Lightning Lane Park Changes (& the problems toddlers bring?)

[jgrant.med]

Hi all,
Apologies if this specific question has been asked before - though I couldn't find the answer through the search.
Planning on travelling to WDW next year. This will be our first visit since 2017 (Fast pass+ days?) - and the first with a young child.
I understand that you can purchase LL passes for your entire stay 7 days prior to arrival. I assume this means, due to the different costs of different parks, that for 'best availability' you have to pre plan where you are going (& when) for your entire stay when making the purchase? Is this correct?
Whilst this wouldn't have bothered us 9 years ago, doing so now with a 2 year old may be tricky - as it's hard to predict whether we'll want an extra rest day etc.
Unsure whether the correct strategy would be to book only a few fixed days (& purchase other LL passes on the day when we've decided where we want to go). However, how does ride availability look with the on the day purchasing? Is it reasonable or is it hard work? I have vague memories of prebooking rides long in advance with Fast pass+ back in 2015 and struggling to get some rides 'on the day'.
Any tips / guidance / reassurance appreciated!
J, H & E

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Hi all,
Apologies if this specific question has been asked before - though I couldn't find the answer through the search.
Planning on travelling to WDW next year. This will be our first visit since 2017 (Fast pass+ days?) - and the first with a young child.
I understand that you can purchase LL passes for your entire stay 7 days prior to arrival. I assume this means, due to the different costs of different parks, that for 'best availability' you have to pre plan where you are going (& when) for your entire stay when making the purchase? Is this correct?
Whilst this wouldn't have bothered us 9 years ago, doing so now with a 2 year old may be tricky - as it's hard to predict whether we'll want an extra rest day etc.
Unsure whether the correct strategy would be to book only a few fixed days (& purchase other LL passes on the day when we've decided where we want to go). However, how does ride availability look with the on the day purchasing? Is it reasonable or is it hard work? I have vague memories of prebooking rides long in advance with Fast pass+ back in 2015 and struggling to get some rides 'on the day'.
Any tips / guidance / reassurance appreciated!
J, H & E

I'm not sure I can quite convey what you are asking, but I'll try.

1. In part, it depends how busy the parks will be on the days you plan to visit.
2. Yes, you sorta do have to decide in advance if you want to book LL- either the multipass or the single attraction ones, because they sell out. Even if they are not sold out entirely, the available times might not work with your plans, like dining.
3. with the current system, users generally want to try to book passes with early return times, because that is how one gets the most out of it (# of total passes each day). Though many people don't feel a need to use it that way. Some folks are happy with 3 passes.
4. On a recent fairly slow day, my ability to get more passes was limited. Much more limited than it was with G+. and this was on a slow day. Just the new LLMP is pretty lame, IMO. Right now, a number of attraction are also down/being refurbed.
5. WDW is now selling the higher priced LL pass. If a family really wants to go on all the rides at WDW, without the hassle of booking, that is maybe the way to go, but IMO the price is pretty crazy high. And there are no refunds (unless maybe a LOT of rides are down).

6. I feel for your situation. If it is any help, many parkgoers face endurance uncertainty, not just those with toddlers. It is also worth noting that touring Universal is less complicated, but not everyone's first choice.

7. If you book a WDW hotel you'll have the ability to visit a water park on arrival day. Otherwise, many people sorta plan to do a non-park day somewhere in the middle of thier trip. Many others do a mid-day break. If you can find a way to easily return to your hotel mid-day, then taking a break is easy, but the further your hotel is from WDW, the harder it is to manage afternoon breaks.

8. I don't know how flexible your child is. Some children are more flexible, and others are less flexible about things like eating and napping. Having a stroller is usually a good idea. Also read about rider swap option. At WDW, it is often helpful to bend the 'normal' rules a little, IMO. I would also say do NOT overbook things like meals and other extras. Instead, try to eat more quick serve meals, which don't require reservations. If you do want a sit down meal, maybe don't pre-book it, but just look for walk-up availability via the app. Also always good to have a few snacks on hand. Maybe pack some in your luggage, maybe do a small grocery run, though keeping cold foods col in FL is always a bit tough. Shelf-stable foods are great to have, like granola bars or whatever snacks your family likes.

Another small vacation hack is to get your breakfast food the night before you plan to eat it, like maybe some pastries and fruit from your hotel food court.

#####

So more diectly, yes at 7 days out you go online at 7am - if you are staying onsite- and book 3 passes per day. You cna find out in advance how much it will cost. Also know though that it is most helpful in MK. You can usually skip it on your Epcot and AK days. Though maybe book a LL for Guardians, Rise, or FoPassage. Personally, I usually just skip Rise. I don't think it is worth $25+ per person.

 

[jgrant.med]

Thank you, that's really helpful, agree that my post was a bit ambiguous. We're planning on visiting in late April / early May, ideally. Fairly accepting that we wont be hitting the 'big rides' regularly with a toddler and trying to make it as relaxing as possible.

I think I knew the answer to the question before I asked it - the best 'strategy' would be to book LLMP for each day of the trip (depending on how busy the parks are in May) and go for it. However, suspect that with a toddler - who is pretty laid but but still a toddler - that we would end up 'wasting' a lot of the LLMP investment through non-use or changed plans. There are bigger losses out there, sure, but still.

