Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[matt9112]

HS today is rated a 5, but the actual almost always ends up being lower. The last few days have turned out to be 2, 3, 3.

I think it's possible we are seeing not so much a higher crowd effect but a snowball effect as more people realize G+ exists, and as more people buy it, and as more people start reading and seeing which rides go quickest. "Hey, you have to get SDD at 7am!" I think maybe at the moment it's kinda the same crowd levels, but more people are hip to the G+/ILL scene in general.

I agree. It will become the new norm. Look at how hardcore some of the members of this forum plan. Legitimately people telling me that tapping your phone fast enough is some kind of life skill. So yeah i think genie+ will become very popular as a neccessary piece of that strategic mindset.

 

[nickys]

Really confused by this itinerary from Disney Tourist Blog for HS using G+. How is the step at 9:11am possible without having actually tapped in to SDD? Edit to add, did they just re-use the FP+ plan and replace FP+ with G+? Did FP+ not allow overlapping return times?

7:01 am – Book Slinky Dog Dash via Genie+ with a Lightning Lane return window of 9:10 am to 10:10 am.​

​

8:30 am – Rope drop Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway via standby.​

​

9:05 am – Do Toy Story Mania via standby line.​

​

9:11 am – Attempt to book Toy Story Mania via Genie+ with a Lightning Lane return window of 10:00 am to 11:00 am, but fail because it overlaps with unused SDD ride reservation.​

​

Instead, book Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run via Genie+ with a Lightning Lane return window of 11:20 am to 12:20 pm.​

​

9:30 am – Do Slinky Dog Dash via Lightning Lane (Genie+ ride reservation).​

The step at 9:11am isn’t possible until you tap into Slinky. Then you can book Smuggler’s Run.

 

[matt9112]

I agree, but I was really thinking about families -- the numbers add up quickly there. If you're talking about spending $75 a day for you, your partner, and your three kids for Genie+, it might be a hard sell if you're only going to be able to use it for a couple of secondary rides. When you factor in purchasing two ILLs for everyone which would could add another $125+ to the day, it's a lot easier to forego that $75 as not worth it.

This is the big thing....imho 15 a day isn't bad if your solo or even a couple. But with kiddos it adds up quick. Im suprised they didn't yank free parking off APs yet....

 

[matt9112]

There's a difference between selling at 9:1 versus accepting 9:1 at the ride itself due to unexpected closures. Doesn't explain frozen though.

I can't imagine they would push past the alleged 80:20 for availability in a day though. Well I hope they wouldn't. Raise the price on crowded days instead ;-).

Frozen is simply a massively undercapitalized ride. Whoever decided to retheme that thing vs build a brand new ride with capacity to boot should be in a homeless shelter. Its one of the worst capacity rides on property.

 

[hopemax]

Really confused by this itinerary from Disney Tourist Blog for HS using G+. How is the step at 9:11am possible without having actually tapped in to SDD? Edit to add, did they just re-use the FP+ plan and replace FP+ with G+? Did FP+ not allow overlapping return times?

7:01 am – Book Slinky Dog Dash via Genie+ with a Lightning Lane return window of 9:10 am to 10:10 am.​

​

8:30 am – Rope drop Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway via standby.​

​

9:05 am – Do Toy Story Mania via standby line.​

​

9:11 am – Attempt to book Toy Story Mania via Genie+ with a Lightning Lane return window of 10:00 am to 11:00 am, but fail because it overlaps with unused SDD ride reservation.​

​

Instead, book Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run via Genie+ with a Lightning Lane return window of 11:20 am to 12:20 pm.​

​

9:30 am – Do Slinky Dog Dash via Lightning Lane (Genie+ ride reservation).​

It looks like they were trying to test the "coding" limits of the system. Exactly how much are the G+ rides and the ILL rides separated? Would they be able to book a new G+ at the start of an ILL window? Conceivably, they could be so separate that you could hold a G+ and an ILL with the same window and do one right after the other. So a person could better stack their rides. We know you can't have overlapping G+ rides, unless you tap in, but we didn't necessarily know if the system was robust enough to compare G+ windows with ILL windows. Basically, they were looking for a loophole to exploit. The answer was no.

So instead of waiting the additional 19 minutes to tap in and select TSMM, they immediately selected Smugglers which didn't overlap the ILL window.

