Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[Patcheslee]

We're going to Dollywood in two weeks and it will be interesting to compare the usage of their TimeSaver to our Disney experiences with paper FP, and FP+, and also the reports of using Genie (-).

I'd be interested to know for our July visit, the pricing seems considerably less Fastlane or Express passes. We've done FP+ twice which wasn't horrible.

 

[dmw]

I'd be interested to know for our July visit, the pricing seems considerably less Fastlane or Express passes. We've done FP+ twice which wasn't horrible.

private message sent so that we don't derail the Genie+ thread too much

 

[Ayla]

So, I've been catching up on this thread and there's a lot of negativity, but I just looked at the app and there's a lot of G+ available, 30min-few hours from now, and the standby times aren't horrible. I realize the major ILL are gone, but that's typical.

Am I missing something? This seems like all of the old strategies w/ a rope-drop will work.

Much lower crowds today.

 

[Purduevian]

hard to imagine dynamic pricing for different parks but i do appreciate the analysis and think there is something to that

They did used to price park tickets at different levels. MK was one price and the other parks were a lower price. I could see them doing the same thing for their version of an express pass.

Edit found an old website discussing a price jump showing MK had a different price: Source

 

[Jeff4272]

They did used to price park tickets at different levels. MK was one price and the other parks were a lower price. I could see them doing the same thing for their version of an express pass.

Edit found an old website discussing a price jump showing MK had a different price: Source

just didnt seem to last long

 

[mikejs78]

This is true. But you could also wait to book your Fastpass+ selections until you got into the park. You'd be even more disappointed with what was left then.

Actually I think getting day of FPs was easier (other than for the top few rides) because people were frequently changing their FPs (which isn't possible with Genie+). Because you picked the time, lots of things would open up.

 

[Padraig]

It seems like this is just re-introducing one of the old-style DLP fastpass options.

They had one that got you about 6 “family” rides, one that got you about 6 “thrill” rides and one that got you all the FP rides.

This seems to be just the same thing as far as I can see.

It was 3 Family rides or 3 Thrill rides starting at 30/45euro (off-peak/peak) One time use for all rides for 60/90 euro and unlimited for 120/150 euro.

I mentioned this in the DLP forum, but the Premier Access use barely registered in the whole of last week when we were there. This was when the park was at capacity. Nearly every return time was with 10-15 minutes, with an instant walk on once joined the queue. BTM once hit a 40 minute return time (it had been broken down for 2 hours previous to this) on our last day. We joined it and there was literally a handle of people in line. Uptake was to the point of almost unobservable throughout the park.

 

[Chi84]

Hi guys. Here now and I lost the info from @mikejs78 on when the additional availability is dropped. Is that info still correct? Can anyone direct me to the post?

 

[pdude81]

Hi guys. Here now and I lost the info from @mikejs78 on when the additional availability is dropped. Is that info still correct? Can anyone direct me to the post?

I never actually saw his post about drops but start with serious refreshing by 7:12am and see what comes up. Often what you see is cached anyway so you have to click in to see what's really available.

For example, ToT might show a 6pm return time but if you click into it you might see 9am. There are often drops like that for the ILL rides too. I'll follow along to see if someone else links his post as I'm curious what the schedule looks like.

 

[dreday3]

Hi guys. Here now and I lost the info from @mikejs78 on when the additional availability is dropped. Is that info still correct? Can anyone direct me to the post?

Have fun!!!

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I disagree...
Universal tickets for this Saturday: 1 Park $139. Park to Park $194
Universal express pass for this Saturday: 1 Park (1 ride each): $179, 1 Park Unlimited:$209. Park to Park (1 ride each) $190. Park to Park Unlimited $219

With Universal though it bears mentioning that hotels offer another way to get unlimited EP, and it typically costs much less to get EP that way.

Of course that is with some wide margins of variability. And 2022 prices appear to be on the rise (the little I have looked).

Still, for late August (a low cost season), Royal Pacific runs $339+tax/night. For the most part, hotels roughly on par w/RP run about $150/night, and RP is in easy walking distance of the parks. So..that's roughly $189 for 2 days of unlimited EP, for up to 4 people/room.

Even if I used $200, that = only about $50 per person for 2 days of EP. For a 2-night stay, that would = 3 days of EP, or $33.34 per person per day. And that is RACK rate.

Even with just 2 people per room, EP would runs just double that amount: $100 per person for 2 days, and $67 per person/day if booked for 3 nights.

(Meanwhile, in that same season a WDW moderate hotel (CBR) runs $300/night, and AKL (no view) rooms start at $460.)

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

You know that. I know that. Most of the people on these forums know that. The problem here lies in the fact that the majority of park goers don't know that. Paying for a service and then feeling defeated when nothing is available is not something you want your average guests to be experiencing. I still encounter people that have done their homework and missed the step about needing a park reservation. (They assume that buying park tickets is the same as the reservation because, let's face it...when you buy a ticket to the park you'd think you'd be all set to enter the park).

Disney has created this complicated system that does nothing but hinder the guest's experience. Nothing has improved...or even stayed the SAME!

I just talked to someone who went over spring break. He assumed staying onsite = access to the parks. While we know differently, it was understandable.

