Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[Archie123]

That remains to be seen, of course, but I don't think it's anywhere near that high. Of the 200, I think it's likely that at least 50 of them come and go without having any clue whatsoever what Genie+ even is.

And you will most likely be wrong. The stupidly named Lightning Lane will be packed full of people who paid $15 for G+.

 

[DisneyDodo]

Your analogy doesn't work because you are way underestimating the amount of people who will be signing up for G+. I think that it is more like if 200 people were swimming for free then maybe that number will go down to 175.

Also, we don't know that these paying guests who are fewer in number won't be presented with a smaller pool. If half the guests purchase G+, but then there are only 50% as many LPs available as there were FPs, you've paid $15 for the same service you got for free.

 

[DCLcruiser]

If Disney was quiet about the specifics, this is what could have happened:

All tickets are now $15 more expensive/day, inclusive of LL.

OR

If you don't want to use LL, your ticket price is unchanged.
If you want to use LL, you pay $15 more.

So, the ticket price is less for people who didn't use, or didn't know about LL vs. raising it for everyone.

For us, who use LL, we pay more for a feature that we benefit from. The price was going up no matter what.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

What percentage of WDW guests are locals?

I would guess that the frequent visitor will be less likely to pay an additional fee with each visit.

The relatively low cost means it won't be a huge burden for most visitors. I can see it being used by at least half of guests on a daily basis.

 

[pdude81]

2. I wonder what all of this will mean for VIPs (not VIP Tours), Club 33 guests, Golden Oak residents, etc. who historically have received complementary “Multiple Experience” FPs. Will they continue to receive that benefit in this new system / will it include the Tier 1 “IAS” attractions?

Those benefits are far from complimentary. They cost a lot more than $24 per, and they always got more than the standard 3. So expect they won't be limited to 2 either.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Also, we don't know that these paying guests who are fewer in number won't be presented with a smaller pool. If half the guests purchase G+, but then there are only 50% as many LPs available as there were FPs, you've paid $15 for the same service you got for free.

There's absolutely no indication whether LL capacity will be more, less, or equal to FP. They could even float it depending on G+ buy rate for the day.

 

[Waters Back Side]

Two other things to think about here:

1. It doesn’t seem like there is going to be a non-smartphone option for using Genie+. This means that at least one person in your party will need to have / use a smartphone in order to make Genie+ LL selections. Dead battery? Guess you’ll have to buy a FuelRod or just use Standby lines for the rest of the day. Seems like it shouldn’t be that expensive to just re-use the former FP+ kiosks for this.

Weren't they recently testing the old FP kiosks at the parks? Maybe this is for those who want to purchase rides without a smart phone?

 

[Waters Back Side]

If Disney was quiet about the specifics, this is what could have happened:

All tickets are now $15 more expensive/day, inclusive of LL.

OR

If you don't want to use LL, your ticket price is unchanged.
If you want to use LL, you pay $15 more.

So, the ticket price is less for people who didn't use, or didn't know about LL vs. raising it for everyone.

For us, who use LL, we pay more for a feature that we benefit from. The price was going up no matter what.

Again...how does this explain the rides you pay individually (IAS) like FOP, Slinky. Test Track etc.? I guess the same example could have been given but for $39 dollars which accounts the high end of those rides combined with Genie + also. But do not forget, Genie + 15 dollars does not cover those rides (2 in each park).

Those were once free (one a day) now will cost money separate and on top of Genie +.

 

[UNCgolf]

That remains to be seen, of course, but I don't think it's anywhere near that high. Of the 200, I think it's likely that at least 50 of them come and go without having any clue whatsoever what Genie+ even is.

Don't you think those would be the same people who already didn't use FP+, though?

I imagine anyone who used FP+ on a previous trip would at least investigate to see where FP+ went, which means they'd know about Genie+. There will certainly be some people who used FP+ and don't buy Genie+ because they don't want to pay, but I think the majority of people who used FP+ will also use Genie+.

 

[Patcheslee]

Just the assumption but could we expect people in Deluxe resorts to be less likely to purchase at MK or EP since they have some exclusive evening hours? Or would they be more likely to pay because their income may be higher?

 

[brettf22]

That remains to be seen, of course, but I don't think it's anywhere near that high. Of the 200, I think it's likely that at least 50 of them come and go without having any clue whatsoever what Genie+ even is.

