Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[Patcheslee]

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.

Disney would have to duplicate the park reservation availability for every ride, but note a disclaimer that availability might not be real time, depending on booking date, etc. It would probably turn into a situation of people modifying vacation packages if they weren't able to book everything they wanted. Or if the payment was non refundable and pre-purchase it would just be another nightmare for CS.

 

[jinx8402]

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.

This is an idea I could get behind. Something like 2 tiers of rides. 1st tier is $1-5, and 2nd tier is $10-15. My suggestion would be that it needs to just be linked to your Magic Band (and you need a default payment method set up). Then just have the dynamic pricing at the tap in point and just let people decide if they want to pay vs going into stand by. No need to go into the app at all.

 

[pdude81]

This language update indicates to me that they plan to start pushing back on refunds. You can't say you are ed that you only got 2 LL if the language indicates that's all you were ever going to get. Especially if you used the fast lane and then went to complain.

 

[dmw]

This is an idea I could get behind. Something like 2 tiers of rides. 1st tier is $1-5, and 2nd tier is $10-15. My suggestion would be that it needs to just be linked to your Magic Band (and you need a default payment method set up). Then just have the dynamic pricing at the tap in point and just let people decide if they want to pay vs going into stand by. No need to go into the app at all.

I love the simplicity of this, and how it removes the need to plan in advance, and the need to be on the phone constantly. It reminds my of the Express Toll lanes in Atlanta - I decide if I want to pay to skip the traffic.

For this to work there needs to be a cap of how many people can use this option per hour. At some point the tap in point would need to turn RED to indicate no more line skip passes are available. Of course, a CM would need to be present to allow an override if half of your party got the like skip, but the rest were blocked by the cap.

 

[rawisericho]

I went in early Mid March and it worked out really well in DHS and MK, my wife and I went to DHS and got:

ILL for ROTR
G+ for MFSR, MMRR, Star Tours, TSMM
Rope drop for ToT and RNRC, got those done within 25 minutes
Standby for Slinky Dog, TSMM, Star Tours, MFSR, Muppets.

On top of all that I was able to try a bunch of DFB picks that we had been looking forward to (Carrot Cake Cookie, Toaster Tart thing, Ronto Wrap, Wookie Cookie). We were also able to hit Oga's for cocktails, Baseline Taphouse for snacks and drinks, and have dinner at the Brown Derby. Also, I had enough extra time that I was just able to wander around Batuu for like an hour and a half (it was my first time).

 

[Jeff4272]

I went in early Mid March and it worked out really well in DHS and MK, my wife and I went to DHS and got:

ILL for ROTR
G+ for MFSR, MMRR, Star Tours, TSMM
Rope drop for ToT and RNRC, got those done within 25 minutes
Standby for Slinky Dog, TSMM, Star Tours, MFSR, Muppets.

On top of all that I was able to try a bunch of DFB picks that we had been looking forward to (Carrot Cake Cookie, Toaster Tart thing, Ronto Wrap, Wookie Cookie). We were also able to hit Oga's for cocktails, Baseline Taphouse for snacks and drinks, and have dinner at the Brown Derby. Also, I had enough extra time that I was just able to wander around Batuu for like an hour and a half (it was my first time).

I am questioning the fact that you got all those rides........It's virtually impossible

First, if you get an ILL for ROTR, by the time you are done, all of the MFSR and MMRR are gone

for eg. right now MMRR, MFSR, TOT, ROTR, SDD have all been sold out since before 10am

So you pay for ROTR and then you pay again for MFSR OR MMRR (if you have 2 people booking simultaneously) and thats just not worth it (money, getting up early, not knowing return time, etc, etc etc,)

 

[ChrisM]

I went in early Mid March and it worked out really well in DHS and MK, my wife and I went to DHS and got:

ILL for ROTR
G+ for MFSR, MMRR, Star Tours, TSMM
Rope drop for ToT and RNRC, got those done within 25 minutes
Standby for Slinky Dog, TSMM, Star Tours, MFSR, Muppets.

