Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[JusticeDisney]

I’m not at any breaking point…but I most definitely have more stamina for this than most. But it’s like they are trying to “break” individuals down in sequence…with the assumption there’s more people with more money behind them. That’s blue ocean applied.

The problem is I don’t see it…neither do stats. The amount of people that will afford these trips is in decline.

they want whales? Well then that costs more…can’t sell plushies to the privileged forever.
Hard path to stay on. But slapphead doesn’t care…no longterm concern.

by the way…I’m Gonna send flowers so we fully make up. Make up is always the best

First off, I again agree with all that you are saying here. Spot on, IMO.

Secondly, you’re a great contributor here, and I have no doubt a great person as well. So with that said, my apologies for going back and forth with you the other night. It really was silly and offered nothing to this forum. I hope you have a great day, my friend!

 

[sbbr]

Don't get me wrong, we're not wealthy. We save to go, on average, every other year and while we stay deluxe, enjoy a table service meal every day, and have done our share of fireworks dessert parties, I do try to save money wherever I can.

I think you should accept that if you can afford all this, you are wealthy. If you don’t like the word wealthy, then at least better off than most. Nothing wrong with that, as my family is in that category too. The $60/day won’t be a big deal to us and I’ll happily pay it to try to cut down on time my preschoolers spend in line.

But there are a lot of people who work hard to save up so they can pay for gas, a cheap hotel or campground, and probably the biggest expense for them, tickets. For those people it is a big deal to add the extra fee. I’m not saying Disney is evil or doing anything wrong. Honestly it’s cheaper than I expected. But it’s understandable for people to be upset about it.

I hope Genie (the free service) does help people who can’t afford they charge have a more pleasant day, personally.

 

[MisterPenguin]

So sometime in the fall means October 1sr for implementing this along with the new ride opening?

No one knows. Disney hasn't said. Our insiders haven't said. And perhaps Disney hasn't even decided when it will begin at this point.

 

[Raineman]

I think there's one thing that Disney didn't take into account for this system at WDW. If you have a family that only visits once every few years, and has to save every extra penny, work lots of overtime, etc, to pay for the trip, they are going to have a fairly strict budget. To be able to budget the Genie+ and $LL, something else in the budget is going to have to be sacrificed-and I think some people will stay at the lower priced off property hotels instead of the WDW resort hotels to allow them to pay for the new extras. If enough people do this, this is going to affect the cash that Disney rakes in from resort stays. Whether the loss of revenue there will be significant enough for Disney to care about, it who knows. But it will have some effect. A difference of $100 or more per night in the family trip budget for accommodations will go very far in helping to pay for the $15 per ticket Genie + and a few $LL reservations.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Im sorry, this probably has been talked about somewhere in the last 107 pages, but Im a little late to the party and 107 pages is a lot to go through!

Can anyone tell me if the paid LL for say Rise or Flight of Passage could be bought separate without Genie+? Or do you first need to buy the Genie+ in order to get acces to the paid LL rides? :/

As was responded above, the 2 pay-per-ride Lightning Lane purchases do not require having purchased Genie+$ for the day.

See the link in my sig which breaks down the details of Genie and LLs.

 

[GimpYancIent]

As was responded above, the 2 pay-per-ride Lightning Lane purchases do not require having purchased Genie+$ for the day.

See the link in my sig which breaks down the details of Genie and LLs.

True. That said, the key irritation is (the way I see it) Fast Pass was a "FREE" magical convenience for those wanting to rush and not wait in a line where now there is Lightning Line for a "FEE". The rest is window dressing electronic junk for people to have on their personal electronic devices. In no way does this Genie / Genie + enhance the Disney experience.

 

[rawisericho]

I can't keep up. I don't understand most of what people are saying.

Let me sum up the five types of people posting in the thread about this horrible "service".

