Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[TheMaxRebo]

It's bad enough that you HAVE to pay for Genie+ and pay around $150.00 for admission, but I think they should set the price of Genie+ and STOP PRICE GOUGING GUESTS!
Genie+ should be no more than $25/guest!
The cost of admission and Genie is NOT WORTH a trip to Disney. Because if you want to get on any rides, you have to keep your eyes in your phone practically the whole day...thats my problem...Why not bring back FP's but keep Lightning Lanes for the main attractions.

Or go the other way and drastically increase the price of G+ so only a small percentag not guests but it (the system is designed to work when only 20% get it) and then standby will move a lot better. Plus get rid of LL for attractuons that don't really need it, are continuous loaded, etc

 

[Touchdown]

Or go the other way and drastically increase the price of G+ so only a small percentag not guests but it (the system is designed to work when only 20% get it) and then standby will move a lot better. Plus get rid of LL for attractuons that don't really need it, are continuous loaded, etc

THIS

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

For plenty of people, it’s more than enough…

Not a fan of nighttime spectaculars, entertainment, food (plenty of good food there, just stop), sights that make your marvel, smells, ease of logistics and overall feeling safe for your family, etc?

It’s never been just the rides for me…

Look has the value dropped a bit since 2019 and the other decades? Probably, but nothing is ever the same.

Nobody argues it’s “just rides”

…like…ever

Accepting diminishing results is probably good for many…
…problem is it encourages them to reduce results further and now charge more for what you get.

Because when you buy and allow all businesses to be the same…they will act the same.

 

[bmr1591]

Cheaper Genie+ isn’t the answer. The fact it’s selling out at $39 is telling that it needs to be higher. Make it something half will get for double the price so the numbers are the same financially but far better for people in the parks who choose not to purchase. It would also get people out of lines and into shops and restaurants, which is far more profitable.

 

[yensid67]

Cheaper Genie+ isn’t the answer. The fact it’s selling out at $39 is telling that it needs to be higher. Make it something half will get for double the price so the numbers are the same financially but far better for people in the parks who choose not to purchase. It would also get people out of lines and into shops and restaurants, which is far more profitable.

I think if you have to purchase Genie+/Lightning Lanes in order to have a better chance at riding anything, then the cost of the Genies+ should be deducted from the Park admission!!! Guests should not have to pay above the admission price in order to have a good time in a Disney park! BUT, guests will continue to be price gouged and not take a stand!
IT'S TIME TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR THE GUESTS EXPERIENCE AND NOT DISNEY'S POCKETBOOK!

 

[bmr1591]

I think if you have to purchase Genie+/Lightning Lanes in order to have a better chance at riding anything, then the cost of the Genies+ should be deducted from the Park admission!!! Guests should not have to pay above the admission price in order to have a good time in a Disney park! BUT, guests will continue to be price gouged and not take a stand!
IT'S TIME TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR THE GUESTS EXPERIENCE AND NOT DISNEY'S POCKETBOOK!

That doesn’t help the issue. Everyone would purchase because it would essentially be free. The only way to make the average guest’s experience better is to bring Genie+ to a price level that keeps Disney’s profits, but massively reduces the amount using it. That will keep standby lines moving and guests happy, while allowing those with the desire to skip lines that ability. And if you raise the price enough, you can let them ride as much as they want (with maybe an hour cooldown on rides) while not disrupting the experience of those without.

The more with Genie+, the worse experience for the average guest.

 

[mattpeto]

Nobody argues it’s “just rides”

…like…ever

Accepting diminishing results is probably good for many…
…problem is it encourages them to reduce results further and now charge more for what you get.

Because when you buy and allow all businesses to be the same…they will act the same.

Read the OP grumps.

And Merry Christmas.

 

[MrPromey]

Or go the other way and drastically increase the price of G+ so only a small percentag not guests but it (the system is designed to work when only 20% get it) and then standby will move a lot better. Plus get rid of LL for attractuons that don't really need it, are continuous loaded, etc

I'd support this. Set the price really high and set an appropriate limit for the number of guests per day. If they're hitting that limit early, they know they can go higher on the price.

Bob and Josh'll love that last point.

Both the people using and the people not will have a better time than today and Disney will still get their free money.

 

[Biff215]

I'd support this. Set the price really high and set an appropriate limit for the number of guests per day. If they're hitting that limit early, they know they can go higher on the price.

Bob and Josh'll love that last point.

Both the people using and the people not will have a better time than today and Disney will still get their free money.

Don’t worry, they are quickly getting there anyway. They’d rather deal with a handful of complainers like us who will acknowledge the $5 price hike while everyone else just hands over their credit cards. This way the majority is conditioned into both believing that they need to purchase Genie+ to have a good day and that it’s worth pretty much any cost.

Of course the biggest issue here is that we’re now paying for a service that used to be included, all while the price of admission has also jumped. Fast Pass and FP+ certainly weren’t perfect but at least it didn’t cost you anything extra whether you used it or not. Now families have to decide between that table service meal or Genie+.

Who am I kidding? There’s no choice but to either go into debt or have more money than sense. No thanks.

