Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

Ayla

Well-Known Member
The fact that many people are using the system may speak more to necessity than guest satisfaction. I haven't read through all of the posts in the thread, but have you actually used Genie+ yet? It sounded a lot easier to use than it turned out to be in some cases - rides were listed as available for a certain time but when I clicked on it I got a different time, sometimes by more than an hour or so. Other times I went through the entire process only to get an error message saying to start over. The fact that rides are being scooped up doesn't necessarily mean the system is working efficiently. And Disney needs to institute a system that works in reality, not just theory.

We're going again in April with the family, and I have no idea of how this is going to work with a larger group. As I said earlier, FP+ worked great for us but not for everyone, and I'm willing to give this new system a try even though I hate the idea of getting on my phone first thing in the morning on vacation and trying to figure out the best way to get the rides we want while working around our dining arrangements, resort rest time, etc. I got a fairly detailed survey from Disney after our trip, so I'm sure Disney knows pretty well how Genie+ is affecting guest satisfaction.

"Seems like a lot of work to do do every day for a vacation" summed up our experience perfectly. But I understand others may feel differently - if enough of them are responding positively to this system, we may have to start looking at alternatives based on the fact that it isn't right for us anymore. Things change - that's life.
What some people don't understand is the LL time you initially pick is never the same as what you end up with. There is no "holding" built into the system. So, you're furiously clicking through to get anything you can, your time says 1pm, great, grab it! Except, in those 2 seconds it took to click, your return time is now 7pm.

Whomp whomp, too bad for you!!
 

Jeff4272

Well-Known Member
Leaving aside the constant ridiculous argument that you HAVE to wake up your entire family to do Genie+, your entire original post contradicts your conclusions.

"Seems like a lot of work to do every day for a vacation..." I personally disagree with you, but that's just my opinion and doesn't matter much in the broad scheme of things. However, it seems like most of the attending public disagree with you because from what you are saying, the system IS being used by many many people, in fact so many that selections are going quickly.

Which leads into the second fallacy you seem raise by saying the system is broken and its impossible to use. If the system is so broken, how are people using it so efficiently, that you apparently are not able to secure everything you want? It doesn't seem like most people are having problems using the system (or waking up at 7 to do so) as the slots are being secured daily.

Finally as to not being able to secure 2 of the most sought after rides (RotR and SDD) on one of the busiest weeks of the year....that isn't the system being broken, that is somewhat a reflection of your lack of speed with the system (or your back up's lack of speed) but is also evidence that the system is working better for the majority of guests. Rather than only people who were staying on property on longer duration trips being able to secure the best FP+ selections (and to be fair we were always included in this groups so to a degree I am arguing against my own self interest) everyone gets a much more even playing ground now. Yes hotel resort guests still get the 7AM lead time, but that is even amoungst all guests regardless of stay. Also once park opening hits, all guests are on relatively equal footing. So yes, you might not get each day a ride skip for every single high end ride you want, but the majority, if no all guests, are going to have a chance to get at least one or two of their top choices, which is arguably “fairer.”
You obviously have never used Genie+/ILL correct? People are paying out of necessity and getting extremely poor results......This wont last very long.......

1) We HAD to have 3 of us up if we wanted SDD and ROTR and for other parks days........you dont have to believe me, but you will see when you go to book and all the rides are gone in 20 seconds and you are stuck holding Herman.......Dont believe me though, try it yourself!

2) You seem to have a hard time understanding the concept of supply and demand.......Google it

3) I never had an issue securing these rides in the past with FP+ so thus, this product is inferior......not that hard to comprehend......used to get them, now cant....SO you think that my vacation should be judged every morning at 6:50am by milliseconds? Well i feel bad for you more than i thought..........what would you like better?

4) I will never be back unless its changed.......No way in hell am i paying all that money and leaving my trip up to milliseconds every morning of my trip..............


Good luck to you

I would recommend trying it before you defend it because i dont know one person who thinks it even average, never mind better than previous systems


Oh yeah for got to mention, all this aggravation cost me over $1,000 from what i used to get for free


Great system
 

el_super

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure you can say that "most of the attending public" likes G+ (or thinks it's not too much work, at the very least) when only about 1/3 of the guests are actually using it on an average day. It seems like about 2/3 of the guests don't like it.

That's a bit of a stretch. It could just mean that 2/3 of guests are still unawre of the system, or didn't see a need to use it. Not that they actively dislike it.


The system clearly isn't impossible to use (not literally, anyway), but it is difficult and obviously flawed. Passholders can't even buy it until the moment that ticketholders are already able to book their first ride, so off-site guests with day tickets have an advantage of someone with an AP staying in a Disney hotel.

