Lightning Lane- the "skip the line" system at WDW

Ok I promise this is not as complicated as others make it out to be. Yes, you are on your phone and on the App, but if you are even a remotely organized person in your regular life, you can certainly handle organizing a Disney day.

LL = Lightning Lane

LL = the line itself you take when arriving at the experience

The LL system works as follows:

- you set up 3 max LLs at the outset

- you are limited to tiers but the App will walk you through this

- grab what you WANT to go on, not what is popular

- if you have other reservations on the day you are planning, the App will take this into account and schedule around these

- once reserved, you stick to the time frame windows and arrive at the appropriate attraction/experience and scan in

- once you scan into that first LL, you can then set up the next one

* * I tend to make calendar reminders for myself for the days I want to use LLs, and when standing in line waiting to board, I pick the next attraction.

All right, you are set up, you have the attractions ready. You have a park reservation too (don't forget that!). You scan into your first LL within the timeframe window and are now setting up another LL.

This part is fun-- IF YOU HAVE an annual pass OR a park hopper ticket on this day, you activate another level of Lightning Lane availability after tapping into this first attraction. This is considered the "MultiPass Lightning Lane" level.

You can change parks in the App, and see about availability elsewhere and reserve a LL at a different park that you will "hop" to later in the day. You can continue to do this as your day progresses.

Pro 1: You do not wait long in lines for your chosen attractions. In the end, the cost of this service is well-worth low wait times.

Pro 2: You are guaranteed to easily ride or enjoy a minimum of 3 attractions. Likely more, but that is up to you to keep picking.

Pro 3: If your attraction suddenly goes down or closes due to maintenance after you have set it up, you will get a "use any time LL pass" for a list of select attractions. So you may miss out, but Disney will help make it better.

Con 1: If you are staying on property, you have a 7 day window to schedule your LLs. If you are not staying on property, you have a 3 day window to begin reserving LLs. This makes selections slightly less available for hot attractions like Slinky Dog Dash or Tiana's Bayou Adventure. 

Con 2: Yes you are on your phone to do this in real time in the parks. But you already had your phone out to take pictures!

* * I don't see this as a con. This is the age we will live in people. 

Con 3: It is "pricey". This is a claim others have made, but not one I ascribe to. You do not go to Disney to save money. A skip the line service is another version of souvenir. And you are making memories while whisking your cherubs into all the rides, instead of managing the meltdowns taking place in the 50+ minute standby line.

* * Again, not a con to me!