UPDATE: Potential WDW Lightning Lane Strategies

In a previous article, I discussed some potential strategies for maximizing use of the new Lightning Lane Multi Pass (LLMP). Unfortunately, at the time, there was no real world data on LLMP. Therefore that article was very speculative. However, now that we have real world experience with Disney’s new skip the line system, it makes sense to revisit this topic.

Lightning Lane Multi Pass in Review

Let’s first review some of the key characteristics of Lightning Lane Multi Pass.

1. LLMP lets you essentially skip the line of selected rides. More accurately, you can use the Lightning Lane to access the attraction, which could have a substantially shorter wait time.
2. Guests are able to book up to THREE Lightning Lane reservations in advance of their trip (7 days in advance if they are staying on property, 3 days if staying off property)
3. All three advanced reservations must be in the same park
4. Only one of the three reservations can be for a Tier One ride, the most popular rides.
5. Once you check into your first ride reservation on the day of your visit, you can immediately book another Lightning Lane reservation. In addition, you unlock the ability to book your next ride in ANY park, ANY tier.
6. As you continue to check into subsequent rides, you can continue to book an additional reservation, any park and tier. In essence, you can hold three reservations at a time. So if you use one, you free up a slot for new reservation.

A Potential Stacking Strategy?

Astute readers probably realize that points 5 and 6 open up the door for getting more than just your initial three Lightning Lanes. You can continue to stack rides for later in the day, skipping the line for them. So the sooner you can redeem your reservations, the more opportunities you have to make additional ones.

In my previous article, I pointed this potential out. However, I was a little hesitant to recommend it because there was one unanswered question at the time.

Would there be sufficient same day reservation availability to make this strategy viable?

If there are no good reservations available on the day of your park visit, then there’s no point in trying to stack. You would then be better off preselecting reservations in the afternoon and using the standby line in the morning when lines are generally shorter.

However, if there IS good same day availability, if you can get good reservations on the day of your park visit, then you are better off preselecting your reservations as early as possible. That way, you can open up the door for more reservations sooner.

So what’s the verdict?

I checked out Lightning Lane availability since the new system went into place by examining data on Thrill Data. And I have come to the following conclusion.

There appears to be sufficient Lightning Lanes available same day that it is worthwhile to use a stacking strategy!

How to Implement a Lightning Lane Stacking Strategy

The stacking strategy is very simple

1. Preselect your Lightning Lanes for as early in the day as possible. One of the rides should be around park opening. Do this even if it means selecting a ride for which there isn’t much of a standby wait.
2. On the day of your visit, check into your first Lightning Lane and immediately book another one. Because you are no longer restricted to one Tier 1 ride after you use your first preselection, you can book anything you want regardless of tier.
3. Continue to book a new Lightning Lane every time you check into a ride.

Of course, you need to be strategic about what rides you preselect and how you prioritize your same day selections. Even if a popular ride has same day availability, it might only have availability for the first few hours that the park is opened. Therefore, you should select those as soon as you can.

I looked at the data and divided rides into four general groups.

• Preselection priorities: likely to sell out in advance
• Same day top priorities: likely to sell out the quickest same day
• Same day next priorities: likely to sell out next quickest same day
• Everything else: likely to have availability for most of the day

This will help provide some direction on which rides to prioritize with your same day selections. Clearly, you will want to prioritize same day selections that are most likely to run out.

DISCLAIMER: Obviously there are a lot of variables. Even if a ride is generally available all day on most days, there is always a chance that it might sell out on ocassion. Think of this as a general guide, rather than a hard-and-fast rule. Use it to prioritize your potential same day selections, but don’t consider it to be gospel.

Putting the Stacking Strategy Into Practice

Now that we have established ride priority, putting the strategy in to practice becomes clear.

Preselections

You should prioritize preselecting the rides which are likely to be sold out in advance: Tiana’s (MK), Remy (EP), or Slinky Dog Dash (HS). Take whatever time you can get, as you might not have much of a choice.

Since these are all Tier 1 rides, your next two preselections must be Tier 2 rides. Prioritize selecting times that are early in the day so that you can quickly unlock the door to selecting another ride once you check in. You might even want to pick something that has a reservation time at park opening, so you can get another ride right away. This will give you the most opportunity to get a desirable ride that is available same day.

Same Day Selections

If you have planned your preselections right, you should hopefully have one within the first hour of the park opening. As soon as you check into this ride, you immediately unlock the door to selecting a Lightning Lane for ANY ride, regardless of tier. Prioritize something from the “Same Day Top Priority” list. If you don’t select it now, it might be gone by the time you are able to choose another one.

As you continue to check into rides, keep trying to select something from the “Same Day Top Priority List”. If nothing is available, then move on to the “Same Day Next Priority” list.

You may also want to consider ride location in the park. You might want to stack consecutive rides in the same area of the park, so you don’t have to backtrack too much. This, of course, is easier said than done based upon Lightning Lane availability.

What About Park Hopping?

One of the limitations of the current system is that all of your Lightning Lane Multi Pass preselections must be in the SAME park. However, once you check into your first ride on the day of your visit, you open up the ability to book Lightning Lanes for any ride in ANY park.

This opens up the following strategy for LLMP and Park Hopping:

• Purchase LLMP for your starting park and book all of your Lightning Lanes as early as possible
• As you check into rides at your starting park, book LL’s in the park to which you are hopping

This, of course, means that you will only get one Tier 1 ride in your starting park, and you’ll probably miss out on the most popular LL ride in your second park. However, you can still be set up for success in both parks even if you have to utilize the standby line for a few of the most popular rides.

Wrap Up

As you can see, with LL’s generally having some same day availability, it opens up some strategy options to consider.

1. Preselect at least one or more LL’s in the morning, so you can unlock the door to booking additional Tier 1 rides as soon as possible. You should go as far as booking a “throwaway” LL right at park opening.
2. When you make your same day selections, consider how quickly reservations are going to sell out, as well as the relative location of the ride in the park.
3. For Park Hoppers, preselect rides in your starting park for the morning. Then as you check into each ride, book attractions for your second park.

Using some of these guidelines will help you to maximize the value of the Lightning Lane Multi Pass!

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