Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[Disstevefan1]

Ironically enough, this is the kind of attitude that leads to industry leaders falling from grace and losing their number 1 status.

Universal is about to change the game dramatically over the next 3-4 years with Epic Universe and new resorts. WDW will need to respond in a big way.

Although I would love to see WDW respond as the UIOA vs. WDW competition benefits the visitor, I do not see WDW responding in any way other then FINISHING the work that is in PROGRESS; WDW RR, Tron, GotG, the EPCOT updates. Looks like to me they are dragging their feet on these.

 

[flynnibus]

Just to point out though that the Touring Plans app allows you to re-optimise (or adjust) your plans throughout the day with actual wait times. They get those from people posting their measured wait times and their own people in the parks recording actual wait times themselves.

That's what I said - "They also report current wait times based on crowd sourcing and prior data. They basically are posting predictions based on modeling and refine that model all the time with crowd sourced (and measured) data"

You don't just post past wait times.

Think about it... if it took someone two hours to get through the FoP line and reports that actual wait time all you know is the wait from two hours ago. It's not representative of what the wait would necessarily be of someone getting in line right now.

Ever get in a line and realize you are the last person in a line at a shop.. and hate how your wait sucks, but the person who walks up at the last minute has almost no wait? It's basically that problem

 

[Disstevefan1]

You've used the phrase about Disney being invincible dozens of times. It reminds me of people touting stocks in discussion boards, trying to convince others to stay in their long positions. It becomes repetitive and meaningless after a while.

I made the huge mistake of not buying Disney stock when it was affordable. I have no stock. The word (that now will not be spoken) may now be meaningless to some, but it's totally true and the pandemic proved it.

I am cracking open a thesaurus to find a new word (to make meaningless) to describe that TWDC is too powerful to be defeated or overcome.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Huh?

Space Mtn and EE are both IA$.

Everest is not one of "The Mountains" and Space is a placeholder until Tron opens. It'll be IAS for a few months.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I have never broken my arm, therefore my arm is unbreakable.

A poor analogy. The human arm is easily broken and happens all the time. But TWDC is....... nevermind

 

[UNCgolf]

I agree with your last statement.

But totally disagree with the first one. You don’t add 30, or, 50% to your wait times simply for guest satisfaction purposes.

Do they usually add that much? I was thinking that they're generally inflated by 15-20 minutes, which is basically what's needed as a buffer in case of any stops or other short-term issues. I know it's sometimes much higher, but I don't think that's the norm.

I don't think it's 100% attributable to guest satisfaction -- I'm sure they occasionally have other reasons. I do think that's a major part of it, though.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Should, yes. And I know that fastpass was a different animal, but when you could pay for 3 additional fastpasses at concierge level (any tier, any resort) they still had to have their own exclusive time window and couldn't be the same as any of the "free" ones. Hopefully they are independent of each other.

You could book one per hour. The 3 regular-FP were the same as everyone else's, except CL had the ability to book all 6 FP at 90 days instead of the usual 60. SO if those 3 regular FP were booked by about the 70 day mark just about ever time/option was available (within the regular FP rules)

The 3 extra-FP had to be booked by a CM. For teh extra FP, there were no tiers, but once they were booked, only a CM could modify them. You were not supposed to book any attraction 2 times on the same day, but some people said they were able to LATER modify their 3-regular FP - so long as they didn't ALSO call a CM. If a CM saw they had booked something twice they had to change it.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Not at the IAS attractions, they don't. Those things run full-bore pretty much open to close. We're not talking about running fewer boats in Splash Mountain when it's 60 degrees outside, you're suggesting that they're going to cut back on ride vehicles in things like *Rise of the Resistance.*

er, this is what you actually wrote.

the attractions currently listed as IAS do not run full-bore open to close.

 

[Touchdown]

Folks if you have a 401k, odds are you’re invested in either a total stock market index fund or an S&P 500 index fund and if you have one of those, you own Disney stock.

 

[Patcheslee]

In most cases though, people can't be in two places at once. If the posted and actual wait are off, and you buy/use ILL, you wouldn't actually know the posted standby was inflated 10 minutes. The only way you'd really know the wait times were inflated was if the posted wait was extremely off. (like the example in your last sentence)

Even still, have you ever gone to AK for FoP or MK for 7DMT at rope drop? The queue goes from zero to 60+ in a matter of seconds. When the Frozen sisters were first in Norway, that queue went from zero wait to 3+ hours in less than 2 minutes. It was crazy!

