Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[Jeff4272]

I do not disagree with you. That would be better. But you had implied you'd completely lose out on any chance to go on the rides you want. I do not seeing that happen.

Yes of course, it would be better to have a choice of between two times...the next available and a 2nd choice for later.

Like paper FP, you run the risk of rides "selling out"

 

[nickys]

Can you 'select' your Genie+ time in that if the next available time doesn't work for you, you're able to skip it and be offered the next available after that? Or is it a one chance and you're done?

I know you’re offered the next available time. If you don’t want that then you book something else and then go back and book the first ride. And you can cancel teh Genie+ passes.

But the reality is we won’t know about the nuances of this until it starts.

 

[Chi84]

I don't understand....DHS was listed as a 1 today, but the wait times for the rides are pretty darn long. Reading it's crowded at the parks.

I'm just going to plan on crowds for next week and be done with it.

Yesterday was Columbus Day - it will probably be crowded for the next few days.

 

[dreday3]

Yesterday was Columbus Day - it will probably be crowded for the next few days.

Oohhh...if I don't have it off of work, I forget there's been a holiday!

 

[nickys]

Right but what if you arent getting to MK until noon and next ride available is at 10am, then what do you do?

Patent your time travelling machine perhaps.

 

[Jeff4272]

I know you’re offered the next available time. If you don’t want that then you book something else and then go back and book the first ride. And you can cancel teh Genie+ passes.

But the reality is we won’t know about the nuances of this until it starts.

The risk is, If you book something else and then have to wait the 2 hours and go back to book your first choice and its then gone

 

[nickys]

The risk is, If you book something else and then have to wait the 2 hours and go back to book your first choice and its then gone

Yes. So you take your chance. Take the next time a few hours away or book something else. You always have the chance to just wait in standby.

And if the Q&As that are being posted are correct, then if your window is over 2 hours away then you can book another one in 2 hours time.

Kind of like the old legacy FP system, only it’s virtual. Saves someone having to run across the park to get them.

 

[SteveAZee]

That is a much smaller subset of people though. Why would they set up a system that caters to the open to close guests when they can make more money making it available to people who like going early and leaving mid day or people who like arriving later and staying until close?

Explain to me the logic in that? How does that make sense. If you mean getting the most rides you can throughout the day then maybe. But I think many people will care more about getting on the rides they really want to. If I can do Test Track, Soarin. Spaceship Earth and LWTL in half a day I do not care that the only other rides I didnt do were walk ons anyway.

I definitely see many issues in particular with how the order of how guests want to do things during theor day will be different then what they planned..for example j wait until 10 am to book Test Track. If I'm expecting to go on Trst Track first when I arrive, that might not always be possible. So I might jave to delete for grabbing the 230 slot that is the only option for next available. And have to wait another 2 hours before getting another LL and hoping there is something between 1230 and 230 and if not make another choice like Soarin for later in the day again. Maybe the Genie when you select what you want to do for the day and put it on the my day section will resort your day based on the times you have LL access to your liking or maybe it won't. But I have a hard time believing if we are paying that the rides will become unavailable after a certain time.

The Genie plus can grow on me. I'm not entirely against it like I would hae been with DPA, but if I end up missing out rides because i wait until 1p or 11 instead of 7 I'll never ever buy the product again.

IAS is a different story. I'm pretty confident resort guests in their exclusive 2 hour window will be able to get a slot on the IAS they want, but choice of time might be misleading if the time you want is not available.

I suppose one reason to cater to the 'open to close guests' is they're more likely to spend their day eating in the parks and buying merch... $/guest is possibly increased.

One possible solution to 'early risers' vs. 'later bloomers' is the option to tell Genie not just what park you want reservations at, but also a time window of when you'd like to be there. Yes, it's more complicated for the software, but it's not that much more complicated. Some people can let them know they'll be there all day, some can say 'opening until noon', others may want '10am to 6' and still others may say '4pm to closing'. With that information, Genie can shape itineraries and LL access reservations to suit each guest rather than favor one group or another.

 

[Patcheslee]

I've been on this forum for quite some time. For at least 15 years, WDW has bumped food prices, especially buffets during all the major holiday seasons: Thanksgiving, Easter, December, and probably other holidays as well.

Yet I don't think most people even notice the upcharges. At least, it doesn't seem to come up in comments.

Edit: someone beat me to it lol
Personally the trips we've taken had the dining plan, so any increase in price I didn't take much notice of. If I were to go now and find my dining had to change to accommodate increases throughout the restaurants, I'd question if I still want to do them, or maybe drop one altogether.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

It’s fascinating to see the thoughts here, while I totally get the “I’m on vacation I want to sleep in” thoughts, I would counter with what goes through my mind, I’m paying a lot of money to be at WDW, I should plan my day to take advantage of it. I always rope drop and close. That said I park hop, have a table service meal everyday and usually take an afternoon break (and sometimes a nap.) The parks are at their most unpleasant in the early afternoon, they are so much nicer in the mornings and evenings.

It depends a little on the time of year- weather.

For those who only visit specific times of year:
summer: afternoon often around 90F, thunderstorms and heavy afternoon downpours are common, but often just a short burst. It may last 15 min, it might last a few hours, it rarely rains all day. Before the storm humidity is very high, August now = Halloween, Epcot = F&W
spring: spring break crowds, fabulous weather. Spring traditionally = extended park hours, Epcot = Flower fest, high prices!
winter: parks can be quite chilly in the AM/PM, water rides not as appealing and they often close for a month, only 1 water park, short park hours except holiday weeks, Epcot now has Artfest
fall: hurricane season, still hot in early fall, can be chilly late fall, and a bit unpredictable.
holiday weeks: high crowds, high prices, but often lots of soft attractions (like characters, special events), extra parades, decoration, and extra park hours.

