Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[ParentsOf4]

That's not Disney's problem if they can't afford it.

Right, that's how I operate my business. It's not my problem if my customers cannot afford my product.

No I am keeping it real for all the complainers out there because they need to read this.

Right, because paying customers have no right to complain about products they are buying.

 

[flynnibus]

I mean cast members have said in the past that disney will slow things down to make lines longer...

Yes, because front-line CMs really know all the reasoning behind complex decisions... I mean it couldn't possibly just be things like being cheap, sacrificing one for another, or just laziness. What you are referring could simply be PRIORITIES.

 

[peter11435]

I mean cast members have said in the past that disney will slow things down to make lines longer...

Don’t trust everything you read/hear. They never intentionally slow things down to create lines. Sometimes they do things that result in longer lines; reduced staffing… etc.. but the intent is not to artificially create lines

 

[LovePop]

As @Muffinpants said (wow that's quite the Handle), why would you pay for Genie+ if you think the rides that you prefer have short lines? If that is the case, save the $$$ and just wait in line.

You can also buy an IAS for RotR without also getting Genie+.

Now, you can pay for meals, merchandise and make your kids happy by going on RotR.

In regards to feeling like a rich jerk...it's $15pp/day. Tons of people will pay that. Hell, people with financial problems buy DVC, APs, etc. WDW is the land of over-extending yourself. So, I don't think you will look like Cleopatra being carried through the queue to cut the peasants in line.

I didn't say I will feel like Cleopatra. I said I will feel like a rich jerk who thinks $15pp/day is nothing.

 

[DCLcruiser]

I didn't say I will feel like Cleopatra. I said I will feel like a rich jerk who thinks $15pp/day is nothing.

I get not wanting to flaunt wealth, but we are not talking about a special line for guests of the Grand Floridian and residents of Golden Oak vs the masses. This is a fast pass line for $15 pp/day. Most people at WDW spent more than that on breakfast that day.

They will not boo you.

 

[jpinkc]

Priorities shifted. When Pandora, Toy Story Land, and Galaxy's Edge opened, Magic Kingdom wasn't the park that needed dramatic extra magic hours. People like to conveniently forget when Animal Kingdom was staying open until 11pm many nights, or when it had extra magic hours every night for months straight, or when Hollywood Studios was opening at 7am *or earlier* for literally two years.

None of this is how it works. Genie's recommendations update on the fly and it won't suggest attractions with unusually high wait times.

Hey Genie I want to ride Dumbo, Teacups is only 55minute wait sorry Dumbo is 60 so goto Teacups Wish Granted

 

[ImperfectPixie]

I get not wanting to flaunt wealth, but we are not talking about a special line for guests of the Grand Floridian and residents of Golden Oak vs the masses. This is a fast past line for $15 pp/day. Most people at WDW spent more than that on breakfast that day.

They will not boo you.

View attachment 581655

It's a guilt thing...I totally get it.

 

[John park hopper]

It's not the fact that is "only" 15 bucks (for now) --its the cumulative effect of ever raising prices on everything --eliminating perks which now you have to pay for e.g. getting from the airport to the resort

"We recently looked at what a ride from Orlando International Airport to Disney’s Contemporary Resort would cost. The Uber app showed that an UberXL for that trip would cost $51.77 with a car that fit up to 5. An Uber Comfort cost $41.31 and an UberX cost $35.10 — both of which fit up to 3 passengers.

Want to go for something a bit more luxurious? The Uber Black was priced at $90.27. There are also separate costs for cars with car seats. At the time we checked, the prices were UberX Car Seat $45.10, Black Car Seat $100.27, and Black SUV Car Seat (with seating for up to 6) $115.95. These rates can all vary, however, depending on the date and time when you request your ride."
Want to rent a car you'll have that cost plus resort parking depending on the resort average 25 bucks a day.
Granted Disney is a business BUT it is a business dependent on happy guests without them the stockholders won't be getting a return

 

[lentesta]

None of this is how it works. Genie's recommendations update on the fly and it won't suggest attractions with unusually high wait times.

Walk me through this scenario - I really don't understand how it's supposed to work.

I'm in Liberty Square. I have 5 attractions in my to-do list: 7DMT, Space, Splash, BTMRR, and Pirates. All of the waits are above average because it's 3 pm on New Year's Eve.

What does Genie tell me to do, and when does it want me to do it?

 

[SirLink]

Walk me through this scenario - I really don't understand how it's supposed to work.

I'm in Liberty Square. I have 5 attractions in my to-do list: 7DMT, Space, Splash, BTMRR, and Pirates. All of the waits are above average because it's 3 pm on New Year's Eve.

What does Genie tell me to do, and when does it want me to do it?

Genie: "Go buy some merchandise until 17:00 then go to Big Thunder Mountain". Or the more serious/realistic option: "Its a 90 minute wait at 7DMT would you like to unlock a Lightning Lane for $24.99 per guest"

 

[DCLcruiser]

It's a guilt thing...I totally get it.

I know, but it's not $1,500 pp/day. It costs more for a checked bag one way.

It's not the fact that is "only" 15 bucks (for now) --its the cumulative effect of ever raising prices on everything --eliminating perks which now you have to pay for e.g. getting from the airport to the resort

"We recently looked at what a ride from Orlando International Airport to Disney’s Contemporary Resort would cost. The Uber app showed that an UberXL for that trip would cost $51.77 with a car that fit up to 5. An Uber Comfort cost $41.31 and an UberX cost $35.10 — both of which fit up to 3 passengers.