What about the Buzz queue just before/after the parade/fireworks end? It goes from 5 to 30 in mere seconds.

Just because you only waited 5 minutes to ride FoP doesn't mean the posted wait time is not a valid estimate of the wait time, because of the way Wait times often rapidly fluctuate.

I think it would be very hard to prove intentional misrepresentation.

I didn't have to RD for FoP, 7DMT because I already had a FP scheduled for later in the day done months in advance. RD has always been a luck of who can get their family up, to the park, not ran over and kept in front of the crowd to achieve the minimum wait. That isn't our family, and never will be.
We haven't done Buzz at those times because we wanted to avoid the crowds from parades, fireworks, etc.

 

[Disney Glimpses]

I agree with you except for the bubble bursting. Not gonna happen. Folks on these boards have been saying this for many years. Fact is, TWDC and it’s theme parks are invincible. The pandemic proved this.

How did the pandemic prove this? Disney lost $10-15 billion dollars in this division from the pandemic. This was supposed to be their busiest week yet occupancy sits in the 60ish percentile. And sure the Delta wave on top of mask mandates threw things for a spin. Point is, the parks performed poorly through the pandemic and just barely had a profitable quarter recently.

The bubble absolutely will burst as they continue to charge more and offer less.

Companies and offerings are supposed to grow; technically even a flat lined parks/experiences is the bubble bursting. When people spend the money and leave with a different taste in their mouth, they tend to not return as soon or at all.

The people on this forum aren't the make or breakers of this company. It's the people who aren't Disney crazed that they rely on. We're the baseline and we're going to visit regardless. Other people who don't care as much or aren't as loyal to the corporation as we are will stop coming.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I didn't have to RD for FoP, 7DMT because I already had a FP scheduled for later in the day done months in advance. RD has always been a luck of who can get their family up, to the park, not ran over and kept in front of the crowd to achieve the minimum wait. That isn't our family, and never will be.
We haven't done Buzz at those times because we wanted to avoid the crowds from parades, fireworks, etc.

It isn't really 'luck' to wake up in time to be at RD. It is simply a choice to wake up early enough to be there. Often the folks at the very front of the pack arrive about an hour before park opening, but I have never done that. For the most park, people walk quickly, but it isn't an angry stampede.

I appreciate your direct answer. Still, I suggest trying RD at least once, if just to be informed. People have posted many tips in other threads.

Or like I said, go to Buzz just before the fireworks or parade end. Maybe just find a seat at the Lunching Pad, and watch people stream into the queue. On a holiday week, it is something to see.

To me, one of the most fascinating experiences though is just to spend maybe half an hour on the balcony of the Contemporary watching the MK buses come and go. IMO, it is one of the most impressive things to see at WDW. If you ever have a chance to watch the fireworks from that vantage point, stick around for an extra 15 minutes- just long enough to see how many people exit the park, and how WDW handles the surge. That is the most impressive time of day to watch, and WDW does the same thing every day.

 

[Disstevefan1]

How did the pandemic prove this? Disney lost $10-15 billion dollars in this division from the pandemic. This was supposed to be their busiest week yet occupancy sits in the 60ish percentile. And sure the Delta wave on top of mask mandates threw things for a spin. Point is, the parks performed poorly through the pandemic and just barely had a profitable quarter recently.

The bubble absolutely will burst as they continue to charge more and offer less.

Companies and offerings are supposed to grow; technically even a flat lined parks/experiences is the bubble bursting. When people spend the money and leave with a different taste in their mouth, they tend to not return as soon or at all.

The people on this forum aren't the make or breakers of this company. It's the people who aren't Disney crazed that they rely on. We're the baseline and we're going to visit regardless. Other people who don't care as much or aren't as loyal to the corporation as we are will stop coming.

The pandemic proved this because Disney lost $10-15 billion dollars in this division and not only did in not hurt them (because of the deep cost cutting and increase in pricing of everything) , the division looks to be thriving; I know you call out the 60ish number, but the parks looks full. Heck, it is in the 60ish percentile, now IS THE TIME TO VISIT before its back to the 2019 mobs.

The prices for everything is higher than ever, they are about to launch Genie + and individual lightning lane which will bring in tons of money for effectively nothing.

The 50th merch is selling well and there is a lot of it. There is also over a hundred different 50th food items for the 50th, it's just food they would have served anyway but its branded as a 50th offering.

Forget about us. There are many more people that are visiting WDW for the first time right now. These folks have nothing to compare to.

