Lightning Lane strategy: what to book first

Book the pass that runs out first at your park. At Hollywood Studios that's Slinky Dog Dash, then Toy Story Mania. At EPCOT it's Test Track, then Frozen Ever After and Remy's Ratatouille Adventure. At Magic Kingdom it's Peter Pan's Flight or Big Thunder Mountain. Buy any Single Pass before all of them, because TRON, Guardians of the Galaxy and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train had nothing left at 7 AM on the day on 8 to 11 of the 12 days we checked.

Across 48 days this fall, the typical first sell-out was 8:46 AM for Toy Story Mania, 8:56 AM for Slinky Dog Dash, 10:11 AM for Frozen Ever After, 10:16 AM for Test Track, 10:31 AM for Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, 11:31 AM for Big Thunder Mountain and 11:42 AM for Peter Pan's Flight. Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean and Soarin' sold out on fewer than half the days.

At 7 AM Eastern on the first day you're allowed to. Guests staying at a Disney resort can book 7 days before check-in for their whole stay. Everyone else with a dated ticket books 3 days before the ticket's first day, for every day on it. Waiting until the morning of your visit costs you the daytime return times. At 8 AM on the day, Test Track's typical return time was already 6:25 PM.

Yes. You can buy and book on the day, starting at 7 AM. Most rides still have times, but the headliners come back late. Booked at 8 AM on the day, the typical return was 6:25 PM for Test Track, 5:35 PM for Frozen Ever After and 4:55 PM for Tower of Terror. Space Mountain and Smugglers Run, booked at the same time, came back around 10 AM.

The earlier times were already taken when the day started, which points to guests who booked 3 to 7 days ahead. At 7:02 AM on the day, the typical return time on offer was already 5:57 PM for Test Track, 7:40 PM for Toy Story Mania and about 8 PM for Slinky Dog Dash. Rides lower on the list, like Space Mountain and Smugglers Run, still showed times around 10 AM.

Three Multi Pass bookings at a time. You can book another one after you tap into a ride. That's why late return times hurt. If you book Slinky Dog Dash, Toy Story Mania and Tower of Terror at 8 AM, the earliest typical return time is 4:55 PM, so you can't book anything else until about 5 PM. Single Passes are bought separately and don't count toward the three.

Yes, and two releases showed up on a schedule. Tower of Terror was bookable at 4:00 PM on 12 of 12 days, with a return time inside the hour. The Rise of the Resistance Single Pass was on sale at 11:00 AM on 9 of 12 days, also with a return under an hour away. Cancellations come back all day too, but most are gone within a minute.

It's the hardest Multi Pass at Disney World. It had anything left at 7 AM on the day on 4 of 12 days, and when it did, the return time was about 8 PM. It first sold out at 8:56 AM on a typical day. If Slinky matters to you, make it your top-group pick at 7 AM on your advance booking day.

Buy the TRON or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Single Pass first if you want one. For Multi Pass, take Peter Pan's Flight or Big Thunder Mountain as your top-group pick, since both sold out before noon on a typical day. Then book Space Mountain between the big ones. From 9 AM on, its return time was inside an hour of booking, which lets you book again sooner.

Buy the Guardians of the Galaxy Single Pass on your advance day, then book Test Track, Frozen Ever After or Remy's Ratatouille Adventure. All three sold out on every day we logged, typically between 10:11 and 10:31 AM. Booked at 8 AM on the day, they came back between 3:25 and 6:25 PM. Soarin' sold out on 17% of days, so save it for later.

Book Slinky Dog Dash on your advance day, then Toy Story Mania. On the day, start with Smugglers Run or Runaway Railway, which came back by about 10:30 AM when booked at 8, and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, which came back just before noon. Check Tower of Terror at 4 PM, when it reopened on 12 of 12 days.

Less than at the other parks. The Flight of Passage Single Pass was still on sale at 7 AM on all 9 days we checked. Na'vi River Journey is the only Multi Pass ride that goes early, selling out on 54% of days, typically at 10:50 AM. Book Na'vi first if you buy Multi Pass here.

Yes. Your advance picks all have to be in one park. After you tap into your first ride, you can book rides in another park if your ticket lets you hop. By then the second park's headliners are usually gone or showing evening times, so plan your second park around the rides that last: Soarin' at EPCOT, Smugglers Run at Hollywood Studios, and Tower of Terror at 4 PM.

When Magic Kingdom closes at 6 PM for a ticketed party, a full day of bookings fits into fewer hours. On Sunday, November 8, Big Thunder Mountain was already sold out at 7 AM and Peter Pan's Flight was gone by 9 AM. Every Multi Pass ride in the park stops taking bookings by 5 PM on those days.

Ride Ready logs Disney World's public Lightning Lane availability. Sell-out times come from a 5-minute log of 48 park days, Sept 23 to Nov 9, 2026. Return times come from a 30-second log of 12 days, Oct 29 to Nov 9, 2026. "First sold out" is the first time a pass showed no return times after 7 AM, not counting the last 90 minutes before close. Return times are the median of what was on offer at that clock time on the day itself. We can't see what's left when you book 3 to 7 days ahead, so advance availability on this page is inferred from what remained at 7 AM on the day. This was a busy fall stretch with Magic Kingdom party nights. Holiday weeks sell out sooner.