What Lightning Lane Modifications Mean to You
On December 9th, Disney rolled out new functionality in Genie+ that allows guests to modify an existing Lightning Lane reservation. In this post, we'll explore how that adds to your ability to use Genie+.
We think the ability to modify Lightning Lane reservations are a big deal! Let's break down what you can do and the rules around it, and then we'll discuss how to best take advantage of this feature.
What You Can Do When You Modify a Lightning Lane
When you modify a Lightning Lane reservation, you can...
Edit your party
Select a different time for the same attraction (this will be the next available Lightning Lane window, so unlike Individual Lightning Lanes, you don't get to choose from several time slots. Instead, you take a later window when it's available)
Select a different Lightning Lane (ride and time) in the SAME park
Other Rules to Know About
Here are the restrictions Disney has placed around Lightning Lane modification. There aren't many and we think the ones that exist are totally reasonable.
Modifying a Lightning Lane does not open up another window. If you booked your original Lightning Lane at 11am, even if you modify it at a later time, your next window opens either when you scan into the ride or at 1pm based on the two-hour rule. This is a positive and a negative. On one hand, you don't get a second window to open, but then again, why would you? It's not a new Lightning Lane... It's just a modification to the original one. On the other hand, this means that even if you modify the Lightning Lane later in the day, your earlier 2-hour window remains the same. This can be advantageous.
If selecting a different experience, the new attraction must be in the SAME PARK as the original.
This does not apply to Individual Lightning Lane.
How to Modify a Lightning Lane
Find the Lightning Lane you originally booked, and click on the ellipsis (three dots) next to it.
Select "modify plan" form the menu that appears.
You will see a screen very similar to when you first selected the Lightning Lane. At the top are new times for the same attraction. Below that, are other attractions in the same park you can switch to. To switch, select "change to this time".
Make sure your party is correct. If not, click Edit to change party members.
Make sure to confirm your selection.
How to Take Advantage of Modifications
There were a couple of situations on my trip in November 2022, where modifying a Lightning Lane would have been wise, so rather than make sweeping generalizations, I'll share those with you and what I would have done had I been able to modify.
Situation 1: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in the rain
I had a Lightning Lane window about to open up for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Unfortunately, it had started to rain steadily and based on radar, it was going to rain for the rest of the day. I don't particularly love the idea of getting smacked with rain while on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
What I did before modifications: I just let the window pass and considered that a loss.
What I would do with modifications: I would be looking at ride availability for rides that were indoors or at least more comfortable in the rain. I would modify Big Thunder Mountain and switch to another ride, provided it was available.
Situation 2: No time for Splash
I had a Lightning Lane window for Splash mountain, and then a dining reservation at Disney Springs about 75 minutes later. Thinking about how to get to Disney Springs and whether we'd have time, I was getting worried that the process of riding Splash, and then getting out of the park, would leave us with less than an hour to get to Disney Springs, a trip which required a transfer since busses at that time of day were not running directly to Disney Springs from the parks. My rule is I generally leave 2 hours for trips involving transfers just in case the worst happens and I miss the bus or there is a delay. So the prospect of actually using my Lightning Lane at the time booked was making me nervous.
What I did before modifications: About an hour earlier than our Lightning Lane, we decided to stand in the standby line which was posted at 25 minutes so we could still ride Splash. Then, we just let the Lightning Lane expire. We also could have canceled the Lightning Lane and selected a new ride, but we felt pretty set for the rest of the day, so we didn't.
What I would do with modifications: Once I realized the timing was too tight, I would have looked at other rides in the same park and tried to modify my Lightning Lane to an earlier time on a less popular ride. Then, at least, I could have still ridden Splash using the standby line, but would possibly have been able to use an additional Lightning Lane.
Strategies We'd Like to Try
We suspect that with the ability to modify Lightning Lanes, later ride times may fill up earlier. This is because if you choose to modify, you're working with return times based on the time you modify, not the time you made the original Lightning Lane.
We also suspect that there may be some stacking hacks here, but in very limited situations. There have been times we've wanted to take a lazy morning or maybe focus on things that didn't need a Lightning Lane one morning. Assuming we wanted to stay in the SAME PARK, with the ability to modify, we may still have been able to grab Lightning Lanes we fully intended not to use. Then, before the window on it expires, modify it, choose a later time, and so on. You could start getting "evening" Lightning Lanes much earlier by using the 2-hour rule from the time the park opens, rather than waiting for evening times to start opening up.
If people start doing this a lot, it means evenings are going to be harder times to find Lightning Lanes. We just hope that there are a good variety of Lightning Lanes available for after 2pm for those hopping since you can't use the modify feature to switch your Lightning Lane to a different park, and you are limited to Lightning Lanes in the park for which you have a reservation until 2pm. But if evenings become times when it's harder to ride, that means mornings will become times when it's easier to ride Lightning Lane and harder to ride standby, so another option, aside from stacking like crazy, is to go against the flow and use Lightning Lanes in the morning, saving evenings for more experiential things.
The bottom line is, we just have to see if people use this feature to try to hack the parks. I know I would.
What do you think of the new ability to modify your Lightning Lanes? Are people making too big a deal of it, or is it a hidden treasure trove? Tell us over on our Facebook page, where you can follow us to see when new blogs post each week. Until next time...
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