Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[Jrb1979]

Yep, that's part of it too. No leaving the park at mid-day and coming back for evening hours.

That's part of the goal of Genie+. The way it's setup it's hard to plan a mid day break.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

I agree that the majority of guests probably don't that feel that way, but I think it is pretty clear that the majority of guests also wouldn't normally be up at 7 AM. That's why rope drop was always a benefit -- most guests didn't arrive until later.

As I said above, though, I'm not complaining about the 7 AM time because I don't really care.

Somewhat off topic, but is 7AM really all that early? Again you don't have to be up and dressed and out the door in the park to use the system. You can still be laying in bed and woke up at 6:50 and on your phone, you click one time, and then if you want go back to bed. I am talking about your normal work/school real world lifestyle I just don't see 7 being all that early? I honestly don't know anyone with younger kids (say up to 7th grade) who are sleeping in past 7AM with any consistency.

 

[G00fyDad]

At the end of the day some are going to skip this but most are going to pay for it and we can continue discussing it's flaws and merits until the cows come home.

Meanwhile Disney is over there like....

 

[Patcheslee]

All the back and forth with selection times, wait till they pull a Southwest Airlines and for an extra fee automatically book your first attraction for you....

 

[flynnibus]

Agreed. The plan should be done long before the sign in time. I still remember fondly setting alarms for 1AM to all wake up and do FP selection. 3 families across 3 states all doing separate trip days on a group call......fun times.

you couldn't pay me enough to deal with this... and certainly not to call it a vacation.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Somewhat off topic, but is 7AM really all that early? Again you don't have to be up and dressed and out the door in the park to use the system. You can still be laying in bed and woke up at 6:50 and on your phone, you click one time, and then if you want go back to bed. I am talking about your normal work/school real world lifestyle I just don't see 7 being all that early? I honestly don't know anyone with younger kids (say up to 7th grade) who are sleeping in past 7AM with any consistency.

And this is still similar to the old day-of Fastpass system. It's not like the boarding groups that sell out in 5 seconds at 7am. People can get up at 9:00 and still get decent Genie+ selections that day.

Some of these issues like the 7am time being debated feel really nitpicky. I'm more interested in the implications of line skipping having a fee attached, and particularly the fee per ride on top of that.

7am versus 8am versus 10pm the night before are a matter of personal opinion. There's no magical time that will please everyone.

 

[KBLovedDisney]

you couldn't pay me enough to deal with this... and certainly not to call it a vacation.

I don't want to plan an everyday every hour itinerary for vacationing at Disney, and mind you I used to LOVE planning for Disney...

After this stuff started going down, not so much.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

The complaint was Disney GCs were worthless to their hypothetical person because they had to be spent at Disney.

Have you ever been in the parks and be confident that you'll never have to spend another dollar at Disney? Unless you're checking out and walking out the door - the odds are no.

You did say that earlier in the thread, but the post I quoted, that's not what you said.

You said you wished to live in a world where you could tell yourself you weren't going to spend any $ at WDW.

Every $ we give to Disney is a choice. Prior performance is no guarantee of future results.

 

[DCBaker]

Here is a response from Disney to the Orlando Sentinel on refunds -

"A Disney World spokesman who declined to be identified said Wednesday visitors would automatically receive a refund for individual Lightning Lane selections if a ride does not reopen for the rest of the day after a closure. If the ride reopens but a visitor is unable to ride due to individual circumstances, they would have to contact guest relations for a refund."

Disney Genie debut draws mixed reviews at Walt Disney World

Mike Bard and his family spent part of their visit to the Magic Kingdom Tuesday idly standing in Frontierland refreshing his phone, trying to connect to the Genie+ service they paid for to no avail…

www.orlandosentinel.com

 

[Casper Gutman]

Leaving aside Disney serving the quests thing (which given that over the past decade or so attendance has done nothing but increase, which would seem to be the only indicator you need that they are serving the guests) yes I am genuinely shocked and can not understand anyone who like or want to sleep in on vacation at WDW.