1. The person who CANNOT simply understand this. "Lighting Lanes are only for Tier 1s?" "Is it free for AP?" "Is Genie and Genie+ the same?" "What about MDE?"
2. The person responding to these endless questions. "Lightning Lane is just the line! It's not the service!"
3. The person DEFENDING this decision. "ACHSHULLY, I think this could be a great addition. It's just like MAXPASS! I LOVE MAXPASS! Didn't you guys love MAXPASS????"
4. The person, correctly, complaining. "Magic subject to terms and conditions."
5. The weirdos who have had endless conversations about why the Individual Attraction Purchases haven't been branded. "Can you BELIEVE that they didn't brand this? It could be 3 Wishes! Or The Scrooge McDuck Choice! Or how about Magic Carpet? That would go well with the Genie!"

 

[Jeff4272]

Im sorry, this probably has been talked about somewhere in the last 107 pages, but Im a little late to the party and 107 pages is a lot to go through!

Can anyone tell me if the paid LL for say Rise or Flight of Passage could be bought separate without Genie+? Or do you first need to buy the Genie+ in order to get acces to the paid LL rides? :/

You do not need to pay for genie+ to pay for LL

 

[hopemax]

I think there's one thing that Disney didn't take into account for this system at WDW. If you have a family that only visits once every few years, and has to save every extra penny, work lots of overtime, etc, to pay for the trip, they are going to have a fairly strict budget. To be able to budget the Genie+ and $LL, something else in the budget is going to have to be sacrificed-and I think some people will stay at the lower priced off property hotels instead of the WDW resort hotels to allow them to pay for the new extras. If enough people do this, this is going to affect the cash that Disney rakes in from resort stays. Whether the loss of revenue there will be significant enough for Disney to care about, it who knows. But it will have some effect. A difference of $100 or more per night in the family trip budget for accommodations will go very far in helping to pay for the $15 per ticket Genie + and a few $LL reservations.

At this point, I'm not sure they care about resort revenue, as long as people are partaking in "high margin" revenue streams. At one time, resort stays were used as a proxy for "high average guest spending." I think part of what Disney learned with MDE is that willingness to spend a hotel room, did not always translate into sales of dessert parties, after hours events, etc. And those staying off-property would use their "savings" as justification to participate in those high margin items. The calculus is a lot more complicated than "guests who stay on property, spend more overall." And Genie+ and $LL fall into those high margin categories.

 

[John park hopper]

I wonder how many people would pay to see a broadway show but if you want to hear the dialogue you have to pay extra. Only at Disney can they charge you admission to ride the rides and then if you don't want to spent most of your time standing in line you can pay extra.

 

[Jeff4272]

At this point, I'm not sure they care about resort revenue, as long as people are partaking in "high margin" revenue streams. At one time, resort stays were used as a proxy for "high average guest spending." I think part of what Disney learned with MDE is that willingness to spend a hotel room, did not always translate into sales of dessert parties, after hours events, etc. And those staying off-property would use their "savings" as justification to participate in those high margin items. The calculus is a lot more complicated than "guests who stay on property, spend more overall." And Genie+ and $LL fall into those high margin categories.

I disagree 100% with this. Staying in their hotels is their main concern. When people stay on site, they eat on site, spend more on merch, don’t go to other parks like universal or sea world, etc.

I think this will be the main problem with this new system.

If people were smart, they would stay at universal for 1/3 the cost, get the express pass and then just visit Disney for a few days and use the $ they saved to purchase genie+ and LL. That way you won’t wait in any lines in either park, still save thousands of dollars and have a great experience

 

[Andrew25]

I hate to be negative, but this system will be a disaster for a park like DAK with only 3 worthy attractions deserving Fastpass/Genie. MaxPass worked at Disneyland because it had the ride capacity to handle multiple reservations. I sincerely doubt you would be able to snag a Flight of Passage reservation after 10AM (at best).

I'm very interested in seeing the occupancy rate of the all-stars once this is implemented fully.