The more temperate months tend to = cool am/pm and warm afternoons, so touring = carrying/shedding layers or maybe going to room for long pants, or maybe wearing long pants/jackets all day.

Weather-wise, in winter the AM/PM hours are less appealing unless you like 50's + windy.
In summer though, it is the reverse. Afternoons = storms and peak heat, so the earlier AM and later PM hours tend to be more appealing (weather-wise).

Just about all times of year, peak crowds tend to occur from about 11am - 5pm.

During slower times of the year, I find it is harder to take an afternoon break because the parks tend close so early. That's actually a plus of holiday weeks, more park hours. There's a major trade-off for certain, but the peripheral hours still tend to be fairly uncrowded, though not always.

 

[mikejs78]

I suppose one reason to cater to the 'open to close guests' is they're more likely to spend their day eating in the parks and buying merch... $/guest is possibly increased.

One possible solution to 'early risers' vs. 'later bloomers' is the option to tell Genie not just what park you want reservations at, but also a time window of when you'd like to be there. Yes, it's more complicated for the software, but it's not that much more complicated. Some people can let them know they'll be there all day, some can say 'opening until noon', others may want '10am to 6' and still others may say '4pm to closing'. With that information, Genie can shape itineraries and LL access reservations to suit each guest rather than favor one group or another.

What will be interesting is how it will work for my use case. We usually arrive at rope drop and go until early afternoon - ~1-2 PM - and then head back to the hotel for a nap/pool break/etc. Then return to a park (same or park hop) in the evening for the rest of the day.

 

[Ayla]

It’s fascinating to see the thoughts here, while I totally get the “I’m on vacation I want to sleep in” thoughts, I would counter with what goes through my mind, I’m paying a lot of money to be at WDW, I should plan my day to take advantage of it. I always rope drop and close. That said I park hop, have a table service meal everyday and usually take an afternoon break (and sometimes a nap.) The parks are at their most unpleasant in the early afternoon, they are so much nicer in the mornings and evenings.

That is entirely dependent on what time of year you visit.

 

[Patcheslee]

Why cant it be the following:

Wake up at 9:30am and Im going to Epcot at 3pm- 11pm

Go to book my first Genie+ for TOT and next available is at 11am but 4:30pm is also open........I book 4:30PM on TOT

120 minutes later at 11:30am i go to book my 2nd Genie+ on Soaring and next available is 1:30pm but I want 5:30 and its open so i book 5:30

120 minutes later at 1:30 i go to book my 3rd Genie+ for Space Ship Earth and next available is 3pm but 8pm is also available and that's when i want to ride, why cant i just book 8pm?


This system would not penalize people who do not rope drop and doesnt affect people that want to rope drop

If the free Genie was truly helpful I'd be able to plug in the time I plan to enter the park, and automatically not show me Genie+ times before then.

 

[Disstevefan1]

What will be interesting is how it will work for my use case. We usually arrive at rope drop and go until early afternoon - ~1-2 PM - and then head back to the hotel for a nap/pool break/etc. Then return to a park (same or park hop) in the evening for the rest of the day.

I think what you do is a common practice, I think a lot of folks do this too. It will be interesting how this park touring preference is handled.

 

[Ayla]

This may have been discussed and I missed it, but access to Genie+ will never run out. What that means is you will *always* be able to buy Genie+. It doesn't mean there will still be attraction availability.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Personally the trips we've taken had the dining plan, so any increase in price I didn't take much notice of. If I were to go now and find my dining had to change to accommodate increases throughout the restaurants, I'd question if I still want to do them, or maybe drop one altogether.

The surcharges I was referring to tend to be over...well I'd call them holiday weeks, but Disney's definition of Easter has long = the two weeks surrounding Easter, and holiday surge pricing periods keeps expanding.

If you were there during a holiday week, even if you had the DDP, the surge pricing maybe did impact you: through the gratuity on your TS.

Tipping is always discretionary, but most people pay a certain % gratuity, so a higher priced meal tends to = more $.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I do not disagree with you. That would be better. But you had implied you'd completely lose out on any chance to go on the rides you want. I do not seeing that happen.

Yes of course, it would be better to have a choice of between two times...the next available and a 2nd choice for later.

FP+ and DDP changed over time. It seems likely WDW will also modify this new system over time.

For now, none of us have actually used the new system, and WDW has already made a few clarifications on how they plan to implement this.

When DDP was new, TS meals included gratuities, then it didn't include gratuities. Most years it did no include alcohol, but then it did.

When FP+ was new, it was rather restrictive. FP were hard to modify, and there was a hard limit of 3. Later WDW added users to book a 4th FP, and over time booking that 4th FP got easier (more MDE). Over time it also got easier to modify all FP.

I imagine Genie+ will also be modified over time, and WDW visitors will become more educated in what works best for them, and/or how they are willing to modify their behavior to make better use of the system.

 

[Communicora]

Not sure if a link is allowed, but they are discussing Genie on today's Dis Unplugged. A couple of their team members were given an opportunity to try it out last week.

 

[disneygeek90]

We will be there when this starts and I am so excited to attempt to use it day 1 while Vloggers are in there crashing it for a video. There should be zero issues! lol

I should be able to give a detailed report of the first three days of this thing once back. I plan to fully use all the new options, 30min early, 2 hours late in the MK on the 20th and all the Genie+ stuff. Should be interesting!

Ahh yes. The couple dozen youtube vloggers are going to be the ones to make this crash. Not the thousands of other guests.

 

[drew81]

Can't wait to use Genie+ to pay for bus transportation between the parks......