Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[Purduevian]

FP+ did this as well, but worse because you had to burn through/use all 3. I hope it being 1 out 1 in helps to prevent that kind of waste a bit more, although I suspect Disney doesn’t think the number of people who do this is unmanageably high.

Also, if I was a late riser I would burn Mickey's pharmagic, Pixar short film fest, Muppets, and It's tough to be a bug... I really don't think those will ever sell out for the first hour of park opening.

I plan to rope drop my EPCOT day, but I still think it's worth putting a burner on that (even without park hopping) and my AK day (assuming you are going to park hop)

 

[JIMMYEDDIE]

This system is terrible and EXTREMELY inefficient........

I give it until year end MAX before they change it

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

This system is terrible and EXTREMELY inefficient........

I give it until year end MAX before they change it

It strongly resembles FP+, with the notable exceptions of the LLSP attractions. Beyond the addition of more options to book - like the meet and greets, I personally would be surprised to see major changes to it. JMO.

 

[JIMMYEDDIE]

It strongly resembles FP+, with the notable exceptions of the LLSP attractions. Beyond the addition of more options to book - like the meet and greets, I personally would be surprised to see major changes to it. JMO.

Remember, they changed FP+ not only so they could charge money, but also because FP+ had very bad guest satisfaction results

This system is worse because theres less inventory AND you also have to pay fo it

Guest satisfaction will TANK once this has been in place for a month or 2

 

[JIMMYEDDIE]

It strongly resembles FP+, with the notable exceptions of the LLSP attractions. Beyond the addition of more options to book - like the meet and greets, I personally would be surprised to see major changes to it. JMO.

Also dont forget Genie+ had 16 changes implemented in the 2 1/2 years it was in place, averaging once every 2 months something was either tweaked or wholesale changed because of poor guest satisfaction numbers

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Well yeah, but it's just more mental bandwidth you have to deal with. It never "gets in the way" of anything where you have to stop doing something. But it takes up space in your brain as something else to keep track of.

I'm a project manager in real life, I want to go on vacation too.

Alarms.
When using G+ (and probably somewhat the new system) we set alarms to go off when it was time to use or book a pass. That made it a tiny bit easier to manage.
Though I agree with you that managing all the different times takes more effort than a vacation should require.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

This system is terrible and EXTREMELY inefficient........

I give it until year end MAX before they change it

I think the only way to fix LL is to make it free or make it very expensive.

Free takes away the complaint that you are paying extra and still can’t get what you want, expensive guarantees you actually get what you are paying for.

A midpriced LL is the worst possible scenario, having your guests pay extra and not receiving a perceived value is just a complaint generator.

 

[Purduevian]

Remember, they changed FP+ not only so they could charge money, but also because FP+ had very bad guest satisfaction results

This system is worse because theres less inventory AND you also have to pay fo it

Guest satisfaction will TANK once this has been in place for a month or 2

Did FP+ have low satisfaction results? This is honestly the first I'm hearing of this. I know there were some complains about the 60 day booking window.

Also dont forget Genie+ had 16 changes implemented in the 2 1/2 years it was in place, averaging once every 2 months something was either tweaked or wholesale changed because of poor guest satisfaction numbers

I think most of those changes were quite minor and had to do with park hopping rules, prices, pricing structure, pre buying, ect. The core functionality of G+ didn't really change from day one

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

Also dont forget Genie+ had 16 changes implemented in the 2 1/2 years it was in place, averaging once every 2 months something was either tweaked or wholesale changed because of poor guest satisfaction numbers

Small tweaks, sure. The most major I can think of is the modify option.

I’ll just be surprised to see major changes come to this system that target the most negative aspects of it (availability, cost, restrictions - LLSP running separate and tiers). I don’t disagree that it doesn’t look good today. I just think they’ve backed themselves into a corner with a lack of desirable capacity that there’s only so many options to sell said capacity, none that appealing.

 

[JD80]

So a ticket for MK is now $169 (depending on the day) but if you want the same access you had in 2019 with FP+ you also need LLMP ($29), an ILL for Seven Dwarfs ($11), and an ILL for Tron ($20).

$229 just to get the same experience you got for $129 in 2019, they've nearly doubled the price in less than 5 years, this management team is absolute garbage.

This is a bad argument here. Why are using a single park ticket price for comparison? Why are you adding in all the addons for the park? Why not add in a VIP tour too?