I mean, he stayed at Beach Club. So his take was, "I could see two theme parks from my hotel window, and I bought a park ticket for all of our days, but they still wouldn't let me enter the park? That just isn't good customer service."

His family could only go to Epcot for 3 of their 5 days. They got 1 MK day and 1 AK day. they had been to WDW a few times before, so they thought they already knew the basics of how WDW worked.

 

[mikejs78]

I just talked to someone who went over spring break. He assumed staying onsite = access to the parks. While we know differently, it was understandable.

I mean, he stayed at Beach Club. So his take was, "I could see two theme parks from my hotel window, and I bought a park ticket for all of our days, but they still wouldn't let me enter the park? That just isn't good customer service."

His family could only go to Epcot for 3 of their 5 days. They got 1 MK day and 1 AK day. they had been to WDW a few times before, so they thought they already knew the basics of how WDW worked.

I mean I don't like park reservations either but it's not like Disney doesn't shove that information in your face.

 

[G00fyDad]

I mean I don't like park reservations either but it's not like Disney doesn't shove that information in your face.

I joined a Disney tips Facebook page and you would be stunned to see the amount of people that get on there and whine and complain that they got their tickets and then got to the parks and were not let in because they did not have a reservation. They usually get on there and freak out about the whole thing and complain that Disney did not work with them. It isn't like Disney hid the info in a tiny disclaimer at the bottom of some random page. It is right there in front of you.

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

I mean I don't like park reservations either but it's not like Disney doesn't shove that information in your face.

I joined a Disney tips Facebook page and you would be stunned to see the amount of people that get on there and whine and complain that they got their tickets and then got to the parks and were not let in because they did not have a reservation. They usually get on there and freak out about the whole thing and complain that Disney did not work with them. It isn't like Disney hid the info in a tiny disclaimer at the bottom of some random page. It is right there in front of you.

I’m in a million different Disney related Facebook groups and I often see posts about people having tickets but no parks are available. Or the park they want the most isn’t available. Most people know you are required to make a reservation but most people don’t realize certain parks can actually sell out. People will say, we decided to wait until we arrived, we wanted to wait and see what the weather was, we wanted to see where we felt like going each day etc. I think people just assume they can make the reservation at any time. I did feel bad for a mom who booked during a super busy time (February break maybe), it was her son’s birthday and literally every park was sold out.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

So, I've been catching up on this thread and there's a lot of negativity, but I just looked at the app and there's a lot of G+ available, 30min-few hours from now, and the standby times aren't horrible. I realize the major ILL are gone, but that's typical.

Am I missing something? This seems like all of the old strategies w/ a rope-drop will work.

Yes.

It often appears passes are available, but when you actually try to book that pass, it suddenly disappears. Instead of a 2pm pass, without warning it is a 6pm pass instead, or you'll get a message saying no G+ is available, for example.

If you read back over this thread, I think you'll find more details of other reasons people are not happy with G+.

Muppets G+ passes are always available because the attraction rarely fills to capacity. Even with G+, if the theater is full, you have to wait for the next show. G+ or no pass = the same; we could even sit together.

 

[pdude81]

I just talked to someone who went over spring break. He assumed staying onsite = access to the parks. While we know differently, it was understandable.

I mean, he stayed at Beach Club. So his take was, "I could see two theme parks from my hotel window, and I bought a park ticket for all of our days, but they still wouldn't let me enter the park? That just isn't good customer service."

His family could only go to Epcot for 3 of their 5 days. They got 1 MK day and 1 AK day. they had been to WDW a few times before, so they thought they already knew the basics of how WDW worked.

Where did they buy park tickets? If from Disney they are pretty good at the disclaimers. UT is a little tricky because if you click the "Buy Tickets" button it skips you right past the disclaimer to pick dates.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I mean I don't like park reservations either but it's not like Disney doesn't shove that information in your face.

I think he booked over the phone. I can only go by what he said. Likely did ignore some WDW the information, but he said he wasn't told when he booked, nor did he receive any emails. Multiple times I have booked WDW hotels and never received an email confirmation of the booking.

In talking to him though, it just seemed like a somewhat reasonable assumption on his part. Universal doesn't have this problem.

 

[mikejs78]

I think he booked over the phone. I can only go by what he said. Likely did ignore some WDW the information, but he said he wasn't told when he booked, nor did he receive any emails. Multiple times I have booked WDW hotels and never received an email confirmation of the booking.

In talking to him though, it just seemed like a somewhat reasonable assumption on his part. Universal doesn't have this problem.

Universal also doesn't have Disney's crowds. As much as I hate the park reservation system logistically, one of the benefits has been that they're haven't been any CL 10 days. They seem to be capping out at CL7 or CL8, with the very rare CL9 at Hollywood studios. (source: Touring Plans historical crowd calendar).

 

[DCLcruiser]

Where did they buy park tickets? If from Disney they are pretty good at the disclaimers. UT is a little tricky because if you click the "Buy Tickets" button it skips you right past the disclaimer to pick dates.

While there are a ton of disclaimers, the system does not require you to check availability prior to purchase. The system should stop you, and make you check. Like a disclaimer pop-up. Even if you don't reserve at that time, at least you can't say you didn't know.

Then it should email or send a push notification as a reminder.