The Lightning Lane Thread! All WDW Info Here

Walt Disney World
1508

This is my nightmare. I have read further on, and I know you got the wrinkles ironed out, so I’m happy for you. But I actually am old; I have never successfully wielded anything like Lightning Lanes or Genie+, or heck, even pre-booked FastPasses. When I think about this coming Saturday and getting on my phone to try to arrange anything for my trip in 12 days, my stomach hurts. I don’t know how anyone does this.

My husband says I should just buy the Premier Pass for Hollywood Studios and get it over with. He might be right. But I still need LLSP’s for Guardians and Rise, and I’ll need LLMP’s if I want to get on Buzz or HM or Pirates… Ugh. So I will still have to use my phone ad nauseum for at least two fifths of my trip.

I saw a video the other day about the science of how much people enjoy their vacations – was that linked here? The thing was about how much you enjoy your vacation before you get there because of the happy anticipation, and then how long you enjoy it while you’re on it; the conclusion of the spiel was that you should take more vacations per year. But the thought I came away with was, “I’m not happily anticipating my vacation. I’m dreading fighting with my phone for a week.”

I did actually finish the entire EarScouts video about 2026 LLMP’s. I only cried one more time: When the guy said, “Now for advanced techniques…” The previous hour had been the EASY part?!?!?

Yay. Lightning Lanes. :nauseated_face:

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1509

You can do it! You know the basics.

The key is that you just take it one step at a time. If things go south, call in and a CM will help you. You can always modify your LLMP selections after you buy. Just focus on your top must do (1 LLMP per day) and then worry about the other two later.

LLSPs are usually easy enough to get. There’s no reason they have to be in the morning - just take the time that works best with your schedule. Later in the day will usually be open for advance bookings.

Buzz will be the wild card since it just reopened, but HM and Pirates are usually easy to snag in advance. No rush.

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1510

No, you don’t, because the Premier Pass is good for both the LLMP and LLSP attractions at the given park, such as HS. But it is only good for the one park.

If you park hop, then you cannot use the Premier Pass for the additional parks.

You do not HAVE to have LLMP for Buzz and HM and Pirates, if you tour wisely (arrive early!) and can tolerate waiting for the few things you MUST do. The line for Pirates is all indoors, out of the sun. It’s a short line in the first hour or two. HM is all outside, but mostly in shade, and is fairly short in the first hour or two. I’ve done that. At regular park open, I do JC, the POTC, then HM all on standby.

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1511

Awh, don’t worry! It won’t be as bad as you fear! It actually went very smoothly for me last year (2025) for my first trip with LLMP/LLSP. I think on Saturday after I made one mistake, I just panicked.

Here was my park day order: (1) Arrival, No LLMP, (2) AK, (3) EP, (4) MK, (5) HS, (6) EP, (7) MK, (8) Departure, No LLMP

AK was no problem. At EP, we were shooting for 9AM for Soarin’ and ended up with 9:40. We had to tweak our plans a little bit, and that rattled me. MK would have gone smoothly if I had not goofed on my party selection. Remember to Select All if everyone in your party is riding! Forgetting to remove myself from GotG on my EP day was just another dumb mistake on my part. HS went very smoothly, as did my second EP day and my second MK day. So overall, not really bad at all! (We did not even try to get Buzz because it has never been our favorite ride, and we did not want to waste a pre-select LL on it. If we get it day of, fine, if not, fine.)

Do you have your days planned out with which parks you are visiting? You are in good hands with @Jeff_AZ and @nitsaki . They have both given me great advice in the past! If you have any specific concerns, you can post them here and we will try to help!

If you encounter problems, Guest Services was very helpful to me with straightening things out afterward!

The nice thing about having everything pre-planned, is that it makes the actual trip less stressful! You will be fine! :pink_heart:

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1512

Let’s do a short recap.

First, today you should check that everyone in your party have their tickets linked and show up in your friends and family list.