 

[stepjune28]

I have only ever used Genie+ for one trip. And I also only ever used FP+ for one trip (in 2018). But that 2018 trip was the best vacation of my life. I would 100% prefer to have a system like FP+ back in place, even if I have to pay for it now. Planning 3 rides per day 60 days in advance of the FIRST vacation day was very much preferred for me, even if those were the only 3 rides that I got a FP for the whole day. Genie+ worked great for getting us on to plenty of rides with minimal wait-time, and that was great. But what wasn't great was being glued to my phone all day to make that happen.

If I had my vote, we would go back to a FP+like system, tiers and all.... have only 3 LL per day, pay $15 per person, have the times locked in beforehand with no need to modify on the app.... and for the rest of the rides do stand-by lines. More people would book it because it is less expensive, but they would also only have 3 LLs per day (plus ILLs they want to purchase separately), so it wouldn't negatively impact wait times.

Whatever the changes are that are coming, I sure hope we get the details soon!

 

[MrPromey]

Don’t worry, they are quickly getting there anyway. They’d rather deal with a handful of complainers like us who will acknowledge the $5 price hike while everyone else just hands over their credit cards. This way the majority is conditioned into both believing that they need to purchase Genie+ to have a good day and that it’s worth pretty much any cost.

Of course the biggest issue here is that we’re now paying for a service that used to be included, all while the price of admission has also jumped. Fast Pass and FP+ certainly weren’t perfect but at least it didn’t cost you anything extra whether you used it or not. Now families have to decide between that table service meal or Genie+.

Who am I kidding? There’s no choice but to either go into debt or have more money than sense. No thanks.

We're not talking a $5 increase here or there. More like making it $200-$300 more than it is now - something most people could not afford to do or at least not afford to do every day of their trip.

Something like that (or higher) would bring usage down enough that the majority of capacity on more popular attractions using it wouldn't be dedicated to it like things are now.

In that scenario, the people using it would actually get something closer to a real line skip rather than essentially paying to stand in the shorter line and the people not using it would see their lines moving a lot more briskly.

With G+ and ILL, they've already made the difference between the haves and the have-nots visible and obvious and out front* so why not just go all in on a plan that doesn't make things worse for almost everyone.

I'm sure there are a lot of people here who would not like this because despite them being happy-go-lucky about price increases and it not bothering them, the moment they find themselves priced out of this stuff, they'll be unhappy but that's really what needs to happen - the majority of visitors need to be priced out of the option unless they have some secret plan to fast-track major expansion across all four parks in the next couple of years to improve capacity.

As to that last part, lets not kid ourselves since the only thing they've announced the last couple of years are blue sky projects, some of which have been replaced by other blue sky projects... which may end up getting replaced by other blue sky projects if they still don't have something solid to announce by the next D23 and need to fill time.


*VIP tours have always been a thing but at least they're a little bit subtle about how they handle those. It's kind of hard to miss seeing the shorter line pass you by on every attraction.
_

 

[Biff215]

We're not talking a $5 increase here or there. More like making it $200-$300 more than it is now - something most people could not afford to do or at least not afford to do every day of their trip.

Something like that (or higher) would bring usage down enough that the majority of capacity on more popular attractions using it wouldn't be dedicated to it like things are now.

In that scenario, the people using it would actually get something closer to a real line skip rather than essentially paying to stand in the shorter line and the people not using it would see their lines moving a lot more briskly.

With G+ and ILL, they've already made the difference between the haves and the have-nots visible and obvious and out front* so why not just go all in on a plan that doesn't make things worse for almost everyone.

I'm sure there are a lot of people here who would not like this because despite them being happy-go-lucky about price increases and it not bothering them, the moment they find themselves priced out of this stuff, they'll be unhappy but that's really what needs to happen - the majority of visitors need to be priced out of the option unless they have some secret plan to fast-track major expansion across all four parks in the next couple of years to improve capacity.

As to that last part, lets not kid ourselves since the only thing they've announced the last couple of years are blue sky projects, some of which have been replaced by other blue sky projects... which may end up getting replaced by other blue sky projects if they still don't have something solid to announce by the next D23 and need to fill time.


*VIP tours have always been a thing but at least they're a little bit subtle about how they handle those. It's kind of hard to miss seeing the shorter line pass you by on every attraction.
_

While I don’t completely disagree with you, I can’t see how Disney could go this route after spending the past 25 years convincing us that Fast Pass/Genie+ is the key to having a great day at the parks. Price people out and many will simply stop coming altogether as they’ll fail to see that it actually benefits the standby lines (that they have no interest in standing in no matter how short).

If they want to go with the Universal Express pricing model, they’d also need to consider making it a perk for the deluxe resorts as Uni does. Of course this would stress the system even more so that’s not really an option, but there is going to come a point where even the rich start to flinch at spending $1,000/night and getting little in return when it comes to the parks.

As you mentioned, capacity is the issue and unless Disney decides to quickly address that, we’ll just continue to see the problems with Genie+ get worse.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Genie+ did not sell out on Christmas Day. Finally meeting some resistance? $164 for a family of four is pretty intense on top of the already ridiculous park admission prices.

