Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[Chi84]

A lot of things you can do without the aggravation and for very minimal to no cost

Resort Hop and see all the decorations. Get an ADR at a resort. Go to Springs. Catch the water parade. View the fireworks from Poly or Dahlia. Breakfast or a cup of coffee and sit out at one of the public areas at AKL and overlook the savannah.

You just described what we love best about WDW. I would add take a boat ride from Disney Springs to Port Orleans for the boozy beignets and entertainment.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

You just described what we love best about WDW. I would add take a boat ride from Disney Springs to Port Orleans for the boozy beignets and entertainment.

I’ve always selfishly wished POFQ/R would someday have a tie in with a Brennan’s or an ACME. (Pat O’s off the table due to Uni). A breakfast at Brennan’s or some other more authentic experience would be great.

Imagine a Cafe du Monde right on the Sassagoula watching the boats come to and fro.

 

[po1998]

A lot of things you can do without the aggravation and for very minimal to no cost

Resort Hop and see all the decorations. Get an ADR at a resort. Go to Springs. Catch the water parade. View the fireworks from Poly or Dahlia. Breakfast or a cup of coffee and sit out at one of the public areas at AKL and overlook the savannah.

I understand and am aware of all those things. I am talking specifically about visiting the parks a few times while down there

 

[lazyboy97o]

It seems to me that it's unrealistic to expect Disney to keep adding capacity until everyone who wants to go to WDW can comfortably fit in there. They'll settle on the capacity they want and the overflow will go to competitors like Universal. Complaining about specific experiences at WDW is one thing, but "add capacity" is a bottomless pit.

Adequate capacity is a known metric. Disney tried to squeeze it and it back fired resulting in billions of dollars having to be spent to try and stall.

 

[marni1971]

To quote a family tourist friend…

“I’ve booked Yacht Club next year. Prices have gone up and now I’ve got to pay for fast pass as well”

Shes considering cancelling and will tell them in no uncertain terms why.

 

[dreday3]

Going to be in Orlando for two months this winter. Was planning on going to the parks 4 or 5 times during this period, but between the price increases and this Genie nonsense, I’m considering just skipping the parks. It shouldn’t be this difficult. I don’t want to be planning on my phone all day, and I also don’t want to stare at massive standby lines.
What a mess they have made…an expensive one at that.

We found that with every park, if you go in the late afternoon then stay until close - we didn't need Genie +. You just have to be willing to wait in 40 minute or so lines for the "big" rides. Totally doable.

Just our experience, we did use Genie + once for each park. I did not find myself staring at my phone endlessly. We booked a ride, tapped in, booked another ride that was available next, etc., - no staring at phone needed.

 

[dreday3]

To quote a family tourist friend…

“I’ve booked Yacht Club next year. Prices have gone up and now I’ve got to pay for fast pass as well”

Shes considering cancelling and will tell them in no uncertain terms why.

Resort prices are the worst thing about these trips for us.

I can't even begin to explain to someone how any of the deluxe hotels rooms are charging $600 plus a night for a standard view or any view actually.

I can't figure out where Disney is going with these prices...

 

[Chi84]

Resort prices are the worst thing about these trips for us. I can't even begin to explain to someone how any of the deluxe hotels rooms are charging $600 plus a night for a standard view.

I remember my husband calling me from the DVC store in Woodfield Mall in 2008 and my yelling "Get out of there; it's a timeshare!" (He didn't listen, as usual.) Best decision we ever made. We have a 2 BR and a studio at SSR for a week this April for 6 adults and 3 kids under 3, which is more than enough room. There's no way we would have done this on cash.

 

[RoadiJeff]

You should have booked one night in hard rock and you would have got free express pass for the 2 days (day you checking and day you check out for probably $400 total, lowering your cost to $200 instead of $300 and getting another day in the park...............you save a TON of money if its your family of 5 staying in the hotel

I just checked the prices at Hard Rock. The lowest they have for the middle of the week (usually cheapest rates) is $419/night. I paid $70/night at a Comfort Inn less than 2.5 miles away. That's a difference of $349. Even adding in the $170 cost that I paid for an Express Pass, that would still be $179 higher per night to stay at the Hard Rock.