There are many people that may have made a visit in the 70s and 80s and want to visit for the 50th, these folks won't even remember what it was like to compare to, maybe just the prices but its too late by then they are in WDW and just deal with it.

If what we see in WDW is a bursting bubble you could have fooled me.

Maybe I can change my catch phrase to, "TWDC easily survives the bubble bursting".
That does not roll of the tongue, I will work on something..

 

[Patcheslee]

It isn't really 'luck' to wake up in time to be at RD. It is simply a choice to wake up early enough to be there. Often the folks at the very front of the pack arrive about an hour before park opening, but I have never done that. For the most park, people walk quickly, but it isn't an angry stampede.

I appreciate your direct answer. Still, I suggest trying RD at least once, if just to be informed. People have posted many tips in other threads.

Or like I said, go to Buzz just before the fireworks or parade end. Maybe just find a seat at the Lunching Pad, and watch people stream into the queue. On a holiday week, it is something to see.

To me, one of the most fascinating experiences though is just to spend maybe half an hour on the balcony of the Contemporary watching the MK buses come and go. IMO, it is one of the most impressive things to see at WDW. If you ever have a chance to watch the fireworks from that vantage point, stick around for an extra 15 minutes- just long enough to see how many people exit the park, and how WDW handles the surge. That is the most impressive time of day to watch, and WDW does the same thing every day.

Nope will not do rope drop, simple as this my attempt at getting everyone to wake up and get ready is NOT WORTH my frustration. Attempted it and closest we came was arrived 5 minutes before RD at AK Everest, stayed to the right side, DH stopping twice due to asthma before reaching the ride trying to keep up with crowd. RD and crowds are not for us, and yes there were people running or else my kid wouldn't have gotten knocked down with a skinned knee.

 

[Disstevefan1]

A few YouTubers got to attend media thing about this. A couple things I missed:
Will ALL attractions still have stand by including the Genie plus ones and the individual lighting lane attractions?

 

[DisneyJoe]

A few YouTubers got to attend media thing about this. A couple things I missed:
Will ALL attractions still have stand by including the Genie plus ones and the individual lighting lane attractions?

All that have standby will continue to have it except for those that will continue with a virtual queue, such as Remy. ie Remy will have Individual Attraction Service if you wish to pay for it, or you can attempt to use the Virtual Queue.

FYI - it wasn't only YouTubers that attended the press event, some were from Twitter, Instagram, and media outlets (TV/news sites).

 

[Ayla]

if we add Genie+ or IAS day of, how does the payment work? we're traveling with extended family and they are all in my MDE account. We're all on the same reservation together. is there a way to link up different credit cards to different people? or could they create their own MDE account and add their credit card that way? it'd be easier for each family to pay as they go vs trying to determine at the end what the split was

If you don't have everyone split up their charges, on the final bill, it shows who made what charge. Or, I should say, what magicband made each charge.

 

[Disney Glimpses]

The pandemic proved this because Disney lost $10-15 billion dollars in this division and not only did in not hurt them (because of the deep cost cutting and increase in pricing of everything) , the division looks to be thriving; I know you call out the 60ish number, but the parks looks full. Heck, it is in the 60ish percentile, now IS THE TIME TO VISIT before its back to the 2019 mobs.

The prices for everything is higher than ever, they are about to launch Genie + and individual lightning lane which will bring in tons of money for effectively nothing.

The 50th merch is selling well and there is a lot of it. There is also over a hundred different 50th food items for the 50th, it's just food they would have served anyway but its branded as a 50th offering.

Forget about us. There are many more people that are visiting WDW for the first time right now. These folks have nothing to compare to.

There are many people that may have made a visit in the 70s and 80s and want to visit for the 50th, these folks won't even remember what it was like to compare to, maybe just the prices but its too late by then they are in WDW and just deal with it.

If what we see in WDW is a bursting bubble you could have fooled me.

Maybe I can change my catch phrase to, "TWDC easily survives the bubble bursting".
That does not roll of the tongue, I will work on something..

That's if the 2019 mobs come. It's not like the parks will ever be empty but again, the goal is growth; not stagnation. If they even lose 1% they will revert decisions. The bubble bursting is an exaggeration for sure but the slightest hint of a loss due to price increases, entertainment modifications/terminations, etc. they will pull back.

 

[Ayla]

Disney Genie

I watched that video this morning. Ick. Just...gross.

 

[SteveAZee]

A poor analogy. The human arm is easily broken and happens all the time. But TWDC is....... nevermind

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