Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[Weather_Lady]

Magical isn’t it? I remember going on a Disney vacation to destress back in the good ol days

We visited in the latter days of the COVID pandemic, during late August, when everything was standby-only, masking requirements were still in place, and crowds were low, and we were keenly aware that G+ and ILL were soon to be introduced, which would then incentivize WDW to keep attractions short-staffed and ride lines long, forever after.

It was the most wonderful Disney vacation we've ever taken, or ever could take: it was like the dreams we all have sometimes where we have an entire theme park to ourselves! As my family sauntered spontaneously into a constantly-moving 20-minute Slinky Dog Dash line in the middle of the afternoon, I said to the kids, "remember this vacation, you guys: enjoy every moment and hold onto it forever, because after this, Disney trips are all going to be downhill from here." When we came back two years later during the same week, with unrelenting long lines, needless short-staffing, and the stress of being on one side or the other of a visible caste system for every attraction, my son -- my teenage son -- actually looked at me and said, "Wow Mom, you were right!" (Talk about a moment to hold onto forever!)

 

[DCBaker]

Genie+ at Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the Multiple Parks option have sold out.

 

[allgiggles]

Im truly curious how many people purchase something without truly understanding the rules which impacts their view on something? I just find it remarkable people can still go to Disney and not understand certain things or anywhere for that matter. With the amount of info at your fingertips no less…

I agree. My son recently met a family who went to Disney World for the first time in January 2024 and they were already planning another trip for August. Why? Because when they went in January, they had no idea that Genie+ existed (or how to use it) and that by staying on property (which they were) they could enter the parks 30 minutes early. They also didn't know there was transportation from the resort to the parks. They rented a car because they thought they had to drive everywhere. They did figure out very quickly that they could take a bus rather than drive. They felt like they got very little accomplished the first several days of their trip (they also thought that 5 days in the parks would be enough time to do *every* ride/show in *every* park). They were very disappointed when they realized how much time they were spending in line. They noticed the Lighting Lane lines, but never asked CMs what they were and who could use them. Then they had a conversation with someone on a bus on the way back to the resort who told them about Genie+ and EE. Now they're going back to take advantage of those things for their entire trip rather than just the last 2 days of their stay. I realize that there is a lot to learn about a trip to Disney, but Genie+, EE, and park transportation are thrown in your face constantly if you're staying on property. I don't understand how someone can *not* be aware of these things before arrival.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Pooh, Ariel, and Space down at MK. RnRC still offline at DHS with 6 attractions currently at or above 70 minute waits. Even Star Tours is close to an hour.

Genie selling out in both parks?

I wonder how many ride activations that $35/person will get you today at DHS.

 

[GhostHost1000]

Pooh, Ariel, and Space down at MK. RnRC still offline at DHS with 6 attractions currently at or above 70 minute waits. Even Star Tours is close to an hour.

Genie selling out in both parks?

I wonder how many ride activations that $35/person will get you today at DHS.

Ouch - well at least Splash, the Country Bears, and Stitch can all take up the extra capacity at MK

 

[Weather_Lady]

I don't understand how someone can *not* be aware of these things before arrival.

With how much a WDW vacation costs, the only conclusion I can reach is that such people must have so much money and/or so much leisure time that they don't feel the slightest need to try and make the most out of their vacations.

 

[Ayla]

With how much a WDW vacation costs, the only conclusion I can reach is that such people must have so much money and/or so much leisure time that they don't feel the slightest need to try and make the most out of their vacations.

Or, it is their very first visit/haven't visited since they were kids and they can't possibly fathom how complicated a "vacation" it has become.

 

[Splash4eva]

Or, it is their very first visit/haven't visited since they were kids and they can't possibly fathom how complicated a "vacation" it has become.

The internet is a beautiful thing… actually can be very useful at times vs posting a pic of your waffles and ice cream at your local diner to garnish some likes from people you dont even know

 

[DryerLintFan]

So why don’t they charge $35 every day?

To make sure it was impossible for you to actually plan out your day

 

[Ayla]

The internet is a beautiful thing… actually can be very useful at times vs posting a pic of your waffles and ice cream at your local diner to garnish some likes from people you dont even know

I have no idea what this comment is supposed to mean.

 

[DryerLintFan]

My wife showed me pictures from the Daily Mail today of all of the parks. I know it's Spring Break, but those pictures were crazy busy. On the site, they told people flying to Orlando to give themselves three hours leeway for the flight.

