Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[Deadly Danson]

I have just e mailed customer services on this, if enough of us do this, they may listen. You never know,

Got the standard "we appreciate your concern but 'b***** off'" reply back from my email so I've written a letter to them. Will report back if they provide anything of interest. @lentesta did say he had had a lot of correspondence from international guests on this so hopefully the pressure will help. It's absolutely no use saying they will sort this in time when we have hugely expensive resort stays booked in the near future - if the system wasn't ready to launch for everyone then they shouldn't have launched it at all. It's a huge downer for my holiday.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

There's no decision.

This is LITERALLY a pure revenue stream. If they're not using it, it's because they can't. There's no reason they'd just choose not to bother.

It’s quite literally a decision, whether it was a decision to switch to a system that knowingly effectively locks out international guest due to legal issues, or a decision to not make the necessary IT changes right off the bat to allow international booking, this is a choice that Disney has made. I will be very surprised if it isn’t rectified in the early stages of this system.

 

[Mark Dunne]

Holy crap you guys are delusional.

This decision ALREADY AFFECTS THEIR BOTTOM LINE. If they're not doing it, it's because they can't (or can't yet).

THE BOTTOM LINE IS MILLIONS OF INTERNATIONAL GUEST STAY IN WDW, SO YEAH IT WILL EFFECT THERE BOTTOM LINE IF THEY CHOOSE TO STAY ELSEWHERE !

 

[James J]

Wait I'm not going to be able to do my pre-booking on the website?

Dang this really is all the worst things about G+ mixed with FP+.

This is what kind of folds into the issue we internationals have. With FP+, we could book ahead at the 60 day mark using the website with no issue, no need to use a VPN etc. It just worked. Now that they're forcing bookings to be made through the app, we're cut out.

If they just brought back booking through the website like we do for everything else, it'd all likely be fine, and for everyone. You'd assume the infrastructure still exists, but then again this is Disney IT.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

This is what kind of folds into the issue we internationals have. With FP+, we could book ahead at the 60 day mark using the website with no issue, no need to use a VPN etc. It just worked. Now that they're forcing bookings to be made through the app, we're cut out.

If they just brought back booking through the website like we do for everything else, it'd all likely be fine, and for everyone. You'd assume the infrastructure still exists, but then again this is Disney IT.

It's not an IT issue, it's regulatory. It's the transaction that's the problem, not the software.

 

[GoofGoof]

I saw a post on one of the boards that said the regulations regarding apps has a lot more hoops to jump through. So the initial issue for UK guests is that this product is strictly through the app and not on the website.

Still doesn't excuse Disney not offering more information though. Like " we are working on this issue ".

Wouldn’t the easy fix be to allow international guests to book through the website instead of the app and then only allow the app to function once in the US. So you can make modifications and/or additional reservations after arrival but advance reservations could be done on the website.

 

[osian]

It's not an IT issue, it's regulatory. It's the transaction that's the problem, not the software.

It's a decision made by Disney not to solve the problem. Whether it's IT, software, regulatory, an obsession with forcing use of the app...

They are probably working on something, whether it's software, regulatory etc, it's not a situation they would want to continue. But it's their decision to release it without that solution and put international guests at a disadvantage as compared to US (and Canada) guests, and it was a deliberate decision to do so, there is no way the subject didn't crop up in their meetings. The rest of the world did not force them to release it without that solution.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

It's a decision made by Disney not to solve the problem.

My dude, The Walt Disney Company does not control the governments of the world. It's not their problem to solve.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Wouldn’t the easy fix be to allow international guests to book through the website instead of the app and then only allow the app to function once in the US. So you can make modifications and/or additional reservations after arrival but advance reservations could be done on the website.

No because they're still buying a digital product or service.

I *think* what they could do would be to allow international guests to buy it for their length-of-stay and roll it into their vacation package, because then the thing they're selling is still a vacation package. But I think a la carte purchasing will be just as problematic whether it's on the website or on the app.

 

[Saskdw]

Wouldn’t the easy fix be to allow international guests to book through the website instead of the app and then only allow the app to function once in the US. So you can make modifications and/or additional reservations after arrival but advance reservations could be done on the website.

My guess would be they are trying to move just about everything to the app and don't want to spend resources on the website which they are trying to phase out. Just a guess I don't have any inside info.

 

[JAB]

No because they're still buying a digital product or service.

I *think* what they could do would be to allow international guests to buy it for their length-of-stay and roll it into their vacation package, because then the thing they're selling is still a vacation package. But I think a la carte purchasing will be just as problematic whether it's on the website or on the app.

App purchases are sometimes more regulated than web purchases (because the people making the laws don't understand technology). There might also be restrictions from Google and Apple on international or cross-region in-app purchases that have nothing to do with government regulation and obviously would have no bearing on web purchases.

If this is the case, then Disney is either making the decision to not spend the time and money to update the web, or planning to update the web but deciding not to wait for both the app and web to be done before rolling out FastGeniePass+.

