We did an "experiment" on a recent visit to Disney World. We decided to purchase the Lightning Lane option with our park hopper ticket. For this day, we were park hopping Disney's Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom only, so we planned accordingly. This is how it all played all.
So, to give you some background information, there are 3 types of Lightning Lane passes.
⚡Lightning Lane Multi Pass - What we purchased
⚡Lightning Lane Single Pass - For one ride only ( usually a top tier/ very popular ride)
⚡Lightning Lane Premier Pass- For all lightning Lane rides with no wait time.
Unless you know your exact date and you are with in several days of that date, Disney doesn't come right out and tell you how much each of these passes are. I believe it goes by the crowd level during that time.
Because we knew we wanted to end the day at Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom was the park that we would visited first. Seven days before our arrival day, I was able to purchase these Lightning Lane passes. Since we would be starting our day at Animal Kingdom, I paid the Animal Kingdom price for the Lightning Lane, which was $16 for each of us. This now gave me the ability to make Lightning Lane (LL) selections at any of the parks. The only stipulation would be that I need to use my first LL at Animal Kingdom, and then I can start making them for any other park. I was not limited to only do Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom, I could have done any and all parks this day. We just chose to do only the two parks.
At the time of purchase I was able to select 3 attractions I wanted Lightning Lanes for. This is what we got.
As soon as we scanned into the Safari, that unlocked our 3rd LL. I was able to pick up Tiana's Bayou Adventure ride for 7:15 pm.
We took a few obligatory photos with the tree of life and the current AK frame and we were out of the park by 12:17pm.
We took the obligatory castle pictures on Main Street.
When we got to Jungle Cruise for our 1:45pm LL, the stand by line was only 25 minutes. If we hadn't had a LL for this ride, we would have still waited the 25 minutes, but of course it was nice to get through the line quicker. After I scanned into Jungle Cruise, I was able to select another Lightning Lane. Here is where it started to get tricky, by this time in the afternoon, most Lightning Lanes have been taken up. I was really hoping to get one for the new Buzz Light Year Space Ranger Spin, but there were no more available. A LL for Space Mountain opened up for 6:00 pm, so I was able to pick that one up for Lacey.
We did not have a LL for Pirates of the Caribbean but decided to ride it because the stand by line was only 25 minutes. We usually are able to hit this ride when the line is 15 minutes or less, but since we were already in Adventureland we thought we would go ahead and wait. Turns out, we got through the line in only 15 minutes! ( We were on the boat at 2:40pm)
We only had to wait a few minutes for the current show to end before we walked in.
I call this ride, the adult version of Dumbo. This ride has better views and shorter lines!
I made sure to take in all the details and photograph each scene since this attraction will soon be "re-imagined".
After we got off the teacups, we headed over to Peter Pan to do our 3:45pm LL. It was after 3:45pm, but we have an hour to return for the ride. The stand by line for this ride was 45 minutes, so we were glad to have a LL for this one.
Turns out, we only ended up waiting 20-25 minutes for this ride. By the time we got off the ride, the rain had come and gone. This was a great use of our time!
We had a 6:15 reservation at the new Pirate lounge "Beak and Barrel".
We don't ride this one every visit because the line is usually really long. However, we had so much fun on this ride.
It even got stuck going up the steep hill, and that just added to the fun!
After that, we waited for the crowds to thin out a bit ( so we thought) and than headed towards the exit of the park. Even though we waited a bit to exit, the crowds were still very thick and bottlenecking. I guess we've never left the park this early after fireworks before!
On this day, early entry was at 7:30 am and regular park hours did not start till 8:00 am. We were in the park at about 7:40 am. Notice our first LL did not start till 8:30 am. Now normally we would never do a LL for a show, but Zootopia had recently opened and we weren't sure how long the line would be for this attraction. Since we had time before our first LL, we headed over to Expedition Everest to see how long the stand by line would be. Usually Lacey can ride this one pretty quickly by using the single rider lane ( I do not ride this anymore). Turns out the regular stand by line was a walk on. so she got right on and I was able to cancel our 10:50 am Lightning Lane for this ride and open it up for someone else to use. Now note, even though I eliminated a LL from my list, I can not pick another YET, because I did not use my first LL ( the one scheduled for 8:30 am). By 8:05 am, Lacey was off Expedition Everest and we headed over to Zootopia to possibly do that attraction early too.
