Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[nickys]

As a side note, regarding DAS, I think the pre-registration is a great thing, as is the ability to make those reservations through MDE. I'd be curious to see what percentage of DAS guests book advanced reservations and then what percentage uses them. That was a component that I don't believe was necessary and very well could have been instituted so that they would continue to use the legacy Fastpass+ infrastructure for depreciation purposes.

That pre-registration system is unavailable for international guests, so they can’t book the advance reservations.

 

[Marionnette]

Granted that the 7 days / 3 days could be changed, but this is looking more and more like paid FP+ - with tiers at MK. Which apparently are coded as Tiana, Space and 7dmt being Tier 1.

If those 3 rides are the only tier 1 attractions, they're going to have a problem with families who have small children. There has to be at least one tier 1 choice for the little ones or else they need to allow three tier 2 picks instead of one tier 1 + two tier 2.

 

[nickys]

If those 3 rides are the only tier 1 attractions, they're going to have a problem with families who have small children. There has to be at least one tier 1 choice for the little ones or else they need to allow three tier 2 picks instead of one tier 1 + two tier 2.

They always allowed 3 tier 2 picks. No reason to think they won’t this time.

 

[pigglewiggle]

Is this the correct understanding:
Resort guest - can make ride reservations for entire length of stay, 7 days in advance, with 3 attractions per day?

Thank you.

 

[nickys]

Is this the correct understanding:
Resort guest - can make ride reservations for entire length of stay, 7 days in advance, with 3 attractions per day?

Thank you.

Yes, that seems to be the current position, based both on Len’s understanding and what others have found from the code.
Although obviously the 7 days in advance and the 3 attractions per day can both be very easily changed with very little additional testing required.

 

[RSoxNo1]

The reason I could see them bringing back "tiers" is a way to address the optics of the Individual Lightning Lanes. The optics of a flat price for access to all attractions under the guise of a tiered system is better than the optics of a flat price for all but 1 or 2 attractions per park and then those attractions have an additional charge that is front and center.

One of the goals of Next Gen was to more easily separate a guest from their money. By shifting payments from the physical action of opening your wallet and getting out a credit card to a simple tap of the wrist, guests were theoretically less aware of the money they were spending. They have since taken a step back on that front where guests can now see the upcharge items specifically delineated within the app. By paying for Genie+ as part of a length of stay ticket you reduce the amount of decision points for each guest and can lump in that additional payment as part of the ticket package. Currently a guest can look at the price point per person per day on the app and make a choice. I know for me personally there have been days when we opted to get Genie+ at EPCOT or DAK, but we probably would have purchased it for those parks if we were paying in advance.

For a company that has over 18 answers to the question of "how much does a one day ticket cost", their inability to refine and simplify systems like this shouldn't be surprising.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Is this the correct understanding:
Resort guest - can make ride reservations for entire length of stay, 7 days in advance, with 3 attractions per day?

Thank you.

A potential complication / amendment to this. It appears that the current advanced DAS requirements allow for 4 days to be booked in advance. That is, if you're 30 days out you can book day 1, and then 3 additional days. This may have been unique to the cast member I spoke with, but if they want to avoid some of the 60+9 advantages that previously existed this is an option as well.

 

[pigglewiggle]

Yes, that seems to be the current position, based both on Len’s understanding and what others have found from the code.
Although obviously the 7 days in advance and the 3 attractions per day can both be very easily changed with very little additional testing required.

Thank you. Just one follow up question if you know the answer - since the Genie + price can fluctuate daily, are we to assume there would be one in advance price, most likely more than buying day of?

 

[ddtink]

A potential complication / amendment to this. It appears that the current advanced DAS requirements allow for 4 days to be booked in advance. That is, if you're 30 days out you can book day 1, and then 3 additional days. This may have been unique to the cast member I spoke with, but if they want to avoid some of the 60+9 advantages that previously existed this is an option as well.

We just booked our advanced DAS this morning and were able to book our entire 8 day trip, and were able to do the same full trip advanced booking for our trip last month as well. Guessing it was unique to the cast member you spoke with.

 

[RSoxNo1]

We just booked our advanced DAS this morning and were able to book our entire 8 day trip, and were able to do the same full trip advanced booking for our trip last month as well. Guessing it was unique to the cast member you spoke with.

Last year I was able to do what you did, so you're probably correct. I'm also not staying on property so that may be a factor as well.

 

[Splash4eva]

If those 3 rides are the only tier 1 attractions, they're going to have a problem with families who have small children. There has to be at least one tier 1 choice for the little ones or else they need to allow three tier 2 picks instead of one tier 1 + two tier 2.

