Booking LLs in advance - timing

Question

On some of my days at WDW, I plan to arrive at the park in the late afternoon, so I want to book my LLs for late afternoon or night. When I book at my 7- day window, I assume I can only book the earliest time available, and have to keep checking back throughout the day (and future days) to change the LL time to move it later. That worked pretty well for me when you could only book the day of your visit. But with the new advance booking (and a 9- night stay), I will be booking LLs as much as 2 weeks or more in advance, and hate the thought of having to do that every day during that time to keep moving my LLs later. Does anyone have experience doing this and how hard/easy it is to push advance LLs back to later times?

Or once you book an LL and go to modify it, do you get a wider choice of times?

Answer

When booking Lightning Lane (LL) selections at Walt Disney World under the current system, there are a few key points to understand about timing and modifying your selections, especially for late arrivals.

Booking Window and Initial Times

With the new Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane system, your initial booking is constrained by availability at the time you access your 7-day (or onsite 60-day) window. Typically, the system will show the earliest available times first. This means if you are planning to arrive in the late afternoon, you may initially see earlier slots that do not match your intended schedule.

Modifying Lightning Lane Selections

Once you have booked a LL, you can modify it. In most cases, modifying a selection provides access to the full set of currently available times for that attraction, not just the earliest available. This means that as times fill up, you might see a wider or different set of options than were available at the initial booking. However, very popular attractions (like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance) can sell out quickly, so flexibility may be limited.

If you book early in your window, you may need to log in and check periodically to adjust times to later in the day, especially for popular rides.
Modifying is generally straightforward through the Disney app, and once you find a preferred later time, you can confirm the change immediately.
For less popular attractions, later times are usually available and modification is easier.

Tips for Late Arrival Days

Plan your first LL selections for attractions with later-day availability, or book the first LL you can and then modify it as needed closer to your park arrival time.
Use the “Modify” feature in the app frequently to adjust for later times; this is often more efficient than canceling and rebooking entirely.
Consider booking less popular rides for your late arrival window if top-tier attractions are already booked early in the day.
Check for cancellations or changes in availability daily; other guests modifying their LLs often frees up later time slots.

Overall Experience

Many guests report that pushing advance LLs back to later times is manageable, especially if you are flexible and diligent about checking the app periodically. The key is that modifying an existing LL does often reveal more options than when you first booked, so you do not need to start from scratch each time. Popular rides may require more frequent checks, but the system allows you to adjust without losing your booking entirely.

In summary, while some monitoring and adjustment is needed for late arrival days, modifying your LL selections usually gives you access to a broader range of times, making it possible to align your ride reservations with your planned schedule.

Booking LLs in advance - timing

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