I'm extremely confident the % of guests who will use Genie+ will be less than the % who used FP+, simply from the cost factor. How much that % differs? As you said, that remains to be seen.

I would love to know the % of WDW guests who used FP+, on average. It was definitely not 100%. I would say that rarely, if ever, did I experienced a day in the park without hearing somebody in the Standby Line murmur something similar to "There goes those people who paid to go to the front of the line" as guests walked through the FP Line.

Will the learning curve of Genie+ drive down the attach rate as well? Could be. Shoot, I know DVC owners who never learned enough about FP+ to realize they could get a 4th FP after using their 3 pre-booked ones.

 

[Waters Back Side]

Just the assumption but could we expect people in Deluxe resorts to be less likely to purchase at MK or EP since they have some exclusive evening hours? Or would they be more likely to pay because their income may be higher?

I mean, they are the only ones who have access to those 2 parks. Pretty much free realm, so yeah, they could probably avoid the Genie + those days. The IAS rides everyone might have the same strategy to use that time to go on them.

 

[Chi84]

I would say that rarely, if ever, did I experienced a day in the park without hearing somebody in the Standby Line murmur something similar to "There goes those people who paid to go to the front of the line" as guests walked through the FP Line.

Seriously? We have visited 2 or 3 times a year every year since FastPasses were introduced and NEVER heard anyone say this. Is this something that I’ve just missed all those years?

 

[Waters Back Side]

I'm extremely confident the % of guests who will use Genie+ will be less than the % who used FP+, simply from the cost factor. How much that % differs? As you said, that remains to be seen.

Are you sure about that? I do not like that it is not longer free either. But the Genie + is really only 15 dollars a day. I'm pretty sure many will use it at least some days of their trip.

 

[arich35]

I guess it hasn't be said if you can schedule your first LP later in the day or not yet?
I get up at 7 AM, can I schedule my first pass for lets say 10:30 or will it just be the first available?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I guess it hasn't be said if you can schedule your first LP later in the day or not yet?
I get up at 7 AM, can I schedule my first pass for lets say 10:30 or will it just be the first available?

Genie+ appears to be first available, individual attraction purchases can be scheduled.

 

[aaronml]

Weren't they recently testing the old FP kiosks at the parks? Maybe this is for those who want to purchase rides without a smart phone?

Those kiosks were still running the FP+ kiosk software, based on photos, etc. I suspect this was likely just park Ops / maintenance double checking that they work properly. They wouldn’t necessarily be in the loop on Genie+ / LL prior to public announcement / launch.

Disney seems to be moving away from supporting a smartphone-free park experience. VQ / Boarding Groups are only supported on smartphones, DLR’s new AP program is digital-only unless you pay $20 for a paper card, at DLP you have to go to Guest Relations to buy DPA without a smartphone, etc.

I hope I’m wrong, but it doesn’t seem like Genie+ LL will be supported outside of the mobile app. To be honest, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense from a branding standpoint for them to do that since Genie+ is a part of Genie, which itself is a mobile app feature.

 

[Ayla]

I guess it hasn't be said if you can schedule your first LP later in the day or not yet?
I get up at 7 AM, can I schedule my first pass for lets say 10:30 or will it just be the first available?

By all accounts it will be first available (at 7am) and next available during open park hours.

 

[Willmark]

I see Genie + as a simple price hike. Now I have to pay $15 more per person per day to have access to the FastPass system that used to be included in my park admission. Except now that doesn't include the most in-demand attractions. So I am literally paying significantly more to get less.

Am I missing something?

You are not.

 

[brettf22]

Are you sure about that? I do not like that it is not longer free either. But the Genie + is really only 15 dollars a day. I'm pretty sure many will use it at least some days of their trip.

Absolutely. Any price for this would get a certain percentage not to purchase it, especially for every member of their party, for every day of their trip. There have been plenty of people on this very forum that have stated they won't get it, or won't get it every day. Now is that percentage enough to statistically reduce standby times? That's the $15 question.

And this also shows how smart Disney is to market this as "only" $15/ticket/day. It immediately draws comparisons to Universal's Express Pass, which is comparing apples to oranges (scheduling LL passes one at time, with time restrictions, and based on availability ... vs. anytime, unlimited, instant access).