While I think for the most part I am getting value for what I am paying for at WDW, by no means do I think its cheap. Its expensive to take a family of 4 to WDW. Why in gods green earth am I spending all the money to go to WDW to....sleep in? I have a bed at home. If my idea of a vacation is to relax and sleep in, I can do it there and pay nothing. Or I can choose any number of other destinations that are cheaper than WDW, or that are geared more towards a restful relaxing vacation. To me it would be like the equivalent of spending a premium to stay at a luxurious beach resort....but then not wanting to go into the water. Its the same reason I don't get people who talk about "resort days" or who are so concerned about how the pool is. The pool????? Again I have a pool at home, or our town pool, or any other number of places that if I want to go swimming, I can go to that are cheaper than WDW.

But hey listen, to each their own. If you want to waste (in my opinion) your time and money sleeping in late while at WDW, that's your right. But don't complain when WDW gives people the option of utilizing a system, and gives everyone that option, and some people decide to wake up early to maximize the efficiency of the system, and you decide not to.

Great. That’s you. But your approach to the park isn’t in some way morally superior. For a lot of people, vacationing does not mean going park commando. It means relaxing. And many people who like relaxing vacations also like Disney - which, by the way, used to understand this and emphasize it’s status as a resort, not merely a collection of parks.

And guests used to be able to enjoy the parks and actually do things without being rope-drop warriors. Lines ebbed and flowed throughout the day. Increasingly inadaquate capacity and severely curtailed hours diminished this, and line-skipping systems very intentionally killed it. As the evening wore on, lines diminished, returning to a level similar to that seen at rope drop, with a particular decrease after the parades. There are no more parades and many of the other shows and distractions that used to draw people away from lines are gone, which, when coupled with line-skipping, means the relaxed evening hours are largely gone. Disney is essentially dictating that, where once you could set your own daily rhythms and still enjoy the parks, you now need to set your schedule by Disney’s whims.

And please don’t try and claim increasing attendance somehow indicates that the WDW experience hasn’t become more rigid and demanding. Popularity is no measure of quality - Venom 2 isn’t the best film of the year. Over the last two decades, WDW has indisputably introduced more and more requirements and worked to crush what it sees as inefficient spontaneity.

 

[mightynine]

Here is a response from Disney to the Orlando Sentinel on refunds -

"A Disney World spokesman who declined to be identified said Wednesday visitors would automatically receive a refund for individual Lightning Lane selections if a ride does not reopen for the rest of the day after a closure. If the ride reopens but a visitor is unable to ride due to individual circumstances, they would have to contact guest relations for a refund."

Disney Genie debut draws mixed reviews at Walt Disney World

Mike Bard and his family spent part of their visit to the Magic Kingdom Tuesday idly standing in Frontierland refreshing his phone, trying to connect to the Genie+ service they paid for to no avail…

www.orlandosentinel.com

That seems more than fair to me, though I still think an in-app option to request a refund should be offered.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

Just a head up.. There's no trophy at the end for doing it all

The whole point is to enjoy yourself. What that entails is different for different people. If you enjoy the commando style, that's fine for you, but don't be perplexed others don't get the same enjoyment from the same thing.

We certainly push when there is a lot we want to do - but I make sure it's because it's a lot WE WANT to do. If the motivation is to do it 'so this is worth it...' then I'm seriously going to second guess my choice later/next time. I'm paying to be entertained - I'm not paying so I can justify someone else's price model.



Well if you listen to the employees here... park hours haven't been reduced at all

Hey I want my trophy, or at minimum a sticker!!!

No I know my style of trip is not for everyone. Believe me my wife tells me that frequently. I think my overarching thought though is that I like that the system is set up now that I or anyone can choose to do more, or get more, based upon how much effort I (they) put into planning, or how early I (they) get up. And that is true for everyone. If people like sleeping in, or like taking a more relaxed approach to the park, go for it. You still can. The fact that I can wake up and be at rope drop doesn't mean you can't sleep in. I just don't like complaining about a system that gives me and others the choice of getting up early and taking advantage of the system, because they don't want to get up early and use those benefits.

 

[Chi84]

Here is a response from Disney to the Orlando Sentinel on refunds -

"A Disney World spokesman who declined to be identified said Wednesday visitors would automatically receive a refund for individual Lightning Lane selections if a ride does not reopen for the rest of the day after a closure. If the ride reopens but a visitor is unable to ride due to individual circumstances, they would have to contact guest relations for a refund."