On top of all that I was able to try a bunch of DFB picks that we had been looking forward to (Carrot Cake Cookie, Toaster Tart thing, Ronto Wrap, Wookie Cookie). We were also able to hit Oga's for cocktails, Baseline Taphouse for snacks and drinks, and have dinner at the Brown Derby. Also, I had enough extra time that I was just able to wander around Batuu for like an hour and a half (it was my first time).

Was in Animal Kingdom on 3/20 (TP crowd level 8/10) and Hollywood Studios on 3/21 (TP crowd level 9/10) and while I was dreading using Genie+/ILL for the first time due to the negative feedback, I found it very easy to use and we breezed through the parks. I didn't feel like I was constantly glued to my phone or frustrated at not getting options I wanted. My main complaint was that they moved Runaway Railway out of the ILL pool.

For me personally, I found it easier than the original FP implementation (as I wasn't running around pulling FP tickets) and allowed for far more spontaneity than FP+ (as I was able to make same day Tiffins lunch and Brown Derby dinner reservations with minimal fuss) - but I'm guessing this just fits my personality and touring style better than most. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I do like DisneyCane's idea of just making it variable priced on-demand ILL's for everything. I get the fundamental issue of paying per ride on top of the ticket cost, but it would be a far simpler and more transparent system.

 

[ChrisM]

I am questioning the fact that you got all those rides........It's virtually impossible

First, if you get an ILL for ROTR, by the time you are done, all of the MFSR and MMRR are gone

for eg. right now MMRR, MFSR, TOT, ROTR, SDD have all been sold out since before 10am

So you pay for ROTR and then you pay again for MFSR OR MMRR (if you have 2 people booking simultaneously) and thats just not worth it (money, getting up early, not knowing return time, etc, etc etc,)

Totally possible, as there are fresh drops of previously "sold out" LL inventory released at specific intervals throughout the day.

Here's what my group did in HS on 3/21:

• Booked Rise ILL at 7am for 1pm
• Booked SDD LL at 7:10am for 10:50am
• Rise (rope drop, no wait)
• Falcon (no wait)
• Falcon again (10 minute wait)
• Booked Runaway Railway LL (for 6pm)
• Muppets
• Used Slinky Dog LL (2 minute wait)
• Booked Toy Story Midway Mania LL (for 5pm)
• Rise a second time with ILL (waited 2 minutes)
• Rode Star Tours three times in a row (longest wait was 15 minutes)
• Used Toy Story Midway Mania LL (5 minute wait)
• Went to use Runaway Railway LL but it was down (and never came back up, so LL turned into a “multi-experience” pass – Rise and Slinky were not included)
• Rode Star Tours two more times
• By then it was 8:30pm and Runaway Railway was still down so we used the LL to ride Falcon for a third time

Also did a lot of shopping and gawking, lunch at Docking Bay 7, booked a same day Brown Derby dinner, and left the park for 3 hours in the middle of the day.

 

[Jeff4272]

Was in Animal Kingdom on 3/20 (TP crowd level 8/10) and Hollywood Studios on 3/21 (TP crowd level 9/10) and while I was dreading using Genie+/ILL for the first time due to the negative feedback, I found it very easy to use and we breezed through the parks. I didn't feel like I was constantly glued to my phone or frustrated at not getting options I wanted. My main complaint was that the moved Runaway Railway out of the ILL pool.

For me personally, I found it easier than the original FP implementation (as I wasn't running around pulling FP tickets) and allowed for far more spontaneity than FP+ (as I was able to make same day Tiffins lunch and Brown Derby dinner reservations with minimal fuss) - but I'm guessing this just fits my personality and touring style better than most. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I do like DisneyCane's idea of just making it variable priced on-demand ILL's for everything. I get the fundamental issue of paying per ride on top of the ticket cost, but it would be a far simpler and more transparent system.

These stories are hard to believe......

