The Lightning Lane Thread! All WDW Info Here

[bay_loftis]

@nitsaki

People advise to book LLs as early as possible, so that you book your 4th, 5th, 6th LL before they sell out

Helpful post – new question arising from the sentence quoted above. Molly always talks about re-loading repeatedly to get new rides or ride times. Touring Plans talks about “drops” throughout the day. (I’ve seen a chart somewhere that specifies which rides get new LLMP “drops” at specific 7’s on the hour – 10:17, 3:47, for instance, etc.) Do rides really sell out entirely? ToT, MFSR, for instance? Or will refreshing repeatedly – or concentrating on the 7’s – actually yield new LLMP’s?

[PrincipalTinker]

@bay_loftis

Do rides really sell out entirely?

Rides do sell out BUT people’s plans change and when they do, some people (not all) will cancel LLs they will not be using. Those LLs will then become available to book.

[Jeff_AZ]

@bay_loftis

Do rides really sell out entirely?

These charts tell you which rides sell out and when. The earlier a ride sells out, the higher a priority it should generally be for you to get a LL, unless you are ok skipping, waiting standby, rope dropping, or catching at the end of the day. Focus especially on the red ones.

https://www.thrill-data.com/lightning-lane/wdw

[nitsaki]

@bay_loftis

Do rides really sell out entirely? ToT, MFSR, for instance? Or will refreshing repeatedly – or concentrating on the 7’s – actually yield new LLMP’s?

As others mentioned, almost all LLs sell out eventually during the day. Understanding which one sell out first and which ones remain available until later, usually dictates your LL and Early Entry strategy.

Refreshing repeatedly will allow you to look for cancellations, Disney reloading LL inventory.

When I have just tapped into a ride and I am eligible to book another, I quickly go through the current offerings and book one. If it is 100% satisfactory, fine. If it is not, I try modifying. I usually do this while waiting in line to ride. It needs a bit of focus (make sure you notice when you actually grab a good LL) and it can take time; and it’s not always successful. But I usually persist and unless the crowd level is very high, I usually get some improvement. If crowd level is very high things are much more difficult.

[ejgonz22]

We’ll be heading back in late June. It’ll be our first time since the LLMP/LLSP system was implemented.

For HS (on a crowd level 5 day), how likely is it to be able to get LLs for all Tier 1 rides for everyone in the group (including RNR assuming it’s open)? Half our group will rope drop with early entry (rope dropping RNR and TOT, hoping to ride RNR twice) and the other half will stroll in around 10 am. Thanks!

[davej]

@ejgonz22

the other half will stroll in around 10 am.

This is going to make things more challenging. At HS, it is a huge advantage to do your first tap-in around 9:00 am so you can start booking more Tier 1s. The 10 am group will put everyone in your party behind the 8-ball.

Are you staying on-site? If on-site, what “day” in your trip is your HS day? The farther out you can book, the better in terms of booking earlier LLs.

[ejgonz22]

We are on site and it’ll be the 8th or 9th day of our trip so we’ll get our pick of LLs. Being so deep into our trip it’ll be hard to get them out earlier especially if I’m rope dropping.

I put HS at the end since we’re hoping RNR opens by then.

[Jeff_AZ]

It is possible to get through all attractions in a day without LL, albeit with a couple hour+ waits. With LL you should make reasonably quick work of it, but logistically it will be very difficult to get LL for all the tier 1s with this fact pattern. You’re trading sleep for wait time. But that’s ok.

[bay_loftis]

@PrincipalTinker

Rides do sell out BUT people’s plans change and when they do, some people (not all) will cancel LLs they will not be using.

Very helpful! Thank you! Also: Note to Self: Cancel any LLMP’s you don’t plan to use, Bay!

@Jeff_AZ

These charts tell you which rides sell out and when. The earlier a ride sells out, the higher a priority it should generally be for you to get a LL

Wow! I had seen allusions to Thrill Data, but I had not seen actual charts. Very helpful! Thank you for posting those here! So informative!!! …Also sort of disquieting and disconcerting, but hey, I’ve come this far, maybe I can still make the LLMP’s work for me and my husband. Fingers crossed!!!

@nitsaki

It needs a bit of focus (make sure you notice when you actually grab a good LL) and it can take time; and it’s not always successful. But I usually persist and unless the crowd level is very high, I usually get some improvement.

