Lighting Lane for a Newbie using a Hopper Ticket

[ST3]

I watched several videos on YT, read posts here, and Googled this but I'm still extremely confused on how this works.

I've always gone to DL and DCA on a weekday offpeak and just used the standby lines and single rider lines when available as the wait times overall weren't bad and I wanted to save the $.

That said, I will likely go on a weekend (Friday, Saturday, or Sunday...don't know yet) as my boyfriend wants to see the fireworks which from what I understand, you can only see on those days and if the weather will allow for it.

I'm okay "splurging" on lighting lane for a weekend visit as I've seen often checked the standby lines on the app for Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Soaring, Guardians, Radiator Hot Springs, etc where I've seen be between 50-105 minute waits. Just checked the standby wait time a few minutes ago for Radiator and it was at 105 minutes!


It looks like the rides we want that have the longest wait times are the ones at DCA so we would definitely want to book those first.

If we arrive at Disneyland at 8 AM, we would be able to reserve rides at DCA for when we can enter DCA after 11 AM correct? If so, say at 8:10 AM we reserve LL for 11:30-12:30 on Radiator.
This means on the app we will not be able to book any ride until 10:10 AM and that until 10:10 AM, every ride would have to be a standby at DL?

 

[Bound4DisneyWorld]

I watched several videos on YT, read posts here, and Googled this but I'm still extremely confused on how this works.

I've always gone to DL and DCA on a weekday offpeak and just used the standby lines and single rider lines when available as the wait times overall weren't bad and I wanted to save the $.

That said, I will likely go on a weekend (Friday, Saturday, or Sunday...don't know yet) as my boyfriend wants to see the fireworks which from what I understand, you can only see on those days and if the weather will allow for it.

I'm okay "splurging" on lighting lane for a weekend visit as I've seen often checked the standby lines on the app for Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Soaring, Guardians, Radiator Hot Springs, etc where I've seen be between 50-105 minute waits. Just checked the standby wait time a few minutes ago for Radiator and it was at 105 minutes!


It looks like the rides we want that have the longest wait times are the ones at DCA so we would definitely want to book those first.

If we arrive at Disneyland at 8 AM, we would be able to reserve rides at DCA for when we can enter DCA after 11 AM correct? If so, say at 8:10 AM we reserve LL for 11:30-12:30 on Radiator.
This means on the app we will not be able to book any ride until 10:10 AM and that until 10:10 AM, every ride would have to be a standby at DL?

Radiator Springs Racers uses Single Pass. Single Pass is COMPLETELY independent of Multi Pass. You can book a Multi Pass experience immediately after booking Radiator Springs Racers.

Attractions requiring Single Pass Lightning Lane access are not only independent of Multi Pass, they are also a separate charge.

After booking your first Multi Pass attraction, you can book another after 2 hours or when your return time opens.

When in doubt, check in the app. It will tell you when you can book your next Multi Pass experience.

 

[irlandaise]

Can you select a return time of your choice for a Lightning Lane Single Pass? I was in DCA one day and wanted to buy a LLSP for RotR, but it was before 11:00 a.m. and I couldn't do it. I didn't see a way to request a time after 11:00; the system was just going assign me to the next available slot, but it couldn't because that slot was right away and I couldn't hop to DL yet. Did I miss a way to book a LLSP for a post-11:00 time slot?

 

[ST3]

Radiator Springs Racers uses Single Pass. Single Pass is COMPLETELY independent of Multi Pass. You can book a Multi Pass experience immediately after booking Radiator Springs Racers.

Attractions requiring Single Pass Lightning Lane access are not only independent of Multi Pass, they are also a separate charge.

After booking your first Multi Pass attraction, you can book another after 2 hours or when your return time opens.

When in doubt, check in the app. It will tell you when you can book your next Multi Pass experience.

Okay didn't realize that about RSR. I checked on the app and I thought when you see the thing about single pass that it just meant that they were out of the multi pass ll for that ride for that time being.

Can you though book LL for a ride at DCA when you are at DL before 11AM? For instance If we arrive at DL at 8 AM, we would be able to reserve rides at DCA for when we can enter DCA after 11 AM correct?

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Can you though book LL for a ride at DCA when you are at DL before 11AM? For instance If we arrive at DL at 8 AM, we would be able to reserve rides at DCA for when we can enter DCA after 11 AM correct?

Yes, but here's the thing. You don't get to select the time you want your LL to be. You are given the next available LL. First thing in the morning at DL, most of the return times for all the rides at both DL and DCA are going to be before 11AM, so you won't be able to select DCA rides immediately if you are in DL at 8 AM. The current exception to that might be the Guardians ride which has been operating at reduced capacity. If that continues, it most likely will show times for after 11AM fairly quickly since reportedly all the LL for that ride have been selling out before 11 AM some days.