This was Christmas Day 2017 at around 11am

It certainly does get crowded. Just a sea of unhappy people

and anyone can take a photo at Disney in a certain area at a certain time to make it look busy whether it is or not

Also, I would probably be at the MCO airport 3 hours ahead of time regardless. Which is why I usually fly into Orlando / Sanford

 

[DryerLintFan]

I have no idea what this comment is supposed to mean.

They’re saying if the people going used the internet for anything besides posting food pics to social media they could look up how Disney works now.

Which i disagree with because even as a veteran of these forums the new systems are hard to fully get.

 

[Ayla]

They’re saying if the people going used the internet for anything besides posting food pics to social media they could look up how Disney works now.

Which i disagree with because even as a veteran of these forums the new systems are hard to fully get.

Yep. I have visited 2-3 times a year every year since 2006. I am on this board almost every day and keep up with changes, etc at Disney. My last trip was almost 2 years ago in May of 2022. If somebody asked me today to explain Genie+ to them, they'd get a blank look and maybe a "well, I know it costs whatever they decide to charge that day when you try to buy it (is it at midnight? 7am? ) and it only works on certain rides and you can book at 7am (or is it when the parks open? ). Don't ask me about actual details, I have no frigging idea. Oh! Don't forget about the other rip-off, INDIVIDUAL LIGHTNING LANE, which charges you MORE to ride! And don't get me started on virtual queues and being tethered all day to your phone...good luck and have a great time on your vacation!!"

 

[JohnD]

I agree. My son recently met a family who went to Disney World for the first time in January 2024 and they were already planning another trip for August. Why? Because when they went in January, they had no idea that Genie+ existed (or how to use it) and that by staying on property (which they were) they could enter the parks 30 minutes early. They also didn't know there was transportation from the resort to the parks. They rented a car because they thought they had to drive everywhere. They did figure out very quickly that they could take a bus rather than drive. They felt like they got very little accomplished the first several days of their trip (they also thought that 5 days in the parks would be enough time to do *every* ride/show in *every* park). They were very disappointed when they realized how much time they were spending in line. They noticed the Lighting Lane lines, but never asked CMs what they were and who could use them. Then they had a conversation with someone on a bus on the way back to the resort who told them about Genie+ and EE. Now they're going back to take advantage of those things for their entire trip rather than just the last 2 days of their stay. I realize that there is a lot to learn about a trip to Disney, but Genie+, EE, and park transportation are thrown in your face constantly if you're staying on property. I don't understand how someone can *not* be aware of these things before arrival.

I went with a family to WDW two weeks ago. Prior to that we had "pre-meetings" about transportation, dining, G+/ILL, etc. The wife, being a geek like me, took it all in and did her own research when I wasn't meeting with them. She even brought up every ride on a computer screen with her son to get his input on what he wanted to do. Now THAT's research. By the time of the trip, we divided and conquered. I selected VQ at 7am and purchased ILL at park open (we stayed off-site). She mostly picked the G+ rides throughout the day, always ready for the next ride every two hours after park open. She even got fancy with it, scheduling MF:SR for her and her son and ToT for her husband and myself at the same time. We were so methodic we got basically everything in HS and what we wanted in MK and Epcot.

 

[Splash4eva]

I have no idea what this comment is supposed to mean.

It was semi sarcastic meaning no matter what the reason is its nothing more than an excuse imo. Who goes away on a vacation anywhere completely blind especially to Disney.

 

[Purduevian]

I'm still not sure what my price limit is for G+... but I actually I know I'm not there yet.
Currently my family is just my wife, my <3 year old son, and myself.

My last Disney trip... for 2 park days I spent $417.11 a day on tickets (park hoppers), $315.85 per night at the Swan, $75 per day on photo pass, and averaged $131.40 a day on food and drink. So for 2 people (son was "free"), I'm spending $939.36 to enjoy a day in the park ($447.25 on non-park days). This doesn't even include the plane tickets or transportation to WDW from MCO. My son gets up early allowing us to make an 8:30am rope drop, but we have to leave the parks by 7:30pm to get him to bed. Meaning I have ~11 hours of park time a day. Every hour I am in the park, it costs my family ~$85.40 or $1.42 a minute.

Waiting in line is "wasted" time in my day. In order to be worth it to me is the cost of G+ it must save my family: The cost of G+/$1.42 to be "worth it".

