Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[Sirwalterraleigh]

If I recall correctly, long waits were posted at opening for the headliners back in the days of free FastPass too.

That is incorrect…

The wait times went from zero to fifteen to thirty…etc as the queue filled up.

Fans want to believe there is virtue in a soulless stock conglomerate where none is allowed

I’ll go one better…at park opening, rat is 75, flight of passage is 90, mine train is 75 and slinky is at 75

Every single day…

Now why is that? What could be the angle? Hmmmm

 

[pdude81]

@Sirwalterraleigh called it.

Checked times for EPCOT right after opening and they had Rat at 85 minutes. They’re definitely inflating them on opening to get the Genie+ sales moving

Remy has G+ return times in the evening by 7:30 am, plus a ton of guests running there from the IG during early entry. Then you add in any DAS who add to the LL mix and it gets a massive line quite fast. In busier times it can easily be 80 minutes by park open, when the queue is full already and all of the G+ people are still on the virtual line.

 

[monothingie]

watching an iPhone refresh all day costs Disney a lot of money

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Remy has G+ return times in the evening by 7:30 am, plus a ton of guests running there from the IG during early entry. Then you add in any DAS who add to the LL mix and it gets a massive line quite fast. In busier times it can easily be 80 minutes by park open, when the queue is full already and all of the G+ people are still on the virtual line.

I entered the gateway last year and was in the first 200 or so to make it to France (long legs)…
Guess what the wait time said in the board and in the app?

It’s impossible for wait times to be 80 minutes with the ride open on schedule and no humans in the park…are drones dropping people and we just are missing it?

 

[Touchdown]

Maybe, just maybe, it’s done to avoid giving DAS guests essentially unlimited walk ons for the first two hours. Imagine if they were listed as 15 min, you could get it for SDMT, go ride Space with a 10 min wait, ride SDMT, get a DAS for HM in 15 min, ride BTMR with a 15 min wait, ride HM, get a DAS for JC in 1 hour and the ride PotC with a 15 min wait all in less then 2 hours.

 

[pdude81]

I entered the gateway last year and was in the first 200 or so to make it to France (long legs)…
Guess what the wait time said in the board and in the app?

Are we talking about early entry or park open?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Maybe, just maybe, it’s done to avoid giving DAS guests essentially unlimited walk ons for the first two hours. Imagine if they were listed as 15 min, you could get it for SDMT, go ride Space with a 10 min wait, ride SDMT, get a DAS for HM in 15 min, ride BTMR with a 15 min wait, ride HM, get a DAS for JC in 1 hour and the ride PotC with a 15 min wait all in less then 2 hours.

Your not suggesting they’re manipulating times to discourage traditional lines and encourage sales, are you???

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Are we talking about early entry or park open?

It matters not…they had 90 posted

There weren’t 90 people total over the bridge at that point

 

[pdude81]

Maybe, just maybe, it’s done to avoid giving DAS guests essentially unlimited walk ons for the first two hours. Imagine if they were listed as 15 min, you could get it for SDMT, go ride Space with a 10 min wait, ride SDMT, get a DAS for HM in 15 min, ride BTMR with a 15 min wait, ride HM, get a DAS for JC in 1 hour and the ride PotC with a 15 min wait all in less then 2 hours.

I assume this is to help discourage some of this. As I run/walk to Test track or 7DMT at early entry rope drop, there are usually 5 - 10 people waiting in a line to scan in for DAS, which is ironic because the concept is that it's for people who can't wait in a line.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I assume this is to help discourage some of this. As I run/walk to Test track or 7DMT at early entry rope drop, there are usually 5 - 10 people waiting in a line to scan in for DAS, which is ironic because the concept is that it's for people who can't wait in a line.

But the amount of people using that doesn’t come close to accounting for the disparity in ride projections by a nautical mile

 

[JD80]

@Sirwalterraleigh called it.

Checked times for EPCOT right after opening and they had Rat at 85 minutes. They’re definitely inflating them on opening to get the Genie+ sales moving

Just some observation from my trip in '22 and '23 both in December.

In 2022, we arrive through the international gateway at 8:30am and got in line for Remy which was snaked up to the alley entrance to the back area. It was basically a 80-90 minute wait first thing easily.

