Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[Basil of Baker Street]

FP+ always worked well for us. We would do our 3 rides. Then check to see what else was available (did not constantly refresh) and would go do other things like Agent P, walk the showcase, Launch bay or whatever. The whole riding as much as humanly possible is what has everything screwed up.

 

[Jeff4272]

I don't know, I am probably the odd man out but I don't mind the LL system now that I am using it. I have been here for a week so far, and I have done 3 of the 4 parks. We did EEH at MK the other day. We got there at about 7 o'clock, 7 o'clock, 8 dinner until 9 o'clock, and I was still able to fit 5 Lightning lanes between 9 and 11. We didn't even end up using the EHH. When we did Hollywood studios I was able to get everything but Tower. On our 1st day at epcot we were able to get everything done except imagination, and the sea's pavilion. And we only didn't do those because my husband wanted to spend time in the world showcase. We have ridden Guardians 3 times so far and are planning on writing it a 4th. We have also ridden TT, Sorin, and Frozen and Remy's 2x between 1 Park day and one EHH. While I am not in love with the park reservation system, or the 2 o'clock park hop, I really don't mind this system as compared to the fast past system. This new system does allow for a lot more spontaneity in our day. It allows me to more easily go with the flow and make changes on the fly. I didn't spend weeks building touring plans to the 5 minute increments, And yet we still have not waited in line for more than 20 minutes. I have been able to get a lightning lane for virtually every ride we have been on. I did use touring plans to an extent, but it was more as a guide for what ride I should rope drop. This trip has been a little bit more relaxing for me than the older system where I had to have military level planning to avoid lines.

Oh you're the one

 

[Jeff4272]

I think the difference is FP+ worked for people with a particular touring style, while G+, from what I'm hearing, doesn't really work for anyone (although a few people have reported different things). If G+ was a solid option but only for people with a given touring style, I think people would feel differently.

No matter your touring style, there are many, many flaws of Genie+ that make it awful (7am every morning being the worst of them)

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

They may raise prices 1st to see if they can make up the difference that way 1st lol

They did in the last actual recession…sortsa. Don’t know if that can work again

But what they don’t understand is it won’t be enough. The changes they have made won’t be fixed with discounts

Like being offered a broken down car for $1500 vs $500. I still don’t want a broken down car

I think the issue there is if there’s a significant travel recession…the management will resist or be told not to offer discounts to the level that can compensate. A lot of reasons behind my theory…but they all are summarized with “Bob”

 

[Jeff4272]

I don't know the answer. All we all know is that too many people have Genie+. The only way to fix it is cap sales. The worst part of this whole thread is that unless they bring back FP+ or pre-booking that the system will be awful.

I agree that park goers want a system that works for their touring style. From my perspective that no matter what system they use it can't be available to everyone. There is a reason every other park caps sales and why Genie+ isn't working.

Thats not the only way to fix it.........Thats a band aid that will create other problems and some unintended consequences

 

[crazy4disney]

I don't know the answer. All we all know is that too many people have Genie+. The only way to fix it is cap sales. The worst part of this whole thread is that unless they bring back FP+ or pre-booking that the system will be awful.

I agree that park goers want a system that works for their touring style. From my perspective that no matter what system they use it can't be available to everyone. There is a reason every other park caps sales and why Genie+ isn't working.

I will still argue MORE people used FP+ than are using Genie and yet this was NEVER an issue & when i say more i also mean more rides were Booked w FP than are being booked w Genie.... I truly wish someone on the inside could provide this info because again i cant grasp how FP altho not perfect was a superior product than genie is which is absolutely abysmal. Crazy part is this system/cash flow is generating basically enough money annually to build new rides annually with little to No impact and only generate more cash and also gives them an incentive to build quickly & there is NO way they would ever get to a point where the parks are built sufficient enough where people opt out of paying for a skip the line system thats how underbuilt the parks are right now....

 

[Jeff4272]

Ive watched this thanks tho…

Ive watched it too and i still think FP+ worked

 

[Jrb1979]

Thats not the only way to fix it.........Thats a band aid that will create other problems and some unintended consequences

Technically FP+ was capped too. The difference is those on site guests got the majority of them. No matter what they end up doing some one will be favored over some one else.

There is no system that will work for everyone. They can add 10 attractions to each park tomorrow and Genie+ or FP+ still wouldn't work for everyone.

Ive watched it too and i still think FP+ worked

FP+ worked amazingly for RESORT GUESTS and it worked good for off-site guests. It mostly sucked for day of guests.

I will still argue MORE people used FP+ than are using Genie and yet this was NEVER an issue & when i say more i also mean more rides were Booked w FP than are being booked w Genie.... I truly wish someone on the inside could provide this info because again i cant grasp how FP altho not perfect was a superior product than genie is which is absolutely abysmal. Crazy part is this system/cash flow is generating basically enough money annually to build new rides annually with little to No impact and only generate more cash and also gives them an incentive to build quickly & there is NO way they would ever get to a point where the parks are built sufficient enough where people opt out of paying for a skip the line system thats how underbuilt the parks are right now....

