Some data from in the parks related to this.
We've been counting the number of guests getting in both the standby line and the Lightning Lane line, by minute, on various days at various attractions, for the past year. (So tens of thousands of guests per attraction overall.)
We're doing it to test a new way to predict actual wait times. It has the side effect of measuring Lightning Lane usage over time.
The data are preliminary.
But as an example, we see the ratio of Lightning Lane guests to Standby guests at Haunted Mansion has dropped significantly since the "DAS Switch" May 20
A year ago, on July 8, 2023, we counted 7 Lightning Lane guests for every 10 standby guests at Mansion. And on other days, that ratio was as high as 13 Lightning Lane guests for every 10 guests.
Prior to the DAS switch, we never saw less than 4 LL to 10 Standby at Mansion.
As a ballpark estimate, the "pre-DAS Switch" average ratio might have been 8 or 9 LL guests for every 10 Standby.
Post-DAs the ratio is closer to 2 LL to 10 Standby at Mansion.
That's a significant drop. I am reasonably confident that a look into the park's internal metrics would show a similar trend.
The practical impact of that is that guests who don't pay for Lightning Lane are seeing significantly shorter waits in line.
And I think that's a good thing.
I haven't done the numbers, but I would have a whole bunch of questions if it was proposed that the drop in LL usage was entirely due to guests with legitimate DAS needs being denied DAS, and thus not going to the parks.
For one thing, that'd be 70% of the Lightning Lane usage and 25% of the entire ride's usage. And keep in mind, people are still getting DAS. So that's a large number to accept otherwise.
