Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[arich35]

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!

Exactly what I am worried about when we go the week before Christmas, you are basically paying $16 a person to get 2-3 selections and one might end up being later at night.

 

[Jeff4272]

Exactly what I am worried about when we go the week before Christmas, you are basically paying $16 a person to get 2-3 selections and one might end up being later at night.

Only thing i can think of is if they stagger drops of Genie+ selections every few hours so the afternoon people dont get screwed

 

[jpinkc]

Only thing i can think of is if they stagger drops of Genie+ selections every few hours so the afternoon people dont get screwed

But thats not the Slappie way!!! Gotta get em fast Gotta get em to spend more. So we keep supply short and we can charge more then maybe we can add 1 or 2% more availability to G+. This whole thing is Amazing display of greed from Disney, when even they know they dont have and wont have the capacity for the amount of us they want to shove into MK or any of the parks on a given day!!!

 

[Disstevefan1]

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?

Perhaps Disney was always bad at measuring wait times, even when they had the red lanyards?

In any event, their inflation of wait times will probably result in more folks purchasing DG+

And as I posted before, don't worry, after enough folks purchase DG+ we will not have to worry about inflated wait times; on the contrary, their reported wait times will probably be shorter than the actual wait times.

I hope I am wrong.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

Perhaps Disney was always bad at measuring wait times, even when they had the red lanyards?

In any event, their inflation of wait times will probably result in more folks purchasing DG+

And as I posted before, don't worry, after enough folks purchase DG+ we will not have to worry about inflated wait times; on the contrary, their reported wait times will probably be shorter than the actual wait times.

I hope I am wrong.

Realistically, the red lanyard only told you how long the wait was when that guest got in line, anyway. If they waited 45 minutes, for example, then the length of the line could have shifted quite a bit during that time and could be shorter or perhaps much longer.

 

[pdude81]

Realistically, the red lanyard only told you how long the wait was when that guest got in line, anyway. If they waited 45 minutes, for example, then the length of the line could have shifted quite a bit during that time and could be shorter or perhaps much longer.

Yeah, more or less it just helped to indicate if the earlier estimates were correct or not. Helps with the modeling.

These days it seems like wait time has more to do with how many turns they've opened in the queue than it does with the actual waits. I wonder if they are used to people being packed in a lot tighter and that is screwing up the estimates.

 

[Rich Brownn]

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.

Well, unless they up ILL numbers, it already hits capacity. (Also I doubt they would under estimate wait times ... that would definitely lead to a lot of complaints. If people see 130 and wait 60 they're happy. If they see 60 and wait 60 they'll gamble but knew what they were getting into. If they see 60 and wait 130 --- well....)

 

[Cesar R M]

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.

Except if I remember correctly.. if you have an exclusive Genie+ (like Rise of the resistance). And the ride goes down for whatever reason.. You do not get a fastpass for the same ride later on. You get to choose from the lesser ones. To resume, you sorta paid for nothing.

 

[celluloid]

Except if I remember correctly.. if you have an exclusive Genie+ (like Rise of the resistance). And the ride goes down for whatever reason.. You do not get a fastpass for the same ride later on. You get to choose from the lesser ones. To resume, you sorta paid for nothing.

Great point. That sums up Genie Plus to many.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Well, unless they up ILL numbers, it already hits capacity. (Also I doubt they would under estimate wait times ... that would definitely lead to a lot of complaints. If people see 130 and wait 60 they're happy. If they see 60 and wait 60 they'll gamble but knew what they were getting into. If they see 60 and wait 130 --- well....)

Its not clear to me if there is a limit to the $15 DG+ sales?

Well let’s hope they continue to over estimate the wait times if only to make folks happy, even though we know that’s not the purpose, it’s simply because they are bad at doing the estimates.

As a lot of folks say, the big test will be when the parks are super crowded.

Let’s see what happens, but let’s face it, once you are there you really have no choice but deal with it whether that be pay your way on the rides or wait in the standbys or skip the rides altogether.

 

[pdude81]

Except if I remember correctly.. if you have an exclusive Genie+ (like Rise of the resistance). And the ride goes down for whatever reason.. You do not get a fastpass for the same ride later on. You get to choose from the lesser ones. To resume, you sorta paid for nothing.

