Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[DisneyNittany]

But that’s much less than you can get for the genie - sadly

And not a good rerun on ticket price. You just weren’t smacked in the face with the price like a wet fish.

It’s psychology.

And to be clear: I’m not a park pounder. I’m a sit down and bar kinda cat (pun intended)…the genie made more park time advantageous…I hate to say

We didn’t get G+ when we went in Feb, since my daughter is only one-year old, so there wasn’t much of a need. We did do ILL for Remy for her though. So, hard to me to actually opine on it, other than what I observed when checking it out each day to see trends.

I understand your psychology point, but as with all things, I guess it comes down to preference and ROI.

For me, and apparently quite a few others, only getting on say 6-7 rides, with 3 of those being guaranteed favorites is a better ROI than getting 8-10 rides where 75% of them are not necessarily attractions we wanted and/or could have easily waited in stand-by for. Then, on top of that, we have to pay extra for the big ticket items.

So, yeah, I might get on more rides, but I don't necessarily care about quantity over quality, you know?

I get what you're saying though. To use a college football analogy:

The sport (as it was intended) was better pre-BCS days (stand-by only), but while the BCS started to take the sport in the wrong direction (FP/FP+), it was much better than the 4-team CFP (Genie+) for the hard-core fan, but maybe not the casual fan.

 

[crazy4disney]

Dude…

Genie ain’t going away. They may change the fees and then the name to take the “stank” off it…

But it’s gonna be maxpass 3.0/genie 2.0

You’re not gonna put that back into the bottle.

Again i never said it was going away. All i said was they need to put a better product out there and FP was it. They are again trying to reinvent the wheel bc they dont wanna charge for a product that was once free. Or even more cynical made this awful on purpose to charge God knows what to a select few and then make it painful for everyone else w long lines everywhere. Im sure guest scores will skyrocket after that happens.

 

[crazy4disney]

Once again, understanding is not defense.

I truly have no clue you are trying to say or insinuate anymore.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Again i never said it was going away. All i said was they need to put a better product out there and FP was it. They are again trying to reinvent the wheel bc they dont wanna charge for a product that was once free. Or even more cynical made this awful on purpose to charge God knows what to a select few and then make it painful for everyone else w long lines everywhere. Im sure guest scores will skyrocket after that happens.

I’m getting dizzy…

Fastpass+ was not a “better product”…it was an operational nightmare that SOME People liked better if it meshed with their commitment level.

I get it had less criticism…but there’s multiple things to consider here for Disney.

In the end - because we always get here - they have to fix Bob iger’s capacity problem.

Less DVC - which I still can’t believe I had a guy BEG me to listen to/take - and capital expansion for capacity. Then you find the price equilibrium point.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I truly have no clue *** you are trying to say or insinuate anymore.

He’s saying that understanding the problem is not the same as defending Disney for creating the problem. And they did have a problem and still do.

Shouting for the past wouldn’t fix it…it would have ultimately angered everyone. That was the trajectory.

This is a rare case where i agree.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

We didn’t get G+ when we went in Feb, since my daughter is only one-year old, so there wasn’t much of a need. We did do ILL for Remy for her though. So, hard to me to actually opine on it, other than what I observed when checking it out each day to see trends.

I understand your psychology point, but as with all things, I guess it comes down to preference and ROI.

For me, and apparently quite a few others, only getting on say 6-7 rides, with 3 of those being guaranteed favorites is a better ROI than getting 8-10 rides where 75% of them are not necessarily attractions we wanted and/or could have easily waited in stand-by for. Then, on top of that, we have to pay extra for the big ticket items.

So, yeah, I might get on more rides, but I don't necessarily care about quantity over quality, you know?

I get what you're saying though. To use a college football analogy:

The sport (as it was intended) was better pre-BCS days (stand-by only), but while the BCS started to take the sport in the wrong direction (FP/FP+), it was much better than the 4-team CFP (Genie+) for the hard-core fan, but maybe not the casual fan.

Fair.

And you made your point more than the 100 swing and miss attempts on this thread by others to do the same

You must have been smart and had English 030 instead of English 015

 

[Jeff4272]

I’m getting dizzy…

Fastpass+ was not a “better product”…it was an operational nightmare that SOME People liked better if it meshed with their commitment level.

I get it had less criticism…but there’s multiple things to consider here for Disney.

In the end - because we always get here - they have to fix Bob iger’s capacity problem.

Less DVC - which I still can’t believe I had a guy BEG me to listen to/take - and capital expansion for capacity. Then you find the price equilibrium point.

FP+ was better. Is was Far superior.

 

[crazy4disney]

I’m getting dizzy…

Fastpass+ was not a “better product”…it was an operational nightmare that SOME People liked better if it meshed with their commitment level.

I get it had less criticism…but there’s multiple things to consider here for Disney.

In the end - because we always get here - they have to fix Bob iger’s capacity problem.

Less DVC - which I still can’t believe I had a guy BEG me to listen to/take - and capital expansion for capacity. Then you find the price equilibrium point.

Thatsyour take and my take is FP was a better product and a great one for resort guests and even better for ones that actually used it to its max. I totally agree w your comment about capacity and lack there of.

 

[crazy4disney]

He’s saying that understanding the problem is not the same as defending Disney for creating the problem. And they did have a problem and still do.

Shouting for the past wouldn’t fix it…it would have ultimately angered everyone. That was the trajectory.

This is a rare case where i agree.

So they angered everyone anyway w Genie? And have no plan to fix it for another 6 months min. Thats definitely a quality company for you.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

So they angered everyone anyway w Genie? And have no plan to fix it for another 6 months min. Thats definitely a quality company for you.