In 2023 we arrived at the International Gateway at 7:45 and were allowed in to the bridge. At 8:00 we were walked closer and by 8:30 we were allowed in. I was off the ride by 8:33 and the line was already backed up pretty good when we got out.

That seems like an accurate estimation in my mind if it's by official park open.

 

[pdude81]

It matters not…they had 90 posted

There weren’t 90 people total over the bridge at that point

Ok, then early entry. I agree it's nuts to start with 90 as it won't get that high until the traditional park open and Genie+ mixes in.

However, they also have to play the customer expectations/satisfaction game. So is the line really 40 minutes at 8:59 and 90 at 9:00, or do they need to start jacking those times up quickly so you don't get in line when it says 25 minutes at 8:45 and wait 70?

 

[monothingie]

Disney can not compete with your iPhone in terms of finding something to do while idle in the parks.

If people are forced to stay in the park with nothing to do, their eyes are in their phone while they're sitting down somewhere out of the heat. They certainly aren't buying things.

 

[JD80]

Ok, then early entry. I agree it's nuts to start with 90 as it won't get that high until the traditional park open and Genie+ mixes in.

However, they also have to play the customer expectations/satisfaction game. So is the line really 40 minutes at 8:59 and 90 at 9:00, or do they need to start jacking those times up quickly so you don't get in line when it says 25 minutes at 8:45 and wait 70?

I've seen actual 90 minute wait times at early entry.

 

[LittleBuford]

That is incorrect…

I’m not the only one who has this impression. Here’s a post from 2021 (the longer conversation to which it belongs is relevant):

I could be completely off the rails here but ride times are often artificially inflated at park open so as to encourage guests to not rush to one or two particular attractions, especially at a park like Epcot where there are only 1-2 attractions guests tend to rush to. It used to happen all the time at TSM, and I think MMRR has a similar "opening wait time" philosophy right now. Space Mt. used to have a stream of people flowing to it at rope drop back in the day, from what I remember.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Ok, then early entry. I agree it's nuts to start with 90 as it won't get that high until the traditional park open and Genie+ mixes in.

However, they also have to play the customer expectations/satisfaction game. So is the line really 40 minutes at 8:59 and 90 at 9:00, or do they need to start jacking those times up quickly so you don't get in line when it says 25 minutes at 8:45 and wait 70.

Other than boosting sales.

Which is 100% true…because the idea Disney can’t lie to us as much as they want is one of the dumbest old fans have ever adopted. They think the SEC is gonna raid iger’s office and perp walk him out to the 5 like Charlie sheen in Wall Street

Other than the obvious…they’re also trying to bandaid their awfully mismanaged capacity…

Do they want everyone on slinky or rat? No…they’re discouraging you to go to tower, frozen, test track, etc…etc…
And inflating those to trickle you down to garbage like Imagination and Star Tours

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I've seen actual 90 minute wait times at early entry.

No you haven’t because it’s mathematically impossible…the line doesn’t start overnight

Typical

 

[nickys]

Are we talking about early entry or park open?

Yes this.

If it’s at normal park opening you have all the early entry guests who weren’t ready & waiting 30 minutes before early entry (which is probably the majority) already in line.
Then add the regular rope droppers and it could very easily be up to an hour or more - especially if they got let through the tap stiles 10 minutes early.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I’m not the only one who has this impression. Here’s a post from 2021 (the longer conversation to which it belongs is relevant):

That’s not the same degree we’re talking here. There is always some pad…hell…I just wrote the same thing

But it has increased alot as they’ve been overwhelmed. Got worse during the crappy FP+ system and is now pathetic.

But…you will also get many accounts - including mine - of going to a headliner like rockinroller coaster, getting the paper ticket for a half hour later, walking on and going right back through the queue. But the experience has been declining since 2000 ish…and we can’t go home again

 

[JD80]

No you haven’t because it’s mathematically impossible…the line doesn’t start overnight

Typical

CMs walk people in to the park prior to early entry times. That's how it gets loaded up.

I track times on my WDW trips because I love stats. Last year in 2022, second week of December I entered Epcot at 8:35 (park open at 9am) at the international gateway, went straight to Remy. I got on line at 8:39, got on the ride vehicle at 9:40.

That's why this year I got to Epcot 30-40m earlier and got on the ride at 8:33am.

I was at the front of the line heading to Remy prior to 8:30. Lots of people behind me. Lots.