 

[nickys]

Generally availability of LLs on the day is much more limited than with FP+ or G+ because you can always hold 3 at a time.
So by 30 minutes after park opening, many people will have booked their 4th.

 

[Tigger&Pooh]

Thank you, that's really helpful, agree that my post was a bit ambiguous. We're planning on visiting in late April / early May, ideally. Fairly accepting that we wont be hitting the 'big rides' regularly with a toddler and trying to make it as relaxing as possible.

You don't HAVE to buy LLs. If you are likely to end up missing them because your party wants/needs flexibility and you are OK missing some of the more popular attractions this visit, I'd skip the LLs and go with the flow.

 

[jgrant.med]

You don't HAVE to buy LLs. If you are likely to end up missing them because your party wants/needs flexibility and you are OK missing some of the more popular attractions this visit, I'd skip the LLs and go with the flow.

You are right, but it needs a shift in mentality from previous visits! Suspect we'll book a few days up and go with the flow for the rest of the trip. As long as we're prepared for limited availability if we do decide to add on a LL it's not so much of a problem.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Thank you, that's really helpful, agree that my post was a bit ambiguous. We're planning on visiting in late April / early May, ideally. Fairly accepting that we wont be hitting the 'big rides' regularly with a toddler and trying to make it as relaxing as possible.

I think I knew the answer to the question before I asked it - the best 'strategy' would be to book LLMP for each day of the trip (depending on how busy the parks are in May) and go for it. However, suspect that with a toddler - who is pretty laid but but still a toddler - that we would end up 'wasting' a lot of the LLMP investment through non-use or changed plans. There are bigger losses out there, sure, but still.

You can easily skip buying the multi-pass some days. It is most useful in MK and HS. For AK and Epcot, you really don't need it, especially if you plan to skip Remy, Frozen, or Test Track in Epcot. For AK, there are only 4 rides worthy of a pass: Dino, Na'vi, Safari, and Everest. Guardians, Rise, and Flight of Passage are separate, you might want to buy the LL for one of those.

Personally, I'm willing to skip Rise. For my Ak days, I often skip buying the LL and just buy FoP. In Epcot, there are 3.5 top draw rides: Guardians, Remy, Test Track, and Frozen (that the sorta top tier one). If you can do one at rope drop, and are willing to skip one, then you can do everything else without LL. Try watching wait times to get an idea of what to expect, or use the information posted here in another thread.

I am assuming you plan to do rope drop, and ideally closing the parks is also good, if you can manage an afternoon nap (for everyone), then return to the park in the evening. Though much always depends on the weather. This time of year afternoon/evening storms are common. during a thunderstorm, many rides stop running. Every day, rides go down, so you might end up having to skip a ride just because it isn't running.

When I said 'bending the rules a little' helps, I meant modifying your normal routine/being flexible. That includes things like being flexible when it comes to eating and napping times. Try to eat at off-times. Splitting up a little is also helpful, like having one person do a thrill ride while the other takes the toddler on something else/diaper duty, etc. In this situation, having a third adult also helps.

You can also make your day a little easier sometimes if you are willing to pay for a few upcharges, like transportation.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

You are right, but it needs a shift in mentality from previous visits! Suspect we'll book a few days up and go with the flow for the rest of the trip. As long as we're prepared for limited availability if we do decide to add on a LL it's not so much of a problem.

It might also be a good call to only buy the ILL's, or some ILL's.

I've done the parks - recently - with a combo of buying and not buying the LLMP. For MK it is pretty helpful to have it.

But we covered a lot of Epcot easily without it, and had minimal waits. We lucked out at rope drop and hit Remy. We arrived before 8:30, and they let us go as far as the ride entrance. Then at 8:30, it was a fairly short wait. We got a baguette/crepes, then walked to FEA, and at 9:20 that had a posted 30 min wait, but actual wait was only 14min (photo time stamps).

We had a ILL for GoG for 10:30am. (even with an ILL, takes about 25 min).

With very short waits, we did: Living w/Seas, Land, SE, Imagination, waited to see character for 20min, Moana walk-through (your toddler will probably LOVE it!!), and Mexico. We left the park before 3. (To swim, but a pop-up storm kept that from happening).

Toddlers in WDW are great fun! If it is a nice day, watching a toddler delight over some small thing is tons of fun. Everything is new to them!

 

[jgrant.med]

Toddlers in WDW are great fun! If it is a nice day, watching a toddler delight over some small thing is tons of fun. Everything is new to them!

We are looking forward to seeing the Park(s) through a Toddlers eyes - having been lucky enough to visit them as adults without a child in-tow.

We did sneak a trip in to Animal Kingdom in 2023, so managed to ride Flight of Passage (which we loved). If we're being honest, our main aims as 'adults' are to re-ride that. I'd love to get on my favourites (ToT, test-track) & experience Tron, but it wont make or break a trip.

Really helpful hints and tips - it's difficult to get a feel for things having not visited for a while (and reading about some of the horror stories that emerged for standby wait times when Genie+ etc first came out). Think we'll pre-plan a MK day (or two), an Epcot day and an Animal Kingdom day and go with the flow the other times.