Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[nickys]

It had a G+ when we went back in October. We may have used DAS for that one. Still, same thing. G+ (or DAS) saved a ton of waiting time on that one.

It has never been a G+ ride. You must have paid for the ILL for it. And the other queue is the VQ line.

 

[drizgirl]

So apparently on 7/18, Disney made a change on their backend to prevent the booking of ILLs via BG1 and other 3rd party apps.

Does anyone know if this impacted bots like “Standby Skipper” which previously would auto-book LLs for people? I imagine that TDO cares more about blocking that than apps like BG1.

What is BG1?

 

[nickys]

What is BG1?

It’s an app that improves the G+ and VQ functionality of MDE.

Disney wanted to block the use of other third party apps which were being used as a money making venture and booked G+ for guests remotely, whereas BG1 is free to use and the guest uses it themselves.

 

[Patcheslee]

It’s an app that improves the G+ and VQ functionality of MDE.

Disney wanted to block the use of other third party apps which were being used as a money making venture and booked G+ for guests remotely, whereas BG1 is free to use and the guest uses it themselves.

Wonder if the "improvements" coming in 2024 have something to do with Disney creating their own version for autobooking for a premium. They've realized it's money they're losing.

 

[aaronml]

It’s an app that improves the G+ and VQ functionality of MDE.

Disney wanted to block the use of other third party apps which were being used as a money making venture and booked G+ for guests remotely, whereas BG1 is free to use and the guest uses it themselves.

I guess my question here is, were they successful? Seems like they stopped BG1 from booking LLs, but I don’t see anything on the “Standby Skipper” site for example indicating that they no longer auto-book LLs. So either they never updated their site, or they found a workaround to still auto-book LLs.

Honestly, they should just put a Captcha in front of the booking flow at this point.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I thought Guardians was random Virtual queue only?

Virtual queue isn't random.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Virtual queue isn't random.

Debatable. I hate it. Messed up my plans to see rogers musical yesterday that’s for sure.

 

[nickys]

I guess my question here is, were they successful? Seems like they stopped BG1 from booking LLs, but I don’t see anything on the “Standby Skipper” site for example indicating that they no longer auto-book LLs. So either they never updated their site, or they found a workaround to still auto-book LLs.

Honestly, they should just put a Captcha in front of the booking flow at this point.

I haven’t looked into Standby Skipper, other than their claims on the website. Looks like it no longer books remotely but works more like BG1 did in that the guest uses it themselves. That said I have no idea if they found a work around or not. But they do apparently offer a refund if you’re not happy with it.

BG1 still has some useful functionality. I assume Standby Skipper does too, for a fee.

 

[celluloid]

Virtual queue isn't random.

Yes it is. The time you get is not based on when you submit it.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Yes it is. The time you get is not based on when you submit it.

That is not correct.

 

[DCBaker]

The price for Genie+ today for Multiple Parks, Magic Kingdom, EPCOT and Disney's Hollywood Studios is the lowest it has been since the new per-park pricing model was introduced.

 

[gerarar]

The VQ for Tron and Guardians also were open for very long so far today. Tron actually broke a record for longest 7am drop this morning.

Guess park ops forecasted a slow day (week?) today.

Tron

7am drop closed at 8:21am, lasting for 4866.761 secs, or ~1 hour 21 mins.
Tuesday 7am Drop Average: 4m -> 7m (+3m)

BG's 1-10 called at 7:59am as part of the initial wave.

Note: This is now the longest the morning 7am drop has been open for, passing the previous record held on April 25th when it was open for ~1 hour 19 mins.
That was mainly attributed to a MDE system outage, but the one today and this morning seems to be natural as evident by the drop windows steadily increasing over the past couple days.
View attachment 739780

GotG: CR

7am drop closed at 9:37am, lasting for 9445.564 secs, or ~2 hours 37 mins.
Tuesday 7am Drop Average: 19m -> 21m (+2m)

BG's 1-20 called at 8:40am as part of the initial wave.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

The price for Genie+ today for Multiple Parks, Magic Kingdom, EPCOT and Disney's Hollywood Studios is the lowest it has been since the new per-park pricing model was introduced.

View attachment 739775

Uhhhh…I’m reminded how tacky it looks when it’s been awhile since I have looked.

That never wears off

 

[Drdcm]

Do the external auto booking apps actually work well? Does it do a better job maximizing your day than booking yourself?

 

[nickys]

Do the external auto booking apps actually work well? Does it do a better job maximizing your day than booking yourself?

No.
I think you’re over-reaching here with your expectations. They’re not a substitute for planning your day. They might help you to do that though.

For BG1, it’s much more user friendly than MDE, thus maximising your chances of getting the LLs you want, but you still book them using MDE. The navigation of the app also puts MDE to shame.

 

[Drdcm]

No.
I think you’re over-reaching here with your expectations. They’re not a substitute for planning your day. They might help you to do that though.

For BG1, it’s much more user friendly than MDE, thus maximising your chances of getting the LLs you want, but you still book them using MDE. The navigation of the app also puts MDE to shame.

That’s what I assumed was the case. Thanks for the info! The MDE Genie+/ILL layout is absolutely terrible… I agree

 

[Bthoma10]

It seems the standby skipper is still claiming they will schedule remotely, based on everything posted on their website. Probably gonna purchase it for trip in early October. I despise looking at my phone all day

 

[pdude81]

It seems the standby skipper is still claiming they will schedule remotely, based on everything posted on their website. Probably gonna purchase it for trip in early October. I despise looking at my phone all day

Understand that at any time of any day the remote access could be pulled back. It suddenly went down a few times earlier this year. So go for it, but just remember to check early on to see if it's working so you know whether to rely on the service or not.

 

[Bthoma10]

Understand. Just trying to find a way to enjoy the time with family without always being on my phone. If it works, great. If not, i can do it myself.

 

[nickys]

So I’ve just found out that Standby Skipper stopped working but they have worked out a patch and it is now working and booking LLs remotely. They did refund people when it stopped working.

The creator of BG1 has decided not to try and find a work-around because he feels that since Disney has cracked down once they will continue to go after 3rd party apps, and is taking the decision to just continue with it’s other functions. So taking no chances with legalities but also taking a moral stance.

The creator of Standby Skipper was interviewed on WDW Prep School and says he is confident his app complies with Disney’s rules. However I suspect that won’t be the first time it stopped working and they’ll end up refunding people again at some point.