Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[Biff215]

Rides being down during your return window are honestly the best thing that can happen to you. Disney will issue you a Multiple Experiences Pass

1. It has no return time
2. It can be used on the ride that was down or similar tier rides
3. It does not count as your current LL (so you can book another one

One of my favorite "hacks" is to book a ride that is currently close if it has a near return time. One morning I had a Splash mountain booked for ~15mins after park open. About 30 minutes before park open I got an alert that it had switched to an MDE. I was able to book Space mountain for ~1hour after park open. I started the day with 2 LLs in my pocket (for 2 mountains) and adjusted my rope drop strategy to avoid big thunder (since all the splash rope droppers would end up there).

This became our main strategy at Disneyland last year and it happened by chance. It was an uncommon rainy few days there and attractions were going down constantly. As soon as one would, I’d book a LL immediately and then receive the bonus any-attraction pass. It was a fun game to play and allowed us to ride several attractions multiple times.

 

[SingleRider]

What I find deplorable is often times you'll see VQ sell out for Tron or GOTG and there's still availability for Lightning Lane. Not too mention how many empty seats are being dispatched in the first and last hour of operations.

Exactly - I have had an entire train on both Guardians and Tron to myself when riding with a very early boarding group.

 

[DCBaker]

Genie+ at Magic Kingdom/Multiple Parks has already sold out for today (was priced at $29).

 

[JohnD]

Genie+ at Magic Kingdom/Multiple Parks has already sold out for today (was priced at $29).

View attachment 769486

Wow. So is MK. That gives me an idea about Spring Break week (week of March 10). I'm going with a family of 3 that week. If I'm not mistaken, you can purchase G+ after midnight for that day. Well, the sooner, the better before it sells out.

 

[monothingie]

Perhaps a lower limit on G+ sales to avoid having standby lanes grind to a standstill and create complete gridlock in the park?

G+ sold out daily at DHS over Xmas, yet nothing during this busy week there.

 

[Purduevian]

Perhaps a lower limit on G+ sales to avoid having standby lanes grind to a standstill and create complete gridlock in the park?

G+ sold out daily at DHS over Xmas, yet nothing during this busy week there.

Oh you sweet summer child... Disney limiting sales to benefit the one's that aren't paying?

 

[monothingie]

Oh you sweet summer child... Disney limiting sales to benefit the one's that aren't paying?

Eventually you arrive at a diminishing point of G+ sales where the sheer amount of gridlock caused by multi-hour wait times will negatively impact other larger revenue generators.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Perhaps a lower limit on G+ sales to avoid having standby lanes grind to a standstill and create complete gridlock in the park?

G+ sold out daily at DHS over Xmas, yet nothing during this busy week there.

Bob and Josh scoff at your overture and respond thusly:

And we found secret footage inside Bob Iger's private shower in his Burbank office:

 

[SamusAranX]

In my opinion, the parks are too expensive. To me, the nickel and diming (more like $20-$50ing) makes a Disney vacation feel gross. Even when I have a good time at the parks, I leave feeling ripped off and taken advantage of. Genie+ only makes it worse, because it costs me more money while giving me more work and less control over how I spend my vacation.

I am extremely grateful and fortunate that the pixie pass is within my circumstances to use (my work is flexible) but even I see diminishing returns in value on that. Beyond TBA opening, there’s nothing that incentivizes me enough to extend another year.

 

[JD80]

I remember a day when fast passes were free and staying on property came with real perks like airport bus shuttle service and evening magic hours you didn't have to pay for. Or was that all a dream....

A 17 year dream.

 

[Purduevian]

Eventually you arrive at a diminishing point of G+ sales where the sheer amount of gridlock caused by multi-hour wait times will negatively impact other larger revenue generators.

I don't believe G+ sales quantity actually affects the standby line though.

Using Peter Pan as an example with it's ~800people per hour through put.
Lets also assume 0 breakdowns and G+ assumes 0 breakdowns (I don't know if this is true)
Lets also assume that 50% of the capacity of a ride is given to G+/LL and 50% to standby. (Again I don't know this ratio, but there is a ratio that G+ assumes.

G+ will distribute 400 LLs for the hour in 5 minute increments ~33 LL every 5 minutes regardless how many people actually purchase G+ for the day.

The only difference is how quickly Pan sells out for the day/how far out the return times are as there are now more people trying to get the same amount of LLs.

Unless I'm wrong and Disney actually changes the ratio of LL to Standby for the day based on purchases?

 

[monothingie]

I don't believe G+ sales quantity actually affects the standby line though.

Using Peter Pan as an example with it's ~800people per hour through put.
Lets also assume 0 breakdowns and G+ assumes 0 breakdowns (I don't know if this is true)
Lets also assume that 50% of the capacity of a ride is given to G+/LL and 50% to standby. (Again I don't know this ratio, but there is a ratio that G+ assumes.

G+ will distribute 400 LLs for the hour in 5 minute increments ~33 LL every 5 minutes regardless how many people actually purchase G+ for the day.

The only difference is how quickly Pan sells out for the day/how far out the return times are as there are now more people trying to get the same amount of LLs.