I don't believe this is correct. My understanding is that your Multiple Experiences pass includes the ride that went down and others, should you choose to go a different route. Not sure which of the Tier 2 equivalents you get as well but people have reported here they could ride later if it came back up.

 

[DCBaker]

I don't believe this is correct. My understanding is that your Multiple Experiences pass includes the ride that went down and others, should you choose to go a different route. Not sure which of the Tier 2 equivalents you get as well but people have reported here they could ride later if it came back up.

Here's an example of the Experience Redemption you get for Rise if it goes down (image from AllEars) -

 

[Disstevefan1]

Here's an example of the Experience Redemption you get for Rise if it goes down (image from AllEars) -

View attachment 599840

Someone please explain. Rise is a ILL attraction right?

In this example , this screen shot says "Redeem this experience at the Lighting Lane entrance of your chosen location. No substitutions will be allowed"

I do not know what this means?

I WANT to return to Rise later to get the ILL I payed for!

 

[pdude81]

Here's an example of the Experience Redemption you get for Rise if it goes down (image from AllEars) -

View attachment 599840

Interesting. This makes sense to me but others have said they got a multiple experiences pass. I must have confused a post about a G+ ride like TT for Rise.

 

[Muffinpants]

Someone please explain. Rise is a ILL attraction right?

In this example , this screen shot says "Redeem this experience at the Lighting Lane entrance of your chosen location. No substitutions will be allowed"

I do not know what this means?

I WANT to return to Rise later to get the ILL I payed for!

Just means they have the day to ride the ride and only the amount of ppl listed can enter.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Well, unless they up ILL numbers, it already hits capacity. (Also I doubt they would under estimate wait times ... that would definitely lead to a lot of complaints. If people see 130 and wait 60 they're happy. If they see 60 and wait 60 they'll gamble but knew what they were getting into. If they see 60 and wait 130 --- well....)

Folks who know have told us that this is why WDW inflated waits 10 or 15 minutes. But RotR and other headlines are routinely inflated about 250%.

And Disney could get very, very accurate measurements if they wanted… almost every guest is wearing a tracker on their arm!

Maybe at one point the motivation for inflated lines was more crowd manipulation, pushing folks to less popular rides (seems odd to invest billions in complicated systems to do that if inaccurate numbers on a board worked). But now, those inaccurate numbers absolutely drive guests to give WDW more money under false pretenses. The original, or even current, motive may be complex and unknowable. It also doesn’t matter. WDW is lying in a way that encourages guests to give them more money under false pretenses. THAT’S the problem.

 

[Jeff4272]

Its not clear to me if there is a limit to the $15 DG+ sales?

Well let’s hope they continue to over estimate the wait times if only to make folks happy, even though we know that’s not the purpose, it’s simply because they are bad at doing the estimates.

As a lot of folks say, the big test will be when the parks are super crowded.

Let’s see what happens, but let’s face it, once you are there you really have no choice but deal with it whether that be pay your way on the rides or wait in the standbys or skip the rides altogether.

There is no limit to Genie+ sales, Disney has come out and said that.....

If they had enough for free FP+, then they will never sell as many as they gave away for free

 

[Disstevefan1]

There is no limit to Genie+ sales, Disney has come out and said that.....

If they had enough for free FP+, then they will never sell as many as they gave away for free

I can't tell you if there was a "limit" to the free FP+, all I know is I could rarely get one for the attraction I wanted.
I guess in theory, there will be less LLs "purchased" via DG+, even less ILL purchases.
Therefore, in theory, the standby waits will be less since there will be less LL and ILL slowing down the standby.
Lets see what happens when everyone knows about DG+, ILL and when the parks are crowded.

 

[celluloid]

There is no limit to Genie+ sales, Disney has come out and said that.....

If they had enough for free FP+, then they will never sell as many as they gave away for free

Exactly. The only thing that will change is the price based on demand.

 

[Magic Feather]

A quick question:
If your park reservation is for DAK, but your first selection of the day is made for Slinky at 7 AM (return time after 2 PM), does the 2-hr rule kick in at DAK park open or DHS park open?