Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[UNCgolf]

I know personal preference is a subjective opinion, but I am really curious on why you thought BatB was a better ride than Ratatouille. I mean I generally really liked BatB, but I didn't think it really compared at all to Rat. To me BatB feels more like a majorly upgraded Little Mermaid Ride, and that's not a knock for me. I love little mermaid and its actually the first ride as a family that we ride whenever we go to MK (partially b/c its a ride all people will ride, and partially tradition.) It's a ride based off a song sheet that lets you play out the movie. The animatronics are certainly newer and more up to date (and I agree better than FEA), and the ride car does more than the clam shell, but at its Heart it still feels like a standard old school dark water ride, in that you are passing through the scenes watching them.

Rat on the other hand is to me a completely different experience. You have the 3-D effects which I find to be very well done (Bugs life on steroids.) You also have the more interactive aspects of the ride, water, wind, ect. In addition, I found that rather than just passing through the rooms like BatB, you interact more with the scenes in Rat. Wither its the under the food cart room, or the air duct section, it felt much more interactive, like you are in a scene, and not just watching a scene unfold. It doesn't take away from the ride experience, but I also thought the setting, coming around the corner from the big sit down service restaurant, and now being behind it for the Ratatouille ride (back of the kitchen) made for a good fit.

It's the reliance on watching stuff happen on a screen in front of you that kills Rat for me. If it was the exact same ride but everything happened with physical sets and AAs I'd probably love it, but when there's a lot of focus on watching a movie play out in front of you it completely takes me out of the experience. I've never been on a ride that relied heavily on screens at either Disney or Universal that I actually loved -- Flight of Passage is probably the best one I've been on, but even it doesn't really move the needle for me. It's not close to being one of my favorite rides at WDW, nor is it even my favorite at AK.

It's a personal thing, because plenty of people can be just as immersed in the screens as anything else, but they just don't really work for me.

 

[SteveAZee]

My god… There is ZERO chance Disney raises prices to a level that would truly “have fewer people into the parks paying more”. The parks are a corporate cash cow. They would have to double prices on everything - Everything - to reduce attendance meaningfully yet maintain the high margins the corporation relies on to keep shareholders happy.

ETA: Not to mention the massive, negative PR nightmare they would create in doing that.

I think they're still trying to find the 'sweet spot' for earnings from the parks. Costs will rise until they see profits decline.

 

[TikibirdLand]

It's the reliance on watching stuff happen on a screen in front of you that kills Rat for me. If it was the exact same ride but everything happened with physical sets and AAs I'd probably love it, but when there's a lot of focus on watching a movie play out in front of you it completely takes me out of the experience. I've never been on a ride that relied heavily on screens at either Disney or Universal that I actually loved -- Flight of Passage is probably the best one I've been on, but even it doesn't really move the needle for me. It's not close to being one of my favorite rides at WDW, nor is it even my favorite at AK.

It's a personal thing, because plenty of people can be just as immersed in the screens as anything else, but they just don't really work for me.

My youngest gets sick from the 3D glasses. IMO, Rat is lazy: all the action takes place on screens. You're never really part of what's going on with them.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

My youngest gets sick from the 3D glasses. IMO, Rat is lazy: all the action takes place on screens. You're never really part of what's going on with them.

See with the wind blowing, the water splashing, the forced perspective movement I totally disagree (obviously not about 3D glasses making some people sick.). While I love the classic dark water rides to me with the animatronics alone you are never part of the experience. They are always by necessity out of reach to not allow guests to touch and break them. With Rat you get to “feel” like your part of the ride/experience. It’s the major plus of screen over animatronics/static features. You can’t feel or interact with objects on a ride, where screens and effects can give you those sensations.

 

[UNCgolf]

With Rat you get to “feel” like your part of the ride/experience. It’s the major plus of screen over animatronics/static features. You can’t feel or interact with objects on a ride, where screens and effects can give you those sensations.

That's interesting to me because I'm the exact opposite! I need physical sets and AAs to feel like I'm actually part of the experience -- they're what make me feel transported to the setting -- and that's why I think they work much better than screens.