Breezing through HS when its a 9/10? Can you share details? What did you book at 7am? if you got ROTR, then MMRR and MFSR were likely gone.........I just dont think "breezing through" DHS on a 9/10 is even close to possible

 

[pdude81]

These stories are hard to believe......

Breezing through HS when its a 9/10? Can you share details? What did you book at 7am? if you got ROTR, then MMRR and MFSR were likely gone.........I just dont think "breezing through" DHS on a 9/10 is even close to possible

They are outliers based on a strategic use of the system, but I've personally done this well on days marked as a 10. However I was on my phone constantly, which I was in FP+ time anyway.

 

[Jeff4272]

Totally possible, as there are fresh drops of previously "sold out" LL inventory released at specific intervals throughout the day.

Here's what my group did in HS on 3/21:

• Booked Rise ILL at 7am for 1pm
• Booked SDD LL at 7:10am for 10:50am
• Rise (rope drop, no wait)
• Falcon (no wait)
• Falcon again (10 minute wait)
• Picked up a Runaway Railway LL (for 6pm)
• Muppets
• Used Slinky Dog LL (2 minute wait)
• Picked up a Toy Story Midway Mania LL (for 5pm)
• Rise a second time with ILL (waited 2 minutes)
• Rode Star Tours three times in a row (longest wait was 15 minutes)
• Used Toy Story Midway Mania LL (5 minute wait)
• Went to use Runaway Railway LL but it was down (and never came back up, so LL turned into a “multi-experience” pass – Rise and Slinky were not included)
• Rode Star Tours two more times
• By then it was 8:30pm and Runaway Railway was still down so we used the LL to ride Falcon for a third time

Also did a lot of shopping and gawking, lunch at Docking Bay 7, booked a same day Brown Derby dinner, and left the park for 3 hours in the middle of the day.

Im not buying it..........no chance you get ROTR and SDD at 7am

 

[Jeff4272]

Totally possible, as there are fresh drops of previously "sold out" LL inventory released at specific intervals throughout the day.

Here's what my group did in HS on 3/21:

• Booked Rise ILL at 7am for 1pm
• Booked SDD LL at 7:10am for 10:50am
• Rise (rope drop, no wait)
• Falcon (no wait)
• Falcon again (10 minute wait)
• Booked Runaway Railway LL (for 6pm)
• Muppets
• Used Slinky Dog LL (2 minute wait)
• Booked Toy Story Midway Mania LL (for 5pm)
• Rise a second time with ILL (waited 2 minutes)
• Rode Star Tours three times in a row (longest wait was 15 minutes)
• Used Toy Story Midway Mania LL (5 minute wait)
• Went to use Runaway Railway LL but it was down (and never came back up, so LL turned into a “multi-experience” pass – Rise and Slinky were not included)
• Rode Star Tours two more times
• By then it was 8:30pm and Runaway Railway was still down so we used the LL to ride Falcon for a third time

Also did a lot of shopping and gawking, lunch at Docking Bay 7, booked a same day Brown Derby dinner, and left the park for 3 hours in the middle of the day.

Where did you stay?

 

[ChrisM]

These stories are hard to believe......

Breezing through HS when its a 9/10? Can you share details? What did you book at 7am? if you got ROTR, then MMRR and MFSR were likely gone.........I just dont think "breezing through" DHS on a 9/10 is even close to possible

I put the details in the post directly above. And I was as shocked as anyone at how easy and smooth it all was, as I expected the worst. But it happened.

Big caveat is we didn't do RnRC or TOT - but could have waited for one (or both) instead of taking a multi-hour break if we had really wanted to. Maybe we were just really lucky?

 

[Jeff4272]

They are outliers based on a strategic use of the system, but I've personally done this well on days marked as a 10. However I was on my phone constantly, which I was in FP+ time anyway.

you're contradicting yourself.....When booking FP+, there was ZERO need to use your phone for the first 3 rides since they are booked well in advance

 

[Disney4Lyfe]

Totally possible, as there are fresh drops of previously "sold out" LL inventory released at specific intervals throughout the day.