There was no line here, but the queue itself took several minutes to walk through, and then we had to wait for the show before us to end and then we were the next to go it. We got here at 8:13 am and were in the show at about 8:20. By the time we got out of the show, I went to the beginning of the queue to scan my magic band. Normally you would scan your magic band BEFORE going to a show but because we were early, we didn't end up using a Lightning lane on this one either, but I could NOT cancel it. I had to use this LL so I could unlock all the other LL for the rest of the day. I hope this makes sense.
So now that my first LL has been unlocked. I can now make two more selections. One selection because I "used" my LL for Zootopia and one more selection because I cancelled my selection for Expedition Everest since it was a walk on. Remember, we still have our LL for the Safari at 9:35 am and we plan to keep this one.
This is where our plan really falls into place. Now I am able to secure two LL attractions for Magic Kingdom.
We chose Jungle Cruise for 1:45 pm and Peter Pan at 3:45. Keep in mind when you are trying to getting LL for a second park, you are going to start seeing times that are later in the day. However, for Jungle Cruise, there were earlier times in the day, but we knew we wouldn't get to Magic Kingdom until the afternoon.
At this time it is 8:30 am or so, so we take our time getting some breakfast.
I went to Creature Comforts/Starbucks to get a Pistachio Frappe and then we got in line at Kusafiri to get the Pistachio Croissant and some breakfast potato barrels. It was 9:16 am when we finished our breakfast so we made our way over near Kilimanjaro Safaris. Although they allow you to scan in 5 minutes early for the ride, we still had a little time before then so we just wondered in some shops.
As soon as we scanned into the Safari, that unlocked our 3rd LL. I was able to pick up Tiana's Bayou Adventure ride for 7:15 pm.
Since we are Disney regulars, doing all the things at this park was not necessary. We picked a few main things we wanted to do.
After the Safari, we got in line for the cookie dough ice cream brownie that Lacey wanted to try. The stand didn't open until 10:30 am, and people had already started to line up for this treat.
Once we got the ice cream brownie, we headed over to the train to go to Rafiki's Planet Watch.
We wanted to go see the kangaroos that are now at the Affection Section.
We like the Gorilla Falls Exploration trail, so we did that as well.
We took a few obligatory photos with the tree of life and the current AK frame and we were out of the park by 12:17pm.
Disney Tip: There is indeed a park bus that will take you from Animal Kingdom to Magic Kingdom. There is no need to go to a resort to transfer.
We arrived at Magic Kingdom at 12:57 pm. We had some time before our LL for Jungle Cruise so we so we took our time exploring the train station. There are a lot of hidden details here I wanted to show my sister.
And then watched Mickey dance with the marching band.
We met up with our cousins who were also here this day, as they got off of Pirates of the Caribbean. We sat in the shade at Tortuga Tavern and chatted for a bit, until it was time for us and them to get to their next Lightning Lane.
When we got to Jungle Cruise for our 1:45pm LL, the stand by line was only 25 minutes. If we hadn't had a LL for this ride, we would have still waited the 25 minutes, but of course it was nice to get through the line quicker. After I scanned into Jungle Cruise, I was able to select another Lightning Lane. Here is where it started to get tricky, by this time in the afternoon, most Lightning Lanes have been taken up. I was really hoping to get one for the new Buzz Light Year Space Ranger Spin, but there were no more available. A LL for Space Mountain opened up for 6:00 pm, so I was able to pick that one up for Lacey.
2:19 pm -After Jungle Cruise, we headed to the Adventureland Cart to get those cheeseburger spring rolls we love so much!
We did not have a LL for Pirates of the Caribbean but decided to ride it because the stand by line was only 25 minutes. We usually are able to hit this ride when the line is 15 minutes or less, but since we were already in Adventureland we thought we would go ahead and wait. Turns out, we got through the line in only 15 minutes! ( We were on the boat at 2:40pm)
2:53 pm- The birds in the Tiki Room were calling for us, so we headed over there!
3:13pm- Magic Carpets of Aladdin was a walk on, which is good because this queue always seems to be directly in the sun!
3:34pm- By the time we got over to Tomorrowland, we were able to walk right on Carousel of Progress.
I made sure to take in all the details and photograph each scene since this attraction will soon be "re-imagined".
Space Ranger Spin was fluctuating between a 40 and 50 minute wait and we thought it might go down later in the evening, so we skipped it for now.
4:04 pm- We waited less than 5 minutes to take a spin on the teacups!
