I went to the park on Friday, February 28th, 2025 to test out the updated Lightning Lane System and see how it would be without Virtual Queues for Tron and Guardians of the Galaxy rides. I will share my tips first, and then my day below that. The Lightning Lane and Premier Pass systems are still in testing phases so check the Disney website for any further updates, or don't hesistate to message me. If you are planning to book a trip and want a Disney travel advisor, contact The Glass Slipper Concierge.
Download the Walt Disney World app, and add your ticket to your phone wallet so you can just tap your phone even in airplane mode to get into the parks and through lightning lanes.
You do not have to arrive for rope drop. If you are staying on property, take advantage of early admission. Otherwise, go around 30 minutes to 1 hour after the park opens.
Avoid vacation weeks, Disney race weekends, and the start of Epcot festivals if you can.
Wear sneakers. Everytime I hear from people after their Disney trip, the one thing that shocked them the most at how much they walked/how much their feet hurt so wear comfortable, walking shoes.
Bring snacks, and ask for tap water in the parks. Most places that sell food will give you a cup of water, and if they can't they will tell you where to go to one. Only carry a wristlet into the parks if you can help it. I carried my wristlet, and had everything I needed (cards, car key, mini meat stick, vitamins for the day, and gum). Other things I would recommend if can fit would be your portable charger and a small sunblock. You can purchase a fuelrod in the parks. If you return it, you will get your money back or you can keep it.
Purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass and the Standby Skipper app once you have you ticket. You can choose your multi pass ride options when you purchase the multi pass. You can choose the rides you want standby skipper to search for you after midnight on the day you are going.
I do not recommend paying the extra $180-200+ for the premier pass if you have standby skipper (only $25/day or $45 for the week for up to 12 people). The Premier Pass allows you to ride every ride in a park of your choosing at least once, but if doing multiple parks, you would only be able to purchase the premier pass for one park per day. If you have multiple people in your group, it is very expensive. I would only suggest it for Magic Kingdom since that park has the most rides. If you really want to ride a certain ride and don't want to wait in the standby line/single pass is not available that would be the only other way to get a lighting lane for it.
If staying on Disney property, you can purchase single pass lightning lanes 7 days out. If you are staying off property, you can purchase single pass lightning lanes 3 days out. Single Passes include Avatar Flight of Passage, Guardians of the Galaxy, Tron, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and Rise of the Resistance. You can only purchase 2 a day unfortunately, so I would choose wisely. If you are doing all four parks, I would choose Guardians and either Tron or Flight of Passage personally.
Do single rider for both Rise of the Resistance and Millenium Falcon.
The best time to do rides like Guardians through the standby line is lunch time (around 1 PM).
Last but not least...the most important tip. Always ask a cast member, and always be kind. You will be surprised at how far kindness gets you, and is one of my favorite parts about Disney.
MY ITINERARY
(Midnight on the day of, I chose the rides I wanted Standby Skipper to search for across the parks)
9:30 AM Arrived at Epcot (drove and parked) - I had Soarin' and Living with the Land booked through my Lightning Multi Pass so I rode those first (Standby Skipper started booking for me once I rode Living with the Land) ** You can modify the times that Standby Skipper books for you once they show up in your Disney app which should be as soon as you get the notification for SS. If there aren't any times you like available, ask Guest Experiences to do it for you. If they don't you can just ask at the ride itself.
11 AM Walked around the world, and enjoyed some treats. I had the bread pudding in Germany (mobile ordered through the app), an espresso martini to go from Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar in Italy, and guac and a marg in Mexico. There wasn't a festival going on when I was there so my options where the regular food service stops. If you want to try my favorite marg in Mexico, head inside to La Cava del Tequila located inside the Mayan Temple to try the avocade marg. You can also order anything from their menu if you have a dining reservation at San Angel Inn including drinks to go. I had a Lightning Lane for Frozen at 8 PM thanks to Standby Skipper (Guest Experiences would not change the time for me) so I went straight up to the LL entrance, and asked nicely...she let me use it early!
1 PM Did standby line for Guardians since I didn't get a single pass lightning lane. It took exactly an hour, and it's honestly the only ride I would wait in line for an hour for.
2:30 PM Headed to Hollywood Studios where I had LL for the Indiana Jones at 4 PM but didn't end up using it. I did single rider for both Rise of the Resistance and Millenium Falcon which took a total of 30 minutes to ride both. I was shocked and so happy! The single rider line for Rise is to the right of the regular entrance near the exit so you can ask a cast member for help if you are having a hard time finding it. For Millenium Falcon, once you go through the main tunnel of the single rider line, there are two lines to choose from. When you come to the opening, turn left and head up those stairs. That is typically the shorter single rider line. There wasn't anyone in the line when I was there so I actually walked right on.
3:30 PM Waited in the single rider line for Rock'n Rollercoaster which will be closing at some point this year to become a Muppets themed rollercoaster. The single rider for this ride typically takes just as long as the regular line so if you can get a LL for it, do that.
4:30 PM Headed to Animal Kingdom where I had LLs for Dinosaur and Everest. I rode Dinosaur first, and decided to try out the hidden drink menu at Yak & Yeti (walk run in and go straight to the bar, and just ask them for the QR code or tap the black circles on the bar with your phone). Unfortunately, the viral coffee drink was no longer offered there, but you can find it (S'mores Martini) over at the Nomad Lounge. After having some dinner and a drink at the bar, I headed to use my LL at Everest because the park was closing at 7 PM and it was 6:30 PM by the time I got to the ride. I could have got in line for Flight of Passage, but it was still a 55 minute wait for the standby line 10 minutes before park closing, so I decided to skip it this time.
7:30 PM Arrived at Magic Kingdom (parked at the ticketing center and took the monorail). Since the fireworks were at 8 PM that night, I went to find a spot since it was already very crowded. I had some questions about the VIP tour so I went over to the roped off section to ask them. Afterwards, they asked me if I wanted to join the reserved section which was very magical and was so grateful because I got to have a ton of space to myself including turf to sit on while we waited for the show to start. After the fireworks ended, I had LLs to Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Tiana's Bayou, Space Mountain, and Buzz Lightyear through Standby Skipper so I rode those since the park was open until 11 PM that day, and left the parks very tired and very happy at 10:30 PM.
In total, I was there for 13 hours, walked 10.3 miles, and rode 14 rodes (10 of those were LLs). To enjoy Disney with or without kids, one must have a plan. This is why I highly recommend working with a Disney travel agent. If you don't care about riding any rides, you don't have to plan as much but if you have kids and want to see certain characters, you can book LLs so you don't have to wait as long for those instead of doing rides. Lastly, do some research ahead of time to see the different restaurant options in the parks you will be in that day. When I was younger, my dad would have us memorize the park maps so we knew where everything was. Those tips could have been above but I hope this post is helpful for you on an upcoming Disney World trip!
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