Also check if you have a valid payment method in your profile.

Have a plan per day: what park’s LLMP you want, what LLSP.

Using the MDE app, tap on the three parell lines and then tap on Lightning Lane Passes.

On top is the section regarding the Multi pass. Tap on Purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass.

Select the date for which you want to purchase the MP. You can do the days of your visit in any order you want . I always advise doing HS first, then MK, followed by Epcot and AK last.

Once you select date, you are prompted to select park.

When you do this, a box will open showing you the cost of LLMP per person. Tick on the box . You can, if you wish also click on the Single Pass box underneath, or you can finish with the Multi Pass and do Single Pass in separate transaction.

Press Continue button at the bottom of the screen.

Next you will be prompted to select your party. Do not hurry. Select party and press continue
The next sxreen will show you the available LLs per tier. It will prompt you to select one LL from tier 1 and two from tier 2.

You can do two things at this point:

A. Take the suggested times for the LLs you want and modify later with MDE or BG1.

B. Take the time to choose the timeslot you prefer In MDE prior to finalizing the transaction

For you, I propose option A .

Choose the LLs, take suggested times, finish transaction by confirming your selection of LLs and making payment. YOU DO NOT NEED TO RUSH . Double check everything.

Once completed, move on to another day or the single passes.

If the rides you where hoping for are all later in the day than you would prefer, book them anyway. After you finish the transaction for your whole trip, and your stress level falls, you can review what you have. Try modifying times but if nothing budges, select the one LL that is easiest to get on the day of (we can advise on this) and modify it to another LL with early return time.

Btw, I am 63. I know how you feel and I get flustered if anything goes unexpectedly when I deal with new stuff
Remember that the whole process isn’t “minute sensitive”. The availability you get at 7:00 is almost certainly the same as that which you get at 7:10 or 7:20. Try to remember to breathe and everything will go smoothly. But even if it doesn’t, you can easily correct it either yourself or with the help of a Cast Member.
Let us know if you want any help in deciding on LLs to aim for and/or any plan Bs.

8 Likes
1513

I do.

[Sat., 5/2 - Arrive, dinner at Wine Bar George
Sunday, 5/3 = Epcot and MK (LLSP for Guardians)
Monday, 5/4 = MK and AK (LLMP maybe)
Tuesday, 5/5 = AK and Epcot
Wed., 5/6 = day off
Thurs, 5/7 = HS (LLMP, LLSP - or LLPP)
Fri, 5/8 = Epcot and ? (LLMP maybe)]

I really need to review my touring plans, and I need to make a list of what to go for on Saturday when I’m able to book LLMP’s. It just all seems so overwhelming. It’s not like I haven’t been to WDW before – I have. I have used touring plans before. It’s just the whole … rigamarole of LLMP’s and trying to schedule things.

Anyway, everyone here is very nice and helpful and supportive. I just need to get out of my head and… let the chips fall.

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1514

The crowd calendar looks pretty good for your week and days/parks! How many people are you booking LLMP for, and will your group be able to make it for early entry? (We struggle with this.) Do your TP’s look ok at the moment? Did you force times for LL’s and Evaluate, or did you use Optimize?

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1515

I’m only booking for me and my husband; we are early risers who love rope drop (and mid-day naps). My TP’s… I have a tendency to hedge my bets, so I have some multiple TP’s for some days. I try to arrange my ideal day and then hit “evaluate.” The results are usually heinous, so then I make a copy and hit “optimize.” Still not great. Then I add in the LLMP thing on the optimized copy, and the touring plan improves a little, but it still basically advises against, say, getting a Lightning Lane for Buzz. And I just know I’ll need a Lightning Lane for that because it just reopened.

So it’s a hodge-podge. I’m not convinced I need LLMP’s for Magic Kingdom, but it’s advised by a lot of people. However there’s a part of me that wants to get MK LLMP’s just so I can practice for the day that I know I need LLMP’s (at least) in Hollywood Studios.