 

[Mark Dunne]

My dude, The Walt Disney Company does not control the governments of the world. It's not their problem to solve.

To think I was jumping up and down with joy 2 weeks ago, we spend nearly £6000 a year visiting the world in Jan, taking my mum in Jan 25 for the first time, they do something to make a stay at the resort worth it. Cos 1/2 extra hrs is just not good enough

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

but I still have to pay full price.

To be fair, you're not really paying "full price." The UK deals are screaming good compared to what the ticket & hotel deals for Americans.

 

[nickys]

The difference is that room reservations have a different refund policy and it is unlikely that you will arrive at WDW to find that you don't have a room and the parks are all closed. Mobile food order is done when you are on-property (or nearby), not days ahead of time before youve even boarded your flight - and when was the last time someone ordered food only to go pick it up and be told, "Sorry, we'reactuall out of hamburgers" AND not get refunded?

Again, G+ only guaranteed the ability to choose from the available times - not a guarantee that you would get a specific ride within a specific window if time, so the products aren't comparable for this scenario.

I'm not familiar with what other US parks allow guests to pre-book specific rides in advance, so I can't compare. The parks I know of either use Universal's system or something closer to G+ or ILL as a day-of purchase.

I can mobile order from here and pay.

And I was meaning other places. I can book a timed visit to the Capitol, with a tour. Non-refundable. I can book a VIP tour of Kennedy Space Centre. I can book a tour of the Pentagon. All day non-refundable.

For Legoland I can prebook their version of “fastpass” with my dated ticket. For Universal I can prebook Express Pass for a specific day. All of them say non-refundable.

If I couldn’t go to any of these places, I’d have to claim on my insurance. Just like if I book my WDW tickets. We don’t have the guarantee about keeping the value of tickets. To change the date costs us £50 per person. And I can’t push the date of the standalone ticket beyond the end of the calendar year that the original start date, even paying that fee.

These new multi passes etc don’t guarantee those rides. All Disney have to do is say that.

 

[nickys]

No no no, Disney is intentionally leaving revenue on the table for no other reason than to screw UK guests, don't you see?

Honestly, I don't even understand what conspiracy is being alleged here. "Disney screws XYZ category of guest to maximize their profits" is a conspiracy that's at least plausible. But in this case people are saying "Disney screws UK guests to... minimze?... their profits."

There's no decision.

This is LITERALLY a pure revenue stream. If they're not using it, it's because they can't. There's no reason they'd just choose not to bother.

They must have either decided not to include international guests or it was an oversight.

If there is a genuine reason why not explain that? The backlash is growing, it would be in their interest to make a statement, otherwise bookings for next year will plummet.

 

[Mark Dunne]

My dude, The Walt Disney Company does not control the governments of the world. It's not their problem to solve.

To think I was jumping up and down with joy 2 weeks ago, we spend nearly £6000 a year visiting the world in Jan, taking my mum in Jan 25, they do something to make a stay at the resort worth it.

 

[nickys]

It's not an IT issue, it's regulatory. It's the transaction that's the problem, not the software.

So why is it just Disney who have this regulatory issue?

When we book dining, the app redirects us to the website. Where we can book ADRs and pay for the pre-paid ones too like HDDR.

So if they can do this for dining why can they not do this for the Multipass? And if it was always their plan to do that, why not say so instead of saying “you can do you pre-planning once you arrive at the resort”.

 

[Deadly Danson]

To be fair, you're not really paying "full price." The UK deals are screaming good compared to what the ticket & hotel deals for Americans.

I'm not sure how the full price compares once the exchange rate is taken into account but that is completely not the point. Whether you are staying at a resort using an AP discount, coupon, full rack rate or on sale you should get the same treatment regardless of where you are from. Would you say its fair enough if the early entry perk was denied to Americans but allowed for International guests for example? This is all quite simply indefensible - it was Disney's choice to launch a product that wasn't available for a chunk of their guests.

 

[Splash4eva]

They must have either decided not to include international guests or it was an oversight.

If there is a genuine reason why not explain that? The backlash is growing, it would be in their interest to make a statement, otherwise bookings for next year will plummet.

Are you saying UK visitors are not gonna come visit because they cant pre book Genie+ attractions or whatever its called now… not to mention maybe im wrong but it seems like UK visitors bc they come to Disney for some long stays they bypass paying for this service anyway?

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

Imagine if due to some regulatory issue guests had to be in Florida to take advantage of an advertised pre booking perk of an on-site stay or multi day ticket. I can’t see people being so willing to shrug it off and not hold Disney responsible for a decision to opt for a program like that. ‘They aren’t saying you can’t use it if you live in Minnesota, they’re just saying you need to book when you arrive in Florida!’

If whispers are to be believed, this change to Genie+ was in the works for a long time and the changes to DAS was the final barrier in changing the system over. I just find it so unacceptable that this wasn’t either worked out in that time period, the cause of the system being held back until it could function for everyone, or a big enough issue to force them to opt for another system.