 

[JAB]

Really confused by this itinerary from Disney Tourist Blog for HS using G+. How is the step at 9:11am possible without having actually tapped in to SDD? Edit to add, did they just re-use the FP+ plan and replace FP+ with G+? Did FP+ not allow overlapping return times?

7:01 am – Book Slinky Dog Dash via Genie+ with a Lightning Lane return window of 9:10 am to 10:10 am.​

​

8:30 am – Rope drop Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway via standby.​

​

9:05 am – Do Toy Story Mania via standby line.​

​

9:11 am – Attempt to book Toy Story Mania via Genie+ with a Lightning Lane return window of 10:00 am to 11:00 am, but fail because it overlaps with unused SDD ride reservation.​

​

Instead, book Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run via Genie+ with a Lightning Lane return window of 11:20 am to 12:20 pm.​

​

9:30 am – Do Slinky Dog Dash via Lightning Lane (Genie+ ride reservation).​

I think you may be right that they just copied and poorly updated a FP+-era plan, because if that's not the case, then they seem to really misunderstand how G+ works. There are a few issues with the plan now using G+ that would've work just fine with FP+

Step one reads as though you can choose your specific return time, which would make sense if it were FP+. However, with G+, especially on SDD where window times can shoot into the afternoon within seconds, it would be difficult to get a return to specifically get a 9:10 return time (or even just get one near 9:10).

The 9:11 step would make sense for FP+, but it makes no sense with G+ for a few reasons:

1. As you pointed out, you can't select another LL at that point because you haven't tapped in to SDD yet, and the 120 min. timeout isn't until 11am.
2. They mention the Lightning Lane failing because the windows overlap. Unlike FP+ (which did not allow overlapping return windows), G+ absolutely allows overlapping return windows.
3. Like step one, it mentions selecting a specific return time window for MFSR, which, again, isn't really possible with G+.

It really does read almost like they took a pre-pandemic FP+ plan and just did a "replace all" of "FASTPASS+" with "Lightning Lane."

 

[JAB]

It looks like they were trying to test the "coding" limits of the system. Exactly how much are the G+ rides and the ILL rides separated? Would they be able to book a new G+ at the start of an ILL window? Conceivably, they could be so separate that you could hold a G+ and an ILL with the same window and do one right after the other. So a person could better stack their rides. We know you can't have overlapping G+ rides, unless you tap in, but we didn't necessarily know if the system was robust enough to compare G+ windows with ILL windows. Basically, they were looking for a loophole to exploit. The answer was no.

So instead of waiting the additional 19 minutes to tap in and select TSMM, they immediately selected Smugglers which didn't overlap the ILL window.

There is no ILL ride in the steps listed (SDD is G+, and they do MMRR in standby), and even if there were, ILL and G+ LL selections have no bearing on each other. Also, G+ does allow you to have overlapping G+ return windows.

 

[Ayla]

While APs get dragged through the mud...i can at least understand the "europeans spend more moeny tropes with that" but with how DVC is being treated....not sure how you can tell me a life long DVC member isn't worth more than some brits on holiday.

I'm not agreeing with any of the perks the UK customers get that US customers don't ~ I'm stating a fact.

No, I don't believe the UK customers deserve things the US customers don't get, but the truth is, apparently Disney does believe they deserve more perks than their bread and butter customers.

 

[Rich Brownn]

Yesterday we rode RoTR at 6pm. Posted wait time was 170 minutes. Actually was 55. My friend said guess they're trying to sell more passes. I pointed out that would only make sense if they were scaring guests coming tomorrow as the ILL passes had been sold out way earlier in the day.

 

[arich35]

Yes, it's particularly bad if you want to start the day in HS and don't want to rope drop as well get up at 7am to try to get SDD at a reasonable time (like before 2pm). Even if you rope drop and get up at 7am to grab SDD, it may be hard to get MFSR before your hopping time as your second G+ ride on a busier day as G+ usage increases.

For people looking to maximize their time, HS is rapidly becoming either the park you hop to, or the park you spend all day in and forget about hopping.

We probably won't be able to get to HS until 11 because it is our arrival day. We have a reservation at Beaches and Cream at 4:35 so we planned to go to Epcot afterwards. Thought it would be a perfect day to get Genie+. Was hoping 3 or 4 LL selections at HS and 3 at Epcot would make it worth it. We have a full Hollywood Studios day or at least planned on a different day

 

[DisneyCane]

Sure, but if they auto refunded then you wouldn't be able to ride at 5pm should it be up then and you prefer to do that. This is essentially the same behavior as when a Tier 1 FP went down in the prior system. Only now that money is involved, you can get refunded if you prefer not to wait. They can't know for each individual if the priority was the ride itself or the scheduled window.