It's very simple. More inventory was available for FP+. You keep forgetting that there is 1 or 2 less rides available on Genie+ then FP+ which plays a big factor. Another one is they aren't releasing as many LL compared to how many FP they gave out.

Nobody is saying Genie+ is good. Yes the parks need more attractions but that still won't make Genie+ that much better. It's not meant for everyone to have.

 

[Jeff4272]

Huh? I generally think you are one of the more thoughtful forum members posting, but in this case, it appears you only read a portion of my post. It also seems like you're arguing against reality.

Every hour of every day, WDW park goers are all-ages. Almost the only WDW exceptions are places that don't allow (small) children.

It seems weird to argue against this, because rope drop photos always have strollers.

Rope droppers only represent about 10% of the people that attend each park every day

for eg.....MK averages 55k guests per day........how many of those are there for rope drop? my guess is under 5k, so even less than 10%

Why penalize the other 90%+ of your guests?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Thats not the only way to fix it.........Thats a band aid that will create other problems and some unintended consequences

So how do you fix it?

 

[Jrb1979]

Rope droppers only represent about 10% of the people that attend each park every day

for eg.....MK averages 555k guests per day........how many of those are there for rope drop? my guess is under 5k, so even less than 10%

Why penalize the other 90%+ of your guests?

50% of guests each day are not resort guests so why penalize them with FP+

 

[Jeff4272]

Right now people are showing perks aren't needed.

this is fleeting.........This is not normal, just a result of Covid/pent up demand, etc.......Disney is not immune to the consumer and it will show and its coming soon

 

[crazy4disney]

Ive watched it too and i still think FP+ worked

Totally agree

 

[Jrb1979]

this is fleeting.........This is not normal, just a result of Covid/pent up demand, etc.......Disney is not immune to the consumer and it will show and its coming soon

When that happens they will off discounts. I personally don't see the day Genie+ or FP becomes included with resort stays.

 

[Jeff4272]

50% of guests each day are not resort guests so why penalize them with FP+

thats not true, its less than that.......and FP+ didnt penalize them........they had less of a benefit, but still a benefit

good luck booking all the rooms..........they have a problem and they know it..............they should be catering to their hotel guests and its already become a problem that they havent

 

[Jrb1979]

thats not true, its less than that.......and FP+ didnt penalize them........they had less of a benefit, but still a benefit

good luck booking all the rooms..........they have a problem and they know it..............they should be catering to their hotel guests and its already become a problem that they havent

They did cater to Deluxe guests by giving them Extra Evening Hours.

 

[crazy4disney]

Technically FP+ was capped too. The difference is those on site guests got the majority of them. No matter what they end up doing some one will be favored over some one else.

There is no system that will work for everyone. They can add 10 attractions to each park tomorrow and Genie+ or FP+ still wouldn't work for everyone.


FP+ worked amazingly for RESORT GUESTS and it worked good for off-site guests. It mostly sucked for day of guests.


It's very simple. More inventory was available for FP+. You keep forgetting that there is 1 or 2 less rides available on Genie+ then FP+ which plays a big factor. Another one is they aren't releasing as many LL compared to how many FP they gave out.

Nobody is saying Genie+ is good. Yes the parks need more attractions but that still won't make Genie+ that much better. It's not meant for everyone to have.

Agreed nothing is perfect and no system with suit millionsof people but is that really the goal? If so may as well throw towel in bc thats impossible….
So FP overall worked well for everyone for most part except people who decided to show up last minute… again. You can say that about plenty of other things. Try getting into anice restaurant in the city last minute they either laugh at you or say okay maybe 2 hour wait to sit… so again FP in theory worked.

Im fully aware if the inventory offline due to the ILL so of that is truly creating ALL these issues the simple solutionis add $10 to Genie or whateveryou wanna call it revert back to some sort of prebooking bc honestly i feel this is a major factor being overlooked or ignored & see if that solves the problem. Simplifies things again and potentially makes almost everyone happy bc lets face it. Majority of your guests are travelers who are not last minute arrivals esp with park pass in place.

 

[Disstevefan1]

this is fleeting.........This is not normal, just a result of Covid/pent up demand, etc.......Disney is not immune to the consumer and it will show and its coming soon

I hope you are right but what we see here is more than fleeting.

My opinion WDW will be riding this money train ( meanwhile the real WDW RR is still down) for years, long after the pent up demand is gone and we are left with the regular old super high demand.

 

[Jeff4272]

So how do you fix it?

Allow pre booking for resort guests again and eliminate the daily 7am booking, its a complete joke......theres no way in hell people will pay the massive prices for deluxe resorts while not knowing if you can get on the rides you want without waiting for 90+ minutes

be able to choose return times instead of "next available"........is screws up too many peoples plans

start here

 

[Jeff4272]

I hope you are right but what we see here is more than fleeting.

My opinion WDW will be riding this money train ( meanwhile the real WDW RR is still down) for years, long after the pent up demand is gone and we are left with the regular old super high demand.

No way.........its already happening.........second half of 2022 will be affected