Questions From Lines Chat: Lightning Lane Preview
The Lines Chat on the TouringPlans app is arguably one of the best things about being a Subscriber, or Liner. I’ve started to save some of the great questions people post on there each day so we can answer them here and provide pertinent links and data.
Today’s question:
“Tomorrow is when I can start to book my LL’s. Can I get a sneak peek at what LL’s & times are available?”
Answer: YES! We can give you a sneak peek 21 days out from your booking window!
Our website has the Current Lightning Lane Return Times in Walt Disney World showing 21 days of Lightning Lane return times for every ride in all 4 parks.
You’ll be able to see current return times and what’s sold out. The screenshot above is from our website this morning. We’ve highlighted return times in EPCOT. You can see from the image above that Remy still has Lightning Lane availability for 9:00am on Tuesday, July 28th. Unless you had a current reservation within the booking window, you would not be able to find this information on Disney’s website.
Lightning Lane Purchase / Booking Windows
- Disney Resort Guests
- 7:00am Eastern Time, 7 days before the first day of your Resort stay
- Guests with Date-Based tickets and Annual Passholders
- 7:00am Eastern Time, 3 days before your park visit
How to Know if You Even Need to Buy Lightning Lanes
Unless you’re headed to Disney World during dependably busy times, like the week of Christmas, you may not need to purchase Lightning Lanes for your visit.
The TouringPlans Crowd Calendar shows a 10-day outlook on our website that is free for everyone. TouringPlans Liners have access to our 365-day rolling Crowd Calendar.
If you’re trying to decide on Lightning Lane purchases, we’d suggest checking the overall crowd level and then searching for your specific park data.
The image above indicates that Lightning Lane purchases for EPCOT on July 29th might not be the best use of your Disney dollars since the Crowd Calendar forecast is a 1. We’d also suggest saving your money if you’re headed to Hollywood Studios that day since the Crowd Calendar is showing a 3!
What’s Happening Where
Want to drill down a bit more? We’ve got more to show you!
The information above is available on our website under each day in our Crowd Calendar. If you click on “See All Details” under any date on the Calendar, you’ll be able to view:
- Regular Park Hours
- Early Entry Hours
- Extended Evening Hours (if applicable)
- Parade, Show, Fireworks Times
- Ticket Prices
- Lightning Lane Multi, Single, and Premier Pass Prices
This area will also list any parties and events like Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.
If you’re further out in your planning process, don’t forget to check out the Best Day to Visit posts by Len Testa!
The Best Day of the Week to Visit Hollywood Studios
The Best Day of the Week to Visit EPCOT
The Best Day of the Week to Visit the Magic Kingdom
The Best Day of the Week to Visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom
See you in the Lines Chat!
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You say that for guests with date-based tickets, their lightning lane purchase/booking window begins at 7:00 a.m. three days before their park visit. Actually it begins three days before the start date of their date-based ticket. The start date of their ticket can be days before the date of their park visit, and the days they can book the later days of a multi-day ticket will always be more than three days before those park visit days.