Plus that $129 ticket in 2019 is around $150 today.

 

[John park hopper]

Never had a problem with FP booking 60 days out worked very well for us.

 

[JD80]

This system is terrible and EXTREMELY inefficient........

I give it until year end MAX before they change it

I wouldn't judge a system on day 1 metrics. If it's still this bad in a week, then fire away. I think it'll take some time for park ops to figure out the correct inventory numbers.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

DIS will sell you a power bank to charge up.

I was given a free one a few years back. It is nice in the parks because once it dies I can just swap it for a fully charged one at any kiosk. The kiosks aren't everywhere, but there are a number of them.

I think you can buy them elsewhere for less, though still a bit $$ compared to other power banks.

 

[Disneydad1012]

what I don't get for today no one pre-booked...why does it seem like less availability today vs genie+. Is it really because of the no meet and greets? Or 2 hour wait to book a new one?

 

[easyrowrdw]

This makes me appreciate the Disneyland system even more now. It was very easy on our trip last month, availability galore, getting lots of rides booked throughout the day.

One thing I disliked was not being able to book/stack in advance. That being said, we arrived one day in the afternoon and still got a lot of rides (through refreshing). DL doesn't have nearly as many rides eligible for Genie though so I have to imagine they just have fewer people using the system?

Did FP+ have low satisfaction results? This is honestly the first I'm hearing of this. I know there were some complains about the 60 day booking window.

I think most of those changes were quite minor and had to do with park hopping rules, prices, pricing structure, pre buying, ect. The core functionality of G+ didn't really change from day one

I remember reading lots of FP+ complaints here. Pretty much everyone I know thought it was just fine.

 

[sixbagelboy]

I’m not the first to say this - get rid of all express lines. Imagine that - one line into the attraction which continually moves. Yeah, they will be a significant loss of revenue but guests may be happier and happier guests may spend more. Eh… but what do I know.

 

[Ayla]

That seemed unnecessarily rude. Why would you take aim at someone's 8 Y-O daughter?
I had even agreed with your previous statement that it was "ridiculously complicated", full well accepting that it's a "me issue".

Today is launch day. I'm still multiple pages behind, so I don't know how it's actually working for those in the park today, but I wish everyone good luck and heaps of pixie dust.

Because when a poster says "even my 8 year could figure it out, why can't you??", they are going to get an equally rude response.

 

[JD80]

what I don't get for today no one pre-booked...why does it seem like less availability today vs genie+. Is it really because of the no meet and greets? Or 2 hour wait to book a new one?

Guesses:
1) Everyone has three tracks they can book. If you have prebook 3, then book a 4th by 10am, normally 4 LLs would be taken by people by 3pm if you stack.

2) There is less inventory than normal so park ops aren't overwhelmed by a new system.

3) With the fact that people are booking more LL, you can hold 3, each LL is less valuable so there are potentially a lot more LLs that aren't even used and are taken out of the system (thanks Scott Gustin for this point)

In regards to #3 - it will take some weeks for WDW ops to predict how many LLs are booked but never used for each attraction. For example I'm willing to bet there are more unused Tea Cups LL than there are TBA LLs. So once those numbers are more predictable then WDW ops will be adding in more inventory for each of those attractions.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

It might be a generational thing. I don't mind being on my phone to reduce my wait times, and to maximize how many attractions I can experience. Hell, I will LL Figment and the line is 5 min or less.

I don't mind it enough that I am willing to do it, but I much prefer the ease of using Express Pass.

One aspect I dislike is the 1 hour use window. If dinner runs long or something, it can be a pain trying to get to ride before the grace period expires. It isn't our fault if we were seated half an hour late, but we pay the price. It isn't always possible to modify a pass if they are all gone.

 

[Jrb1979]

One thing I disliked was not being able to book/stack in advance. That being said, we arrived one day in the afternoon and still got a lot of rides (through refreshing). DL doesn't have nearly as many rides eligible for Genie though so I have to imagine they just have fewer people using the system?

I remember reading lots of FP+ complaints here. Pretty much everyone I know thought it was just fine.

My family hated FP+. Mainly due to having to schedule out my day. We have enough of a schedule at home and its the last thing I want to do on vacation. It's a big reason we enjoy Universal more. Very little planning involved

I have never understood why so many of you like the spreadsheet planning.