Unless I'm wrong and Disney actually changes the ratio of LL to Standby for the day based on purchases?

A 1:1 ratio as described would be minimally impactful but would result in major wait times for G+ users.

The ratio is more 1:20 and only gets worse depending on how busy the ride is.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Unless I'm wrong and Disney actually changes the ratio of LL to Standby for the day based on purchases?

It's like 20:1 and it fluctuates throughout the day depending on the crowd.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

Unless I'm wrong and Disney actually changes the ratio of LL to Standby for the day based on purchases?

It's like 20:1 and it fluctuates throughout the day depending on the crowd.

It fluctuates throughout the day in “phases” depending on how long the Standby queue is.

 

[Purduevian]

A 1:1 ratio as described would be minimally impactful but would result in major wait times for G+ users.

The ratio is more 1:20 and only gets worse depending on how busy the ride is.

It's like 20:1 and it fluctuates throughout the day depending on the crowd.

It fluctuates throughout the day in “phases” depending on how long the Standby queue is.

The ratio changes when things get backed up for sure... but I believe that the number of people that purchased G+ for the day is independent of the amount of LLs given out. I think there is a fixed number of LLs available per ride per day regardless of how many people buy it.

The Ratio ebs and flows because the amount of people redeeming their LL at an exact time also ebs and flows. While Pan may distribute 33LLs every 5 mins. In theory all 400 of those people might show up at the end of the hour. I'm proposing average ratio over the course of a day is standard from day to day regardless of crowd size and G+ purchases.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

The ratio changes when things get backed up for sure... but I believe that the number of people that purchased G+ for the day is independent of the amount of LLs given out. I think there is a fixed number of LLs available per ride per day regardless of how many people buy it.

The Ratio ebs and flows because the amount of people redeeming their LL at an exact time also ebs and flows. While Pan may distribute 33LLs every 5 mins. In theory all 400 of those people might show up at the end of the hour. I'm proposing average ratio over the course of a day is standard from day to day regardless of crowd size and G+ purchases.

I’m not disputing that the number of LLs issued for the day is not fixed based on capacity / staffing / what have you. Just that throughout the day the actual ratio of LL:Standby varies. That’s all I was saying, which is a fact.

 

[Purduevian]

I’m not disputing that the number of LLs issued for the day is not fixed based on capacity / staffing / what have you. Just that throughout the day the actual ratio of LL:Standby varies. That’s all I was saying, which is a fact.

Sorry yes 100% agree with that. I was challenging the idea that selling less G+ would help the standby move faster.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

Sorry yes 100% agree with that. I was challenging the idea that selling less G+ would help the standby move faster.

Gotcha, my bad there.

To be honest the G+/FP+ debacle that erupted out of MyMagic+ can never be "fixed" by the routes they are trying. The sole reason FP+ exists is because they thought they could spend ~1.5B on new tech and basically never have to expand the parks again. We've discussed this at nauseam, but its the truth. The number of legacy FP attractions vs FP+ into G+ attractions is vastly higher. It's all "capacity management", selling less G+ and having less LL's issued could very well bring down Standby times, the problem with the transition from FP+ to G+, is that G+ should not also have this long list of attractions to choose from, but now that they're selling a "product", they NEED the avaibility.

The only way to ever solve this problem is true added capacity to the theme parks.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

For example....

Legacy FP at MK:
Meet Mickey @ Town Square
Jungle Cruise
Splash Mountain
BTMRR
Peter Pan's Flight
Dumbo
Space Mountain
Space Ringer Spin
=8

Genie+ at MK:
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Enchanted Tales with Belle
Haunted Mansion
“it’s a small world”
Jungle Cruise
Mad Tea Party
Meet Ariel at Her Grotto
Meet Cinderella and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
Meet Mickey at Town Square Theater
Meet Princess Tiana and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
Mickey’s PhilharMagic
Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
Peter Pan’s Flight
Pirates of the Caribbean
Space Mountain
The Barnstormer
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Tomorrowland Speedway
Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid
= 23 (Nearly everything)

 

[Purduevian]

For example....

Legacy FP at MK:
Meet Mickey @ Town Square
Jungle Cruise
Splash Mountain
BTMRR
Peter Pan's Flight
Dumbo
Space Mountain
Space Ringer Spin
=8

Genie+ at MK:
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Enchanted Tales with Belle
Haunted Mansion
“it’s a small world”
Jungle Cruise
Mad Tea Party
Meet Ariel at Her Grotto
Meet Cinderella and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
Meet Mickey at Town Square Theater
Meet Princess Tiana and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
Mickey’s PhilharMagic
Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
Peter Pan’s Flight
Pirates of the Caribbean
Space Mountain
The Barnstormer
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Tomorrowland Speedway
Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid
= 23 (Nearly everything)

Part of the reason it works so well at DLR compared to WDW.
DL:

1. Autopia
2. Big Thunder
3. Buzz Lightyear
4. HM (currently closed)
5. Indiana Jones
6. it's a small world
7. Matterhorn
8. MMRR
9. MFSR
10. Space Mountain
11. Star Tours

Pirates is also temporary on it.