I think it served two purposes:

1. Rip the bandaid off a system that couldn’t continue
2. Introduce for fee ride systems that the management/board had to provide for wall st. It was never going to be “forgotten”

They used the Covid reset as cover…it was an easy opportunity to exploit for such a big change.


That doesn’t mean they aren’t buffoons. Certainly Slaphead is.

I’ll tell you what I didn’t see once: anyone at guest services getting refunds.
Which has been reported as being rampant in the weeks/months prior.

 

[DisneyNittany]

Fair.

And you made your point than the 100 swing and miss attempts on this thread by others to do the same

You must have been smart and had English 030 instead of English 015

I’m from Pittsburgh, Sir! I speak good and proper Yinzer.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Thatsyour take and my take is FP was a better product and a great one for resort guests and even better for ones that actually used it to its max. I totally agree w your comment about capacity and lack there of.

You’re just saying the same thing over and over again. To no end. It’s gone and there will be no reversal. if your point is “Everyone loved fastpass-+”!!!!

Congratulations…that and $5 will get you a seat to a jets game.

If a real protest/boycott starts to add capacity and temper value for the price…then I’m in! 1000%

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I’m from Pittsburgh, Sir! I speak good and proper Yinzer.

And where do you think I’m from?

I’m just exiled to New Jersey.

Want to come down? The grass needs cut and you can help.

 

[crazy4disney]

I think it served two purposes:

1. Rip the bandaid off a system that couldn’t continue
2. Introduce for fee ride systems that the management/board had to provide for wall st. It was never going to be “forgotten”

They the Covid reset as cover…it was an easy opportunity to exploit for such a big change.


That doesn’t mean they are buffoons. Certainly Slaphead would.

I’ll tell you what I didn’t see once: anyone at guest services getting refunds.
Which has been reported as being rampant in the weeks/months prior.

I didnt see or hear anyone getting refunds in November either. Lines for the Blue experience teams were long tho thats for sure but noone from me being in those lines indicated any money being given back…

 

[Patcheslee]

It's not about hours of planning. Since, as you pointed out, it's not like you were picking at time for each like movie theater tickets. It was about having 3 fixed points in time months before your trip with no thoughts to the weather, how you're feeling, or anything that may have changed in the last two months. If you were going to spend the entire day in the park (which many here probably do), then it may not have mattered as much. But, if you do days split across many activities, multiple parks, throw in some resort time or a water park, like to adjust based on the weather as some parks are more fun than others in the rain or heat. Or, maybe you've got an EPCOT dinner every night. Then, those 3 fixed points established months in advance can feel restrictive and controlling.

We used to do fast passes the day before mostly. Which was clearly not the power user process, but was less stressful for us.

Planners clearly liked the pre selection part of FP+ significantly. Others, not so much.


The park pass system should be taken to a farm up state and never return.

Side note: There is quite literally no shade at all between SW:SGE and Toy Story land. I swear they teamed up with the weather and tried to kill us last week. We went to DHS an extra day ANYWAY because it's where our reservation was. A reservation made in case we didn't get RotR the first time. We did, at the forced rope drop, followed by SR and TS. A LL for MMRR and SDD. The only ride missed the first day was Muppets. So, at least we did that on the second reservation day when we had to tap in before going anywhere else.

I planned in the flexibility with FP & ADRs. FP was always around an hour after park opening and ADRs made for lunch. So We weren't locked into rope drops, or being any place specific after lunch. So approximately 4 hours of the park day was planned. The only exception would be 1900 Park Fare dinner. Space 220 because their offerings are different, will end up being a time constraint this time around.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Who said they had to or needed to… heck ive said in my circle for years FP being free is the greatest thing or perk Disney has probably given to us and use i use free loosely. See prior posts…. All im saying is Genie is awful and they know it hence why they changing it. FP worked the complaint was planning now all of a sudden it didnt work when the planning excuse got basically destroyed. I know FP isnt coming back all im saying is why not try it and see if that system can work better than Genie or whatever they have in store bc it seemed like an effective system for resort guests and is capping sales is an answer so be it. Sell it to resort guests 1st…

Planning was not the only problem with FastPass+. Relegating an entire segment of visitors to insufficient attractions per hour and attractions per day was a problem. The extra capacity requirements of a reservation system were a problem. Basic crowding was a problem. There is no need to “try” bringing back FastPass+ because it is the same type of system as Genie+, and the root problems will remain.

 

[crazy4disney]

See Post # 16,187.

Gonna have to check them out lolbut my guess is you cant

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

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?

Where did I suggest that?

If you want low crowds, you have to zig when the crowds zag. That's just reality.

So I try to find zags. In the past, RD was one of them. Currently, on a busy day, RD is just stressful mess. I did not find it very useful at WDW.

 

[Disney Glimpses]

Depends on your definition of rope drop but far more than 5,000 people arrive at the Magic Kingdom from pre-open to 1 hour after open.

 

[crazy4disney]

Planning was not the only problem with FastPass+. Relegating an entire segment of visitors to insufficient attractions per hour and attractions per day was a problem. The extra capacity requirements of a reservation system were a problem. Basic crowding was a problem. There is no need to “try” bringing back FastPass+ because it is the same type of system as Genie+, and the root problems will remain.

If that was/is the case and Genie is the same type system as FP was and Disney knew there was a problem. Why on Earth would they expect this to be any different?!? Did they truly believe $15 was gonna stop people from getting it when they are already spending a fortune. They wanted to charge for it. Which i dont blame and didnt want to deal w bad PR. Lets call a spade a spade here. And again if capacity was an issue they could have easily said 2 rides not 3 or gave Deluxe 3. Mod/Value 2 and non resort 1. Or better yet build capacity! But the latter was too logical.