After we got off the teacups, we headed over to Peter Pan to do our 3:45pm LL. It was after 3:45pm, but we have an hour to return for the ride. The stand by line for this ride was 45 minutes, so we were glad to have a LL for this one.
4:25 pm- Mickey's Philharmagic 3-D show is one of our favorites, so we were able to do that with only a few minute wait. And by a few minutes, I mean we walked right into the waiting area and just had to wait for the show before us to end.
Space Ranger Spin was still posted as a 40 minutes wait, so we decided we were going to just wait. It looked like it was getting ready to storm, so we were hoping the rain would happen while we were on the ride.
Turns out, we only ended up waiting 20-25 minutes for this ride. By the time we got off the ride, the rain had come and gone. This was a great use of our time!
5:38- We were on living our best life on the People Mover!
We waited around in Tomorrowland for a bit until Lacey could use her 6:00pm LL for Space Mountain. 
She was able to scan in 5 minutes early. I was going to go to a different ride ( was thinking about Astro Orbiter) but decided to sit on a bench and take a break. I had missed a call from my Grand Pap earlier, so I decided to call him back while I waited for my sister.
She was able to scan in 5 minutes early. I was going to go to a different ride ( was thinking about Astro Orbiter) but decided to sit on a bench and take a break. I had missed a call from my Grand Pap earlier, so I decided to call him back while I waited for my sister.
By the time Lacey got off Space mountain it was time for us to head to our dinner reservation.
We were out of the lounge by 7:11 pm and then headed to our LL for Tiana's Bayou Adventure.
We don't ride this one every visit because the line is usually really long. However, we had so much fun on this ride.
By 7:53pm we were in line for Haunted Mansion. 
The stand by line was posted as 25 minutes. We were in the mansion by 8:06 pm, meaning that it only took us 13 minutes!
The stand by line was posted as 25 minutes. We were in the mansion by 8:06 pm, meaning that it only took us 13 minutes!
Note: When the stand by line is posted as a 13 minute wait, it means it is a walk on. Although we waited 13 minutes, we by passed the stretching room and got right in line to get in a doom buggy.
For some reason we thought the fireworks started at 9:00pm this night, so we wanted to go find ourselves a seat. We like to sit at the tables in front of the Plaza ice cream parlor.
Turns out the Starlight night time parade started at 9:00pm and the fireworks started at 10:00pm. So we ended up having a good seat for both shows! We even had time to grab some snacks from Casey's Corner so we could eat while we watched.
After that, we waited for the crowds to thin out a bit ( so we thought) and than headed towards the exit of the park. Even though we waited a bit to exit, the crowds were still very thick and bottlenecking. I guess we've never left the park this early after fireworks before!
So this was our day using Disney's Lighting Lane. Was it worth it?
I started looking up wait times on the My Disney App a week before our arrival, and the rides we normally like to ride didn't have extremely long wait lines. most hovered around 25 minutes and some more popular rides had hit 45 minutes. I had to keep in mind that school was still in session in most areas at this time and a week later, when I would be visiting, a lot more schools would be on summer break. Knowing this, I thought maybe those wait times would increase drastically.
Did we really need the Lightning Lane for Animal Kingdom? Absolutely not.
However, buying LL for Animal Kingdom only cost $16 per person and we were able to use the LL service all day long for any other park. If we would have purchased it for Magic Kingdom only, it would have cost $34.
Even though it was not helpful to have lightning lane for Animal Kingdom, it did allow us to secure a few rides at Magic Kingdom without a wait time.
So let's break it down. For $16 we were able to skip the lines for these rides:
🦒Kilamanjaro Safaris
🐘Jungle Cruise
💚Peter pan
🦎Tiana's Bayou Adventure
🎇Space Mountain
But to be honest, the longest line was only 45 minutes anyway. I would say we saved about 2 hours of our time by using lightning lane. It was nice having the LL, but I don't think it was necessary for the crowds this day.
Stay tuned for our next day of using lightning lane when we park hop Epcot and Hollywood Studios.
Till next time ~M and L
No comments:
Post a Comment
Fairytales and Fitness is a personal blog authored and edited by us, Meranda and Lacey. The thoughts expressed here represent only our own and are not meant to be taken as professional advice. Please note that our thoughts and opinions change from time to time. We consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind in an ever changing society. Any thoughts and opinions expressed within our out-of-date posts may not be the same, nor even similar, to those we may express today. Some links may contain affiliate links. Some links are just to pages we'd like to share.