Disney Genie debut draws mixed reviews at Walt Disney World

Mike Bard and his family spent part of their visit to the Magic Kingdom Tuesday idly standing in Frontierland refreshing his phone, trying to connect to the Genie+ service they paid for to no avail…

www.orlandosentinel.com

That would be fine as long as contacting guest relations by email at the end of the vacation would be okay. If it involved standing in line to get a refund for money you paid Disney so you didn’t have to stand in line, that wouldn’t be okay.

 

[DCLcruiser]

Yep, that's part of it too. No leaving the park at mid-day and coming back for evening hours.

When I'm at WDW sweating in the 98 degree weather, feet hurting, and then I crash at 10pm, I often think about how some people are able to use their resort pool in the middle of the day and then come back after. Actually taking in the forest for the trees. I've yet to do it, but it always sounds like a nice way to experience the parks.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Leaving aside Disney serving the quests thing (which given that over the past decade or so attendance has done nothing but increase, which would seem to be the only indicator you need that they are serving the guests) yes I am genuinely shocked and can not understand anyone who like or want to sleep in on vacation at WDW.

Apparently you've never been to WDW with my extended family.

Some folks are hard wired to be night owls. Waking them up too early is a recipe for a miserable day.

I'd much rather vacation with Dr. Jekyll than Mr. Hyde.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I don't want to plan an everyday every hour itinerary for vacationing at Disney, and mind you I used to LOVE planning for Disney...

After this stuff started going down, not so much.

I am exactly the same way. I’d buy all the books each year and plan out all sorts of scenarios for fun. Then, in the actual park, I’d just roll with the spontaneity of the group, but with the knowledge and insight planning had given me to maximize our time in a general way.

Then WDW started demanding we submit our plans to them. And they worked very hard to make sure we confined our plans within very tight limits - WDW doesn’t just demand planning, it demands one kind of planning to the exclusion of all others.

Honestly, the way some folks in this thread do WDW sounds to me like the most awful vacation imaginable - but they’re the ones doing what WDW wants.

 

[Disney Glimpses]

Apparently you've never been to WDW with my extended family.

Some folks are hard wired to be night owls. Waking them up too early is a recipe for a miserable day.

I'd much rather vacation with Dr. Jekyll than Mr. Hyde.

I would much rather get to to the park around 11 or noon, spend a couple hours, then go back to the pool, and then back to the parks until 1am (old days).

 

[Waters Back Side]

When I'm at WDW sweating in the 98 degree weather, feet hurting, and then I crash at 10pm, I often think about how some people are able to use their resort pool in the middle of the day and then come back after. Actually taking in the forest for the trees. I've yet to do it, but it always sounds like a nice way to experience the parks.

Our vacation always consists of a pool/resort day in the middle of the week. Spend the day at the pool and have drinks, maybe go to dinner at another resort/Disney Springs at night. It will never change.

We also always slept in until about 9ish. Now that will have to change, at least a few times.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

Why should you “get more” by planning? Obsessively planning a vacation isn’t a moral good. This isn’t supposed to be work. Ideally, no one method of vacationing should be rewarded over another. WDWs job is to cater to the guests, not to force them, via a complex net of systems, to plan their vacation and then submit those plans to WDW.

That's the dumbest thing i have ever heard. First, I have no clue why you keep talking about moral good? Again we aren't discussing charities or public service. We are talking about how people are spending thousands of dollars of disposable income on flights of fancy. The morally good thing for anyone would be not to spend that disposable income on a fortune 500 company but rather to donate it to their local food bank, or homeless shelter, or maybe a scholarship fund. Getting more by putting in more is how EVERYTHING should work. As long as everyone has an opportunity to use the system, that's the fair way to do it. WDW is catering to their quests. They are giving me and you many different options on how to enjoy the park. They are giving us both access to planning tools, schedules, ect that we as guest can CHOOSE TO USE. Not Disney forcing us to use, but giving us the option. You don't want to use the, that's fine. That's great, you vacation your way, and I will vacation mine, and we both win. What your saying is that you don't like that Disney is given me the option to vacation my way, because you don't want me to vacation that way. You want to dictate how people vacation, not me, and not Disney.

 

[Jeff4272]

It doesn't need to be NECESSARILY true, it just needs to be generally, directionally true.

OK, not generally or directionally true either