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

[Figment Mom]

So we are in the parks July 25-27 and this new change is super frustrating since we are on the Disney Fantasy on the 24th so we can’t book anything in advance and I fear everything will be booked up by the time we are able to try.

The timing is unfortunate, but there's no way everything will be booked up. I'm hoping we all end up pleasantly surprised at how things turn out.

 

[gottalovepluto]

So we are in the parks July 25-27 and this new change is super frustrating since we are on the Disney Fantasy on the 24th so we can’t book anything in advance and I fear everything will be booked up by the time we are able to try.

Do you have a trusted friend or family member who would be game to try for you in the US?

 

[jelona]

The timing is unfortunate, but there's no way everything will be booked up. I'm hoping we all end up pleasantly surprised at how things turn out.

Hopefully with crowds being the way there have been, even if things don't work out our way, We will have moderate to low wait times in stand by.

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

No more waking up at 7:00am!!! That alone makes me very very happy

Do we know what time it is available? Is it 12:00 a.m. on the 24th. or 7:00 a.m. or some other random time? Please and Thank you!

 

[Tom_E_D]

Do we know what time it is available? Is it 12:00 a.m. on the 24th. or 7:00 a.m. or some other random time? Please and Thank you!

From the Disneyworld website:

"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."

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

From the Disneyworld website:

"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."

UGH still 7:00! I will be working in MST time so a lovely 5:00 a.m. wake up call.

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

From the Disneyworld website:

"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 indicates they are still doing their IT with batch processes that must run overnight...just a guess

 

[Tom_E_D]

This indicates they are still doing their IT with batch processes that must run overnight...just a guess

Perhaps, but 7:00 has traditionally been the time that Disney's U.S. phone reps start their workday. When they started allowing people to book rooms, etc. online as an alternative to calling the phone reps, I believe they started the sales at 7:00, so they wouldn't be giving an advantage to those who chose one means or the other to make their reservations. Of course, they eventually got in the habit of allowing online reservations to start before 7:00 on the first day of a sale in order to avoid the system crashing at 7:00, but it was always unofficial. I remember booking rooms for "free dining" online at 4:55 or so one morning on the first day of the sale in 2018. Anyway, my point is that 7:00 is the time Disney has chosen to start things, dating back to before they were so online-oriented. (As a secondary point, I wouldn't wait until 7:00:00 on July 24 to try to book an LLMP if I was eligible. They might unofficially start earlier.)

Ultimately, they have to pick a starting time. Whether they pick Midnight or 7:00 AM or any other time, some people are going to wish they had picked a different time.

 

[ccianci85]

I believe I heard some good information regarding split stays from a cast member on the chat questioner. She mentioned the following:
"Thank you for your patience. You can book up to 7 days in advance of each check in date for the number of ticket days you have."

So it sounds like split stays will not be an issue as it is ticket length based not resort stay based.

 

[babydoll65]

I believe I heard some good information regarding split stays from a cast member on the chat questioner. She mentioned the following:
"Thank you for your patience. You can book up to 7 days in advance of each check in date for the number of ticket days you have."

So it sounds like split stays will not be an issue as it is ticket length based not resort stay based.

According to 1 of the chat cms I spoke with yesterday, that's exactly what she was stating. It looks like the only time the 3 day prior or 7 day prior comes into play is whether you're staying on-site or off. Once that's established its based on the ticket length and start date. I'm kinda glad since I have a 14 day ticket and the start of my trip is off-site so I'll be able to start booking 3 days prior but will be able to book the full length of my ticket which will include my on-site's days.

 

[Tom_E_D]

I believe I heard some good information regarding split stays from a cast member on the chat questioner. She mentioned the following:
"Thank you for your patience. You can book up to 7 days in advance of each check in date for the number of ticket days you have."

So it sounds like split stays will not be an issue as it is ticket length based not resort stay based.

According to 1 of the chat cms I spoke with yesterday, that's exactly what she was stating. It looks like the only time the 3 day prior or 7 day prior comes into play is whether you're staying on-site or off. Once that's established its based on the ticket length and start date. I'm kinda glad since I have a 14 day ticket and the start of my trip is off-site so I'll be able to start booking 3 days prior but will be able to book the full length of my ticket which will include my on-site's days.

Perhaps the cast members are right, but the Disneyworld website refers to "length of stay":

"When staying at Disney Resort hotels or other select hotels, Guests can purchase Lightning Lane passes—and choose experiences and arrival windows—starting 7 days before the first day of their Resort stay, for their length of stay (up to 14 days)."

If I had an onsite/offsite split stay that started onsite, then quickly went offsite for a longer stay, I would not be confident that I could book for the full length of my ticket. On the other hand, I think those who are splitting their stays across two or more Disney resorts will be able to book for the full length of the split stay.

 

[babydoll65]

Perhaps the cast members are right, but the Disneyworld website refers to "length of stay":

"When staying at Disney Resort hotels or other select hotels, Guests can purchase Lightning Lane passes—and choose experiences and arrival windows—starting 7 days before the first day of their Resort stay, for their length of stay (up to 14 days)."

If I had an onsite/offsite split stay that started onsite, then quickly went offsite for a longer stay, I would not be confident that I could book for the full length of my ticket. On the other hand, I think those who are splitting their stays across two or more Disney resorts will be able to book for the full length of the split stay.