 

[G00fyDad]

That doesn’t help the issue. Everyone would purchase because it would essentially be free. The only way to make the average guest’s experience better is to bring Genie+ to a price level that keeps Disney’s profits, but massively reduces the amount using it. That will keep standby lines moving and guests happy, while allowing those with the desire to skip lines that ability. And if you raise the price enough, you can let them ride as much as they want (with maybe an hour cooldown on rides) while not disrupting the experience of those without.

The more with Genie+, the worse experience for the average guest.

You could get ride of ALL line skip options right now and the standby lines will not "keep moving" to any decent degree and the guests will not be happy. That is because they do not have the capacity to handle the amount of guests they have daily right now. Everyone keeps arguing about what type of bandage to use without talking about the hemorrhaging severed arm.

 

[Biff215]

You could get ride of ALL line skip options right now and the standby lines will not "keep moving" to any decent degree and the guests will not be happy. That is because they do not have the capacity to handle the amount of guests they have daily right now. Everyone keeps arguing about what type of bandage to use without talking about the hemorrhaging severed arm.

While you’re correct that capacity is the main issue, standby lines would still be more efficient without Lightning Lanes. It’s why standby lines are at least bearable in the morning until ride reservations start piling up. Then CMs have no choice but to clear the Lightning Lane by essentially bringing standby to a halt (since those guests paid for it and expect it).

But let’s be honest, it was Disney who created this issue back in the late 90’s when they convinced guests that FPs improve your park day by getting you out of the line. Now they have no choice but to continue to offer something since every competitor does as well and we’re an even more impatient society today.

The truth is that Disney is now a decade plus behind in keeping up with capacity and will likely never recover, so raising prices is all they can do to discourage guests from coming while still trying to turn the same profit. It might work in the short term but will prove to be disastrous down the line, but Bob and company will have cashed in by then.

 

[pdude81]

While you’re correct that capacity is the main issue, standby lines would still be more efficient without Lightning Lanes. It’s why standby lines are at least bearable in the morning until ride reservations start piling up. Then CMs have no choice but to clear the Lightning Lane by essentially bringing standby to a halt (since those guests paid for it and expect it).

But let’s be honest, it was Disney who created this issue back in the late 90’s when they convinced guests that FPs improve your park day by getting you out of the line. Now they have no choice but to continue to offer something since every competitor does as well and we’re an even more impatient society today.

The truth is that Disney is now a decade plus behind in keeping up with capacity and will likely never recover, so raising prices is all they can do to discourage guests from coming while still trying to turn the same profit. It might work in the short term but will prove to be disastrous down the line, but Bob and company will have cashed in by then.

Lightning lanes are needed for DAS anyway, along with staff to manage the entry and merge points. Capacity certainly is a big problem, but FP/LL is here to stay.

 

[Splash4eva]

You could get ride of ALL line skip options right now and the standby lines will not "keep moving" to any decent degree and the guests will not be happy. That is because they do not have the capacity to handle the amount of guests they have daily right now. Everyone keeps arguing about what type of bandage to use without talking about the hemorrhaging severed arm.

Well i think the one thing most if not all people agree on is that they have major capacity issues along with shorter hours and less entertainment to disperse the crowds….

 

[Splash4eva]

While you’re correct that capacity is the main issue, standby lines would still be more efficient without Lightning Lanes. It’s why standby lines are at least bearable in the morning until ride reservations start piling up. Then CMs have no choice but to clear the Lightning Lane by essentially bringing standby to a halt (since those guests paid for it and expect it).

But let’s be honest, it was Disney who created this issue back in the late 90’s when they convinced guests that FPs improve your park day by getting you out of the line. Now they have no choice but to continue to offer something since every competitor does as well and we’re an even more impatient society today.

The truth is that Disney is now a decade plus behind in keeping up with capacity and will likely never recover, so raising prices is all they can do to discourage guests from coming while still trying to turn the same profit. It might work in the short term but will prove to be disastrous down the line, but Bob and company will have cashed in by then.

Mornings are simply because there are less people in the parks. I mentioned about a month ago i was there Thanksgiving week and hate to admit it but Genie worked really well for me. I was pleasantly shocked at the success we had during our trip.

 

[bmr1591]

You could get ride of ALL line skip options right now and the standby lines will not "keep moving" to any decent degree and the guests will not be happy. That is because they do not have the capacity to handle the amount of guests they have daily right now. Everyone keeps arguing about what type of bandage to use without talking about the hemorrhaging severed arm.

At the Christmas party, lines steadily moved the entire time. This wasn't because there wasn't a line for Big Thunder, but because there was no one in LL. If you take people out of LL, your wait may still be long, but you'll be moving and feeling like you're making progress the entire time. Standing in the same place for fifteen minutes causes more frustration than anything.

 

[LittleBuford]

At the Christmas party, lines steadily moved the entire time. This wasn't because there wasn't a line for Big Thunder, but because there was no one in LL. If you take people out of LL, your wait may still be long, but you'll be moving and feeling like you're making progress the entire time. Standing in the same place for fifteen minutes causes more frustration than anything.

The Christmas parties admit only a limited number of people. That's why the queues are shorter than usual.