And I’ve been in WDW without LLMP’s or LLSP’s. We missed Rise of the Resistance one year just because I counted on being able to rope-drop it. It was down the whole morning; when it came back, the line was too long to get into, and all the single rides were sold out. (Was it Virtual Queue back then? What did they call LLSP’s in 2022/2023?) It’s miserable to miss an e-ticket ride just because I didn’t pony up the big bucks before the window closed.

My biggest concern is that my husband wants to do everything in Hollywood Studios except the shows. (And I would like to see a show. Or two.) And I am picky (and selfish!) and want things in the order that I want to do them. I don’t want to criss-cross the park 8 times in one day, and I want to ride SDD at night, and dang it, that’s just what I want.

Ugh! I’m a grown-up! I know you can’t do everything in WDW in one day! Logically, I know that. Emotionally, I’m a very needy person who wants to have her Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich and eat it, too.

Uhhhh, here’s a thought. Does any one know if you can purchase some LLMP’s before your trip and then, once onsite, upgrade to a LLPP if your first day of LLMP doesn’t go well?

[Honestly, I did everything in the Magic Kingdom that I wanted to do last October, but that was on a party day. I knocked out SDMT, PP, HM, Tiana’s, PoC, JC, Philharmagic, and the PeopleMover before noon. It was crazy awesome.]

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1516

Great question–I don’t know the answer!

Me too, lady. Me too.

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1517

Yes!!! There are enough steps in the day without criss-crossing all over the place! When I set up my touring plans, I always plan around touring in the most efficient way possible with regards to walking and getting between places, which often is at the expense of sacrificing wait times. After getting accustomed to FP, I just can’t go back to waiting in long lines for a ride (it’s like a drug they introduced us to and now we are hooked). So I think I’ve just come to accept that I have no choice but to throw money at the problem and just buy all the LL.

3 Likes
1518

I was at DHS December 11, 2025 and March 14, 2026. I had no problem using LLMP to ride ToT, SDD at night, ASS, RnR, TSM, MMRR, MFSR plus shows w/o LLMP and took a break both trips.

In December since it was 7+1, I prebooked TSM 9:15, RnR 9:25, and ToT at 10:45. I pick up a 12:30 MMRR when we tapped in for TSM, got MFSR after RnR and rode MFSR around 12:30, got ASS 7:10 after riding MFSR and picked up a 7:50 SDD at the drop. We left the park around 2:30 and came back around 6:00. Sometime during the day we watched Frozen Sing Along and the Villains show and then saw the Little Mermaid show in the evening. We got in standby line for Rise around 8:40pm and only waited 34 minutes. DHS closed at 9. (We tried to rope drop Rise and it was closed when we got there. We pivoted to SDD and only waited 20 minutes. We were then able to ride TSM with maybe a 5 minute wait so we rode SDD and TSM twice that day.)

For the March trip, I prebooked SDD for 6:35PM, TSM for 9:15 and ToT for 9:30. Picked up MMRR for 1:30 after TSM and then MFSR after ToT. I modified the time at the drop to around 11:30ish. RnR was closed for refurb. I also pick up ASS for 5:50 at some point. I was with first timers so I bought ILL for Rise. Normally I would not because I’ll get in line at the end of the night. We left the park for a nap around 2:30 and came back around 7:00. We watched Frozen Sing Along at before we left for the break. (Note: we also rope dropped MMRR and TSM so we had two rides on those)

DHS is totally do-able with just LLMP. I don’t feel like we ran all over the park, criss-crossing all day either.

I don’t ride Star Tours but it’s available all day

1 Like
1519

Gregg and I finally separated at the parks because he was truly getting on my very last nerve with not wanting to do what I wanted to do. Unfortunately, that was his last day in the parks due to illness. We’ve decided that next time we’ll go our separate ways at the parks.