You can select your next LL when one of the following four things happens:
1. You use your most recently obtained LL.
2. Your LL converts to a multipass experience due to the ride being temporarily closed.
3. Two hours have passed since you last obtained a new LL.
4. You cancel your most recently obtained LL.

Before choosing to cancel an LL you will usually want to check LL availability. A currently held LL can be rescheduled to whatever current time pops up in the app which depending on other guest behavior could end up being sooner than your current LL. A currently held LL can also be changed to a different ride selection within the same park with whatever return time is available for that ride at the time of making this change. Making such a change preserves your original selection time. For example, you select Space Mountain at 9 AM with a noon return time. You can make your next LL selection at 11 AM even though you cannot ride Space until noon. You decide at 10:45 AM that you would rather eat lunch at noon and choose to re-schedule your Space LL to the currently available return time of 3 PM. Because you chose to re-schedule instead of cancel and book again, you will still be able to select your next LL at 11 AM based on the time it was when you originally booked Space. If instead you cancel your Space LL at 10:45 AM and book a new LL for use at 3 PM, then the next time you can select an LL is 12:45 PM.

 

[irlandaise]

Okay didn't realize that about RSR. I checked on the app and I thought when you see the thing about single pass that it just meant that they were out of the multi pass ll for that ride for that time being.

No, RSR and RotR are the two Single Pass attractions at the Disneyland Resort. Here's Disney's page about Lightning Lane Passes:

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/lightning-lane-passes/

 

[ST3]

Yes, but here's the thing. You don't get to select the time you want your LL to be. You are given the next available LL. First thing in the morning at DL, most of the return times for all the rides at both DL and DCA are going to be before 11AM, so you won't be able to select DCA rides immediately if you are in DL at 8 AM. The current exception to that might be the Guardians ride which has been operating at reduced capacity. If that continues, it most likely will show times for after 11AM fairly quickly since reportedly all the LL for that ride have been selling out before 11 AM some days.

You can select your next LL when one of the following four things happens:
1. You use your most recently obtained LL.
2. Your LL converts to a multipass experience due to the ride being temporarily closed.
3. Two hours have passed since you last obtained a new LL.
4. You cancel your most recently obtained LL.

Before choosing to cancel an LL you will usually want to check LL availability. A currently held LL can be rescheduled to whatever current time pops up in the app which depending on other guest behavior could end up being sooner than your current LL. A currently held LL can also be changed to a different ride selection within the same park with whatever return time is available for that ride at the time of making this change. Making such a change preserves your original selection time. For example, you select Space Mountain at 9 AM with a noon return time. You can make your next LL selection at 11 AM even though you cannot ride Space until noon. You decide at 10:45 AM that you would rather eat lunch at noon and choose to re-schedule your Space LL to the currently available return time of 3 PM. Because you chose to re-schedule instead of cancel and book again, you will still be able to select your next LL at 11 AM based on the time it was when you originally booked Space. If instead you cancel your Space LL at 10:45 AM and book a new LL for use at 3 PM, then the next time you can select an LL is 12:45 PM.

Thank you! Everything you said makes sense. LL is giving me anxiety!

 

[ST3]

No, RSR and RotR are the two Single Pass attractions at the Disneyland Resort. Here's Disney's page about Lightning Lane Passes:

Thank you for this info!

 

[LKing]

If you struggle to book for the other park, make sure that your filters are set correctly. I believe the settings default to the park you are in and you need to change the park settings to see availability of the other park after 11 am.

 

[irlandaise]

If you struggle to book for the other park, make sure that your filters are set correctly. I believe the settings default to the park you are in and you need to change the park settings to see availability of the other park after 11 am.

But can you search for a later time when you first make an LLMP reservation? As @longtimedisneylurker said, you have to take what the system offers, right? And if a ride at the other park is available before 11:00, you won't see it as an option no matter what your filters, right? Until its return times go past 11:00.

 

[LKing]

But can you search for a later time when you first make an LLMP reservation? As @longtimedisneylurker said, you have to take what the system offers, right? And if a ride at the other park is available before 11:00, you won't see it as an option no matter what your filters, right? Until its return times go past 11:00.

I haven't tried it to know if I can search for a later time first thing in the morning. Of course, Guardians starts booking after 11 am pretty quickly.

I mentioned it because a friend was trying to book LLMP for DCA while in DL and couldn't find any availability. A CM showed her to change parks to view what was available at DCA. This was before 11 am and she could only book attractions with return times after 11 am.

@ST3 have you considered starting at DCA?