Disney4Lyfe
Well-Known Member
WELL JEFF!!!!
I already paid for it, soooo, let me pretend it's gonna be great. OKAY???
lol
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Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
I already paid for it, soooo, let me pretend it's gonna be great. OKAY???
lol
madmartigan
New Member
Trip upcoming next week, and based on reviews we've had from friends and family the last few months, I am absolutely dreading it. Everyone has suggested Disney Genie/Lightning Lane is a nightmare, between having to wake up at 7 am and *hope* you get rides you were targeting and then having to be glued to your phone for the entire day (Quote "make sure to bring that portable cell phone battery charger"). I consider these folks Disney diehards and sentiment has been "we aren't sure we'll be prioritizing Disney trips as much going forward".
Disney4Lyfe
Well-Known Member
I have heard this as well. From DVC members to boot!
Jeff4272
Well-Known Member
Sorry......waste of $............see if they will refund you
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Skibum1970
Well-Known Member
That does summarize my experience as well. The only individual Lightning Lane I bought was MMRR because all the others were gone. Also, booking regular Lightning Lane attractions is a trial of patience. Unlike FP+ where you literally picked what you wanted and for when you wanted and the app was easy, this becomes a grit your teeth and bear it. I also didn't like that I couldn't really pick my times all that well.
Purduevian
Well-Known Member
The system is rough, but don't dread it.
My #1 tip is don't be super locked into one touring plan, you have to go with the flow a little bit.
For instance: My goal at 7am was to get one of the mountains in the first 45 minutes of the park open prioritized Splash>Thunder>Space. Ended up with a 9:25am Splash.
Later in the day after tapping into space mountain, the goal was to get something in either Tomorrowland or fantasyland ASAP. Pooh>Buzz>mermaid for me. Ended up with a pooh ~1 hour away. So after space we rode the people mover, shopped, then got some snacks.
Know what you would find to be an "acceptable" LL and refresh for 2 or 3 minutes to see if one of those pop up in the acceptable range. If nothing does, change your definition of acceptable to include either lesser rides or further out times. Again spend 2-3 minutes. After ~5minutes total, grab whatever was the closest thing to what you wanted and move on with your day.
If you go in saying I have to get a space mountain and I'm taking whatever time there is. You are probably going to have a bad time.
After the last two days in the park I’ve talked to numerous people that are frustrated with this. Ended up getting a refund on my G+ yesterday for our group. There were at least 2 other groups in Guest Services voicing their frustrations.
Chi84
Premium Member
I think Disney is hoping Genie+ will be used by the people who don't want to go to the parks early and wait in 45-minute lines. From what I'm hearing, it's of limited utility for people who rope-drop and don't mind waiting in long lines. It's probably directed at the folks who didn't mind FP+ because they weren't interested in riding all the rides - just guaranteeing a few they really wanted.
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
Except it's apparently not even useful for that, which is the biggest problem. You have to be up in time for rope drop to use it effectively anyways on busier days.
I'm not sure I'll go to Disney while this system is in place -- I was not a fan of FP+, but it was significantly better than Genie+ because I could get the rides I actually wanted. I'm not interested in waiting in long lines all day to ride the 3 or 4 rides I actually really want to ride, because it isn't possible to get Genie+ times for all of them (or potentially any).
Ayla
Well-Known Member
I'm not buying it for my upcoming trip.
Jeff4272
Well-Known Member
It’s not,” dont buy it”, it’s don’t go, which we won’t. It’s just not enjoyable any more. Wdw has completely ruined the experience.
GhostHost1000
Premium Member
How to quickly fix genie+
Bring back the old system where we can book 3 in advance. Charge for it. Done.
Bring back the old system where we can book 3 in advance. Charge for it. Done.
SamandplanningUK
Well-Known Member
We are going in July during high crowds and I would rather spend time in lines but do less per day than get Genie, it's the principle of the thing. We'll spread the rides across multiple days (14 days as we are from the UK).
Not so much the having to pay for it but the time spent on phones and the early rising on a VACATION that should be time spent relaxing or enjoying time in the parks without the need to whip out the phones to check what we can get on next or what time we have to wait until to get on the ride we want. If we paid for it we'd want to put it to good use so it would end up ruling our day.
Weirdly, I am not mourning the loss of Fastpass as we found having to stick to a time schedule didn't suit us as a family.
Freedom of choice/flexibility win out for us every time.
Not so much the having to pay for it but the time spent on phones and the early rising on a VACATION that should be time spent relaxing or enjoying time in the parks without the need to whip out the phones to check what we can get on next or what time we have to wait until to get on the ride we want. If we paid for it we'd want to put it to good use so it would end up ruling our day.
Weirdly, I am not mourning the loss of Fastpass as we found having to stick to a time schedule didn't suit us as a family.
Freedom of choice/flexibility win out for us every time.
DisneyCane
Well-Known Member
If they did that they'd have to severely limit sales. People would have the expectation that if they buy it, it will guarantee they can book the 3 that they want. No matter how many disclaimers there are, it would be a guest services nightmare when people can't get reservations for the popular rides after they paid.
DisneyCane
Well-Known Member
So $5-$7.50 per LL multiplied by how many are in your party.
Just scrap the whole thing and replace it with a dynamically priced ILL at every attraction where you purchase LL right before you enter at a price based on how long the standby line is currently.
TikibirdLand
Well-Known Member
Not the CM's fault that Genie sucks. Maybe some execs need to come to park and actually experience Genie+. I'm betting that would cause an immediate change.
Jeff4272
Well-Known Member
Well this system offers neither.........that's the ironic part of Genie-, they made it to change all the pre planning and provide spontaneity and it's done completely opposite.
If you have to have park reservations and you have to book dining so far in advance, where's the spontaneity in that?
Genie+ doesn't allow you to pick return times so its got you criss crossing the parks and on your phone all day........theres no freedom in that
TikibirdLand
Well-Known Member
I remember suggesting this before Genie became a thing...
Let's have an app where you can bid on a place in line. It expires at the top of each hour for the next hour. Then, all you have to do is decide how badly you want to go on the attraction. Guest satisfaction would be through the roof -- for those that won!