Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[Skibum1970]

No because you could pick your return time........We would book Pirates FP+ for 2-3pm then do other rides in that area and work our way from left to right in the park so our next FP+ would be 4-5 for Peter Pan and then eat dinner and do Space mtn 7-8

And you could pick your next FP based on timing and availability, not just availability. And I didn't like FP+ either, due to the impact on lines and unnecessary application of it to rides like Pirates/Haunted Mansion that didn't need capacity monitoring.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

afternoon at the pool? no chance with Genie (-)

3pm arrival and stay until close? not possible with Genie(-)

Sleep in past 6:45am (on vacation)? not possible with Genie (-) **who wants to sleep in on vacation anyway, so dumb**

I don't know I'd say no chance of an afternoon at the pool, just...it is a gamble.
We actually did make pretty good use of it on the day we arrived at MK in the evening. I almost didn't get it, but I wound up with 3 very good passes to use between 5:30 and 7:30pm, and another to use around 9pm. I think I had PPan, BTMRR, Space Mtn, Buzz, and Splash that evening. We went on Splash during the fireworks. HM was also a near walk-on when we walked past it. We also did Philarmagic, Pooh, and maybe one or two others.
For about 1.5 hours we went from G+ to G+.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Again looking at Easter Saturday which I assume is worst case scenario for how crowded it can get:
SDD sold out at 7:15am
MFSR sold out at 10:25am
ToT sold out faster than MFSR at 10am
MMRR sold out at noon
RNRC sold out at 12:25pm
You also left of TSM which sold out at 12:55pm

Park opened at 8am that day. So for LL1 you had all options possible, although i admit SDD is kinda wild right at 7am
2 hours after park open (10am), everything except SDD and possible TOT was still there
4 hours after park open (12pm), SDD, TOT, MFSR and possibly MMRR were sold out. Leaving you with RNRC or TSM

Even eliminating TSM, RNRC was possible for everyone as a 3rd G+ selection

Source

I don't know where you are getting your numbers, but 7:15am for Slinky is not correct. It just isn't.

SDD sells out by 7:02am. I verified this when I was there, because a cast member called in for me about 7:10am. She verified that it was sold out at 7:02am (and generally sold out by 7:02am).

I don't know how to explain this so you believe me, but the system is junk. What you see before you buy, is not what anyone actually can buy. If I go on G+ right now, it says a Buzz pass is available for 8:25pm, but that doesn't mean it is actually true. It might be true. This late in the day, the system is more reliable, but early in the day it is pure junk.

You click to get an 8:05am pass, but the pass you get is a completely different time, or it just isn't available at all.

But if you don't think I telling the truth, so be it.

 

[curry767]

SDD sells out by 7:02am. I verified this when I was there, because a cast member called in for me about 7:10am. She verified that it was sold out at 7:02am (and generally sold out by 7:02am).

Looks like some days have availability beyond 702am, but it comes down to how much time you want to spend refreshing the app.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

• You can't count EMH in 2017 but not count ETPE in 2022.

Sorry, but no. They are vastly different.
You could stay at any WDW hotel and get EMH.

If you want the extra hours in 2022, you'll have to pay to stay at a deluxe hotel.

 

[WDWJoeG]

View attachment 634868
Looks like some days have availability beyond 702am, but it comes down to how much time you want to spend refreshing the app.

A relaxing Walt Disney World "vacation" sure has come a long way...

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I'll concede that hours for a holiday week are lower than what they were in 2015 - but that's a far cry from your original assertion that hours have been cut recently.

I also spelled out what I meant by recently. Since it is relative term, it seems an odd point to refute, but okay.

I've been going to WDW since the early 1970's, so 2018 still counts as recently, relative to 50 years of touring WDW.

Since I clarified though, seems an odd point to refute, much less highlight, but okay.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

View attachment 634868
Looks like some days have availability beyond 702am, but it comes down to how much time you want to spend refreshing the app.

Is this coming form people buying passes, or just people looking at the app?

They are not the same. If these are not confirmed 'buys' then the data is useless.

Again, if you don't want to believe me, okay.

Genie makes it look like a pass is available when it actually isn't, or else the time is vastly different from the time that appeared to be available.

 

[curry767]

Is this coming form people buying passes, or just people looking at the app?

They are not the same. If these are not confirmed 'buys' then the data is useless.

Again, if you don't want to believe me, okay.

Genie makes it look like a pass is available when it actually isn't, or else the time is vastly different from the time that appeared to be available.

Where did I say that your personal experience was incorrect? I feel sorry that you think everyone is attacking you.

 

[MisterPenguin]

A relaxing Walt Disney World "vacation" sure has come a long way...

View attachment 634871View attachment 634872

Most of that comes from luxury premier pricing or upsells.

Except for the camping trailer. Thems the poors.

 

[nickys]

Sorry, but no. They are vastly different.
You could stay at any WDW hotel and get EMH.

If you want the extra hours in 2022, you'll have to pay to stay at a deluxe hotel.

ETPE is the abbreviation for Early Theme Park Entry. The 30 minutes early entry for ALL resort guests. Only you get it for all parks, every day.

So you can count the “old” morning EMH and the current ETPE in a comparison.

 

[Purduevian]

I put a source in the OP

Source

I'm not using anecdotal data... I'm using computer generated data that I trust and is available to everyone. Where do you get your numbers?