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1520

There is no way to do this automatically but I bet a GS CM would help you do that. Subject to availability - LLPP sometimes sells out at really busy times (Christmas and Spring Break) but probably not this time of year.

ETA: You can purchase both LLMP and LLPP for the same day.

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1521

I think you are going to be fine with HS, especially if you do early entry! We hardly ever make it for EE and we manage to do everything we want by mid-afternoon. We usually start out in Toy Story Land, and pre-select LLMP’s for TSMM and SDD for AM and TOT for afternoon. We also pre-select an LLSP for ROTR for AM. We book MMRR for mid to late afternoon after our first tap-in. After our second tap-in, we catch MFSR at the 10:47 drop. Then we make our way to Galaxy’s Edge. After finishing all of the Star Wars stuff, we eat lunch at a QS. In the afternoon, we will see shows (BatB, Mermaid, Frozen) and ride MMRR. This year, we are going to try to fit in Villains. We usually leave the park around 3:30 and go back to the resort for a rest. Then we eat dinner somewhere else (outside of the park). If your goal is to ride SDD at night, you could rearrange this order a bit without criss-crossing too much and still get in an afternoon break. Watching for the drops in all of the parks is going to be key for making your LLMP plans a success, (and HS has a lot of drops) but it is very workable! I’ve been watching the drops all week (thank you @JoQuo711 ) , and I think we (and you) will be okay.

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1522

This is 100% me at Hollywood Studios. Down to SDD at night. RD there is so inportant and the key to making it all work. Your HS day is far enough into your trip you should be fine. If HS is 3 days or earlier you can struggle to get an early morning LL but you should not have that problem.

I love making an HS day work with different parameters- its like a puzzle for me. I tend to take a break at HS, or plan for shows in the middle of the day, to wait for your return time to move where you want them.

Do you want a suggested schedule? Are you comfortable with trying to pick up a TSMM on a drop? I am assuming you want that guaranteed night SDD.

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1523

You all have been incredibly helpful and incredibly kind, and I really appreciate all of your help and input.

I used the MDE app to “chat” with someone at Disney (no keyboard! I almost died of typos!), and the answer is that no, you cannot upgrade from LLMP to Premier Pass without losing the money you spent on LLMP. You can ask for a refund, but it isn’t guaranteed. You can hope that the Premier Passes haven’t sold out in the meantime, but that is definitely not guaranteed.

Ultimately, I am just too wary of the technology. I’m fortunate: We aren’t retired yet; we’re not on a fixed income; we poked around in our savings and found $600.

I’m buying the Premier Passes for Hollywood Studios.

But hey! I’ll give LLMP’s a try-out in the Magic Kingdom! Wesley wants to ride Space Mountain. He doesn’t love WDW the way I do; I’m grateful he’s not making me take another non-Disney vacation in … Well, I won’t name it, but it was not a fun trip to “the mountains” last September. :cold_face: :rofl:

Thanks again!!!

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1524

Seems like in your case this is the best decision for peace of mind.

Have a fun trip!

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1525

Hope you report back! Now you’ll have a carefree day :blush:

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1526

For others who might come upon this thread, I just want to speak to this a little.

It is an accurate response per the letter of the law. You can not go into MDE and modify an LLMP into LLPP. (You could purchase LLPP in addition to LLMP fairly easily.) And if you wait until the day of to do so, you might be out of luck if LLPP is sold out.

However, in almost every case where Disney has a “no refund” policy, they will usually apply the cost of the item to something with equal or greater value. You can often apply the cost of an unused ticket for an AP; a party ticket for a different party ticket; I’ve even applied the cost of a Memory Maker to an AP. But this must be done either in person at Guest Services or over the phone.

In practice, if someone has the money to blow on LLPP, I would say either buy it as soon as you are eligible or if you decide to get it on a whim, purchase it in addition to the LLMP / LLSP that you already have – then you can ride your favorites twice.

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1527

This sounds like it was a great idea for your peace of mind. I hope it is an amazing day!

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