OK well this goes back to me being confused again I have a separate, date based ticket linked to mde. Regardless whether I'm staying on-site or off, where does this come into play then?

• Guests with date-based theme park tickets (which require the Guest to choose a start date at the time of purchase) can purchase 3 days before the first day of their ticket, for the total number of valid admission days on their ticket.
• Guests with other ticket types* can purchase 3 days before their park visit.
• Annual Passholders* can purchase 3 days before their park visit.

 

[Tom_E_D]

OK well this goes back to me being confused again I have a separate, date based ticket linked to mde. Regardless whether I'm staying on-site or off, where does this come into play then?

• Guests with date-based theme park tickets (which require the Guest to choose a start date at the time of purchase) can purchase 3 days before the first day of their ticket, for the total number of valid admission days on their ticket.
• Guests with other ticket types* can purchase 3 days before their park visit.
• Annual Passholders* can purchase 3 days before their park visit.

On the third day before the start date of your ticket, you can book LLMP/LLSP reservations for the length of your ticket. But I'm not sure whether you can do that on the seventh day before your Disney resort check-in for the whole length of the ticket if the resort stay is short. If the resort stay is four days or more, you should be good to book everything seven days before check-in. Book the first four days under the resort stay/length of stay rule and book the rest under the date-based ticket rule. But if you instead had a 2-day resort stay followed by an offsite stay, I wonder if on the seventh day before resort stay, they limited you to booking for the days of your resort stay and made you wait until the third day before your ticket start date to book the rest. But again, I'm not sure that will be the way it works. I think there is some ambiguity there and I'm frankly not convinced that the Disney employees who are answering the questions on chat really know what the answers are.

FWIW, if I had a resort stay followed by an offsite stay, I would try to book all the days of my ticket on the seventh day before the resort stay begins. But I wouldn't be surprised if I couldn't book the dates after I check out of my Disney resort.

 

[babydoll65]

On the third day before the start date of your ticket, you can book LLMP/LLSP reservations for the length of your ticket. But I'm not sure whether you can do that on the seventh day before your Disney resort check-in for the whole length of the ticket if the resort stay is short. If the resort stay is four days or more, you should be good to book everything seven days before check-in. Book the first four days under the resort stay/length of stay rule and book the rest under the date-based ticket rule. But if you instead had a 2-day resort stay followed by an offsite stay, I wonder if on the seventh day before resort stay, they limited you to booking for the days of your resort stay and made you wait until the third day before your ticket start date to book the rest. But again, I'm not sure that will be the way it works. I think there is some ambiguity there and I'm frankly not convinced that the Disney employees who are answering the questions on chat really know what the answers are.

My trip consists of November 3-7 offsite, November 7-8 Dolphin, November 8-11 Old Key West and November 11-16 Boulder Ridge. My 14 day, date based tickets start 11/3 so I'm assuming I can start booking LLMP on October 31st. Even if I go based starting on my onsite stays, seven days before November 7th is still Oct 31st. I don't think I will EVER do this again

 

[Tom_E_D]

My trip consists of November 3-7 offsite, November 7-8 Dolphin, November 8-11 Old Key West and November 11-16 Boulder Ridge. My 14 day, date based tickets start 11/3 so I'm assuming I can start booking LLMP on October 31st. Even if I go based starting on my onsite stays, seven days before November 7th is still Oct 31st. I don't think I will EVER do this again

I agree that you can do it all on October 31.

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

Perhaps, but 7:00 has traditionally been the time that Disney's U.S. phone reps start their workday. When they started allowing people to book rooms, etc. online as an alternative to calling the phone reps, I believe they started the sales at 7:00, so they wouldn't be giving an advantage to those who chose one means or the other to make their reservations. Of course, they eventually got in the habit of allowing online reservations to start before 7:00 on the first day of a sale in order to avoid the system crashing at 7:00, but it was always unofficial. I remember booking rooms for "free dining" online at 4:55 or so one morning on the first day of the sale in 2018. Anyway, my point is that 7:00 is the time Disney has chosen to start things, dating back to before they were so online-oriented. (As a secondary point, I wouldn't wait until 7:00:00 on July 24 to try to book an LLMP if I was eligible. They might unofficially start earlier.)

Ultimately, they have to pick a starting time. Whether they pick Midnight or 7:00 AM or any other time, some people are going to wish they had picked a different time.

I was very happy when genie could be purchased at midnight. Owl not bird.

 

[elvispursley]

I’m guessing g that APs with an onsite stay will be able to book 7-days prior?

 

[Tatebeck]

That's my question. How will this work with onsite APs and split stays? Booking all at 7 days before the first reservation or 7 days before each reservation?

 

[Dave006]

I’m guessing that APs with an onsite stay will be able to book 7-days prior?

Yes but don't forget that AP holders may still require a Park reservation (they do today).

Dave

 

[elvispursley]

Yes but don't forget that AP holders may still require a Park reservation (they do today).

Dave

Yes—very annoyed that for out of state APs with an onsite stay, you still need them. It’s just another hoop bit figure if we change our minds, I’ll just modify my reservation. Still debating if we’ll purchase the LLMP or skip it since we’re going end of Aug and wait times haven’t looked bad at all.