Here's what my group did in HS on 3/21:

• Booked Rise ILL at 7am for 1pm
• Booked SDD LL at 7:10am for 10:50am
• Rise (rope drop, no wait)
• Falcon (no wait)
• Falcon again (10 minute wait)
• Booked Runaway Railway LL (for 6pm)
• Muppets
• Used Slinky Dog LL (2 minute wait)
• Booked Toy Story Midway Mania LL (for 5pm)
• Rise a second time with ILL (waited 2 minutes)
• Rode Star Tours three times in a row (longest wait was 15 minutes)
• Used Toy Story Midway Mania LL (5 minute wait)
• Went to use Runaway Railway LL but it was down (and never came back up, so LL turned into a “multi-experience” pass – Rise and Slinky were not included)
• Rode Star Tours two more times
• By then it was 8:30pm and Runaway Railway was still down so we used the LL to ride Falcon for a third time

Also did a lot of shopping and gawking, lunch at Docking Bay 7, booked a same day Brown Derby dinner, and left the park for 3 hours in the middle of the day.

What time did you get to the park?

 

[ChrisM]

Im not buying it..........no chance you get ROTR and SDD at 7am

Booked Rise exactly at 7:00am. SDD was completely out by the time I checked at 7:01am.

But there have been reliable drops of new SDD LL inventory between 7:08am - 7:12am. So I just refreshed a few times and a fresh batch popped up right around 7:10am. Booked a SDD LL with a 10:50am return time.

 

[Jeff4272]

Totally possible, as there are fresh drops of previously "sold out" LL inventory released at specific intervals throughout the day.

Here's what my group did in HS on 3/21:

• Booked Rise ILL at 7am for 1pm
• Booked SDD LL at 7:10am for 10:50am
• Rise (rope drop, no wait)
• Falcon (no wait)
• Falcon again (10 minute wait)
• Booked Runaway Railway LL (for 6pm)
• Muppets
• Used Slinky Dog LL (2 minute wait)
• Booked Toy Story Midway Mania LL (for 5pm)
• Rise a second time with ILL (waited 2 minutes)
• Rode Star Tours three times in a row (longest wait was 15 minutes)
• Used Toy Story Midway Mania LL (5 minute wait)
• Went to use Runaway Railway LL but it was down (and never came back up, so LL turned into a “multi-experience” pass – Rise and Slinky were not included)
• Rode Star Tours two more times
• By then it was 8:30pm and Runaway Railway was still down so we used the LL to ride Falcon for a third time

Also did a lot of shopping and gawking, lunch at Docking Bay 7, booked a same day Brown Derby dinner, and left the park for 3 hours in the middle of the day.

you got ROTR a second time with a 2 minute wait? Then theres ZERO chance this was a 9/10 day

and if you did get on ity with a 2 minute wait the SECOND time you rode, then theres no need to pay for ILL or Genie (-)

 

[ChrisM]

What time did you get to the park?

All the details are here: https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads...ap-march-20th-21st-2022.976970/#post-10205173

8:30am open, 8:00 early entry open. Arrived in an Uber to a closed parking plaza at 6:56am. Parking plaza was opened promptly at 7:00am.

 

[Purduevian]

Putting some data "all your phone all day". I have screenshots of all my LL selections from my day there, with the phone time in the picture. Also I couldn't tap into anything early because we had a multiple experience basically all day, which would have been burned if we used it early. Here is my phone vs no phone time of the 10 LL I picked up:
1)9:25am Splash booked at 7:03am (3 minutes of phone time)
-Not on my phone for G+ between 7:03 and 8:40am (1 hour and 42 minutes no G+ phone time)

2) LL switched to a Multiple experiences when we got to the park at 8:40 and were using the restroom. Had 10:50am Space LL between the time I finished and my wife came out (was standing waiting anyway, I remember not refreshing so lets call it 2 minutes of phone time)
-Not on my phone for G+ between 8:45am and 10:50am (2 hours and 5 minutes No G+ time)