It's why I like Na'vi River Journey more than Flight of Passage, even though I fully understand why that's a minority opinion. In NRJ I feel like I'm actually in an alien rain forest, despite the ride's flaws. With Flight of Passage I just feel like I'm watching a very pretty movie. It's still fun, though.

 

[Jrb1979]

I can appreciate what you 2 are saying. For me I physically need to feel a ride to fully enjoy it. It's a big reason I love coasters over most dark rides.

 

[Ayla]

Today is my first day back since genie launched and I can't even purchase it when a good time shows up in the tip board. Chat just says to talk to blue shirt team in the parks.

Are you an AP? It seems that AP's have been unable to purchase Genie. It's a glitch that has yet to be fixed, even though Disney is well-aware of it.

 

[pdude81]

Are you an AP? It seems that AP's have been unable to purchase Genie. It's a glitch that has yet to be fixed, even though Disney is well-aware of it.

I am. At this point I won't purchase today but will check with the people in blue when I get to DHS later. It needs to be functional for the rest of the trip

 

[pdude81]

I thought for some reason they wanted more daily revenue from AP guests

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I am. At this point I won't purchase today but will check with the people in blue when I get to DHS later. It needs to be functional for the rest of the trip

I thought for some reason they wanted more daily revenue from AP guests

…you got your card out? Don’t miss out

 

[Chip Chipperson]

I thought for some reason they wanted more daily revenue from AP guests

It really is pathetic that they still haven't sorted this issue out. I was there a month ago and had the same issue - couldn't purchase until exactly 7:00 but didn't bother trying to go through with it to see if it would let me since the next available time for SDD conflicted with our dinner plans. At this point, it can only be either the inability of their IT people to fix it faster than this or executives just don't care about the problem (either due to not wanting to authorize the expense of fixing it or not caring because it's "just Passholders"). Both are equally plausible at this point.

 

[pdude81]

View attachment 612268

…you got your card out? Don’t miss out

I have no shame if this is how I get on more rides

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I have no shame if this is how I get on more rides

…first time?

 

[pdude81]

…first time?

First time, long time

 

[Jeff4272]

First time, long time

I keep praying that this will crash and burn because it has ruined WDW so bad I don’t think it’s repairable. It is absolutely awful

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I keep praying that this will crash and burn because it has ruined WDW so bad I don’t think it’s repairable. It is absolutely awful

So that fastpass + return that you said people would storm the gates to get back hasn’t “gelled” yet, huh?

 

[matt9112]

I thought for some reason they wanted more daily revenue from AP guests

They want you out of the way...your taking up space and breathing air in the parks. Need a family of 4 on a 15,000 dollar vacation where your standing.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

They want you out of the way...your taking up space and breathing air in the parks. Need a family of 4 on a 15,000 dollar vacation where your standing.

…they aren’t even bothering to hide it. That is impressive to me.

they froze the AP program…which was 40+ years old in WDW…and didn’t bother to even give a standard 40 word made up excuse. And people have gone along with it for 2 months already. It’s impressive.

 

[TikibirdLand]

They want you out of the way...your taking up space and breathing air in the parks. Need a family of 4 on a 15,000 dollar vacation where your standing.

It really does look like they're trying for the vacation of a lifetime guests to come. Especially the ones who know nothing of what was offered in the past. So much has got to change to get us back. Recently saw a video on the hotel and theme parks in Xcaret, Mexico. Very impressive.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

It really does look like they're trying for the vacation of a lifetime guests to come. Especially the ones who know nothing of what was offered in the past. So much has got to change to get us back. Recently saw a video on the hotel and theme parks in Xcaret, Mexico. Very impressive.

On one hand, they seem to want the "once in a lifetime" visitors more than the repeat customers. On the other, they want those "once in a lifetime" visitors to buy into DVC so they can visit at least once a year and provide Disney with a nice chunk of cash up front. They need to find a balance between giving the "once in a lifetime" visitors a reason to come back and/or tell their family and friends how great WDW is at the expense of the loyal repeat customers vs. focusing too hard on the loyal repeat visitors like DVC and APs at the risk of making first-time visitors not want to return. Since the ability to purchase the 2nd-tier AP (when available, that is) is a "perk" for DVC owners, screwing over APs with delayed G+ access isn't a sound strategy for generating more DVC sales.