I don't know... this seems right to me. If you have an AP (paying a discounted rate) and can go multiple times, why should you get priority over booking? Especially over someone paying more for the day?


The question is, will there be enough people willing to rent them when they finally make them available?

If you gave "priority" to all the thousands of guests in Disney hotel rooms, no one would really have priority. It's way too many people to manage effectively.
 

Jeff4272

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure you can say that "most of the attending public" likes G+ (or thinks it's not too much work, at the very least) when only about 1/3 of the guests are actually using it on an average day. It seems like about 2/3 of the guests don't like it.

The system clearly isn't impossible to use (not literally, anyway), but it is difficult and obviously flawed. Passholders can't even buy it until the moment that ticketholders are already able to book their first ride, so off-site guests with day tickets have an advantage of someone with an AP staying in a Disney hotel. Unless one of the ILL options is a must-do for your trip, there's no reason to even stay at a Disney (or "good neighbor") hotel, since you can save the money spent on G+ by finding a cheaper off-site hotel that offers a free shuttle to the parks or is at least close enough to have a cheap cab/rideshare fare there. At some point, Bob and Josh will want to fill those empty rooms that they haven't made available for booking. The question is, will there be enough people willing to rent them when they finally make them available? I understand the need/desire to increase revenue, but it seems like it's only a matter of time before the revenue lost from empty rooms outweighs the money gained by getting $15/person from off-site guests.
Couldnt agree more with this
 

Thepuma

Well-Known Member
I think it's safe to assume that most of the people posting on this board, are of the hyper-planning variety that want all information available as far in advance as possible. The group that Genie and Genie+ are meant to satisfy are the opposites: the people who did no research or planning ahead of time and just showed up. So if Genie is working well for some people, they wouldn't likely be the ones posting to this board proclaiming as such.




FastPass+ worked well for the hyper-planners, but even then only a small fraction of them were actually able to get the most coveted Fastpasses. If you were in the 1%, you were golden. I think you're right here: FP+ couldn't continue that way, and would have seen more and more restrictions as time went on. There was no benefit to Disney is catering to the 1% here, at the exclusion of everyone else.
The simple answer was though...if you couldn't get the FP for FOP, SDMT etc etc...you simply rope dropped it on that parks resort magic hours.

We did this every time for Animal Kingdom and HS for Slinky...and SDMT at MK, and it worked perfectly.
 

ChrisRobin124

Active Member
I don't know... this seems right to me. If you have an AP (paying a discounted rate) and can go multiple times, why should you get priority over booking? Especially over someone paying more for the day?
Who is asking for priority? I am only asking to be able to buy it prior to 7 AM like everyone else. I am going with my 2 grandson's. So what are the chances we can get any top-liners when I can't even buy Genie + until 7 AM while everyone else is booking their choices? I would love to know Disney's logic for penalizing DVC/AP guests.
 

Chi84

Premium Member
Who is asking for priority? I am only asking to be able to buy it prior to 7 AM like everyone else. I am going with my 2 grandson's. So what are the chances we can get any top-liners when I can't even buy Genie + until 7 AM while everyone else is booking their choices? I would love to know Disney's logic for penalizing DVC/AP guests.
I can’t help but think this is some kind of error. Has anyone heard anything official that there’s a reason behind it?
 

mightynine

Well-Known Member
For my recent trip (11/30 - 12/4), I didn't do anything except for one ILL for Rat because I was brushing my teeth and realized it was 7:01 and the morning boarding groups were all gone. (I did score the afternoon group that day and a morning one on another, so I got three rides on Rat so I'm not too upset about my $9+tax spent. I liked it fine, though I wouldn't pay again to ride it.)

I didn't miss G+ one bit. Granted, it was just me, but using the early entry half hour plus going back to the parks at night really enabled me to get everything in I wanted. I can count on one hand the things I didn't experience, the biggest being Toy Story Land because I never circled back to Mania and SDD is not one I'm too upset to miss.

I don't know if I was benefited by the traditionally "lower" crowds for that week after Thanksgiving, but standby lines moved regularly when I got in them. Using the Touring Plans app also helped as I generally followed its advice on when to get in line.

Also, it made me realize how much I just hung around the parks waiting to blow off that third FP+ that would be hours later than the rest. Getting to return to the room for a midday break and beat the heat was far more enjoyable than looking through another gift shop with the same stuff as the last.

I can see why they would rather have newbies than APers coming in right now - if you've never been, you might not realize that G+ isn't exactly necessary, while those who have come before might be ok not using it since they could also come back and get what was missed on a later trip. But I just think about the party I watched tap in to Spaceship Earth's LL while it's a walk-on and wondering if they felt they got their money's worth from G+ that day.
 