If Genie plus is $40 per person (total of 80), 80/1.42= 56 minutes saved... A single LL for many of the big name rides can easily save 56 minutes, I usually get at least 2-3 "big" rides a day.

As awful as it sounds... $40 per person is only ~8.5% increase on the price of my park day... If 8.5% less of my day is spent in lines...

I wish this wasn't the system we had... but this system is still worth it for me.

 

[Jenny72]

It's funny...my kids won't let me buy Genie+ because they say they'll feel too bad for the people waiting in line, and they'll feel like jerks getting on rides ahead of others. I'm not eager to buy Genie+, so it works out fine, but it's not the response I expected from my kids, who are not notably more angelic than other kids. I think it just offends their sense of justice somehow.

What was it someone said a few posts back? You have to be on either side of the caste system on every ride. Man, I hate that they've made us choose that.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Plenty of spots at MK and Epcot where bottlenecks of people can occur regardless of the crowd levels and 3 hours before for any flight at MCO is pretty much recommended for all

Also time of day matters. You take a picture in between Peter Pan and the Rapunzel bathrooms at MK on a crowd level 1 day at noon and it’s going to look pretty crowded.

 

[allgiggles]

I'm still not sure what my price limit is for G+... but I actually I know I'm not there yet.
Currently my family is just my wife, my <3 year old son, and myself.

My last Disney trip... for 2 park days I spent $417.11 a day on tickets (park hoppers), $315.85 per night at the Swan, $75 per day on photo pass, and averaged $131.40 a day on food and drink. So for 2 people (son was "free"), I'm spending $939.36 to enjoy a day in the park ($447.25 on non-park days). This doesn't even include the plane tickets or transportation to WDW from MCO. My son gets up early allowing us to make an 8:30am rope drop, but we have to leave the parks by 7:30pm to get him to bed. Meaning I have ~11 hours of park time a day. Every hour I am in the park, it costs my family ~$85.40 or $1.42 a minute.

Waiting in line is "wasted" time in my day. In order to be worth it to me is the cost of G+ it must save my family: The cost of G+/$1.42 to be "worth it".

If Genie plus is $40 per person (total of 80), 80/1.42= 56 minutes saved... A single LL for many of the big name rides can easily save 56 minutes, I usually get at least 2-3 "big" rides a day.

As awful as it sounds... $40 per person is only ~8.5% increase on the price of my park day... If 8.5% less of my day is spent in lines...

I wish this wasn't the system we had... but this system is still worth it for me.

This is exactly how I look at it. Time is money. On our trip in June 2022 (our first with G+/ILL), the amount we spent on G+/ILL (for 4 adults) was a little less than 7% of the total cost of our trip (including travel and souvenirs) and we felt it was well worth the cost for us. Our previous trip was in 2018 and we had 3 trips cancelled due to Covid. We had a lot of new stuff to see on the 2022 trip. We knew that we would probably have to skip a few "classics" in order to have time to do all of the new stuff a well as our "must do" rides. We were there for 8 days and thanks to G+/ILL, we had more time to relax in our room or at the pool than we've ever had before. We were a party of 11 including a 5 month old baby on that trip -- we moved slowly. And despite the parks being pretty crowded (compared to all of the other times we've been there the same week), we not only got to do all of the new things, but we hit all of our must do's *and* classics...many of them twice. I know a lot of people don't like the constant nickel & diming (I don't either), but I prefer to go to Disney less often and take advantage of G+/ILL to make our trips more efficient. I've had people tell me that (as an example) 7DMT isn't worth a $10 ILL (or whatever it happens to cost that day) -- you can ride it with a relatively short wait at rope drop. I agree. 7DMT isn't worth $10. However, buying an ILL for $10 so I can ride 3 other rides in that 30 minutes of EE time and then ride 7DMT later in the day with a 5 minute wait is totally worth $10 to me. I don't *want* G+ to cost $50, but if/when it hits that price point, I still would probably buy it at least one day at each park. We're heading back to Disney in a few months and I know G+ won't be $15/day (which we were able to purchase for the length of stay prior to arrival in 2018) like our last trip, but I will still buy it probably every day (I'm assuming it will be $30-35 or less per day while we're there).

 

[surfsupdon]

You are correct. Time IS money.

We paid extra to stay at Royal Pacific at Universal and walked onto every ride we wanted (except for one) any time and every time we wanted. Phones stayed in our bag for the most part. It was splendid and a welcome change. Keep doing your Disney Math for justification. They encourage that.