Want to go for something a bit more luxurious? The Uber Black was priced at $90.27. There are also separate costs for cars with car seats. At the time we checked, the prices were UberX Car Seat $45.10, Black Car Seat $100.27, and Black SUV Car Seat (with seating for up to 6) $115.95. These rates can all vary, however, depending on the date and time when you request your ride."
Want to rent a car you'll have that cost plus resort parking depending on the resort average 25 bucks a day.
Granted Disney is a business BUT it is a business dependent on happy guests without them the stockholders won't be getting a return

I get the feeling of being nicked and dimed and not getting value.

Uber, well, you pay to play. Then again, it costs way more than that here in NY. But that's a different animal.

I think Mears is going to run a shuttle bus from MCO. That is who ran the Magical Express anyway.

Walk me through this scenario - I really don't understand how it's supposed to work.

I'm in Liberty Square. I have 5 attractions in my to-do list: 7DMT, Space, Splash, BTMRR, and Pirates. All of the waits are above average because it's 3 pm on New Year's Eve.

What does Genie tell me to do, and when does it want me to do it?

It wants you to go on Carousel of Progress to reduce the crowds in Fantasyland.

 

[HoustonHorn]

Walk me through this scenario - I really don't understand how it's supposed to work.

I'm in Liberty Square. I have 5 attractions in my to-do list: 7DMT, Space, Splash, BTMRR, and Pirates. All of the waits are above average because it's 3 pm on New Year's Eve.

What does Genie tell me to do, and when does it want me to do it?

"Len, may I interest you in extending your stay an additional day?" -Genie

 

[lazyboy97o]

I just watched "Behind the Attraction" for the Haunted Mansion (feeling nostalgic, I guess), and came across this: They explain that the designers realized how many people would want to ride it, so they decided to develop a system to get as many people through as possible. They had to scrap earlier, lower-capacity plans. What happened to that principle? I mean this as a sincere question. Did they just decide it didn't matter, or that other factors were more important, or what?

At any rate, maybe they should censor that part of the episode so people don't realize that we have to pay to fix a problem that Disney created or at least allowed to happen, a problem that they would have dealt with better 50 years ago.

There are limitations on what ride systems can really push through tons of people. Omnimovers and boats are really your true capacity monsters. Disney’s costs though have absolutely spiraled out of control. Despite having nearly and one billion dollars to spend on Pandora and Galaxy’s Edge, Walt Disney Imagineering couldn’t deliver lands with three rides.

Why always the nefarious thoughts?

Ever consider when someone says they want trackless vehicles you can't make them the size of pirate's boats? Or simply they aren't ambitious enough to build double versions of things when their costs are already 4x what they were when they did do those things?

Building capacity is expensive... even more so in the high tech attractions guests demand these days. Disney is sacrificing capacity for design these days... not manipulating it to create future scarcity. That's just fan-angst talking...

Disney has spent decades trying to keep capacity as low as possible. They even included Tom Morris talking about it in The Imagineering Story. Even after decades three of the four parks at Walt Disney World barely have a dozen rides.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Walk me through this scenario - I really don't understand how it's supposed to work.

I'm in Liberty Square. I have 5 attractions in my to-do list: 7DMT, Space, Splash, BTMRR, and Pirates. All of the waits are above average because it's 3 pm on New Year's Eve.

What does Genie tell me to do, and when does it want me to do it?

I'm assuming in this scenario that you did not purchase Genie+?

I'm assuming it works very similarly to Touring Plans. The software will iterate the 120 paths you could take to see those attractions, and spit out the path with the shortest expected total wait time.

 

[EeyoreFan#24]

You will go on the rides we tell you, in the order we tell you, and you will like it enough to buy a souvenir mug and ride photo. Lol, JK.

I actually don’t mind it (its description at least). We’ll see how it works out, but I don’t have a problem with suggestions. I can still walk around freely and pick or skip rides as I want based on wait and ride value to me.

 

[flynnibus]

Disney has spent decades trying to keep capacity as low as possible. They even included Tom Morris talking about it in The Imagineering Story. Even after decades three of the four parks at Walt Disney World barely have a dozen rides.

The comment here was about intentionally building rides w/o capacity - not constructs about how big/full a park should be (which is what the Morris dialog was about if I recall...)

 

[lazyboy97o]

The comment here was about intentionally building rides w/o capacity - not constructs about how big/full a park should be (which is what the Morris dialog was about if I recall...)

They’re intrinsically tied together. There’s an acceptance of lower capacity rides or cutting rides from plans because the desire is to keep park capacity as low as possible.

 

[flynnibus]

They’re intrinsically tied together. There’s an acceptance of lower capacity rides or cutting rides from plans because the desire is to keep park capacity as low as possible.

Targeting the size of a property and it's op expense is not intrinsically the same thing as 'keep park capacity low' nor 'build rides w/o capacity'.

 

[CntrlFlPete]

Walk me through this scenario - I really don't understand how it's supposed to work.

I'm in Liberty Square. I have 5 attractions in my to-do list: 7DMT, Space, Splash, BTMRR, and Pirates. All of the waits are above average because it's 3 pm on New Year's Eve.

What does Genie tell me to do, and when does it want me to do it?

Genie: You should consider coming back in four days when you will have a better chance of riding those particular attrations, in the mean time, here is a Lighting Lane + surprise pass to Mickey's Philarmagic.!

EDIT: I forgot to offer a bounce back in that spiel up there.

 

[GimpYancIent]

Genie: You should consider coming back in four days when you will have a better chance of riding those particular attrations, in the mean time, here is a Lighting Lane + surprise pass to Mickey's Philarmagic.!

I just want to quote Aladdin;