you still return anytime after your timeslot, as was usually the case withe the genie+ ILLs?

I’m trying to find the answer to this same question,

 

[Dave006]

I’m trying to find the answer to this same question,

No official answer on the enforcement of return times on LLSP purchases. Just some comments from CMs that since you paid for a specific that you could return at any time. Please note that not all CMs have offered that response. Your mileage may vary...

Dave

 

[aurora64]

When is the option to buy Lightening Lane Multi become available in MDE? Can you buy it before the 7 day window or not until you 7 day window opens? I have a room/ticket package purchased. Thanks

 

[kezmez_22]

We have a 9 day stay coming up, the first 2 nights are onsite then we move to off site. Will I just be able to book the first 2 days LLMP’s at 7 days out, then I will need to wait to 3 days before each day for the rest of my trip?

 

[Miffy]

Will there be a sticky on this board about LLMPs and LLSPs at some point in the near future?

 

[babydoll65]

For the individual LLSP, can you still return anytime after your timeslot, as was usually the case withe the genie+ ILLs?

The way it was explained to me by a CM is that they are a bit more lenient when it comes to return times for vqs because you have no control on what times your given. Paid LLSP (where you can choose the time that works best) Unless you have some extreme reason on why you couldn't make it they are not lenient at all. It's mainly because you had the option of choosing the time that works best for you and hoping that you're picking the time so that it doesn't coincide with other rides or dining reservations.

 

[babydoll65]

We have a 9 day stay coming up, the first 2 nights are onsite then we move to off site. Will I just be able to book the first 2 days LLMP’s at 7 days out, then I will need to wait to 3 days before each day for the rest of my trip?

You will be able to make your lightning lane max pass reservations 7 days prior from the day of your arrival through the day you check out on that ticket. Once off-site you will be able to make the remainder of your ticket days 3 days prior for the rest of the length of your ticket on that 3 day mark (not each day).

 

[Tom_E_D]

We have a 9 day stay coming up, the first 2 nights are onsite then we move to off site. Will I just be able to book the first 2 days LLMP’s at 7 days out, then I will need to wait to 3 days before each day for the rest of my trip?

@babydoll65 has explained how it works if you have date-based tickets. (See prior post.)

However, if you have non-date-based tickets or an annual pass, you can book your onsite days (including both check-in and checkout days) seven days before your resort check-in day. But for your offsite days, you could indeed book them only one day at a time three days before each park day.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

No official answer on the enforcement of return times on LLSP purchases. Just some comments from CMs that since you paid for a specific that you could return at any time. Please note that not all CMs have offered that response. Your mileage may vary...

Dave

I can report that today I used one at FoP with no issue. Was 2 hours after window ended. Scanners turned green. No override by CM needed. Worked exactly as they do when you scan during the window

 

[brockash]

The way it was explained to me by a CM is that they are a bit more lenient when it comes to return times for vqs because you have no control on what times your given. Paid LLSP (where you can choose the time that works best) Unless you have some extreme reason on why you couldn't make it they are not lenient at all. It's mainly because you had the option of choosing the time that works best for you and hoping that you're picking the time so that it doesn't coincide with other rides or dining reservations.

This has not been our experience on any of the ILL except Tron (and actually we never tried just read here.) We have consistently shown up hrs later for Guardians, FoP and Rise with no issue getting in and these were paid ILL. Not sure what Tiana will be like.