I don't know where you are getting your numbers, but 7:15am for Slinky is not correct. It just isn't.

 

[CatesMom]

Since you all are discussing DHS on Easter Sunday, 4/17, here's how my family's (Mom, Dad, teen) day went:
7:00 am: booked SDD for 11:10 am.
7:12 am: booked RoTR for 3:15 pm (refresh, refresh, refresh and wait for times to repopulate).
7:45 am: futile trip to the Contemporary for the announced Easter Mass at 8:00 am (whoops, they didn't actually have it). I had purposely picked later ride times and we did not hit early entry at DHS (we did a few days later and that was SUPER!). After a detour back to our resort, got to DHS about 9:20 am.
9:30 am: Rode RNRC standby.
10:00 am: in line for RNRC, booked TSMM for 12:10 pm (refresh, refresh, refresh).
10:15 am: Coffee and pastries at Joffree's.
11:05 am: Rode SDD.
11:30 am: Watched Frozen Sing-Along.
12:10 pm: Rode TSMM. Immediately after passing touch point, booked MFSR for 1:40 pm (refresh, refresh, refresh).
12:40 pm: Easter lunch at Hollywood & Vine.
1:40 pm: Rode MFSR. Immediately after passing touch point, booked Star Tours for 2:30 pm (refresh, refresh, refresh).
2:20 pm: Family pics at PhotoPass location in Galaxy's Edge.
2:30 pm: Rode Star Tours. Immediately after passing touch point, booked Tower of Terror for 6:30 pm (refresh, refresh, refresh).
2:45 pm: Rode Star Tours standby.
3:15 pm: Watched Muppet Vision.
3:45 pm: Rode RoTR.
4:30 pm: Drinks at Oga's Cantina.
5:30 pm: Headed back to our resort to rest and eat dinner. Canceled our 6:30 ToT so someone else could claim it.

I am still on team FP+, because I like advance planning. But we were able to use Genie+ to do everything we wanted at all four parks over the crazy-busy Easter week, especially when combined with early entry.

 

[mikejs78]

I also spelled out what I meant by recently. Since it is relative term, it seems an odd point to refute, but okay.

I've been going to WDW since the early 1970's, so 2018 still counts as recently, relative to 50 years of touring WDW.

Since I clarified though, seems an odd point to refute, much less highlight, but okay.

That's fine. But credit where credit is due. They are moving in the right direction. Hours now are better than a few years ago, but not as good as a decade ago. Even if you drop the evening deluxe hours from consideration.

I also remember a time when MK closed regularly at 6 or 7 in the off-season. That's not a thing anymore.

 

[Disney4Lyfe]

ETPE is the abbreviation for Early Theme Park Entry. The 30 minutes early entry for ALL resort guests. Only you get it for all parks, every day.

So you can count the “old” morning EMH and the current ETPE in a comparison.

Yes. One was an hour(at least) One is barely 30 min. Leaving you, at best time for one ride.

 

[Disney4Lyfe]

Also would like to give some credit to G+.

Yesterday, I spent all day “stacking” LL for the evening.

I was able to buy SD for 6:10 and build around that. Had LL for Splash, BTMRR, Space, HM, Peter Pan.

Is it annoying to set an alarm every 2 hours? Heck yes. Does it kill me to pay $60 to ride Seven Dwarves F yes.

But if you game the system. There is some utility.

 

[Dranth]

Also would like to give some credit to G+.

Yesterday, I spent all day “stacking” LL for the evening.

I was able to buy SD for 6:10 and build around that. Had LL for Splash, BTMRR, Space, HM, Peter Pan.

Is it annoying to set an alarm every 2 hours? Heck yes. Does it kill me to pay $60 to ride Seven Dwarves F yes.

But if you game the system. There is some utility.

That is what I have done for two trips now and it works out pretty well for someone who rolls into the parks later. The system still stinks.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Where did I say that your personal experience was incorrect? I feel sorry that you think everyone is attacking you.

Thanks. Tone is hard to convey in a forum. I don't really take it as an attack, but I'm only going to repeat the same thing so many times.

People often choose to believe what they want to believe, if that makes sense.

This is also an internet forum, and sadly, forums have trolls. I understand healthy skepticism, but I'm only going to work so hard to overcome that skepticism.

(In my best pirate voice) Ye be warned!

 

[Disney4Lyfe]

That is what I have done for two trips now and it works out pretty well for someone who rolls into the parks later. The system still stinks.

Another thing. Lightning Lanes on omnis is a real issue. They force people into picking them, and then standbys get stupid. Mansion should NEVER be a 60 min wait.

 

[FromMaldonia]

Theres no chance you get 3 good Genie(-) selections at HS, Epcot and AK......Its just not possible

This is a completely ridiculous statement

This isn't really only in reply to Jeff as it's a common complaint. It seems like the FP+ vs Genie+ comparison is often forgetting the FP+ tiers. I know the rides in each tier shifted from time to time. But in early 2020 at Hollywood Studios you could get 1 "good ride" (i.e. really worthy of a fastpass) and then the other 2 "best" options were Star Tours and Frozen sing-a-long.

So should Disney bring back tiers? The main frustration is the lack of availability (which also impacts the available times changing during selection). It seems Disney knew the constraints previously and used tiers. Perhaps they thought charging $15 would similarly reduce demand but were wrong and don't want to raise the price.