ChrisRobin124

Active Member
I can’t help but think this is some kind of error. Has anyone heard anything official that there’s a reason behind it?
I don't have the answer. But I have a feeling it is intentional. Since Disney makes you make the park reservations for the daily pass guests separately from the AP holders. Even if you are all staying on the same resort reservation as we are. That makes me think they have some warped logic for it.
 

pdude81

Well-Known Member
I don't have the answer. But I have a feeling it is intentional. Since Disney makes you make the park reservations for the daily pass guests separately from the AP holders. Even if you are all staying on the same resort reservation as we are. That makes me think they have some warped logic for it.
Do you have one of the new passes, or is it Platinum/Gold/Silver? That could be part of the problem
 

Chi84

Premium Member
But I just think about the party I watched tap in to Spaceship Earth's LL while it's a walk-on and wondering if they felt they got their money's worth from G+ that day.
I doubt they bought it for Spaceship Earth. We bought Genie+ to use on the most popular rides but then did use it for LL access on the others where it wasn’t really needed. We walked onto a few that had only 10 to 20 minute waits.
 

Chip Chipperson

Well-Known Member
That's a bit of a stretch. It could just mean that 2/3 of guests are still unawre of the system, or didn't see a need to use it. Not that they actively dislike it.
Possible. It's still a stretch to say that most people like it when less than half are actually using it - and many of the users are complaining about it.

I don't know... this seems right to me. If you have an AP (paying a discounted rate) and can go multiple times, why should you get priority over booking? Especially over someone paying more for the day?

I'm not saying APs should get priority. I'm saying resort guests should have at least the same opportunity that everyone else gets. right now, it's less advantageous for a resort guest with an AP who spent thousands of dollars on passes than it is for someone with a single-day ticket staying at a Holiday Inn or even a Loew's hotel at Universal. Which guest is giving Disney more money?

Yes, I have an AP. I also spent tens of thousands of dollars on DVC points that I bought direct from Disney - and I assume they would like me to buy more considering how often they send me "limit time offers" for discounts on new contracts. Well, their actions and words are contradictory because nothing about being pushed to the side with G+ tells me that I should fork over more money to add on another DVC contract so I can visit more than the 2-3 times per year I already go there.

If you gave "priority" to all the thousands of guests in Disney hotel rooms, no one would really have priority. It's way too many people to manage effectively.

They literally do that already with the ILL selections. So are the ILL selections not managed effectively? And the system now gives priority to anyone without an AP - so every resort guest with tickets (who have the option of purchasing G+ for their entire stay in advance rather than buying it each day) and off-site guests with tickets all can make their first selection at 7 AM while Passholders have to wait until 7 just to go through the process of purchasing. With certain rides, that could be the difference between getting a LL or missing out. All I'm saying is don't penalize us. Give us the same option to purchase G+ that morning BEFORE 7 AM so that we can make our first selection with the same chances that everyone else gets. Asking to be treated equally is not the same as asking for priority - but if Disney wants to fill those hotel rooms then they'll have to come up with something to convince guests that it's worth the premium they charge. Early Morning Magic Hours may not be enough to get people into those Moderate and Value resorts when the only benefit requires waking up early. Getting into Animal Kingdom at 7:30 probably doesn't outweigh saving $100 or more per night on a room off property for a lot of people.
 

arich35

Well-Known Member
I apparently don't understand stacking
Booked SDD for Noon. At 11 we booked (2 hours after booking) we booked for 2:50. Shouldn't I be able to book another one when we scan in for SDD? It won't let me pick again until 1
 
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mightynine

Well-Known Member
I doubt they bought it for Spaceship Earth. We bought Genie+ to use on the most popular rides but then did use it for LL access on the others where it wasn’t really needed. We walked onto a few that had only 10 to 20 minute waits.
My point exactly. I don’t see a benefit in paying $15 for access to rides that are a walk-on to begin with.
 

Texas84

Well-Known Member
Interesting. If one of the new passes and your hotel stay is linked, that's a huge pain. I'll likely be in this same situation in a few weeks.

Has anyone here with an AP successfully purchase prior to 7am?
I'm still platinum. Couldn't do it in advance with a resort. I don't think it's intentional, just lazy programming.
 

Chi84

Premium Member
My point exactly. I don’t see a benefit in paying $15 for access to rides that are a walk-on to begin with.
I’m not sure we’re on the same page here? We bought Genie+ to avoid waiting 75 minutes for SDD but then also used it to avoid shorter waits on Star Tours and ToT. I think that’s probably what you saw with Spaceship Earth. They didn’t pay $15 to use the LL on a walk-on. They probably bought it for TT and Soarin’ and then just continued to use it for everything.
 

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