I don't think it should be auto refunded but I think it should give you the option for either a refund or a "use anywhere" pass.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Yesterday we rode RoTR at 6pm. Posted wait time was 170 minutes. Actually was 55. My friend said guess they're trying to sell more passes. I pointed out that would only make sense if they were scaring guests coming tomorrow as the ILL passes had been sold out way earlier in the day.

But if they massively inflated wait times every single day, they could create a widespread sense that the ride was always swamped, regardless of season or time of day, and LL is the only way to ride… and for some mysterious reason wait times are massively inflated every single day…

 

[Jeff4272]

I have been monitoring Genie+ return times and this system is in for a real test in 2 weeks during Thanksgiving break.........

As of right now, it looks like Hollywood Studios will be a disaster since most of the rides will "sell out" by park opening.............My guess is SDD, MFSR, ToT and RnR will all be sold out before you get a chance to book your second Genie+ (unless you get an early window on your first)

If you book SDD, its almost a foregone conclusion that you will not get MFSR, ToT or RnR.......That leaves Star Tours and TSMM as the only 2 other worthy options

This doesn't even take into account that ROTR and MMRR will likely be sold out by park opening

I guess all i can say is, BUY DIS STOCK!

 

[Disstevefan1]

But if they massively inflated wait times every single day, they could create a widespread sense that the ride was always swamped, regardless of season or time of day, and LL is the only way to ride… and for some mysterious reason wait times are massively inflated every single day…

At first I thought Disney intentionally inflated the wait times so you would be pleasantly surprised when it was actually so much less, but now I am realizing they are inflating the wait times to push folks to DG+

Ironically, when enough people do get DG+ the actual standby wait times WILL BE LONGER than the posted times.

 

[GimpYancIent]

At first I thought Disney intentionally inflated the wait times so you would be pleasantly surprised when it was actually so much less, but now I am realizing they are inflating the wait times to push folks to DG+

Ironically, when enough people do get DG+ the actual standby wait times WILL BE LONGER than the posted times.

Ahhhhh, finally the guests are beginning to see. The question is will the guests not utilize G + and LL rendering them non-lucrative forcing Disney to discontinue the program?

 

[jpinkc]

Ahhhhh, finally the guests are beginning to see. The question is will the guests not utilize G + and LL rendering them non-lucrative forcing Disney to discontinue the program?

I hate to say this but I think guests will feel that they have to get it to get a shot at riding the attractions they value most. Thats how we approached Fastpass in the the day. Got our 3 maybe a 4th if lucky otherwise we did standby or did not ride. Again it boils down to not enough attractions for the bodies they want to pack in like cattle in a cattle car.

 

[Chi84]

At first I thought Disney intentionally inflated the wait times so you would be pleasantly surprised when it was actually so much less, but now I am realizing they are inflating the wait times to push folks to DG+

Ironically, when enough people do get DG+ the actual standby wait times WILL BE LONGER than the posted times.

Disney's posted wait times were always much longer than Touringplans' wait times in the years before Genie+. Why were they inflating them then? Were they setting the groundwork for this plan all those years ago, or do you think maybe they inflated wait times to dissuade people from getting in those lines and going instead to lines with shorter waits to even things out?

 

[celluloid]

Just wait for Lightning Lane to funny enough, meet Florida Lightning Storms frequently this summer and what a headache that will cause for Genie Plus times and reservation rotations/refunds.

 

[Communicora]

Just wait for Lightning Lane to funny enough, meet Florida Lightning Storms frequently this summer and what a headache that will cause for Genie Plus times and reservation rotations/refunds.

I mean, those were a headache in the days of FP+ too. I remember getting the multiattraction pass substitution three different times at AK in one day because of weather.

 

[celluloid]

I mean, those were a headache in the days of FP+ too. I remember getting the multiattraction pass substitution three different times at AK in one day because of weather.

Yes, always frustrating even before fastpass in general, but even more of a headache when people have paid and the headache of a refund policy is not satisfying a lot right now.
The many who understand it is weather and you can't control is easier when it is free and no loss except the gamble of time strategy. If refunds are already a nightmare without that variable, it will be nastier.