I really appreciate your post! Thank you! I do plan to rope drop, and at this point, I’m thinking we’ll go straight to MMRR. With LLMP’s, I hope to get MFSR, ToT, and Toy Story Mania at some point during the day, and I also plan to use LLSP’s for RotR. I’m actually kind of glad that RnRC isn’t up and running for this trip – at least I don’t have to try to cram another attraction into an already full-to-bursting day. We’re going the first week of May. So I think – I think – that’s a not-very-crowded time.

I can’t thank everyone enough. I’ve done so much reading and researching, but I just couldn’t find every answer. Y’all rock!

[len]

I have a series of graphs showing the average LL return time, by attraction, by crowd level, for 2024-present.

Is it okay if I post them here? It’s a lot of graphs, which is why I ask.

[len]

For example:

Animal Kingdom Average Lightning Lane Return Times By Crowd Level

Data from 2024-Present
X data marker means > 50% chance Lightning Lanes are gone at this point

Expedition Everest

Feathered Friends in Flight (obviously dependent on showtimes)

Festival of the Lion King (obviously dependent on showtimes)

Finding Nemo - The Musical (obviously dependent on showtimes)

Flight of Passage

Kali River Rapids

Kilimanjaro Safaris

Na’Vi River Journey

Zootopia: Better Zoogether (since 2025-11-12)

[Jeff_AZ]

@len

Is it okay if I post them here?

Yes please do!

[davej]

@len

Is it okay if I post them here?

Yes, please. Thank you!

[len]

Hollywood Studios Average Lightning Lane Return Times By Crowd Level

Data from 2024-Present

X data marker means > 50% chance Lightning Lanes are gone at this point

Alien Swirling Saucers

Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage (depends on show times)

Disney Jr Play and Dance (depends on show times)

Showing these for historical reasons

For the First Time in Forever - A Frozen Sing-Along (depends on show times)

Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular (depends on show times)

The Little Mermaid

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway

Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run

Rise of the Resistance

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith

I figured this will be of interest as a comparator once Muppets opens

Slinky Dog Dash

This graph is all over the place, likely because there’s just not a lot of availability:

Star Tours

Tower of Terror

Toy Story Mania

[len]

EPCOT Average Lightning Lane Return Times By Crowd Level

Data from 2024-Present

X data marker means > 50% chance Lightning Lanes are gone at this point

Disney/Pixar Short Film Festival

Frozen Ever After

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (LLSP)

Jagged graphs likely mean low availability

Journey Into Imagination with Figment

Living with the Land

Mission: Space (both sides)

The graphs say “Orange” but it’s the same pool of LLs.

Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure

The Seas with Nemo and Friends

Soarin’ (Over Everything)

Spaceship Earth

Test Track

The wide swings in times here is probably because of low availability.

Turtle Talk with Crush

[len]

Let me know if these are useful - I can post Magic Kingdom next.

[melcort10]

@len

useful

These are great! WAY better than wading through the Thrill Data heat map eye exams. I keep a list in my spreadsheet of the average time that the LLs run out.

[len]

Magic Kingdom Average Lightning Lane Return Times By Crowd Level

Data from 2024-Present

X data marker means > 50% chance Lightning Lanes are gone at this point

Jagged lines in graphs generally indicate low Lightning Lane availability, so we don’t have a lot of samples to go from. I didn’t want to apply smoothing because it can obscure drops.

The Barnstormer

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin

Dumbo the Flying Elephant

Haunted Mansion

it’s a small world

Jungle Cruise

Mad Tea Party

Magic Carpets of Aladdin

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Mickey’s PhilharMagic

Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor

Peter Pan’s Flight

Pirates of the Caribbean

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (LLSP)

Space Mountain

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

Tomorrowland Speedway

TRON Lightcycle/Run (LLSP)

Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid

[poohfanclub]

My LL 7-day window opens up tomorrow. Can anyone here confirm that under the current LLMP/LLSP system, they have not had a problem pre-selecting LL’s with AP’s that are linked but not yet activated?

I asked the internet help desk if I was going to encounter a problem, and they told me no. I do have APR’s for each day. But what is making me nervous, is that when I go into the MDE app to plan my days (this used to be necessary with Genie+), the app is not letting me set my preferences, I am getting this message:

Anyone have experience with this?

[Jeff_AZ]

@poohfanclub

pre-selecting LL’s with AP’s that are linked but not yet activated?

I am pretty sure I have done this before. You just need a park reservation (if applicable) and valid admission to make LL reservations.

Hopefully someone who has done this recently can confirm.