Plus, I'm pretty sure the included Express Passes are only good for the number of days a family is staying there. I was a family of one on my most recent trip.

 

[Notes from Neverland]

To quote a family tourist friend…

“I’ve booked Yacht Club next year. Prices have gone up and now I’ve got to pay for fast pass as well”

Shes considering cancelling and will tell them in no uncertain terms why.

The resort prices are absolutely insane. Especially for the deluxe category. The new norm appears to be $600 for standard and up from there. Discounts are almost a forbidden word now.

 

[po1998]

We found that with every park, if you go in the late afternoon then stay until close - we didn't need Genie +. You just have to be willing to wait in 40 minute or so lines for the "big" rides. Totally doable.

Just our experience, we did use Genie + once for each park. I did not find myself staring at my phone endlessly. We booked a ride, tapped in, booked another ride that was available next, etc., - no staring at phone needed.

Thanks, but the afternoon thing won’t be an option since we will be going for 4 to 5 random days over two months. It sounds like we will just add in Genie+….if we decide to go at all.

 

[UNCgolf]

It seems to me that it's unrealistic to expect Disney to keep adding capacity until everyone who wants to go to WDW can comfortably fit in there. They'll settle on the capacity they want and the overflow will go to competitors like Universal. Complaining about specific experiences at WDW is one thing, but "add capacity" is a bottomless pit.

That's not really the point.

It's not about increasing it for future crowds, it's about increasing it for the crowds they already have. They're already far behind in capacity which is one of the main reasons Genie+ exists.

EDIT: Even ignoring the fact that I liked what was offered in the parks themselves more in the mid-90s than now (except for Animal Kingdom, which is the only park that's been significantly improved IMO), the capacity also made them more pleasant places to be. Attendance was lower but that ties in with capacity -- if capacity was commensurately lower then it wouldn't have felt any different than today. The capacity now is basically the same as it was back then at the Magic Kingdom (it may be slightly higher or lower but it's close), and it's actually less at EPCOT. Since crowds are higher, there needs to be more for people to do.

They seemingly finally realized this to an extent, since they added Rat to EPCOT, built several new rides at DHS, and are adding TRON to the Magic Kingdom. However, they've also continued to cut other new capacity projects like the Main Street Theater and the Mary Poppins area/attraction.

 

[Casper Gutman]

A

That's not really the point.

It's not about increasing it for future crowds, it's about increasing it for the crowds they already have. They're already far behind in capacity which is one of the main reasons Genie+ exists.

lso, the fact that they can’t add infinite capacity ( assuming for the sake of argument that demand is infinite) doesn’t mean they shouldn’t add a significant amount of capacity.

 

[homerdance]

We found that with every park, if you go in the late afternoon then stay until close - we didn't need Genie +. You just have to be willing to wait in 40 minute or so lines for the "big" rides. Totally doable.

Just our experience, we did use Genie + once for each park. I did not find myself staring at my phone endlessly. We booked a ride, tapped in, booked another ride that was available next, etc., - no staring at phone needed.

The price of ticket to arrive “late in the afternoon “ for most people offers no value. Even for us as APs spending 1/3 of the day in the park just to avoid needing to spend $15 per person. Just so frustrating that Disney has done these Extra daily fees

 

[lazyboy97o]

I just checked the prices at Hard Rock. The lowest they have for the middle of the week (usually cheapest rates) is $419/night. I paid $70/night at a Comfort Inn less than 2.5 miles away. That's a difference of $349. Even adding in the $170 cost that I paid for an Express Pass, that would still be $179 higher per night to stay at the Hard Rock.

Plus, I'm pretty sure the included Express Passes are only good for the number of days a family is staying there. I was a family of one on my most recent trip.

You get Express Pass for the day of check-in and check-out, so a one night stay includes two days of Unlimited Express.