3)Booked 11:55am Pooh at 10:59am (all time in line, couldn't even book until after 2nd touch point, 4 minutes of phone time max)
-Not on my phone for G+ between 11am-11:55am (55 minutes no G+ phone time)

4)Booked 12:00pm tea party at 11:56am between tapping in at pooh and sitting down in the honey pot (1 minute of phone time)
5)Looks like I booked LL5 for 3:30HM at 12:19pm.If I had to guess. Tapped into Pooh at 11:55, waited 5 minutes, Rode the ride for 3 minutes. Probably tapped into Tea party at 12:05. ~2 minutes of getting in tea cup and riding. So spent (~12 minutes phone time) Would also like to point out its not like i just sat next to tea party refreshing. We mobile ordered Pinocchio's coffee, so as part of that 12 minutes was walking from tea party to Pinocchio and getting our drinks. Sat in Pinocchio's for a little bit even after we had the LL enjoying Coffee, water, and AC.
-2 hour rule no G+ until 2:19pm. (2 hours of no G+ phone time)

6)at 2:45pm booked a 4:30pm Peter Pan. I know we were shopping on Main street during this time, but ill give the full time as I know it was a fair amount of refreshing. (26 minutes of phone time). It was probably more like 20ish, but I can't prove that based on my pictures.
-With only 15 minutes between the 2 hour rule and tapping in, we actually didn't go to pan right away. So (2hours of no phone time)

7)at 4:45pm booked a 5:45pm Mermaid (1 minute of phone time)
-Couldn't ride for 1 hour. (1 hour of no G+ phone time)

8)at 5:47pm booked a 6:20pm Buzz (2 minutes of phone time)
-Tapped into buzz like 5 minutes late because we were in the Monsters inc show. (~40 minutes no G+ phone time)

9) We got greedy and had 1 singular goal while waiting for fireworks just sitting at the hub. We wanted an after fireworks Jungle Cruise. Booked an 8:00PM JC @6:53pm. (~20 minutes of Phone time)
-Got to JC probably around 8:25 (1 hour and 7 minutes of no G+ Phone time)

10)Booked a 8:30 Carpets at 8:27pm (2 minutes of phone time). However we got stuck on JC for 45 minutes. While sitting there stuck on the boat, canceled Carpets and immediately booked a 9:10 Pirates (2 minutes of phone time).
-Spent the rest of the evening finishing JC, LL Big Thunder (ME pass), LL Pirates, and LL Carpets (ME Pass 2 from getting stuck on JC) left around 10:45pm. (1 hour and 15 minutes of no G+ phone time between 8:27 and 945 (2 minutes was booking pirates)

TLDR:
Between 7am and 9:45pm I booked 10LL. Time spent on phone was 1 hour and 13 minutes of my 14 hours and 45minutes (total time) day. This was approximately 8.5% of my day. Average of 7 minutes and 20 seconds per LL booking for 10 bookings

Between 9am and 9:45pm (park time). I spent the 1 hour and 8 minutes of a 12 hour 45 minute day on my phone. This was approximately 8.6% of my park day. Average of 8 minutes and 30 seconds per LL booking for 8 bookings.

All of this is heavy skewed by HM (12 minutes), Peter Pan (26 minutes), and Jungle Cruise (20) minutes. If I was willing, or not just sitting waiting for fireworks, the other 7 LLs were done in a total of 15 minutes of phone time... or an average of 2.1 seconds. I could have booked HM in about 2 minutes, but was refreshing attempting to get something sooner gave up after about 12 minutes and let it be. I could have swapped Pan or JC for lesser attractions and also only spent 2 minutes on each of those, but both legitimately took ~20 minutes of fairly constant refreshing.

For reference I also added up my ride and show time for the day (including rides/shows we didn't do LL for). Total ride time was 1 hour and 31.5 minutes (~12% of park time). Total show/cavalcade time was ~1 hour (~8.1% of park time).

 

[StarshipDisney]

it would be a guest services nightmare when people can't get reservations for the popular rides after they paid.

Hmmm....and just what do you think is happening with Genie+?