Our Experience with Lightning Lane at Disneyland Resort

I didn't hesitate to buy Lightning Lane Multi Pass (available for a number of rides) and Single Pass (available for Radiator Springs Racers and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance) for rides we wanted to go on while at Disneyland Resort (prices and availability vary by date for both pass types).  It was my first time using Lightning Lane - the last time we visited Disneyland the MaxPass was in place, but it was the same concept.  

After reading through numerous FB groups and blogs, I tried my best to maximize our Lightning Lane usage, and I think I did well.  

Basically, you can book only once you (and all members of your party) are in the park.  You can only book 1 Lightning Lane every 2 hours, or you may book once you use your pass. 

Immediately upon entering I booked a Multi Pass ride, and throughout the day I kept track of when I could book another Multi Pass ride and checked redemption times to make sure there were no conflicts.

The only downside to Lightning Lane is constantly monitoring times or being on your phone.

To redeem, simply scan your ticket via the app, or scan your MagicBand+ at the Lightning Lane entry.

There are numerous tips and tricks that people offer, but here are mine:

• Always refresh your Tip Board in case earlier times open up.  Several times I was able to snag an earlier time and I could modify a Pass.  This also helped when I needed to modify to a later time (eg when we took a break and went back to our room - we ended up taking a longer break than we thought so I had to get a later time for a Pass).  Modifying the times do not affect the 2-hour window of selecting another Pass.
• Set your alarm to obtain another Lightning Lane at the 2-hour mark, where applicable
• If a ride breaks down while you are on it, waiting in line, or during your redemption time, you will be given a Multiple Experience Pass good for that ride, or any other ride specified on the pass.  This happened to us twice:
• On Rise of the Resistance, the ride broke down, so we were given passes.  I noticed, however, that the Cast Member was having trouble scanning our MagicBand+ and / phone, and he had a hard time viewing his unit from the glare of the sun.  Luckily, I checked my account as we were still in the area and noticed only 3 of us (out of 5) had passes.  I went to a different Cast Member and told her what happened, and she scanned the other 2 into our account.  
• Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway (a new-to-us ride), broke down before we got in line, but during our 1-hour redemption period.  When the ride opened back up, the wait was only 10 minutes, so we decided to just go standby and save the pass for something else.  We ended up riding that same ride again with our Pass later that night.
• If you leave the parks (eg go back to your hotel to nap) - you can book / modify Passes.
• Review "My Day" for your ride and dining times so you don't miss anything, and this is also where you can find the Multiple Experience Passes as noted above.

By the end of the second night, we had already ridden everything we wanted to, and we didn't need to secure any more Lightning Lanes.

The first day we rode 20+ rides, including a few repeats.  The second day we rode 15+ rides, including a few repeats (we also took a longer midday break).

Definitely get the Lightning Lane Multi Pass to reduce your wait time, especially during a peak attendance day.  If you are still on the fence, you can wait until you get into the park and see how standby lines are as the day progresses (since we went during Spring Break, we bought passes ahead of time) .  

And of course, Single Rider lines may be an option for you as well for certain rides, should you not wish to fork over $ for Lightning Lane passes.