 

[nickys]

Pre pandemic me and the missus visited Orlando 3 times a year, we love it.

We are visiting in Novemver for 2 weeks but must say this Genie+ thing has really spoilt the whole experience for us. Disney is expensive as it is and being faced with another $100 dollars a day expense, just to get what we had for nothing before, is a bitter pill to swallow.

Our biggest problem is that being from the UK, every time we make a purchase in dollars the bank will charge $6 foreign transaction fee....so when we buy Genie+ we will both incur $6 fee. We book 2 Lightning Lane plus? Another $6 for each one, oer person....I can't see any other way round than paying by our bank cards and getting hit constantly with bank charges.

We have both decided that this November trip will now be our last..and instead we will be touring Europe and the rest of the worlds theme parks instead.

We will have a blast for 2 weeks...it will cost us an arm and a leg, but that will be it for Orlando - Disney Parks were always a big part of our trips but I couldn't stomach the way Disney are heading, charging MORE for a much lesser service.

Such a shame, but it is what it is.

If the foreign transaction fee really is your biggest problem, and the reason for not visiting WDW again, then look into a Caxton Fx Card.

You can get one that you load in US$ and use it just like a debit card.when you’re in the US. You load it online using your U.K. debit card and at that point you pay the transaction fee. But all those small transactions are done in US$ so no fees.

DH and I use those for day to day spending, and have a credit card on file at the resort for room charging.

 

[JPA76ers]

Is there any chance Individual attraction selections help new rides get built ...and faster. Take Animal Kingdom for example. They can't be making much on Everest. But if they build a new exciting ride now they can likely forecast a real amount of revenue that would be generated over a 5 year period thru IAS. Feels like that would be easier to get new rides approved.

Id prefer they just build new stuff but maybe a positive outcome that could come from this genie plus thing

 

[Thepuma]

If the foreign transaction fee really is your biggest problem, and the reason for not visiting WDW again, then look into a Caxton Fx Card.

You can get one that you load in US$ and use it just like a debit card.when you’re in the US. You load it online using your U.K. debit card and at that point you pay the transaction fee. But all those small transactions are done in US$ so no fees.

DH and I use those for day to day spending, and have a credit card on file at the resort for room charging.

Hi

The international fees aren't the only reason, but one of them....I mean, paying for them in the first place is the biggest annoyance, but then adding £5 for every $15 genie plus and lighting lane + just is the icing on the Cake.

But, thank you ever so much for the info on the Caxton card...I never knew such thing existed. I was hoping Disney would allow payment by PayPal, which which save the international fee each time....I will look into those cards, it may be a big headache saver for out trip at the end of November.

 

[nickys]

Hi

The international fees aren't the only reason, but one of them....I mean, paying for them in the first place is the biggest annoyance, but then adding £5 for every $15 genie plus and lighting lane + just is the icing on the Cake.

But, thank you ever so much for the info on the Caxton card...I never knew such thing existed. I was hoping Disney would allow payment by PayPal, which which save the international fee each time....I will look into those cards, it may be a big headache saver for out trip at the end of November.

I get the annoyance, for sure.

But we found the Caxton card so useful, it’s just like having a debit card with you. Especially when you’re out of the bubble and buying lunch and stuff. And if you store the number you could use it for mobile ordering too. I think it’s a MasterCard but not 100% sure about that.

 

[Thepuma]

I get the annoyance, for sure.

But we found the Caxton card so useful, it’s just like having a debit card with you. Especially when you’re out of the bubble and buying lunch and stuff. And if you store the number you could use it for mobile ordering too. I think it’s a MasterCard but not 100% sure about that.

Awesome....I can't believe I've never heard of them. Its the PERFECT solution to our problem....and I reckon it will save us $36 for every day we do disney (2 lots of genie plus and 4 lightning lane plus)...so probably $250 over the 2 weeks we are in Orlando.

Thanks so much for mentioning it....honestly it will be a godsend. Its a shame you can't use it for tolls as we are going to watch the Miami Dolphins play in Miami and we are driving.