Peter Pan

 

[nickys]

Thank you. Just one follow up question if you know the answer - since the Genie + price can fluctuate daily, are we to assume there would be one in advance price, most likely more than buying day of?

I’m pretty sure Len said that he wasn’t hearing anything about a huge increase in the price for advance purchase.

But that’s something that Disney will need to think about, especially for the international market.

By the end of last year, what had seemed like a good deal when we booked back in January 2022 turned out to be a steal by the time we went at Christmas. We paid about $120 for 14 days of G+

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Thank you. Just one follow up question if you know the answer - since the Genie + price can fluctuate daily, are we to assume there would be one in advance price, most likely more than buying day of?

Len's coment indicated there could be a surcharge for ability to prevook but not indicated yet

I will uld expect it to be the highest of the parks price and you might have to get it for each day vs picking select days

So a monetary cost but not an explicit "extra $5" or whatever

 

[pdude81]

So my major question here is, having finally caught up.... Can you book another at 2 hours after park opening, or is this just paid FP+ and we have to use up 3 before seeing what's left? I will do well with any system they come up with, but I'm less likely to purchase this if the passes are limited further. Personally I tolerated FP+ because it was free and prefer the current system.

 

[Jrb1979]

So my major question here is, having finally caught up.... Can you book another at 2 hours after park opening, or is this just paid FP+ and we have to use up 3 before seeing what's left? I will do well with any system they come up with, but I'm less likely to purchase this if the passes are limited further. Personally I tolerated FP+ because it was free and prefer the current system.

My guess is you will be able to book more after you use your pre booked ones. Odds are there will be few left

 

[Purduevian]

Personally, I don't want to be up at 7 AM on my vacation and I hate the idea of everything being so incredibly scheduled. Your points are valid, but there needs to be some balance between fastest finger and otherwise equitable. A requirement that you're in the park has been the best way to stagger guests and avoid the fastest finger component. I understand the sentiment / convenience side of things but the two ideals cannot exist simultaneously.

One thing that would absolutely be a huge step backwards would be a reversion to 3 advanced bookings. Until such time that the attraction count increases at EPCOT, DHS and DAK, those parks simply cannot handle 3 advanced bookings.

If there needs to be a hybrid of everything that also allows for simplification on a paid system:

• You can pay for Genie+ ahead of your visit
• You can make a single advanced booking per person per day that is unencumbered by what you do day of. Resort guests would have access to this at some arbitrary time ahead of their trip (say 7 AM, 7 days out + the length of their trip like the old 60+9 rules)
• Day of, you have your advanced booking + a rotating reservation that you can book upon checking into a park for the day.
• Once you've checked into a park for a day you can book reservations for other parks without having to be in those parks. You can also go back to your hotel or even leave property and book those reservations.

Those rules are essentially what is currently happening at Disneyland + an additional advanced reservation. The distinction of individual lightning lanes and tiers adds a layer of complexity that Disney executives don't care about because they're getting 6 figures + a day per attraction.

Your system is almost what I would make, but scrap the "Once you've checked into a park"

I would make it so the same rules apply now as G+ with when you can book a second one after your advance reservation (2 hours after park open, or after you've used the first one). This eliminates the 7am race (with the advanced booking) and allows people that want to stack LL for an evening visit to stay at their hotel and not miss out.

 

[nickys]

So my major question here is, having finally caught up.... Can you book another at 2 hours after park opening, or is this just paid FP+ and we have to use up 3 before seeing what's left? I will do well with any system they come up with, but I'm less likely to purchase this if the passes are limited further. Personally I tolerated FP+ because it was free and prefer the current system.

I don’t think we know much yet about the on-the-day process.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Your system is almost what I would make, but scrap the "Once you've checked into a park"

I would make it so the same rules apply now as G+ with when you can book a second one after your advance reservation (2 hours after park open, or after you've used the first one). This eliminates the 7am race (with the advanced booking) and allows people that want to stack LL for an evening visit to stay at their hotel and not miss out.

That is what I would do too ... Basically keep the system as is, just shift the initial 7am day-of booking to being prior to arrival (maybe two weeks out)

Let's people who want to "sleep in and stack" still be able to but rope droppers still have the regular early arrival benefit, plus they can pick a very early time for their initial LL and then book their second after they use it (before the 2 hours is up)

 

[Dranth]

Hopefully they just shift one thing at a time instead of failing all over the place. Take the current system, allow some kind of prebooking for the first ride of the day for length of stay and leave the rest as is. See how that goes for a bit and make more changes as needed.

 

[Basil of Baker Street]

Watch. They will come up with some silly scheme of different G+ advanced booking packages. The "30 days out" package for $$$. The "15 days out" package for $$ or the "day of" package for $