Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[JAB]

The nomenclature is already getting confused/misused. I'm seeing some blogs, and several forum posters using "Lightning Lane" to specifically refer to only the pay-per-ride option. However, Lightning Lane is simply the name of the FP lane replacement - both Genie+ and pay-per-ride are Lightning Lane. Paying for Genie+ gets you Lightning Lane access to Tier 2 rides. Lighting Lane access to Tier 1 rides is pay-per-ride.

 

[Chomama]

Wait - one last question:

At 7 am for resort guests - can we book both of our upcharge rides then? Or is it only one at a time? Feels like it should be both...

Both as far as I can tell

 

[codersteve]

That makes it worse. You build a ride that can handle 20,000 people a day, and 22,000 people a day are going to show up to ride it.

They need another park.

 

[Javier Antonio Nisa Avila]

Exactly

However, people are discriminate at Disney Resorts.... This is the policy of Bob. He should study again his career.

 

[Javier Antonio Nisa Avila]

Now let’s go to a live shot of Burbank.

View attachment 580706

Don’t you worry, I’m sure Chapek is in there somewhere swimming in it.

He would be happy because he loves money

 

[dreday3]

Both as far as I can tell

Nice. (if you choose to do so)

Thanks!

 

[wdwmagic]

The nomenclature is already getting confused/misused. I'm seeing some blogs, and several forum posters using "Lightning Lane" to specifically refer to only the pay-per-ride option. However, Lightning Lane is simply the name of the FP lane replacement - both Genie+ and pay-per-ride are Lightning Lane. Paying for Genie+ gets you Lightning Lane access to Tier 2 rides. Lighting Lane access to Tier 1 rides is pay-per-ride.

Yes I think the pay-per-ride component is lacking a name, which is causing confusion.

 

[nickys]

Right. And a 9am wait time is short for T2 attractions. Nobody is rope dropping Haunted Mansion. So the advantage doesn't apply until later in the day, where offsite guests can then book. How does the 7am window help?

You time your first one for when the lines begin to lengthen.

If the park opens at 9am, then onsite guests get in at 8:30am. Those guests ride one or two of the Tier 1 rides first and then move onto the Tier 2 rides soon after park opening. After 1-2 hours lines everywhere start to grow, and that’s when you’ve book your first LL for. And you stay one step ahead from then on, choosing the ride that has the shortest return time.

 

[flynnibus]

It won't stay that price if everyone buys into it.

The model they went for was 'low barrier of entry'. The Genie+ will stay affordable - they WANT everyone buying it. It's positioned like the product that is 100% attach rate. Even if they goto $20-$25 quickly it's still on the affordable side.

Paid Lightning Pass... that's dynamic from the start and where they will make the dough... and where I expect them to change the limit on 2 without much delay....

 

[brettf22]

What did you love about MaxPass that this doesn’t include?

1: It included every ride. This adds extra cost and limits numbers of “tier 1” passes.
2: It had a time limit between passes (two hours I believe) so I would not be shut out of more passes if I choose one whose availability is way in the future.

 

[Javier Antonio Nisa Avila]

The nomenclature is already getting confused/misused. I'm seeing some blogs, and several forum posters using "Lightning Lane" to specifically refer to only the pay-per-ride option. However, Lightning Lane is simply the name of the FP lane replacement - both Genie+ and pay-per-ride are Lightning Lane. Paying for Genie+ gets you Lightning Lane access to Tier 2 rides. Lighting Lane access to Tier 1 rides is pay-per-ride.

To sum up, we have to pay for FP.

 

[Mickeyboof]

To those that are happy with this, and thrilled with the low price, just remember that what is $15 one day is $55 the next. I guess enjoy it while you can, Disney will price you out someday.

 

[cjack300zx]

A fall roll out does that mean this will go live on October 1st ?

 

[wdwmagic]

The model they went for was 'low barrier of entry'. The Genie+ will stay affordable - they WANT everyone buying it. It's positioned like the product that is 100% attach rate. Even if they goto $20-$25 quickly it's still on the affordable side.

Paid Lightning Pass... that's dynamic from the start and where they will make the dough... and where I expect them to change the limit on 2 without much delay....

Yep. This system has so much flexibility for Disney on the revenue side. You can see why Bob is so excited by it.

 

[flynnibus]

You don’t get all the benefits for free. You’ll get a couple for free and for the rest you’ll be given a return time based on the standby line.

The assumption is DAS will be free while Genie+ will be paid....

 

[codersteve]

It turns the ENTIRE day into an internal debate about what's worth it and what's not. Every time you see a wait time you'll now have to determine how much your time is worth and that mindset is the absolute antithesis of what a Disney vacation should be.

This is why people liked the dining plan. Now we need dining plan for rides (I know, makes no sense—or does it?).

 

[Javier Antonio Nisa Avila]

Yep. This system has so much flexibility for Disney on the revenue side. You can see why Bob is so excited by it.

He only minds money.

 

[Disney Analyst]

So has anyone seen an answer to this:

I book a trip to Disneyland or WDW, let's say I get 5 days of tickets. Can I only purchase Genie+ for all 5 days? Or can I decide day of I'd like to buy in, once I am in the park, but only for that one day?

I may decide I want to do LL on a busy day, but not need the service for my entire trip.

Any idea what flexibility there is? MaxPass at Disneyland was something you could just buy and use day of.

 

[nbinks]

View attachment 580701
Now you sound like the guy who said there won't be any standby now

This is a boneheaded statement for many reasons
1) disney doesn't want those optics
2) disney controls how many lightning passes there are, so they always control if this happens
3) boarding groups are available at same time lightning passes are.. so Disney will already have made concious choices about how to split available capacity before offering either quantity

1) Disney clearly doesn't care about optics, or they wouldn't have just released a two-tiered system where rubes and the wealthy can pay to skip lines

2) What do you think is more likely for when a ride consistently hits capacity: limiting the amount of $15/person passes, or getting rid of standby? Keep in mind that the $15 pass is essentially 100% profit for Disney as it costs them nothing to give access to rides that are already included with admission.

3) This reminds me of when Six Flags took over my local waterpark.
The first year, you started being required to use an inner tube in the lazy river. Fortunately, they had about 20 stacks of them that you could grab.
The second year, 2 stacks of special tubes appeared next to the river entrance, $10 for the day.
The third year, the stacks switched.

 

[aaronml]

This makes me think that they are planning on eventually having date-based pricing for Genie+.