 

[rawisericho]

I wonder how many people would pay to see a broadway show but if you want to here the dialogue you have to pay extra. Only at Disney can they charge you admission to ride the rides and then if you don't want to spent most of your time standing in line you can pay extra.

You're about to have a certain poster respond by saying "Your Broadway ticket only entitles you to enter the building, that's it!"

 

[CaptainAmerica]

You're about to have a certain poster respond by saying "Your Broadway ticket only entitles you to enter the building, that's it!"

Your Broadway ticket entitles you to see the show.

You have to pay extra if you want good seats in the front.

 

[AshaNeOmah]

Let me sum up the five types of people posting in the thread about this horrible "service".

1. The person who CANNOT simply understand this. "Lighting Lanes are only for Tier 1s?" "Is it free for AP?" "Is Genie and Genie+ the same?" "What about MDE?"
2. The person responding to these endless questions. "Lightning Lane is just the line! It's not the service!"
3. The person DEFENDING this decision. "ACHSHULLY, I think this could be a great addition. It's just like MAXPASS! I LOVE MAXPASS! Didn't you guys love MAXPASS????"
4. The person, correctly, complaining. "Magic subject to terms and conditions."
5. The weirdos who have had endless conversations about why the Individual Attraction Purchases haven't been branded. "Can you BELIEVE that they didn't brand this? It could be 3 Wishes! Or The Scrooge McDuck Choice! Or how about Magic Carpet? That would go well with the Genie!"

I surely hope I'm #4.

 

[AshaNeOmah]

Your Broadway ticket entitles you to see the show.

You have to pay extra if you want good seats in the front.

Then if it's a Disney show, you've gotta pay an upcharge for each Act to keep those seats.

Edit: Or maybe just for the big number before Intermission at near the end.

 

[Jeff4272]

I hate to be negative, but this system will be a disaster for a park like DAK with only 3 worthy attractions deserving Fastpass/Genie. MaxPass worked at Disneyland because it had the ride capacity to handle multiple reservations. I sincerely doubt you would be able to snag a Flight of Passage reservation after 10AM (at best).

I'm very interested in seeing the occupancy rate of the all-stars once this is implemented fully.

FOP is not on genie+.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I have a substantive question that I haven't seen answered yet.

Does Genie+ work across parks if you have a hopper?

 

[seabreezept813]

It doesn't matter if it's good enough. Like I said upthread, I finally got my Dad on RotR in May. I failed at 7AM and I felt so horrible, because I didn't know when he would ever get another chance. I got it at 1, but those hours in between were awful. And that's for my Dad, who has done a lot of things in his life and isn't going to tear up over not riding.

My SIL, when she got pregnant with her first child told us we were responsible for taking her kids to Disneyland. She wants her boys to experience it, but she doesn't want to do it. Now, the oldest is 9 and the youngest is 6, and the family has started talking about going to SoCal for Mother's Day next year, and for us to take the kids to Disneyland. These kids are HUGE Star Wars fans, it will likely be their only trip to Disney, and they think Auntie and Uncle are like Santa Claus and make their favorite things appear out of thin air (we live 1000 miles away from them, and see them infrequently, so I try really hard to really target their likes, instead of lots of gifts, or expensive gifts like other family members). I told my DH yesterday, I don't care how much the upcharge costs, I am not stressing myself out over disappointing these boys, because this trip is 10 years in the making.

And that's what a lot of other people will think too.

Thankfully, we don't have kids of our own we have to worry about pleasing, and this is a "one time only" thing for us. But for Disney, that's all they need.

I guess that’s the crux.. being an extreme z
Star Wars fan…I love Harry Potter and I still haven’t gone to Universal because I felt paying for 2 park admissions to see it was unnecessary. I’ll eventually go but even years later that kind of cash grab leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I think this is what Disney isn’t considering(… that several cutbacks at once during a pandemic could affect their image for the long term.

 

[rawisericho]

I have a substantive question that I haven't seen answered yet.

Does Genie+ work across parks if you have a hopper?

I seem to recall them mentioning that.